Mining your family?

Star Archipelago, Dragon Scale Island.

The third day since downloading Omnipotent God.

As usual, after logging into the game, Wang Qi first scavenged for some plants on the island to serve as reserve food for his thralls, then led his five thralls toward the direction of the abandoned mine.

Having stumbled upon this game by chance and learned the specific mechanics through experience, Wang Qi had fallen completely in love with it.

Although life was tough right now, requiring him to spend long periods in the sunless mine, the mere thought of building a divine kingdom in the future—becoming a deity worshipped by millions of subjects just like in the game's opening CG—filled him with motivation.

Furthermore, he no longer needed to mine by hand.

Ever since he summoned his thralls, they handled all the dirty and exhausting work; he only needed to direct them and wait for them to deliver the ore into his hands.

Resources came to him while he lay back and relaxed.

As the number of summoned units increased and mining efficiency improved, he had gradually begun to experience the joy of the construction and farming playstyle.

Upon entering the mine, Wang Qi headed straight for the first level.

However, the situation inside the mine was somewhat different today.

At this moment, the first level was packed with players and their thralls; there was no space left at all.

Seeing this, Wang Qi was stunned.

In the past, the abandoned mine had plenty of ore and few people, with resources more than enough to go around; there were even many rock walls embedded with ore that no players bothered to mine.

But today, the number of players mining had clearly increased.

Although the mine was deep and had a second level, or even deeper, most players were unwilling to risk the second level because a giant wolf lurked there. Encountering it meant certain death with no way to escape.

Death required a three-hour cooldown before one could re-enter the game, and the death of a thrall required a twelve-hour cooldown.

For the players, this was unbearable.

Therefore, except for a tiny minority of stubborn players who loved seeking thrills between life and death, the vast majority stayed on the first level to mine.

Wang Qi was no different.

It wasn't that he feared the giant wolf on the second level, but rather that he feared death would slow down the progress of developing his forces.

Looking around, Wang Qi noticed that there were still some empty spots in certain areas; if he squeezed in, he could still manage to mine.

So, Wang Qi immediately walked toward one of those areas.

"Brother, this spot is taken!"

Just as Wang Qi was about to have his thralls start mining, a player blocked his path.

"What do you mean it's taken? Isn't there still space in front?" Wang Qi retorted, immediately feeling dissatisfied.

"I'll have enough divine power to summon a new thrall soon; this spot is reserved for it!" the man replied bluntly.

Hearing this, Wang Qi was instantly annoyed:

"Is this mine yours? Why should you be allowed to mine here while I can't?"

Hearing Wang Qi's words, three more players immediately crowded over:

"Are you looking for trouble?"

Seeing this, Wang Qi understood: these players were a group, and they were planning to occupy this area together.

In reality, most people wouldn't go looking for trouble in such a situation.

However, Wang Qi had a short temper in real life.

Especially since he was in a game now—who the hell was going to put up with them!

With that, Wang Qi swung his fist and punched the arrogant-looking player in front of him.

"Thud!"

Under the heavy blow, the player who had been so arrogant just a moment ago fell backward onto the ground, his face full of disbelief.

At the same time, because the player had been attacked, his thralls, sensing their "master" was injured, immediately stopped mining and rushed toward Wang Qi with pickaxes raised.

Since he had already struck the first blow, Wang Qi had no intention of stopping halfway.

The five thralls at his side immediately swung their pickaxes, striking at the heads of the other three players who were still in a daze.

One of the players was beaten into black mist on the spot and dissipated.

The other two players reacted quickly, dodging the overhead strikes, and then hurriedly shouted to summon their own thralls to help.

The battle broke out instantly.

The dispute between Wang Qi and the four players quickly attracted the attention of a large number of players on the first level.

Among them were several friends Wang Qi had made while mining.

Just yesterday, they had gathered to chat while their thralls were mining, talking about how they would form an alliance to help each other once they established their own forces in the future...

So, seeing Wang Qi fighting, these players immediately recalled their own thralls from mining and rushed to Wang Qi's location, joining the fray.

On the other side, there were helpers as well.

They were not playing this game as a group of four, but rather as a group of over ten, with the other six mining in different locations.

Noticing that something was wrong, the other six joined the fray with their enslaved laborers in tow.

However, this was merely the beginning.

Since the promotion of the game Omnipotent God at this stage did not rely on advertisements, its popularity was virtually non-existent, depending entirely on spontaneous word-of-mouth recommendations from players.

Therefore, many of the hundred or so current players knew each other.

For instance, if A discovered the game and found it fun, they would recommend it to their close friends B, C, and D. After experiencing the content, B, C, and D would also find it enjoyable and promote it to their own friends...

As a result, the relationships between many players were either friends or friends of friends.

The battle between Wang Qi and the four players quickly drew in most of the players on the first level of the mine.

"Someone's hitting my roommate! Cousin, stop mining, hurry up and join me!"

"Boss, Second-in-command, someone's hitting our 'son'! Grab your gear and let's kill them!"

"Holy crap, brother, why are you jumping in? Oh, it's your friend? Count me in, let's go!"

They recalled their mining slaves one after another and rushed toward the site of the brawl.

The melee began.

The scene became incredibly chaotic; besides the players fighting one another, a large number of enslaved laborers joined the fray as well.

Although the slaves were not particularly strong, they had no fear of death. Whoever their master attacked, they followed suit, swinging their pickaxes like mindless brutes.

Because it was a game, the players felt no psychological burden about killing or maiming others, striking with reckless abandon and using the most brutal methods possible.

As time passed, a large number of players died, dissolving into black mist on the spot and entering their death cooldown periods.

Wang Qi and the four players who had sparked the brawl had long since been beaten to death.

Yet, the fight did not cease; instead, it intensified.

Many players could no longer distinguish friend from foe.

After all, a friend of a friend was not necessarily an acquaintance, let alone a friend of a friend of a friend.

Thus, in the chaos, striking first was the only way to be safe; one had to act before being acted upon, or else they might be the one to die.

As long as they didn't recognize the person, just beating them was the right move.

Tang Yu, observing this scene through the God-Demon Space, was completely bewildered.

Upon receiving feedback from the God-Demon Space, he had initially assumed the players had encountered indigenous forces from the Boundless Realm and been wiped out.

The truth left him speechless.

Although he had been mentally prepared, knowing that as the number of players increased, internal conflict would eventually erupt over resource allocation, he had not expected this day to come so soon.

However, Tang Yu had no intention of stopping the brawl, choosing instead to continue watching.

In his view, internal conflict would not hinder the players' development; on the contrary, it would make them crave greater strength.

After all, competition was always the best source of motivation.