Chapter 1710: Open-Book Exam
When this topic came up, it was necessary to mention the policies regarding ore mining in Zone 019.
Zone 019 had long relied on exporting gemstones to develop its economy, but when mining first began, the technology was far from what it is today, so not everything could be fully accounted for. Many issues were intentionally or unintentionally overlooked, such as whether mining would cause geological problems and what corresponding remedial measures should be taken.
Large mines required long-term development, and mining equipment and plans could be gradually updated over time, so safety was naturally not a concern. However, small operations were all about quick profits—dig up everything valuable and leave the rest. Whether the mine would collapse or cause other problems later was not considered. Moreover, because these places were far from densely populated cities, even if something did go wrong, as long as it didn't cause too much impact, no manpower or resources would be spent on repairs later.
Of course, these were minor issues. Zone 019's gemstone mining had also experienced a dark, bloody history in the early days. At that time, mining relied on human labor, and the technology was insufficient, so many mines had accidents. According to official statistics, over 80% of large and small mining sites had fatalities, with the highest number of deaths occurring at Heavenly Chain Mountain, which now belonged to the government and still continuously supplied gemstones. The largest single accident there killed 127 people, but that was not the only accident.
The Zone 019 government did not cover up these accidents. Instead, they handled the aftermath with the utmost sincerity, providing adequate compensation and apologies. The responsible parties and government personnel, from top to bottom, either stepped down or resigned. At the same time, the government recognized those who died in these accidents as "martyrs," because they had contributed their lives to the economic development of Zone 019.
As technology gradually advanced, any mine now had a very thorough mining plan before excavation began. With the use of robots, dangerous work no longer required human involvement, so there were almost no further casualties.
However, for legacy issues like those near Dingding Flower Town, the government took a "manageable or not" attitude, as long as it didn't affect Zone 019's development.
Xu Huo took his leave from the old lady and came to the town's small square, which served as a hub for leisure and entertainment. The tour group had finished their half-day visit and was now eating, while the players who were alone or in groups of two or three had gathered in a bar.
He also went to join the fun.
There were now seventeen players in the bar, including the three Xu Huo had encountered outside Solan's former residence. Most people sat separately, with only three tables having more than two people.
"All the players still in town are here," the long-haired male player stood up and said. "Everyone came for the 'Ember Maiden.' I won't waste words. How about we all work together to clear the instance?"
"Clear it with so many people?" someone immediately questioned. "It's not that I doubt your sincerity, but with this many people, the rewards won't be easy to split."
The long-haired player didn't mind at all. "We can talk about rewards later. Isn't clearing the instance our most urgent priority? Although forty days isn't a short time, do you know how many places Master Solan visited in her lifetime? You won't think it's that long anymore. The painting could be hidden in any place she ever went. Not to mention searching every location thoroughly, at least we need to visit places where she lived for a long time or had special significance. A few people simply can't handle such a huge workload."
The one who questioned was a man who looked about thirty. He spoke while habitually stroking a scar on the back of his hand. "Some arrived early, some arrived late. Do those who came early really have no clues at all?"
Everyone fell silent. It wasn't that they were hoarding information, but they truly hadn't gained much of value. Master Solan's life had almost been thoroughly studied. Not only her fervent fans, but even Zone 019's advanced message collection terminals could calculate her personality, behavioral choices, and even genetic profile based on big data. Over the past decade or more, fans and players searching for the "Ember Maiden" had verified this information one by one, chewing it over and digesting it completely. They had even found out which wild cat stole the small items that mysteriously went missing from Solan's home, as well as the illegitimate children of her descendants who were left outside...
So this instance was an open-book exam. Whether a player could clear it depended on whether they could find truly useful information from these clues, not on who happened to know some inside story that no one else knew.
"Today, we walked around the town, and what the townspeople said was more or less the same," a curly-haired female player said. "Apart from understanding that Master Solan was indeed a genius, as the critics said, she was no different from ordinary people in other respects."
To be honest, in zones where evolution potions had been used for a long time, the emergence of a genius was nothing unusual. Solan wasn't even particularly outstanding among such geniuses. Therefore, in most people's eyes, she was just an ordinary person. The biggest ups and downs in her life were nothing more than her father dying and her mother remarrying before she was old enough to understand, and her becoming famous at thirty. After fame, her life stabilized like a horizontal line. She married a fellow disciple from a different field through her teacher's introduction, smoothly gave birth to three children using an artificial womb, had a loving marriage, and her children were considered excellent. Then the children married and had grandchildren, and the grandchildren married and had great-grandchildren... If she had lived a bit longer, she might have even seen great-great-grandchildren.
Of course, this wasn't strange in Zone 019. The key point was that the hundred or so years after she became famous were so peaceful it was almost impossible to find a starting point.
Those seemingly plausible analyses on the message collection terminal looked reasonable, but people had already gone to verify them, and basically, they were useless.
"If we really have to search every place Solan lived in over the past hundred years, no amount of people would be enough. She was a painter," another male player wearing a hat said. "She visited no fewer than a hundred places, and she lived in thirty of them for over a year. I don't think the 'Ember Maiden' could be hidden in these places, and the clues are the same."
Someone agreed with his view. A middle-aged man in a white shirt with a mourning badge on his sleeve spoke up. "We should first pick out the key points."
"Dingding Flower Town is where Solan grew up and the starting point of the instance, so it's the most important."
"Additionally, I think there are a few other important places: the place where she lived after her mother remarried, her mother's cemetery, the places where she got married and gave birth to her children, the residences before and after each change in her painting themes, the place where she recuperated from illness, and finally, her own grave."
(End of Chapter)