The caves held too many dangers: armored zombies with enchanted weapons, lightning-fast baby zombies, and more… but Jiang Xuan clearly didn’t have the time to explain everything.
He would just have to be extra vigilant once they went down.
“In addition to remembering all of that, there is one more crucial rule!” Jiang Xuan raised a finger.
Ganyu tilted her head in thought, then said happily, “Never stray even a step away from Jiang Xuan, never stand in front of you, and never dig straight down!”
Hearing this, Jiang Xuan chuckled and clapped his hands.
“Congratulations, Ganyu! You have officially qualified as an entry-level miner!”
“Just entry-level?” Jiang Xuan meant it as a joke, but Ganyu took it quite seriously.
She sighed with a touch of regret.
“As I thought, mining is a profound discipline. I still have to work harder!”
Jiang Xuan pursed his lips awkwardly, then turned around and waved.
“Get ready, let’s move!”
The moment he spoke, Keqing raised her shield without a word, vigilantly following behind Ganyu, who solemnly held up her torch.
Even though they were powerful, they weren’t always lone wolves.
They had cooperated in combat plenty of times before.
Seeing this, Jiang Xuan let go of his final worries and completely entrusted his back to Keqing and Ganyu.
Guided by the light of Ganyu’s torch, the three of them carefully made their way deeper into the cave.
It wasn’t that he was making a mountain out of a molehill; he simply didn’t want to gamble with his life…
The path through the cave was somewhat rugged and difficult to traverse.
However, that feeling was mainly due to the top-tier shader pack.
In a world essentially made of blocks, no matter how difficult the terrain, it was actually a breeze to navigate.
Especially since none of the three were ordinary people.
Before long, they had advanced over fifty meters.
The sunlight filtering in from the cave entrance had completely vanished.
In the pitch-black cavern, the only light came from Ganyu’s torch, which was neither exceptionally bright nor too dim.
Although Keqing and Ganyu were strong-willed, they couldn’t help but feel tense in this environment.
At the very least, Jiang Xuan could feel that Ganyu’s breathing behind him was growing increasingly rapid.
She was almost pressing against his back.
Jiang Xuan smiled wryly.
Sheathing his wooden sword, Jiang Xuan gently took hold of Ganyu’s wrist.
Ganyu seemed to panic for a brief moment, subconsciously looking up.
In the darkness, Jiang Xuan’s eyes shone with a bright, comforting light.
In an instant, the panic in Ganyu’s heart vanished.
“Don’t be afraid,” Jiang Xuan comforted them softly.
“Watch your step.”
With that, he focused his attention back to the front.
He needed to watch out for potential monsters, leaving the search for ores to Ganyu.
The ores in this place were incredibly conspicuous—like a single green flower in a garden.
As long as one wasn’t blind, they would spot them.
Even though she knew Jiang Xuan was just offering casual comfort, Ganyu found herself calming down.
Taking a deep breath, she cheered herself on in her heart and focused her attention on their surroundings.
There was a high chance of finding coal and iron ore not far from the entrance; that was what Jiang Xuan had told her.
Coal ore was black, and iron ore was somewhat whitish?
That was how Ganyu remembered it.
Guided by the faint firelight, Ganyu constantly scanned the surroundings.
In front, Jiang Xuan was actually sweating a bit too.
He hadn’t expected this cave to be so ridiculous; they had been walking for so long without seeing a single vein of coal.
This was absurd.
Ultimately, it was still a matter of insufficient manpower.
If they had enough people, Jiang Xuan would have just led them to dig straight down from the mountaintop.
Forget the dark caves—he would just excavate a massive quarry and mine however he pleased.
Complaining in his head, Jiang Xuan’s ears caught the faint, distant groans of zombies.
Listening closely, however, they seemed to be coming from behind the stone walls.
Thus, Jiang Xuan decided not to mention it to avoid making them nervous.
He estimated that they had traveled over a hundred meters into the cave.
Going any further with only three or four torches on hand would be impossible.
Jiang Xuan was considering whether today was just bad luck and if they should return to regroup and try a different cave tomorrow.
Suddenly, Ganyu grabbed Jiang Xuan’s hand back.
Suppressing her excitement, she whispered, “Jiang Xuan! I see it! It’s pitch black! That’s coal ore, right?!”
Jiang Xuan was startled for a moment.
Instantly, the area lit up brightly.
Jiang Xuan peered closer and laughed.
He turned around and nodded with certainty.
“That’s it! Coal ore! A massive vein of coal!”
12.
Moral Degeneracy: The Liyue Qixing Is Actually Addicted to Mining Coal?!
The sheer amount of coal ore Ganyu had found was… well…
It was on the ground, on the walls, on the ceiling… scattered all over a thirty-meter radius.
Mining it all would yield at least a stack and a half.
This was already a highly satisfying haul.
Furthermore, compared to the coal itself, Jiang Xuan cared much more about the experience points gained from mining it.
This experience would be incredibly useful later on; he would need it for enchanting weapons and armor, and once the SlashBlade was unlocked, forging would also require experience points.
Accumulating it now would bring countless benefits.
“Excellent! We’ve finally found coal!” Keqing smiled happily, the heavy burden in her heart finally lifting.
Surveying the coal ore around them, Keqing nodded repeatedly.
“Although there isn’t much, the quality looks outstanding. Liyue Harbor has a massive demand for coal as well.”
“Most importantly, a freezing nation like Snezhnaya requires a vast amount of coal.
If we can secure a stable supply of coal from this world…” Keqing subconsciously pinched her chin, calculating, “This long-term, stable trade would be highly lucrative.
We might even be able to rely on coal exports to keep the Fatui in check.”
At this, Jiang Xuan only gave a slight smile without explaining further.
Was the coal here really “little”?
Sure, it looked that way on the surface.
But… was Minecraft a world that listened to reason?
Obviously not!
A single one-cubic-meter coal block weighed up to 1.5 tons, and only required nine pieces of coal to craft.