Rumble!

From far away, the ground rumbled.

Creak! Creak!

The door and window let out piercing screams. The bed sloshed like a lake disturbed by a stone.

“…Huh?”

Sam opened his eyes from his deep sleep. His vision was blurry from lying down, but he abruptly got up.

‘An earthquake?’

He arched his back. Everyone feared a natural disaster like an earthquake, but miners feared them even more, and Sam especially disliked earthquakes.

The earthquake soon stopped, but Sam’s heart failed to calm down.

‘Let me take a look outside.’

The earthquake might have affected the mine. He couldn’t investigate its effects carefully at this time of the night, but he could scan the mine’s exterior. He quickly put on his clothes and got out.

*    *    *

Hans stared at the window that Zich jumped out of.

‘What is going on?’

Hans thought Zich would return soon, but even after much time had passed, Zich still hadn’t come back. Hans even thought of going to sleep first since Zich seemed open-minded about these kinds of matters; he didn’t think Zich would nitpick about who slept first. However, the earthquake lingered on his mind. It was ridiculous to think that there would be any human involvement...