North District 68
Shangbin Family's team is here again, but this time there are no noble members themselves, just some followers and technicians plus four Sixth Division Soul Reaper, a total of about twenty
The outline of the mine looks like a giant beast lying on the ground in the gray-white sky. It is black, silent, and motionless. There is something underneath the mine that is not part of the mine, but a settlement.
Houses are built along the gentle slope at the foot of the mine, extending from the foot of the mountain to the gravel roadside. The materials of the houses are varied, including wood, stone, thatch, and waste wood picked up from the mine tunnel. The arrangement of the houses is not planned, one in the east and one in the west, like seeds blown away by the wind, but the settlement is alive. There is smoke on the roof, light green smoke is coming from the chimney, and people are walking between the houses.
The first person to notice the movement was a man squatting at the entrance of the settlement sharpening a knife. The stone in his hand stopped on the blade. He raised his head and squinted at the gravel road in the distance.
At the end of the road, a group of figures was moving this way, about twenty of them, in a loose formation, walking along the gravel road. Their clothing material reflected light in the sun. They were not the common coarse linen clothes in Rukongai, but the kind of fine fabric that only people in the first few districts could afford to wear. The colors were uniform, and the cuffs and collars were embroidered with patterns.
"These people seem to be nobles."
The man sharpening the knife put the knife on his knees, and his voice was not loud, but several people squatting on the ground chatting around heard it. A tall and thin man who was leaning on a wooden post and chewing dry biscuits stood up, covered his eyebrows with his hands, and squinted for a few seconds.
"Only nobles would use these fancy patterns."
"How much food can you get for tying up nobles?" A young man squatting on the low wall grinned, and he couldn't tell whether he was joking or serious.
"Are you crazy?" An older man next to him glared at him, "Have you forgotten how you were burned by Soul Reaper's Reishi Arts when you blocked people in the mine last time? If you hadn't run so fast, you would have been reincarnated in reincarnation by now."
The young man shrugged and did not retort, but the smile on his face did not disappear completely.
Most of these armed private soldiers have the gangster spirit of Rukongai, and they cannot even change it for a while. They are the people Amakusa recruited into Eternal Silence from the surrounding area and brought them out now.
While patrolling around Eternal Silence, I usually did some work on my own. I fought over water sources, occupied open space, and had group fights with other armed groups. However, I had a head-on confrontation with a noble. This was the first time since I was blown up by Sōkatsui in the mine tunnel.
Shangbin Family's team approached. Four Sixth Division Soul Reaper walked in front and behind the team, with their hands on the handles of their knives, and their eyes swept over the houses and people in the settlement.
They didn't draw their swords, but they didn't let down their guard either.
They simply ignored the settlement, bypassed a few crooked houses, and walked straight towards the entrance of the mine tunnel.
The people in the settlement stood on the roadside, holding knife handles, wooden sticks, and hoes in their hands, watching the team pass by in front of them.
No one was stopped, no one was questioned, and no one was even looked at. Soul Reaper, who was at the end of the team, glanced back at the crowd in the settlement to confirm that they were not following them, and then turned around and disappeared into the shadow of the mine tunnel.
"They... went in?"
A young man holding a hoe stared blankly at the entrance of the mine, his voice filled with disbelief. The normal Rukongai forces saw their group of strong men with weapons squatting on the roadside. They should have been too nervous to move, or they had taken the initiative to make way, or sent someone over to test their intentions. What happened to these nobles? They just walked in?
The people in the settlement formed a circle around the entrance of the mine tunnel. Some people were still looking into the mine tunnel, and some people had already started talking. An older man put his hoe on the ground, shook his head, and said in his tone with a certainty that he had seen too much of the world, " This is how nobles are, they are used to living in Seireitei, and they feel that people in Rukongai are just air. Unless you put a knife on his neck, he will never feel that you are a threat."
"Then put the knife on the knife." The young man with the scarred face smiled again. This time, the smile contained less of a joke and more of an eagerness to try.
The sound of footsteps came from deep in the settlement, and the crowd automatically moved out of the way. Amakusa Shirō strode over. His dark gray shorts were stained with grass clippings and mud spots. He had obviously just come from a training ground. His eyes glanced at the entrance to the mine, and then at the private soldiers in the settlement who were still holding weapons, and the corners of his mouth curled down.
"The mine tunnel is narrow and they cannot take advantage of the large number of people!"
The little miner leader who came after hearing the news was obviously more anxious than Amakusa. His face was stained with mine ash, and he was still breathing. He pointed in the direction of the entrance of the mine tunnel, and his voice was urgent and fast. "We can block them in there! They can't get out! They have to pay any ransom!"
Amakusa did not answer immediately. He stood in front of the entrance of the mine tunnel, with his arms folded across his chest, looking at the dark cave entrance. The wind from the entrance of the mine tunnel blew out from inside, carrying the smell of damp iron rust and the astringent smell of stone powder. His expression looked particularly calm under the blow of the wind, but the light in his eyes was moving. It was the unique light when a person who has been poor all his life suddenly sees a shortcut.
"Send someone to Rukongai District 1 to shout that there are nobles in our hands and ask them to pay a ransom of 100,000 yuan."
Amakusa's voice was not loud, but the few leaders around him could hear it clearly. Some people took a breath, some subconsciously clenched the handle of the knife, some opened their mouths to say something and then swallowed it back. The smile of the scar-faced young man completely blossomed. This was what he was waiting for.
One hundred thousand is already an incomparable amount in their eyes.
The older private soldier stood on the edge of the crowd and did not join in the excitement with the others. He looked at Amakusa's back and moved his lips, wanting to remind Eternal Silence's third-in-command that the last time he blocked the nobles in the mine tunnel, he was killed. How long had it been since Soul Reaper's Sōkatsui was bombed and nearly wiped out the entire army? But he didn't speak in the end. He knew Amakusa's temper, and it was useless for anyone to persuade him about what he had decided.
Amakusa turned around and faced the private soldiers in the settlement who were still waiting for orders. His voice was louder than before, with an unquestionable certainty. "Listen, everyone, block the entrances to these mines and don't let them escape. There is no need to fight hard, just block them. They don't have enough food, and it won't be long before they come out to negotiate terms."
He paused, and the corner of his mouth curved. That curve was not confidence, but a kind of crazy smile that was unique to someone who suddenly saw the possibility of changing his destiny after being suppressed by poverty for too long.
"One hundred thousand, not a penny less."
"The mine tunnel is narrow and they cannot take advantage of the large number of people! We can keep them all inside!" said Amakusa, a small leader who came after hearing the news.
"Send someone to Rukongai District 1 and tell them that there are nobles in our hands and ask them to pay a ransom of 100,000 yuan." Amakusa gave the order of dementia under the temptation of money.
This time, the ordinary prospecting team Sixth Division did not send the powerful Seated Officer, so they couldn't break out of the blockade, but self-protection was no problem. Of course, the most important reason why they couldn't break out was that they had to deal with the wandering miners who were blocked together in the mine.