Versatile Mage

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan took a quick glance and saw a few bright silver stones poking out of the yellow sand.

It did not matter if it was a public or private territory; third parties were only allowed to extract minerals in cooperation. They were not allowed to transport resources without permission.

It was obvious that the foreman had lied about the resources they were extracting and were after the more valuable silver ore. Most importantly, they were paying cheaper taxes for the yellow soil!

“Foreman, that’s very dishonest of you. It took us a great deal of effort to secure this land for Fanxue Mountain. You could just cooperate with us. Why were you lying to us instead? You are stealing from us!” Mo Fan demanded to know.

The foreman was about to rise to his feet, yet his legs weakened again when Mu Ningxue exposed him. He soon burst into tears.

“I couldn’t help it. The truth is, I didn’t know about the silver ore at first. I was only thinking of setting up a small mine!” the man answered quickly.

“I was wondering why you would build a mine here when the soil here isn’t even of good quality. Enough of your pitiful act; if you don’t spill the beans, I will send you to the mines that are used for reformation and you won’t be back here in the next thirty years,” Mo Fan snorted.

“Please, don’t do that, I only came back a few years ago… I’ll tell you everything!” the man begged him.

“Ugh… you just came back from the mines?” Mo Fan was startled.

“Yeah, I was in Gansu. I used to be a mine surveyor, but they sent me to a remote place and punished me with five years of manual labor because I made a mistake. I learned something in those five years, and figured out how to locate the silver stone ore accurately. After I came back from Gansu, I was hoping to make a fortune with my skill. I heard Fanxue Mountain is new and the rules weren’t strict, so I decided to sneak in here and…” the foreman trailed off.

“You requested permission to build five mines near Fanxue Mountain. This is only the first one, right?” Mu Ningxue pressed him.

“Yeah, this is my first mine. I was planning to make a fortune from it before investing in the rest!” the foreman confirmed.

“There are four more mines?” Mo Fan was astounded.

“Do the four of them have silver stone ore, too?” Mu Ningxue also asked with a surprised face.

“Yes, exactly! Fanxue Mountain happens to be rich in silver ore. It took me a year to figure it all out!” The foreman did not dare lie any further.

Mu Ningxue took out her phone and called Mu Linsheng after hearing what he had to say.

“Linsheng, put everything you are doing aside and come see me right now!” Mu Ningxue ordered.

“Do we have to handle the matter? It’s only a little contractor stealing some ore from us?” Mu Linsheng protested.

“Our Fanxue Mountain has five silver mines! The same contractor has requested being allowed to mine all of them!” Mu Ningxue went on.

“Silver mines? Five of them?”

“Yes!”

“I’ll be right over… Vice Mayor, I have something urgent to attend to. I won’t be able to stay here any longer. No, I wasn’t disrespecting you. My…my wife is about to give birth. She’s at the hospital now. (Sigh), yes, thank you for your understanding,” Mu Linsheng said on the other end.

Mo Fan was a little confused. He did not understand why Mu Ningxue had to call Mu Linsheng over.

—

Mu Linsheng was not exaggerating. He soon arrived in a helicopter.

The propellers of the helicopter swept the dust into the air. Mu Linsheng knew there was no place for the helicopter to land on, so he simply decided to jump from it.

“Catch me!” Mu Linsheng’s cultivation was far from impressive. He would injure himself badly if he did not have any help.

Mo Fan caught him with Telekinesis. However, he was unable to control his power properly, and Mu Linsheng almost fell to the ground miserably.

“Mu Linsheng, why are you in such a rush?” Mo Fan had to ask.

“How could I not be impatient? These are five silver mines we are talking about, five of them!” Mu Linsheng was very excited. He completely ignored the dust on his face.

“It’s just five silver mines. Why are you making such a huge fuss over it?” Mo Fan said.

“Boss, you are ignorant to even say that. Do you have any idea how expensive silver stone is right now? A silver stone mine can support a small platoon. If we really have five silver stone mines, we are going to be rich overnight!” Mu Linsheng said.

“Rich overnight? Is it really that crazy? Could this perverted-looking man with a big nose really dig up something so valuable?” Mo Fan looked at the foreman suspiciously.

The foreman’s eyes reddened. He told Mo Fan sincerely, “Mister, I was a mine surveyor working for the country when I was younger. Besides, do you seriously not know how valuable silver stones are? Why do you think the Battle Beast Mercenary Group came here and threatened to bury us all alive?”

Mo Fan looked at Mu Linsheng, Mu Ningxue, and finally back at the foreman.

Seriously? Was he really going to become rich in just one night?

“Boss, a mine of this scale can bring us an annual profit of this sum!” Mu Linsheng spread his fingers.

“Fifty million? Mm, that’s impressive. If we have five of them, we will earn two hundred and fifty million every year!” Mo Fan was satisfied.

“Boss, I meant five hundred million!” Mu Linsheng corrected him.

“Do you think I’m that bad at math? Isn’t fifty million times five two hundred and fifty million?” Mo Fan said suspiciously.

“Mo Fan, I think he meant each mine will bring us a profit of five hundred million every year,” Mu Ningxue explained calmly.

“Holy crap!”

A silver ore mine would bring them a profit of five hundred million every year. Was it some kind of golden fuel?

“A silver mine usually lasts for two to three years, but if we can make a huge fortune in the next two to three years, our Fanxue Mountain will seriously become the strongest powerhouse in Feiniao Headquarters City!” Mu Linsheng declared.

“Uh… actually, I also found traces of silver ore along the coast and islands of the East China Sea before I came to Fanxue Mountain. There should be even richer veins there. The silver ore that is dug up from the ocean usually has a higher density. I could find more of them if it weren’t for the sea monsters,” the foreman spoke up.

“Are you trying to absolve yourself?” Mo Fan said.

“No, not at all, I…I just don’t want to go back to the mines and do manual labor. I’m not exaggerating, but you won’t find a better expert on silver mines than me. After all, the experts have never worked in the mines themselves. I just want to live a free life and make some money… I realized I’m placing my workers in danger if I keep operating my mines illegally. Therefore, I’m willing to work for you as long as you don’t send me to jail,” the foreman said with tears rolling down his face.

Mo Fan was surprised. He had not expected the foreman to be such a talented person!

That being said, he was obviously asking for death if he operated the mines himself. He would not be able to handle the greedy scum of society or demon creatures!

“Fine, considering you still have some conscience left, Fanxue Mountain will recruit you,” Mo Fan said after giving it some thought.