7 Badu Island Secret - part 3 (1/2)

The military veteran heard Wuxing's disbelief and he turned around before calling out to him with a cheeky smile, ”What? Surprised? There are many secrets that only high-ranked Seven Stars agents know about. You shouldn't be that shocked.”

Wuxing looked at the man's face for the first time and then back at the scenery in front of him. His brain was working hard, trying to recall the information about this, but he couldn't find any. He had never been interested in where the criminals are imprisoned to after agents deliver them to the headquarters.

In front of him, there was a giant mine with hundreds of prisoners working inside the endless hole. When they passed through the small doors, he could already see various levels of the mine. The Badu Island was only a few tens of kilometres in diameter so it made sense that they were digging downwards.

”Is this Ethernum?” Wuxing asked, seeing the purple crystal being mined by the prisoners. Only earlier this month had he heard about the mines being discovered all around the globe which contained unknown purple crystals. It was said that these purple crystals were filled with highly concentrated energy that could actually be used by various industries.

Having unlimited resources, Seven Stars had long been buying out all the Ethernum mines even though there was yet to be any product or technology made with the use of these crystals.

However, this information was never released to the public. He only learned of the existence of Ethernum by chance from a mission.

He would have never thought that one of those mines was situated in the middle of the Badu Island Prison.

”I don't like people asking questions so just listen to me. And yes. This is the only Ethernum mine that is not yet owned by Seven Stars but I suppose they will soon buy this one as well.” The middle-aged veteran moved forward. ”Follow me.”

His guide looked to be around fifty years old and had the bearing of an army veteran which Wuxing was familiar with, as sometimes he had contacts with them. His guide also had bushy eyebrows and long moustache which looked like the man greatly cared for.

”Many people outside the world think this is just a high-security prison, but in reality, it's a high-security mine. You are sent here for your crimes but instead of being unproductive, you are given a chance to contribute to society. Do you probably wonder why we would keep prisoners even in times when resources are scarce instead of killing them? The answer is this mine,” the veteran explained as they walked towards the metal net in front of the enormous hole.

”You would also ask, why would criminals obediently work in the mine and not revolt? Well, the answer is easy this time. Freedom. We propose something they want. With each kilogram of Ethernum a prisoner mines, his or her sentence will be cut by one day. Even those with life sentences would have a deduction based on their life spans. Who wouldn't want to leave prison earlier and return to a free life?”

'Now, it makes sense. No wonder they increased the rewards of bringing the criminals in one piece… they are using them to mine Ethernum. I guess It would be extremely costly to hire miners to here so they decided to use prisoners as free labor,' Wuxing thought.

He noticed that there were much more guards in the mine supervising the work compared to the actual prison above. It seemed that those in charge were more scared someone would steal some Ethernum crystals more than anything else.

The veteran looked at the young man listening silently to his explanations. He continued talking, satisfied. ”I know you were from Seven Stars so you probably know about those ankle bracelets. The truth is, they contain more information than what many think. Not only do they keep data of your locations but also monitor body functions and your actions. If we spot anything suspicious, the central will definitely catch that.”

”Why are you telling me this?” Wuxing asked, knowing that what this man told him definitely wasn't included in the standard guide. He bet that even the man with a crow tattoo didn't know anything about this.

The veteran shrugged and admitted, ”Well, I have read your case files and I know that you are innocent. I have been alive for too long and have interacted with people from all walks of life that I can smell it when there is a scheme involved. However, it doesn't change the fact that you are here already and placed in my jurisdiction. Innocent or not, you won't be able to escape from here. I have noticed that you are always checking out your surroundings as if searching for something. I advise you to not try anything stupid. I respect Seven Stars agents and their skills but that doesnt mean I can neglect my duties.”

Wuxing smiled as he looked at the distance and thought, 'We will see about that.'