Unfortunately, things never go exactly as planned.
Old Shi’s unexpected death led to an investigation by his family.
Wang Dong learned afterward that Old Shi, without mentioning it, was actually a distant relative of the mine owner.
It wasn’t a big deal normally, but since the man died in the mining area, even a distant relative was still a relative, and they needed an explanation.
So, Wang Dong was targeted.
They demanded a huge sum of compensation, which Wang Dong naturally refused.
Old Shi’s sons, using the mine owner’s influence, laid numerous small traps for Wang Dong and became a constant nuisance.
This would cause him a lot of trouble later.
The unusual happenings initially seemed within a reasonable range.
But once someone started paying attention, it would inevitably draw even more scrutiny.
Wang Dong, unaware of this, would find that the precautions he thought he’d taken when dealing with certain matters were no longer confidential.
This time, Wang Dong wouldn’t be as impulsive and reckless as he was in his previous life.
That method might have been more satisfying.
But it lacked control.
A perpetrator who cannot control the development of the situation is a failed perpetrator.
Having endured countless trials and tribulations in his past life, Wang Dong, when dealing with this pesky problem from Old Shi, only needed a quick thought to come up with three or four solutions.
For the long term, the best solution for this persistent nuisance was simply to eliminate him.
Wang Dong had ways to deal with not only his sons but also the mine owner himself.
But not yet.
If he, this butterfly, hadn’t yet begun flapping its wings, or if the extent of its flapping wasn’t yet significant enough, then in ten days, Wang Dong would reach a turning point in his destiny.
Of course, with opportunity comes immense risk.
At this critical moment, any unnecessary trouble needed to be avoided.
It wasn’t just that Wang Dong had suffered losses from this matter in his previous life.
Even if he hadn’t encountered any trouble after dealing with Old Shi, Wang Dong’s careful and cautious habits developed from years of running would prevent him from doing such a thing.
He chose the most direct and decisive method to temporarily deal with this sticky situation with Old Shi.
It was the skill Wang Dong had displayed earlier, a spaceship piloting technique that far surpassed Old Shi’s.
Like racing cars, when you leave someone so far behind they can’t even see your taillights, how can they possibly continue to bother you?
Old Shi now felt that sense of despondency and helplessness.
The gap was simply too large.
After just fifteen minutes of pursuit, Wang Dong’s Mine King II had completely vanished from his sight.
Though the near-space detection device on his ship could still see the signal of the Mine King II, what was the point?
It was only a matter of time before the Mine King II was out of range of the detector.
Looking at Wang Dong’s route, a straight line diving deep into the mining area, and the complexity of the airspace, indicated by the almost full screen of flashing red dots on the detector, Old Shi’s self-awareness suddenly ignited.
He couldn't even see the exhaust stream from the ship's tail engine, let alone catch up?
Even with a fixed route, he wouldn't dare to enter such a complex airspace, let alone track him?
At that moment, Old Shi understood.
He felt he had found a revelation, one that didn't require a blind man's explanation.
Whether Wang Dong was playing with him before or not, based on the spaceship piloting skills he had just displayed, Wang Dong’s mining range could be several levels higher than anyone else!
So, if Wang Dong was reaping a bountiful harvest every time he mined, what was the problem?
Even if there was a problem, he couldn't catch up.
If he couldn't catch up, he wouldn’t dare to follow him into the depths of the mining area, so how could he discover any secrets?
Old Shi didn’t know that in his previous life, Wang Dong’s skills were only slightly better than his.
In terms of ratings, he was at the peak of the "veteran" level, approaching the "elite" level.
After his rebirth, Wang Dong’s spaceship piloting skills had easily broken through to the "elite" level, and he was at the peak of that level.
He was a whole tier higher than Old Shi.
This resulted in the complete beatdown he had just witnessed.
With a timely display of skill, Wang Dong successfully misled Old Shi, intentionally or not, with the following: Wang Dong was able to obtain such a rich harvest every time because of his extraordinary spaceship piloting skills, allowing him to venture into the depths of asteroid belts that others dared not.
There were richer ore veins there, and the quality of the ores was also higher.
This deception was enough to temporarily dispel some of Old Shi’s delusions.
And all Wang Dong needed was this temporary reprieve.
Old Shi abandoned the pursuit.
Wang Dong had already put the matter behind him.
Old Shi was a seasoned miner, and without Wang Dong deliberately enticing him into the depths of the mining area, he was capable of handling most situations.
The outer areas of the mining area had less complex airspace, and even if an engine malfunctioned in a certain direction, there was room for maneuver.
Furthermore, poor condition was not necessarily indicative of damage.
In his previous life, Old Shi’s orientation adjustment engine wouldn’t have overloaded so easily without Wang Dong’s deliberate actions.
Wang Dong had a mission on this trip.
He needed to mine, and not taking anything back would look too suspicious.
Wang Dong, back from his rebirth, was now truly cautious.
But he needed to distinguish priorities.
Wang Dong’s goal was to try and collect some energy crystals.
Energy crystals could also be considered a type of mineral.
Its composition was exceptionally pure, a type of crystalline element with complex formation conditions and multiple uses.
Energy crystals rarely existed in independent veins, often found alongside other mineral veins.
Based on the degree of energy compression within the crystal itself, there were multiple grades.
The permanent functions of Wang Dong’s system only consumed some stamina.
However, after activation, various functions required energy crystals to use.
Before his system was activated in his past life, he didn’t know this, and after obtaining ownership of the battleship and officially activating the system, a problem arose.
Many functions required energy crystals to use, and without them, he couldn’t use them immediately.
Now that he knew this in advance, he wouldn’t waste time.