I Can Add Points Infinitely - Chapter 57

Outside the mine, Shen Lian returned in a flash of light.

“Oh, Senior Brother, you’re back! Thank you for your hard work…” Liu Zhiyong immediately plastered a smile on his face and stepped forward to greet him.

“The collapsed section of the tunnel below has been cleared,” Shen Lian replied in a businesslike tone. “I observed that the way the workers are mining is too inefficient. Gather everyone together; I need to announce a few decisions.”

“Uh…” Liu Zhiyong hesitated for a moment before responding, “Everyone is busy working right now. Calling them out suddenly will delay the mining… that might not be a good idea.”

“It’s fine; it won’t take long. Just go and gather them,” Shen Lian waved his hand dismissively.

“Alright then,” Liu Zhiyong nodded and called over a disciple, instructing him, “Go, as Senior Brother has ordered, and have everyone come out and assemble.”

While speaking, he gave the disciple a meaningful look.

The disciple nodded knowingly and went inside the mine.

Shen Lian, keeping his spiritual sense trained on the disciple, noticed that once he was underground, he simply found a spot to rest and did not actually gather any workers.

Anticipating this, Shen Lian did not show any anger. He remained calm and composed, as if unaware of the disciple’s actions, quietly waiting.

It was only after half an hour that the disciple returned from the mine.

“How did it go?” Liu Zhiyong asked.

The disciple approached with a troubled expression and reported, “Senior Brother, the mortals refused to come out, saying it would interfere with their work.”

“Oh? Is that so…” Liu Zhiyong, playing along, turned with a feigned conflicted look toward Shen Lian and said, “Senior Brother, you see…”

“Forget it. Since they don’t want to waste time, let them carry on with their work,” Shen Lian replied coolly.

“Ah, very well!” Liu Zhiyong nodded repeatedly. “Perhaps you should go back and rest, Senior Brother?”

Shen Lian nodded lightly and turned to walk back to the main building.

Liu Zhiyong watched him leave, waiting until Shen Lian was far away and had entered the wooden building, before spitting contemptuously on the ground.

“Bah, who does he think he is, giving orders like he’s in charge… If I don’t cooperate, he won’t even be able to issue half an order here,” he sneered.

“Exactly, Senior Brother, what should we do next?” the disciple asked, flattering Liu Zhiyong.

“Just do your job; don’t bother with him. Leave everything to me,” Liu Zhiyong replied arrogantly.

“Got it,” the disciple answered and hurried away.

Inside the main building, in his quiet room, Shen Lian watched everything unfold through his spiritual sense.

He still showed no outward reaction, but the smile tugging at his lips grew more pronounced.

As evening approached, the workers began leaving the mine, turning in the spirit stones they had extracted. The disciples in charge recorded the amounts, while others distributed coarse bread.

Shen Lian observed for a while and noticed that all spirit stones, regardless of quality, were distributed based solely on size. A fist-sized piece was worth two loaves of bread.

In reality, such a piece could be cut into seven or eight low-grade spirit stones.

Liu Zhiyong not only treated the mortals like ants and ignored their safety, but he also even skimped on their meager food rations.

Anger flared in Shen Lian’s eyes, and it took him a long time to calm down.

At that moment, a knock came at his door. It was Yun Xiong and the others, who had finished resting and wanted to discuss the management of the mine with Shen Lian.

Shen Lian told them to hold off on taking action for two more days and sent them away.

After pondering for a moment, he got up and walked toward the original registration office of the mine.

Liu Zhiyong was sitting behind a desk, watching as the workers numbly received their coarse bread loaves. A sickly sense of satisfaction welled up within him, as if he were a lofty emperor who could control people’s lives with ease.

Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he saw Shen Lian approaching.

Liu Zhiyong felt a wave of disgust but muttered under his breath, “This bastard again, always looking for trouble…”

He cursed under his breath, but as Shen Lian got closer, he quickly put on a smile, hurried over, and greeted, “Oh, Senior Brother, what brings you here?”

“Nothing much, just checking the mining output,” Shen Lian said casually. “By the way, let me have a look at the ledger.”

“Ah? This… might not be appropriate,” Liu Zhiyong hesitated.

“Why?” Shen Lian turned to look at him.

Liu Zhiyong thought for a moment, then gestured for Shen Lian to follow him to a secluded corner.

Shen Lian, indifferent, followed him to the corner.

Once sure they were alone, Liu Zhiyong continued, “Senior Brother, to be honest with you, I can’t let you see the ledger.”

“Hmm.” Shen Lian nodded, waiting for Liu Zhiyong to continue.

Seeing no reaction from Shen Lian, Liu Zhiyong felt a bit unsure but gritted his teeth and said, “Actually, before you arrived, I had already received orders from above.”

“Above? Who do you mean?” Shen Lian asked.

“From the Senior Brother, Fang Nan,” Liu Zhiyong replied confidently, without hiding anything.

Shen Lian’s eyes narrowed slightly, his mind rapidly piecing together various clues.

Liu Zhiyong continued, “According to Senior Brother Fang Nan’s instructions, it’s best if we stay out of each other’s way. You can rest here in peace, and if you need anything, I can pass on the message.”

“He has also prepared a gift for you. As long as you don’t interfere with the operations of the mine, Senior Brother Fang Nan will give you this amount each month.” Liu Zhiyong held up a finger.

“One thousand spirit stones?” Shen Lian asked.

“Uh…” Liu Zhiyong hesitated, then shook his head, “Senior Brother, that’s a bit too high. Senior Brother Fang Nan meant one hundred spirit stones.”

“You know this is a sect asset, and it’s already generous that he can offer that much.”

“Heh, I see…” Shen Lian’s smile remained faint as he stared at Liu Zhiyong. After a moment, he said, “But that’s still a bit low. I’d like Senior Brother Fang Nan to increase it.”

“I can’t make that decision; I’ll need to consult with him,” Liu Zhiyong replied.

“Fine,” Shen Lian nodded. “I’ll wait for your news.”

After reaching an agreement, Shen Lian no longer mentioned the ledger and turned back to the main building.

“Hmph, a hundred spirit stones… do they really think I’m some beggar?” Shen Lian muttered with a cold smile after returning to his quiet room.

From his observations, he had calculated that the mine produced about a thousand low-grade spirit stones a day, which amounted to thirty thousand a month.

After deducting normal operating expenses, based on the Sect Leader’s terms, he could receive at least six thousand low-grade spirit stones a month.

And that was without any improvements in the mine’s output.

Shen Lian was confident that once he took over and reformed the mine’s operations, the output could be significantly increased, potentially even doubled.

With such high stakes, did Fang Nan really think he could keep him out of the picture?

“If you won’t play fair, then don’t blame me for being ruthless,” Shen Lian murmured, his eyes glinting with a cold, calculating light.