Asam's resolute face furrowed with pain.
A moment later, he too felt a new surge of power within him, and delight appeared in his eyes.
"So this is what the Lord had in mind? How amazing."
"Thank you for your whipping, esteemed Lord!"
Asam spoke respectfully.
At this point, Asam said somewhat sheepishly, "Lord, may I ask you to whip me a few more times?"
"Asam wants to become even stronger!"
Cao Xing shook his head. "No. Only the first whipping has any effect."
Hearing this, Asam nodded with some regret.
The people beside them, however, were left completely dumbfounded by their conversation.
They knew Cao Xing might have some purpose behind what he was doing, but this was just too strange.
Cao Xing knew they had gotten the wrong idea. He coughed twice, then explained the whip's effect to them.
After hearing him out, the others looked enlightened.
Then Cao Xing said, "Now, Andrew, Sarah, let me bless you too."
Andrew and Sarah exchanged glances, then nodded.
Cao Xing whipped them one by one.
"Smack!"
"Smack!"
The sound of the whip cracking rang through the deep mine tunnel.
Andrew was fine. His hide was thick, so this little bit of pain didn't affect him much.
Sarah, on the other hand, trembled slightly.
When it was Liu Muxue's turn, she looked fearfully at the whip in Cao Xing's hand and said softly, "A Xing... I, do I have to?"
Cao Xing thought for a moment, then nodded. "Mm. A 10% increase to movement speed is a pretty significant boost."
"Besides, you only need to endure the first strike. It'll be over before you know it."
Liu Muxue thought for a moment, then nodded. "Mm."
Cao Xing had no ulterior thoughts and simply whipped her once.
"Mm!"
Liu Muxue let out a muffled groan, then looked at Cao Xing pitifully.
"It... it really hurts..."
Seeing this, Cao Xing couldn't help thinking of what had happened last night. For a moment, his blood surged.
But he quickly calmed down.
Cao Xing coughed twice. "The buffs have all been applied. Let's keep moving."
Andrew and Asam continued onward.
A set of rails ran through the tunnel, stretching deeper into the mine.
As Cao Xing followed the tracks, he collected the rails from the ground.
[Rail +1]
[Rail +1]
Before long, Cao Xing had already collected hundreds of meters of rail!
Even if he broke them down into iron, there would be hundreds of pieces!
Cao Xing thought happily, "If I pick up a little more rail, I can connect that Coal Mine to my territory and greatly increase the speed at which I gather resources."
Just then, a fork appeared ahead in the tunnel.
The path on the left seemed to lead deeper into the mine, and the faint rumble of machinery came from within.
The path on the right was blocked by wooden planks, with a red "X" painted on them.
It seemed to be a restricted area.
Everyone stopped where they were and waited for Cao Xing to decide.
After a moment's thought, Cao Xing said, "Andrew, remove the planks. I'll take a look inside first."
Andrew followed his orders, swinging his enormous Bear Claw and bringing it down.
"Crack! Crunch!"
The planks were smashed apart, revealing the inside of the tunnel.
Cao Xing saw several overturned minecarts in the tunnel ahead. Some already-mined ore was scattered on the ground beside them.
It seemed the Molemen had run into some kind of trouble and left everything behind without time to evacuate.
Sarah, standing in the shadows, suddenly said, "I sense a dangerous presence inside..."
Cao Xing frowned when he heard this.
Sarah was a level 20 elite monster. If even she thought it was dangerous, there had to be some kind of terrifying creature inside.
Cao Xing said, "Sarah, go scout it out."
Sarah nodded, then vanished into the shadows.
A minute later, Sarah reappeared and said, "Reconnaissance complete. There's a Tier 2 monster's lair inside."
"A Tier 2 monster. How strong is it?"
Sarah thought for a moment, then replied, "It should be about as strong as I am."
Cao Xing nodded in understanding.
About as strong as Sarah meant it was a level 20 elite monster.
Cao Xing asked, "Can you handle it?"
Sarah considered this for a moment, then replied, "With the blessing from Lord, it shouldn't be a problem."
"If we work together with these two companions, we'll practically be guaranteed victory."
Cao Xing heard this and felt reassured.
"Good. Let's go in, then!"
At his words, Andrew and Asam headed straight into the mine tunnel on the right.
Cao Xing and Liu Muxue followed behind them.
He soon reached one of the overturned minecarts, with some ore scattered beside it.
Cao Xing packed up the minecart and the ore on the ground together.
[Obtained Minecart*1, Iron Ore*31, Cursed Metal*7, Mithril Ore*8, Mana Stone*17, Stone*64...]
"Huh? So much Mithril and so many Mana Stones?" Cao Xing thought, delighted.
These were all high-grade materials, worth a fortune.
Cao Xing began checking their details.
[Iron Ore: Can be processed at the Ore Processing Plant. 1 ore can be processed into 5 iron]
[Cursed Metal: A metal fused with the resentment of the dead]
(Can be used to make certain evil alchemical items.)
[Mithril Ore: Can be processed at the Ore Processing Plant. 1 Mithril Ore can be processed into 3 Mithril]
(Note: Requires a Level 3 Ore Processing Plant)
[Mana Stone: A stone containing energy, capable of powering certain special devices.]
Cao Xing nodded with satisfaction, then looked at the other minecarts on the ground.
He packed them all up and took them away.
[Obtained Minecart*1, obtained Iron Ore*42, Cursed Metal*9, Mithril Ore*7, Mana Stone*19, Stone*72...]
He didn't leave the rails on the ground behind, either.
[Obtained Rail*42, obtained Abandoned Minecart*7, obtained...]
Cao Xing followed behind Andrew and Asam, packing up all the various ores from the ground as he went.
Liu Muxue helped collect them too.
As she picked things up, she said with a delighted smile, "A Xing, there are so many iron ores, and so many Mithril Ores too!"
Cao Xing nodded. "This trip has really paid off. Just these ores and minecarts alone make it worthwhile."
Liu Muxue's face also showed the joy of a good haul.
It was obvious that the Moleman Mine was a high-level area.
At least, given the strength of the survivors at present, they had no way of entering.
Cao Xing, however, had three powerful subordinates, so he could venture into the Moleman Mine to search for treasure at this level.
It could be said that he had reaped a bountiful harvest.
So far, Cao Xing had collected nearly two hundred lengths of rail.
Fortunately, the survivors' [Personal Backpack] had 20 inventory slots, and materials of the same type could stack up to 400 in one slot.
Even large items like minecarts could stack up to nearly 100, taking up just 1 slot.
The Personal Backpack was quite spacious.
They continued onward.
They reached the depths of the passage.
The light suddenly dimmed here.
But when Cao Xing took a Mana Stone Torch from his backpack, it immediately drove away the darkness inside.
They noticed white cobwebs on the ceiling and both sides of the mine tunnel.
The farther in they went, the denser the webs became.
Some huge webs even filled the passage, blocking their way.
At the same time, an evil, powerful aura rushed toward them!
Thanks to reader Xuanhai for the monthly ticket, and thanks to everyone for the recommendation tickets. This humble author offers their thanks~
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