"You are …"
When Su Chen heard this, he felt that something was wrong. Did this person think that Su Chen was going to commit suicide?
Old Gao placed a portion of smoked meat and a cup of water in front of Su Chen and said, "I am the captain of this ship, Gao Shilin. You can call me Old Gao. I originally planned to bring you back to Foundry City today, but the weather changed and there was a storm. I reckon that we will have to wait for the rain to stop before we can set sail again."
After chatting for a while, Su Chen understood that he had fallen into the sea yesterday and was coincidentally saved by this ore ship.
"Many thanks, Boss Gao. Here are some essence nuclei. Please accept them." Su Chen said gratefully and took out a bag of essence nuclei and placed it in front of Gao Shilin.
When Old Gao saw those round and plump essence nuclei, he subconsciously swallowed his saliva and ultimately couldn't resist accepting them.
This bag of essence nuclei looked like there were at least a thousand of them. To him, this wasn't a small sum and was almost equivalent to half a year's worth of profits. Coupled with the fact that the higher-ups were slow in allocating money and he still had to take care of so many subordinates, money was really tight. With this sum of money, it would be enough to tide him over.
After accepting the bag of money, Old Gao still warned Su Chen softly, "Little Young Master, seeing that you are from a wealthy family, I can accept this money. However, I advise you not to be too flamboyant. The world is dangerous now. If you are so magnanimous, it will be easy for people to target you."
"Uh … many thanks for Boss Gao's reminder."
If it was a normal day, Su Chen wouldn't mind. However, he didn't have any essence force in his body and couldn't use his Sea of Reincarnation Realm cultivation. He was just like an ordinary person without cultivation. He couldn't be too careless. Before he recovered his strength, he had to be extremely careful and not fail miserably.
After eating the smoked meat, Su Chen followed Old Gao out of the cabin and onto the deck. He noticed that this iron ship was docked at the inner bay of an island, sheltering from the wind and rain. The sea region outside was turbulent, and the huge waves were dozens of meters high. It was very frightening.
However, this iron ship looked rather sturdy and stable. It was probably because it was filled with ores and was very heavy, allowing it to withstand the wind and waves.
"What island is this?" Su Chen asked.
"Don't you know about Coiling Flow Island?
You're not from our Treasure Clouds Island? "Old Gao asked curiously.
Su Chen nodded. "I came from the north. This is my first time here."
"North …"
Old Gao seemed to have thought of something and asked, "Is it the Eastern Fence Sea?"
"You know?"
"I've heard of it, but I've never been there. I heard that it's developing quite well. They've found the Wuji Sect to back them up.
After chatting for a while, Old Gao said, "It's not safe to wear it. Come with me to the island. The mine can shelter you from the rain."
Su Chen nodded. He had nowhere to go anyway.
Without Primal Qi, he couldn't even fly. All he could do was stare helplessly.
On the island, they passed through a road made of gravel. Su Chen followed Old Gao into the inner part of Coiling Flow Island.
The middle of the island was split open. Seawater poured in from the cracks, forming three deep rivers. The freshwater on the island was intertwined with each other. It seemed to be named because of this.
The currents split the island into three parts. The middle was connected by a large iron chain drawbridge. After passing through the drawbridge, they arrived at the mine. The ground here was already filled with holes. There were sinkholes filled with rainwater everywhere. In front of them was a bare stone mountain. At the foot of the mountain was an empty cave. Miners would occasionally enter and exit the cave. Every time they came out, they would bring back large amounts of ores.
"Motherf * cker, seawater poured into the mine again. I almost drowned."
A dark-skinned man in leather armor walked over while cursing.
Old Gao frowned. "Water again?"
"That's right. It looks like we won't be able to stop it for a while. This is the largest black-red gold mine. If this continues, the black-red gold supply won't be able to keep up. Boss Gao, what do you think we should do?"
"What can I do? I can only ask the experts of Purple Tool Pavilion to solve it."
Old Gao was also very anxious. They were done for. If the black-red gold mine couldn't keep up with the supply, the higher-ups would definitely blame them. Losing their business would be a light punishment. They might even be whipped.
"Boss Gao, is there anything I can do to help?" Su Chen asked.
Old Gao smiled bitterly and shook his head. "Let's go in and sit first. The rain won't solve the problem."
The three of them came to the cave. There was a small wooden house here. There were many workers inside. Some of them were still wet. It seemed like they had just escaped from the flooded mine. Their faces were still filled with fear and regret.
"Father."
A young man came up and looked at Su Chen. "You're awake. The conditions here are limited. Sit anywhere. I'll get someone to pour you a cup of tea."
"No need, you guys do what you need to do. Don't worry about me."
The young man nodded and said to Old Gao, "Father, I just went down to the mine to take a look. The gap isn't big, so I can bring a few workers to fill it up. As long as we can open a gap in the north and direct the seawater to the abandoned mine, the problem of the flooding can be solved."
Old Gao's eyes lit up, but he immediately shook his head. "No, we don't have enough people. It is already difficult to open a hole underwater, and it would take at least 200 meters to reach the mine in the north. I'm afraid only Foundation Realm experts can do it."
When the young man heard this, he lowered his head and angrily said, "It's all that Peng Si's fault. If not for him, how could I have ended up like this? If I could have broken through to the Foundation Realm, Father, you wouldn't have had to suffer so much. It's all your son's fault for being useless …"
"Ah, it's been so long. Let it go. The head of the Peng family is an elder of the Purple Cloud Pavilion. How can we, mere commoners, fight with them?"
"I know, but I just can't take this lying down. Juan 'er … I've let her down. If she knew in the underworld that I'm so useless, that I don't even have the right to avenge her, how disappointed would she be?"
As he spoke, the young man hugged his head and began to cry.
When Su Chen saw this scene, he felt a little sympathetic. To be able to make a man cry like this, he must have carried a deep hatred on his back.
However, this was someone else's family matter, so Su Chen couldn't ask. Besides, he didn't even know his own situation, so even if he wanted to help, he couldn't.
However …
Although Su Chen couldn't use his energy, his physical fitness was still very strong. No matter how weak he was, it was impossible for him to be weaker than a Foundation Realm cultivator.
"Maybe I can help open a hole," Su Chen said.
Old Gao looked at Su Chen in surprise. His eyes were filled with suspicion. After all, Su Chen didn't have any energy fluctuations, and he looked white and tender. He looked like he didn't have the strength to truss up a chicken.
Su Chen didn't explain much. He picked up a piece of ore on the ground and squeezed it hard, turning it into a drop of powder.
"What a strong force!"
This was black-red gold ore. Its hardness was amazing. Even a Heaven Realm cultivator couldn't easily crush it, let alone turn it into powder. This was definitely the power of a Foundation Realm cultivator!
However, this kid clearly didn't have any energy fluctuations. Could he have done it with his physical strength alone?
"You're a body cultivator?"
Old Gao asked in surprise.