At the mountain gate of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the gilded plaque that had been passed down for a thousand years was carefully being taken down by several disciples in gray work uniforms. In its place went an enormous alloy sign, flashing with red and blue neon lights and brimming with cyberpunk style:
[Umbrella Corporation · First Rare Metal Smelting Group · Seven Treasure Mountain Branch Mine]
Ning Fengzhi stood beneath the mountain gate, wearing a yellow hard hat. His priceless sect master's robe had been replaced with durable canvas workwear. Holding a loudhailer, he looked over the several thousand sect disciples gathered below.
Every one of these disciples had once been a proud auxiliary-system soul master, treasured by every major faction wherever they went.
But now?
Each of them had been issued either an entrenching shovel or a book as thick as a brick, Excavator Operation Guide: From Beginner to Burial.
"Listen up!"
Ning Fengzhi's voice boomed through the loudhailer, carrying the resolve of someone who had smashed the pot and stopped caring.
"From today onward, forget that you're soul masters! Forget the glory of the auxiliary system! Here, you have only one identity—miners!"
"We will provide Umbrella Corporation with the finest ore! This isn't just for survival, but also... for the year-end bonus!"
No one below spoke.
The disciples stared at one another, and many had tears in their eyes. A year-end bonus? They were the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect! In the past, merely buffing someone could earn them enough money for an ordinary person to live on for a lifetime. Now they had to rely on mining to get a year-end bonus?
"I refuse to accept this!"
A core disciple hurled the iron pickaxe in his hand onto the ground and shouted, "Sect Master!