Chapter 83

The ore collection point of the Wild Wolf Castle is located on a relatively gentle slope to the south of the castle. There is a several hundred-meter-long railway track laid down from the mountain, and the other end of the track leads to the material yard of the Wild Wolf Castle's iron smelting workshop. In the material yard, there is a steam engine that provides power to a winch. The winch is connected to a steel cable as thick as a baby's arm, which runs from the top of the mountain to the bottom. When the ore carts at the collection point are loaded with ore, the steel cable pulls them up along the railway track. This railway and steam engine have significantly improved the efficiency of transporting ore to the Wild Wolf Castle. Without such a system, Zhang Tie really doubted whether anyone would still be willing to mine, as carrying ore from the mine to this place, and then climbing the mountain again with the ore, would be a task beyond human endurance.

However, even for tasks that people can handle, different individuals can attempt challenges of varying difficulty.

By noon, the sun, which had been hiding all day, began to scorch again, and the temperature in the Wild Wolf Valley gradually rose. Due to the rain the previous day, the valley was quite damp, and the rising temperature caused the moisture to evaporate from the ground. The entire valley quickly turned into a large steamer, making people feel suffocated and anxious.

Under such conditions, carrying a 100-kilogram ore basket for a 1.5-kilometer journey was a huge test for Zhang Tie. Along the way, he gritted his teeth, drenched in sweat, feeling as if his shoulders were about to smoke. He had to rest every 200 to 300 meters. Finally, when Zhang Tie slammed the ore basket onto the scale at the collection point, the different weight produced a different sound effect, which made the few boys at the collection point look at the number on the scale.

118 kilograms!

"Brother, not bad! You're the first one in the past few days to carry over 100 kilograms of ore in one go. It seems you were born for this job!" At this moment, Zhang Tie was so exhausted that he just wanted to lie down and rest for half an hour. Hearing such "praise," he could only roll his eyes helplessly, not caring whether the guy was complimenting or mocking him. The boy took out a notebook, looked at the scale's record, and then at the quality of the ore in the basket before starting to record it.

"Along with this basket... how many kilograms of ore have I carried today?" Zhang Tie asked, panting heavily.

"Along with this time, let me check..." The boy with the notebook looked down at his records. "You're Zhang Tie, right? This morning, you carried 76 kilograms the first time, 78 kilograms the second time, 69 kilograms the third time, and 118 kilograms this time. Let me calculate..."

"337 kilograms..." The boy had just reported the total weight of the ore Zhang Tie had carried, and Zhang Tie's mind was stirred. The abacus in his mind instantly appeared, and almost as soon as the boy reported the third number, Zhang Tie already knew the result and said it out loud.

The boy calculated with a pen and found that the number matched what Zhang Tie had blurted out, and he looked at Zhang Tie with a slightly surprised expression, but didn't think much of it.

"Right, 337 kilograms. This is the highest record here in the past few days. You didn't come the first two days, and today is your third day. This amount just meets the requirement..."

"Is there a reward for the highest record?" Zhang Tie asked with a sly smile.

"Yes!"

"What?"

"Let you continue this promising career..."

Hearing this answer, Zhang Tie's face darkened slightly, then he laughed. He didn't expect the guy to be so humorous.

Watching the few guys at the collection point pour his ore into the ore cart, Zhang Tie chatted casually with them for a while, rested for a bit, and then, based on the amount of ore he had mined, he received a ration of seven ounces of dry food. Carrying this food and the ugly ore basket, Zhang Tie climbed the mountain and arrived at the small square in front of the Wild Wolf Castle.

After unloading the 100-kilogram burden and resting for a while, Zhang Tie found his legs felt unusually light. Successfully challenging his limits again and setting a small record among the unfortunate guys, Zhang Tie felt quite pleased and a bit proud. It seemed that Tang De was right—people are pushed to their limits—this is a phrase that can only be fully appreciated in the language and script of the Huazhu.

The small square, which had been quiet the day before, was now bustling. Compared to its bare and simple appearance when he first arrived, over the past few days, some simple stalls with shade had been set up in the square. Some girls were selling and exchanging wild fruits and vegetables they had picked, while on the other side of the square, the groups of boys who came to show off their "muscles" and prey still crowded together, occasionally chatting with the girls around them. In recent days, more and more girls had started to form fixed trial teams with boys, and both boys and girls had become bolder after getting to know each other.

"Do you need wild blueberries and hawthorns?" A voice from a nearby stall caught Zhang Tie's attention. When he turned around, he saw a boy shake his head and walk away, and the girl running the stall looked slightly disappointed, sitting on the ground with her arms hugging her knees. In front of the girl was a lotus leaf, on which there was a small pile of wild blueberries and hawthorns, weighing less than half a kilogram. The small pile of blueberries and hawthorns, like their owner, looked a bit raw, though clean, but very ordinary and unremarkable, not at all tempting.

Since Zhang Tie remembered that the Black Iron Castle's space hadn't been seeded with blueberries or hawthorns, he walked over and squatted in front of the girl's pitiful stall. "How do you want to exchange these?"

Zhang Tie's voice made the disappointed girl lift her head from her knees. The girl could only be described as pretty, with a very flat figure and some freckles on her face. Compared to the dazzling beauties around her, she seemed plain, like an ugly duckling. However, the girl's blue eyes gave Zhang Tie a feeling of seeing a clear stream.

"These wild blueberries and hawthorns... um, four ounces of dry food can exchange them, or two ounces of meat..." Feeling Zhang Tie's gaze slightly scan her body, the girl, sitting on the ground, bent down a bit more, hiding her chest behind her knees.

Rumble, the girl's stomach growled in protest, and she lowered her head in embarrassment.

"Alright, I'll take all of them..." Zhang Tie took out a half-kilogram piece of dry food from his food box, thought for a moment, and then added a small piece of beef jerky, about one ounce.

"This... this... too much food!" The girl was surprised, her beautiful blue eyes fixed on Zhang Tie, as if trying to find something on his face.

"Um... I am a believer in the Guardian God's religion... I want to collect some plant seeds during this trial, but as you can see, I'm mining now and don't have time to do it. If it's convenient for you when you pick wild fruits, and it's not dangerous, you can help me collect some seeds. Any kind of plant seeds will do, and I'll exchange food with you. This extra food can be considered a deposit!" Zhang Tie said half-truthfully.

"Really?" The girl's eyes lit up.

Zhang Tie smiled, picked up the two small piles of slightly green fruits, and pushed his food towards the girl. His actions were more convincing than anything else, and the girl immediately grabbed the food tightly, as if afraid Zhang Tie would change his mind.

"What's your name?"

"I'm Zhang Tie!"

"Then how will I find you when I collect the seeds?"

"I often come here. You don't need to find me; I'll find you!"

Saying this, Zhang Tie stood up and walked away with the package of fruits. After taking a few steps, he heard the girl's timid voice from behind, "I'm Pandora..."

Zhang Tie turned around, gave the girl named Pandora a smile, picked up a hawthorn, and casually threw it in the air, catching it in his mouth. He bit down hard, and the sour fruit made his face wrinkle. His attempt to look cool failed, and seeing Zhang Tie's expression, Pandora burst out laughing, then felt as if the fruits were hers, and quickly covered her mouth with her hand. When she looked at Zhang Tie again, she saw the black-haired boy, carrying the ore basket, wave at her and disappear into the crowd...

"Pandora..." The girl muttered the name a few times.

...

Having completed today's ore delivery task, Zhang Tie felt light and carefree. Eating the slightly sour blueberries and hawthorns, he whistled as he went down the mountain and returned to the mine where he was digging. There were still four to five hours before the afternoon shift ended, and during this time, the mine was almost deserted, with the sound of pickaxes hitting the ore becoming sparse.

Zhang Tie sat cross-legged in a relatively clean spot in the mine and entered a state of cultivation. After carrying over 100 kilograms of ore and completing the arduous task of delivering it, Zhang Tie found that, after the pain, his current state was surprisingly good. He felt light but full of energy. He had heard that cultivating after breaking a physical limit would yield good results. Since there was plenty of time in the afternoon, Zhang Tie decided to give it a try...

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Thank you all for your support over the past few days!

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