Time passed slowly like that.
Finally, a huge Black Rat flew over from afar.
Then, a cold yet authoritative voice rang out.
Because of the distance between them, the huddled Calamity Beast couldn't hear clearly, but seeing one after another raising their heads, neither happy nor afraid, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
Then, not long after, they saw the Black Rat slowly flying towards them.
A cold gaze first swept across them like a knife.
Then he said:
"Did you think you were so good? That you wouldn't be in trouble if you didn't run away with those guys?"
The tone of his voice did not contain much malice, but it was still cold and indifferent.
Many of the Calamity Beast huddled together felt a sinking feeling in their hearts.
That's exactly what they originally thought. After all, in that situation, what a good guy it was not to run away!
pity...
"Oh..."
A cold laugh rang out.
"I refuse to believe it! How could such a huge thing happen without a single one of you noticing beforehand?!"
There was no response, nor did they dare to respond; one after another, the Calamity Beast lowered their eyes.
"Alright, starting today, everyone's daily mining output will be increased back to the original amount."
"Cancel the rule that if the daily shortfall is too large, the account will be killed..."
"Other punishments remain in effect..."
"In a few days, the punishment for those who haven't met the requirements will be lifted..."
"Starting today, anyone who reports a crime and can provide concrete evidence, or has..."
New regulations are being released one after another.
There were objections, but no Calamity Beast dared to rebel. One after another, the Calamity Beast lowered their heads and accepted this reality.
After a while...
As usual, the team headed towards the mines in different directions.
However, this time, the team will be much smaller than before.
The atmosphere within the team was incredibly somber.
It wasn't just because the riot failed, but also because of the rules mentioned earlier.
A lot of rules have been changed.
In general, that's about it.
It will be much more tiring than before, and you will be punished, but you won't die. After a while, you can take a break.
Under these rules, all they can probably do is survive, exhausted and drained.
This is probably what those Black Rat wanted to achieve.
They were kept alive, but exhausted, so exhausted that they had no energy to do anything else.
Moreover, those Black Rat made it very clear.
If they want to escape, then we can try again.
Having already thwarted one or two riots, they now wanted to see if 'they' could successfully escape.
"Hey, did anyone manage to escape last night?"
A whisper suddenly came from behind.
The Gray Claw Beast, which had been walking with heavy steps, paused and looked up.
A wolf-like Calamity Beast was seen approaching another Calamity Beast and asking it a question.
On the shoulder blade of that Calamity Beast, there was also a green, thorny plant embedded.
Those were the Black Rat, a symbol of the Calamity Beast that participated in the riot but ultimately abandoned it.
The green shoulder spikes are used to identify them.
Similarly, those with the shoulder spikes need to increase their daily ore collection by another 10%.
This is probably the only consolation for these Calamity Beast who didn't participate in the riot.
Upon hearing this, the Calamity Beast glanced at the wolf-like Calamity Beast, then shrank back and quickly walked to the side.
But the wolf-like Calamity Beast did not give up; instead, it quickly gave chase.
At the same time, he kept asking questions, and his voice got louder and louder each time.
Finally, perhaps it grew impatient with being pestered, or perhaps it was afraid of being discovered by the Black Rat following outside.
The Calamity Beast spoke quickly,
"Have!"
The Gray Claw Beast paused, then continued forward.
Upon hearing the answer, the wolf-like Calamity Beast in their field of vision also paused, then asked even more excitedly.
"How many ran? Was it a lot?!"
Seeing that the Calamity Beast did not respond, it continued,
"Hmm? Is it more or less?! Could it be that most of those who didn't come back actually managed to escape?!"
"In short, not many. I think, at most, maybe only..."
The Calamity Beast replied somewhat irritably.
However, before it could finish replying...
A shout suddenly rang out from the side.
"Report! There are two guys trying to escape!"
The sudden shout broke the silence of the scene.
One after another, the Calamity Beast looked towards that direction with some surprise.
The two Calamity Beast, positioned at the center of the line of sight, were equally surprised.
They also never expected that they would be reported.
But then, this surprise was quickly replaced by fear, and even his body began to tremble uncontrollably.
Because, in their field of vision, a Black Rat, grinning maliciously, slowly flew over.
"No, no, Lord Black Rat, it was this guy, it was this guy who asked me that question! I didn't want to run away anymore, it was all this guy's fault!" The Calamity Beast with green thorns on its shoulder said in terror.
The wolf-like Calamity Beast turned its head, seemingly wanting to say something but unsure what to say. However, it quickly realized what was happening.
"No, this guy is framing us! I didn't say that, and I never thought of running away!"
However, the flying Black Rat ignored them.
Instead, he slowly turned his gaze to the other Calamity Beast in the vicinity.
"Did you hear those two discussing escaping?!"
"Well..."
A moment of hesitation.
The Black Rat looked at them, its mouth twisted in a cold, ferocious grin, and said...
"You'd better say the same thing to me, or you know what the consequences will be!"
My body trembled.
A nearby Calamity Beast raised its hand.
"I didn't hear them mention escaping, but they were definitely discussing what happened last night!"
The wolf-like Calamity Beast, which had breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the first half of the sentence, suddenly widened its eyes again upon hearing the second half.
It wanted to speak up and refute something, but didn't know how to begin.
The Calamity Beast that had just been relentlessly questioned by it cried out,
"Lord Black Rat, I didn't intend to discuss this with it. It just kept pressuring me to ask. You can ask the other Calamity Beast nearby!"
Ignoring the Calamity Beast, the Black Rat slowly turned its gaze to the other Calamity Beast nearby.
After a moment's hesitation, one after another, the Calamity Beast began to second the motion.
"Um..."
"Yes, I heard that too..."
It didn't...
Finally, their gaze turned to themselves.
The Gray Claw Beast hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"Lord Black Rat, it was exactly as that guy said at the beginning!"
The Black Rat slowly turned its gaze to the two Calamity Beast.
A moment later, two figures lay on the ground.
The Black Rat slightly raised its height, looking down at the Calamity Beast below.
"This is what happens when you try to escape again! If you still want to run away, feel free to try!"
"..."
Not daring to respond, one after another, the Calamity Beast lowered their eyes.
The Black Rat watched this scene with satisfaction, then raised its paw and pointed at the Calamity Beast that had initially reported it, saying,
"Starting today, this guy is exempt from mining for three days, and he'll also receive an extra good meal every night..."
The sound faded slowly.
The group moved forward in even greater silence.
Then, we entered the mine.
Then, come out.
Then, return to your resting place and go to sleep.
Then, get up again and set off.
The following evening, the Gray Claw Beast once again dragged out the ore it had barely managed to mine to meet the required standard.
I thought life would continue like this for the next two days.
but...
Looking at the Black Rat standing below, its face incredibly gloomy, and the row of Black Rat staring at them from the side.
And then there was the most important thing: the motionless Black Rat lying in the pool of blood in front of them.
The Gray Claw Beast's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
"Hehe..."
A cold laugh rang out.
His cold gaze swept over every single Calamity Beast in front of him.
"You guys are really something! You just had a failed uprising the night before last, with tons of your men dead, and you only had a day to rest yesterday, and today you dare to kill our people down here?!"