Who told him to make the cards!

That was pretty disappointing.

After a moment, Shen Qinglian spoke: "I promise you."

When do we depart?

"Not urgent."

Chen Zhi said, "There's one more thing."

Shen Qinglian frowned slightly: "Don't push your luck."

“Miss Shen, you misunderstand,” Chen Zhi said with a smile. “I’m not asking for a third condition; I just want to confirm one thing.”

"Miss Shen must be from Qinggong Academy?"

"If you're just a student, do you really have the ability to terminate my mining contract under the White Tower Group?"

Chen Zhi thought Shen Qinglian didn't seem like a student.

But he thought it was useless and that the facts had to be respected.

Shen Qinglian looked at him: "What are you trying to say?"

Chen Zhi: "I need to verify the license plate."

Shen Qinglian: "..."

Is the logic of trusting first and then questioning correct?

Chen Zhi shrugged: "Miss Shen, please don't blame me for my impudence, including my previous abruptness... After all, it concerns my personal safety, so I have to be cautious. I hope Miss Shen understands."

Shen Qinglian's intuition told her that this man must have seen something, but she didn't want to talk about anything unrelated to Well No. 13, so she simply took out a light gold card, placed it on the table, and gave it to Chen Zhiyan.

This is a contract card.

It's equivalent to a contract on Earth.

The difference is that it doesn't require going to court.

Signing a contract using a contract card requires both parties to imbue the contract with their own mental imprint.

Once signed, it must be strictly enforced, otherwise the consequences will be very serious.

This includes, but is not limited to, freezing assets, blacklisting, revoking authority at all levels, and even subjecting one to spiritual torture.

The entire execution process requires no judge or trial. The seal engraved inside the card will directly punish the defaulting party on behalf of the institution, leaving no opportunity for appeal.

The seal on this contract card is still gold, representing the empire's highest law enforcement authority.

It seems he guessed right; it's impossible for an ordinary noble student to possess a blank agreement of this caliber.

"Is the test finished?" Shen Qinglian asked.

Chen Zhi nodded: "The test is complete, no problem."

"Then let's sign it," Shen Qinglian said.

The two closed their eyes and touched the cards simultaneously.

A faint white light shone on the card, revealing lines of small text within it.

The two parties agreed as follows:

Chen Zhi was responsible for leading Shen Qinglian into the deeper layers of Well No. 13 to assist her in completing the investigation.

After the investigation, Shen Qinglian terminated Chen Zhi's lifelong contract with the mining area and transferred his residence to the city.

Given the inherent dangers of Well No. 13 and the possibility of unforeseen circumstances during the process, the commitment to relocate will remain valid as long as both parties make their best efforts, regardless of whether the final investigation results meet expectations.

There are no hidden clauses, no inaccurate wording, and no "accidental attribution" clauses commonly found in corporate contracts.

This was the cleanest agreement Chen Zhi had ever seen in both his lives.

After the spiritual imprint was injected, the contract card lit up, and two pale golden lines appeared from the bottom left and right of the card surface and extended towards the middle, like two flowing rivers, intertwining to form the same card pattern as the silver coin.

The agreement is in effect.

Chen Zhi laughed.

Seven years later, he finally got the chance to leave the Blackstone mining area and regain his freedom.

"Can you tell me when we're going down the well to leave?" Shen Qinglian asked.

Chen Zhi pulled himself together, glanced at Shen Qinglian's spotless, exquisite dress, stood up, took his spare dust jacket from the wall, tossed it to the girl, and said:

"Log off now."

Chapter 4 Entering the well

Chen Zhi demonstrated through his actions what it means to be decisive and efficient.

He replaced the dust filter card with a new one, then pulled out an old backpack from under the bed and stuffed it with ropes, energy cards, water bottles, and other commonly used items for going down the well, and also brought a stack of broken cards.

He originally planned to sell these discarded cards; a box of them would earn him three copper coins.

But we don't need it now.

In less than three minutes, Chen Zhi was fully dressed.

“I don’t have any extra dust suits,” he said to Liu Bai. “You can go and buy one from one of the old miners in the village who are off today.”

Most people from the city are generous spenders, like the old servant who just tipped him. As long as it doesn't involve other matters, the miners are happy to do business with these wealthy people if it's just about buying a piece of clothing.

Liu Bai replied, "There's no need."

He has a card, and it's far superior to Chen Zhi's dust filter card, so there's absolutely no chance of dust leakage. Wearing a dustproof suit would be redundant.

"Whatever you want."

Chen Zhi shrugged. "Just don't call me then."

Shen Qinglian hadn't originally planned to change, but after hearing what Chen Zhiyi said, she changed her mind.

The mine is the miners' territory, and Chen Zhi knows better than they do what's inside, so it's better to listen to him.

The clothes Chen Zhi gave her were a size too big for her, and they were old and tattered, but Shen Qinglian didn't mind and put them on directly.

She pulled the hair that was covered from behind her collar, untied the thin string on her ponytail, tidied it up, and then tied it back up. She smoothed the hair behind her ears, looked at Chen Zhi, and signaled that he could leave.

"Let's go."

……

Half an hour later.

Chen Zhi and his group, who hitched a ride on a mining truck, arrived at Mine No. 13.

Ding Mao had been waiting here for a long time.

Shaft No. 13 is located deep in the mine, and there are large areas of abandoned shacks outside the shaft.

This used to be a mining village.

Until the first accident occurred underground.

Its entrance resembles an air-raid shelter, with an iron gate and a ring of black steel pillars standing outside, like some kind of mysterious ritual.

Chen Zhi didn't know what this thing was called, only that its function was to stabilize the legal principles and prevent them from being leaked.

The pillar was wrapped with a seal bearing the logo of the White Tower Group. Only half a month had passed, but it was already covered in dust, as if it had been sealed for decades.

"Miss Shen, it's really dangerous inside."

Ding Mao glanced at Chen Zhi from afar before turning back to Shen Qinglian, saying with a worried expression, "When I last rescued you, most of the equipment underground had already stopped working, including the traction machine that kept the road in place, and the ventilation array also malfunctioned... I'm very worried that you'll get lost."

The implication is that Chen Zhi might not know the way to Well No. 13.

Shen Qinglian uttered only two words:

"The lockdown has been lifted."

"..."

Ding Mao's eye twitched, and he forced a smile.

"Okay, I'll do as you say."

"However, I'll say it again, Miss Shen."

“Your status is so high that if something were to happen to you on my turf, I would not be able to explain it to Qinggong Academy.”

Ding Mao waved as he spoke.

A tall man stepped out from the guard.

He looked to be around forty years old, with a scar between his eyebrows and a square card holder around his waist.

The guards in the mine all wore the same uniform, except that he had three stripes on his chest.

"This is Luo Xiao, the captain of the fourth guard team in our Blackstone Mine, a third-tier combat card master."

Ding Mao explained to Shen Qinglian, "The situation at the bottom of the well is still unclear. Half a month has passed, and there may be new changes. He can accompany you down there, and if you encounter any danger, he can also help you."

As the name suggests, a card master is a combatant who is more skilled at using cards in combat than a regular card master.

Tier 3 is roughly equivalent to a special forces soldier on Earth, representing the pinnacle of combat power in the Blackrock Mine.