After digging for more than half an hour, Spicy Rabbit suddenly stopped her pickaxe.
"Tuan Bro, shouldn't we find a new spot to dig? I haven't found any rare ores for a while, even iron ore is getting scarce."
Li Wu glanced at his backpack and didn't feel like there was less; in fact, he had even gained a piece of silver ore.
He turned to look at the eager young girl glancing around, and though he saw through her thoughts, he didn't say anything. After swinging the pickaxe for over two hours, his mind was a bit numb too.
"Sure, let's find a place with better feng shui."
With that, the two of them moved, heading deeper along the mining tunnel.
Perhaps she had gotten used to it, Spicy Rabbit was no longer timid like when she first entered the cave. She charged ahead, her big eyes darting around, though it was unclear what she was looking for.
"Slow down, we can't handle zombies. If one pops up in your face, you're done for!"
"Ah. I... I wasn't looking for zombies."
In the end, Spicy Rabbit didn't find any zombies. As they moved forward, more players appeared on either side of the mine shaft. Li Wu found it strange until he noticed another fork in the path, leading them to another main mine shaft.
After searching for a while without finding a good spot, they realized it wasn't any better than where they had started digging.
Li Wu was about to suggest going back when the young girl suddenly grabbed his arm and whispered mysteriously in his ear: "Tuan Bro, look at that big protrusion above. Let's go check it out; there might be a mysterious cave or treasure up there."
Li Wu looked up and indeed saw a protruding area about five or six meters high, which did have a hint of mystery. However, seeing the dense crowd of players around, he couldn't help but feel speechless.
So you're the only one with eyes, huh?
Perhaps because of taking care of Tuantuan these past two years, Li Wu had become very patient and didn't mind the trouble. He smiled and said, "Let's go take a look then."
The two of them walked over and found that the cave wall below the protrusion had many small holes, clearly chiseled out intentionally.
Obviously, Spicy Rabbit wasn't the only one curious.
Seeing the "ladder," Spicy Rabbit's curiosity diminished a bit, but since they were already there, she excitedly climbed up using the small holes.
The young girl moved quickly and was up in seconds, then called down to Li Wu with some disappointment, "There's nothing here."
"Is it flat up there?"
"Very flat."
Li Wu's eyes lit up, and he climbed up the cave wall. His eyes shone even brighter when he reached the top.
Rather than a protrusion, it was more of a small platform, about three to four meters long, but indeed very flat.
There were two or three notches on the platform's cave wall, likely left by other players mining.
They were only level 0, unlike other players who were at least level 3 or 4. If a zombie spawned right in their face, it might send them back to the city instantly.
"Let's dig here."
"Huh? I... I actually wanted to see a zombie, I only saw half of one before."
"You can see just as well from here. If one spawns below, you'll have a better view from up here."
"Okay, then."
Initially, Spicy Rabbit had high hopes for this mysterious platform, thinking the drop rate would be high. But after half an hour of digging, she gave up on that fantasy.
It was no different from digging below.
Just as boredom set in again, a commotion arose in the distance, accompanied by strange "whoosh" sounds and flickering lights.
The young girl's eyes lit up, and she excitedly grabbed Li Wu, who was focused on his work.
Li Wu turned to see the distant mine shaft, which should have been pitch black, now flashing with dazzling electric light. A large number of players were fleeing in panic.
Li Wu felt a sense of foreboding and was about to pull Spicy Rabbit down when he saw the electric light approaching. Not far away, two slower players were pierced by a crackling lightning bolt and instantly turned into white light.
A two-meter-tall broken figure emerged from the darkness, its blackened hands emitting electric light.
Li Wu instinctively cast a true sight, then grabbed Spicy Rabbit and ducked down.
[[Electric Zombie King] (BOSS)
[Level: 5]
[Health: 60,000]
[Spell Attack: 680]
[Defense: 320]
[Skills:]
[Chain Lightning: Lightning deals 260% spell damage to the first enemy and then bounces to the nearest enemy, with damage decreasing by 5% each bounce, up to 18 times.]
[Cooldown Time: 1.2 seconds]
Lightning Pierce: Releases a piercing lightning bolt, dealing 200% spell damage to all targets within an 80-meter straight line.]
Thunder Shield: Automatically triggers when health is below 30%, increasing defense by 50% for 1 minute.]
[Cooldown Time: 3 minutes.]
"Is this really a BOSS? Who can possibly take it down?"
Though he didn't know the current levels and attributes of expert players in the game, looking at the Electric Zombie King's stats, Li Wu doubted anyone could defeat it.
With 680 spell attack, even the lowest damage Lightning Pierce could deal over a thousand damage.
The cooldown times were short; who could withstand that?
Not to mention the 300% damage Chain Lightning.
Li Wu pressed Spicy Rabbit's head down firmly, afraid that her curiosity would draw the BOSS's attention.
Fortunately, the Electric Zombie King's speed was swift, clearing the area as it chased after fleeing players.
"Tuan Bro, let's fight the BOSS! If we kill it, we'll be rich!"
"With what? Dig it to death with a pickaxe?"
"We can attack from the platform; it can't reach us."
Li Wu looked at Spicy Rabbit speechlessly and sent her the BOSS's stats.
"It's a ranged monster. If you can hit it with a fireball, it can kill you with lightning. Our health isn't even a fraction of its damage, and our attacks can't break its defense."
"Ah, what a pity. I'll ask my mom."
Li Wu didn't think Spicy Rabbit's mom would have a solution. If it were a melee monster, they might be able to exploit a glitch, but with a ranged monster, there was no chance.
Wait, even a melee BOSS wouldn't work; their damage and mana were insufficient. With such high defense, even a handgun wouldn't do.
Who knows if this game has rifles or machine guns? Even if it does, compared to handgun damage, rifles or machine guns might barely break the defense. With a BOSS having 60,000 health, how many bullets would it take? That's a lot of money!
"My mom says the only way to deal with the Electric Zombie King is to lure it out of the mine by sacrificing players, then use swarm tactics to take it down outside the mining area.
Apparently, only the Beginner Village where my mom is has succeeded. The 100% real pain is too terrifying; showing up means getting electrocuted to death. With the mine being so long, who knows how many players had to be sacrificed to lure the Electric Zombie King out.
Many people developed mental issues trying to lure it out; they can't even plug in a charger in real life."
Li Wu nodded thoughtfully. This had already affected people's mental health; shouldn't Blue Star Online be shut down?
He still had three jobs waiting for him in real life!
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan