Chapter 819: Chapter 817: The Town’s Past
Shambala Town is a small place, almost unknown to people.
Because the tens of thousands of miners living here have no say and cannot make their voices heard.
On the other hand, most miners do not actually care about this—they don’t care if Shambala is well-known, nor if they are acknowledged by others. They only care about one thing, which is whether they can receive their wages on time.
Before receiving their wages, they work desperately hard, and after receiving them, they squander frantically, waiting until their money is spent, then going back to work desperately again.
This is a cycle, a common state for many people in Shambala Town.
If nothing unexpected happened, this situation would last a long time, but an unexpected incident suddenly occurred that disrupted everything.
The initial occurrence of the incident was over half a month ago. Somehow, a rumor spread everywhere overnight.
The content of the rumor was quite horrifying, saying that miners accidentally dug open an entrance to the Abyss during mining, releasing the demons inside. Once out, the demon would hide in the darkness, initiating a massacre every night, leading to over a dozen victims in just a few days.
Initially, most people dismissed the rumor as just a rumor and did not believe it, like many other rumors that had been circulated before.
For instance, there was a rumor about a street girl in a town north of Shambala being a conjoined person with two heads. One located normally and the other on her back. Therefore, when doing business, the street girl insisted that customers couldn’t remove her upper clothes, no matter how much they offered. However, one curious customer, offering ten times the usual price, successfully removed her upper clothing only to find a hideous burn mark and nothing else.
Or the rumor about a narrow alley in a town south of Shambala being a dead zone haunted by the Death God, who would take anyone’s soul daring to enter casually. It turned out many people went there together to see what the Death God looked like, but nothing happened. Later, it was found out that the alley led to the backdoor of a tavern, and the rumor was spread intentionally by the tavern owner to stop people from defecating randomly in the alley.
Due to such lessons, people did not take the demon rumor seriously.
But soon, reality taught them a lesson.
On a very ordinary night, a massacre suddenly occurred at a place called No.13 Mine around Shambala Town. All of the dozen or so night guards were brutally killed; none survived. It was as if a demon really had emerged from the Abyss and, in high spirits, started a feast.
Then things became increasingly terrifying. In the two weeks following the No.13 Mine incident, other mines experienced continued mysterious attacks. There were serious injuries, tragic deaths, or worse—bodies were left untraceable.
Under such circumstances, everyone’s hearts were weighed down with worry, growing panicked, terrified, and increasingly believing the rumor.
By now, people’s panic had reached its limit, and many mines had to cease operations. The workers who stopped working didn’t dare to live alone in their houses but chose to gather in one place. It was only by relying on many companions that they could temporarily suppress the inner panic, which is why so many people gathered in a tavern early in the morning, and why the sudden intrusion by Richard caused such a fierce reaction in the tavern.
“That’s pretty much it,” the bartender exhaled, ending his narrative, looking calmly at Richard.
After listening to the bartender, Richard thought for a moment and guessed that the so-called demon was indeed the demonized beasts buried in the woods outside the town. These demonized beasts caused the casualties in Shambala Town and successfully caught the attention of the Truth Society, ultimately being killed by Joseph.
In fact, Shambala Town is already safe now. However, considering that Joseph killed the demonized beasts only recently, the public’s reaction is lagging, and they do not know the truth, so they are still maintaining previous vigilance.
Richard had a mind to tell the bartender the truth, but considering that even if he told the other party, he wouldn’t genuinely believe it, he did not bother. Instead, he asked the other: “You said the first evidence that made everyone believe the rumor was the massacre at No.13 Mine, right?”
“Yes, do you have any doubts?”
“No doubts, but I want to know some current situations at No.13 Mine. For instance, how’s the mine owner doing, and where can I contact him? If possible, I’d like to have a chat with him,” Richard said.
In his view, the connection between No.13 Mine and the demonized beasts was very tight. Perhaps the so-called radioactive minerals could be found there, and naturally, he had every reason to take a look.
Upon hearing Richard, the bartender raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised, confirming: “Are you serious? You really want to find the No.13 Mine owner?”
“Yes, is there a problem?”
“No problem, I’m just trying to tell you, you don’t need to find him; he’s here in this tavern,” the bartender said.
“In this tavern? Where?” Richard asked.
“There, it’s that person,” the bartender didn’t play coy and pointed to a distance.
Richard looked in the direction and saw the one the bartender pointed to; it was the drunkard he had noticed drinking in the corner.
“Is it him?” Richard was a little doubtful, “As a mine owner, how could he be so down and out, looking worse than even a miner? Could it be because of the mine massacre?”
“Yes, it is because of the mine massacre,” the bartender said, “His name is Waltz. I heard he was initially a pauper. But after some mysterious fortune smiled upon him, he suddenly made a big amount of money, bought the No.13 Mine, and became a mine owner.
Such a person was a parvenu. Naturally, he didn’t have little money, but neither too much due to lack of management skills, and most importantly, he didn’t have any foundation. His primary asset was No.13 Mine, which was wasted after the massacre, cutting off the main source of income.
The relatives of the guards who died in the massacre would not let him off easily, demanding huge compensations that drained his savings. Other competitors showed no mercy either, taking the opportunity to scheme against him, which resulted in his bankruptcy after several rounds.
You see, now he drinks away his sorrows every day, utterly destitute, shunned by everyone. I originally thought he was okay, as he always paid for his drinks. But recently, he’s started to go into debt, causing me to be scolded by the boss several times, so I don’t have a good impression of him anymore either.”
“I see.” After the bartender’s explanation, Richard nodded and began walking towards Waltz in the distance.