Mining Day

"All the guys at the academy love them. They even use the martial arts from Yang Yong's books to give tactical maneuvers nicknames. A top-down assault is called Flying Dragon in the Sky, and Three-Stage Charge is called Coiled Dragon Regrets. It's absolutely hilarious."

Tu Tu Tu imitated the martial arts-obsessed guys at the academy performing in the public channel during simulated battles, making it so vivid that she couldn't stop laughing at her own impression.

"Hahaha, that really is funny."

Wang Dong listened to Tu Tu Tu's laughter, clear as wind chimes on a summer day, and pictured starships locked in combat while all kinds of move names suddenly burst out over the public channel.

"Bro, take this! Flying Dragon in the Sky! Huh, you dodged it?

No worries, that was just a combo. Watch me hit you with Coiled Dragon Regrets! Huh? You dodged again.

Whoa, that Stars Shift move of yours is pretty vicious. I'd better use Hidden Dragon, Do Not Act and get out of here."

It was just inexplicably hilarious.

They chatted about all sorts of things for a while longer, and before they knew it, over an hour had passed.

"Oh no, I lost track of time chatting. I haven't practiced today's tactical maneuvers yet. Little Dongzi, this is all your fault!"

Tu Tu Tu finally remembered what she was supposed to do and chided him.

At the Royal Sky Patrol Higher Education Academy, with its military-style management, students had only a few hours each day to access the Star Domain Network, before lights-out, except when they needed it for official classes.

"My bad, my bad. Want me to practice a couple of rounds with you?"

Wang Dong didn't mind Tu Tu Tu's habit of shifting the blame.

"Forget it, forget it. You're not much good at this, Little Dongzi. You'd better get some more practice. Sister Rabbit's signing off. Keep practicing, Little Dongzi. See you later~"

"Uh, see you..."

After they said goodbye, Tu Tu Tu's status instantly changed to "Waiting in queue." She didn't waste a second.

Wang Dong sat quietly for a moment, then suddenly reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Where had this sudden feeling of happiness come from?

Maybe it was because they hadn't seen each other in so long.

Or maybe it was the relief that came from successfully avoiding a major disaster, at least for now, after being reborn.

He still had to be careful and not let his thoughts run away with him.

Just think how much virtue it must take to get a chance to cross over.

Look at the hundreds of thousands of writers and hundreds of millions of readers on that literary website in his previous life. How many of them had ever crossed into another world?

He could tell you with complete certainty: maybe not a single one!

And that wasn't even counting the chance to enjoy the boon of being reborn after crossing over.

Wang Dong believed that a system like this could only determine a person's floor.

Once you had a system, your overall abilities were what really determined how high you could rise.

In his previous life, Wang Dong had been forced by circumstances and had plenty of regrets. In the end, he hadn't amounted to much.

To be honest, he'd brought shame on the whole community of people who'd crossed into other worlds.

If he didn't live this life with the freedom to roam the stars, outmaneuver his rivals, and look down on the world, wouldn't people look down on him for good?

And wouldn't that waste the tremendous fortune he'd been granted?

There'd be bread.

There'd be milk.

And there'd be love, too.

For now, he still needed to lie low and focus on growing stronger.

Some things couldn't be rushed.

Even if he really did have a thing for that girl and wanted to pursue her, he'd need to have enough to offer before meeting her in person in the neighboring Golden Snapdragon Federation.

As things stood, the War Axe and Wang Dong were still nowhere near ready.

Wang Dong spent half the day hanging around the Meizu Internet Cafe before finally leaving, still looking like he hadn't had enough.

Over the next few days, he stuck to his usual routine without giving anything away.

He didn't go out to buy energy blocks, let alone look up that unscrupulous merchant from his previous life again.

Old Shi had also kept a much lower profile since his last setback.

Everything went smoothly.

Until June 20.

Another mining day.

Early that morning, Wang Dong arrived at the Mining Company's shipyard, full of energy.

But he saw quite a few miners gathered together. They weren't choosing mining ships; they were whispering among themselves.

Wang Dong paused, then walked over.

"Old Shi, is what you said true? There really was an unidentified warship in the mining area?"

"Of course it's true. I saw it with my own eyes. Isn't the footage from the mining ship enough proof?"

Old Shi said with a smug grin.

"And it wasn't just any warship. It was a Kindling Warship! Do you even know what a Kindling Warship is?"

"Who cares what kind of warship it was? I'm just worried things might get dangerous in the mining area. Warships don't just show up there for no reason."

"Exactly. What did Boss Qin say? He's the one who leased the mining area. He owes us an explanation."

"Yeah, I'm a little afraid to go mining now."

The miners all began discussing it.

What they cared more about was whether their own interests might be affected.

They weren't giving Old Shi the admiration he'd hoped to get by starting the conversation.

"What are you all fussing about? You think a Kindling Warship would be interested in a bunch of poor miners like you? So short-sighted. No wonder you're poor."

Old Shi muttered crossly, his eyelids drooping.

Wang Dong felt nothing.

The Kindling Warship Old Shi had encountered must have belonged to the Jin Family and been searching for the War Axe.