Chapter 455 – The Problem

The person Wolf assigned to guide Lu Yuan and his companion was a middle-aged man with a sallow complexion.

He was silent throughout the journey. Once they arrived at the location, he merely pointed at a small house with a red roof and then turned to leave, as if he didn’t want to exchange a single word with the two.

Lu Yuan didn’t mind. He called out to Lu Feng, who was wearing a grim expression, and headed straight for the house.

Just like the buildings they had seen on their way, the house Wolf had arranged for Lu Yuan was also constructed with special building materials.

The exterior was reinforced and repaired with wood, stone, and alloy. It wasn’t exactly crude; at least all the basic facilities were present inside the house.

But compared to the Lu family manor on Planet Dadu, it was, of course, far inferior.

Once inside, Lu Yuan casually found a sofa and sat down. Lu Feng, on the other hand, pulled a small gadget from his pocket, placed it on the floor in the center of the room, and pressed it lightly.

The device began emitting blue light.

In an instant, the blue light scanned the entire house, forming a translucent light membrane before quickly disappearing.

Lu Yuan watched Lu Feng’s tinkering in silence. Although Lu Feng didn’t explain, Lu Yuan guessed that it was some kind of security technology tool.

After calibrating the device, Lu Feng looked up at Lu Yuan and said, “Do you know the purpose of your visit this time?”

Lu Yuan couldn’t help but chuckle at Lu Feng’s question.

How could he not be aware of his purpose here?

He had never been as clear about his goals as he was this time.

But the problem was, the real task he came to accomplish couldn’t be revealed to Lu Feng…

“Not really.”

Lu Yuan shook his head with amusement, “Why don’t you tell me what I’m supposed to do?”

Lu Feng looked at Lu Yuan calmly and said indifferently, “If you don’t mind, I can help clarify it for you.”

“Go ahead.”

Lu Yuan adjusted to a more comfortable sitting position, crossing his hands lightly in front of him.

“The Ram Silver mining site we’re at has four mining points, and we’re occupying one of them…”

“The mining point we occupy is the best among the four in terms of location, and it’s not small in scale.

However, its annual output is less than half of that of the other three points…”

Lu Feng paused mid-sentence, looking up to see that Lu Yuan was indeed listening, before continuing, “Moreover, in the past six months, the output has continued to decline.

If this trend continues, this year’s profit might not even reach a third of what it used to be.”

“It seems like there’s an issue somewhere in the process,” Lu Yuan remarked with a “serious” expression.

“The problem is significant,” Lu Feng said, casually taking out a disk-like object from his pocket. “You can take a look at this in your free time.

It contains information gathered by previous proxy mine owners.

For instance, the records show there are forty-five employees at this mining point, but in reality, less than half are actually working…

For example, starting a few years ago, the equipment attrition rate at this site suddenly shot up, three times the normal rate…

And such…”

Lu Feng casually mentioned a few points, his gaze never leaving Lu Yuan.

When he finished speaking, Lu Yuan appeared “deep in thought.”

“So, your… Oh no, the master’s intention is for me to solve these problems one by one after I arrive?”

“Not exactly.”

Lu Feng shook his head.

This genuinely surprised Lu Yuan.

If he wasn’t expected to solve the problems, why mention all of this?

“The master only hopes that you can stay here quietly for half a year. As long as you attempt to find solutions and make an effort, that’s enough. Whether or not the problems are actually solved in the end… that doesn’t matter. After all, the Young Master is not a professional in solving these issues.”

“Uh…”

Lu Yuan didn’t know what to say for a moment.

As long as the process and attitude are correct, the result is unimportant.

Lu Lingfeng’s expectations of him were indeed quite low.

“Alright then.”

With a bit of helplessness, Lu Yuan nodded and said, “I understand.”

Lu Feng noticed that Lu Yuan seemed to take in what he was saying, and his expression softened slightly.

However, he soon adopted a more serious demeanor and said, “One more thing, try to avoid interacting too much with the people at the mining site. These guys are not to be messed with. Before you came, the master appointed three proxy mine owners, and all of them ended up in sudden accidents. Some were injured, and some even died…”

“Is it that serious?” Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow lightly. “Alright, I get it. I won’t be hanging out with them.”

Lu Feng pursed his lips, seemingly wanting to add more, but eventually just set down the item in his hand and said, “Call me directly if you need anything; I’ll be right next door,” before turning to leave the room.

After Lu Feng left, Lu Yuan glanced casually at the disk containing stored information but didn’t touch it. Instead, he took out the Light Brain to search for a detailed map of the nearby area.

He had realized the demeanor of Wolf and his crew at first glance.

Whether or not Lu Feng mentioned the various hidden issues within the Lu family mining site, Lu Yuan had no plans to get involved.

Lu Yuan’s sole purpose in coming to Lirva was to do one thing-recover his strength as quickly as possible and find a new path towards an even higher level.

Lu Yuan quickly scanned the map of the area in his hands.

After a moment, he withdrew his gaze and let out a soft sigh.

He now had a clear goal and direction for his next steps.

However, before he could carry out this series of actions, there was a pressing issue to resolve in front of him.

If this problem wasn’t addressed, Lu Yuan would be restricted in whatever he attempted to do next in Lirva.

“It seems that this thing will come in handy soon…”

Lu Yuan gently touched his chest, his eyes falling on a device placed on the floor in front of him as his gaze flickered with thoughts unknown.

Nightfall.

In the dimly lit, modest little cabin, Lu Feng opened his eyes and slowly emerged from his daily meditation practice.

He rose and stepped outside the door, where the night sky was filled with stars above him. The surrounding primal forest was quiet and dark, with occasional flickers of light from some unknown insects.

Casting a distant glance in the direction of the machine operations, Lu Feng then turned his gaze towards the small house right next door.

Light spilled from the house’s window, and the faint sound of a television program could be heard.

Lu Feng activated the personal terminal on his wrist, swiping through it casually, his brows furrowing slightly.

He checked the reading status of the disk he had given to Lu Yuan that afternoon, which recorded the minor hazards of the mining site.

The display read “unread.”

This indicated that from the time their conversation ended in the afternoon until now, Lu Yuan hadn’t taken a look at the contents of the disk.

“It seems my words this afternoon were wasted…” Lu Feng mused, considering whether to give Lu Lingfeng a brief report on Lu Yuan’s behavior throughout this journey.

But after some thought, he decided against it.

“I’ll wait a few more days.”

Lu Feng wasn’t particularly keen on tattling.

Although he was assigned to be by Lu Yuan’s side to do just that, considering they were father and son, being too strict might not benefit him.

Moreover, based on Lu Yuan’s behavior during this journey, he seemed to have indeed made some changes.

Throughout nearly twenty days of travel, he managed to stay alone in the cultivation room without complaining about boredom.

Compared to his previous demeanor, this was almost like he was a “completely different person.”

“He didn’t even show any fear or panic when encountering space pirates…”

Lu Feng muttered to himself.

In fact, this was the point he found most peculiar.

Given his previous understanding of “Lu Qiyuan’s” character, this was simply unbelievable.

Forget about a “playboy” like “Lu Qiyuan,” even Lu Feng himself had felt quite nervous at the time.

This was also why Lu Feng often found Lu Yuan inscrutable.

Sometimes, his actions seemed reckless and indulgent, heedlessly squandering his youth and privileged background.

Yet at other times, he displayed an unusual calmness and maturity beyond his years.

With this in mind, Lu Feng could only conclude that Lu Yuan was beginning to tap into some innate potential that he himself did not fully understand.

As the cool night air enveloped him, Lu Feng stood alone in front of the door, quietly lost in thought.

Habitually, his gaze drifted now and then towards the lighted house next door and down to his personal terminal.

When Lu Feng looked down at his terminal screen for the third time, his expression abruptly changed.

“Something’s wrong!”

His eyes sharpened, and in a flash, he vanished from his spot, appearing like a specter at the door of the adjacent house in mere blinks.

Without knocking, he pushed the door open and entered.

Upon seeing the state of the room, Lu Feng’s face quickly darkened as well.

The room was empty, except for a terminal communicator casually tossed on the sofa, continuously displaying a scene of Mecha combat.

Striding in firmly, Lu Feng coldly picked up the terminal and cut off the video playing on it.

Releasing his mental power, he scanned the room meticulously before storming out with a stern expression.

Just as Lu Feng left the house, contemplating where to start searching, he was suddenly alerted by the roar of an engine behind him.

Accompanied by a soft chuckle.

In the next instant, Lu Feng spun around swiftly.

His eyes caught the image of an ultra-small aircraft’s taillights shooting up from behind the house and swiftly streaking across the night sky.