Mine Rat

"Both of you, the Divine Realm Rank List has changed."

Yang Ling, carrying the Red Gold Crane Beak Hoe, crouched down beside Chen Xu and the others who were resting.

The two quickly opened it for a look, then showed some shock.

"Hui Wu got pushed down? How did that Luo Kai level up so fast? He's already level 17?"

"Didn't Senior Brother Xu say the Star Gazing Academy is just a school, a place for studying? How can he level up there too?"

Chen Xu muttered to himself.

Yang Ling smiled: "'Divine Realm' is clearly a supernatural world; leveling up through studying is perfectly normal."

Chen Guoqing nodded solemnly:

"The key point is, some players have already joined a First-rate Sect."

Through Xu Qing's explanations, they now held deep reverence for First-rate Sects.

Those were behemoths that even the imperial court had to show respect to.

And now some players had entered one?

This meant the number of players was growing larger and larger, leading to this situation.

"Brother Yang, when the rescue team was formed, the number of missing people had already reached around three hundred thousand."

"At the time, it was increasing by about ten thousand per day."

"I suspect more and more players will enter the game from now on; it might have already broken a million."

Chen Guoqing's expression grew even more serious.

"Hasn't the government tried to control it, to stop people from entering the game?"

Yang Ling asked curiously: "Since they know the missing people are related to 'Divine Realm,' there's no reason not to seal it off."

"It can't be sealed."

Chen Guoqing smiled bitterly: "What I heard is that this thing is very sinister, completely unsealable.

And it's spreading everywhere, getting worse and worse."

At this point, a hint of worry appeared in his eyes:

"I'm afraid if this keeps up, the real world will fall into chaos..."

How could it not?

Yang Ling sighed inwardly.

Think about it—your child was fine, then they played a game and vanished. How would their family feel?

Now the missing spanned every country and every profession. If this continued, something was bound to happen.

"There should be quite a few players at the Red Gold Mine. I've spotted some. When the time comes, call them over to my place, and we'll ask about the situation outside first."

Yang Ling said thoughtfully.

The two immediately nodded. They also wanted to know what was happening out there now.

"Brother Yang, how much have you dug?"

Chen Xu looked at the cloth bag at Yang Ling's waist, a bit curious.

"About ten jin or so."

Yang Ling weighed the cloth bag and smiled:

"I've noticed the Red Gold ore here is pretty chunky, at least bigger than Fire Crystal Rock, so finding one piece gives a decent haul. But they're too hard, and it takes a lot of effort."

If not for the Attribute Points added by the Red Gold Crane Beak Hoe and its own hardness, Yang Ling figured he'd only manage about five jin a day.

Now he got ten jin a day, which meant three hundred jin in a month.

It looked similar to his time at the Fire Crystal Rock Mine.

But the Red Gold ore gave richer Experience Points, so he'd level up faster!

"Awesome!"

Chen Xu gave a thumbs up.

He glanced at his own cloth bag.

Maybe around three or two?

"Officer Chen and I dug all day and only got three or two."

"You'll be slower at first, since your stamina is low and the Red Gold is hard. Getting three or two is already decent.

If you were at the Fire Crystal Rock Mine with those Fine Steel Crane Beak Hoes, you could easily dig two or three jin of Fire Crystal Rock in a day."

Yang Ling smiled.

Chen Xu and Chen Guoqing nodded in agreement.

Their progress was very noticeable.

"If every player can dig three taels of Red Gold Mine ore each day..."

Chen Guoqing did the math, his eyes lighting up:

"Gather a hundred players, and in one day we'd get thirty catties. Add Brother Yang's ten catties, that's West Ten catties."

"One month gives us twelve hundred catties—not far from the three-thousand-five target."

"Probably not that easy, but there's hope indeed."

Yang Ling nodded slightly.

There was one thing he didn't mention.

Two months from now, his Vajra Mingwang Technique would break through to the Second Layer.

That would grant more Attribute Points. To boost his mining speed, he could allocate those points to Strength.

Mental Power speeds up Cultivation Method and Martial Skill training.

But Strength increases my mining speed. Mining is leveling up. These grinders are clearly racing each other to level up—I can't fall behind.

Yang Ling thought to himself.

He wasn't actually that competitive.

In fact, his nature leaned toward ease.

Back when he farmed gold, he didn't grind much either. When he made money, he'd even take breaks.

But now was different. This world had real death.

If he didn't grind, he'd fall behind.

Leveling up was mainly to ensure he could claim the rewards the game offered.

At level twenty, there should be another reward. Hopefully a blue Random Treasure Chest.

"Brother Yang, something feels off. I hear a noise."

Chen Xu's voice cut through Yang Ling's thoughts.

Yang Ling listened quietly for a moment, then stood up at once, his expression serious:

"Mine Worms!"

He didn't move. He just had Chen Xu and Chen Guoqing stand behind him.

With 27 points of Mental Power, his perception was sharp.

He could sense which direction the Mine Worms were coming from.

Chen Xu and Chen Guoqing were a bit nervous, but also excited, gripping their Fine Steel Crane Beak Hoes tightly.