Overwhelming

Unfortunately, things never went quite as planned.

Old Shi's unexpected death brought his family looking for answers.

Only afterward did Wang Dong learn that Old Shi, the quiet sort, was actually a distant relative of the Mine Lord.

It normally wouldn't have mattered, but he had died in the mining area. A distant relative was still a relative, and the family needed an explanation.

So Wang Dong found himself in their sights.

They demanded an enormous sum in compensation, but Wang Dong naturally refused.

With the Mine Lord's backing, Old Shi's sons threw plenty of obstacles in Wang Dong's way and hounded him relentlessly.

That would cause Wang Dong no small amount of trouble later on.

There were already some things about him that seemed unusual, though still within reasonable bounds.

But once people started paying closer attention, those oddities were bound to draw even more notice.

And Wang Dong, unaware of what was going on, would later handle some matters with what he thought was caution, not realizing he was no longer keeping them secret.

This time, of course, Wang Dong wouldn't be as impulsive or heavy-handed as he had been before his rebirth.

That approach might have felt more satisfying.

But it was difficult to control.

A troublemaker who couldn't control how things unfolded was a failure.

After all the hardships he'd suffered in his previous life, Wang Dong only had to turn his thoughts to the nuisance Old Shi to come up with three or four ways to deal with him.

In the long run, the cleanest solution was to have this deadbeat die.

And it wasn't just his few deadbeat sons. Wang Dong had ways to deal with the Mine Lord himself.

Just not now.

His butterfly wings had yet to stir the world—or, at least, he hadn't flapped them hard enough.

In just ten more days, Wang Dong would reach a turning point in his fate.

Of course, immense risks came hand in hand with that opportunity.

At such a critical moment, he needed to avoid any unnecessary trouble.

It wasn't just that he'd suffered for it in his previous life.

Even if dealing with Old Shi hadn't led to further trouble, Wang Dong's years on the run had taught him caution. He wouldn't do something like that now.

He chose the simplest, most direct way to deal with the nuisance Old Shi, at least for the time being.

He would show Old Shi the piloting skills he'd already displayed—skills that truly outclassed him by an entire tier.

It was like racing. If you left the other guy so far behind he couldn't even see your taillights, what face did he have left to keep harassing you?

Old Shi was now feeling utterly dejected and powerless.

The gap was simply too great.

After just over ten minutes of pursuit, Wang Dong's Mine Overlord Type 2 had vanished from view.

Old Shi's ship still picked up the Mine Overlord Type 2 as a blip on its near-space detector.

But what good did that do?

It was only a matter of time before the Mine Overlord Type 2 left the detector's range.

Looking at Wang Dong's course, Old Shi saw that he was plunging straight into the depths of the mining area. The airspace was so complex that the detector was nearly filled with flashing red dots. Old Shi's self-awareness promptly kicked in.

He couldn't even see the engine exhaust from the back of Wang Dong's ship. How could he possibly catch up?

Even if Wang Dong gave him a fixed route, Old Shi wouldn't dare enter such complicated airspace. How could he hope to track him?

At that moment, Old Shi understood.

He felt like he'd just discovered the key point—no explanation needed.

Whether Wang Dong had been messing with him before or not, those piloting skills alone meant he could mine several grades above everyone else!

So what was strange about Wang Dong coming back with a rich haul every time?

Even if there was something strange, Old Shi couldn't catch up with him.

And even if he could, he wouldn't dare follow him deep into the mining area. How could he uncover any secrets?

Old Shi didn't know that before his rebirth, Wang Dong's skills had only been marginally better than his own.

By the usual ratings, Wang Dong had been at the very top of the "experienced" level, on the verge of "elite."

After his rebirth, years of combat experience had brought Wang Dong's piloting skills effortlessly into the "elite" level—and all the way to its peak.

He was a full major rank above Old Shi.

That was why the display just now had been such a complete drubbing.

With one perfectly timed show of skill, Wang Dong had successfully misled Old Shi, intentionally or otherwise. Old Shi would believe Wang Dong's rich hauls came from his outstanding piloting, which let him venture into the depths of the Asteroid Belt where others wouldn't dare mine.

The mineral veins there were richer, and the ore was higher quality.

That misdirection was enough to dispel some of Old Shi's delusions, at least temporarily.

And all Wang Dong needed was that "temporarily."

Old Shi gave up the chase.

Wang Dong had already put the whole matter out of his mind.

Old Shi was an experienced miner, too. Unless Wang Dong deliberately lured him into the depths of the mining area, he could handle most situations.

The airspace along the outskirts of the mining area wasn't so complex. Even if a directional adjustment thruster malfunctioned, there would still be room to maneuver.

Besides, a malfunction didn't necessarily mean a ship would be destroyed.

In his previous life, if Wang Dong hadn't deliberately caused it, the directional adjustment thrusters on Old Shi's ship wouldn't have overloaded so easily.

Wang Dong still had something important to do on this trip.

He had to mine something. If he returned empty-handed, it would look too suspicious.

Now that he'd been reborn, Wang Dong was genuinely cautious.

But he still needed to keep his priorities straight.

His goal was to try to collect some Energy Crystals.

Energy Crystals could also be considered a kind of mineral.

Their composition was exceptionally pure. They were a kind of crystalline elemental substance, formed under complex conditions and useful for many purposes.

Energy Crystals almost never formed their own veins. They were usually found alongside other mineral deposits.

They came in several grades, depending on how densely the energy was compressed within each crystal.

The system Wang Dong carried only needed a little of his stamina to keep running its basic functions.

But after activation, many of its functions consumed Energy Crystals.

Before the system had activated in his previous life, he hadn't known. After he acquired ownership of a warship and the system officially activated, he'd been caught off guard.

Many functions required Energy Crystals. Without them, he couldn't use those functions right away.

Now that he knew this in advance, he naturally wouldn't waste any time.