Chereads / The Outcast / Chapter 8 - Abandons the life of mine tunnel

Chapter 8 - Abandons the life of mine tunnel

Carrying out the final welding operation, Xu Le removed the protective mask from his face with satisfaction. All the repairs had been successfully completed, and he neatly placed the repaired items in the metal crate, sorting them according to their labels. He pressed a button to send them out of the workshop. These repaired goods would be delivered early the next morning, as per his usual routine.

Wiping the sweat from his face, Xu Le walked back to his familiar home and took out a bottle of liquid medicine from the drawer. He carefully applied a few drops to his tired eyes. Despite the help of various eyewear, the world of metal chips was still harsh on the eyes of a machine repair technician. Moreover, he often became so engrossed in the world of metal chips that he would forget the passage of time, resulting in his eyes turning red.

"Take a break and relax your strained eyes," Feng Yu said, rubbing his gray hair and observing Xu Le's speed and dedication with satisfaction. In the past six months, Xu Le had been mainly responsible for the operations in this remote mine tunnel of the Xianglan main road repair shop, while Feng Yu supervised from the shop. Each weekend, he would guide Xu Le, and gradually, Xu Le had become faster than even the experienced machine repair master Feng Yu.

Xu Le nodded and took two bottles of fruit punch from the wall fridge, following behind Feng Yu as they walked towards the upper section of the mine tunnel. They could hear the continuous sound of metal collisions up ahead, and Xu Le couldn't help but look up. He saw the torn and eye-catching jeans on Feng Yu's body, tightly wrapping around his buttocks. There was also a jingling bunch of keys, a multitool, and other metal objects swinging from his belt, occasionally hitting his buttocks and making a clanging sound.

He couldn't understand why Feng Yu chose to present himself in this manner, but Feng Yu had once told him that a sword never leaves a swordsman's hand, and a gun never leaves a marksman's side. As machine repair technicians, they naturally couldn't separate themselves from their tools. However, Xu Le suspected that Feng Yu believed his attractive buttocks could capture the attention of lonely married women.

As the day in the Eastwood Grand District gradually grew darker, the twilight deepened, casting a red hue. The pile of metals behind Feng Yu reflected a dazzling gleam. Xu Le squinted his naturally big eyes, gazing at Feng Yu's slightly exhausted figure. Memories of two years ago, when he naively entered the repair shop, flooded his mind.

Their relationship was somewhat peculiar, not that of student and teacher, but Xu Le did learn the knowledge and experience he longed for about machine repair from Feng Yu. Although it didn't directly help him achieve his ideal of becoming a battleship machine repair auxiliary officer or entering the Capital Star Circle for a prosperous life, at least Xu Le had found peace and satisfaction in that small repair shop.

Xu Le wasn't officially an employee of Feng Yu since he didn't receive any wages. However, Feng Yu always made sure there was enough food in the refrigerator. In terms of treatment, Xu Le could be considered the most unfortunate indentured worker of the Xianglan main road repair shop. But in these two years, Xu Le had earned a considerable amount of money for the repair shop.

"If I register for the conscription test as a machine repair officer, the government will only reimburse 40% of the cost," Xu Le said, mustering the courage. "I need to save up some money in the next two years."

The underlying meaning of his words was a hope that the boss of the repair shop would consider paying him a wage. However, Feng Yu immediately rejected the idea. "Wasn't it you who begged me to teach you initially? Did I ever mention paying your tuition?"

Truly shameless, even more shameless than me, Xu Le thought to himself. But considering how he had initially run into the repair shop, desperately seeking Feng Yu's guidance, he didn't have the courage to bring up the topic of a salary increase again. He sighed reluctantly and ran a few steps to catch up, sitting next to Feng Yu.

Both of them sat at the highest point of the mine tunnel, with a distant view of the blurred silhouette of a large urban structure. Just ahead of them was a vast, green prairie, with tall trees visible in the depths. The natural beauty of the scene, illuminated by the evening sun, had a fiery charm.

"I've always been curious," Feng Yu said, not accepting the fruit juice Xu Le offered but lighting a cigarette instead. He took a satisfying drag and greedily observed the scenery. "There are at least a thousand repair shops in the Eastwood Grand District. Why did you choose me back then?"

Xu Le was surprised by the question but after a moment's pause, he lowered his head and said, "The vacuum automatic valve in the café broke, and I heard that you were the one who fixed it, so I came to find you."

"Anyone can fix that," Feng Yu replied casually.

"Maybe it was because you repaired that gate too happily..." Xu Le smiled, a hint of cunning flashing in his otherwise sincere eyes. "The non-rubber vacuum joint in the B2 slot was so attractive, with a displacement value two ranks higher than the civilian standard and even higher than the military standard. That's when I knew you were no ordinary person, boss."

Feng Yu was somewhat surprised but couldn't help smiling. He raised his hand as if to hit Xu Le's head but ended up rubbing his messy black hair instead. "You're truly insane. Who would think about measuring the quantity of that thing?"

"Maybe it was intuition?" Xu Le smiled happily. "I sensed something peculiar about that door but couldn't put it into words. I had some money at the time, so I bought a fixed light and divided the exam meter to measure the quantity. It was a strange measurement."

"The smallest unit of the exam meter couldn't fit into the gate. I'm curious, how did you measure it?" Feng Yu's curiosity was piqued.

"Well..." Xu Le hesitated awkwardly, then said, "I asked Li Wei for help. We removed that door from the coffee shop at midnight... Of course, we settled afterwards. I wasn't stealing."

Feng Yu couldn't help but burst into laughter and asked, "But I had a security alarm on that door..."

"It was hidden in the laminated glass," Xu Le replied, embarrassed. "I... discovered it as soon as possible... and deactivated it."

Feng Yu fell silent, calmly observing Xu Le for a long time before finally speaking. Two years ago, Xu Le had been nothing more than an autodidact, learning various technical processes, codes, and standards from library books. Yet, he had managed to dismantle the security alarm that Feng Yu had installed. It seemed that Feng Yu's judgment of him being exceptional wasn't wrong, even back then.

At that moment, several majestic buffalos slowly emerged from the woods, their silhouettes illuminated by the fading twilight. Xu Le and Feng Yu both stopped in their tracks, their eyes filled with a greedy longing as they watched the buffalos.

"Uncle, it's been half a year since we last had fresh beef," Xu Le said, swallowing his saliva and tentatively asking.

Feng Yu stood up, looking at the metal fence separating the mine tunnel from the prairie below, his face unusually grim. He said sorrowfully, "In my whole life, I've despised two federal laws the most. The first one is that damn wild animal protection law."

Suppressing his laughter, Xu Le asked, "And what's the second one?"

Feng Yu didn't respond immediately but wore a wicked smile as he led Xu Le towards the buffalo on the other side of the fence.