Leading a Team Down the Mine

It was still that same wooden hut, but as Yang Ling walked there, countless miners stared at him, their eyes full of astonishment.

This was exactly the effect Yang Ling wanted.

If he hid his identity as a Constable, it would more easily invite unnecessary speculation.

But if he made that identity clear, then when the Mountains and Rivers Sect discovered that Wu Que had embezzled a batch of Fire Crystal Ore and "fled far away,"

they would not make things too difficult for him, a Constable from the Iron Garment Division.

The only suspicion on him was that he had entered and left the city with Wu Que.

His identity as a Constable could make the Mountains and Rivers Sect overlook, or simply ignore, that tiny suspicion.

Could a sect force dare move against a government yamen?

That was impossible.

Inside the wooden hut, Yang Ling invited the two of them to sit.

"Brother Yang, so you're a player too."

Chen Xu gave a bitter smile.

"After hearing what you were talking about that day, I concluded that you were players too."

"The reason I didn't want to tell you was because I ran into something."

Yang Ling briefly explained his conflict with Zhang Wei.

"You should understand this well. That Lin Guoliang and Zhang Wei are more or less the same kind of person, except the latter has more resilience. At the very least, he can feed himself."

Yang Ling smiled.

Chen Xu looked ashamed, but he also understood why Yang Ling had not revealed his identity as a player.

"The quality of the players entering the Divine Realm this time varies greatly. Lin Guoliang and Zhang Wei are not isolated cases."

Officer Chen fell into thought.

"What you did was actually right. Quietly lending a hand only within the limits of your ability was already enough to fulfill your duty."

"Can you two see the Attribute Panel?"

Yang Ling suddenly asked.

"The Attribute Panel? No, we can't see it. What's on it?"

Chen Xu and Officer Chen became alert.

"At least Zhang Wei didn't lie about that."

Only at this moment did Yang Ling truly confirm that Zhang Wei had not fooled him.

"The Attribute Panel contains level information, attribute information, and information about the cultivation techniques you practice."

Yang Ling said, "Based on the information I got from Zhang Wei before, you can only access your Attribute Panel after becoming Martial Artists."

He had just checked both of their attributes.

Because of their mining work, both had already leveled up.

Chen Xu was already level 5, with 7 points of Strength.

Although Officer Chen was two levels lower than Chen Xu, only level 3,

his innate attributes were quite good.

Other than Spirit, his initial Strength and Agility were even much better than Yang Ling's.

Name: Chen Guoqing

Class: Miner

Level: 2

Strength: 6

Agility: 5

Spirit: 4

Health: 60

This meant that Chen Guoqing's initial Strength and Agility had both been 5 points.

Such initial attributes were already quite high.

"We can access the Attribute Panel once we become Martial Artists?"

The two of them perked up.

But they immediately came to their senses.

Becoming Martial Artists? That would probably be difficult...

"Being a Constable is one route, and afterward, you won't need to deliberately change classes."

Yang Ling knew what they were thinking and said with a faint smile,

"Once you become Constables, the Iron Garment Division will give you a Bandit-Catching Saber Technique. We have the game system, so we can learn it directly and count as having gotten started."

"Brother Yang, our levels are probably too low, and we don't have much savings. We're still refugees now... Becoming Constables will probably be difficult."

Chen Xu said thoughtfully.

But Chen Guoqing's eyes gleamed.

"Nothing in the world is difficult for those with determination. Perhaps we can't become Constables this year, but what about next year? Or the year after?

As long as we live, there's always a chance."

Yang Ling glanced at him, feeling somewhat gratified.

This man was not rigid or pedantic. Earlier, he had also firmly refused to give handouts to Lin Guoliang.

Yet he possessed a sense of justice, and his will was far tougher than that of ordinary people.

If Yang Ling truly managed to become a supervisor at the Red Gold Ore mine,

Chen Xu and Chen Guoqing would make good helpers.

"For now, follow me and mine. Raise your levels a bit."

"As for the chance to become Martial Artists, once you have a goal, it's only a matter of time."

Yang Ling said.

The two were immediately overjoyed. Having an expert willing to carry them was naturally the best possible outcome!

"Little Yang, I heard you became a Constable?"

Steward Niu's voice suddenly came from outside the door.

Yang Ling's expression shifted. He immediately pushed open the wooden door and smiled as he clasped his fists.

"Steward Niu."

Steward Niu looked at the clothes he was wearing and nodded slightly. Not only was he not surprised, he thought it perfectly natural.

Yang Ling guessed why.

The reason Supervisor Wu had ultimately decided to make him a scapegoat

was also because he had learned from Steward Niu that Yang Ling might be a descendant of the Yang Family in Hongkun City.

With that layer of identity, becoming a Constable in Green Mountain City was only natural.

"Little Yang, being a Constable is good. It has prospects. At least some disputes in the martial world will have nothing to do with you, and ordinary petty thieves won't dare provoke you."

Steward Niu smiled meaningfully.

After a pause, he asked curiously,

"Since you became a Constable, why did you come back?"

"Steward Niu, it's like this... I don't have to be on duty, so I come back to mine during my free time."

Yang Ling smiled. "It makes money."

"A Constable mining?"

Steward Niu looked strange, but he understood.

After all, the other party mined at an absurdly fast rate.

In such a huge Fire Crystal Mine, who could mine for several days straight and gather more than thirty jin of Fire Crystal Rock at once?

He could probably earn twenty or thirty taels a month without any problem.

"Fine. You did come from our mine vein, after all. Mine if you want. We'll still settle your pay at the same rate as the other miners."

Steward Niu laughed heartily.

"But don't wear yourself out. The Iron Garment Division will occasionally send officials down to inspect the place. When that happens, you'd better return to the city, lest someone charge you with neglecting your duties."

"Don't worry, Steward Niu. I'll take care of both sides."

Yang Ling smiled and nodded.

Then Steward Niu suddenly remembered something.

"Right, I heard Supervisor Wu was going to take you to compete in mining. Why didn't Supervisor Wu return with you?"

A trace of confusion appeared on Yang Ling's face.

"I found that strange too. We stayed one night in Green Mountain City, then set out early the next morning. But halfway there, Supervisor Wu said he had something to take care of and told me to wait.

I waited an entire day. When he still hadn't returned, I went back to Green Mountain City."

"Oh?"

Steward Niu looked thoughtful, then nodded with a smile. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he took his leave without asking further questions.

"Shall we get to work, then?"

Yang Ling looked at Chen Xu and Chen Guoqing with a smile.

The two nodded excitedly.

Yang Ling changed back into his miner's clothes and led them to the mine vein.

This time, he did not hide his movements and directly took them down into the mine shaft.

This scene fell into the eyes of miners from all sides, leaving them secretly shocked.

That evening, Yang Ling led the two out of Mine Shaft No. 3.

His cloth sack was already filled with Fire Crystal Rock.

This haul was not bad. There were more than ten jin.

Yang Ling no longer cared much about the value of the Fire Crystal Rock itself.

More than ten jin could fetch a total of around 1 tael of silver.

But the experience points it represented were what Yang Ling truly needed.

Chen Xu and Chen Guoqing were exhausted, but their faces were filled with satisfied smiles.

"Three taels! This is the first time I've gotten three taels' worth of Fire Crystal Ore in a single day!"

Chen Xu was thrilled.

Chen Guoqing had also earned around three taels' worth. He looked at Yang Ling with a beaming smile.

"It's all thanks to Big Brother Yang teaching us the techniques and bringing us to mine shafts with richer resources. Otherwise, we would have wasted far more time searching for ore."

Chen Xu and Chen Guoqing immediately felt that their future lives held hope.

The experience points they had gained today were at least three times what they usually earned!