Garvin the Rancher Takes Office

On the other side, unaware that a certain dragon was about to bestow great responsibility upon the level 1 Psionics, Calvin, was nervously following behind the Striding Gnoll General Manager Huozi, while simultaneously feeling an uncontrollable sense of curiosity and awe.

Although Zelandia was originally a city where multiple races lived together, and one of the few places in the Underdark that could maintain a semblance of freedom and order.

But this so-called freedom was nothing more than either digging more to exchange for food and supplies, or digging less and barely surviving.

It could be said that, at best, it was merely scraping by.

His warm home, his beloved fiancée, his mentor who had taught him so much – these cherished faces and memories were deeply buried in his heart, but as time passed, they slowly blurred, fading uncontrollably, beyond his will.

Even though he was a laughable level 1 Psionics, even though he didn't want to forget.

If his life for the past twenty-odd years had been smooth sailing, then ever since he had foolishly come to the Underdark, his originally smooth line of fate had plummeted to the bottom, unable to move, living like a walking corpse.

He no longer expected to return to the surface, to the home that haunted his dreams. Sometimes, he didn't even know what he still expected.

Perhaps the dried grilled fish from the Remlu Fish Stall that could no longer be sold?

Or perhaps, his first day of duty after being inexplicably hired by Hogg Mining?

"Heh, Calvin, know your place. You're just applying to be a miner. What else can you do besides mining and related tasks?" Calvin mocked himself internally.

However, as he entered the West Mining Area, a rich mining zone that had been forcibly sealed off by dwarves for over twenty years, Calvin's attention was drawn to the bustling and almost demonic atmosphere of the area.

This mining area had been occupied by those Cavens Rats for who knows how many years. Even the Fluorescent Moss had been eaten clean by those locust-like creatures, making the entire West Mining Area appear somewhat dark.

But in this not-so-quiet darkness, it was now brightly lit. Hundreds, even thousands, of miners who had submitted their Employment Resumes were sweating profusely, wielding their pickaxes, striking sparks in the dim light. The rolled raw ore was picked up by partners beside the rock face, who used metal chisels to remove the surface rock, and then packed it into baskets woven from Beast Bone and some kind of plant roots.

Generally, any miner with some experience in Zelandia would do this.

Because if they didn't, it would first take up valuable space in the ore baskets. Secondly, those Duergar, whose hearts were blacker than their faces, would often discount their ore based on the amount of surface rock, to the point where you'd want to vomit blood.

In the past, they mostly worked independently. Many of those who just wanted to get by would only bring back two baskets, one for taxes and one to exchange for food.

But today, they believed they had found a loophole in the "Didi Miner Employment Reward Policy." They thought that by cooperating in large numbers, they could obtain the daily quest reward package once every day, and even more than once!

Little did they know that this so-called 'loophole' was intentionally created by Li Wei. Li Wei didn't care about the small-scale workshop model of those Duergar, which was no different from a black mining pit.

If you're going to do it, do it big! Do it like a super mine with a daily output of at least 300,000 tons! Then replicate this super mine model to every corner of the Underdark, and finally incorporate the entire Underdark into his mineral production areas, continuously exporting various mineral resources to the surface world, becoming the true mining magnate of Coriel!

Of course, this grand goal was still a bit distant.

That was at least something to be achieved after completing the technological and industrial upgrade. The prerequisite was that Li Wei's Hogg Mining had enough combat power to suppress all dissent in the Underdark.

But at least for now, Li Wei wanted them to first develop the habit of multi-party collaboration.

And before he went into hibernation, he needed a large amount of ore as food. He wanted to upgrade the defense of his already half-bald scales.

Calvin, being a native, naturally didn't know about all these plans. However, the significant changes in the West Mining Area showed him many things that subverted his worldview. For example, he even saw Duergar here!

"You guys, with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, aren't you supposed to be the backbone of the Golden Miner Brotherhood? You traitors!" Garvin spat out this complaint to Tiger, who was staring blankly at the desolate East Mine Area next to him.

However, these Duergar not only defected openly at the last minute, but because the mine area had just been developed and much of the shallow ore was easy to extract, they were in such good spirits that they even started singing:

A dwarf mining song left Garvin completely stunned.

Perhaps sensing the prying gaze, the Duergar miners looked back at him and rolled their eyes, brandishing their mining hammers. "What are you looking at! Haven't you ever seen someone trying to pick up a date!"

Leaving the dumbfounded Garvin behind, the Duergar miner turned his amorous gaze back to the dwarf beside him, stroked the dwarf's even bushier beard, and said with deep affection, "You like mining, I like mining too. I also like blacksmithing. We are truly a match made in heaven~"

As he spoke, he started singing again:

"You should mine with me~

"I'll be standing, waiting on your doorstep lawn~"

"You should mine with me~"

"Even if you're much bigger than me~"

"You should be with me~"

"You should just be with me~"

The tender fire in his eyes seemed capable of melting ore.

Garvin felt like he had woken from a nightmare. He shivered and quickly caught up with Huozi's pace, leaving behind the death singer dwarf who could make people bend.

Not long after escaping the area occupied by the dwarfs who could sing people into submission, Garvin was led by Huozi to a Cavens Rat Nest.

Because Cavens Rats have darkvision and dislike light by nature, this Cavens Rat Farm didn't have much light. Only a mixed smell of feces, fish, and blood wafted into his nostrils.

Just as Garvin was beginning to doubt his life, the Gnoll General Manager Huozi turned around, spread his arms, and smiled at Garvin, "Psionics Garvin, welcome to Hogg Mining's subsidiary unit, Cavens Rat Farm! Your current position is Cavens Level 1 Animal Handler. Work hard! Master values your abilities highly. Perhaps in a few years, I'll be calling you Manager Garvin."

"Boss Hogg values my abilities highly? And a farm? Level 1 Animal Handler? But... but I came to apply for a miner!" Garvin was utterly bewildered.

"What future does a miner have! Being a good animal handler is the real path to riches!" Huozi scoffed.

"But what will my job entail?" Garvin asked with some concern.

Huozi then slapped his forehead and pointed at the listless Cavens Rats. "Look at my memory! Right, your job duty is to take care of these Cavens Rats and get them back into their reproductive cycle as soon as possible. Try it now, use your psionics to hypnotize them, make them forget that battle, and think they are still in their warm nests, and that the female rats next to them are beautiful, plump, and lubricated... cough cough cough! That's the gist of it, you understand."

Garvin was completely stunned. After understanding, he became furious. "I'm a mage! Not here to breed!"

Huozi pouted, "Didn't you also work as a miner for ten years?"

Garvin's momentum instantly faltered. "That... that's different..."

"I'll just ask if you can do it! If you can't, then unfortunately, you won't be suitable for this job." Huozi revealed a mouth full of fangs.

Garvin instantly wilted like a Cavens Rat. "This size shouldn't be difficult... but, there are too many of them..."

Huozi, however, smiled and clapped his hands like a Sichuan opera actor changing masks. He placed a row of glowing blue crystal bottles on the table. "It's okay, I've prepared these for you. Work hard! Future Manager Garvin! You have a bright future!"

Looking at the full dozen Energy Potions, Garvin's face turned ashen. He was once again reminded of the fear he felt when dominated by those Drow bitches.

Thanks to classmate [One Leaf 0 Green Grass] for the 500 reward, thanks to classmate [xiaotang246] for the 100 reward, thanks to classmate [Fei Nai Tian] for the 100 reward~