vncnus Chapter 24 Iron 7's Rebellion
Chapter 24 Iron 7's Rebellion
Since that day, nothing seems to have changed; people still start work to the sound of a sharp whistle and fall asleep to the sound of a sharp whistle.
However, when exchanging supplies, Sado would subconsciously linger, counting the people who came in, and looking up at the ceiling as he entered.
He watched it day after day, counting it day after day.
Sado arrived at the answer, and the answer was—
all.
There were no exceptions, no absences.
Some people don't have any ore; they're not here to exchange for supplies, but they still come here, stand here, staring blankly, staring sadly.
Everyone who can open their eyes today will come here to look at the empty space above their heads, and at the rope hanging there, waiting for its owner.
The emotions in their eyes grew increasingly intense and bright.
Sado's expression was complicated, and he seemed preoccupied.
"What have you been up to lately, Menelaus?"
Sado hid in his resting place, the sharp ore in his hand striking the black wall heavily, leaving the thirtieth crack.
Tomorrow is the first of next month. Sado looked up and asked Menelaus, who had also returned. Menelaus smiled, but the smile made Sado look unexpectedly heavy.
Because it wasn't a relaxed laugh, a happy laugh, or the kind of satisfied laugh that comes from getting what you want.
Rather, it was a smile that conveyed a sense of determination to achieve something, a resolute resolve, an emotion that Sado couldn't quite describe.
In the distant future, Sado finally understood Menelaus's smile today.
Menelaus sat down next to Sado, and he also counted the patterns Sado had carved, saying to himself, "Time flies."
"Has a month passed in this pitch-black place so quickly?"
Sado was not angry that Menelaus did not respond to him; he had only asked the question casually because of his own unease.
Sado looked at Menelaus's face again. His dry lips trembled slightly, his hand was about to be raised but not yet raised, his fingers were slightly curled, and a thousand emotions gathered on his lips.
He knew his friend's mind was made up, but he still wanted to persuade him one more time. As long as the body was hung back up, tomorrow would be another thirty days, a new cycle.
Those fat, parasitic nobles won't find out, so there's still a chance for things to turn around.
Before he could speak, Menelaus took the initiative to start a conversation.
"Sado, I've seen the sky of Iron Seven once again."
Sado's mind went blank as Menelaus interrupted his next words of advice, his brain processing Menelaus's words.
The first reaction was that Menelaus had gone mad and started talking nonsense. This was some unknown depth underground. Even if they followed the tunnel they had dug and dodged a few patrolling servants, it would still take them at least twenty days to reach the surface.
What followed was confusion and bewilderment.
"Things will change tomorrow," Menelaus laughed, then returned to his seat and lay down in a good mood.
Sado remained confused, his mind preoccupied.
His thoughts raced and swirled in his mind.
From wondering how Menelaus could see the sky of the Iron Seven, to wondering what was so interesting about that dusty, light-blocked sky of the Iron Seven.
He saw Menelaus with his back to him, and Sado understood that his friend was refusing to talk to him, and he could no longer ask him anything more.
chirp——
chirp——
Two sharp whistles heralded the arrival of the nobles.
Menelaus did not hurl insults as usual. He rose wearily and looked at the spot not far to his side.
"Menelaus." His voice lacked its usual vigor, instead sounding like that of a helpless office worker from the 21st century who had just returned home after working for more than ten hours and was being pressured by his boss to meet his work deadline.
The familiar sounds were absent; the place was empty except for the minerals to be handed over today.
Sado instantly became alert, his eyes widening as he anxiously looked around for Menelaus, a growing unease creeping into his heart.
"Menelaus!" Sado shouted again.
Passersby, hearing the echoing sound, instinctively looked in this direction.
"He left a long time ago, Sador."
A miner who had seen Menelaus spoke to Sados.
Meanwhile, in the bag of ore he was carrying, there was a handle standing upright in the middle.
He walked over to Sado and said, "Let's go first."
Sado's unease grew stronger. He turned his head, his hands gripping two bags of ore, and followed heavily behind the miner.
But the usually thin and tired miners burst forth with unexpected energy and spirit.
Whenever Sado followed behind someone, he would be left behind in less than ten seconds.
Sado noticed that each of them had a hidden iron handle or wooden handle in their bag, large enough to be gripped in one hand.
He was left behind, surrounded by several children younger than him, the oldest being ten and the average age seven or eight.
Their skin was already pitted and uneven, and some children coughed softly, clutching their lungs and emitting hoarse gasps like broken exhaust fans.
What on earth is going on?! Sado screamed inwardly.
The anger of being kept in the dark, the grievances of being alienated, rejected, and even abandoned weighed heavily on Sado's heart.
A crowd began to gather, and just like in their mine, almost all the children spontaneously moved closer to him. Some of the younger children would carefully examine his face and eventually stand timidly behind him.
The minerals in the adults' hands all had identical handles hidden inside.
Sado wasn't an idiot; he had long seen through this as a premeditated and organized uprising!
He, however, was excluded.
Menelaus considered him a coward!
Sado was furious. He threw down the ore he was holding and tried to join the crowd.
However, several miners suffering from lung disease, with weak breaths but flushed faces, blocked his way with their bodies.
They gently pointed to the children behind them who had stopped walking because of his departure. Sado also turned around and looked back. The children timidly and unwillingly raised their heads and looked at him in the same way.
They were speaking to each other in silence.
"Go back," the man said.
"Go back," another person advised.
"There has to be something left behind."
"You have a more important mission. You are called Sado, right?"
"He said, 'Take them there.'"
"He said, go see the sky over Iron Seven for him."
The other person shook his head and laughed as he retorted to his companion, "You forgot, he said today that he has already seen the sky of Iron Seven."
Sado raised his head, and their flushed faces showed a mixture of determination, fear, and relief.
He clenched his fists.