008

He hadn't known them before this but due to the harsh environment in this line of work, people were rather sociable and welcoming of their own. Miners were all one big family. And number 748 was soon very chummy with the group.

It turned out they planned to get to the cafeteria first. Number 748 told them he was going out for once, after having finally gotten some money, in order to become a man. It would have been a very stupid excuse if not for them being what they were: miners. People knew that there was no hope in this job and there were very few women. Also, there weren't any women on this planet who wished to be with a miner. It ended up with miners being forced to pay for services if they ever wanted to spend time with a woman… So, the miners, instead of ridiculing him and such, insisted on sending him out all the way to the gates. Which is exactly what he hoped for. It would seem far less suspicious.

As they arrived at the gates, a few guards were patrolling. It wasn't rare for miners to go out and come back but the guards only cared about the entrances. Who left didn't matter but who entered and with what? Now, that was important. Of course, they still checked the bags of miners who left the mine, making sure they weren't trying to steal some ores.

Number 748 opened his bag while faking calmness. The guard moved his hand inside the bag and only felt ration boxes and canteens. He picked a ration box and saw it was empty. As for the canteen he picked…It was one of those filled with the pond water and a few stones. Number 748 was scared out of his wits. Yet the guard did not notice it.

To him, this was just a canteen with water.

He was allowed passage and left under the cheers of the miners he just met, wishing him a happy night and such… He didn't plan to go to a brothel though. He didn't have any money anyways.

And that was the thing, he needed cash. He wasn't going to just go to a jewelry store and sell his gems though. He would be beaten up, stolen from and maybe even killed for it. He was too weak and owned things far too precious… He had nearly been killed for having a few meal tickets at the mine…

He sighed as he walked through the city streets with nothing but his bag and clothes. The dirtiness of his outfit was a stark contrast to the immaculate roads and well-clothed people walking around. They always made sure to be at least a meter away from him, regardless of the directions they walked in. As for eye contact? They always dodged it. He was probably a repulsive creature in their eyes.

He couldn't blame them. He was indeed very dirty right now. Not like he had ever felt clean.

He went into a small alley and sat down for a moment, thinking of what he would do next. There were many ways he could get some cash from the gems. What he needed to consider was the safety of those ways.

He first pondered on what he would do after getting the money. And that was obvious: leave this planet. As such, it would be better to sell the gem close to the space airport. That way, there would be minimal dangers of being ambushed after the deal…

Good enough for a first step.

He opened his bag, picked a box and opened it to reveal dozens of very small gems the size of rice grains. He picked one and closed the box before putting it back inside the bag. He got up, grabbed his bag and left the alley.

He knew where the space station was so, he began to make his way towards that place. He felt ashamed by the gazes of disgust but could only endure. One day, no one would dare look at him in such a way.

…

The space airport was close to the eastern exit of the city. It was gigantic as it catered to both interstellar travel and planetary travel. What's more, due to being close to the mine, it had a lot of business in cargo transport.

He had thought of bribing some guards to let him board one of those cargo spaceships but decided against it. There were just too many risks from start to finish. It was better to get money somewhere else and buy a ticket legally. No one would care about one more immigrant…

As he reached the airport and saw the gigantic white and blue building, he felt excited. This was the gateway to his freedom!

He made his way closer to the entrance to observe the people coming in and out. After much debate, he decided to trade with someone who came from a different planet. He would no doubt earn far less than the true worth of the gem but the risks were low.

At least, he believed that the risks of being ambushed were close to zero. As long as he found the right target of course. Someone that looked wealthy but not that much…

And he found his target soon enough.

A middle-aged man in a suit who shouted angrily through his phone while walking in circles not far from the entrance. He approached the man who looked at him with suspicion and disgust, not even trying to hide anything. But number 748 ignored it and went closer before he said: "Would you like to make a deal, Sir?"

The middle-aged man looked at him with even more disgust before he told him to fuck off in a very impolite way. However, 748 was not one to give up. He opened his palm to show the gem. The man looked at it and dropped his phone due to the surprise.

748 asked him: "What about now?"