A massive open-pit mine stretched out, with countless miners wielding all sorts of mining tools, swinging them with great effort.
Yang Ling ignored the sweat soaking his entire body, his pickaxe striking the 'Fire Crystal Rock' before him again and again.
Every swing required his full strength; otherwise, the hard Fire Crystal Rock wouldn't budge in the slightest.
"Xiao Yang, you spend eight out of the twelve hours of the day here. Aren't you afraid of ruining your body? You won't last long like this."
An old miner passing by couldn't help but offer a word of advice.
Yang Ling didn't stop his movements, politely replying:
"Uncle Wang, don't worry. I know my limits."
"Ai."
Uncle Wang shook his head gently and walked away to search for valuable Fire Crystal Rock.
Yang Ling continued diligently chiseling the Fire Crystal Rock.With every strike, a faint, cool stream of energy flowed through the pickaxe into his body.
This energy not only alleviated his fatigue but also slightly increased his stamina.
"Is this a game or the real world?"
"I only intended to play a full-immersion simulation game to relax a bit. How did I end up unable to go back?"
Yang Ling muttered quietly in his heart.
He had been in this world for half a month.
Half a month ago, he was still a professional gold farmer, earning quite a bit of money by farming gold in games.
In the gold farming industry, he was somewhat well-known.
However, the day-in, day-out professional life had become a bit boring, so he found a newly launched game, "Divine Realm," to spice things up.
Not long after entering the game, he discovered a huge problem!
He couldn't go back!
Moreover, this world was incredibly real. Whether it was tactile simulation or the needs of daily life like eating, drinking, and relieving oneself, it was no different from the real world.
Even the NPCs felt so lifelike and vivid.
At first, he almost starved to death in this world.
Until he was captured to become a miner.
Thinking this, the pickaxe fell once more.
A cool stream of energy entered his body.
"Ding!"
A pleasant level-up sound rang out.
「Congratulations, you have leveled up and gained 1 free attribute point!」
Yang Ling immediately called up his status panel:
Character: Yang Ling
Profession: Miner
Level: 3
Free Attribute Points: 1
Strength: 5
Agility: 5
Spirit: 10
HP: 50
"Finally leveled up, gained one free attribute point."
Yang Ling felt a surge of secret excitement.
The reason he had been working so hard all this time was precisely to level up.
Every strike earned experience points.
But the status panel didn't display it; he could only judge it through that cool stream of energy.
The cool energy was the experience value. It not only allowed him to level up but also alleviated his fatigue and increased his stamina.
"My character's initial Strength attribute was only 4, while Agility and Spirit were quite high."
"5 points should be the standard for a normal person."
Thinking this, Yang Ling immediately allocated the free attribute point to Strength.
For now, he didn't know what Spirit was for.
He only knew that Strength could make his mining speed faster, naturally earning more experience points.
At the same time, Strength was also linked to HP.
As Strength increased by one point.
A warm current surged into Yang Ling's body, instantly dissolving all his fatigue. His aching muscles no longer ached.
Simultaneously, his HP also increased from 50 to 60.
He clenched his fist, clearly feeling a significant boost in strength!
Yang Ling couldn't help but feel secretly happy.
He wanted to survive, and HP was also extremely crucial.
A few days ago, he accidentally slipped, hit his forehead, and his HP directly dropped by twenty points.
It was only after taking healing medicine that it slowly recovered.
He had wondered if his HP reached zero, could he escape 'Divine Realm'.
But he didn't dare to gamble. He was more afraid that if HP reached zero, he himself would also be cleared...
"Grind! If I can level up just by mining, then I'll grind until the end of time!"
"As for everything else, it's not important!"
Yang Ling picked up his water bottle, took a sip, and continued swinging his pickaxe.
One strike, two strikes...
Only after the Fire Crystal Rock before him was completely mined out did he carefully collect the broken ore on the ground, placing it into the cloth pouch at his waist.
Yang Ling weighed it in his hand.
"Hmm, about one liang. I can exchange it for ten wen from Supervisor Wu."
"Last time, a bottle of healing medicine Supervisor Wu sold me only cost five wen. This time I need to save up more for self-preservation."
"However, this pickaxe of mine is almost worn out. I also need to save some money to buy a better pickaxe, which will help speed up experience gain."
As he pondered, several figures quietly approached.
Yang Ling looked up without changing his expression.
"So it's Fifth Brother. Is something the matter?"
Yang Ling cupped his hands with a smile.
Fifth Brother was tall and burly, accompanied by several miners with gloomy expressions. Their gazes toward Yang Ling were unfriendly.
"A normal miner works five hours a day before resting, but you work eight hours.
You're working so desperately to curry favor with Supervisor Wu, right?"
Fifth Brother said flatly.
Yang Ling explained: "Fifth Brother, it's a misunderstanding. I just want to earn a bit more money."
"Not allowed. There are rules here."
Fifth Brother said coldly: "If you do this, Supervisor Wu will say we're slacking off. You're elevating yourself by belittling us.
Let me give you a piece of advice: work exactly five hours and then call it a day. Otherwise, it won't just be a bump on the forehead."
He glanced at Yang Ling's forehead with a half-smile.
A flicker of cold light, barely perceptible, flashed in Yang Ling's eyes.
The next second, Fifth Brother's attributes unfolded before him.
Character: Fifth Brother
Profession: Miner
Strength: 7
Agility: 3
Spirit: 2
The other party didn't have a Level column or HP. This was an NPC's status panel.
"His Strength is still one point higher than mine, and his connections are stronger too. If I really clash with him head-on, I'll definitely suffer."
Considering this, Yang Ling fawned:
"Fifth Brother, from now on, I'll only mine for five hours."
Fifth Brother nodded with satisfaction:
"Smart kid."
Then he glanced at the cloth pouch at Yang Ling's waist:
"I saw you mined quite a bit of Fire Crystal Rock just now. Share half."
Yang Ling pondered briefly: "Fifth Brother, how about I give you thirty percent of all the Fire Crystal Rock I mine from now on, and you let me work a few more hours?"
"You little brat, still harboring wicked thoughts? What? Really trying desperately to win Supervisor Wu's favor?"
Fifth Brother gave a false smile: "Hand over half the Fire Crystal Rock, get lost, and if you dare work even half an hour more in the future, I'll make you regret it!"
"It seems this guy is really afraid someone will outshine him in front of Supervisor Wu."
Without another word, Yang Ling poured out half of his Fire Crystal Rock for the other party.
The other party weighed it in his hand, then satisfied, put it into his own cloth pouch.
It was bulging, at least half a jin.
"Still know what's good for you. Remember Fifth Brother's words. I'll be watching you."
Fifth Brother chuckled lightly and left with his men.
"I need to avoid him from now on."
Yang Ling began searching for Fire Crystal Rock.
He didn't plan to only mine for five hours a day.
He wanted to level up! He wanted attribute points!
As long as he could get his Strength to 10 points, he believed a small-time thug like Fifth Brother would no longer be able to push him around.
Soon, Yang Ling found another patch of Fire Crystal Rock. Without hesitation, he immediately took out his pickaxe and started grinding.