The Carson Mine was not just any ordinary silver mine. Few people were ever willing to venture into low-level adventure zones like this, so Joey had been quite lucky to actually find a group to team up with.
He joined the party with ease. There were seven of them in total-five men and two women-and they agreed to set off early the next morning.
Morning arrived quickly, and the seven of them stepped into the mine. The captain was a well-built, middle-aged man who was also the organizer of this expedition: Keen, a brave hunter.
His goal was to investigate his nephew, who had gone missing some time ago. As for the others, most had been lured in by his hefty bounty.
The journey so far had been peaceful, and some members of the party even started cracking jokes.
"Joey, you don't look like an adventure-seeker. You must be a greenhorn, right? Later on, if we run into danger, remember to hide behind big sis, okay? Hehe!"
The speaker had a mane of fiery red hair and a curvaceous figure. Even the waves of the ocean could not rival the breadth of her chest, and Joey had experienced the boldness of otherworldly women more than once.
Reservedness simply did not exist here. When they saw someone pleasing to the eye, they did not hide their emotions.
Although he disliked such overly proactive women, it did not stop him from appreciating the view from an aesthetic standpoint.
"Really, Katrin? You truly are someone worth relying on." Joey put on a coy expression, playing the role of the weakling to absolute perfection.
In truth, there was no need to fake it. Among the seven of them, he was the youngest and clearly a greenhorn. If Keen hadn't been completely unable to find anyone else, he wouldn't have let Joey join the party.
"Alright, stop acting like a rutted curly-haired baboon. Walk a bit further and we'll reach the deeper sections, where there might be beasts. Keep your wits about you."
"Got it, Captain."
"Understood!"
"My cannons are already thirsty for action."
Joey followed quietly at the very back of the group, grumbling inwardly in his heart.
With a ragtag band of mercenaries like this, if they genuinely ran into danger, they would probably die faster than anyone else.
The initial stretch of the path was still lit with torches, but as they went further, torches weren't even necessary. The walls inside the cave were embedded with crystals emitting a green glow; these were unformed silver ore veins, completely valueless aside from glowing.
Abruptly, the party halted their footsteps, and a rough voice rang out.
"Joey, you take the lead!"
"Huh?"
"What are you standing around for? Move it!"
This was clearly malicious. Seeing that everyone around him was staring at him with that kind of a matter-of-fact gaze-even Katrin, who had been flirting with him all along-Joey knew there was no escaping this.
"Katrin, didn't you want to protect your little brother? Why aren't you saying anything now?" Another woman in the party chimed in with a tease.
Katrin turned her head away, pretending not to hear.
Walking further still, human traces grew scarcer on the ground, and even some beast-like footprints began to appear.
The safety margin of the Carson Silver Mine was guaranteed only up to a certain point. Although this mine had been discovered a long time ago, exactly how deep it went had never been explored.
Adventure and reward had to be equivalent for people to bother investigating. The value of a silver mine was ultimately limited, and capable people would never venture deep into the mine.
It was only at this moment that Joey understood why they had let him join the party.
He was just meant to serve as cannon fodder to test the path!
To think he had actually believed it was due to his own charm at the time; it seemed he had overthought things. Callous Katrin.
Even so, he didn't complain.
Such were the rules: the weak were bullied, and those who took a beating had to stand straight and take it.
Beyonder characteristics possessed the Law of Convergence, and for this outing, Joey had purposely brought Silver Laurel stamens along with him.
The further they went, the larger the space became. It was shaped just like a calabash gourd: the entrance could only accommodate a single person, but now all seven of them could walk abreast with room to spare.
Stalactites hung upside down overhead. Logically speaking, deep inside, the air should have been thin, circulation difficult, and-lacking any ventilation shafts-it ought to have been quite hot. Yet right now, the few of them were shivering all over, shaking with cold.
Joey was only wearing a single layer of clothing. He turned his head and found that the rest of them were fully prepared, leaving only him foolishly bringing nothing at all.
"What are you looking at? Walk faster!" Keen shoved Joey impatiently, causing him to stagger and almost fall.
"Ah! Yes, yes, yes."
As the weak party, Joey was very self-aware. Since there wasn't even a shadow of an Agate Worm in sight yet, there was no need to pick a fight with the others.
On a level playing field without a magician, trying to brawl meant relying on your brain. Relying purely on fists was not Joey's style.
Actually, it was just that his fists weren't as big as theirs.
Rustle, rustle, rustle!
Within the silent cave, a strange sound rang out abruptly.
Everyone immediately raised their vigilance to the maximum, drawing the weapons they held.
Good grief, they even had guns.
Joey congratulated himself that he had kept playing the obedient good boy; he hadn't expected this bunch to actually carry firearms, stuff you couldn't just get your hands on ordinarily.
The Imperial Knights had an explicit regulation stating that all firearms belonged to the Empire and must be registered. Lose a gun, lose your life. This stuff had always been priced high with zero supply on the black market.
Joey began to doubt the identity of these people. Soldiers? Absolutely not.
Judging by how this group handled and responded to crises, it was clearly not their first time cooperating. Thus, one conclusion could be drawn: back at the adventure bar, they had put on a play entirely to rope in some cannon fodder to scout the way.
Far from running into a pillow just as he felt sleepy, he had foolishly jumped headfirst into a fire pit.
How rather unlucky of him to run into such wretched business. Suddenly, for a split second, Joey wished he could become a Sequence 9 Luck-Master all the sooner.
Swish, rattle!
From the dark depths, countless vampire bats came hurtling at them.
"Ignite the tar!" Keen roared at the top of his lungs.
Tar was a substance extracted from a mutated plant and served as a top-grade combustible.
Before the swarming bats could even reach them, more than half had already been burned to death by the fire. The air was filled with the pungent stench of burning flesh, and stepping on the ground felt sticky enough to make one retch.
"Captain Keen, it seems you've made quite thorough preparations." Joey stated bluntly.
Playing dumb at a time like this would make him a genuine fool.
Keen shot Joey a half-smile, took two steps forward, and began inspecting the terrain.
"Do your own job and mind your own business. Katrin, keep a close eye on him. If he dares any out-of-line moves, kill him!"
The voice was ice-cold, giving Joey the sensation of being targeted by a wild wolf.
This made him even more certain that Keen was no simple character. He had only ever felt this kind of pressure from Old Tony-Tony Crevi before he was injured, an imperial soldier and a Sequence 9 Berserker.
Keen was very likely an Awakened being, which forced Joey to alter his scheduled plan.
Originally, his plan had been to utilize the party to find the saliva of an Agate Worm and then take the opportunity to slip away. Now he had to change his mind; given the current situation, if he dared to leave rashly, Keen would dispatch him without a second thought.
Unable to come up with a solution on the spot, he had no choice but to take things one step at a time.