The girls turned around and saw a few men dressed like miners walking in. They shook their heads and sat down dejectedly in front of the bar counter. They asked for a few glasses of wine from the boss and started chatting.
"Hey, what do you think will happen to Bonn if it keeps going on like this?"
"Who knows? But that Mr. Consul is too overbearing …. He's not giving us a chance to live. "
The few of them shook their heads and sighed as they drank. At that moment, Miao Jie came over with a smile on her face.
"What are you guys talking about? Gentlemen? "
"Hmm? Who are you, little girl? "
The miners didn't pay much attention to the cute girl in front of them.
"I'm a tourist here. I've just arrived in town, but it doesn't look very peaceful here. Did something happen?"
"Well, it's not a big deal."
Perhaps it was because Miao Jie's tone was very polite and relaxed, and she was also smiling, giving off a very good feeling, the miners immediately chatted with her.
"I'm sure you know that our Mainz is a mining town. We used to prosper, but that was many years ago. Right now, our Illum crystal production is still passable. But recently, I heard that a large underground ore vein has been discovered here. That Consul …. Oh, the current ruler of Crossbell is planning to use some sort of automated mining equipment to mine the ore. According to him, this equipment can ensure the safety of mining, and it can work 24 hours a day. It doesn't require too much manpower …. "
"Isn't that a good thing?"
Miao Jie tilted her head curiously, while another miner put down the glass in his hand.
"Hey, what's so good about it? When we first heard that there was a new ore vein here, we were all very excited. But who would've thought that the Consul would say that because the new technology needs to be operated by professionally trained members, they're going to use newcomers, and that old miners like us are useless! "
The miner slammed the table in dissatisfaction. The other miner next to him rolled his eyes.
"What are you complaining about? Didn't they say that if you're willing to join, they can give you free training and teach you how to use those conductive tools?"
"Sigh, I'm already so old. I don't understand the stuff written on it at all. What connection process, what restart, what radar waveform scan … I know every single word, but I don't understand them when they connect them together. I think they're deliberately messing with us!"
"Alright, there's nothing to complain about!"
At that moment, the inn owner walked over and placed the wine jug on the bar counter with a cold snort.
"In my opinion, this Archon has done a good job. Mining is a dangerous job. You should know that many people have died while mining in the past. Now that we have those big iron shells, we don't have to be afraid of collapses or magical beasts. Wasn't that good? Also, didn't the Consul say it himself? If you can't continue to work in the mines, you can learn skills, or we can provide loans for you to start a business. Isn't this better than the whole world of mines? Why are you making so much noise? Do you want your wife to wait for you to come back every day in fear? "
"Sigh … That's not what I meant."
After being reprimanded by the inn owner, the miner who complained earlier immediately stopped talking. Indeed, as the inn owner said, mining was not a safe job at all. Collapses and explosions were only a small probability, but it would be troublesome if they dug into a magical beast nest.
After all, according to the 'setting' of the Samuria continent, Illum crystals were very easy to attract magical beasts, so there was a high probability of a magical beast nest appearing next to an underground Illum crystal vein. This was especially true during the high-yield period decades ago. Almost every time a mine was dug, a bunch of magical beasts would come out. Although the reserves of Illum crystals in the mines had decreased, there was no guarantee that there were still dangerous monsters sleeping underground.
Therefore, every day when the miners were working, their families would be living in fear outside, afraid that they would hear news of a magical beast nest being dug up in the mines …
Therefore, when Fangzheng announced that he would replace manual mining with fully automated mining equipment, most of the families of the miners in Mainzili were in favor of it.
"When we came here, we saw someone shouting outside the mine. What's going on?"
At this moment, Alleyn also asked curiously. Hearing her question, several miners looked at each other awkwardly, then the leading miner sighed.
"Sigh, that's Bonn. How should I put it …. That kid's a tyrant in the mines. He's gathered a bunch of people and doesn't do proper work all day. I heard that the new mineral vein being explored this time was discovered in the mine that Bonn and his gang dug out, so they asked for half of the mining rights. But the Archon definitely wouldn't agree, so he brought his people here to cause trouble. He said that if we don't agree to their conditions, we won't let the machines in. "
Saying that, the leader of the miners snorted softly.
"In my opinion, this guy is used to being domineering. Just because his dad is a foreman, he dares to think of all kinds of ideas …."
After a few more complaints, the miners stopped talking and started drinking and chatting. Meanwhile, the three girls quietly left the inn and found a place to gather.
"I suggest we split up to gather information."
Miao Jie quickly put forward her suggestion, and the other two nodded.
"I'll go and see what's going on with the miners surrounding the mine gate."
Elfin was the first to speak. For some reason, after listening to what the miners said, her heart suddenly skipped a beat. Hearing her words, Miao Jie and Allein were stunned.
"Do you need me to go with you? It's dangerous over there, right? "
Allein asked uneasily. Elfin smiled and shook her head.
"It's okay. I know what I'm doing."
"Then it's settled. I'll go to the town with Miss Allein to continue gathering information. Your Highness Elfin, I'll leave the mine to you."
Miao Jie didn't say anything. She greeted Elfin and left with Elle. Elfin was silent for a moment. Then, she turned around and walked up the stairs to the entrance of the mine at the top.
At this moment, there were many burly miners around. They stood there and glared fiercely at the soldiers guarding the mine. The latter just stood there quietly, holding their weapons motionlessly. Although the miners put on a fierce look, they did not dare to move when they saw the weapons in the soldiers' hands.
If it were anyone else, they would have run away in fear upon seeing this group of miners. However, Elfen was the princess of the empire, and during the civil war, she had followed Fangzheng around the empire, so she had seen all kinds of situations. So she tidied up her appearance, then quietly ran over with a face full of curiosity. After carefully looking at the crowd, she walked to a miner not far away and asked.
"Excuse me, what are you doing here?"
"Who are you?"
Hearing Elfin's question, the miner turned around and looked at Elfin with a frown.
"Go away! You're just a little girl. What are you doing here? Go away!"
Not only was Elfin not frightened by the miner's frown, but she also found it very interesting. She was the princess of the Empire. Even the hostile nobles during the civil war treated her with respect. Who would stare at her like this?
If it was Crown Prince Cedric, his legs would have turned to jelly. But not only was Elfin not afraid, she even felt a little excited. She did not care about the miner's driving and took two more steps forward.
"Can you talk to me? I'm … an intern reporter from Libel Weekly. I'm very interested in the situation here. "
"You're a reporter?"
"Intern reporter. I'm from Libel. Please take care of me."
Elfen wasn't an idiot. She wanted to say that she was an intern reporter for the Empire News Agency, but she remembered that the Empire and the Republic didn't have a good reputation in Crossbell, so she decided to use Libel as a cover.
"This …"
The miner puckered his brows at Elfen. Even though Elfen was just a little girl, her aura as a member of the royal family wasn't bad at all. After a few moments, the miner nodded and beckoned to the crowd.
"Hey, boss, come here. There's a reporter here!"
"Oh?"
Hearing the miner's shout, a burly miner as strong as a bear strode out of the crowd. He was surprised to see Elfin.
"You're a reporter?"
"Yes, I'm an intern reporter from Libel Weekly. Can I ask you a few questions?"
As the princess, Elfen had been interviewed several times in the Empire, so she was able to learn it well. On the other hand, Elfin was just a local mine tyrant who hadn't seen much of the world, so he was really confused by Elfin's words and nodded subconsciously.
"Go ahead."
"Then … I'd like to ask, why are you here …"
"You don't know yet! That damned Consul, he wants to rob us of our mines! "
Hearing this, the head miner immediately shouted.
"Rob the mines?"
"Yeah, did you know? When Crossbell became independent, he announced an order that all the land in the whole of Crossbell would belong to the state. We only have the right to use it, but no ownership! "
"What!?"
Elfin was really shocked. She could almost imagine that if the Empire implemented such a law, the nobles would rebel …. Oh, no, they already rebelled.
"Isn't it domineering?"
Seeing the shocked expression on the cute little girl's face, the head miner felt proud of himself and continued.
"This is the mine that our ancestors dug for generations. How can we give it to others? Hmph, that man wants to occupy this mine. I won't give him the chance! I'll show him the power of us miners! "
"But I heard someone say that they're going to use a new kind of automatic mining equipment …."
"That's all excuses!!"
The head miner snorted coldly and interrupted Elfin.
"He's just looking for a way to drive us away! This is the mine that our ancestors have developed for generations. How can we let a bunch of brats do it? Don't you see what kind of people operate the machine? They're just a bunch of young brats. I doubt they even know how to hold a pickaxe! This mine was discovered by my grandfather, and he's been mining it ever since! Now he's deliberately making some stupid machine to stop us from entering the mine if we can't learn it? He's just making things difficult for us! We'll never agree! "
"… … …"
Elfin nodded from time to time to listen to the head miner's roar, but at the same time, the expression in her eyes became much more solemn.
Although it was not appropriate to say it this way, Elfin felt that these miners and the nobles … were very similar.
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