Mining

As you venture deeper into the valley, the surrounding environment completely transforms.

The snow in the entire forest outside had long since melted away, the sunny ground was dry and exposed to the elements, while only a few specks of dampness remained in the shady areas, and traces of the cold wave were still visible everywhere. But this valley was different; it was as if it were covered by an invisible barrier, isolating it from the fluctuations of the outside climate.

Lu Heng stopped beside a spring of flowing water and looked down at the ground and vegetation around him.

Wild grasses, vines clinging to the ground, and short plants sprouting from cracks in the rocks all maintain a vibrant growth, their leaves unfurled and their greenness robust. The widespread snowfall and temperature drop a while ago left almost no impact here. The plants did not freeze or wither, but continued to grow at their own pace.

He knew the reason.

The valley has an unusual underground magnetic field, and the continuous Geothermal activity creates a unique and stable microenvironment. External wind, snow, temperature drops, and frost cannot penetrate it at all.

He had originally planned to collect some common iron ore along the way, just enough to make up the basic materials for building the fence. After standing by the spring and thinking for a moment, he immediately abandoned the idea.

If you're using regular iron ore, you'll need to upgrade it later anyway, so it's better to go all the way up. Since we've already entered this special valley, there's no need to settle for inferior materials; let's just focus on Frost-Patterned Iron Ore.

Frost-Patterned Iron Ore has a higher density and a tighter texture, making it more stable when used to construct fences and providing more reliable long-term security.

Having made up his mind, Lu Heng turned and walked towards the exposed mine wall on the inside of the valley.

The entire rock face is partially exposed, with fine, silvery-blue veins embedded in its surface, a unique characteristic of the Frost-Patterned Iron Ore. You can feel the cool texture of the ore's surface when you get close; it's heavier and harder than ordinary Stone.

He reached out and touched the protrusions and cracks in the mine wall, then realized a very real problem.

I don't have a pickaxe.

Having always relied on traveling, surviving, fighting monsters, and collecting resources, all I had was a Bronze Hunting Blade for combat; I had never had any specialized mining tools. Faced with the extremely hard Frost-Patterned Iron Ore, the lack of specialized tools exponentially increased the difficulty of mining it.

There's no way to settle, and there are no alternatives.

Lu Heng could only pull out his Iron Axe.

The axe blade is for chopping, not for chiseling stone. Fortunately, the back of the axe is thick and flat, and heavy enough to be used as a simple hammer. When encountering a tightly fitted spot in the ore, use the back of the axe to strike and vibrate it; after creating a gap, turn the angle and use the edge of the axe blade to pry it in.

The posture was awkward, the movements were clumsy, and the efficiency was extremely low.

He tried tapping the mineral layer again and again. The dull impact echoed along the rock wall and reverberated repeatedly in the empty valley, followed by a series of crackling and splintering sounds.

After tapping it a dozen times, my arm started to ache.

At this moment, Lu Heng especially missed the explosives.

If there were readily available explosives, you could simply locate the cracks in the ore layer and detonate them at a fixed point, loosening the entire ore vein. You could then stand and pick up the ore, saving time and effort, without having to expend so much physical energy.

The thought popped into his head, but he quickly suppressed it.

He had absolutely no knowledge of explosives proportions, manufacturing, or quantity control; not a single ounce of related information. In the apocalypse, ignorance is tantamount to suicide, and haphazardly mixing and preparing explosives would only result in self-injury or death. Thinking about it was pointless; it was a complete waste of brainpower.

Ultimately, we had no choice but to resort to manual mining.

Lu Heng steadied his breathing and continued repeating the monotonous movements.

Slamming, jamming, prying, peeling.

The exertion is mainly concentrated in the lower back and arms. It looks like the upper body is doing the work, but in reality, the entire body weight is supported by the legs to stabilize the center of gravity. His leg injury has not fully healed yet, and the tension from standing for a long time will slowly seep out from the muscles, accumulating and becoming heavier.

I dare not push myself too hard.

He strictly controlled the pace, mining for a while, then stopping, standing up to slow down, slightly bending his knees to relax his leg muscles, and letting the accumulated soreness and numbness dissipate.

During the breaks between repetitive tasks, his gaze casually swept over the cracks in the rocks and the damp soil around the mine walls.

The soil, geomagnetism, and Geothermal around the Frost-Patterned Iron Ore veins are different from other places, making it easy for unique vegetation to grow there. Upon closer inspection, sure enough, clumps of short, broad-leaved grasses were growing in several shady crevices.

The leaves are thin and tough, with a dark green color, and grow close to the stone surface, so they are not particularly eye-catching.

Lu Heng Wristband to scan the ring.

[Tea Grass]

Uses: The dried leaves can be boiled in water and drunk as tea to relieve colds, nasal congestion, and dryness.

It grows by relying on the earth's energy from the mineral veins, and has a simple conditioning effect, which is not considered good, nor does it have any extraordinary effects.

But Lu Heng was happy; as long as there were supplies, that was enough.

Lu Heng casually picked a handful of tender leaves, shook off the stone dust from the leaves, and put them into the Storage Slot of his Wristband, storing them separately to avoid contamination from the minerals and other debris.

After clearing away the vegetation, he returned to the mine wall and continued mining.

There were no other noises in the valley except for the continuous sounds of hammering, prying, and chipping away at the rocks, echoing outwards in a quiet and monotonous murmur.

He maintained a slow pace, neither rushing nor pushing his injury too hard.

Each swing of the axe should be steady and forceful to avoid the shock being transmitted through the torso and pulling on the hamstrings. When prying ore, turn to the side to reduce the force and try to place the pressure on the upper limbs.

In this unhurried, intermittent, and repetitive labor, chunks of Frost-Patterned Iron Ore with fine silver-blue veins slowly peeled off the rock wall and piled up at their feet.

The quantity is limited, but its Goblin and purity far exceed that of ordinary iron ore make it sturdy and durable enough to be used to renovate the outer fence of the Shelter.

The valley 'Geothermal slowly rises, the air is warm and moist, and the surrounding vegetation grows quietly. Only the continuous sound of mining breaks the long-standing tranquility of this valley time and time again.