Clearly, these people were lying in wait to rob miners when they came to submit their daily quota.
After all, anyone taking this route would be carrying at least five Yanxing Stones.
Once robbed, and unable to complete the day’s quota, those unlucky miners would be as good as dead.
Jiang Li’s expression turned slightly cold as her grip on the stone axe tightened.
She naturally had no intention of letting them rob her.
She could also see that in this mine, aside from hiding Yanxing Stones or failing to meet the quota, the mine guards generally turned a blind eye to everything else.
No one cared whether a miner lived or died.
Just as she was thinking about how to deal with the three men, Supervisor Li stepped forward and walked straight toward the submission area.
Seeing this, Jiang Li quickly followed.
“Supervisor Li.”
“You’re here, Supervisor Li.”
The three would-be robbers immediately lowered their heads the moment they saw her, like dogs whose fangs had been pulled out. They nodded and bowed, wearing overly fawning smiles, not daring to look up at her.
Jiang Li had personally seen Supervisor Li kill a miner who had lecherous intent toward her. Thinking back on it now, she couldn’t help but feel a ripple in her emotions.
Veteran miners who had stayed long enough in the mine all knew—although Supervisor Li was a woman, she acted decisively and killed without hesitation.
Jiang Li’s gaze toward her grew slightly complicated.
Was Supervisor Li deliberately escorting her to the surface because she knew these three were waiting to rob miners here?
Or was she trying to probe the secret behind Jiang Li’s ability to accurately locate Yanxing Stones?
Jiang Li didn’t dwell on it further. The outcome was good at least—the woman had helped her avoid a robbery.
After entering the shed and submitting her five Yanxing Stones, Jiang Li received a bag of food. This was what Huang Tao had mentioned: at the very least, miners wouldn’t go hungry in the mine.
Complete the work, and you would receive enough food to be full for a day.
Supervisor Li, who had escorted her, turned to head back into the mine.
“Thank you, Supervisor Li,” Jiang Li said immediately.
Her tone was sincere.
But Supervisor Li did not respond, not even turning her head as she walked away.
Only after her figure disappeared did Jiang Li withdraw her gaze, thinking that there were still good people in this world.
She stuffed the food bag into her backpack and left the mine.
The booklet Supervisor Li had given her also stated that working hours were flexible. As long as she came each day and had her name recorded, it counted as a day of work. After thirty days, she would receive ten Yanxing Stones as wages.
The reason the mine wasn’t worried about workers skipping work was simple—it firmly controlled what every miner needed most.
Submit Yanxing Stones, and you get food for the day. Come daily, and your attendance is recorded. Complete thirty days, and you get paid.
For the villagers living at the bottom of society nearby, this was irresistible—they would rather come early and mine more.
On the way back to Xinghuo Village, Jiang Li first checked her surroundings and, seeing no one, took out the food bag.
It wasn’t the dried meat she had received from the system—it was mushrooms.
Dried mushrooms were easy to preserve, sliced and packed. She picked up a reddish-brown slice that looked like sweet potato, placed it in her mouth, and it melted with her saliva. It tasted sweet, soft, and sticky.
Exactly like sweet potato.
This should be a kind of “potato mushroom.” In both nutrition and satiety, it was comparable to real sweet potatoes.
Delicious.
Perhaps because she had been mining all day and was starving, even a single slice of dried mushroom felt like the most delicious sweet potato she had ever eaten.
Inside the bag were various filling dried mushrooms—besides sweet potato mushrooms, there were dried potato mushrooms, taro mushrooms, and more.
After eating a thick palm-sized piece, her hunger finally eased a little.
The mine was generous when it came to food for workers. The bag was packed full of these highly filling dried mushrooms.
Jiang Li finally understood why villagers regarded the mine as the lifeline of survival.
As long as you completed the daily quota, you had enough food—and monthly wages. Work hard, and you could survive.
Working in the mine doesn’t seem too bad.
She thought this as she put the food bag back into her backpack.
At that moment, her nerves, still tense, caught a faint sound from behind her.
It was like stepping on dry leaves—barely audible unless one listened carefully.
An alarm immediately rang in her mind.
Without turning around, Jiang Li pretended not to notice and continued walking, adjusting her backpack calmly.
Swoosh.
She pushed off the ground and broke into a sprint.
Almost at the same moment she ran, the unknown creature behind her also moved. Realizing it had been discovered, it stopped hiding and gave chase.
Jiang Li was glad the shelter wasn’t far. She didn’t dare look back, running for her life.
Inside her backpack, the oil lamp and iron pot clattered loudly. She moved so fast that the bag even lifted slightly into the air—but the creature behind her was even faster.
A beast as large as a wolf leapt up, soaring over her head and cutting off her escape route.
“Kwaa—!”
Jiang Li reacted instantly, slamming her brakes and stopping just in time to avoid running straight into its mouth.
In her vision was a disaster beast resembling a frog, its skin like withered tree bark. Its bulging eyes locked onto her as its cheeks swelled, letting out a deep croak.
Mutated beyond recognition, its mouth was filled with dense, shark-like teeth. Its limbs pushed off the ground with explosive power far beyond any normal frog.
A long, blood-red tongue shot out of its mouth, lunging straight at her.
Just as it was about to pierce her chest, Jiang Li reacted instantly. She pulled out her stone axe and slashed hard.
Fortunately, the tongue wasn’t steel—it was cut through, half of it severed.
The beast screamed in rage and kicked off the ground again, preparing to leap at her.
Its jaws opened wide, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth that could easily crush her skull.
“Kwa!”
In its eyes, Jiang Li was no different from a tiny insect—easy prey.
Her previous strike had used up all her strength. She had no room left to counterattack.
But she could still dodge.
However, she knew very clearly—she couldn’t escape. The beast was far too fast; it could close the distance in a single leap.
There was only one option: fight.
In a flash of thought, Jiang Li made her decision.
She twisted away from the beast’s bite, raised both hands, and a ball of flame gathered in her palm.
As the fireball expanded, her mental energy drained rapidly. She hurled it straight into the beast’s mouth.
The fireball, about the size of a basketball, struck true. The beast failed to evade it as it entered its throat, burning the inner walls of its mouth with a sizzling sound like roasting meat.
It didn’t struggle for long before collapsing. Its entire head was burned through, and the smell of cooked flesh filled the air.
Exhausted from mental depletion, Jiang Li slumped to the side, swallowing unconsciously as she smelled the meat.
Hungry…
Both her stamina and mental energy were at critical levels. Her mind was completely filled with hunger.