The Goblin’s Relentless Vengeance
At night, the moonlight couldn’t reach inside the mine. The tunnel was dim, and the only light came from the torch that Yan Yiqiu had planted when she entered.
The flames flickered, casting crooked shadows on the walls.
She immediately spotted a small figure hiding behind a rock.
Green all over, long pointed ears, a hooked nose, barely over a meter tall, eyes full of cunning and malice, a wide grinning mouth. Its upper body was bare, wearing only tattered shorts, and it held a wooden club in its clawed hands.
It was a goblin.
Knowing it had been spotted, the goblin stepped out from behind the rock and chattered at Yan Yiqiu, holding the club at its side, appearing as if it could communicate and was friendly.
Yan Yiqiu wasn’t fooled.
Goblin are cunning and brutal creatures!
Their friendly gestures are just to size you up. If they determine you’re weak, they immediately reveal their vicious side.
Yan Yiqiu had seen it with her own eyes in her past life.
Players who seemed fine one moment could have their brains splattered by a single swing from a goblin the next. That was considered lucky; most goblins would knock a player unconscious and drag them back to their lair to slowly torture them to death.
And goblins are social creatures.
Encountering one meant there was likely a group nearby, waiting for you.
Yan Yiqiu’s mind raced, but her face stayed calm. She waved at the goblin, smiling sweetly, her crescent-shaped eyes friendly, her high ponytail swaying slightly with her movement.
The goblin: “Chitter-chatter, grumble-grumble.”
It wobbled over, clutching its club, curiously inspecting the mining cart, making grumbling noises as if asking what it was.
Yan Yiqiu smiled as it approached, then pulled out her chisel and struck it on the head.
[Player dealt 666,666,666 damage to the goblin; effective damage: 32,451.]
Quite the hit.
Yan Yiqiu’s smile grew more genuine as she checked the loot.
[Obtained: Tier-2 Ore x26, Silver Coins x500, White Fire Element Ore x1, Experience +150.]
Goblins loved all kinds of ores and gems, so there was a high chance of dropping advanced or elemental ores, along with lots of coins.
Yan Yiqiu loved fighting goblins.
Ugly, cunning creatures that dropped good loot? Perfect.
Humming a tune, she saw her stamina running low, drank two stamina potions, and continued mining.
She remembered to warn Yun Yan.
Opening her friend list, she sent a private message: “Watch out for the small monsters on the island. Don’t be fooled—they’re sneaky and cunning. They drop good loot, so just kill them. Afterward, run far away.”
Half a minute later, Yun Yan replied:
[Yun Yan: Yiqiu, you mean the small, ugly, green one? I’ve got one nearby. I’ll kill it now!]
Yun Yan closed the chat, glancing at the goblin beside him, thinking: Of course, something that ugly can’t be good.
Before receiving Yan Yiqiu’s warning, he had thought: Wow, there’s a friendly little monster in the dungeon… though it’s hideously ugly.
This ugly creature was tough, though. Yun Yan and his companion spent nearly twenty minutes before finally killing it.
After the loot dropped, he obediently flew away with his battle pet, disappearing into the night jungle.
Why did Yan Yiqiu want him gone quickly? Because nearby goblins would come in groups for revenge.
It seemed goblins had some kind of shared awareness; whenever one was killed, nearby goblins would rush over to investigate and avenge their comrade.
At Yun Yan’s current combat level, one goblin was already tough—facing a group would force him to leave the dungeon.
As for Yan Yiqiu…
She looked at the ten or so goblins chattering before her and mentally replaced them with ores and coins.
Grabbing her chisel, she charged, striking one goblin after another in a satisfying rampage—
She was single-handedly attacking a group.
Goblin: “Chitter-chatter, grr!”
The remaining goblins, seeing the situation, fled the mine. Yan Yiqiu didn’t let them escape, chasing with her chisel: “Since you came, shouldn’t you leave something behind?”
All turned into experience points and loot.
[Obtained: Tier-1 Ore x105, Tier-2 Ore x33, White Lightning Element Ore x2, Silver Coins x677, Experience +150.]
…
[Due to excessive goblin kills, you have gained the ‘Goblin’s Hatred’ buff. This buff lasts until the end of the dungeon. Player attention required.]
A small icon appeared before Yan Yiqiu.
Goblin’s Hatred: Players with this buff will be hunted by the goblin race. Rewards for killing goblins are doubled.
Reward doubled!
Yan Yiqiu’s eyes lit up: “Such a nice bonus!”
Why mine when I can go straight for the goblin nest?
She stored her mining cart, pulled the torch, and cheerfully left the mine.
This island had many ore veins, so goblins interested in mining were everywhere.
But goblins preferred dark, damp underground lairs, only leaving to mine. Their lairs were well hidden.
Using her past-life experience, Yan Yiqiu searched corners overgrown with weeds. After about two hours, she found a small cave entrance—not a mine.
The cave was only 1.5 meters high and 2 meters wide, just enough for a goblin to enter.
Yan Yiqiu, at 1.7 meters, had to crouch.
Damn, can’t these goblins make the entrance bigger? Not friendly to tall people!
Fortunately, after a short distance, the cave widened.
Goblins had a unique understanding of mining and underground construction.
Yan Yiqiu noticed the path sloping downward. About ten minutes later, she entered a stunning underground cavern—more of a labyrinth than a cave.
Ridges and channels intersected like city streets, extending far and deep.
The buff took effect.
She had taken just two steps when several goblins with wooden clubs charged, their red eyes filled with hatred.
She raised her chisel and struck.
[Player dealt 827,340,342 damage to goblins; effective damage: 41,231.][Obtained: Tier-1 Ore x677, Tier-2 Ore x213, Tier-3 Ore x62, Gold Coins x1.2, Experience +150.]
Sadly, experience wasn’t doubled.
Seeing the charging goblins, Yan Yiqiu didn’t mind; greed wasn’t necessary.
She climbed the protruding stones like a gecko, avoiding attacks, striking goblin heads with her chisel.
The cave was 2.5 meters high; the goblins had to jump to reach her, making them easy targets.
[Obtained…][Obtained…][Obtained…][Obtained: Building Blueprint x1, Green Power Bracers x1, Blue Defense Vest x1, Gold Coins x2, Experience +150.]
Yan Yiqiu lost count of how many goblins she had killed. Then she heard a “ding”—the hatred buff changed.
Goblin’s Hatred → Goblin’s Relentless Vengeance
[Due to massive goblin kills, the ‘Goblin’s Hatred’ has upgraded to ‘Relentless Vengeance from the Goblin Race.’ From now on, wherever you encounter goblins, you will be hunted and loathed by them. Rewards remain doubled.]
Before she could react, the goblins seemed to realize they were outmatched and fled into the labyrinth.
Goblin lairs were like mazes; she didn’t pursue to avoid getting lost.
Satisfied, Yan Yiqiu happily left, chisel in hand.
Emerging from the dim cave, she noticed dawn approaching.
She found a relatively flat spot, sitting down to count her haul.
[Player Level: 6 (561/10,000)][Stamina: 21/100][Energy: 32/100][HP: 5500/5500 (including armor bonus)][Satiety: 53][Tier-1 Ore x67,710, Tier-2 Ore x21,457, Tier-3 Ore x7,432, White Fire Element Ore x699, Green Fire Element Ore x55, White Lightning Element Ore x515, Green Lightning Element Ore x49…]
She roughly estimated she had killed about 100 goblins in the cavern. No wonder the hatred buff upgraded.
But it was thrilling!
In just a few hours, she collected enough ore for a level-6 territory—on the dungeon’s third day.
Her backpack was nearly full; Tier-1 Ore alone took seven slots.
Such a happy problem.
She ate a sponge cake to restore satiety, drank the last of her watermelon juice, then used needle and hide to expand her inventory to 150 slots, continuing to sort equipment.
[Tent·Blue x1, Green Power Bracers x1, Blue Defense Vest x1, Blue Attack Emblem x1, Green Fruit Wine x215, Bandages x88, Blue Dagger x1, Special Green Fruit x25…]
Tent·Blue: An invisible tent for at least three players; essential for travel. Invisible for 5 hours, cooldown 24 hours.Green Fruit Wine: Restores 1 stamina and 1 energy per second for 1 minute. Don’t drink too much or you’ll get drunk.Special Green Fruit: Not recommended for players to eat; can ask summoned friends if needed.
Her eyes lit up reading the tent description; she immediately pulled it out.
A tent for at least three appeared. She circled it twice and activated invisibility.
The tent vanished, but could still be touched.
She needed a hidden spot, or anyone passing by would notice.
She didn’t want to wake up to fight monsters.
Yan Yiqiu stored the tent, climbed a steep cliff in the jungle, and found a high vantage point.
From there, she could see how vast the island was, too large to see the surrounding sea.
She set up her tent and bedding, lying down peacefully.
[Invisibility active, auto-disable in 5 hours.]
Yan Yiqiu closed her eyes and drifted comfortably into sleep.
Good night, Makapaka.