System's POV

Chapter 336 Greed Is Good

??A day after Thirteen arrived in the Rigel Continent…

"Your Battalion's uniform is so… eye-catching," Benedict commented as he looked at Zion's subordinates, who had finally dressed in their military uniforms.

"I know, right?" Thirteen said proudly as if he was the one that raised these Wanderers since they were just babies.

Even the other representatives of the influential families couldn't look at them for a very long time because the light-green color was blinding to their eyes.

The Wanderers from the Dvalinn Federation, who were also stationed in the military base couldn't help but look at the Green Lanterns weirdly.

However, after being looked at with such gazes for more than a month, the Green Lanterns no longer felt embarrassed because they were already numb at the attention.

"So, what do you plan to do today, Zion?" Benedict asked. "Yesterday you ordered your people to unload their equipment, and modify their Humvees. I'm sure that you are going to mobilize them today, right?"

"That's right," Thirteen nodded.

"So, what do you have in mind?" Benedict inquired. "If you want to hunt monsters, I can guide you to a place where lower-ranked Monsters are located."

"Thanks for the offer, Uncle Benedict, but what I want to do right now is a bit of treasure hunting," Thirteen answered.

"Treasure hunting? Here?"

"Yes."

Thirteen then tapped his watch, creating a 3d Layout of the surrounding area that spanned for ten miles.

This information was also included in the Data Chip that the Dvalinn Federation had given him.

"I plan to investigate this place to see if we can mine some precious ores and minerals," Thirteen stated. "Uncle, are you feeling lucky today? If so, how about you point to a location on the map where we can start our mining operation? If we get something, I promise to give you ten percent."

"Ten Percent?" Benedict chuckled. "Are you sure you will really find something? At most I am certain that you will only find rocks here in this place."

"Well, how about we give it a go?" Thirteen said with a smile. "Point to the place where you think there might be some precious ores that we can mine, Uncle."

Thirteen had started calling Benedict, Uncle, which amused the Old Man. However, since getting called Uncle by the Legendary Rookie gave him some brownie points, he decided to accept it as his way of forming stronger connections with Zion.

"How about we choose Sector 5?" Uncle Benedict said as he pointed at a location on the projection.

The moment his finger came in contact with the projection, the area zoomed in, showing the topography of the land.

"This small mountain is only inhabited by Lower-Ranked Jinns, so it will not be a problem for you to start digging on this place. It will be a good exercise for your subordinates."

Thirteen looked in the direction where the Old Man had pointed and nodded his head.

"Understood," Thirteen commented. "We will move out in an hour."

The representatives of the influential families glanced at each other and shook their heads helplessly.

They had just arrived on the island, and the first thing that Zion Leventis wanted to do was to go treasure hunting.

If treasures could be gained by randomly pointing to a location in the map then the Dvalinn Federation would have already benefited a lot many years ago.

Just as Thirteen stated, he and his men ventured towards Sector Five, accompanied by Michael, Benedict, and the other representatives of the Monarch Clan, and the three Prestigious Families.

When they arrived at their destination, everyone disembarked, and surveyed the surroundings.

"Uncle, where do you think we should dig first?" Thirteen asked.

"How about right under my foot?" Benedict replied in a teasing tone.

"Okay, we'll dig under your foot," Thirteen smirked. "Alcapone, come here."

The Squad Leader of the E4 Mafia, Alcapoone, grudgingly walked towards Thirteen carrying a shovel in his hand.

He originally planned to take a nap inside the Humvee, but for some reason, their Battalion Commander always kept a close watch on their group, preventing them from lazing around.

But, before he could start digging, Thirteen told him to wait as he set up the Military Equipment, which would allow him to communicate with Colonel Fischer back in the Freedom Garrison.

"Sir, we have safely arrived in the Rigel Continent," Thirteen saluted as soon as he saw the projection of the Colonel.

"Good." Colonel Fischer saluted back. "So, what are you doing right now?"

"I plan to start digging for resources. If we are lucky enough to find anything, I'll give the Central Government ten percent of the materials we get through mining."

"Mining?" Colonel Fischer tilted his head in confusion. "I thought you were going there to train?"

"Mining is also part of the training," Thirteen answered. "It will help them build muscles and stamina."

"Well, if you say so." Colonel Fischer nodded.

After seeing that his witness was ready, Thirteen glanced at his Squad Leader and finally gave an order.

"Start digging, Alcapone," Thirteen said. "If you get something, I promise that it will be yours."

"… Yes, Sir," Alcapone replied while sighing in his heart.

The tallest and bulkiest member of the E4 Mafia started to dig, while his fellow shammers made themselves look busy by holding a blank piece of paper, and glancing at their surroundings, acting very important.

Benedict watched the disgruntled soldier dig and dig some more.

Finally, after digging down two meters, everyone heard a resounding clinking sound as if the military shovel had hit some kind of metal.

Benedict looked down on the hole, and saw Alcapone starting to dig carefully in the ground under his feet.

Suddenly, and without warning, the old man jumped into the hole and picked up something from the ground, which made his eyes wide.

In his hand was a green crystal which was emanating a faint light at its center.

"Empyrium," Benedict said hoarsely. "It is really Empyrium."

Empyrium was a precious ore that was very important to the military because it had many uses.

It could be used as a power source for vehicles, similar to how nuclear reactors were used.

The good thing about it was that it could also be used to power up weapons like cannons and special armaments that used energy-based attacks.

Colonel Fischer, who saw the Empyrium, stood up from his chair, and looked at it with bloodshot eyes.

He never expected that Zion's subordinates would really discover something precious just by digging randomly in the ground.

"Um, Sir, I believe that Empyrium is mine," Alcapone said timidly because it was something that Zion had promised to him.

Since he was the one who found it, it was something that rightfully belonged to him.

"Uncle, if there's one here, it means there are more lying around under this place," Thirteen stated which made Benedict snap out from his daze.

The old man then reluctantly gave the Empyrium to Alcapone, making the latter very happy.

The palm sized Empyrium in his hand was already worth tens of thousands of gold coins. If he could find more then wouldn't that make him filthy rich?

The members of the E4 Mafia, who were doing their best to avoid working, immediately started digging around the place where Alcapone found his Empyrium.

To their surprise, they only needed to dig two meters deep before they got their own Empyrium Ores, making the representatives of the Dvalinn Federation ecstatic.

But, before they could celebrate, several trucks belonging to the Leventis Family arrived at the scene.

Michael didn't hesitate to give an order, and his subordinates immediately began constructing mining equipment, which made Benedict's jaw drop.

"Y-You seem very prepared, Michael," Benedict stuttered as he looked at Arthur's son, who was barking orders here and there.

"Didn't my nephew already say it earlier, Sir Benedict?" Michael asked as he fixed the glasses on his face. "We came here to get rich. Thank you for pointing out a good location to start our mining operations."

Thirteen, who was standing by the side, lightly patted Benedict's waist, making the Old Man glance in his direction.

"Don't worry, Uncle," Thirteen stated. "You'll get ten percent. Thank you for making us rich."

"Zion, remember, the Central Government will also take ten percent of your gains," Colonel Fischer said. "I'll make sure to put in a good word to the Generals, as well as the Field Marshal about your contributions.

"Also, do we need to send more people to assist you? Empyrium is a very precious resource. Do we need to set up a camp to protect that site from monsters?"

"There will be no need for that, Colonel," one of the representatives of the Nightshade Family stated. "We will be more than enough to protect this place. Of course, we will also ask for ten percent for our trouble."

The members of the Dvalinn Federation all nodded their heads enthusiastically, and some of them were already talking to their patriarchs using their Communicators.

The discovery of an Empyrium mine was a big deal, and they wanted to mine as much as possible before the Monstres in the Continent got wind of what they were doing in Sector 5.

While this was happening, a certain Magma Bal-Boa, who was digging underground with Tiona, was busy spitting out Empyrium from under the ground.

Last night, Thirteen had asked him and Tiona to look for important minerals, and resources that were buried deep underground.

The first thing that the two found was an Empyrium Mine, which Rocky happily collected, overnight.

Since he could easily swallow minerals without disturbing the layout of the land, the mining went smoothly.

Of course, he wasn't able to gather everything overnight, but he gathered enough for what Thirteen had in mind.

The Empyrium Mine was big, so all Rocky needed to do was spit out all the Empyrium that he gathered, which was roughly only ten percent of the Empyrium that could be found at the mining area which was two miles away from where his Master was.

When Thirteen said that they would move in an hour, he told Rocky to start dumping the Empyrium in Sector 5, then return to the mine to gather the rest.

The ten percent that Rocky deposited in Sector 5 would be shared by everyone, while he would get ninety-percent of everything, which he would secretly send back to his home, using a special teleportation device that he had prepared for this expedition.

What he wanted to do was to create an illusion for everyone that, wherever he went, treasures and precious minerals could be acquired.

This would make him a very precious individual in the eyes of the Elrod Clan, the three Prestigious Families, as well as the Central Government.

As long as he was able to execute his plans properly, he would become the Super VIP Guest of the Dvalinn Federation, forming a solid connection with them, which he planned to use in the not-so-distant-future.