The Game of Global Mining

Chun was once again awakened from his rest on the island by loud shouting.

He looked up and saw a dark ship silhouette drifting on the distant sea—it's a Siren!

The old foreman sighed, "Oh, it's almost dawn, no time to unload!"

Sigh, they cleaned up their act, but haven't lost their bandit ways!

Chun checked the time, 4 PM, which was 4 AM in the game. He looked at his skills again.

Basic Construction at level 10!

No wonder the old foreman asks, can I jump to Intermediate directly?

The old foreman suddenly noticed something was wrong, "Just one ship, didn't snatch anything?"

The cheers across the island came to an abrupt halt, "Why come back empty-handed?"

The old foreman impatiently called out, "If there's no loot, then get to work, repair the walls!"

These Evil Spirits really deserve a beating!

Chun guessed it was probably the Mermaids that gave them a thrashing, he'd told the Mermaids beforehand that this was the Commerce Guardian, who knows what kind of thrashing they got.

At this moment, Aileen's laughter rang out, "Yo, the bitch got beaten? Why even come back?"

You really need a beating too!

Chun sighed, "You're a star now, need to watch what you say. How's the village?"

Aileen chuckled, "No problem, we held the line! But for the debt, the village head refuses to convert debt to equity, claiming they can't pay back a chicken farm for borrowing a few eggs a hundred years ago, especially since I don't have an IOU—anyway, leave it to the fan warriors to negotiate. As a star, I have to maintain my image."

Chun couldn't imagine how such things can be resolved through negotiation?

Chun asked again, "After you helped the village head protect the village, was there no other gesture from him?"

Aileen snorted coldly, "The creditor showed up without an IOU, it's good enough they didn't treat me as a scam enemy!"

Chun quickly asked, "Where are you staying then?"

Aileen laughed, "The village inn! Now the inn has been taken over by my fans as my headquarters. They're afraid the village head will kill the creditor!"

"What about the Crystal Bat?"

"It's quietly flying around in nearby pits, no sight yet. It didn't act while defending the village before. I'm very careful, you know."

Chun felt he should keep his perspective as the host, "Don't get caught up in the debt itself; our initial goal was to get you a formal identity, even if it's from a debt dispute, it's still an identity. As long as you gain a foothold in this village, what about rallying the warriors to venture deeper into the continent?"

Aileen laughed, "Sure, but the warriors are too weak now!"

Chun had a thought, "How weak? Compared to me?"

Aileen sighed, "They're far behind compared to you."

Ha! Know who's the boss now?

As they spoke, the ship's silhouette approached.

Chun was stunned, that speed's too fast? Could it be also using Tidal Power?

Chun hurried to the dock, the ship docked soon afterward.

This was Chun's first close-up view of this resurrected Obsidian ship, not only towering and majestic, but the hull was actually a single piece, without the visible wooden planking with nails like ordinary ships.

A white glow shone from the ship's side, "President, we're back!"

It's the long-missed Bai!

Aileen warned, "Watch out for the bitch!"

Ah?

Just then, the Siren drifted down from somewhere.

How do you be careful like with a ghost?

The Siren lazily sighed in a raspy voice, "President, you don't have something to say to me?"

Holy shit! You don't answer my calls, wanna get beaten to listen?

Chun was still concerned, "Met the Mermaids?"

The Siren was surprised, "How did you know?"

Finally a chance to speak with her, better show off Sea Race Personal Guard skill to display strength, "Because the Mermaids are my… friends!"

The Siren was taken aback, "They… they're clearly your master!?"

Alright, Master it is!

"So, you should understand how I reached the shipwreck without diving gear, right?"

The Siren asked again, "And that Whale chasing me?"

Whale!? It's free too!?

Chun displayed the Whale Power skill again, "That's my teacher!"

The Siren was shocked on the spot!

Chun was delighted, "That's how it is, you took a few Golden Silver ships, it'll definitely alert the Golden Silver City's fleet to come after us, rather than let them besiege us, why not have the Mermaids fight firsthand—we insiders control the situation together, you understand?"

The Siren sneered, "We're insiders?"

Chun was extremely sincere, "After all, you're our Guardian God, the whole island supports you greatly."

The Siren cut in, "Actually, I saw you were wanted by Silver City, so I intentionally snatched the Golden Silver ships to pit them against you. I returned tonight knowing a Whale was tracking me, I deliberately let it find your location—knowing the truth, how do you feel?"

Aileen laughed angrily, "What a laughable bitch!"

Chun chuckled in surprise, "My feeling is, very relieved, because you're willing to share your thoughts with me—but the result's beyond your expectations, both the Whale and the Mermaids are on our side, so as I said on the day we met, a Lord like me always has contingencies, even if there are losses, compensations come from other aspects, you'll never lose out. So, let's work well together, build a career!"

The Siren scoffed, "I just want to sail around and play."

I want to sail this big ship too! Villapico's was only a mid-sized ship, Expert level capped it, this one's definitely Master level!

Chun got enthusiastic, "Why not, I take you to a treasure site now for some fun?"

The Siren laughed, "Interesting, let's go!"

Your genuine laugh is far better than any street demoness in Hell!

Chun was very pleased, "We'll wait for the Old Whale to show us the way, then we'll dig the treasure—I'll personally greet it!"

Time to dig up the spice too.

Thus, Chun clapped underwater—system prompt: You've activated Whale Guardian, your call to the Whale is sent into the ocean depths, please wait a bit.

Truly close by!

The next moment, the Whale responded, "Coming right up! Actually, I came just to see you!"

So that's how it is! It wasn't tracking but just on the way!

Chun laughed and asked the Siren, "Your quick docking was to shake the Whale off, right? You didn't really want the Whale to expose this island, did you?"

The Siren said crossly, "Think whatever you want."

In the end, she wasn't that bad, didn't actually mean to destroy her refuge. It's just like a Sea Demon way, playing destruction while also building, like Sea Demons love men by loving and eating them... Human logic can't really grasp it.

Before the Whale arrived, Chun made a quick check-in with the old foreman, "No ore coming in the next few days, I'm going out to sea, you handle island matters with Tie and Cui."

The old foreman seemed to enjoy having power, "No problem. Also, your Construction Technique can't automatically improve further, you'll need to build some houses yourself."

Honestly, doing construction myself should be the norm, right? Even getting to level 10 while idling feels incredible...