Chapter 6

The cave 3 kilometers southeast of Maocao Village was actually discovered recently, and the system occasionally refreshes a new spot near the newbie village.

This is a new mine, of course. Even if the mine is near Maocao Village, the value of any valuable minerals would be limited.

It wasn't until Li Dalong actually arrived at the scene that he realized the 20 copper coins given by Contra weren't just a freebie, but were calculated to be spent quickly.

The cable car took people underground, and the mine entrance was blocked by a large group of players.

These people clearly formed a gang, each one looking like a melee-type warrior, almost all wielding black large cleavers.

Well, actually they were scythes, but the cold light gleaming from the black scythe blades was quite intimidating.

At least it intimidated the hearts of level 1 and 2 newbies, who were precisely the ones being blocked from entering to find minerals and make money.

Dozens of newbies were blocked at the entrance, grumbling and complaining, but they only dared to vent their frustration and no one dared to force their way in, after all, who had the courage to challenge the black scythes with a newbie wooden stick?

"What's going on?" Li Dalong, who was never afraid of trouble, sneaked up.

"Stop!" A burly warrior blocked him, "If you want to go in to find minerals, you have to pay the toll first."

"But I don't see any toll booth here." Li Dalong could always align his thoughts with the other party's logic.

The warrior ignored his sarcasm and explained in detail, "This mine was discovered first by our 'Wild Cannons' team. In theory, we shouldn't monopolize it, but the monsters in this mine aren't something you newbies can handle. We've also figured out the spawn pattern; they only spawn once a day. We've already cleared the monsters today. Everyone says, shouldn't those who go in show some appreciation?"

So that's how it is, Li Dalong realized these people weren't as unreasonable as he thought, and the warrior's words made some sense.

The warrior continued, "Moreover, we guarantee that if any newbie maliciously grabs territory or engages in PK leading to death, we will take a zero-tolerance attitude. We want to create a fair and healthy mining environment for all newbie brothers..."

Ha, what are you, a scythe warrior? You should go into politics; you're even giving official speeches in the deep mountains.

"How much is the toll?" Li Dalong clearly agreed with his explanation.

There was no choice; when you're a newbie, you have to bow your head. Who are you to argue?

The warrior answered, "There are 1 to 5 caves here. Cave 1 is 5 copper coins per day, Cave 2 is 8 copper coins per day, Cave 3 is 12 copper coins, Cave 4 is 15, and Cave 5 is 20."

This was what other newbies couldn't tolerate. Even if you went to kill lizards in the desert, working hard for a day to collect lizard skins and selling them to the NPC in the village would only get you 1 copper coin. You'd need to work for 5 days to get the entry ticket, but you might not find minerals in one go after entering. Isn't this a losing deal?

But Li Dalong didn't think so. His thinking style was always to make wild guesses.

The first thing he thought of was the 20 copper coins given by Contra. Contra didn't give 10 or 30, but specifically 20, which suggested that this mine and this price were probably known to Brother Contra.

And since the prices for the 5 caves were different, it proved that the value of the minerals in each cave was different. The Wild Cannons team must have seen this when they discovered the mine.

Cheap things aren't good, and good things aren't cheap. Other newbies were still grumbling, but Li Dalong directly opened the trading panel: "Brother, I'll pay, I want to enter Cave 5."

The warrior's attitude immediately changed: "Ahaha, brother, you're straightforward. I wish you find the magic crystal. I'm Violent Blood Blade. If you have any problems inside, call me anytime. I'll help you solve everything. Oh, brother, your name, a hard cucumber? A great tool for flirting..."

Li Dalong didn't bother to chat with him and sprinted towards the entrance of Cave 5.

He ran like a mad dog because his time was much more precious than other newbies. The system would force him to log out in 3 hours. If he didn't dig anything in these 3 hours, the 20 copper coins he paid today would be wasted. If he wanted to come in tomorrow, would he use a wooden stick to clear the way?

The mine wasn't deep, and there were oil lamps lighting the way, showing that the Wild Cannons team had invested some capital in their bullying.

Running to the deepest part, Li Dalong opened his tool box, observed for a while, and then took out various shovels and hammers to start working.

He didn't realize it himself, but the person next to him was quite shocked.

The toll for Cave 5 was extremely high, so it wasn't surprising that someone entered. But bringing professional tools and working so fiercely indicated that the person had a background.

Having a background wasn't surprising, but the way this guy "worked" was truly terrifying. Li Dalong first used a hammer to smash a pile of rocks in the corner, then took out a spade to dig furiously, and after that, he used a mini drill to poke and stab wildly. His speed was astonishing, and his strength was far beyond that of a level 1 or 2 newbie.

This was certainly due to Li Dalong's powerful innate attributes, but the most striking point was that Li Dalong's various actions were like a hungry wolf pouncing on a beauty, tearing, biting, gnawing, grabbing, and killing... in short, just one word: "work"!

Of course, such reckless work wouldn't accomplish much.

In just a few minutes, his mental attribute was completely drained, and he could only sit on the ground, panting like an old ox.

"This... this brother," the person next to him asked cautiously, "I'm Dingding Fish."

"Hello!" Li Dalong was always friendly, "What's up?"

He then realized that in Cave 5, there were only himself and Dingding Fish. Dingding Fish was dressed exactly like him, clearly not exceeding level 2, and they were clearly comrades at the same stage.

"Brother, what are you digging so urgently? Can I help?" This was a deliberate attempt to curry favor. A level 1 or 2 newbie who could bring professional tools and dig so fiercely must have some high-level, generous friends behind them.

Actually, he was completely wrong. Li Dalong was now in a tough spot, exhausted like a dead dog, and penniless.

Think about it, who could spend 20 copper coins to enter Cave 5 to mine, besides Li Dalong and Dingding Fish? So, was Dingding Fish simple?

"Oh, not digging anything, just digging around!" Li Dalong replied with a smile.

To Dingding Fish, this meant the other person didn't want to reveal his purpose.

This was normal. After all, the first time players chatted, they always had some defensive mindset. It's a basic experience in the world to not reveal everything to everyone.

But Dingding Fish still secretly speculated. Could this guy be after the magic crystal?

He wouldn't have speculated if it were better, but this speculation led to trouble.

After resting for about a few minutes, Li Dalong's mental value was fully restored, and he swung various tools to continue his mad dog mode, working frantically.

Again, in just a few minutes, he achieved nothing and had to sit on the ground, panting like an ox.

However, after doing and sitting, sitting and doing, about seventeen or eighteen times, suddenly, a crisp "ding" sound rang out, extremely pleasant. A small object, about the size of a longan, rolled out of the pile of soil, looking like purple crystal.

"Huh?" Li Dalong picked it up and examined it, "What's this?"

While he was "huh," Dingding Fish's eyes turned green. Damn, what good luck! I've been in this cave for almost three days and only got some junk, but you, after just one or two hours, managed to get a magic crystal.

This mindset was actually wrong. Li Dalong did have some luck, but the fundamental reason was his mad dog mode, working hard. The place Li Dalong dug had formed a 5-meter deep pit. In contrast, Dingding Fish just stepped here and there, how could he find anything good?

The magic crystal is the most basic but most precious item in "The Ninth Continent," as the energy inside can be extracted and turned into a crystal source.

The crystal source is the essence of all things. It can be infused into equipment to enhance attributes, or directly forged into equipment. It can be used as a technological energy source or as magical energy. It can feed and train beasts, or be embedded with runes. It can even be used to make all kinds of things, such as houses, vehicles, weapons, food, and daily necessities. In short, this item is the fundamental energy source that sustains the world.

Of course, the amount of crystal source extracted from the same magic crystal by different people varies, depending on their skills and level.

Don't think Li Dalong, who was just entering "The Ninth Continent," didn't know about magic crystals. This item not only exists in the game but is also the foundation of the real world.

In today's human world, all energy depends on magic crystals. Huge fleets of warships roam the universe, hoping to discover planets with magic crystals.

The federal government's design and concept for "The Ninth Continent" also drew from the real world, where interstellar warships explore various planets. In short, the federal government also hopes that players will understand how difficult it is to obtain magic crystals, teaching them to cherish and save energy.

At this moment, Dingding Fish was envious, but Li Dalong, the mad dog, was feeling lonely and cold, because this wasn't what he wanted.

"Brother, what's the quality?" Dingding Fish started probing again. The quality of the magic crystal is its grade, the higher the grade, the better the quality, and the more and purer the energy extracted.

"The quality is 12," Li Dalong didn't hide it this time, as he had no concept of the grade.

But his indifferent expression betrayed him. Dingding Fish could see clearly that this guy wasn't here for the magic crystal, but probably for some raw materials to synthesize items. So he decided to take a chance and asked boldly, "Brother, what are you digging for? The thing you want... I might have it."

"Hmm?" Li Dalong's curiosity was immediately piqued.

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