Dreaming of Mining!

"Brother Yang, why were you so polite to that Steward Niu? That bastard nearly had me beaten to death."

On the way back, Zhang Wei couldn't help muttering under his breath, his dissatisfaction obvious in his tone.

Yang Ling smiled. "Little Zhang, Steward Niu is actually quite a decent person.

"The day he had someone beat you up was also his way of telling you that if you don't work hard at mining, you won't survive here."

Yang Ling had observed Steward Niu over this period and found that the man looked cold-hearted but was kind within.

Although he turned a blind eye to Fifth Brother's actions, he was also willing to exchange Copper Coins for miners who worked overtime at night.

Especially the information the man had just given him—it was extremely important!

Decent my ass.

Zhang Wei grumbled inwardly, though he didn't dare directly argue with him.

The next day, Yang Ling did not enter the mine vein. Instead, he went to the southwest side of Miner's Village.

There was a Blacksmith Shop here that specialized in making mining tools.

"After deducting food and living expenses, I've saved two hundred and forty Copper Coins. That should be enough..."

As he entered the Blacksmith Shop, the clanging of metal rang out without pause.

The tall and burly Blacksmith Wang spoke as he hammered away:

"What are you buying?"

"Blacksmith Wang, I intend to buy a Fine Iron Pickaxe."

Yang Ling cupped his hands.

"A Fine Iron Pickaxe? There are only three left. Two hundred copper coins each. Pick one yourself."

Blacksmith Wang pointed toward the wall.

Besides Fine Iron Pickaxes, there were also several ordinary weapons by the wall.

Only Mine Guards were allowed to use those.

"Fine Iron Dagger, Agility +1, Attack Power 5" Price: One Liang Silver.

"Fine Iron Club, Strength +1, Attack Power 8" Price: One Liang Silver.

"Fine Iron Pickaxe, Strength +2, Attack Power 1" Price: two hundred copper coins.

Yang Ling took a deep breath and suppressed the excitement in his heart.

Though he also wanted weapons, he knew that given his current circumstances and Net Worth, such weapons were beyond his reach for now.

This Fine Iron Pickaxe, on the other hand, was quite good.

"According to the attribute description, as long as I hold it, I'll gain 2 points of Strength."

"With that, I'll have 9 points of Strength. I'll Level Up faster, and my mining speed will improve greatly too!"

With that thought, Yang Ling was just about to pick up the Fine Iron Pickaxe when he instinctively glanced at the attributes of the other two pickaxes and stopped.

"Huh, a Fine Steel Pickaxe? Why does it look exactly like a Fine Iron Pickaxe?"

"Fine Steel Pickaxe, Strength +3, Attack Power 8"

"Its Attack Power is the same as the Fine Iron Club's, but it gives 3 points of Strength... Doesn't that mean it can both mine and be used as a weapon!?"

Keeping his expression neutral, Yang Ling picked up one of the pickaxes, examined it for a while, then set it down and picked up the other one.

He repeated this several times.

Blacksmith Wang grew somewhat impatient.

"They're all the same thing. What's there to look at?"

The same thing?

All for two hundred copper coins?

Yang Ling's heart thumped violently a few times. Then he picked up the Fine Steel Pickaxe.

"Blacksmith Wang, I'll take this one."

"Two hundred copper coins. Leave the money and you can go."

"Alright."

Yang Ling counted out two hundred copper coins and set them down, then tucked the Fine Steel Pickaxe at his waist and strode away.

After walking far away from the Blacksmith Shop and seeing that Blacksmith Wang still showed no reaction, Yang Ling couldn't help growing excited.

"I got a bargain. If there were other Players here, it wouldn't be unreasonable to resell this Fine Steel Pickaxe for two Liang Silver, would it?"

Yang Ling sighed inwardly.

Just then, several figures suddenly closed in on him.

"Fifth Brother?"

Yang Ling froze slightly, then hurriedly clasped his fists.

"Do you need something?"

Fifth Brother grinned. "Of course I do. I heard that lately, you've been secretly working overtime and mining quite a bit of Fire Crystal Rock Ore."

How did he know?

Yang Ling was certain he had been very careful whenever he left at night. This bastard had long since gone off drinking—when would he have had the time to watch him?

Then, he spotted a familiar face in the crowd.

The other man seemed somewhat panicked and immediately ducked his head to hide.

"Zhang Wei..."

Yang Ling's expression darkened.

"Don't worry about how I found out. This just proves you didn't take Fifth Brother's words seriously."

With a smile that wasn't quite a smile, Fifth Brother addressed the nearby miners.

"Tell me, is it right or wrong for this guy to mine a few extra shichen every day?"

"Of course it's wrong! Yang Ling, mining a few extra shichen makes you look like the only hardworking one? What if the rules get set someday and we're required to hand over at least two taels of Fire Crystal Rock every day?

Will we have to die alongside you then?"

One miner said angrily.

"Damn it, how does this kid have so much energy? I'm exhausted to death after mining less than four shichen a day, yet this kid can mine eight or nine?"

"If he mines one or two extra taels of Fire Crystal Rock, we might have to mine one or two taels less in the future. This kid's really not playing fair."

Seeing that he had won over most of the miners, Fifth Brother smiled smugly.

"Yang Ling, I already warned you. Today, I'll teach you a lesson first. If I catch you secretly trying to get ahead again, you're dead!"

With that, he ordered his subordinates.

"Break one of his arms."

"Break my arm? Wouldn't that be killing me!? How am I supposed to grind experience then!?"

Yang Ling had initially intended to keep the peace and secretly level up a few times. But seeing that they were determined to cut off his escape route, he immediately flew into a rage.

The two subordinates beside Fifth Brother had already approached Yang Ling and moved to seize him.

Without another word, Yang Ling kicked one of them in the stomach.

The first subordinate failed to dodge in time and was sent flying more than ten feet away.

The second was slightly startled, but before he could react, Yang Ling knocked him to the ground with a punch!