Iron Ore Vein?

Fang Bie didn't want to run into any of those strange monsters right now, so he didn't start digging in a nearby pitch-black cave. Instead, he began carving out a new tunnel through the thick rock layers underground.

He still had plenty of coal. If he made torches and placed them at regular intervals, he could keep monsters from spawning in the mine.

Fang Bie figured that if he encountered ordinary monsters—whether Zombies, Little Whites, or Creepers—he could easily take them out. His thousands of hours of gaming hadn't been for nothing; he knew how to fight these monsters like the back of his hand.

They weren't Elite Monsters, Mutant Monsters, Void Monsters, or Titan Monsters. With a sword in hand, he could take on the world.

But Tony and Yinsen had never encountered monsters like these, and had no experience fighting them. Fang Bie couldn't guarantee they'd make it out unscathed if they ran into any, which was why he'd chosen this workaround.

It wasn't a bad idea, either. Having a permanent mining tunnel would be useful. Fang Bie had even planned that if it grew large enough, he could install ladders or even rails in some places, turning it into a sizable mine with quick access between levels.

Those plans, though, were for the distant future. He had no time to work on them now; all he could do was think about them.

The most important thing was helping Tony and Yinsen out of their current predicament. Fang Bie also had his own little scheme: once the two of them were out of danger, he'd have earned some credit for helping Tony. As long as Iron Man remembered him, Fang Bie figured he could secure a place for himself in the terrifying world of Marvel.

"Fang? Is this the iron you mentioned?" Yinsen's voice roused Fang Bie from his deep thoughts. It also made Tony, who was vigorously mining the black coal nearby, turn around.

Tony's face was almost indistinguishable from the coal now. He looked like a comical cat covered in splotches as he turned to face them.

"Tony, come take a look..." Fang Bie had just looked up and started to speak when the absurd sight made him crack up. A grin spread across his face.

"Ha! Tony, didn't I tell you to watch where the coal was flying? How'd you get your whole face covered in dust?" Fang Bie said, struggling not to laugh.

"What?" Tony asked, puzzled. Only then did he raise a hand to touch his face. Since the torches in this part of the mine hadn't been lit yet, he used the blue glow from the reactor on his chest to inspect his hand.

The layer of black soot told him that his face probably wasn't looking too good.

"Uh... it's fine. No big deal. Just an accident." Even Tony's thick skin couldn't stop his face from reddening. But in the dark mine, with his face already almost entirely black, no one could tell. He got off easily.

"Ha!" Fang Bie chuckled and let the matter drop. Tony hadn't said anything, so Fang Bie wasn't about to press him. He took a bucket of water from his Backpack and carried it over to him.

"Here, wash your face. Then we'll go take a look at the iron ore Yinsen found." Fang Bie set the Iron Bucket on the ground and walked over.

Tony quickly washed his face with the water. Seeing that it was still clear, he couldn't help marveling again at how magical the water in this world was. Then he hurried after Fang Bie.

A short distance away, Yinsen stood with his Stone Pickaxe in hand, studying a pile of rocks that glinted with pale yellow crystals. He seemed unsure whether to start mining.

"Yeah, if I'm not mistaken, this should be iron!" Fang Bie said with a satisfied nod as he spotted the glimmer from a distance.

"This is iron?" Unlike Yinsen, who'd been standing there for a while and examining it closely, Tony had mined so much coal and Stone that he felt he was losing his ability to distinguish colors. Now that he'd finally found a different kind of rock, he wanted to take a good look.

Standing behind them, Fang Bie explained, "What you're seeing is iron ore. It's found in the underground layers of ore, and there's a huge amount of it spread over a vast area. Only coal is more common."

"It's one of the easiest materials in this world to find, and the best choice for making armor and tools. A simple process in a Furnace can produce all kinds of tools and armor, as well as things we need for everyday life. It's one of the materials we need most right now."

"Don't just stare at it. Start mining!" Fang Bie said, stepping forward and swinging his Stone Pickaxe.

Stone tools were much faster than wooden ones. Besides, iron ore could only be mined with a Stone Pickaxe. If they were still using Wooden Pickaxes, they'd destroy the ore without getting anything from it.

Tony and Yinsen saw Fang Bie get to work, so they didn't hang back. They joined him, mining outward from either side of the rock formation.

Fang Bie once again noticed something different about this world compared with the original game. In the game, all ores were scattered throughout the underground rock layers, and even coal only appeared in clusters of around a dozen blocks at most.

But he'd already mined more than thirty pieces of coal earlier. He'd suspected something was off, but they'd been in a hurry, so he hadn't given it much thought.

Now, though, Fang Bie had already mined more than ten pieces of iron, and the vein hadn't gotten any smaller. Instead, it continued deeper underground.

That meant they hadn't stumbled on a few scattered pieces of ore. They'd found a vast deposit!

"An iron ore vein?" Fang Bie said, sounding a little uncertain. His words caught the attention of the two men beside him.

"Fang? You mean this is actually a vein?" Tony was the first to react. His pickaxe paused for a moment, then continued mining to the side.

"Yeah," Fang Bie said with a nod. "I don't know much about this sort of thing, so I didn't expect a vein to form naturally here!"

"Is that good or bad for us?" Yinsen's concern was a little unexpected, but it mattered to all of them. He thought Fang Bie had stopped because he'd noticed something wrong.

"Of course it's good. If we mine the whole vein, we should have enough to make armor for all three of us. We might even have some left over for other tools." The tension finally left Fang Bie's face, and he smiled.

"Tch." Tony glanced at him. "I thought it was something serious. And now you're telling me it's good news?"

Fang Bie looked at the man, who had gradually returned to his playboy ways after spending so much time with him, but he didn't find it annoying.

"I just thought it was unusual. I never said it was bad news!" Fang Bie said with a smile, while his hands sped up without him even realizing it.