"Brother Yang, why are you so polite to that Supervisor Niu? That bastard almost had me beaten to death."
On the way back, Zhang Wei couldn't help but mutter quietly, the dissatisfaction in his tone evident.
Yang Ling smiled, "Little Zhang, actually, Supervisor Niu is not a bad person.
That day he had you beaten, he was also telling you that if you don't work hard at mining, you won't survive here."
He had observed Supervisor Niu during this time and found the man to be stern-faced but kind-hearted.
Although he turned a blind eye to Old Fifth's actions, he was also willing to exchange copper coins for miners working overtime at night.
Especially the information the other party had just given him was very important!
"Not bad my ass."
Zhang Wei grumbled in his heart, though of course he didn't dare to retort directly.
The next day, Yang Ling did not enter the mine vein. Instead, he went to the southwest area of the miners' village.There was a blacksmith shop here, specializing in forging mining tools.
"After deducting food and living expenses this period, I've saved two hundred and forty copper coins, that should be enough..."
Walking into the blacksmith shop, the clanging sounds of metalwork were incessant.
The tall and burly Blacksmith Wang hammered away while saying:
"What are you buying?"
"Blacksmith Wang, I'd like to buy a refined iron pickaxe."
Yang Ling cupped his hands in a respectful salute.
"Refined iron pickaxe? Only three left, two hundred Wen each. Pick one yourself."
Blacksmith Wang pointed to the side of the wall.
Against the wall were not only refined iron pickaxes, but also some ordinary weapons.
These were only for the use of the mine guards.
「Refined Iron Dagger, Agility +1, Attack Power 5」 Price: One tael of silver.
「Refined Iron Rod, Strength +1, Attack Power 8」 Price: One tael of silver.
……
「Refined Iron Pickaxe, Strength +2, Attack Power 1」 Price: Two hundred Wen.
Yang Ling took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement in his heart.
Although he also wanted a weapon, he knew that given his current situation and his wealth, these weapons were temporarily beyond his reach.
On the contrary, this refined iron pickaxe was quite good.
"According to the attribute description, just by holding it, it can increase my Strength by 2 points."
"That way, I'll have 9 points of Strength. My leveling speed will be faster, and my mining speed will also improve a lot!"
Thinking this, Yang Ling was just about to pick up this refined iron pickaxe when he subconsciously glanced at the attributes of the other two pickaxes and stopped his hand.
"Huh? Fine Steel Pickaxe? Why does it look exactly like the refined iron pickaxe?"
「Fine Steel Pickaxe, Strength +3, Attack Power 8」
"Attack power is the same as the refined iron rod, but Strength is increased by 3 points... So it can both mine and be used as a weapon!?"
Yang Ling remained calm on the surface. He picked up one of the pickaxes, looked at it for a while, then put it down, and picked up another to examine.
He repeated this several times.
Blacksmith Wang grew a bit impatient:
"They're all the same thing, what's there to look at?"
The same thing?
Then they're all two hundred Wen?
Yang Ling's heart pounded fiercely a few times. Then he picked up that fine steel pickaxe:
"Blacksmith Wang, I'll take this one."
"Two hundred Wen. Put the money down, you can leave."
"Alright."
Yang Ling counted out two hundred Wen and placed them down, then tucked the fine steel pickaxe at his waist and strode away.
Walking far away from the blacksmith shop, seeing the other party still had no reaction, Yang Ling couldn't help but feel excited.
"I scored a bargain. If there were other players here, reselling this fine steel pickaxe for two taels of silver wouldn't be excessive, right?"
Yang Ling sighed inwardly.
Just then, several figures suddenly closed in on him.
"Fifth Brother?"
Yang Ling was slightly taken aback and hurriedly cupped his fists:
"Do you need something?"
Fifth Brother grinned: "Of course I need something. I heard you've been secretly working overtime recently, digging up a lot of Fire Crystal Rock ore."
How does he know?
Yang Ling was sure he was very careful every night when leaving, and this guy had long gone off to drink. When would he have time to watch him?
Suddenly, he saw a familiar face in the crowd.
The other person seemed somewhat panicked and immediately ducked his head to hide.
"Zhang Wei..."
Yang Ling's face darkened.
"Don't worry about how I know. This just shows you didn't take Fifth Brother's words seriously."
Fifth Brother said with a half-smile, addressing the nearby miners:
"You all tell me, is it right or wrong for this guy to dig several extra hours every day?"
"Of course it's wrong! Yang Ling, you dig several extra hours, trying to show off how diligent you are? What if one day a rule is set that we must hand in at least two taels of Fire Crystal Rock daily?
Do you want us to die with you then?"
A miner said angrily.
"Damn it, how does this kid have so much energy? I'm exhausted after digging for less than four hours a day. This kid can dig for eight or nine hours?"
"If he digs an extra tael of Fire Crystal Rock, we might have to dig one tael less in the future. This kid is too shameless."
Seeing he had the approval of most miners, Fifth Brother smiled smugly:
"Yang Ling, I've already given you the ugly warning upfront. Today, I'll give you a lesson first. Next time I see you secretly trying to get ahead, you're dead!"
With that, he said to his underlings:
"Break one of his arms."
"Break my arm? Isn't that asking for my life!? How will I grind experience then!?"
Yang Ling had originally intended to avoid trouble and quietly level up a few more times. Seeing the other party was aiming to cut off his livelihood, he instantly flew into a rage.
The two underlings beside Fifth Brother had already come before Yang Ling, poised to grab him.
Without another word, Yang Ling kicked one in the stomach.
The first underling couldn't dodge in time and was kicked flying several meters away.
The second was slightly startled, and before he could react, Yang Ling punched him down!
"This is the power of 7 points of Strength. This punch of mine probably has the force of a professional boxer."
Yang Ling secretly thrilled.
The scene fell dead silent.
Many miners looked at Yang Ling as if seeing a stranger, a trace of surprise in their eyes.
Fifth Brother was also stunned. His expression changed slightly, his eyes gaining a touch of gravity.
"How is he so strong..."
In the crowd, Zhang Wei watched this scene, a wave of regret washing over him.
He shouldn't have, in a fit of anger, done such a thing.
"Fifth Brother, we usually mind our own business. I dig my ore, you do your thing.
As long as no one disturbs my mining, everything is fine.
But if anyone dares to obstruct me, I'll take their life!"
Yang Ling looked at Fifth Brother, his eyes sharp and threatening.
At this point, he knew if he didn't intimidate the other party, his situation would become even more difficult.
He had only found this path of leveling up through mining so far, and he absolutely could not let it be affected!
"You're dead today."
Fifth Brother's face darkened as he slowly rolled up his sleeves.
Yang Ling subconsciously gripped the fine steel pickaxe at his waist.
His Strength instantly increased by three points. He felt as if all his meridians had been cleared, every muscle twitching.
"What are you all doing?"
A gloomy voice suddenly rang out.
Hearing this, Fifth Brother immediately became as meek as a quail.
The miners looked at Supervisor Wu with awe, making way for him.
Supervisor Wu appeared middle-aged. Accompanied by several guards, he slowly walked before the crowd.
Yang Ling opened the other's Status Panel and took a glance.
Character: Wu Que
Profession: Martial Artist
Strength: 12
Agility: 8
Spirit: 3
Martial Art: Black Tiger Fist (Skilled)
Martial Artist! This was the goal Yang Ling most looked forward to.
He had been in the "Divine Realm" for so long, and the only martial artist he had seen was this Supervisor Wu.
It was just a bit strange. Supervisor Wu's attributes weren't much higher than those of the mine guards.
So he suspected it was precisely because of this Black Tiger Fist that Supervisor Wu practiced!
"Broth... Supervisor Wu."
Fifth Brother said quietly.
Supervisor Wu gave an indifferent hum, his gaze falling on Yang Ling:
"You really like mining?"
Without another word, Yang Ling cupped his fists:
"Supervisor Wu, I believe I am a born miner. I even dream of mining!"
"What a bullshitting bootlicker!"
"He can even say something like that!"
The miners on-site changed their expressions drastically.
Fifth Brother angrily clenched his fists.
Supervisor Wu suddenly laughed heartily:
"Hahaha, I've supervised this Fire Crystal Rock mine for many years, and this is the first time I've encountered a miner like you.
Very good. You focus on digging your ore. If anyone gives you trouble, come find me."
Fifth Brother's face became extremely ugly.
"In another month, the higher-ups will be inspecting several mine veins. At that time, miners from the major veins will need to compete in mining skills."
"For our side, I'll send you."
Supervisor Wu said casually.