vncnus Chapter 23 Iron 7's Rebellion
Chapter 23 Iron 7's Rebellion
A sharp mechanical sound suddenly rang out.
Chirp-!
Before Sado could even open his eyes, a string of coarse words, tinged with the distinctive staleness of Iron Seven miners, had already slipped out of his mouth. These were words etched into the bones of Iron Seven miners, the words they used most often to address nobles and to each other.
"I'll smash these damn brainless lumps of iron sooner or later."
Sado gripped the heavy bag of ore that was placed beside him, almost touching his abdomen, and stood up.
Menelaus, standing beside him, did the same.
Seeing Menelaus's tired, preoccupied face, clearly indicating he hadn't slept well, Sado comforted him, "Don't think too much about it."
In response to this comforting remark, Menelaus greeted Sado with a "Good morning," and the two then carried the ore to the underground gathering place.
The flow of people in the mining area slowly gathered again, heading to the routine regrouping point to exchange their ore for a nutritional paste that would fill their stomachs and provide them with energy.
When the two arrived, things took a turn for the better.
The miners ahead had blocked the entire tunnel. Everyone looked up, silently gazing at the dome. Some subtly raised their fingertips, quietly pointing to the dark heights above.
The air was heavy and stifling, yet it was enveloped in an extremely abnormal, almost eerie, and expectant excitement.
This is completely different from the numb and lifeless days that miners used to lead.
The entire crowd waited, staring at the empty ceiling. Their breathing gradually became synchronized, and a faint light appeared in their numb eyes as they silently awaited the unfolding of something.
"What are you looking at?"
Sado became suspicious and looked up, following the gazes of the crowd.
His pupils widened as if struck by a bright light, and he rubbed his eyes in disbelief before looking again.
The next second, he turned sharply to look at his best friend beside him, trying to calm the panic in his heart as much as possible, and approached Menelaus, lowering his voice to question him.
"Did you do this?"
He feared that Menelaus might not understand the seriousness of the matter and might not have heard what he was saying clearly.
Sado leaned close to Menelaus's ear, his words trembling: "Are you insane?"
Menelaus merely glanced at him, his eyes also revealing excitement, surprise, and determination.
Without saying a word, he walked through the crowd and exchanged the ore in his hand for the rations of coarse food and nutritional paste.
Sado stared intently at his friend's calm back, his heart heavy, and looked up again at the empty mine tunnel dome.
The bodies of the rebels, previously displayed by the governor's guards, were secretly taken away by someone, leaving only the ropes hanging high, awaiting their new owners, with the stench of their former owners' blood already congealed on them.
Faced with this situation, the dull and rigid machine servants remained standing around. Without receiving instructions, their cold iron brains had no autonomous function and were clearly unaware of the anomaly above them.
Inside the mining area, in a dozen or so mine shafts, hundreds of people remained silent. The usual shouts, coughs, and sighs had all disappeared; the mining area was eerily quiet.
No one reported it.
No one took credit.
All the miners looked at each other, their gazes scrutinizing and cautious, suppressing their excitement, as the long-dormant restlessness in their hearts quietly began to spread.
Everyone is waiting, even if many of them may not realize it, or their own desire.
Back at Mine No. 93, Sados remained frowning the entire time, glancing several times at Menelaus, who was silent yet exuded a sense of relief and joy.
Finally, he gritted his teeth and quickly stepped forward to stop the other person from getting to work.
"Give me the things."
Sado's tone was cold and hard, leaving no room for negotiation.
He extended his hand: "Menelaus, I am not asking you for anything."
Menelaus slowly raised his eyes, his expression calm and composed, silently indicating that he would not hand over what Sado wanted as he had hoped.
Sado, seething with rage, grabbed his tattered collar.
"Give me the body!"
He growled in a low voice, his voice filled with fear and rage: "In just a few days, those damned nobles will be going down into the mines! You're asking for it! Do you really think these scrap metal pieces don't have a recording function?"
Menelaus did not break free from his grasp, but calmly looked back at him.
The two stared at each other for a long time, and after confirming that neither was willing to back down, Menelaus said calmly:
"Believe it or not, Sador, this has nothing to do with me."
Sado didn't believe Menelaus's words at all.
"You are afraid, Sador."
Before Sado could rebuke Menelaus for acting impulsively again, Menelaus's voice came through.
"You're the one who usually curses those nobles as fat pigs, fat chickens, and brainless. You're also the one who started spreading these names throughout the entire mine tunnel."
"But now, Sador—"
Menelaus gently patted Sado's collar: "You're the one who backed down. You're afraid, you're terrified."
"I'm afraid you'll kill me! Kill everyone! Kill yourself!"
Sado abruptly interrupted him, as if his deepest cowardice had been exposed, and he was agitated and panicked, like a trapped beast with its fur standing on end.
"But--"
"No buts!" Sado stared intently at him. "Hand over the body and hang it back up before they find it, so no one will die because of this."
Their eyes met, and the mine was deathly silent.
"Sado, until today, I believed you were right," Menelaus said slowly, his voice steady yet carrying an unshakeable certainty.
"But now, what I want to ask is, are they really afraid of death?"
"Death is too common in this mining area, as common as eating and drinking. Ninth Brother died in a landslide, and just yesterday he was trying to comfort me."
"I originally thought he would die in a year, or even six months, from the worsening of his lung disease..."
Menelaus's expression grew increasingly sorrowful.
But instead of continuing to express his grief, he steered the conversation back on track:
"You see, Sador. Everyone is silent; no one has spoken out, no one has betrayed anyone."
"They're just not making any money out of it!" Sado retorted sharply.
"Perhaps."
Menelaus lowered his eyes slightly, then looked up into the dark depths of the mine tunnels, into this underground prison that held countless mortals captive.
"But I saw more."
"Everyone is suppressing the despair in their hearts. They've had enough, they crave change, even though no one knows how to escape this rotten fate."
"Rather than dying of tuberculosis, from a mine collapse, from starvation, from numbness, perhaps they would rather be like those rebels who were hanged yesterday?"
Sado opened his mouth, wanting to argue, but ultimately fell silent.
No one wants to wallow in such days.
Mines where the sun never shines, endless labor, rock formations that could collapse at any moment, and death without warning.
They were abandoned and exploited by the nobility; their lives and deaths were not in their own hands, but depended on whether God was in a good mood that day.
No one would willingly accept this.
But Sador still refused to compromise. He only wanted to pull his best friend back and nip this disaster in the bud before everything completely spiraled out of control.
Menelaus saw through the struggle, the stubbornness and the retreat in his eyes.
He calmly and deliberately gave his final answer, word by word.
"I'll say it one last time, Sador."
"I will not hand over the body, nor can I hand over the body."
"Because this matter has nothing to do with me."
"This is everyone's choice."