Star Archipelago, Sun-Eroding Island.
The main peak, the Faceless Tribe's grand hall, the council chamber.
At that moment, the Faceless Tribe's chief and the Grand Elder sat in the main seats to the left and right of the council chamber, with a row of Elder Council members seated on either side of them.
In front of them, the overseers from every Mining Area lay prostrate on the ground, their expressions tense.
"Who can explain the recent sharp decline in spirit ore production? I don't think this is the first time I've summoned you." The Grand Elder spoke, his face expressionless.
At his question, the overseers prostrated below felt bitter.
After the Elder Council had summoned them last time, they had already realized how serious the problem was.
So once they returned, they had first asserted their authority by physically punishing all the laborers. After that, they had further deprived the laborers of much of their rest time and put them to work mining, hoping to increase production.
They had thought the problem was already solved.
Yet recently, the department responsible for tracking the tribe's spirit ore production had once again reported the latest figures to the Elder Council.
Despite all their measures, spirit ore production hadn't increased significantly. Instead, it had fallen by 20%.
When they heard the news, the overseers from the various Mining Areas realized that they were in serious trouble.
Sure enough, the Grand Elder had summoned them soon afterward and demanded an explanation.
Now, prostrate before the council hall, they were tense and helpless at the same time.
They had no idea what was causing the continued decline in spirit ore production.
One thing they could be sure of was that the recent harsh exploitation had greatly improved the laborers' mining efficiency. The sharp rise in laborer deaths was proof of that.
There had been some negative incidents, too.
For instance, there had recently been an attempted escape by some laborers.
But that incident had had little effect on spirit ore production.
It had been nipped in the bud before it could even happen.
After a human laborer reported the matter, they learned of it ahead of time. That very day, they caught the two ringleaders who had proposed the escape. Then, to make an example of them, they brutally killed the pair in front of all the laborers.
They had thought that everything had settled down and that they no longer needed to worry about ore production.
But the figures from the statistics department had dealt them a harsh blow.
Cursing inwardly, they even suspected that someone in the statistics department had embezzled the spirit ore, throwing off the production figures.
At that thought, one overseer braced himself and spoke up:
"Chief, Grand Elder, and Elders, I can assure you that everything is normal in the Mining Area under my jurisdiction. None of the laborers have been slacking off, so there should be no reason for ore production to fall. That's why I suspect..."
"Suspect what?" the Grand Elder asked calmly, his expression unchanged.
"I suspect there may have been an error in the statistics department!" Gritting his teeth, the overseer voiced what was on his mind.
He knew this would surely offend the members of the tribe who worked in the statistics department. But when he thought of the punishment for failing to give an explanation—being sent to the Demon Prison to suffer—he still decided to say what he thought.
"Oh? Do you have any evidence?"
"I don't have any evidence. But everything is normal in the Mining Areas, and we overseers don't handle the ore, so we can't be embezzling it. Other than an error in the statistics department, I truly can't think of another explanation."
The Grand Elder was silent for a long while before speaking again:
"Is that what all of you think?"
At the Grand Elder's question, all the overseers nodded.
"I'll send people to investigate. I hope none of you have lied to me. You know what the consequences will be otherwise." With that, the Grand Elder waved them away.
Seeing this, the overseers bowed to the ground, then rose and backed away respectfully before leaving.
On the way back.
The overseers from the various Mining Areas wore bitter expressions.
They also discussed the sharp decline in ore production in their Mining Areas.
The more they talked, the more certain they became of their guess.
If the laborers weren't slacking off, and they themselves didn't handle the ore produced in the Mining Areas, then there could only be one explanation.
Someone in the tribe's statistics department had embezzled the ore!
But the overseers didn't know how they could prove it.
Although the Grand Elder had said he would investigate, if the investigation found no problem with the statistics department, they would still bear the blame.
Then they would be sent to the tribe's "Demon Prison" for punishment.
At the thought of the various tortures in the Demon Prison, they felt a chill run through them.
Just then, one overseer suddenly spoke:
"I've thought of something that might work!"
Hearing this, all the overseers turned to look at him.
The overseer continued:
"Although we don't handle the ore or have any contact with the members of the statistics department, the laborers do. They're responsible for transporting the ore, and sometimes they help the members of the statistics department count it. Why don't we start with the laborers and look for clues?"
"What do you mean?"
"It's simple. Find a group of laborers you trust, switch them out for the ones currently transporting the ore, and have them act as our eyes and ears..."
After hearing this, the overseers suddenly saw the light.
Just as the overseer had said, they didn't have contact with the members of the statistics department, but the laborers did.
As the people in charge of managing the laborers, they had every right to replace the ones currently transporting the ore, bring in a group they trusted, and use them as informants to investigate why the ore was going missing.
Once they understood the logic, the overseers began thinking about how to carry out the plan.
As for which laborers they could trust, they already had someone in mind.
When it came to loyalty, they couldn't think of anyone besides the human laborers.
The last time, it had also been a human laborer's report that had spared them a great deal of trouble and nipped a possible mass escape in the bud.
So, in the overseers' eyes, choosing human laborers as informants was undoubtedly the best option.
Their plan gradually took shape. The overseers said their goodbyes and headed back to their respective Mining Areas.
When they returned to the Mining Areas under their jurisdiction, they immediately summoned all the human members there and led them to an isolated corner.
The players were very unhappy about this. Their displeasure was written all over their faces.
While they were in the Mining Area, their health points dropped every minute and every second. Wasting time meant wasting money and life.
They had gone to great trouble to get the chance to work as laborers on Sun-Eroding Island, and they didn't want to waste their time on a pointless conversation.
The overseer wasn't bothered by the players' impatience.
After interacting with them over the past few days, he felt he already understood the human laborers very well.
He knew they liked mining and were even willing to risk their lives for it. Naturally, they'd be unhappy when someone interrupted them.
After gathering his thoughts, the overseer told the players what he had in mind.
When they heard that the overseer wanted to transfer them to an easier job, the players nearly cursed him out. One hot-tempered player even rolled up his sleeves, ready to confront the overseer head-on.
But then they heard that he wanted to assign them to the ore transport group, where they would be responsible for hauling ore. The players' reluctant expressions changed in an instant.
They liked this job!
"We'll go through fire and water for you, Overseer!"
"What I hate most in life is corruption! We'll investigate this to the very end!"
"Leave this matter to us. You can count on us to get to the bottom of it!"
The same promises played out in the various Mining Areas.
They looked just like a pack of weasels promising the ranch owner that they'd find the missing chicks once they got into the henhouse.