Dreaming of Mining!

"Brother Yang, why be so polite to Steward Niu? That guy almost had me beaten to death."

On the way back, Zhang Wei couldn't help but mutter, his dissatisfaction clear in his tone.

Yang Ling smiled. "Xiao Zhang, Steward Niu is actually a decent person."

"The day he had you beaten, he was just telling you that if you don't work hard at mining, you won't survive here."

He had observed Steward Niu for some time and discovered that the man had a cold exterior but a kind heart.

Although he turned a blind eye to the actions of Fifth Brother, he was also willing to exchange copper coins for miners working overtime at night.

Especially the information the other party had just given him; it was incredibly important!

"Decent my foot."

Zhang Wei muttered in his heart, though he didn't dare to talk back directly.

The next day, Yang Ling didn't enter the mine, but instead went to the southwest side of Miner Village.

There was a blacksmith shop there, specializing in crafting mining tools.

"After deducting food and expenses for this period, I've saved two hundred and forty copper coins. That should be enough..."

Walking into the blacksmith shop, the sound of clanging metal was endless.

The tall and sturdy Wang the Blacksmith spoke while hammering iron:

"What are you buying?"

"Wang the Blacksmith, I intend to buy a Fine Iron Pickaxe."

Yang Ling cupped his hands.

"A Fine Iron Pickaxe? There are only three left, two hundred coins each. Pick one yourself."

Wang the Blacksmith pointed toward the wall.

By the wall, there were not only Fine Iron Pickaxes but also some ordinary weapons.

These were things only the mine guards could use.

"Fine Iron Short Blade, Agility +1, Attack Power 5," price: one tael of silver.

"Fine Iron Staff, Strength +1, Attack Power 8," price: one tael of silver.

"Fine Iron Pickaxe, Strength +2, Attack Power 1," price: two hundred coins.

Yang Ling took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement in his heart.

Although he really wanted a weapon, he knew that given his current situation and his savings, these weapons were temporarily out of his reach.

On the contrary, this Fine Iron Pickaxe was quite good.

According to the attribute description above, as long as I hold it, it increases my Strength by 2 points.

In this way, I'll have 9 points of Strength, my leveling speed will be faster, and my mining speed will also increase significantly!

Thinking of this, Yang Ling was just about to pick up the Fine Iron Pickaxe, but after subconsciously glancing at the attributes of the other two pickaxes, he stopped his hand.

Huh, a Fine Steel Pickaxe? Why does it look the same as the Fine Iron Pickaxe?

"Fine Steel Pickaxe, Strength +3, Attack Power 8"

The attack power is the same as the Fine Iron Staff, but it adds 3 points of Strength... Doesn't that mean it can be used for mining and as a weapon!?

Yang Ling kept his composure, picked up one of the pickaxes to look at it for a while, then put it down and picked up another to examine it.

He repeated this process.

Wang the Blacksmith grew impatient:

"They're all the same thing, what's there to look at?"

The same thing?

And they're both two hundred coins?

Yang Ling's heart pounded fiercely, and he then picked up the Fine Steel Pickaxe:

"Wang the Blacksmith, I want this one."

"Two hundred coins. Leave the money and you can go."

"Alright."

Yang Ling counted out two hundred coins, placed them down, tucked the Fine Steel Pickaxe into his waistband, and strode away.

After walking far away from the blacksmith shop and seeing that the other party still hadn't reacted, Yang Ling couldn't help but get excited.

I found a bargain. If there were other players here, selling this Fine Steel Pickaxe for two taels of silver wouldn't be an exaggeration, right?

Yang Ling sighed in his heart.

Just then, several figures suddenly loomed over him.

"Fifth Brother?"

Yang Ling was slightly taken aback and hurriedly cupped his hands.

"Do you need something?"

Fifth Brother grinned. "Of course I do. I heard you've been secretly working overtime lately and digging up quite a bit of Fire Crystal Ore."

How did he know?

Yang Ling was certain he had been very careful when leaving every night, and this guy had long since gone off to drink, so where would he have found the time to keep tabs on him?

Suddenly, he spotted Zhang Wei in the crowd, his face bruised and swollen.

He seemed somewhat panicked and immediately ducked his head to hide.

"Zhang Wei..."

Yang Ling's expression darkened.

"Don't worry about how I know. It just goes to show that you didn't take Fifth Brother's words to heart."

Fifth Brother wore a mocking smile as he addressed the nearby miners.

"Tell me, is it right or wrong for this guy to dig for several extra hours every day?"

"Of course it's wrong! Yang Ling, are you trying to show off how diligent you are by digging extra hours? What if they set a rule one day requiring us to turn in at least two taels of Fire Crystal Rock every day?

Are you going to make us die along with you then?"

A miner said angrily.

"Damn it, how does this kid have so much energy? I'm exhausted after digging for less than four hours, yet this kid can dig for eight or nine?"

"For every tael of Fire Crystal Rock he digs extra, we might end up digging one less in the future. This kid is being way too underhanded."

Seeing that he had the approval of most of the miners, Fifth Brother smiled triumphantly.

"Yang Ling, I've already said the ugly things upfront. I'll give you a lesson today, but if I catch you secretly trying to get ahead again, you're dead!"

With that, he ordered his men.

"Break one of his arms."

Break my arm? Isn't that the same as taking my life!? How am I supposed to grind for experience then!?

Yang Ling had intended to keep the peace and secretly level up a few more times, but seeing that the other party was out to ruin his livelihood, he flew into a rage.

The two men beside Fifth Brother had already reached Yang Ling and moved to grab him.

Without a word, Yang Ling kicked one of them in the stomach.

The first subordinate couldn't dodge in time and was sent flying over a yard away.

The second was slightly startled, but before he could react, he was knocked down by a punch from Yang Ling!

So this is the power of 7 points of strength. I'm afraid this punch has the force of a professional boxer.

Yang Ling felt a surge of secret excitement.

The scene fell into dead silence.

Many miners looked at Yang Ling as if they were seeing a stranger, their eyes filled with a trace of astonishment.

Fifth Brother was also stunned. His expression shifted, and his eyes grew more serious.

How is he so strong...

In the crowd, Zhang Wei watched this scene unfold, feeling a wave of regret.

"Fifth Brother, we've always kept to ourselves. I dig my ore, and you do your business.

As long as you don't disturb my mining, everything is fine.

But if anyone dares to get in my way, I'll take their life!"

Yang Ling looked at Fifth Brother, his eyes sharp and piercing.

He knew that if he didn't intimidate the other party at this point, his situation would only become more difficult.

He had only found this one path of mining to level up, and he absolutely could not let anything interfere with it!

"You're dead today."

Fifth Brother's face turned gloomy as he slowly rolled up his sleeves.

Yang Ling instinctively gripped the Fine Steel Pickaxe at his waist.

His strength had increased by three points, and he felt as if his meridians had been cleared, with every muscle in his body twitching with power.

"What are you doing?"

A gloomy voice suddenly rang out.

Upon hearing it, Fifth Brother immediately shrank back like a quail.

The miners looked at Supervisor Wu with awe and cleared a path for him.

Supervisor Wu, a middle-aged man accompanied by several guards, walked slowly to the front of the crowd.

Yang Ling opened the other party's status panel and took a glance.

Name: Wu Que

Occupation: Martial Artist

Strength: 12

Agility: 8

Spirit: 3

Martial Arts: Black Tiger Fist (Advanced Mastery) ```

Martial Artist! This was the goal Yang Ling had been anticipating the most.

He had been in the Divine Realm for so long, and the only Martial Artist he had seen was this Supervisor Wu.

It was just a bit strange; Supervisor Wu's attributes were not actually much higher than those of the mine guards.

Therefore, he suspected it was because of this Black Tiger Fist that Supervisor Wu practiced!

"Brother... Supervisor Wu."

Fifth Brother whispered.

Supervisor Wu gave a blank grunt, his gaze landing on Yang Ling:

"Do you like mining that much?"

Without a second thought, Yang Ling cupped his hands and said:

"Supervisor Wu, I feel like I'm a born miner; I even dream about mining!"

What a piece of shit sycophant!

How can he even say something like that!

The expressions of the miners present changed drastically.

Fifth Brother clenched his fists in anger.

Supervisor Wu suddenly laughed loudly:

"Hahaha, I've supervised this Fire Crystal Ore mine for many years, and this is the first time I've encountered a miner like you.

Very good, you just focus on your mining, and if anyone gives you trouble, come find me."

Fifth Brother's face turned incredibly ugly.

"In another month, the big shots from above will be inspecting several mines, and at that time, miners from each mine will need to exchange pointers on mining techniques."

"For our side, we'll send you."

Supervisor Wu said with a casual expression.