Chapter 24: Mining Together (5th Update)

Chapter 24: Going Down the Mine Together (5th Update)

Dorin nodded calmly and said, "Let's go."

"Okay, okay." The little mushroom scurried over like a loyal little sidekick, saying, "Have you been down the mine before?"

Dorin said, "Yes."

The little mushroom looked at him with admiring eyes and said, "This is my first time. I heard it's very dangerous here."

"It's alright," Dorin said.

Dorin spoke very concisely and didn't seem enthusiastic at all, coming across as cold. However, Jiang Ye felt that he was the type to be cold on the outside but warm on the inside—otherwise, he wouldn't have gone out of his way to help him water and weed.

Most importantly, Jiang Ye felt that just looking at Dorin gave him an inexplicable sense of security. Following him down the mine, he definitely wouldn't get his guts ripped out.

Definitely...

Dorin led him into the mine entrance.

On the left side of the mine entrance, there was a device similar to a small mine cart, but it was broken—pressing the button did nothing.

The little mushroom was totally baffled and asked, "What is this?"

"A mine cart," Dorin said.

The mine was very deep with many levels. The deeper you went, the rarer the ores became. The first few levels only had rubble—nothing worth taking.

The small mine cart was in a damaged state and couldn't be used to reach the deeper levels. Players had to keep breaking rocks, with a chance of uncovering an opening to the next level underneath.

Once you cleared every ten levels, the broken mine cart could be repaired. In other words, next time players wouldn't have to start from level one. They could ride it straight to levels 10, 20, 30, and so on—as long as they'd been there before.

Jiang Ye nodded and said, "Well, at least that's a bit more player-friendly."

"Let's go."

The opening to level one was right there—no need to break rocks to find it. Dorin didn't hesitate and jumped straight down through the opening.

"Just... just jumping like that?" Jiang Ye thought, peering down. "That looks pretty deep!"

"Eastern Mine: Level 001"

Once inside level one, the space felt suffocatingly cramped. The only light came from the little mushroom's glowing ring.

They were in a stone cavern with a ceiling so low that in some spots it was barely a meter off the ground. Dorin had to duck to get through.

Each level in the mine was procedurally generated. Every time you entered the same level, the layout was different, and so were the ores and monsters.

Jiang Ye looked around but didn't see an opening to the next level. If you got lucky, you wouldn't need to dig at all—the opening to the next level would just be there.

"Let me try."

The little mushroom raised the pickaxe high and slammed it hard against the rock in front.

Clang!

A sharp ring echoed. The rock was tough, and when it finally cracked, the little mushroom got knocked back a step.

"Stone x1"

After breaking the first rock, Jiang Ye got a plain, ordinary stone. It was no different from the rocks you'd find on the farm or along the road.

Clang!

The little mushroom raised the pickaxe again and struck hard.

The rock shattered.

Nothing happened.

The rock shattered and vanished right in front of Jiang Ye—this time, nothing was left behind.

Each swing of the pickaxe cost 1 stamina point.

The little mushroom wiped the dust off its cap, and Jiang Ye said, "The stamina cost is pretty low. At this rate, I can smash a ton of rocks without stopping."

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The little mushroom continued breaking rocks with great effort.

The initial fear of going into the mine faded, replaced by the fun of smashing rocks. The little mushroom got bolder—he wasn't alone, and Dorin seemed like someone you could count on.

The little mushroom swung the pickaxe like a pro, smashing rock after rock. Soon enough, he was sweating and had already cracked over thirty rocks.

"Stone x15"

Jiang Ye was panting a little and couldn't help griping, "That's weird. The TV said the Lord God was in a good mood today and would bring us luck. So why can't I find the way down?"

It was almost noon, and the little mushroom was still stuck on level one.

Luckily, no monsters that spit on players had shown up.

Dorin glanced back at Jiang Ye, said nothing. He raised his black pickaxe and swung it down like it weighed nothing, then said in a calm voice, "It's here."

"What?"

Jiang Ye wiped his sweat and said, "What did you say?"

Dorin said, "The hole. It's here."

The little mushroom jumped in surprise and scurried over: "Oh my god, it really is here! You're amazing—you actually broke through to it!"

Dorin said, "Let's go down."

This time, Jiang Ye knew the drill—he just had to dive in without thinking.

After a brief moment of weightlessness, the little mushroom landed safely on the ground.

"Eastern Mine: Level 002"

Still a sea of darkness, with rocks scattered everywhere. No copper, no iron, and no monsters jumping out at them.

Jiang Ye felt his drive come back. He raised his pickaxe and said, "This time, I'm definitely going to find the way down."

Before he could even swing, Dorin walked over. The little mushroom got bumped by Dorin's broad shoulders and had to sidestep to the right.

The space here was super tight—even more cramped than the first level.

Dorin said in a flat voice, "Sorry, it's cramped."

The mushroom was forced to move aside and had to knock on the unremarkable stone beside him.

*Clang!*

"A hole!!!"

The first stone broke apart, and the mushroom let out an excited shout. His hyphae grabbed Dorin's arm and shook it vigorously, saying, "Incredible luck! Look, look, I hit it on the first try!"

"Let's go." Dorin nodded.

"Eastern Mine: 003"

...

"Eastern Mine: 013"

They made it down to floor 13 without a hitch. Jiang Ye checked the time—it was only 1 p.m. They were suddenly making crazy fast progress.

"I'm getting a little tired." The little mushroom hopped up onto a big rock, sat down, and said, "Let's take a break. Dorin, do you want something to eat? I've got some here."

Jiang Ye dug through his item slot and pulled out a strawberry milkshake, and handed it to him.

Dorin shook his head. "I brought my own food."

He turned down Jiang Ye's offer and pulled out a fruit—blue in color, looked weird but fresh and juicy. Dorin turned away, pushed up his helmet, and took a bite.

Jiang Ye just hugged the strawberry milkshake and took a big sip and savored it.

So good!

So sweet! One sip and he could feel his stamina almost fully recover.

"Social"

"You got no job?": AHHHHH!

"You got no job?": AHHHHH help! Why are there rat monsters in the mine? No one said anything! I'm scared of rats!

"Cat cat don't block the door": I'm scared of spiders QAQ

"Wednesday no-go": Dang, a pig-headed monster stole my farmer's bread! And it made faces at me!

Jiang Ye just opened the chat and immediately cracked up.

A bunch of players had come down to the mine today. After a few days of hanging around the farms and town, everyone had decided to look for some new excitement in the mine. The chat was buzzing today.

During the newbie protection period, players could only run into each other in safe zones like Sun Town—not inside the mine. This also stopped players from fighting over the same ore, so everyone could gather more materials early on.

"You got no job?": AHHH, here it comes! The second I hear that "dududu" sound, I know the monsters are back!

"Wednesday no-go": Yeah, yeah—that "dududu" sound.

Jiang Ye was confused. Dududu? That sounded like a mushroom running.

Jiang Ye pricked up his ears and listened closely. The mine was totally quiet—he heard nothing.

"Le Yi Li": Stuff that makes "dududu" sounds is usually slimes. Slimes like to sneak up behind you and ambush you.

"Le Yi Li": Also, rats and bats squeak before they attack. Just run when you hear it.

The chat was then full of screams—someone yelling about getting jumped by three Bokoblins, someone yelling about a biting skull popping out from under a rock, and someone crying about getting bitten by a spider and turning all green.

Jiang Ye closed the chat and looked at Dorin seriously, asking, "Did you hear anything weird?"

Dorin finished his fruit, looked at him, and shook his head.

Jiang Ye said glumly, "I didn't hear anything either."

They'd already made it to floor 13, but they hadn't run into a single monster. Jiang Ye had planned to get purple briefs to drop from monsters, but now he hadn't seen any briefs—not even a hint of a monster.

"Wait, listen!"

The mushroom suddenly went on alert. Hyphae sprouted from his cap, swaying side to side like antennas.

"I think I hear something—soft footsteps..." the mushroom said seriously.

A monster must be coming to sneak attack.

Dorin stayed calm and quiet.

"Wait..." The antennas on his head twitched. "Why are the footsteps getting more distant?"

The sneaking footsteps suddenly got farther away, and fast.

Jiang Ye couldn't just sit there. "I'm gonna chase it!"

Dorin followed, saying, "Careful."

His hyphae gripped the little branch tight. Jiang Ye took a deep breath and ran after the sound.

The other guy was running fast—like he was running for his life.

*Clatter...*

A loud crash came from ahead, like something had been dropped in a panic.

Jiang Ye vaguely saw something drop to the ground—something pretty big. There was definitely a dark figure ahead—short and stocky. From the silhouette, it definitely wasn't human. It might be the legendary Bokoblin, with two big pig ears on its head.

The Bokoblin dropped something and instinctively turned back to grab it.

But when it turned around, it saw someone chasing it. Scared out of its mind, it ditched the item and bolted.

"Huh..."

Hyphae raised, Jiang Ye held out his hand, looking confused. He thought, why is a Bokoblin running for its life? Could Bokoblins be scared of mushrooms?

The Bokoblin was already gone. Jiang Ye walked over and looked down.

"Spiked Bokoblin Club x1"

"Attack 12, Durability 14"

A huge spiked club lay on the ground—looked like a Bokoblin's weapon, way better than the branch in Jiang Ye's hand.

"Lucky!" the mushroom said. "Did I just get a gear drop?"

His hyphae gripped the handle, but he couldn't lift it at first.

"So heavy..." The mushroom extended another hypha, grabbed it with both hands, and this time lifted it easily.

The Bokoblin club was extremely heavy, with much higher attack power than the branch, but its drawback was that it was bulky and too slow and heavy.

Jiang Ye raised the Bokoblin club and handed it to Dorin, saying, "This is for you!"

Dorin didn't take it. He said calmly, "It's ugly."

Jiang Ye: "..."

The mushroom chimed in, "Then I'll use it."

After resting, they grabbed a weapon and continued mining to find the cave entrance.

Jiang Ye was full of energy, holding the Bokoblin club in his left hand and a pickaxe in his right, walking ahead, striking rocks with a clang-clang-clang as he went, quickly uncovering the entrance to the next level.

"We found a hole! Let's go!"

Jiang Ye turned around excitedly.

He saw Dorin behind him, with something poking out of the gap in his helmet. On closer look...

A lollipop!

Dorin was happily sucking on the rainbow heart-shaped lollipop Jiang Ye had given him that day.

"Let's go." Dorin waved at the dumbfounded Jiang Ye.

"Eastern Mine: Level 027"

Just as they reached the new level, Jiang Ye saw the social channel blowing up.

"Social"

"System: Congratulations to [Le Yi Li] for digging up a Diamond x1 at Level 078 of the Eastern Mine, earning the [Overnight Riches] achievement."

"The Man Who Would Be Smoked Fish King": Holy crap, holy crap! A diamond!

"You Have Nothing To Do": Level 78! That's insane!

"The Cold-Faced Pig-Raising Succubus": What does a diamond look like? How much is it worth?

"That's so cool," Jiang Ye said enviously to Dorin. "Someone dug up a diamond in the mine. That's crazy. We haven't even found a single piece of iron ore."

After all that digging, the most common items in his item slot were stones and flint, plus four copper ores he'd picked up. Jiang Ye still had no clue what iron ore looked like, let alone diamonds.

The mushroom put its hands on its hips and started daydreaming about the future, saying, "If I dig up a diamond, I'm definitely going to..."

Clang!

The pickaxe came down. Jiang Ye struck the rock in front of him mid-sentence...

"Social"

"System: Congratulations to [Mushroom Soup] for digging up a Diamond x1 at Level 027 of the Eastern Mine, earning the [Overnight Riches] achievement."

The rock shattered, and a huge gem tumbled out, rolling across the ground twice.

Jiang Ye was stunned. That gem was huge! And so shiny! It reflected the light from the glowing ring, lighting up the entire mine level.

"This is... this is..." The mushroom stammered.

Dorin bent down, picked up the diamond, and handed it to Jiang Ye. "It's a diamond," he said.

The mushroom hugged the diamond, tapping and feeling it, unable to believe it was actually a diamond.

"Social"

"The Man Who Would Be Smoked Fish King": Oh my god, mushroom! You dug up a diamond too!

"Mushroom Soup": Ahhhh! I'm rich! I've hit the jackpot!

"You Have Nothing To Do": You dug up a diamond at Level 27? That's so lucky!

"Mushroom Soup": The Chief Deity really has my back, ahhhh!

"You Have Nothing To Do": A diamond can sell for a ton of money—enough to renovate and expand the farm cabin!

Jiang Ye instantly turned red as a mushroom with excitement, hugging the diamond tightly, afraid it was all a dream.

The diamond's value still needed to be appraised in town before selling it to the jewelry store.

The mushroom straightened its stem and said, "Dorin, don't worry, I won't hog the diamond. When I sell it, I'll split it with you."

Unlike Jiang Ye's excitement, Dorin seemed unfazed, probably because his helmet hid all his expressions.

Dorin said flatly, "Whatever. I don't need the money."

Jiang Ye thought, true—that helmet of Dorin's alone looked like it cost a fortune.

But it was a matter of principle. He couldn't have dug up the diamond without Dorin's help, so Jiang Ye insisted on splitting it.

They stayed in the mine until sunset. It was getting late, and someone on the social channel reminded everyone to head home fast to avoid getting stuck in the mine and blacking out.

To leave the mine, you couldn't just warp out with one click. You had to go to every tenth level where minecarts were parked, activate one, and ride it to the surface.

In the end, Jiang Ye and Dorin left from Level 50 of the mine.

Jiang Ye only dug up one piece of iron ore, didn't run into a single monster, and didn't find any purple briefs, but he was satisfied. The mushroom was still basking in the joy of digging up a diamond.

"20:00"

"Today's Weird News Time"

It was getting dark, and just as they were about to reach the farm, Jiang Ye noticed something new pop up on the system.

"Social"

"The Cold-Faced Pig-Raising Succubus": What's Today's Weird News?

"You Have Nothing To Do": I don't think that was there before.

"20:00"

"Today's Weird News Time"

"System: A rare meteorite fragment has been discovered in Sun Town."

"System: A kangaroo attack incident occurred near a certain farm."

"System: A bear fight incident occurred at a certain farm."

Jiang Ye blinked. Yep, all kinds of weird stuff.

"Social"

"Smoked Fish King Wannabe": Man, I'm so unlucky!

"Mushroom Soup": What happened?

Jiang Ye figured that yellow-haired angler dude really had some bad luck on him. He wondered what went down today.

"Smoked Fish King Wannabe": I'm the one that got hurt by that kangaroo!

"You Got Nothing Better to Do": What? That shouldn't be possible. During the newbie protection period, you shouldn't take damage anywhere except places like the mines and the temple. If I remember right, kangaroos don't spawn in the mines or the temple.

"Smoked Fish King Wannabe": On my way home, I saw this little kangaroo. So cute, so adorable. I went over to pet it! And then...

The mama and papa kangaroos suddenly showed up, towering two heads over the yellow-haired angler. One punch cracked Little Yellow Hair's ribs, and he got knocked straight into the clinic.

The mycelium quickly clapped a hand over the mushroom's nonexistent mouth. Jiang Ye held back his laugh. That was just way too unlucky!

"Social"

"Smoked Fish King Wannabe": I'm really so unlucky!

"Smoked Fish King Wannabe": And the clinic visit cost money too! It set me back a ton!

"You Got Nothing Better to Do": Got it. The kangaroo hit you—that's pure self-defense, not an aggressive attack. Next time, remember: don't go petting cute little kangaroos.

Everyone spent a good while trying to cheer the angler up. By the time Jiang Ye looked up, he was just about at the farm gate.

"I'm heading back." Dorin was standing behind him. He'd walked the mushroom home on purpose.

The mushroom wiggled its mycelium and said, "Bye! Let's hit the mines together again sometime."

"Alright." Dorin nodded, then turned and walked off.

He took two steps, then suddenly stopped, turned, and came back.

Jiang Ye asked, confused, "What's up?"

Dorin stopped in front of him and asked, "What's that smell?"

"Smell?" Jiang Ye took a big sniff. There was a sweet scent in the air, drifting out from the farm.

"Oh, that's the smell of honey." The mushroom suddenly realized. "I got a big jar of honey. Didn't expect it to smell this good. Just sniffing it is making me hungry."

Dorin's helmet hid his face, but his voice sounded oddly serious as he said, "Honey? Brown bears go crazy for honey."

"Huh?" The mushroom was taken aback.

With honey smelling this good, no wonder brown bears liked it.

"Wait..." Jiang Ye's brain stalled. "Are you talking about bears?"

One of today's weird news items said a two-bear brawl went down on some farm.

Just now, Jiang Ye had been about to complain—why would two bears fight for no reason? So weird. Two bears fighting even made it onto the server-wide announcement.

The mushroom froze. "They wouldn't be fighting over a jar of honey, would they?"

The mushroom launched itself, jumped up, and charged headfirst into the farm.

As soon as he got in, he saw the scarecrow lying crooked on the ground, like something had knocked it over.

Probably wasn't a someone...

There were deep claw marks all over the ground. Definitely not human footprints—looked more like bear paws.

Any last shred of hope in Jiang Ye's heart went up in smoke. He was now a hundred percent sure those two brown bears had been fighting right in his farm!

And the fight had been intense.

"My crops! My crops!"

The mushroom set the scarecrow upright, sprinted to the fields, and let out a huge sigh of relief.

The crops hadn't gotten caught in the bears' fight. Lucky for him, they were all fine—not a single one damaged.

"Good... good..."

Before he could finish his sigh of relief, Jiang Ye's eyes went wide, locked on the door of the little wooden cabin.

The door was gone...

The cabin was wide open, with wood splinters scattered all over the ground by the entrance—probably all that was left of the wooden door.

The bears must've smashed it!

The night wind was pretty strong tonight, whipping up leaves and howling straight into the wide-open cabin.