The Best Candidate

Star Archipelago, Sun-Eroding Island.

Main peak, Great Hall of the Faceless Tribe, council chamber.

At this moment, inside the conference hall, the Patriarch and the Great Elder of the Faceless Tribe sat respectively on the left and right main seats, with rows of Elder Council members seated on either side of them.

Before them, all the foremen of the mining zones prostrated themselves on the ground, their expressions tense.

"Who can give me an explanation for the recent sharp decline in spirit ore output? I believe this is not the first time we have summoned you," the Great Elder spoke, his face expressionless.

Hearing the inquiry, the foremen prostrate below felt bitter in their hearts.

After the last summons from the Elder Council, they had already realized the severity of the problem.

Therefore, upon returning, they first established their authority by physically punishing all the laborers, and subsequently deprived the laborers of significant rest time, forcing them to mine to increase output.

They had assumed this aspect of the problem had been resolved.

However, the department within the tribe responsible for calculating spirit ore output had recently reported the latest figures to the Elder Council again.

Following that series of measures, the spirit ore output had not only failed to increase significantly, but had instead dropped by 20%.

Upon learning this news, the foremen of the various mining zones realized that something was terribly wrong.

Sure enough, the Great Elder summoned them shortly after, demanding an explanation.

Prostrate before the council hall now, they felt both nervous and helpless.

Because they themselves did not know where the problem of the continuously falling spirit ore output lay.

One thing they could be certain of was that under the recent high-intensity exploitation, the laborers' mining efficiency had greatly improved; the sharp rise in the mortality rate of the laborers was proof of this.

Although there had been negative incidents as well.

For example, a recent attempted escape by laborers.

But this incident had little impact on the output of the spirit ore.

Because before the event could even occur, they had nipped it in the bud.

Through a report from a Human Race laborer, they had learned of the situation in advance, captured the two masterminds behind the escape proposal that very day, and subsequently killed them cruelly in front of all the other laborers to serve as a warning to others.

They had thought everything had settled down and that there was no need to worry about ore output anymore.

However, the data provided by the statistics department hit them like a heavy blow.

While cursing inwardly, they even suspected that the clansmen in the statistics department had embezzled the spirit ore, causing the output data to be problematic.

Thinking of this, one foreman immediately braced himself and spoke up:

"Patriarch, Great Elder, and esteemed Elders, this subordinate can confirm that everything in the managed mining zones is normal, and all laborers are not slacking off. Logically, it is impossible for there to be a decrease in ore output, so this subordinate suspects..."

"Suspects what?" The Great Elder asked, his expression unchanged and his tone flat.

"This subordinate suspects that perhaps there has been a mistake in the statistics department!" Gritting his teeth, the foreman voiced his thoughts.

Although saying this would certainly offend the clansmen in the statistics department, the thought of being sent to the Demon Prison for punishment if they could not provide an explanation made him choose to speak his mind.

"Oh? Do you have any evidence?"

"This subordinate has no evidence, but since everything in the mining zones is normal and we foremen do not handle the ore, there is no possibility of embezzlement. Therefore, other than a mistake in the statistics department, this subordinate truly cannot think of any other reason."

After a long silence, the Great Elder continued:

"Do all of you share the same opinion?"

Hearing the Great Elder's inquiry, all the mining zone foremen nodded one after another.

"I will send people to investigate this matter. I hope you are not lying to me; otherwise, you know what the price will be." With that, the Great Elder waved his hand, signaling them to withdraw.

Seeing this, the group of foremen prostrated and bowed, then stood up, retreated respectfully, and left.

On the way back.

The foremen of the major mining zones wore bitter expressions.

At the same time, they discussed the problem of the sharp decline in ore output within the mining zones.

During the discussion, they became increasingly certain of their guess.

Since the laborers were not slacking off and they, the foremen, did not handle the ore produced in the mining zones, then there was only one truth.

Someone in the tribe's statistics department had embezzled the ore!

But how to prove this point troubled the foremen.

Although the Great Elder said he would investigate, if he could not find a problem with the statistics department, the ultimate responsibility would still fall on them.

When that time came, they would be sent to the tribe's "Demon Prison" for punishment.

Thinking of the various tortures in the Demon Prison, they felt a chill in their hearts.

At this moment, one foreman suddenly spoke up:

"I have thought of a way; it might be feasible!"

Hearing these words, all the foremen turned their gazes toward him.

The overseer then continued:

"Although we don't handle the ore ourselves, nor do we have contact with the clansmen in the statistics department, the laborers are different. They are not only responsible for transporting the ore, but sometimes they also help the statistics department's clansmen with the inventory. Why don't we start with the laborers and look for clues there?"

"What do you mean?"

"My idea is simple: find a group of laborers you trust, swap out the ones currently responsible for transporting the ore, and have them act as our eyes and ears..."

Upon hearing this, the overseers felt a sudden sense of clarity.

Just as this overseer said, while they didn't have contact with the clansmen in the statistics department, the laborers certainly did.

As the ones responsible for managing the laborers, they had every right to swap out the current transport crew and replace them with a group of trusted laborers to act as their informants, investigating the cause of the missing ore.

Having grasped the logic, the overseers began to consider how to implement this plan in detail.

As for which laborers were trustworthy, they already had candidates in mind.

When it came to loyalty, they couldn't think of a better choice than the Human Race laborers.

It was the Human Race laborers who had reported information last time, saving them a great deal of trouble and nipping a potential large-scale labor escape in the bud.

Therefore, in the eyes of the overseers, selecting Human Race laborers as informants was undoubtedly the best choice.

With their plans gradually taking shape, the overseers bid each other farewell and headed toward their respective mining zones.

Upon returning to their assigned mining zones, they immediately gathered all the Human Race members under their jurisdiction and led them to a secluded corner.

The players were extremely dissatisfied with this, their unhappiness written all over their faces.

While staying in the mining zone, their health points were depleting every second; therefore, wasting time was equivalent to wasting money and life.

Having finally obtained the opportunity to work as laborers on Sun-Eroding Island, they did not want to waste their time on boring conversations.

The overseer, however, was indifferent to the players' impatience.

Through his interactions with them over this period, he felt he had gained a deep understanding of the Human Race laborers' mindset.

He knew they loved mining and were even willing to risk their lives for it, so being interrupted would naturally make them appear very unhappy.

After organizing his thoughts, the overseer revealed his plan to the players.

When they heard the overseer say he wanted to transfer them to a lighter duty, the players nearly cursed out loud; some of the hot-tempered ones were ready to roll up their sleeves and confront the overseer right then and there.

But when they immediately heard that he wanted to transfer them to the ore transport team to be responsible for moving ore, the expressions of the previously reluctant players changed in an instant.

This was a job they liked!

"We will go through fire and water for you, Overseer, no task is too difficult!"

"I hate corruption and graft more than anything in my life; we will definitely get to the bottom of this for you!"

"Leave this matter to us, you can rest assured; we guarantee we will uncover the truth."

Such assurances played out in every mining zone.

It looked exactly like a group of weasels promising a rancher that, once they were in the chicken coop, they would surely find the missing chicks.