Chapter 45: The World of Miners

Baiyun Mining Area—its reputation pales in comparison to experiencing it firsthand!

As soon as I approached the vicinity of Baiyun Mining Area, I deeply understood what “miners gone wild” truly meant...

There were newcomers under level ten, as well as veterans in their teens and twenties, each wielding a shovel and charging in from the direction of Frost City with the fervor of an invading army, scrambling to flood into the mining area.

The eight major mine shafts within the vast pit teemed with a constant stream of people, coming and going in haste.

Here, I suddenly frowned: with so many players, how could the Goblin Warriors possibly survive inside?

With an uneasy heart, I followed the crowd into the leftmost mine shaft...

Inside the damp, gloomy tunnel, my mood grew heavier. Starting from ten meters within the entrance, the passage barely three meters wide was lined with players brandishing shovels, smashing wildly at the walls and floor on both sides. The relentless clang! clang!! of metal echoed, heat surging through the air.

At this point, I broke out in a cold sweat!

Under such circumstances, what foolhardy Goblin Warrior would dare show their face? If one did emerge, wouldn’t these miners simply pummel it flat with their shovels?

My spirits weighed down further as I followed the flow deeper into the mining area...

After two or three minutes, the tunnel grew increasingly crowded. Players lined up neatly against the walls, their movements oddly synchronized—raising their shovels high and bringing them down in unison.

The noise rang out in perfect rhythm! Impressive!!

Seeing them, a strange tremor ran through me, as if I recalled the scavenger folk of the Scavenger Planet...

Driving their antiquated scavenging machines, they toiled endlessly in the harsh, sweltering work zones, delivering load after load of dismantled metal components to the damned furnace workshops.

Though Baiyun Mining Area was merely a corner of this virtual world, it mirrored the real Scavenger Planet—no matter how dazzling the outside world became, it would always rely on those who quietly poured their sweat and blood into it...

Yet how many who bask in ample sunlight realize that, in dark and hostile environments, countless people labor silently, supporting the blue sky above?

With a slight sigh, I forced a wry smile and withdrew my gaze from the miners, pressing onward.

Along the way, I still saw no sign of the Goblin Warriors—only a few mangled corpses, trampled by the crowd and barely recognizable, lying in the passage, leaking dried black blood.

Depressing!

...

A few more minutes passed, and suddenly the tunnel opened up ahead!

A vast cavern, hollowed out, housed no fewer than a hundred miners, densely packed and facing the walls, their digging creating a cacophony.

Here, at last, I spotted the Goblin Warrior!

A goblin, with black-green skin and a stature barely reaching one and a half meters, stood with its back to me, wielding a two-meter-long black spear, locked in combat with a human warrior who seemed to have already changed class.

Goblin Warrior!

Were it not for the information reflected from the opponent, I might have mistaken it for some mutated creature—hunched, its skin riddled with folds... a sight that made one queasy.

However...

Just as I cautiously drew my Silver Beast Magic Dagger, preparing to test its strength, I realized the Goblin Warrior’s speed was not as swift as Holtz had described—certainly not faster than mine.

With my Silver Beast Magic Dagger equipped, my agility reached thirty-three points, giving me a definite edge in movement speed over the Goblin Warrior, though its attacks were rapid!

The black spear, of unknown material, flashed coldly at the tip, its swift thrusts making my heart skip a beat.

Yet the human warrior fighting it clearly outmatched the Goblin Warrior in combat prowess.

Braving a direct hit from the spear, he pressed in close, rendering the goblin’s weapon nearly useless, then hacked at it, sending the Goblin Warrior stumbling backward. Pursuing relentlessly, he struck several times at its head, and in a few blows, the Goblin Warrior lay defeated.

It was only then I noticed the warrior wielded a hefty mountain cleaver, sharp-edged and heavy—a strength-type fighter, no doubt.

Unfortunately, though he understood the Goblin Warrior’s traits and weaknesses, his fighting technique was crude.

Had it been me, my attacks would have been less frantic and sloppy… Moreover, by exploiting damage bonuses and repeatedly targeting the same spot, the fight could have ended even faster.

As I silently critiqued him, the warrior had already picked up a meager handful of silver coins and straightened up, pausing to focus on the Silver Beast Magic Dagger in my hand.

In fact, when I drew the dagger, many players had already cast astonished glances my way.

Those three dazzling lightning elemental halos symbolized attribute attacks, but more importantly, they signaled a silver-grade item! How could a level ten civilian, not yet class-changed, wield such a weapon—especially in a mining area teeming with players above level fifteen?

Yet soon enough, their surprise faded...

Silver gear without class restrictions was little more than garbage, perhaps only of use during class changes.

With that thought, the crowd quickly returned to their fevered mining frenzy!

Only the player before me lingered, staring intently at my dagger and calling out, “Friend, how much for that dagger in your hand?”

His greeting unsettled me: do people in this game always greet each other like this? Or do they simply not care whether someone wants to sell before asking outright?

Rolling my eyes, I shook my head and approached:

“Not for sale.”

“Not for sale?” His expression darkened, hefting the mountain cleaver onto his shoulder and sneering coldly, “Then get out of here... newbie!”