Close the exit channel.
Yan Yiqiu woke up just before the tent’s invisibility feature shut off.
What a comfortable sleep! The tent was far softer and cozier than the hard cave floor.
She stretched lazily and took the opportunity to equip the blue defensive top she had obtained in the underground cave, which added 1,000 HP.
Her HP increased from 5,000 to 6,000.
Here’s a quick introduction to equipment levels:
White → Green → Blue → Purple → Orange → Gold Legendary.
Dungeon monsters rarely drop beyond purple-level equipment, while bosses have a tiny chance to drop gold legendary gear—probably one in ten million.
In her previous life, Yan Yiqiu had never seen anyone drop a gold legendary.
Also, equipment dropped by regular monsters is weaker than boss equipment. Sometimes a purple item from a monster is worse than a blue item from a boss.
Boss equipment also has a level requirement, whereas monster drops do not.
For instance, the sea monster’s blue equipment required level 10 to equip, but goblin cave monster gear could be worn immediately.
Sure enough, wearing blue gear felt far more comfortable than white.
Yan Yiqiu packed up the tent and walked leisurely back into the forest, stopping to check the goblin cave entrance she had discovered last night.
“Hmm… are you too timid to play?”
She looked at the blocked entrance, sighed, and shook her head. The goblins were stingy—they had so many of them. What harm was there in letting her kill a few?
Oh well, if this entrance couldn’t be used, she’d look for another.
Yan Yiqiu turned and walked away. She wasn’t about to miss a chance to quickly gather materials!
Goblin caves were vast, meaning they had multiple entrances. Even if hidden, they could be found.
After nearly two hours of searching, her persistence paid off: she discovered one of the cave entrances inside a mine.
Clever—it was hidden within the mine, disguised as a “cave within a cave.”
She twisted her neck and rolled her wrists and ankles, did some stretches, then grabbed her axe in one hand and pickaxe in the other and dashed inside.
Inside the cave, goblins were holding a meeting, discussing how to deal with intruders. Their chattering echoed through the chamber.
Suddenly, a goblin burst in, shrieking, gesturing wildly:
“That damn intruder is here again!!Our comrades are being killed off!!”
The previously confident goblins scattered chaotically:
“Run run run run—”
They had no choice; the intruder was just too strong!
Luckily, the cave was huge, like a labyrinth. Unfamiliar with the passages, the intruder couldn’t easily corner them. They could just retreat deeper to avoid the ruthless attacker.
Yan Yiqiu noticed that as she fought, the goblins gradually retreated into the depths.
“Heh.”
She sneered, retreating to the entrance to wait.
Sure enough, after about an hour, around ten goblins appeared at the entrance, heaving rocks to block it.
Yan Yiqiu smiled and brandished her axe in front of them.
The goblins: !!!!!
[Obtained: Level 1 ore x3360, Level 2 ore x1368, Level 3 ore x312… Experience +1800.]
After two waves of waiting, no more goblins appeared.
She ventured inside and saw that instead of blocking the entrance, they had blocked a passage further in.
Sigh.
Intelligent monsters are the worst—they think strategically. Stepping into the same trap twice, they won’t do it a third time.
Yan Yiqiu returned the way she came, deciding not to bother the goblins further—they were too smart. She would collect other materials for now.
As she thought this, a notification popped up:
[Island entry time remaining: 30 minutes! Players who have not reached the island, hurry!]
It repeated three times.
Yan Yiqiu realized how quickly three days had passed.
Opening the chat channel, she saw it was lively:
“[Ahhh! I haven’t reached the island yet! Will I be erased? Should I just exit the dungeon now…]”“[Thanks, I just landed! Damn, it took me three hours to swim here, and I was terrified the whole time!]”“[Lucky you, no mutated fish attacked you, right?]”“[Can someone analyze what happens if we don’t reach the island in time?]”“[My guess: high chance of death.]”“[Yan Yiqiu: Erasure is unlikely. In this game, players aren’t instantly deleted. Those who fail to reach the island will likely face other dangers instead.]”“[I agree with the above.]”“[Maybe the mission is just to create urgency—don’t linger at sea too long.]”“[Better safe than sorry. If two minutes remain, just exit. This isn’t a real game—you can revive, but life is precious!]”
Seeing the discussion, Yan Yiqiu closed the chat. Players’ sense of urgency was enough for her.
She ventured deeper into the jungle to gather herbs.
Besides goblins, the island also had mutated beasts, though fewer because goblins were more numerous—she might only encounter two at most.
As mentioned before, goblins were a sneaky, cunning, and cruel species. They loved killing anything outside their kin and plundering other species’ resources.
She had just harvested a blue-quality herb when a game notification appeared:
[Time is up! Players wishing to exit the dungeon must do so within one minute. After one minute, the dungeon exit will close until the dungeon ends.]
No need to look—the chat must have exploded.
But one minute passed in a blink. Suddenly, the clear sky turned dark with clouds, the wind howled, and the trees in the forest rattled violently.
Yan Yiqiu, prepared, dashed into a nearby mine.
“Boom—”
Thunder crashed, followed by a torrential rain, with drops as thick as thumbs, striking rocks and ground with a loud patter.
She pulled out her mechanical mining cart, digging while watching the chat.
“[Whoa, such heavy rain.]”“[I didn’t even have time to choose before the exit closed! Still at sea, feeling doomed…]”
Players still at sea uploaded videos.
The footage showed massive waves, dark blue water, and wind whipping fiercely. Waves rose over a meter high, and the ocean looked like a terrifying abyss.
“[Such a tsunami… anyone still at sea, good luck.]”“[Why did the dungeon exit close so suddenly? Will future dungeons do this too?]”“[How many players didn’t exit at sea?]”“[Hurry and find shelter while the storm is still manageable.]”
Unless extremely lucky, the chance of survival at sea was zero. The storm and tsunami would last two to three days.
“There’s a cave here!”
“Quick, quick, quick—come inside! The rain hits like being punched!”
“I’ve got bruises all over my arms…”
The voices were faint under the rain, but Yan Yiqiu heard them. She jumped off her cart, stowed it, and quietly sat in a corner.
Soon, five rain-soaked players entered the mine: four fighters (levels 3–4) and a level 3 cook.
Not expecting anyone inside, they quieted for two seconds, smiled at Yan Yiqiu in greeting, and took another spot to murmur quietly.
“Second dungeon already… why are there still level 1 life players?”“Maybe they didn’t enter the first dungeon?”“Leveling life skills is hard. We aren’t as strong as you. Without you, I couldn’t reach level 3 safely.”
Yan Yiqiu heard every word clearly.
She thought: what a weird bug—they saw her as a level 1 life player.
Minor bugs didn’t concern her much.
With the heavy rain, moving outside was impossible, so the once-empty mine quickly filled with players, both combat and life. Most life players were teamed with fighters; solo life players like Yan Yiqiu were rare.
Sensing faint glances, she sighed. Lone life players stood out.
Tap tap tap.
Another player entered the cave. A familiar face: Yun Yan, now a level 5 combat player after two days of fighting.
Seeing Yan Yiqiu, Yun Yan smiled brightly and ran over:
“Yiqiu, hiding from the rain too?”
Other glances faded. Yan Yiqiu smiled and replied:
“Yeah, the rain is too heavy. Moving outside is difficult.”
Yun Yan brushed wet hair from her forehead:
“I don’t know when this rain will stop. My clothes are soaked—it’s uncomfortable.”“Sis, do you still have your fire pan? I want to warm up.”
Yan Yiqiu handed it over. Yun Yan thanked her, added wood, and pulled out a sleek silver lighter.
Yan Yiqiu glanced: “Dropped by monsters?”
Yun Yan nodded: “Yes, from goblins. Want it? I have another one in my bag.”
Lighters were more convenient than flints.
Yan Yiqiu accepted politely:
“If you have herbs, I can craft potions for you, but I’ll take half as payment.”
“Sure!” Yun Yan emptied her bag and traded all harvested herbs. Yan Yiqiu noticed several were blue-quality—quite good.
Quickly estimating, she said:
“Four types: Yangyuan Pill, Qi Supplement Pill, Stamina/Energy Potion, Strengthening Pill, Heart Protection Pill. Four each, green quality.”
No blue-quality pills yet—she hadn’t collected enough blue herbs before.
Yun Yan’s eyes widened:
“I want Yangyuan, Qi, Strengthening, and Heart Protection Pills!”
Stamina potions she already had; energy potions were less important for combat players. Potions that boosted HP, attack, defense, and speed were more useful to Yun Yan.
“Alright.”
Yan Yiqiu traded the pills and added 10 extra white-quality Yangyuan Pills as a bonus for the three blue-quality herbs.
Yun Yan happily accepted.