So this was the mining sector. Yuta headed straight to a supply kiosk to collect his gear, scanning his wrist device at the counter before picking up his equipment.
A heavy industrial lift descended into unknown depths beneath the planet's surface. Nobody knew exactly how deep it went—looking down revealed nothing but an endless, swallowing darkness. Standing next to Yuta was a young worker around his own age. "First time down here?" the boy asked. Yuta gave a brief nod.
"Yeah, I just arrived yesterday. I'm Yuta."
"Name's Kali. I've been stuck in these mines for two years now."
"Got any advice for a rookie?" Yuta asked.
Kali leaned in close, whispering into Yuta's ear. "See that half-giant standing near the back? Stay far away from him. Whenever he notices a slave making good credits, he starts targeting them. A few workers have even ended up dead because of him."
"Hm, I'll keep my eyes open," Yuta replied.
Before long, the lift ground to a halt at the lowest level, and work assignments were dished out. The mine sat deep within the planet's crust, fed by heavy oxygen supply pipes, though every miner was also issued a compact emergency oxygen cylinder.
Yuta claimed an isolated corner and began digging into the rock face with his pickaxe and shovel. Shortly into his shift, his spade struck a dense, radiant crystal. A Golden Ruby! Yuta thought, recognizing it immediately from the basic research he'd done before arriving. Golden Rubies were extremely rare mineral formations that fetched a fortune. He quickly slipped the glowing crystal into his pack—unaware that a pair of greedy eyes had caught every second of it.
"Hey! Go tell Big Bro Jonathan there's a Golden Ruby in this sector!" an informant muttered to his lackey. "Big Bro" Jonathan was a brutal half-giant infamous for terrorizing workers and covering up his own deadly mistakes in the pitch-black tunnels.
A controlled detonation was scheduled in the main tunnel, and workers were instructed to clear the blast perimeter. Yuta backed away, waiting for the charges to go off. Demolitions were routine down here, though workplace fatalities from stray rockfalls were common. The ledge where Yuta stood bordered a massive, shadowy wall fissure—a bottomless chasm leading into unexplored subterranean voids.
Yuta realized with a sudden chill that one wrong step could send him tumbling into the abyss. Meanwhile, Jonathan had been stalking toward him through the crowd. Seeing the half-giant approach, other miners quietly scrambled out of the way. Stepping up behind Yuta, Jonathan cast a quick glance over his shoulder to ensure the guards were looking elsewhere.
Seconds later, the explosives detonated. A violent shockwave rattled the cavern, hurling clouds of pulverized stone and thick dust into the air until visibility dropped to zero and breathing felt like swallowing silt. In the blinding haze, Yuta felt a massive hand yank violently at his backpack from behind. Which bastard is trying to steal my pack?! Yuta instantly realized someone had seen the Golden Ruby and was trying to snatch it during the chaos.
Rather than wrestling for the bag, Yuta swiftly slipped his arms out of the straps, letting the intruder yank it away—but not before reaching into the unzipped pocket and grabbing the Golden Ruby out of it.
Feeling the sudden release of tension, Jonathan snatched the heavy pack, but unzipping it in the dark, his hand met empty space. Realizing he'd been outsmarted, rage surged through the half-giant. Blinded by the choking dust, he lunged forward—only for his foot to hit empty air. His momentum carried him over the edge, losing his balance completely.
His heavy leg plunged directly into the chasm—much like stepping blindly into an open manhole—and the crushing pull of gravity dragged his massive frame down after it.
Flailing helplessly in the pitch-black dust storm, Jonathan thrashed his arms around, trying to catch hold of anything solid to anchor his massive weight. Suddenly, his fingers brushed against flesh.
Yuta had stepped back after securing the crystal, terrified of falling into the drop behind him. He tried to stay rooted to the spot, but without warning, a brute hand shot out through the smoke and locked around his arm with a bone-crushing grip.
Jonathan possessed giant-type brute strength. Before Yuta could brace himself or break free, the half-giant's falling momentum yanked him straight off the ledge. A terrifying scream echoed into the deep trench.
If you were gonna fall, you should've fallen alone! Why drag me down with you?! Yuta cursed internally as his life flashed before his eyes. Mid-fall, both of them slammed hard against a protruding rock face along the chasm wall. The impact broke Jonathan's iron grip, separating them. Freed from the heavy monster dragging him down, Yuta's freefall slowed as he bounced off jagged ledges, desperately clawing at the stone walls—earning himself nasty cuts and scrapes in the process. His body ricocheted sideways before slamming onto a hard surface. Everything went still. Did I hit the bottom?... Either way, these must be my final moments...
Darkness swallowed Yuta as he drifted into unconsciousness. Hours passed without a twitch. When he finally opened his eyes, a strange realization washed over him: he was alive. Apart from a few bloodied scrapes on his hands, his body was remarkably intact.
"Ugh... where am I?" Yuta groaned, memories of the terrifying fall flooding back. Wait... I didn't die? The abyss around him was suffocatingly dark, illuminated only by the faint glow of his wrist watch. Raising his arm, the dim light revealed he was resting on an isolated stone platform roughly ten meters wide.
The chasm was vastly wider on the inside than the narrow slit appeared from above. Jonathan hadn't been as lucky—missing the platform entirely, the half-giant had plummeted into the bottomless depths below. Yuta cautiously surveyed the platform. Knowing no rescue team would ever venture down here to find him, he had to figure out a way out on his own.
Scanning his surroundings under the watch's weak beam, he found no obvious exits or paths upward. But then his eyes caught something chilling: a withered corpse, slumping against the cavern wall.
Whose corpse lies buried in the forgotten depths of the abyss? And can Yuta find a way out... or is he trapped forever?
Stay tuned for the next chapter of... The Unemployed CEO!