“Ohhhhhh—”
The two spoke quietly, and with the sound of rain outside and the murmur of other players in the mine, almost no one could hear them.
Orange-red flames flickered.
Yun Yan’s soaked clothes had already dried from the heat, but the rain outside hadn’t stopped; if anything, it was getting heavier.
The dim light made it hard to tell whether it was day or night.
The previously murmuring mine fell completely silent, leaving only the loud sound of the rain outside.
Yan Yiqiu yawned and closed her eyes to rest.
After resting for about an hour, she opened her eyes and stood up. Seeing Yun Yan’s puzzled gaze, she took out a chisel and struck at the ore behind her.
“Sister?” Yun Yan hadn’t reacted yet.
Yan Yiqiu raised an eyebrow and looked at him. “This is a mine. Are you just going to sit here and waste time waiting for the rain to stop?”
Yun Yan: “!”
Other players in the mine: “!!!”
Oh, right!!
This was a mine—they could be mining while waiting for the rain to stop!
Her words jolted everyone awake. Yun Yan and the other players quickly took out chisels and started working enthusiastically.
The mine was soon filled with the sound of chiseling—steady and rhythmic, even louder than the rain outside.
“Clang, clang—”“Clang, clang—”“Clang, clang—”“Boom—”
A sudden loud crash nearly made the players jump. They turned toward the source and saw a level-three combat player frozen in a mining pose, staring at the huge hole in front of him.
“…Did I just dig through the mine?” He held his chisel, at a loss, thinking the mine must be too fragile.
How could it even be dug through!?
Yan Yiqiu’s eyes lit up as she looked at the hole. She glanced at the stunned player and silently gave him a thumbs-up in her mind.
Well done. He had dug straight into the passage leading to the Goblin underground lair.
She poked Yun Yan’s arm and whispered, “This is the passage to the Goblin lair. Introduce the goblins to them and ask if they want to go down together to farm monsters.”
Hearing the word “goblin,” Yun Yan’s eyes lit up, and she nodded eagerly.
“Everyone, are you tired of the boring mining life? How about something more exciting?” Yun Yan’s sweet, doll-like voice rang out in the quiet cave.
Yan Yiqiu, half-dazed, had a fleeting vision of normal-world product ads: Are you troubled by this or that? Please choose…
Yun Yan continued, “The passage just dug by this young man leads straight to the dungeon’s minor monster base. There’s a small monster called a goblin. They drop a lot of ore. Who wants to form a team and farm them together?”
Her words as a level-five combat player carried some authority, especially among the mostly level-four players.
“Goblins? Sounds like a game…”
“Are their HP bars thick? Is their attack strong? Are they easy to deal with?”
“The base? Shouldn’t there be a lot of monsters in there? With just our small group, wouldn’t it be a massacre?”
Yun Yan patiently answered: “Their HP is roughly under 100,000. Their attacks aren’t particularly strong. But they’re short and fast. Once you get used to them, they’re not hard to handle.”
Cautious players hesitated, while some reckless ones were already eager to try.
Eventually, all players decided to go down together.
At worst, they could retreat and block the entrance if it got dangerous!
With that in mind, about fifty players moved as a group, Yun Yan leading into the newly dug passage.
The passage was dimly lit, and the further in they went, the quieter the rain became—until it was completely silent. They finally saw the underground cavern.
Countless small rooms and twisting, confusing corridors stretched in all directions.
“Like a maze…” one player remarked.
Just then, green-skinned creatures with long pointed ears and ugly, small bodies started emerging from various rooms and corridors, each holding a wooden hammer, staring straight ahead.
“They’re so ugly.”
The sheer number of goblins made some players blink and take a step back.
Yun Yan, however, was thrilled.
She had been training with the goblins for two days and had great synergy with her companion, Tuanzi. What used to take over half an hour to defeat a goblin now took under ten minutes.
She summoned Tuanzi, and without instruction, it immediately charged the nearest goblin, triggering a chain reaction. The goblins rushed forward with their hammers.
The ready players raised their weapons and attacked.
Yan Yiqiu, blending in among the players, used the chaos to her advantage.
Everyone was focused on fighting, leaving her free to chisel at the right moments for double the fun.
Because of her “unstoppable” buff, many goblins surrounded her. They were attracted to her but blocked by players, so they couldn’t see clearly. Those that did see her were swiftly taken down with a single strike.
The goblins didn’t notice anything unusual, thinking the intruders were simply numerous, chattering away.
Even with Yan Yiqiu taking advantage, the players gradually felt the battle was tough.
Sensing danger, a player shouted: “Retreat!”
The players orderly retreated to the mine, with Yun Yan and a few strong combat players guarding the entrance, ready to block any pursuing goblins.
Luckily, none chased them.
The players sighed with relief, sitting down to inspect their loot with smiles.
Someone murmured, “So worth it.”
All players silently agreed.
Indeed, goblins were ugly, but the ore they dropped was excellent.
Yan Yiqiu, getting double rewards, smiled quietly.
Outside, the storm raged, while inside the mine, players ate and chatted.
“No wonder people love farming monsters in games, this is so fun!”
“I just got around 500 level-one ores—so much faster than mining!”
“I got a weapon! A bow for archers, anyone want to trade? Blue quality, +20% damage, bleeding effect for 30 seconds, 10-minute cooldown.”
“I! I!”
“I’m an archer!”
“I got equipment too, a warrior shield, green quality.”
Everyone enthusiastically started trading. The rain outside became background BGM, creating a festive atmosphere.
Yan Yiqiu also had some unused equipment but asked Yun Yan if she could use anything.
Yun Yan shook her head, her twin tails bouncing. “I use melee weapons. Fighting the monsters these past few days, I found my agility improved as my coordination with Tuanzi got better.”
“Melee weapons?”
Yan Yiqiu rummaged through her bag. “Short dagger and attack badge, blue quality. The dagger increases movement speed for 30 seconds, 5-minute cooldown.”
Yun Yan’s eyes lit up. “I’ll take both!”
One increases attack, the other speed—perfect for coordinating with Tuanzi.
“I don’t have any herbs left, only some other stuff. If you don’t need it, I’ll buy it.”
She looked at her odd inventory: “Five green meteorites, a blue-quality poison fang, and four pieces of blue-quality cloth.”
Yan Yiqiu blinked slowly: “Trade the poison fang and two pieces of cloth plus five gold coins. If you trust me, you can give me the remaining two pieces later.”
The poison fang was optional for her; the blue cloth was useful, expanding a backpack by fifteen slots.
“You’re my lifesaver. If I can’t trust you, who can I trust?” Yun Yan said sweetly, trading the items and coins.
Yan Yiqiu smiled, taking them.
The mine grew darker, the storm louder, and the temperature dropped.
Players, unprepared for cold, lit wood to stay warm, following Yan Yiqiu and Yun Yan’s example.
With more fires, the mine’s temperature rose.
Players agreed to take turns keeping watch in three shifts: three hours each, with six hours of rest.
Yan Yiqiu and Yun Yan were the last shift.
Yan Yiqiu beckoned Yun Yan closer and covered her with a large blanket. “Rest a bit.”
“Thanks, sister!” Yun Yan’s bright eyes shone as she leaned on Yan Yiqiu’s shoulder.
Being with Yan Yiqiu felt safe.
Yun Yan, eyes closed, thought vaguely about how she hadn’t rested properly these past two days. Alone, she would have been on alert at night. But now, she slept soundly, unbothered by the thunder.
Yan Yiqiu rested her eyes too. She didn’t need sleep but used the time to strategize for when the rain stopped.
Should they continue harassing goblins? Or check the island for sea monsters? While goblin rewards were good, small bosses had better drops.
She recalled the second dungeon’s dangers: initial sea drift, unpredictable weather, and goblin-filled islands.
Suddenly, a thunderclap exploded nearby, startling players.
“Boom!”
Thunder boomed louder and louder, shaking the ground, with occasional falling debris.
Brave players peeked outside. Lightning illuminated the sky, striking frequently and densely, causing chills.
If this happened in reality, people might joke: “Which cultivator is having a tribulation here?”
But in the dungeon, players were terrified, fearing the mine would collapse.
“The lightning’s huge.”
“No players outside, right? If someone’s out there, they could get struck…”
“Check the chat channel! Someone got killed by lightning!”
Awakened by the thunder, players opened chat channels.
Yan Yiqiu checked as well.
[#Video: Why is someone still hiding in the forest during this massive thunderstorm? Aren’t trees more dangerous??]
The dim video showed a person crouching under a tree. A purple lightning bolt struck the tree, instantly electrocuting the figure.
Yan Yiqiu: “…”
Even a three-year-old knows not to hide under trees in a storm.
“Is this person crazy?” a player whispered.
The storm forced everyone to wait in shelter, and the chat channel buzzed like never before.
Even with a two-minute cooldown per message, the channel was chaotic.
[Chat Channel Overcrowded. Split into multiple lines. Max 10,000 per line.]
System notification popped up.
[Chat Channel · Dungeon · Huaguo Region 1-60300 Line]
Not only split into lines, but regions too, like last life.
Each line capped at 10,000 players. Huaguo had over 60,000 lines, roughly 600 million players.
Huaguo wasn’t the largest; Y Country had nearly a billion players, though many died.
Watching the fire dim, Yan Yiqiu added wood, her thoughts drifting with the thunder.
Global players numbered in the billions, but in the dungeon, it didn’t feel that crowded. Either the dungeon was huge, or like chat channels, it was split into lines.
The latter was more likely.
The first three dungeons had only domestic players; after the main quest, foreign players appeared more often.
She wasn’t fond of foreign players.
“…Sister?” Yun Yan finally woke, unaffected by the previous thunder.
Yawning, she asked, “Is it our turn to keep watch?”
Yan Yiqiu nodded. “About right.”
“Once they rest, let’s continue farming monsters.” Yun Yan said energetically.
Yan Yiqiu packed the blanket. “I’m fine either way.”
“Chat channel split? Should’ve done it earlier. Before, messages scrolled too fast to read…” Yun Yan muttered, sending a message.
It disappeared without a trace.
Yun Yan adjusted her mood, summoned Tuanzi, and shared food.
Three hours later, Yun Yan asked players if they wanted to continue farming. Everyone agreed, and the refreshed group boldly entered the passage, welcomed by goblins:
Goblins, hammers raised: “Aaaaargh—Kill the invaders!”Players, weapons ready: “Ohhhhhh—Farm farm farm!”