The Second Player

Before he knew it, Yang Ling had mined out all the Fire Crystal Rock in front of him.

He weighed the Cloth Bag in his hand. He had gathered the half tael that had been extorted from him.

Five Shichen had already passed, and the miners in the mine vein were leaving one after another.

Every one of them looked utterly exhausted.

Fire Crystal Rock was simply too hard. Every strike took all their strength.

Thanks to his Experience Points, most of Yang Ling's fatigue and muscle soreness had been relieved, but he still put on an exhausted appearance.

Hiding in the shadows, he indeed saw Fifth Brother looking around in all directions, seemingly checking who would dare work overtime for no reason.

"Today, I'll numb his suspicions first, so he doesn't keep watching me every day."

With that in mind, Yang Ling immediately put on a weary face and slowly headed toward the exit.

"Fifth Brother, that's Yang Ling."

One of the lackeys spotted Yang Ling and immediately pointed him out with a grin.

Fifth Brother nodded in satisfaction.

"This kid knows what's good for him."

Turning in Fire Crystal Rock was also part of the daily routine.

As Yang Ling stood in line, he suddenly heard angry shouting from ahead, followed by pleas for mercy.

"Five Shichen a day, and you can't even gather half a tael of Fire Crystal Rock!? You useless trash! Beat him!"

A Steward was raging as he ordered the Mine Guards to beat a scrawny young man.

The young man screamed repeatedly and begged for mercy as he was beaten.

Yang Ling glanced around and found that whenever such things happened, most of the miners present took pleasure in the misfortune.

"Damn it! You bunch of NPCs, this dogshit Divine Domain! Once I get out, I'll definitely report you all!!"

Unable to endure the beating any longer, the young man began cursing loudly.

"What gibberish are you spouting! You dare curse my mother too! Beat him! If he dies, it's on me!"

The Steward was utterly enraged.

Yang Ling was slightly startled and immediately fixed his gaze on the young man.

Name: Zhang Wei

Class: None

Level: 1

Strength: 2

Agility: 2

Spirit: 1

Health Points: 20

At that moment, Zhang Wei's Health Points were rapidly dropping and would soon be reduced to zero.

"He has a Level and Health Points!

He isn't an NPC. Like me, he's a Player!?"

Yang Ling was somewhat delighted.

He was currently at the Fire Crystal Rock mine vein in Qingshan City.

He had been here for more than half a month. Nearly every time he saw someone, he would check their Attribute Panel, trying to find Players like himself.

Yet he had gained nothing at all over the past half month.

He had never expected to run into a Player today!

After his initial delight, Yang Ling felt a headache coming on.

Given the current situation, Zhang Wei would very likely be beaten to death!

"Enough. Don't actually beat him to death. If Supervisor Wu holds me accountable, I won't take responsibility."

The Steward waved his hand.

Upon hearing this, the Mine Guards immediately stopped.

Zhang Wei could no longer curse. He could only groan weakly on the ground.

His Health Points had also plummeted from 20 to 1.

"These Mine Guards all have at least 10 Strength Attribute. They're far stronger than ordinary people. But they're NPCs and can't Level Up, so they must have other ways of becoming stronger."

"This is also the direction I need to focus on next."

At that moment, the Steward looked down at Zhang Wei and said coldly, "You couldn't gather one tael of Fire Crystal Rock, so you won't get a single coin. Go hungry today. If you still can't gather enough tomorrow, you'll starve to death in a few days. Figure it out yourself!"

With that said, he continued collecting Fire Crystal Rock from the other Miners.

Soon, it was Yang Ling's turn.

"Only one or two today?"

The steward frowned slightly.

Then he spotted Fifth Brother and his group watching like tigers from afar and immediately understood. He snorted before handing Yang Ling ten Copper Coins.

"Thank you, Steward Niu."

Yang Ling accepted the ten Copper Coins and promptly thanked him.

Steward Niu's expression improved somewhat.

"If every newcomer were as sensible and motivated as you, I wouldn't have to waste so much effort."

After saying that, he waved his hand as though shooing away a fly.

Yang Ling wisely took his leave, helping Zhang Wei up as he went.

The nearby Miners shook their heads at the sight.

They were already here, yet he still liked meddling in such trivial matters.

Beyond the Ore Vein stood a village built for the Miners, complete with food and drink.

Yang Ling brought Zhang Wei back to his own place—a crude little wooden shack that leaked when it rained and let in drafts when the wind blew.

"Wake up."

He tried to rouse Zhang Wei.

But Zhang Wei showed no reaction, as though he had fallen unconscious.

"Can low Health Points make someone pass out?"

Yang Ling pondered for a moment. Then he dug out a box from beneath the bed. Inside were over a hundred Copper Coins he had saved up over this period, along with a bottle of medicine for injuries.

He glanced at the medicine, and the Attribute Panel automatically appeared.

"Healing Ointment (Defective Product), restores 10 Health Points"

"There'll be even more places to spend money in the future, but... I can't just stand by and watch him die."

Yang Ling shook his head helplessly, then fed the Healing Ointment to Zhang Wei and gave him two mouthfuls of water as well.

He watched Zhang Wei's Attribute Panel.

He saw the other man's Health Points slowly rise.

Roughly 1 point per minute.

Once his Health Points passed 10, Zhang Wei began showing signs of waking.

"Though the medicine is defective, it said it would restore 10 Health Points, and it really was 10. At least it wasn't vague about that."

"God, that hurt... Did I leave the game?"

Zhang Wei groaned and instinctively tried to sit up.

"You haven't left Divine Domain yet."