Snow was still melting off the mountain ridges when the transformation began.
Within a week of striking gold, Evan ordered the construction of full-scale support infrastructure around the mining site. What had once been a rough camp now buzzed with heavy machinery and construction crews. Sentry Mining wasn't just digging in the dirt it was laying foundations for something permanent.
Modular dormitories were the first to rise. Sleek, insulated units with heating, hot showers, and solid beds. No more freezing in tents or sleeping in trucks. An industrial kitchen followed, then a mess hall that could seat sixty. Evan hired a rotating crew of cooks from Whitehorse, offering triple wages and better conditions than most Yukon winter jobs.
Next came the medical area small but well-stocked. A retired field medic named Marta ran it like a mini-hospital, complete with supplies Evan ordered through the system: high-end diagnostics, portable surgery tools, and even automated defibrillators.
Morale skyrocketed.
Carter shook his head as he passed the new steel-framed rec room, where some of the crew were lounging on couches watching an old hockey game on satellite TV. "You've got a better setup here than most oil camps."
"I want the best," Evan said. "Happy crews dig harder. And they stay loyal."
He wasn't wrong. Word spread fast. Skilled laborers, mechanics, and machine operators started showing up at Sentry's gates hoping for work. Evan interviewed them himself or had the system screen their records. By the end of the second week, the crew had doubled.
With the crew expansion came more machines.
Evan purchased another set of excavators, three trommels, two backup wash plants, and additional mining trucks. He even picked up a pair of new generation snowcats for winter months, and a mobile crane to support structural projects.
Carter watched the deliveries come in and smirked. "So when do we annex the rest of the Yukon?"
Evan just grinned. "Funny you mention that."
The next day, he flew into Whitehorse and walked into the Yukon Land and Mineral Office like a returning king.
"Mr. Cross!" the receptionist said, startled. "We weren't expecting "
"I'm here to purchase all adjacent land around my current claim."
The manager came out personally. "We've got good news for you. The bank had been trying to offload some of the idle parcels nearby. It's been sitting for years. We'll give you a bulk deal."
"How much?" Evan asked.
The man smiled. "Two million flat. Includes mineral rights for twelve square kilometers."
Evan didn't even blink. "Done."
Papers were signed, digital stamps applied, and by evening, Evan had nearly quadrupled his original holdings.
Back at the site, the system shimmered to life with a prompt:
[Extend Claim Enhancement?]
> Confirmed. Geological manipulation active. Redirecting high-yield veins to primary claim... Complete.
Overnight, rich gold veins slithered like glowing threads beneath his boots. The system reoriented gold density across a wide area—naturally hidden to the naked eye, but clear as daylight to Evan's augmented view.
The real gold rush was just beginning.
But not far away, someone else was drowning.
Matthew Greene sat inside a cracked trailer, surrounded by maps, debt notices, and empty coffee cups. Outside, a half-broken backhoe sat useless in the slush, and two of his workers smoked quietly by a rust-stained barrel fire.
He had purchased land just down the valley during the auction—paid nearly 1.5 million for it, convinced it was sitting on a hidden vein.
It wasn't.
Every week had been dry. The wash plants came up empty, and the core samples he drilled turned out to be worthless gravel. He'd hired a crew on credit and promised returns that never came.
One of the workers walked in and tossed down his gloves. "Boss. We're done. We're not working another day without pay."
Matthew didn't answer. He was staring at the local news report playing on a tiny TV.
"—Sentry Mining Company pulls record gold haul, estimated six million in first week. Owner Evan Cross continues expansion—"
The screen showed Evan stepping out of a new snowcat with Carter and waving at the camera.
Matthew's eye twitched. "It's rigged," he muttered. "He had insider info. That's the only way."
He reached for his satellite phone and hesitated. He had already burned through most of his investor goodwill. His last option was a mining loan with criminal interest rates and they were expecting repayment.
The stress, the cold, and the crushing realization of total failure settled over him like an avalanche.
Outside, the wind howled across the barren land—the land with no gold.
Back on Evan's side of the valley, the generators hummed, the wash plants roared, and a new banner hung over the mess hall: "SENTRY MINING — NO SURRENDER, NO SHORTCUTS."
But Evan knew the truth.
There were shortcuts.
You just needed the right system.