The mine entrance was surrounded by a crowd of miners, making it quite lively.
"Everyone, please calm down. I know you have no money for food if you can't mine, but why didn't you keep some Copper Coins on you?"
Steward Niu had his hands tucked into his sleeves and spoke at an unhurried pace:
"There's a problem with the Ore Vein, so it needs to be sealed off for a while, until the bigwigs from the Mountain River Sect arrive and make a decision.
If you try to enter the Fire Crystal Mine now, aren't you just walking straight into danger?"
The bigwigs from the Mountain River Sect?
The miners, who had been making a racket, fell silent at once.
"Go on, disperse."
Steward Niu waved his hand.
The miners looked at one another, then could only leave dejectedly.
"What do we do!? We've already gone hungry for a whole day. If we can't mine today, does that mean we'll have to go hungry for another day?"
Lin Guoliang looked at Chen Xu, his face deathly pale:
"I can go hungry, but Mengmeng can't."
Wu Meng looked a little weak.
Chen Xu's expression was grave. He knew something had definitely gone wrong in the mine.
Who knew when it would be unsealed?
"There's no other way. We'll just have to..."
He spotted Yang Ling.
Chen Xu gritted his teeth and hurried over:
"Brother Yang, could you lend us a little more money? We can't go into the mine these next few days, and we're completely out of options..."
Lin Guoliang and Wu Meng's eyes lit up, and they hurried over too.
"How many days have you been hungry?"
Yang Ling asked with a smile.
Chen Xu smiled bitterly. "We haven't eaten all day."
"I do have some dry rations. Take them and tide yourselves over. I figure things should be back to normal in another two or three days."
Yang Ling gave Chen Xu six of his own biscuits.
Chen Xu was overjoyed.
Wu Meng, however, instinctively said, "These biscuits are hard and dry. I tried one before, and it wasn't tasty at all."
"You're hungry, and you still care whether they taste good?"
Yang Ling smiled. "They'll keep you full longer than steamed buns."
With that, Yang Ling turned and left.
Since they couldn't go into the mine, he could only keep grinding his Collapse Mountain Fist Proficiency.
Chen Xu handed the biscuits to Lin Guoliang and Wu Meng. As he took a bite, he said:
"Brother Yang is a good person. Out of all these miners, he's the only one who's helped us twice."
Lin Guoliang took huge bites of his biscuit.
"Even if he's a good person, he's still just an NPC. We still have to rely on ourselves here."
Chen Xu glanced at him, then casually asked:
"Have either of you noticed anything strange about your bodies these past two days?"
"Strange? I've got a stomachache from not eating."
Lin Guoliang replied instinctively.
Wu Meng said, "The bed here is way too hard. I miss my Simmons mattress."
"..."
Chen Xu clenched his fist without thinking.
He had discovered that the day before the mine was sealed, his strength had inexplicably increased by quite a bit.
"A warm current had welled up inside me at the time. The increase in strength must have been related to it."
"Does this count as leveling up from mining? Lin Guoliang and Wu Meng have been slacking off lately, sneaking in breaks, so they haven't leveled up yet?"
"Should I tell them about this...?"
Chen Xu hesitated.
"Chen Xu, we don't know how long the mine will be sealed. Go catch up to that NPC and borrow some more Copper Coins.
Wu Meng and I haven't had a proper meal in ages. I want to take her out for something good tonight."
Lin Guoliang said.
Forget it. He wouldn't tell them.
Chen Xu turned to leave.
"If you want to borrow money, go do it yourself."
"Tch, what are you acting so high and mighty for?"
Lin Guoliang frowned slightly.
Just outside Miner's Village stood a very conspicuous courtyard.
It was Supervisor Wu's residence.
Yang Ling saw Zhang Wei come out of it, ecstatic, and knew the guy had bought himself an official identity.
He was no longer a refugee.
"Zhang Wei's Zhang Family Leg Technique is only at the entry level, too. I wonder what his Proficiency is, and how many points he is from First Glimpse of the Door?"
Yang Ling thought.
Zhang Wei noticed Yang Ling staring at him without moving, and felt a little guilty.
But when he remembered that he now had the status of a law-abiding citizen, he immediately puffed out his chest and walked over with a smile.
"Yang Ling, I'm no longer a refugee. I'm registered as a citizen of Qingshan City.
I'm leaving tomorrow to find work in Qingshan City."
"Oh, congratulations. But shouldn't you give me an explanation?"
Yang Ling said coolly.
"What explanation?"
Zhang Wei feigned ignorance.
"The requirements for practicing Collapse Mountain Fist are eight Strength and three Mental Power."
"You only told me the Strength requirement back then. You never mentioned Mental Power."
Yang Ling said.
"Did I? I must have forgotten."
Zhang Wei smiled. "Don't worry. Once your Mental Power improves, you'll be able to practice Collapse Mountain Fist."
"My Mental Power happens to be three, so I've already learned Collapse Mountain Fist."
Yang Ling said.
Zhang Wei froze, then stared at Yang Ling in disbelief.
"Why is your Mental Power three? How come mine is only..."
He hurriedly shut his mouth and didn't continue.
"Looks like you have two at most, so you couldn't learn Collapse Mountain Fist. That's why you sold it to me."
Yang Ling smiled. "I should thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to become a Martial Artist."
"Damn it, why is this guy's Mental Power so high? How come he has two more points than me?"
Zhang Wei cursed inwardly, then said coolly:
"If that's the case, what do you want from me?"
"It's about Proficiency."
Yang Ling warily scanned his surroundings.
"For now, you and I are the only two Players in the Ore Vein. You said earlier that we should share information. Are you going back on that?"
"Proficiency? It'll increase as long as you keep practicing."
Zhang Wei's expression shifted.
"When you practice Collapse Mountain Fist, how long does it take for your Proficiency to increase by one point?"
Before you continue