In Belobog's Underworld, most people depended on the mines for their livelihood, and mining-related industries were found in every town.
Rivet Town, where the orphanage stood, mainly handled machinery manufacturing and repairs, making it considerably wealthier than the other towns.
However, Chu Mu had plenty of "friends" in town, all fine brothers who would happily stick a knife in his ribs.
If Chu Mu wanted work, he could only go to the Great Mine.
Some mine tunnels had entrances so narrow that even small robots could get stuck, while a child like him could squeeze through easily.
Some of the foremen at the Great Mine were very fond of hiring little workers like him.
After all, this was the Underworld. People were as plentiful as rats in a burrow, and their lives were worth next to nothing. Machines were far more precious by comparison.
After leaving the orphanage, Chu Mu went to the mine as usual and found a foreman he knew.
The middle-aged man's face lit up as soon as he saw Chu Mu.
"Thank goodness! You're finally here, kid. A tunnel entrance collapsed this morning, and there's still a cart of Geomarrow inside. Perfect timing-go get that load out."
Chu Mu did not agree right away. Instead, he asked:
"Boss, what about the raise you promised me last time?"
"Kid, you know I'm taking a risk hiring a child like you. If the Silvermane Guards catch me, the fine won't be small..." The foreman put on a troubled expression.
"Boss, you're not the only one hiring here." Chu Mu could not be bothered to argue and made to leave.
"Fuck, you win!" Seeing this, the foreman made his decision and called out, "Ten Winter City Shields, just like we agreed last time. Not a coin more!"
"That's more like it." Only then did Chu Mu smile.
Although adults earned twenty Winter City Shields for a cart of Geomarrow, getting half that was already good for a child. Many foremen paid children only five to seven Winter City Shields.
After all, children who came to the mines looking for work had no one to back them up. Most were orphans.
If they had even one family member capable of working, they would never have ended up here.
"You're a crafty little devil." The foreman could not help marveling as he fitted Chu Mu with equipment. "If only my kid had your brains. Ha, it's a shame money's tight at home right now. Once I've got some to spare, I'll definitely go to the orphanage and adopt you."
"Then I'll work hard mining and help you make a fortune, boss!" Chu Mu promised earnestly.
"Haha, you little rascal!" The foreman patted Chu Mu on the back and sent him into the tunnel.
Once Chu Mu had gone down, a nearby worker could not help asking the foreman:
"Boss, are you really planning to adopt him? People in Rivet Town say he's a mad dog that'll bite the hand that feeds him!"
"Just telling him what he wants to hear. Doing this kind of work, he could die in a tunnel any day. Haven't you seen enough kids die down there over the years?" The foreman scoffed.
The worker understood at once.
A child sent into a collapsed tunnel to retrieve Geomarrow could easily face another cave-in. Besides, leaking toxic gas could silently take his life at any moment!
An orphan's life was the cheapest thing in the mine.
If he died, no one would come demanding compensation!
That was how cruel the world was!
Then the foreman suddenly drawled:
"Still, if he survives until he's ten or so, I might consider adopting him. After all, what kid asks his own dad for wages?"
The worker beside him offered a heartfelt remark:
"No wonder you're the foreman!"
What a black-hearted bastard!
Meanwhile, in the silent, pitch-black tunnel, Chu Mu crawled through the narrow gap.
He could not hear a sound or see anything but darkness. He could only feel his way forward with his hands.
At times like this, an inexplicable panic always rose inside him.
He knew his illness was about to strike again.
His heart gave a violent thump, and his eardrums felt as though they had been pierced as a flood of noise rushed in.
The darkness before his eyes was no longer pure darkness. It glittered like a starry sky!
"Kill the enemy! Kill the enemy! Kill the enemy!"
"Kill them!"
The cacophony made it feel as though he stood on a battlefield amid a desperate struggle for survival!
Suddenly, all those voices vanished.
The sea of stars before him gradually dimmed, and a bitter, distant sigh rang out-
"Is this... the might of a god?"
Everything returned to normal, but the sweat drenching his body and his pounding heart proved that none of it had been an illusion.
Starting two years ago, Chu Mu had frequently witnessed scenes like these whenever he was alone somewhere quiet or asleep.
He also kept seeing bizarre fragments of memories.
It was as though someone had shattered countless memories and stuffed them into his head.
Perhaps that was also why he was more mature than other children his age.
As for his illness, the orphanage's routine medical examinations had only found anemia, which they attributed to malnutrition.
The adults said it was normal for children to dream when he told them about his strange dreams, but Chu Mu truly felt that something was wrong with him.
What kind of dream left someone half-dead every time!
Chu Mu curled up in agony in the narrow tunnel, the fierce pain in his heart leaving him almost unable to move.
Getting used to it had done nothing to dull the pain. Instead, each attack hurt more than the last!
In the dormitory, he often jolted awake from dreams in the middle of the night. Afraid of disturbing his roommates, he did not dare cry out in pain and could only bite down hard on his blanket. As a result, the dorm supervisor often scolded him, telling him to stop chewing on his blanket every day.
Chu Mu had a feeling that if this continued, sooner or later he would die from the pain in a mine tunnel.
He only hoped he could hold on until the day he sent Xiao Bu away.
Otherwise, that silly girl would cry her heart out.
Chu Mu sighed.
Once the pain in his heart eased a little, he continued crawling forward.
Suddenly, someone tugged on the rope attached to him several times.
When he tried to keep crawling, that person held fast! The rope stayed locked in place like an iron chain!
Chu Mu was certain that whoever it was had to be an exceptionally strong adult!
A bad feeling rose in his chest.
Chu Mu crawled back. When he emerged from the tunnel and saw the person holding the rope, he groaned inwardly. Of course it was him!
"Officer Oleg! What can I do for you?" Chu Mu put on an ingratiating smile.
The man was none other than Oleg, the Silvermane Guard captain responsible for maintaining order in the Underworld!
"You again! Do you have a death wish?" Oleg's face was terrifyingly dark.
Seeing this, the foreman realized the two knew each other. His mouth opened, but in the end, he said nothing and gave up trying to talk his way out.
Oleg stormed over to the foreman, punched him in the face, and snarled:
"This is the twenty-year-old dwarf worker you told me about? This kid's from the orphanage, and he's only six! How dare you?"
In the Underworld, there was no such thing as polite law enforcement. For scoundrels who refused to follow the rules, fists were the best rules of all!
The foreman clutched his face, not daring to resist Oleg, though inwardly he felt deeply wronged-
If he had known Chu Mu knew Oleg, he would never have hired the boy.
Of course, he could not possibly say that aloud.
The foreman was cunning, too. As the punch landed, he fell with it, taking little of its force, then simply pretended to pass out.
He foolishly hoped this would let him escape punishment.
But Oleg had no intention of indulging him. He waved to his subordinates and ordered:
"Take him to the security office. Lock him in the dark cell and teach him a proper lesson!"
At the words "dark cell," the foreman's hands began trembling with fear.
But it was too late for regrets. He could have settled this with a fine, but now he was bound to suffer.
Before he was dragged onto the vehicle, the foreman deliberately shot Chu Mu a resentful look.
Seeing that, Chu Mu's heart sank.
It looked like he would be blacklisted at the mine now. He could forget about finding work here again. No foreman would hire a "jinx" like him.
If he could not go to the mine, and finding work in town was out of the question, his only option was the Northern Great Garbage Dump.
Saving up money would probably be even harder now.
Bitterness filled Chu Mu's heart.
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