(Written at the beginning, the story takes place in an unfathomably distant future and a fantasy world, with no connection to the real world.)
[Detested things: Women who cling after the fact.]
[Feared things: Wife at home.]
Tang Xian didn't want to meddle too much, and the scumbag in his sight was also a familiar face.
The man currently hitting on a girl was a permanent worker named Song Zhe, a F-grade permanent worker in the 669th mining area of the Huaxia region, and also Tang Xian's foreman.
Song Zhe was imitating the 21st-century ancients' popular wall-pin maneuver, flirting with a girl from the third small team who had a decent appearance.
Tang Xian vaguely remembered that this temporary worker girl's name was Xiao Rong, and in his view, her fate was not much different from that of Xiao Hua, Xiao Hui, and Xiao Fang before her. In the end, she too would become one of those women who cling afterwards.
When his gaze landed on Song Zhe, the data that appeared to Tang Xian were as follows:
Gender: Male.
Good-Evil Value: 35.
Greed and Lust Index: 65.
Favorability: 1 (Acquaintances)
Wealth Assessment: 1 (Dirt Poor).
Feared things: Wife at home.
Current Honesty Level: 7 (Speaks his mind).
Charm Value: 15 (Unnoticed).
Current Luck Value: 25 (Proceed with caution).
Current Needs Analysis:
[Mating with a subordinate (48%)]
[Fulfilling the superior's demands (7%)]
[Leaving the mining area (29%)]
[Making life difficult for a few temporary workers (11%)]
[Other (5%)].
Song Zhe's wealth assessment being "Dirt Poor" was relatively rich compared to "Buried in Debt," which applied to the vast majority of temporary workers.
The girl's Greed and Lust Index was also at 54. Naturally, she was hesitant yet receptive when propositioned by a permanent worker. This was nothing new.
Tang Xian withdrew his gaze and continued busying himself with his own work.
Having spent six leisurely years in "Newbie Village," he was about to be promoted from a temporary worker to a permanent worker that very night. He still had to deal with an audit by the mining team's administrative staff, so he had no interest in meddling in other people's affairs.
At six o'clock, Song Zhe flashed the girl a smile that said they had come to an understanding, then proceeded to make life difficult for a few unlucky newcomers, scolding them harshly.
Everything unfolded just as Tang Xian had seen in the data, without exception.
Unlike the ancient 21st century, the hierarchy of this era was clearly defined. Bosses physically punishing their subordinates was a legitimate right.
Seeing the sky darken, the old temporary workers all showed expressions of fear.
Monsters in the mining area often preyed on humans at night. Travel between the mine and reality was made possible through teleportation fissures, and to reduce casualties, "Newbie Village" had more teleportation points than other areas.
So, when the time came, Song Zhe and other permanent workers quickly left the mining area.
Latter, Tang Xian and many old temporary workers also left the mining area.
...
...
Unlike other temporary workers, Tang Xian had been worldly-wise and content with his lot for six years.
Furthermore, once when a female leader happened to pass by, he helped her just at the right moment.
Thus, Tang Xian was assigned a private room.
In this era, all of humanity lived in huge mechanical Pyramids, with people of higher status living on higher levels.
Tang Xian didn't have to use the communal dining areas or toilets on the ground level like the other temporary workers, nor did he have to sleep with hundreds of others in places resembling the assembly line factories of ancient times.
His room wasn't big, a ten-square-meter space with a separate two-square-meter bathroom, complete with a flushing toilet and a showerhead. It was a luxury that could be flaunted on the ground level.
But what Tang Xian truly treasured was his stove.
This type of stove hadn't been produced for hundreds of years. Today's stoves were used to make nutrient meals.
Only these antiques, coming from the option to convert organic minerals, could transform organic minerals into various ingredients for cuisines that only existed in ancient times.
Tang Xian's stove was an antique that he had exchanged for a high price and it could cook a lot of Sichuan dishes, originating from Lianqing, a city known among locals for their love of hot pot.
He often talked to the old temporary workers about ancient food, though most of the time he was talking to himself.
"For Mapo Tofu, it's best to use light soy sauce, combined with Pixian bean paste, and though the authentic meat choice is beef, mixed with shrimp the taste is even better..."
Tang Xian believed this was a cultural regression.
Thirty minutes later, after finishing the freshly-made Mapo Tofu, Tang Xian cleaned the dishes and stove and then a voice came from outside the door.
"Temporary worker number 560205278, name Tang Xian. Please follow me to the second level."
Tang Xian opened the door. Standing outside was a soldier, armed.
Given the gear, it seemed to be equipment transformed from blue-armored minerals, the firearms resembled the ancient artifact AK47 in shape, but were powerful enough to leave wounds on the shells of strengthened creatures.
Data about this soldier popped up before his eyes.
[Current Honesty Level: 68 (Keeps his word)]
[Current Needs Analysis: Taking Tang Xian to the second level for promotion audit (74%)]
Tang Xian dropped his guard.
"Please bring your temporary worker records and follow me to the second level."
"Thank you."
Tang Xian lived in Pyramid Fortress No. 39. There were a total of fifty-six such fortresses in Huaxia.
How many levels each Pyramid Fortress had, Tang Xian didn't know; living at the bottom, he had only been up to the third level at most.
That was during his student days.
In this world, humans were divided by rank, but from the age of twelve to eighteen, even children from the lowest social strata had the right to be educated.
Unconditional education.
The policy was from ancient times, one of the few systems that hadn't been abolished yet.