"Right, you never told me your name."
Zhang Wei suddenly remembered.
"I'm Yang Ling."
Yang Ling's expression was somewhat complicated.
He was now certain: perhaps only he could see the attribute panel.
Still, he'd met only one player so far — Zhang Wei alone. He'd need to meet a few more before he could be sure.
"Brother Yang, if we die inside 「Divine Realm」, do you think we really die?"
Zhang Wei's expression went hollow:
"These two weeks I've been here, I keep turning that question over..."
"I'm not sure either."
Yang Ling shook his head.
"Then what do we do next? Just let this pack of NPCs push us around?"
Zhang Wei ground his teeth. "If anyone dared beat me like this back in the real world, my name isn't Zhang if I don't sue them into the ground!"
"I think our first goal should be to stay alive."
"This 「Divine Realm」 is bizarre. As long as there's the slightest chance it's real, it's not something we can gamble on."
Yang Ling said seriously.
"Right, stay alive first..."
Zhang Wei murmured, "But how? This game is nothing like a game. I can't even see my character's attribute panel. The NPCs here are vicious — they'll beat me at the drop of a hat. The pain feels so real. And the hunger's real too."
At that, he started cursing the 「Divine Realm」 developers again.
"The rule at the Fire Crystal Ore vein is that you have to turn in at least one tael of ore a day."
"That gets you ten copper coins."
Yang Ling said, "Here, one copper coin buys a steamed bun. Three coppers buy half a catty of rice or flour. Without them, we don't survive."
"One tael? I dug till I was dizzy and still couldn't get it — so I'm as good as dead?!"
Zhang Wei sucked in a cold breath, despair flashing in his eyes.
"Can I trust you?"
Yang Ling suddenly asked.
"Brother Yang, what do you mean by that?"
Zhang Wei looked puzzled.
"I came early. I'm already a seasoned miner, and I have a way to help you scrape together your tael of Fire Crystal Ore, so you can get your bare minimum."
Yang Ling's expression was earnest:
"But once you've got your coppers, you take only your share. Mine goes to me."
"Yes! That's a way out!"
Zhang Wei perked up.
Seeing Yang Ling only staring at him, saying nothing, he quickly caught himself:
"Brother Yang, don't worry, I won't take what isn't mine. You're my savior — you've saved my life twice over!"
"Fine. Stick close to me these next few days. If anything comes up, I'll help you out."
Yang Ling smiled and nodded.
***
Over the following days, Yang Ling gradually showed Zhang Wei the ropes of the Fire Crystal Ore vein.
He also observed Zhang Wei's condition in secret.
The man had to rest a good while after every few swings.
That confirmed Zhang Wei truly had no experience and couldn't level up by mining. His attributes never changed.
Soon, the five shichen were up.
Zhang Wei had long since collapsed into a boneless heap. Seeing Yang Ling still grinding away at the ore, he couldn't help a look of envy:
"Brother Yang, your strength and stamina are incredible. What did you do for a living out there?"
"Construction sites."
Yang Ling didn't even turn his head.
Zhang Wei showed a flicker of understanding, then muttered to himself:
"Had I known, I'd have worked construction out there too. When will this miserable life ever end..."
Yang Ling ignored him and kept pouring damage into the Fire Crystal Ore before him.
Because he'd left punctually for several days running, Fifth Brother had eased off watching him.
The vein was enormous, with at least a thousand miners.
As long as no one was watching him specifically, they'd never notice him sneaking in overtime!
"Brother Yang, looks like it's about time — they're all lining up. Aren't we going?"
Zhang Wei glanced toward the exit.
"Dig more, trade for more coppers. We don't know how long we'll have to survive here. Without money on hand, you can't move an inch."
Yang Ling said as he mined.
Zhang Wei thought it made good sense, rested a while, and started digging too.
Several shichen later, a pleasant chime sounded in Yang Ling's ear.
「Congratulations, you have leveled up and gained 1 Free Attribute Point!」
Leveled up!
A flash of delight crossed Yang Ling's eyes — only five days since the last one!
As his strength grew, sure enough, he gathered experience faster!
Without a word, Yang Ling put the point into Strength.
The familiar warm current flowed through him, dissolving the day's exhaustion.
A light clench of the fist — his strength had climbed another notch!
Name: Yang Ling
Class: Miner
Level: 4
Strength: 7
Agility: 5
Spirit: 10
HP: 70
"My Strength now matches Fifth Brother's, and my Agility is 2 points higher. If I caught him alone, giving him a beating wouldn't be a problem."
Yang Ling's eyes narrowed slightly.
As a professional gold farmer, his technique — if not the very best — was first-rate. Most important of all, he had good instincts!
Even in a fight, he'd be a cut above an ordinary man.
"My Strength is 7 now, so I'll gather experience even faster. Even if the next level needs more experience, it'll probably only take five or six days."
"Almost there. Once I hit 10 Strength, I'll have a bit of power to protect myself!"
As he thought this, the pick in his hand suddenly gave a crisp snap.
Yang Ling looked down.
「Ordinary Pickaxe — Durability: Zero」
"The pick's broken? No matter — I've saved enough these past days to buy a better one."
Yang Ling wasn't too concerned. He called out to Zhang Wei and headed for the entrance.
Though it was already dark, the vein was in fact watched around the clock.
Miners as driven as Yang Ling were far from rare.
Even now, a few were slipping out of the shadows, faces wrapped in cloth for fear of being spotted by Fifth Brother's crew.
Every one of these miners had somewhat high Strength — 6 points, or 7.
Steward Niu came out of his hut and began receiving the Fire Crystal Ore with a smile.
"Oh? Three taels? Not bad."
Steward Niu looked Yang Ling up and down, then handed over thirty coppers without a word.
Yang Ling finally couldn't resist, and said in a low voice:
"Steward Niu, may I ask you something?"
"Speak."
Steward Niu said mildly.
"Fifth Brother won't let us mine extra. Does the vein really not care?"
Yang Ling asked quietly.
"Why would it care? Mine all you want. Everyone turns in their tael to me and my job's done."
Steward Niu couldn't have cared less. "Turning in more does nothing for me. Why would I offend Old Fifth over it?"
Then he shot Yang Ling a glance:
"You're new, so don't say I didn't warn you — Old Fifth has an older sister, and she's one of Overseer Wu's concubines."
Yang Ling's expression sobered. He cupped his hands at once:
"Thank you, Steward Niu."
Zhang Wei hadn't forgotten the pain this man had put him through. Seeing Yang Ling treat him so respectfully, he couldn't help a snort inwardly.