The woman’s face was already sallow, and her crying made her appear even more desolate. Li Chonglou quickly helped her up.
“Let’s get you up first.”
“No, sir, if you don’t agree, I won’t get up from here!”
The little girl in her arms suddenly pulled his hand away and said in a childish voice, “Don’t touch my mom!”
The woman quickly scolded her, but Li Chonglou waved his hand, “It’s alright, you get up first. I don’t even know what’s going on yet, you need to tell me.”
Interrupted by the little girl, the woman’s emotions stabilized a bit, and she stood up from the ground with a sob.
“Sir, you don’t know, but the people here have already become rotten to the core! Our men are so pitiful, all of them have been taken away to be laborers.”
Amidst the woman’s weeping, Li Chonglou gradually understood why the villagers here were so hostile towards the people from the General Bureau.
It turned out that after the island nation’s invasion, the mine, as the core of the entire East Sea Island, had become a point of contention for three factions.
It should be explained here that the mine had its own peculiar nature.
The mine on East Sea Island wasn’t for ordinary ore, but for a stone material with special radiation. Strangely, this radiation only affected cultivators. For ordinary people, it was no different from mining ordinary ore.
Because of this, no matter how fiercely the three factions fought, they wouldn’t lay a hand on the original inhabitants who had lived here for generations.
This was because only they possessed special mining methods and techniques, achieving efficiency several times greater than others!
However, the problem also stemmed from this.
The ore in the mine could only be extracted by them. But the factions had changed from one to three. Consequently, their once relatively easy lives, where they only needed to work fixed hours, were disrupted by the competition and control of three factions.
All the male residents of the island were forcibly taken to the mine and worked day and night.
Li Chonglou listened and felt a bit confused.
“Sister-in-law, according to what you’ve said, this doesn’t concern the General Bureau. It’s others who came and caused trouble and took your men away.”
The woman cursed, “How can it not concern the General Bureau? They were originally responsible for this place. Do you know how our men were taken? It was the General Bureau people who brought their men to select them!”
Li Chonglou’s brow immediately furrowed. “Are you saying the General Bureau sold you out?”
“Exactly!”
“Was it that old madman you stopped the car from talking to last time?”
The woman’s expression faltered for a moment, then she shook her head.
“No, it wasn’t Captain Mad. Captain Mad is a good person. Afterward, he also criticized the cadre who brought the people here at that time for us.”
Li Chonglou was a bit bewildered.
“Then sister-in-law, what are you angry about?”
The woman’s expression suddenly turned agitated again. “A week ago, someone ran out and told us that they were actually still under the jurisdiction of their original department. This means that as long as the General Bureau agrees, our men can all return first!”
Li Chonglou suddenly understood. So that’s how it was.
However, it was certainly not as simple as the woman described. If it were, given the General Bureau’s usual demeanor, they wouldn’t have reached this point.
Wait, that’s not right!
Li Chonglou suddenly thought of a crucial point.
“Sister-in-law, you just said someone brought others here to pick people, and then Captain Mad returned. Where was he when that person caused trouble?”
The woman explained, “Captain Mad also explained this to us. At that time, he received a mission from his superiors and went out temporarily. This order was also passed down from above, and his subordinates had no choice but to do so.”
After speaking, the woman added, “But all the people are still with the General Bureau. Why aren’t they allowed to come back? Even if they need to work, they can rotate and come back to rest! Staying in that mine for too long can be fatal!”
The woman became more and more anxious, and finally knelt down again, pulling the little girl to kowtow with her.
Li Chonglou quickly stopped her again.
“Sister-in-law, don’t be anxious. I might have a general idea of what’s going on.”
Under Li Chonglou’s repeated reassurances, the woman’s emotions gradually stabilized, but the tears kept flowing.
“Sir, I also know that Captain Mad must have his difficulties, but no matter how difficult, these are lives, one by one. My father-in-law died early, and my mother-in-law also passed away due to illness, so my husband is the only one supporting the entire family. If something happens to him, what will become of us?”
The woman wept profusely, her tears like rain. The little girl beside her, perhaps influenced by her emotions, also pursed her lips, her eyes red, a scene that made one’s heart ache.
Li Chonglou pondered, “Sister-in-law, according to you, even ordinary people will have problems if they stay there for too long. How much time is left now?”
The woman immediately understood what he meant and quickly said, “Sir, based on our past experience, one can stay in the mine for a maximum of half a month continuously. It’s been thirteen days now, so there are only two or three days left at most.”
Two or three days, isn’t that the same as our mission time?
Li Chonglou’s eyes suddenly lit up. He integrated all the information he had obtained, and a new mission began to form in his mind.
Perhaps, this was the true purpose of the General Bureau!
And the true core of their mission this time!
However, if this were true, then the General Bureau would be using dozens of living lives as sparring partners and stakes. This was not the General Bureau’s usual style.
“There must be something we don’t know about this!”
As the facade of Shangjing, such a thing would basically not happen within the General Bureau. If it truly happened, it would mean that the moles within the General Bureau were about to reveal themselves.
But for the sake of some ordinary people, this was clearly not the choice of a competent mole.
As Li Chonglou was thinking, he was suddenly interrupted by the woman.
“Sir, as long as you can help me bring my man back, not many, just my man! I will agree to give you the secret method for entering the mine!”
“The secret method for entering the mine?” Li Chonglou’s expression flickered, and he looked at the woman.
“Yes! This is a secret method that the General Bureau has been asking us about for decades without success! As long as you can bring my man back safely, I will make this decision today, violating ancestral rules, and give you this secret method!”
Li Chonglou’s eyebrows raised. He didn’t believe the first half of what the woman said. Even if there really was some secret method, if all the men in the village could enter, it would certainly be impossible to keep this secret.
There’s an old saying: money makes the world go round. This word ‘money’ can sometimes be anything related to people!
Even if there were one or two loyal individuals, there would definitely be wavering ones!
However, this was something he intended to bring up anyway. Getting a secret for free was a good thing.
Li Chonglou nodded and said seriously, “Don’t worry, I’ll try to see if there’s a chance. If your man is still there, I will bring him back.”