Pain made Assam's resolute face furrow.
A moment later, he also felt an extra surge of strength within his body, and delight filled his eyes.
"So this was Lord's intention? How miraculous."
"Thank you for your whipping, esteemed Lord!"
Assam spoke respectfully.
At that moment, Assam said somewhat sheepishly, "Lord, may I ask... could you whip me a few more times?"
"Assam wants to become even stronger!"
Cao Xing shook his head. "No. Only the first whipping has an effect."
Hearing this, Assam nodded with some regret.
Meanwhile, the others listening to their conversation were completely dumbfounded.
Although they knew Cao Xing's actions might have some purpose, this was still far too strange.
Cao Xing knew they had gotten the wrong idea. He coughed twice, then explained the whip's effects to them.
Once they heard this, realization appeared in everyone's eyes.
Then Cao Xing said, "Andrew, Sarah, let me bestow this blessing upon you as well."
Andrew and Sarah exchanged a glance, then nodded.
Cao Xing whipped them one by one.
Smack!
Smack!
The deep, secluded mine echoed with the sound of whips cracking.
Andrew was fine. His hide was thick and tough, and this little pain did not affect him.
Sarah, on the other hand, trembled faintly.
If it had said "Sarah's loyalty +6" here, it would have been an instant kill.
When it was Liu Muxue's turn, she looked fearfully at the whip in Cao Xing's hand and softly asked, "A-Xing... do I have to do it too?"
Cao Xing considered it for a moment, then nodded. "Yes. Ten percent movement speed is no small boost."
"And you only need to endure the first strike. It'll be over soon."
Liu Muxue thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "Okay."
Cao Xing had no other thoughts and directly lashed out with the whip.
"Mm!"
Liu Muxue let out a muffled groan, then looked at Cao Xing pitifully.
"It... it hurts..."
Seeing this, Cao Xing could not help recalling what had happened last night, and his blood surged for a moment.
However, he quickly calmed down.
Cao Xing coughed twice. "The buffs have all been applied. Let's continue onward."
Andrew and Assam continued forward.
A set of rails ran through the passage, extending deeper into the mine.
As Cao Xing followed the route, he collected the rails from the ground.
Rail +1 Rail +1
Before long, Cao Xing had already collected over a hundred meters of rails!
Even if they were dismantled into iron, they would yield several hundred pieces!
Cao Xing said happily, "Once I pick up a few more rails, I can connect that coal mine to my territory. Resource collection speed will increase dramatically."
Just then, a fork appeared in the mine ahead.
The passage on the left seemed to lead deeper into the mine, and the faint roar of machinery came from within.
The passage on the right was sealed with wooden planks, marked with a red X.
This seemed to be a restricted area.
Everyone stopped in place and waited for Cao Xing's decision.
After considering it for a moment, Cao Xing said, "Andrew, tear down the planks. Let me see what's inside first."
Following the order, Andrew swung his massive bear paw and slammed it forward.
Crack! Crash!
The planks shattered, revealing the scene within the mine.
Cao Xing saw several overturned mine carts ahead. Beside them lay some already excavated ore, scattered across the ground.
It seemed the Mole People had encountered something and left it behind when they were unable to evacuate in time.
Sarah, hidden in the shadows, suddenly spoke. "I sense a dangerous presence inside..."
Cao Xing frowned upon hearing that.
Sarah was a level 20 elite monster. If even she found it dangerous, there had to be some terrifying creature inside.
Cao Xing said, "Sarah, go scout it out."
Sarah nodded, then vanished directly into the shadows.
A minute later, Sarah reappeared and said, "Scouting complete. There is a second-tier monster nest inside."
"A second-tier monster? How strong is it?"
Sarah considered it for a moment before replying, "It should be about as strong as I am."
Cao Xing nodded in understanding.
About as strong as Sarah meant a level 20 elite monster.
Cao Xing asked, "Are you confident you can handle it?"
After thinking for a moment, Sarah replied, "With the blessing bestowed by Lord, it should not be a problem."
"If we also work together with these two companions, victory is practically assured."
Cao Xing felt reassured.
"Very good. Then let's go in!"
As soon as he spoke, Andrew and Assam headed straight into the mine passage on the right.
Cao Xing and Liu Muxue followed behind them.
He soon arrived in front of one of the overturned mine carts, where more ore lay scattered nearby.
Cao Xing directly packed up both the mine cart and the ore on the ground.
Obtained Mine Cart ×1, Iron Ore ×31, Cursed Metal ×7, Mithril Ore ×8, Mana Stone ×17, Stone ×64...
"Oh? So much mithril and so many Mana Stones?" Cao Xing was delighted.
These were all high-grade materials, after all, and extremely valuable.
Cao Xing began examining them.
Iron Ore: Can be processed at an Ore Processing Plant. One piece of ore can be processed into five pieces of iron. Cursed Metal: A metal fused with the resentment of the dead. (Can be used to make certain evil alchemical items.) Mithril Ore: Can be processed at an Ore Processing Plant. One piece of Mithril Ore can be processed into three pieces of mithril. (Note: Requires a level 3 Ore Processing Plant.) Mana Stone: A stone containing energy that can supply power to certain special devices.
Cao Xing nodded in satisfaction and looked toward the other mine carts on the ground.
Then he packed them all away.
Obtained Mine Cart ×1, Iron Ore ×42, Cursed Metal ×9, Mithril Ore ×7, Mana Stone ×19, Stone ×72...
He did not even spare the rails on the ground.
Obtained Rail ×42, Abandoned Mine Cart ×7, Obtained...
Cao Xing followed behind Andrew and Assam, collecting all kinds of ore from the ground as he went.
Liu Muxue helped collect it as well.
As she picked things up, she said with a delighted smile, "A-Xing, there's so much Iron Ore, and so much Mithril Ore too!"
Cao Xing nodded. "This haul is really good. Just these ores and mine carts alone have made the trip worthwhile."
Liu Muxue's face was also filled with the joy of a good harvest.
Clearly, the Moleman Mine was a high-level area.
At least with the current strength of the survivors, there was simply no way they could enter.
Cao Xing, however, was able to enter the Moleman Mine at this level to search for treasure because he had three powerful subordinates.
The gains could be considered extremely bountiful.
By now, Cao Xing had collected nearly two hundred sections of rail.
Fortunately, survivors' portable backpacks had twenty storage slots. Materials of the same type could be stacked in groups of four hundred within a single slot.
Even large items like mine carts could be stacked to nearly one hundred, taking up only one storage slot.
The portable backpack was quite spacious.
The group continued onward.
Until they reached the depths of the passage.
The light here suddenly dimmed.
However, after Cao Xing took out a Magic-Energy Stone Torch from his backpack, the darkness inside was immediately dispelled.
They noticed white spiderwebs appearing along the ceiling and walls of the mine.
The deeper they went, the denser the webs became.
Some huge webs even filled the passage, blocking everyone's path.
At the same time, an evil and powerful aura rushed toward them!
Before you continue