The Great Mother Red Gold Mantis Egg

The Players all knew why Fang Qingyang was doing this—it was to stop Yang Ling from staying.

If he actually succeeded, then they, the Players, would lose a rare powerhouse to latch onto.

At the thought, one Player gritted his teeth and said:

"Once we're out of the mine tunnel, we'll kill Fang Qingyang. That bastard is truly despicable!"

"Supervisor Yang, just tell us what to do, and we'll follow!"

The ordinary miners all turned to Yang Ling, their faces solemn.

Li Tianye and the others felt a stir of realization, then understood.

This incident instead made those ordinary miners see clearly which side to take going forward to align with their own interests.

A steward who sacrificed miners' lives for a power struggle would be abandoned without hesitation!

"First, we need to deal with the Red Gold Mantis. Steward Fang's matter can wait until we're outside."

"Remember, this is Zhao State. There are laws here. We can't take lives lightly."

Yang Ling reminded them: "Once we're out, I'll personally escort Steward Fang and Wang Er to the Qingshan City Prefectural Office and hand them over to the Iron Clothes Department."

The Players felt a slight chill, nearly forgetting that this game was too realistic—they couldn't just kill NPCs like before.

"Brother Yang, like last time?"

Chen Xu suddenly grew a bit excited.

Yang Ling nodded. "Like last time."

The others had no idea what "last time" meant.

But they understood soon enough.

They watched as Yang Ling, wielding the Red Gold Crane Beak Hoe, dug through stone as if it were tofu. In no time, he had excavated many boulders and blocked off all the major branch tunnels.

In the end, only one path remained!

Even that one was blocked down to the size of a fist.

Li Tianye and Wang Haodong's eyes lit up, as if they caught on.

"Can the 'Divine Domain' also kill monsters? Do these Red Gold Mantises give Experience Points?"

Their hearts burned with excitement.

But the moment they recalled how dangerous the Red Gold Mantises were, they quickly cooled down.

Even if they could kill monsters for Experience Points, it wasn't something Players who weren't even Martial Artists could touch.

"Yang Ling seems to be planning to trap the monsters."

"I suspect he used to be a professional Gold Farmer."

The three Players who had chosen not to reveal their identities and were all at Level 10 quietly observed this scene, a flicker of surprise in their eyes.

They were Gold Farmers too, and they knew monster trapping best.

Once the setup was done, the next step was luring the monsters.

Yang Ling looked at Wang Er. "Any pig's blood left?"

Wang Er said sheepishly, "No, I used it all up..."

"I see..."

Yang Ling smiled. "Then I'll have to borrow yours."

What!

Mine!?

Before Wang Er could react, a bowl of his blood was drawn.

Pale-faced, he curled up in a corner, trembling.

With Wang Er's blood as bait, everything was ready.

Yang Ling sprinkled the blood in front of the fist-sized passage, then waited quietly.

The ordinary miners' eyes all lit up.

So this was how those Mine Rats had been killed earlier!

"Supervisor Yang has a good method. If the Red Gold Mantises are dealt with, Mine Tunnel No. 1's danger level will definitely drop!"

"Sooner or later, all the Mine Worms in here will die off, and mining will be much safer!"

Their spirits lifted, and their awe for Yang Ling grew.

The previous supervisor had never bothered with any of this!

About half a minute passed.

A Red Gold Mantis crawled out.

Before it could make a move, it was cleaved in two with a single slash.

A chill surged into Yang Ling's body.

Its Experience Points seemed a bit higher than the Mine Rat's.

Chen Xu and Chen Guoqing gripped their Fine Steel Pickaxes tightly, ready to get a taste of the action.

Yang Ling glanced at Li Tianye:

"Tianye, stand nearby with your pickaxe. If any Red Gold Mantis slips through, it's yours to handle."

"Oh, yes!"

Li Tianye perked up with excitement and quickly took his place beside Chen Xu and the others.

"The rest of you won't be able to handle the Red Gold Mantis, so don't get too close. Your lives come first."

Yang Ling warned the other Players and ordinary Miners.

Though some Players envied Chen Xu and his group, they knew their own limits and dared not approach.

After all, mining earned Experience Points, so there was no need to risk danger.

From then on, the Red Gold Mantis came in fiercer waves.

But the passage was too narrow for them—only one could squeeze through at a time.

Each one that came in died on the spot.

Yang Ling occasionally let a few through on purpose to give Chen Xu and the others some practice.

At first, they fumbled a bit, but after two or three rounds, their Fine Steel Crane Beak Hoes grew more precise.

Before they knew it, the pile of Red Gold Mantis corpses in front of Yang Ling had stacked up to waist height.

He had the ordinary Miners come over to clear them away.

The number of Red Gold Mantis seemed to have thinned out, and their attacks came less frequently.

Still uneasy, Yang Ling drew another bowl of blood from Wang Er.

The Red Gold Mantis swarm surged back in force.

"Official Saber durability is about to hit zero."

A message suddenly flashed before Yang Ling's eyes.

He glanced at the Official Saber in his hand—it was riddled with nicks.

Sure enough, after a few more strikes on the Red Gold Mantis, the blade shattered instantly!

Yang Ling immediately pulled out the Red Gold Crane Beak Hoe and continued luring and killing the Red Gold Mantis.

It was only at this moment that the Players present realized just how valuable it was to be in the top ten.

Some of them couldn't even track Yang Ling's movements.