◎Enraging the Mountain Monster◎
The cavern dwelling was eerily silent. Yan Lan stood frozen, her gaze locked on the spot where the sound had come from.
Xueqiu, who had been playing in the water, also stopped moving, his little neck stiff as a statue.
That area was shaded from the light, with a large boulder blocking the view. If someone were hiding there, it would indeed be difficult to notice. Moreover, she had subconsciously assumed that dungeon missions were for solo players only, it had never occurred to her that other players might enter the same dungeon.
She blamed her own excitement for making her drop her guard. Thinking of the person lurking in the shadows, her heart sank heavily, and she stared at that spot with dangerous intent.
Seeing no movement from behind the boulder, she raised an eyebrow and signaled to Xueqiu.
Xueqiu understood perfectly. Receiving the signal, he floated silently toward the large rock.
He was a little spirit, he moved by flying. Anyone hiding behind the boulder would hardly hear a sound.
Yan Lan watched intently, quietly taking the Frost Moon Bow out of her backpack. She nocked an attribute-enhanced arrow and drew the bowstring fully.
The moment the person appeared, she would use Skill 1: Stun, freezing them in place. If they dared to resist in any sleazy way, she would use Skill 2 and shoot them down on the spot.
The arrow was ready on the string, a hair’s breadth from release.
Yan Lan held her breath, waiting for Xueqiu to flush the intruder out from behind the boulder.
Xueqiu drew closer and closer, and Yan Lan’s heart beat faster and faster. She still didn’t know whether it was a person or a ghost on the other side, and she herself was only half-hidden in the water.
Xueqiu flew behind the boulder. Yan Lan saw his round little body pause for a few seconds, then he turned around in confusion and waved his paws.
Yan Lan frowned and mouthed to him: “Really nothing? Search again?”
Xueqiu obediently turned his head to look again, then once more waved his little paws.
Yan Lan’s suspicion still hadn’t faded, but she trusted Xueqiu.
She rose from the cold spring, the water droplets pattering down around her. Her body, purified by the spring, was fair and delicate, like a beam of light in the darkness, particularly eye-catching.
Without taking time to admire her improved skin, Yan Lan quickly pulled a towel from her backpack, wiped off the water droplets, picked up her clothes from the shore, and dressed swiftly.
Not even bothering to tie her shoelaces, she rushed behind the boulder in three quick strides. Behind the rock, there was nothing, empty, not even a footprint.
“Was it really just my imagination?” Yan Lan muttered.
“Jii jii~” Xueqiu nodded vigorously, as if to say, you’re overthinking it.
“Alright, then.”
Her doubts dispelled, she couldn’t go back to soaking in the cold spring now that she was already dressed. Besides, her personal attributes had more or less stabilized. Yan Lan picked up her small pickaxe and prepared to collect the crystals.
The sound of clinking and clanking echoed through the cave as she worked. At the same time, a tall, handsome man rushed out of the cave entrance.
His long eyelashes trembled slightly, and his ears were tinged with pink.
“Didi didi didi.”
“Didi didi didi.”
Ji Zhou’s shoulders jolted, he was almost startled by the sudden system notification sound.
He covered his mouth with a light cough and opened the system panel somewhat awkwardly. It was a message from his cousin, whom he had just reconnected with.
“Cousin, what were you doing just now? Why didn’t you reply?”
A slight ripple crossed Ji Zhou’s cool, handsome face. “Nothing.”
Cousin: “Didn’t you say you found a cave full of crystals? Hurry up and take a picture for me!”
Ji Zhou felt a bit awkward and had no choice but to fabricate an excuse. “Huh? Why didn’t you say so earlier? I’ve already left.”
Cousin: “What? You left that quickly? How could you be so fast at a critical moment? Did you dig up those crystals? They’re worth a fortune! There might even be hidden game supplies inside!”
Ji Zhou: “Didn’t dig any. Something urgent came up, so I left first.”
Cousin: “You left? You just left without digging anything? What urgent matter could be more important than supplies? Did a donkey kick your brain or something? Oh my god, you’re going to drive me crazy!”
His utter breakdown was palpable even through the screen.
Ji Zhou furrowed his brow slightly. “Don’t talk nonsense. There was a sudden situation.”
He had been the first to enter the cave, mining away peacefully when suddenly an unfamiliar woman and a magical little spirit barged in. The strange pair struck him as odd, he thought they might be NPCs from the dungeon, so he hid himself to observe the situation.
Who would have thought that the woman would immediately be dragged off to take a bath? He froze on the spot, quickly averted his eyes, and looked for a chance to slip away. But as he tried to leave, he accidentally made a noise.
“I really want to crack open your skull and take a look!”
His cousin sounded utterly frustrated, like iron that had failed to become steel. His mouth had been running nonstop ever since they’d added each other as friends.
Ji Zhou glanced at the messages indifferently, ignored him, and closed the chat panel, striding forward.
Inside the cave dwelling.
Yan Lan, reassured that no one was behind the boulder, happily hummed her favorite tune, “Little Donkey.”
Xueqiu, having heard the song many times, swayed along with the melody. He had been eating a lot lately and seemed to have rounded out a bit more. As he swayed, his little body bounced, adorably so.
Yan Lan smiled and shook her head, then raised her small pickaxe to dig out the crystals.
【Ding! Obtained Low-Grade Crystal ×1. Balance +10.】
Oh? So this was the game’s currency!
With currency, she could finally purchase those expensive items in the system mall.
To speed things up, she also handed Xueqiu a small shovel.
And so, one human and one little spirit worked like gold miners, chipping away at the crystals nonstop.
【Ding! Obtained Low-Grade Crystal ×1. Balance +10.】
【Ding! Obtained Medium-Grade Crystal ×1. Balance +50.】
【Ding! Obtained High-Grade Crystal ×1. Balance +100.】
With each crystal she chiseled out, the game announced it, making the process feel incredibly rewarding.
Yan Lan grew more motivated with every notification. Her hands moved faster, the small silver pickaxe swinging through the air so quickly that it became nothing but a silver blur.
She marveled to herself, The physical enhancement from the cold spring really is something else.
After a solid hour of hard work, Yan Lan finally began to feel a bit tired. She put down her pickaxe and sat casually on the ground, calling out, “Xueqiu, want some water?”
“Jii jii~”
Xueqiu flew down from mid-air and landed on a flat crystal, lying down.
She had to admit, the little spirit knew how to pick a spot. That crystal looked as if it had been artificially carved, perfectly smooth.
Wait a minute.
Yan Lan narrowed her eyes and stared darkly at that crystal. She didn’t remember chiseling that area at all.
Feeling her gaze, Xueqiu’s round little body trembled. He sprang up with a leap and landed on her shoulder.
Yan Lan picked up her pickaxe and held it up next to that crystal. The smooth surface was indeed the result of a single strike from an iron pickaxe, but not her pickaxe.
Her small pickaxe was only 10 centimeters long, yet that crystal mark was 20 centimeters, a full double the size.
A wave of inexplicable panic rose in Yan Lan’s heart. So there had been someone here to begin with, and very likely a man. Although the cave dwelling was large, there weren’t many places to hide. How had he managed to avoid them and escape?
She hugged her arms and looked around, feeling a chill creep up her back.
Or perhaps she was overthinking it. Maybe the crystal had naturally grown that way. Or maybe the person had already left before they even arrived.
“Jii jii~ Jii jii~”
Xueqiu’s shrieking interrupted her thoughts. This was the first time Yan Lan had seen Xueqiu look so frantic. His feathers were raised, like a little rooster poised for battle.
At the same moment, Yan Lan shuddered for no apparent reason. Her chest tightened. She spun around and shouted, “Run!”
No sooner had the words left her mouth than the crystal-covered wall ahead began to collapse, stones crashing loudly to the ground.
Yan Lan didn’t dare look back to see what kind of monster was behind her. She just ran for her life.
With her strength and agility now boosted to 90, by the time the unknown creature burst out of the rocks, she had already put some distance between them.
Xueqiu shrieked in panic. He seemed utterly terrified, abandoning flight altogether and curling up tightly on Yan Lan’s shoulder.
“ROAR~”
A thunderous roar echoed through the cave, shaking the very ground. Stones burst apart, flying in all directions. Even though Yan Lan had already run a fair distance, she barely dodged the flying debris.
She glanced back quickly, and her eyes flew wide open.
【Ding! Mountain Monster Boss triggered. HP: 1000.】
The mountain monster’s gaping maw revealed sharp teeth that gleamed with a chilling light. Its enormous eyes were blood-red, locked onto her.
What terrified her most was that glaring health bar, so long, it was easily ten times her own HP!
Yan Lan’s heart skipped a beat. She sped up, her movements blurring into a streak.
The mountain monster had been deep in slumber, but someone had been incessantly clinking and clanking against its house in its dreams, disturbing its sleep enough to warrant divine punishment. Unable to endure it any longer, it had risen in a fit of rage.
Its massive body shifted, sending rocks tumbling down from the cave ceiling. Yan Lan reacted quickly, dodging as she ran.
“Jii jii~”
Suddenly, the weight on her shoulder vanished. Yan Lan whipped her head around, Xueqiu had been knocked to the ground by a falling rock.
He was holding up a stone several times larger than his own body with his tiny, stubby paws. One of his legs seemed to be injured from the rock’s impact, buckling slightly.
The mountain monster was in a berserk state, moving fast. Its colossal form was now right on top of them.
“Jii jii~”
Xueqiu looked at her with worried eyes, frantically urging her to run.
Yan Lan forced herself to calm down. She pulled the Frost Moon Bow from her backpack, drew the string with all her strength, and loosed an arrow brimming with icy cold energy.
【Skill 1: Stun.】
The mountain monster, struck by the arrow, began to freeze over instantly. Its massive body stood rigid in place.
The stun lasted only 5 seconds. Yan Lan sprinted back, pushed away the large stone on top of Xueqiu, and lifted him onto her shoulder.
“Hang on tight. Time to run for our lives!”
Xueqiu’s tiny paws gripped Yan Lan’s collar desperately as she dashed forward.
As soon as the 5-second stun wore off, the mountain monster resumed its furious pursuit, its rage even more intense than before.
Up ahead was a narrow passage. Yan Lan was forced to slow down.
The monster seized the opportunity to close in. Its body was too bulky to squeeze through the cave opening, so it reached in with a thick, paw-like hand, wide and powerful. It slammed against the ceiling, sending rocks raining down in a constant shower.
Amidst the billowing dust, Yan Lan gasped for breath, not bothering to tend to her scraped arm as she kept running.
Frustrated by its inability to hit her, the mountain monster grew even more enraged. With a deafening roar, it brought down its massive hand like a small mountain.
Just as the hand was about to come down on her head, Yan Lan used Skill 1: Stun again.
The monster froze mid-swing. Yan Lan followed up with two consecutive Pierce skills, which the monster took head-on.
【HP -200.】
【HP -200.】
It still had 600 HP left. There was no time to waste. Yan Lan dashed out as fast as she could.
The moment she exited the cave, the entire cavern collapsed behind her, sending a cloud of dust billowing into the air.
The entrance was now blocked by massive boulders. The mountain monster let out one more roar before gradually retreating.
Yan Lan stood at the cave entrance, letting out a long sigh as she thought of the magnificent crystals and the miraculous cold spring inside. Then, dragging her injured body, she walked away.
Ji Zhou, who had left not long before, heard the commotion and turned back to look. Thick smoke and dust were pouring out from where the once-tall cave had stood.