Dungeon 3 (Levels 3–5)
Yan Yiqiu stood high above. The mutated mosquito swarm didn’t attack all at once; some flew faster, some slower.
Watching the thumb-sized mosquitoes rush toward her, she raised her hand and slapped downward. All around her, the constant ding-ding-dong of game notifications sounded.
[Player dealt 923,651,723 damage to mutated mosquitoes, of which 4,123 was effective.]
[Obtained White Equipment ×1, Silver Coins ×355, EXP +20.]
[Player dealt 834,152,930 damage to mutated mosquitoes, of which 5,128 was effective.]
[Obtained Silver Coins ×298, EXP +20.]
[Player dealt …]
[Obtained …]
With that single slap, she killed over a dozen mutated mosquitoes. Because of the burn effect, the air carried a faint scent of roasted meat.
“Smack!” “Smack!” “Smack—”
The slapping sounds continued without pause. Not a single mosquito’s proboscis managed to touch her; all died beneath her hands.
Sensing something was wrong, a slightly larger mosquito in the swarm made a subtle sound, and the mosquitoes surrounding Yan Yiqiu began to retreat.
Found it!
Yan Yiqiu held a wooden arrow between her fingers and threw it.
[Player dealt 734,829,134 damage to mutated mosquito, of which 23,124 was effective.]
[Obtained Treasure Chest · Purple ×1, Poisonous Proboscis · Purple ×1, Blueprints ×3, Gold Coins ×200, EXP +500.]
With the leader dead, the rest of the mosquitoes panicked like headless flies.
Yan Yiqiu took the opportunity to swipe down another dozen or so mosquitoes, watching them flee into the rainforest like lost dogs.
Her EXP rose by nearly three thousand. In addition to the purple chest dropped by the mutated mosquito, two green-quality chests also appeared.
She sat on a thick tree branch, swinging her long, straight legs lazily, and opened the three chests.
The two green chests contained green-quality gear: a pair of shoes and a pair of bracers, along with some wood, ores, and coins.
She then looked at the purple chest, wiped her hands on her clothes, and prayed earnestly: Good stuff! Give me good stuff!
[Obtained Red Gu Longsword · Purple ×1, Mosquito Master Ring · Purple ×1, Frost Fluorite · Purple ×2, Meteorite · Purple ×10, Mysterious Seeds · Blue ×5, Beast Meat · Purple ×5, Flour · Blue ×10, Blueprints · Purple ×2, Backpack · Purple ×1, Gold Coins ×1000.]
Red Gu Longsword · Purple: Damage +25%; can consume half HP to increase damage cap; causes bleeding (−20 HP per second for 2 minutes); cooldown: 30 minutes. Equip Level: 10.
Mosquito Master Ring · Purple: Agility +20%; repels and controls mosquitoes (only normal mutated mosquitoes); triggers poison effect every 20 attacks. Equip Level: 10.
True to a purple chest, the gear quality and effects were excellent. Even if she didn’t use them, selling them at the trading post would yield plenty of resources.
The fluorite and meteorite were materials for crafting weapons and equipment.
The purple backpack was the most practical, adding 35 inventory slots.
As for the two blueprints:
[Machine · Lumberjack]
[Machine · Patrol Mechanical Dog]
Yan Yiqiu’s eyes lit up.
Both were excellent. The patrol mechanical dog was perfect for the territory, while the lumberjack machine was ideal for harvesting resources in the dungeon.
Unfortunately, the crafting materials required steel, and the smelting equipment was in her territory. She should have brought more steel before entering the dungeon.
She studied the blueprints and jumped down from the branch to craft antidote pills.
She had planned to craft antidotes earlier but had been distracted by the two fights and the mutated mosquito swarm.
Yan Yiqiu set up her cauldron and alchemy furnace, threw the prepared herbs inside, and expertly controlled the heat.
[Obtained Antidote Pill · Green ×2, Alchemy EXP +200.]
[Obtained Antidote Pill · Green ×3, Alchemy EXP +300.]
[Obtained Antidote Pill · White ×5, Alchemy EXP +50.]
…
In total, she crafted thirty-five white-quality, nineteen green-quality, and five blue-quality antidote pills. Higher quality meant better detoxification.
She posted the antidote pills in the friend chat.
[Yan Yiqiu: Antidote Pill · White ×10, Antidote Pill · Green ×7; first-come, first-served material exchange.]
[Yun Yan: Sister! I want 3 white and 1 green!]
[Lin Siyuan: Trading for a friend? Reserving 2 green antidote pills!]
[Player A: One white antidote pill!]
[Player B: Two green antidote pills, how does the trade work?]
Yun Yan, used to Yan Yiqiu’s trading style, quickly sent the corresponding double materials—efficient and decisive.
For the others, Yan Yiqiu simply copy-pasted the message.
If someone thought the double materials were too expensive and refused, she didn’t care. Antidote pills were rare now; they would sell no problem.
She also posted in the dungeon chat channel:
[Yan Yiqiu: Selling for friends – Antidote Pill · White ×10, Antidote Pill · Green ×7, 10 friend slots, double material trade, interested? +]
Friend requests immediately poured in.
Since she was the only one selling antidote pills in the channel, many applied. She approved the first ten fastest applicants and ignored the rest.
Soon, the white and green antidote pills were all traded, earning her a good amount of materials.
Life players really were profitable.
Crafting the antidote pills used less than ten sets of herbs, but the returned materials were roughly three times what she spent.
No wonder life players were so wealthy in her past life.
Even requests from alchemists asking for materials for antidote pills were ignored. She organized her inventory and continued deeper into the rainforest while gathering resources.
Mutated insects in the rainforest were numerous.
Poison spiders the size of a head, venomous scorpions with half-meter tails, unknown mutated insects hiding under fallen branches and leaves, etc. The dense undergrowth provided excellent hiding spots, so one had to stay alert.
Yan Yiqiu put on her gloves again, casually pinching to kill mutated insects that suddenly popped out of tree holes.
[Player dealt 723,891,023 damage to mutated insects, of which 3,218 was effective.]
[Obtained Wood ×109, Tier 1 Ore ×21, Silver Coins ×87, EXP +30.]
She pushed aside grass taller than a person. Several long, black shadows charged at her with violent momentum.
[Player dealt 632,918,273 damage to mutated centipedes, of which 12,987 was effective.]
[Obtained Wood ×342, Tier 1 Ore ×100, Quartz Sand · Green ×5, Silver Coins ×233, EXP +50.]
Yan Yiqiu quickly pinched and killed them; the long shadows fell in two pieces, their many legs trembling briefly before going still.
Multi-legged mutated insects were unsettling to players with trypophobia—very sanity-draining.
She withdrew her gaze, stepped on rotting leaves, and continued forward. After about ten minutes, light opened up, revealing a river about three meters wide, flowing slowly.
“Perfect for a break.”
Yan Yiqiu took out food to fill her stomach and reached for a chair to rest. Then she heard a familiar voice nearby.
“I knew running into Huo Zhengqi’s bastard wouldn’t be good!”
“Boss, calm down. Next time we encounter him, we’ll catch him and teach him a lesson.”
“Huo Zhengqi is tricky. We encountered mutated mosquitoes, a giant python chased us, and we lost several brothers.”
“This makes me furious! Huo Zhengqi, you bastard, you better pray we don’t meet again, or you won’t get away alive…”
Tall grass parted, and Scarface’s group staggered out.
Yan Yiqiu froze.
“Boss, look ahead—there’s a little girl.”
Scarface, full of anger, followed his subordinate’s finger and saw Yan Yiqiu. His rage instantly twisted into lust, scanning her body shamelessly.
Although her face was masked, her figure looked good.
“Hey, beautiful, alone?” Scarface glanced at her info bar, his smile turning lewd and brazen.
Level 1 Tailor.
In his eyes, a life player’s combat power was negligible.
Scarface whistled, grinning as he walked toward her, speaking filthy words:
“Beautiful, a life player alone in a dungeon is dangerous. Let big brother protect you.”
“As long as you serve us properly, I’ll make sure you live comfortably in the dungeon.”
They were all wet, likely just coming out of the water. Judging from their earlier words, the beast-attracting powder they carried had summoned a giant python.
They panicked, fell into the river, accidentally washed off the powder, and escaped—few died.
These guys were really lucky.
Yan Yiqiu expressionlessly prepared several wooden arrows between her fingers, ready to throw.
Scarface took two steps forward when another sharp shout came from the side.
“What do you think you’re doing!?”
The grass rustled, and the group led by Huo Zhengqi, whom she had seen before, stepped out.
“Huo Zhengqi, you damn guy just won’t go away,” Scarface cracked a sinister smile. “I was just looking for someone to vent on—perfect timing, huh?”
Huo Zhengqi ignored Scarface and looked seriously at Yan Yiqiu. “Miss, are you okay?”
“No,” Yan Yiqiu said softly, slipping the wooden arrows into her pocket. “They bullied me… I was so scared.”
Huo Zhengqi’s brows furrowed tighter, his gaze sharp. “Not even sparing a girl… Zheng Hailiang, I can see your heart has turned completely black!”
Scarface: “…”
Scarface laughed angrily. “Are you crazy? I haven’t even done anything yet!”
“Forget it, why bother explaining?” Scarface pulled out his weapon. “Guys, get him! Whoever catches Huo Zhengqi gets two blue-quality weapons from me!”
And so, the two groups clashed again.
This time, their numbers were even, and Scarface’s weapon was as strong as Huo Zhengqi’s. They were being overpowered everywhere, and they wouldn’t last long before being defeated.
Yan Yiqiu, who held grudges, even knowing Scarface would be defeated, still drew a wooden arrow from her pocket and, squinting, shot at Scarface’s lower body.
[Player *** dealt 1,500 damage to player Zheng Hailiang.]
Scarface screamed, dropping his weapon, clutching himself and rolling on the ground in agony, his hands quickly stained with blood.
The men present all inhaled sharply, shocked and terrified as they looked at Huo Zhengqi.
“You looked so righteous with your thick eyebrows and noble eyes… didn’t expect you’d pull a dirty trick!?”
Huo Zhengqi’s expression slowly cracked. “I didn’t…”
Huo Zhengqi: “…never mind.”
Expressionless, he raised his blade and finished off the immobilized Scarface.
Seeing Scarface dead, his followers immediately lost the will to fight. The faster ones ducked into the nearby grass, while the slower ones tried to beg but were taken out before they could speak.
“It’s fine now, miss. You don’t need to be afraid.” Finally having eliminated Scarface, Huo Zhengqi relaxed, just as a teammate’s call reached his ear.
“Huo team! Xiao Yang’s condition has worsened!”
Huo Zhengqi immediately turned and strode back.
Yan Yiqiu followed, glancing at the scene.
In the center of a crowd was a young guy, his eyes half-closed, face pale and blue, breathing shallow and weak.
Seeing him like this, those surrounding him all looked grim.
“Xiao Yang said earlier that something bit him,” said the burliest man, gruffly. “At first, he seemed fine, but then he started collapsing… no idea what bit him.”
The jungle was dense; it was impossible to predict which plant, tree, or pile of leaves might harbor some creature.
Totally unavoidable!
Huo Zhengqi’s brows knitted tightly. “Check the chat for anyone selling antidote pills or detox items. We’ll pay a high price!”
“I did see someone selling antidote pills, but others were too fast. I sent a friend request immediately, but it was rejected,” said a refined-looking man, frustrated.
Yan Yiqiu glanced at him, thinking, Could he be talking about me?
“Well…” she blinked slowly. “I have some antidote pills.”
Wham.
About ten heads turned at once, all eyes fixed on her as if she were a prized item.
Yan Yiqiu: “White-quality and green-quality. Which do you need?”
“Green quality!” Huo Zhengqi replied without hesitation, quickly sending a friend request and asking in a serious tone, “What’s the price?”
Yan Yiqiu smiled. “Double the materials of equal value.”
Huo Zhengqi glanced at the information above her head, took out the doubled materials from his bag, and handed them over. Once he received the antidote pills, he immediately gave them to Xiao Yang.
After seven or eight minutes, the young man’s pale, blue-tinged face gradually returned to normal, and his breathing steadied. Soon, the poison in his body would be completely neutralized.
“Thank you!” Huo Zhengqi exhaled in relief and sincerely thanked her.
“Miss, we really owe you.”
“This is what they mean by good deeds being rewarded. If we hadn’t rescued this girl, Xiao Yang might not have survived.”
“Miss, what’s your name? You’re a level-one tailor—why are you alone? It’s dangerous!”
They were extremely friendly.
“I have teammates,” Yan Yiqiu quickly explained, fearing they’d invite her to join their party next. “I just haven’t found them yet, I was planning to look for them.”
Huo Zhengqi frowned, not entirely agreeing. “Letting a single life-player go look for them? That’s too dangerous. We’ll escort you.”
Yan Yiqiu: “…”
She fell silent for a moment, then quietly opened her friend list to find Yun Yan, asking where she was.
[Yun Yan: #Coordinates are here, what’s up, Yiqiu sis?]
[Yan Yiqiu: I’m coming to find you.]
[Yun Yan: !!!]
[Yun Yan: Sis, I can come find you!]
[Yan Yiqiu: No, I’ll come to you.]
[Yun Yan: Then I’ll wait here!]
[Yan Yiqiu: If there’s danger, leave. Don’t wait for me.]
[Yun Yan: Mm-hmm!]
Yan Yiqiu closed the chat and gave Huo Zhengqi the coordinates.
Huo Zhengqi checked them. “Not too far. We’ll escort you. You’re a girl, and a life-player alone in a dungeon is way too dangerous.”
Yan Yiqiu glanced at Scarface’s corpse still lying on the ground, smiling softly and saying thanks.
“Let’s rest a bit more,” Huo Zhengqi said, looking at the sky, then to his team: “Let’s try to get Miss Yan there before nightfall.”
Once night falls, the rainforest becomes even more dangerous.
Yan Yiqiu, along with Xiao Yang, was placed at the center. She took out a chair and sat, organizing her backpack.
Reaching level seven territory requires 200,000 wood, 150,000 level-one ore, 50,000 level-two ore, 15,000 level-three ore, 5,000 level-four ore, and 10,000 gold coins.
Before entering the dungeon, she stored the ores in her territory warehouse. She remembered having around 80–90k level-one ores, fewer level-two ores, but still 20–30k.
No worries about wood and level-one ores; the main concern was level-three and four ores.
Whether the dungeon would have mineral veins was uncertain, so reaching level seven by the end of the third dungeon seemed unlikely.
Yan Yiqiu then organized her other items: loot, crafting materials, herbs, food, seeds, everything neatly arranged.
She immediately used the purple backpack she had obtained. Along with the blue backpack sewn in her territory, she had 150 slots in total. Nearly two-thirds were filled, making her inventory likely the richest among all players.
“Huo team,” Xiao Yang rubbed his slightly dizzy head. “What happened to me just now?”
“What happened? You almost died!” the big guy said angrily. “I told you to be careful in the dungeon. If it weren’t for that girl and her antidote pills, you’d be dead already!”
Xiao Yang’s eyes widened, half in fear, half in regret. “Sorry, Huo team, I caused you trouble.”
“Don’t say that,” Huo Zhengqi replied calmly. “And don’t call me Huo team anymore—just call me Brother Huo.”
Before anyone could respond, he said, “Alright, let’s get moving.”
“Huo team, no matter what the world becomes, you’ll always be my captain!”
“Yeah, Huo team, we’ve been calling you that for years. Hard to change now.”
“It’s just a title. The world’s changed. We can call you whatever we want, Huo team.”
Huo Zhengqi: “…”
“Whatever you say, Miss Yan, let’s go.”
Yan Yiqiu put away her chair. “Okay.”
Huo Zhengqi arranged her in the middle, leading the way with the big guy at the rear, carefully and slowly advancing toward the coordinates.
Luckily, her and Yun Yan’s locations weren’t far apart; otherwise, she’d have needed another excuse to refuse this group.
When would the bug above her head be fixed?
A level-one lone life-player is too conspicuous in a dungeon. Yan Yiqiu complained internally.
But the advantage of being in a team was clear: no worries about ambushes while gathering resources. Because she paused to collect items, the group moved slowly.
From the chat, she learned that Huo Zhengqi’s real-world profession was indeed a police officer, a narcotics detective. The Scarface guy who died was a small-time drug dealer in real life.
Before the game went live, they had a good chance to arrest him—but the game launched first, letting Scarface escape.
In the dungeon, Huo Zhengqi fortunately spawned at the same initial point as his teammates. They added each other as friends, planning to team up, and coincidentally ran into Scarface.
People like Scarface, who do wrong even under the law, will do anything in a lawless game.
For the sake of normal players, Huo Zhengqi decided to take him out.
Yan Yiqiu commented sharply, Looks like you two were fated to meet.
Even ill-fated encounters are still fate.
With so many players and such a huge dungeon, running into each other seems like fate—or did the system deliberately place them together?
Wait…
Yan Yiqiu pondered, realizing it wasn’t impossible. But why would the system do that—just to watch them slaughter each other?
Huo Zhengqi twitched his lips.
“Girl, you sound like you’re telling a hellish joke,” the big guy at the rear couldn’t help but comment.
Yan Yiqiu’s thoughts were interrupted. Her eyes curved slightly as she was about to speak, when out of the corner of her eye, a bright red color appeared.
She immediately stopped and turned, running toward the red.
“Miss Yan?”
Yan Yiqiu ignored the calls from behind, her eyes fixed solely on the red.
Chili! The chili she had been longing for—finally, she saw it!
And it was the spiciest kind, the tiny red chili peppers!!
[Acquired Chili x78, Chili Seeds x15, Experience +2.]
The group following her, led by Huo Zhengqi, fell silent: “…”
They had thought something serious had happened, only to realize she was excited about spotting chili peppers.
The big guy glanced at Yan Yiqiu’s sparkling eyes and leaned toward Huo Zhengqi, whispering, “Captain Huo, are all life players like this? They pick everything!”
“Shut up,” Huo Zhengqi shot him a glance, deep in thought. “Next time we see wild fruits or vegetables, we should pick some too.”
The big guy groaned helplessly, “Our slots aren’t enough!”
It’s not that they didn’t want to collect things—it’s that their backpacks were almost full!
Yan Yiqiu, in high spirits after collecting the chili, smiled softly and said, “Do you want to swap backpacks? I have some here.”
Again, a dozen eyes turned to look at her.
“I have white-quality leather bags with two extra slots, about ten of them. Green-quality leather bags with eight slots, four of them,” she said, rifling through her backpack.
“How many do you want?”
The big guy stared in awe, eyes wide: “Wow, this girl is like Doraemon! She has everything in her bag?”
Huo Zhengqi almost nodded in agreement.
“Doraemon—what a fitting way to describe it,” he thought, clearing his throat and asking, “Can we take them all?”
Yan Yiqiu nodded: “Yes, following the previous trade rules.”
“Good.”
Huo Zhengqi gathered materials with his teammates and took all the bags, dividing them up, finally easing the pressure on their nearly full backpacks.
Their attitude improved noticeably.
“Girl, how do you have so much stuff in your bag?” the big guy chuckled, “It’s like Doraemon’s pocket—everything’s in there.”
Her mask concealed her face, leaving only her bright, dark eyes visible.
She curved her eyes into a smile and delivered her classic line: “Because a few of my friends are life players.”
It made sense—a life player’s friends are life players, completely reasonable.
“You can ask me if you ever need anything; I can check with my friends.”
The big guy laughed: “Well, isn’t that great? Doing good really does pay off!”
Huo Zhengqi shot the big guy a glance, thinking that once they delivered her, he’d need to have a serious talk with this old teammate. Yan Yiqiu was kind and wouldn’t mind his teasing—but someone with a shorter temper might’ve flipped.
Wasn’t that basically snooping into her private life?
Huo Zhengqi comforted himself: they’re teammates, so he’d save face in front of her—and deal with him later.
With that, they reached the coordinates given by Yun Yan in a harmonious atmosphere.
“Yi Qiu-jie, you’re here!” Yun Yan jumped down from a tree, her twin ponytails swaying. Her eyes sharpened as they landed on Huo Zhengqi’s group. “Who are they?”
Yan Yiqiu explained, “They were worried I might encounter danger, so they escorted me here.”
Yun Yan blinked. Danger?
Her mind flashed back to the last dungeon, where Yan Yiqiu had killed a mutated fish with a single swing—her expression turned odd.
Huo Zhengqi was surprised at how young Yan Yiqiu’s teammate looked, seemingly underage. Though labeled as a Level 5 combat player, she looked delicate, almost easy to bully.
“Miss Yan, is she your only teammate?” he asked, concerned, suggesting, “Why don’t you join us as a team?”
Yun Yan scowled, “Look down on me? If you tried to fight me one-on-one, you wouldn’t necessarily win!”
She was about to reach Level 6, just one step away.
Yan Yiqiu politely declined, “Thanks for your concern, Captain Huo, but my sister is strong; she can protect me.”
Yi Qiu-jie praised her! And called her sister!
Yun Yan’s flushed cheeks betrayed her shyness, hands crossed in front of her.
Huo Zhengqi, a smart man, noticed she didn’t want to team up and didn’t press further: “Then we’ll part ways for now. If you encounter danger, you can call for help. Goodbye!”
With that, he led his team away.
In the distance, the big guy’s loud voice could still be faintly heard: “Captain Huo, why didn’t you persuade her more? It’s so dangerous for them!”
Huo Zhengqi replied, “…Xiao Zhang, be smarter next time. It’s not that I didn’t want to persuade them—they just don’t want to team up.”
Big guy: “Why?! We’re more, and teams are safer!”
As they disappeared into the dense jungle, their voices faded, leaving only a muffled shout from the big guy.
“Sis,” Yun Yan asked once they were gone, “are you taking me to play together?”
The little girl’s eyes sparkled with anticipation.
Yan Yiqiu thought carefully.
Carrying a Level 1 life profession bug made her get a lot of team invitations. Always finding excuses to refuse was annoying—better to team up with a reliable, controllable player.
Yun Yan perfectly fit that requirement—and had already witnessed her true strength.
After consideration, Yan Yiqiu replied, “Yes, but you have to follow my instructions. Can you do that?”
Yun Yan nodded eagerly, bobbing like a little chicken: “Yes, yes, yes!!”
Yan Yiqiu smiled, “Alright, let’s go together.”
Yun Yan bounced happily behind her, face glowing with excitement.
The two of them navigated through the jungle.
Yun Yan improved quickly, coordinating more smoothly with her battle pet, Tuanzi. With Tuanzi around, they didn’t have to worry about sudden mutant bug attacks—it would alert them.
Summoners held a huge advantage in this dungeon.
“Sis! I leveled up!”
As darkness fell, Yan Yiqiu had just picked a green-quality herb when Yun Yan’s excited voice rang out.
She had just killed a mutated spider with Tuanzi, earning enough experience to raise her Summoner to Level 6.
Yan Yiqiu tossed the herb into her backpack, gave Yun Yan a thumbs-up, and praised, “Amazing, you’re a worthy teammate I chose.”
The little girl beamed, giggling, showing a few white teeth—innocent and adorable.
Night deepened, temperatures dropped, and a white mist settled in the forest, further reducing visibility.
“Let’s rest for a bit.”
Yan Yiqiu stopped, scanning the surroundings before focusing on the large trees around.
She took out an invisible tent, instructed Yun Yan to climb one tree while she climbed another nearby. She tore four sturdy vines to hang the tent midair.
Like a hammock, two extra vines secured the bottom corners, preventing too much sway while sleeping.
This way, snakes, insects, and other ground creatures wouldn’t bump the tent.
As for winged creatures… they were clumsy, so no worries.
Once secured, the two climbed inside, activated the invisibility function, and snuggled under blankets to sleep.
In the middle of the night, the temperature dropped further and a rain shower fell, the drops hitting the tent with a dull thud. Outside, subtle rustling noises suggested something had crawled past.
The next morning, Yan Yiqiu packed the tent and noticed a faint white mark on it.
The tent had some defensive ability, leaving traces if something corrosive passed over it—likely a mutant bug from last night.
“Good morning, sis!” Yun Yan greeted energetically. “Where are we going next?”
Yan Yiqiu tossed the tent into her backpack: “Anywhere. Gather more resources. Has your territory reached Level 5 yet?”
“Not yet. I have enough ore, but still short on wood,” Yun Yan pouted. “So much wood is needed!”
Yan Yiqiu raised her eyebrows lightly: “That’s a lot? To go from Level 5 to 6 requires 100,000 wood. You’d cry if you knew!”
Yun Yan’s eyes widened: “What? 100,000? Why not just steal it!!”
In the last dungeon, it had taken her so much effort just to gather enough wood to reach Level 4. Chopping trees with an axe was slow—killing small monsters was faster, but intense battles would exhaust her.
“Damn, do I look like wood?” Yun Yan grumbled.
Yan Yiqiu laughed.
The wood required for territory upgrades only increased over time, but later dungeon materials would also drop more. With effort, it could still be accumulated—just tiring.
The morning was still early, the forest air fresh. Rain had made the soil wet; after walking a bit, their shoes collected thick mud, making their steps heavy and forcing them to stop to clean them periodically.
[You dealt 1002 damage to the mutant bug, effective damage 998.]
[Acquired Wood x68, Tier 1 Ore x34, Tier 2 Ore x8, Silver x221, Experience +40.]
Yun Yan silently calculated the materials.
A small monster dropped about 50–150 wood; even if each dropped 100, gathering 100,000 wood would require killing a thousand small monsters!
She could kill roughly one per ten minutes—1,000 monsters would take seven days and nights of continuous fighting!
Easy, very easy.
Haha, this damn stupid game—might as well stop calling it “Lord” and rename it “Lumberjack.”
Yun Yan’s inner mischievous little self squirmed crazily. She looked up and saw Yan Yiqiu seriously gathering herbs, and immediately waddled over excitedly.
After collecting the herbs, Yan Yiqiu and Yun Yan walked side by side, moving forward.
A sweet, cloying fragrance suddenly drifted through the air thick with the smell of wet soil.
Yan Yiqiu frowned, sensing her head grow dizzy. She immediately took out an antidote pill, swallowed it, and turned to Yun Yan.
“It smells so good,” Yun Yan stared ahead, her face wearing a dazed grin, giggling: “Sis, look ahead! A huge chicken drumstick! Smells so good, hehe, looks delicious~”
Yan Yiqiu: “…”
Such a greedy little girl.
Following the source of the scent, Yan Yiqiu saw a light blue flower nestled in the grass.
Compared to the waist-high wild grass around it, the flower looked tiny and delicate, trembling back and forth in the wind.
She took out her axe and walked straight toward the blue flower.
The moment she got close, the flower—smaller than her hand just seconds ago—suddenly ballooned to several times its size. It was bigger than her face, and a mouth full of sharp teeth opened at the center of the bloom, lunging at Yan Yiqiu.
[Player dealt 763,298,107 damage to the mutated flower, of which 18,729 was effective damage.]
[Obtained: Wood x333, Tier 1 Ore x276, Tier 2 Ore x106, Spice·Green, Green Treasure Chest x1, Silver Coins x769, Experience +150.]
The rainforest’s dangers were truly everywhere—unpredictable and unavoidable. Its danger level surpassed the first two dungeons combined.
She sighed and casually opened the green treasure chest.
[Obtained: Green Gas Mask x1, Green Plain Flower Ring x1, Gold Coins x10.]
Green Gas Mask: Filters 15% of toxins.
Green Plain Flower Ring: Increases damage by 12%; attacks have a chance to trigger a 1.5-second stun.
“Mmm.” Yun Yan’s eyes cleared, she shook her dizzy head hard and rubbed her temples. “Sis, what just happened?”
Yan Yiqiu explained and reminded her: “You encountered a mutated flower. Its scent can induce hallucinations to lure prey in for one bite.”
“Next time you smell something strange, take an antidote pill immediately, got it?”
Yun Yan widened her eyes, a hint of fear flashing in them: “Got it… Sis, good thing you were here, or I’d be dead.”
The mutated flower’s power was strong—even Yun Yan’s summoning companion had been affected and was still woozy.
Yan Yiqiu smiled: “Just be more careful next time.”
Novice players lacked experience; it was normal they didn’t react as fast as a seasoned player. A few more dungeons and she’d get the hang of it.
She tossed the equipment from the treasure chest over: “Put on the gas mask, and this ring suits you too.”
Yun Yan happily took the gear and equipped it: “Thanks, Sis!”
“Here, these are the materials I got from monsters. Take them.”
Yun Yan handed over all the life-gathering materials she’d collected to Yan Yiqiu, who accepted them without hesitation.
After eating a little to restore fullness, they continued forward.
With Yan Yiqiu around, there was almost no danger. Yun Yan could safely farm monsters, gaining combat experience without worrying about sudden insect ambushes. She became increasingly skilled in combat.
All life materials dropped by monsters went to Yan Yiqiu. Not because Yun Yan didn’t want them, but because Yan Yiqiu didn’t need them.
Yun Yan’s gear consisted mainly of speed-boosting shoes, defensive clothing, and a white-quality ring that increased the chance of high-tier ore drops.
She ignored the purple weapons—they preferred her axe and chisel anyway.
“Sis! There’s a beehive over there, so big!” Yun Yan pointed to a giant hive hanging from a branch.
Ever since Yan Yiqiu led Yun Yan against a mutated bee, the girl loved hunting hives.
There were easily 200–300 mutated bees near the hive, with low HP and damage—not difficult for them. The sheer number didn’t bother them either; it was perfect for farming experience and materials!
Yan Yiqiu glanced at the excited Yun Yan, thinking: “Why doesn’t the system give me a ‘mutated bees never die’ buff?”
Luckily, they could only stay in the dungeon for ten days. Otherwise, the mutated bees would face total extinction.
That said, Yan Yiqiu’s speed was never slower than Yun Yan’s.
Besides, honey was undeniably useful—more was never a problem.
Like locusts swarming, they emptied the giant beehive, then used their tent to rest, recover energy, and fullness. Rested, they continued flapping their nonexistent wings forward.
They encountered other players occasionally, who mostly minded their own business, nodding politely before moving on.
Some players, seeing only two of them and a low-level life player, got greedy and tried to rob them.
Yun Yan quickly sent the would-be robbers fleeing, forcing them to hand over materials before letting them go.
If Yan Yiqiu had been alone, she would’ve killed them outright.
But Yun Yan had just come of age—killing small monsters was fine, but taking lives? She wasn’t ready for that.
Yan Yiqiu didn’t want to rush her.
In the late stages of dungeons, competition intensified: if you didn’t kill, you’d die. In that situation, Yun Yan would naturally make her choices.
The robbers fled in panic.
Yun Yan looked at the wood in her bag, grinning: “Sis, I’ve gathered all the level 5 wood!”
Yan Yiqiu tossed the wild corn into her bag: “Good, now we can start saving up for level 6 wood.”
Yun Yan’s smile faded, and she trudged over gloomily like a frost-bitten eggplant, helping collect corn and whining:
“Gathering materials is so annoying!”
Yan Yiqiu found it amusing—far more fun than her previous life. At least all these collected materials were under her control; she could use them however she wanted.
One word: awesome!