Chapter 523: Don

Ah?!

Aurora let out a startled yelp and curled up on the sofa.

You… why are you asking this all of a sudden? What are you planning?!

Jimin, of course, wasn't frightened by her over‑the‑top reaction; he just smiled faintly.

Well, I've been free lately, and folks from a small town like me haven't seen much of the world—I wanted to go to the capital for a walk, grab a couple of boxes of milk and fruit, and drop by to see you.

I… you…

Since the excuse sounded so reasonable, Aurora, unable to counter it, stumbled over her words for a moment.

Oh come on, just get lost! I'm… I'm busy… you won't be able to hold back, hehe, are you planning to attack your brother?

Unfortunately, her words were still incoherent ranting and raving; only after a couple of awkward laughs did she start spouting nonsense, finally regaining normal speech.

Listen, this won't do! I'm definitely not afraid of hardship! But in reality I'm just a rotten bone—hum, I'm afraid… I'm afraid I'll hurt you so much you'll shrink away!

Though the logic is odd and the threat hard to enact, she at least believes she's gotten hold of some divine weapon, and she spoke her last line with conviction.

Then Jimin, waiting for the right moment, said, "But you just said things were looking up, didn't you? Earlier you were happily telling me you'd gained several pounds," which pierced her defenses perfectly.

Shh! Don't speak, silence the world, and listen to the sound of her defenses shattering.

……

Although Aurora's nature would surely make her eager to regain some face.

But unfortunately, losing the argument means losing it; her grim, clenched‑teeth silence says it all.

Even if she could find the courage to speak again, all she'd have are weird lines like "If you let me…, I'll let you come!" and "If you wear the sameJK, I'll forgive you!" as the loser's lament.

But many problems in this world don't really need answers; her reaction itself is already an answer.

Jimin didn't press the point; he sighed and patted her shoulder.

Kid, don't let waiting turn into regret.

Get out! Get out!

Hey, you… you're just rushing us buddies, huh?

They parted on bad terms, with Aurora kicking Jimin out of the room.

But this is a dormitory, not a wealthy person's detached mansion; even if the hallway is quiet, someone will still occasionally pass by.

For instance, two young people are currently huddled at the stairway, curiously looking over, wondering why the White Team Leader is tugging and pulling with a guy at his own doorstep.

Someone! Hey, is anyone there…

Jimin still cared about saving face; seeing Aurora had no intention of stopping, he grew anxious and even blurted out a remark.

No, why are you still so hot‑headed, man? Don't you have any breadth of mind?

Aurora responded with a loud shout.

No!

Then he could only stare blankly at the massive iron door ahead.

……

You! You poor soul who can't even keep drool in and needs a urine bag down there… (said quietly).

Jimin rarely blushed; he was about to storm off, but then realized he couldn't, so he hurried back to knock on the door.

Hey, Aurora, don't do this! I still have something important I haven't told you!

……

Just give me that person's address, and as soon as you do, I'll leave immediately.

Holy crap, man! She's… even if you're roughly the same age, you ought to act like an elder! You can't just turn on someone and deny them!

His advice turned out to be useful after all—though there was still no reply from behind the door, Jimin did receive a message.

【She's headed to the vicinity of the northern magic crystal mine; just flash her chosen‑one status and say she's come to find someone.】

A few seconds later.

【Get lost, you little turtle bastard—your dad doesn't want to see you today!】

Alright, since this kid thinks he still has a tomorrow, if he were to hang a sunshine doll on himself backwards, it'd be a masterpiece.

Jimin sighed, and a thought gradually rose in his somewhat bitter heart…

But this involves reality—Earth is a technological world, and the odds of pulling off such a miracle are unfortunately slim.

Never mind! Even if the odds are slim, we have to try; once we settle this, we'll go ask Mother Earth!

Having made up his mind, he decided to leave—but when he turned his head, he saw several heads poking out of the stairwell like a nine‑headed monster.

Awkward. jpg

Jimin's only goal in saving face was to thicken his skin, so he simply put on that warm smile again.

He walked over with purpose and extended his hand.

Hello, I'm a specially employed information officer of the Foreign Affairs Bureau, 【Crooked Neck Tree】, here to gather some information—sorry if I'm interrupting your rest.

Hehe, no, no, no…

No matter what, he's a legendary informant who's given the organization tons of high‑value intel, so everyone still shows him respect and gathered around.

Oh, so you're Crooked Neck Tree! We've heard plenty about your story.

Dude, you're practically the Chinese James Bond!

Holy crap, I never thought I'd actually get to meet the real person—what luck!

Jimin chatted with them briefly, signed a few autographs, then headed off toward the northern mine.

Anyone who's played brain‑teasing sims like Cities: Skylines or Dyson Sphere Program knows that 'location' is crucial.

That's why the Foreign Affairs Bureau located its headquarters here: they were after the area's extremely rich mineral resources, including iron ore and coal, among many others.

With roads linking them, it's easy to set up a heavy‑industry network that turns the R&D department's wild ideas into reality—from experiments all the way to full‑scale production.

But Yangyue World is ultimately different from Earth, so when professionals followed the vein northward, seeking higher-quality output to fill gaps in the industrial chain, they unexpectedly discovered an entire magic crystal vein here. Magic crystal is usually a transparent hard crystal, but it can also become richly colored due to contamination with various magics, making it a specialty mineral of the fantasy world.

It possesses the strong characteristic of storing magic power and stabilizing output, able to replace mages in powering magic inscription groups, thus earning the reputation of a 'magic cornerstone'.

Furthermore, due to its strong compatibility, it can harmonize various medicinal properties or moderate what would otherwise be intense alchemical reactions, giving it an extremely high status in the adjacent alchemy field as well.

It sounds like the perfect prerequisite for a magic industrial age; it seems only a powerful transmigrator leading the way is needed to lead Yangyue World into the next era.

But!

The small boss has already summoned 147 saviors; how could there possibly be no such clever person?

As for her failure, the reason is that this magic crystal, although not considered rare, can be found as an accompaniment in almost any vein, much like coal in Minecraft.

However, these low-quality magic crystals are quite impure; even if they don't affect output, their magic storage is too low, so they can only function in civilian areas such as lighting fixtures and door locks.

Meanwhile, those with broader applications and better magic storage can be called high-purity magic crystals, the Yangyue World's storage batteries...

No need to guess; it must be a rare mineral with extremely high mining difficulty and extremely low vein reserves, comparable to mithril.

Especially those buried underground in the kingdoms of the civilized world, which have already been dug out hysterically over the past ten thousand years, so to obtain new ones one must go to the civilized frontier.

Thus, while the price of low-purity magic crystals has stabilized to an extreme, being considered cheap, the price of high-purity magic crystals has risen steadily, even spawning a bizarre culture similar to Earth's stone gambling.

So…

So the magic crystal vein that the players unexpectedly discovered is truly formidable!

If it weren't for this, setting aside the bottleneck, the research progress in related fields would have been dragged back who knows how much.

Likewise for this reason, even before Ji Ming arrived above the vein this time, he had already received a light warning from the players.

Moreover, before he could react, a crystal-clear water droplet flew over like a meteor.

No need to guess, this is the top player 【Bagua Youshen】 who shone brightly in the Battle of Falling God Mountain, dueled the Falcon Demon King in the air for a long time, and possesses the Cold Iron Divinity.

And at the moment of His manifestation, the mine's surface also appeared, as if by conjuring, a large number of anti-air weapons and tanks, even including two magical mechs equipped with Gatling guns.

"Good fellow, they're all hidden, still okay."

One can't really blame the players for reacting so strongly; the main reason is that earlier today, the White Eagle side had just been attacked by enemies coming from the sky, and it's not even night yet, yet we've also encountered them here?

Hilarious, too hilarious!

However, the good news is that although they too ride heavenly horses and are similarly mysterious uninvited guests, this time the visitors did not silently launch an attack but actively expressed their intention to communicate.

In short, that is.

"Hello, Pioneers, I am Holy Light Divine Chosen JiMiYin, I am here for a friendly visit."

At this moment, 【Bagua Youshen】 had just, like a Transformer, completed the transformation from 'celestial body' to 'humanoid form'.

While still shaking off ice shards from his body, he heard this extremely bizarre request.

"Ah this."

He is a military officer; how could he possibly answer? He could only hurriedly contact his superiors on the ground to see what the old-timers thought.

"Well… uh, it's not that I don't believe you, it's just that you say you're a Holy Light Divine Chosen—do you have any proof?"

"Of course."

The other party seemed to have already anticipated being suspected of identity, so while skillfully putting on a sunlight halo, they also emitted a strong holy light around themselves.

For ordinary people, being bathed in this is almost like a full-body spa, prolonging life and being as comfortable as one could wish.

However, although the Cold Iron Divinity has changed masters, its essence still belongs to an evil god, so 【Bagua Youshen】 immediately felt uncomfortable all over.

Whoa, wait a minute, what is this… huh? Is my elbow really this soft? Holy shit, don't…

"Alright, Divine Chosen Sir! We believe you, please quickly withdraw your divine powers!"

After he had adjusted his melted, twisted, cross-eyed body back to normal, he had already brought Ji Ming to a building on the ground.

Since the important NPC Holy Light Divine Chosen, active from closed beta to today, had come in person, the players naturally gave JiMiYin a correspondingly high reception.

Although LaoZhao couldn't come due to being busy, there were still two high-ranking officials from the bureau responsible for the reception.

Ji Ming found such occasions annoying, but since his current guise was that of a Divine Chosen, he could only say a few formalities.

Finally, Holy Light Divine Chosen JiMiYin gave the Yangyue External Affairs Bureau a box of SpiritGathering Liquid, and the bureau gave JiMiYin a tea set in return.

Of course, this tea set is not an ordinary tea set; it is made by a master craftsman using purple clay mixed with magic crystal shards, carefully fired.

Tea brewed with it has the effects of clearing the lungs and detoxifying, reducing swelling and relieving pain, moistening the intestines and promoting bowel movements… and also adds a terrifyingly refreshing effect.

... Fine, anyway my potions aren't 'valuable' either; I'll just treat it as exchanging for a collectible.

After putting away the tea set, Ji Ming already planned to find an excuse to leave and settle accounts with AdaiEr, that unfilial disciple.

However, the reception staff said they had just received special permission from the bureau chief, allowing the Divine Chosen Sir to visit the mining area for a look.

Now Ji Ming became energized—'No way, LaoZhao, you guys value me that much?'

This face definitely had to be given, so Ji Ming wandered around the magic crystal vein vicinity and even took a mine cart inside to have a look.

However, there's no such thing as gratuitous kindness in this world, and he gradually figured out why the External Affairs Bureau did this.

——Misunderstanding.

Because of shared interests, among the major forces with good relations to the players, aside from the Duke of Absolute Precipice, the Holy Light Church ranks second.

Especially recently, one side handles production recovery, the other faith recovery, and in the kingdom's southern region they've been coordinating so well they're practically developing tacit understanding.

Under these circumstances, further progress in bilateral relations seems merely a matter of time.

But the Holy Light Pope is a cautious person; although he surely supports restoring the southern diocese, he also worries that deep cooperation with the Pioneers might cause trouble.

After all, 'royal and ecclesiastical authorities non-interference' is an ironclad rule passed down since the first generation; it is a major premise for the friendly coexistence of Holy Mountain and the Royal Capital, and can even be said to be the foundation of the Hui Guang Kingdom.

Thus, the church and the Pioneers have maintained a pattern of cold above, hot below: lower-level workers get along so well they might as well wear the same pants, while upper-level management has never made any substantive progress.

But now, the Divine Chosen has arrived.

Does all this mean the ice is breaking in bilateral relations, does it mean…

Ji Ming: Holy shit, don't!

He could never have calculated this little awkwardness no matter how hard he tried; all he could do was feign ignorance and give no response to the probing of the two bureau higher-ups.

"This..."

Now the old guys are completely at a loss, staring at each other, totally clueless about what's going on.