Chapter 81

Yesterday evening, the rain finally stopped. This morning, the air in the valley was exceptionally fresh, and it seemed that even Zhang Tie's nose could catch the scent of the green grass by the roadside. In contrast to this refreshing air, the road conditions in the valley had deteriorated significantly. The small paths that people had trodden out were now muddy and slippery, and one misstep could result in a fall and a body covered in mud. Zhang Tie had to slow down and walk leisurely towards the mine a few kilometers away.

Not long after Zhang Tie left the treehouse, he encountered two groups of trainees preparing to go hunting. Each group had more than ten people. When Zhang Tie passed by them, those guys glanced at the mining basket on his back with surprise, then their eyes flicked over him with a hint of disdain before they lifted their heads and walked away proudly...

Over the past two days, Zhang Tie had become immune to these looks of contempt. He couldn't remember when he had read a passage that said, "A man who cannot bear loneliness will never grow up." For Zhang Tie, the current situation was a process of growing up in solitude.

What was growing was the Black Iron Castle and Zhang Tie's gradually strengthening inner self.

After several days of hard work, the basic energy reserve value inside the Black Iron Castle had reached 2000. Compared to the mere dozens of basic energy reserves before the trial, the difference was enormous, nearly a hundred times. This was the result of Zhang Tie's labor over this period. By throwing various kinds of messy rocks into the Chaos Pool, these rocks and minerals were being rapidly converted into basic energy, making the Black Iron Castle stronger. With this energy reserve, Zhang Tie could already make some small terrain modifications inside the Black Iron Castle, such as creating a small pond, but he was not satisfied. He planned to accumulate a bit more and then make a decision based on his needs after the trial ended.

In addition to the basic energy reserves, the spiritual energy value inside the Black Iron Castle was also increasing rapidly. All the seeds given by Sister Teresa had sprouted and were growing well. The potatoes, corn, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, and other crops that Zhang Tie had planted in his private plot were also thriving. The Black Iron Castle, which was once a barren wasteland, was now beginning to show some scattered, vibrant greenery. The vitality brought by this greenery made Zhang Tie feel very happy every time he entered or left the Black Iron Castle. Taking advantage of the opportunity provided by the trial, Zhang Tie had been using his food to exchange for wild fruits and other items collected by the girls. Anything with seeds, Zhang Tie would bring to the Black Iron Castle and scatter them on the ground. Over the past few days, he had scattered seeds of more than ten types of wild fruits, mostly pine seeds. He scattered several acres of pine seeds in the Black Iron Castle. Some of the seeds were from plants that Zhang Tie couldn't even name, but he would pick them up or pluck them when he saw them and throw them into his mining basket. After entering the Black Iron Castle, he would casually scatter them on the ground, not caring whether they would grow or not.

Perhaps it was just a feeling, but for the past two days, while digging for minerals, Zhang Tie had a sense of being watched on his way to and from the mine. This morning, however, that feeling of being watched and followed was gone, which made Zhang Tie a bit curious. Was it his neurotic tendencies acting up again? But he didn't think too much about it.

After the first rain of June, dandelions sprouted everywhere in the valley overnight. The white fluffy balls of dandelions emerged from the grass, as if waiting for a strong wind. Seeing these cute dandelions, Zhang Tie felt very happy and, without any hesitation, picked over a dozen dandelion balls and threw them into his mining basket.

...

Half an hour later, Zhang Tie arrived at the iron mine closest to the Wild Wolf Castle. This mine was only about two hundred meters from the Wild Wolf Castle. Many people who came to mine gathered in this mine. Outside the mine, on the ground covered with weeds, there was a rusted, half-dismantled small mine cart track, as if telling the story of the former prosperity and bustle of this place. This mine might have been important in the past, but now it was just a place where a few unlucky students worked hard to earn food.

Because it was so close to the Wild Wolf Castle and under the watchful eyes of the girls, perhaps out of fear of embarrassment, no boys chose to camp here, which made the mine much quieter.

Every day, there were many new faces and some old faces disappearing. Those who truly stayed to mine here, Zhang Tie observed, were only about a dozen, including himself. Perhaps because this job lacked any sense of honor, the guys who decided to come here to mine were all introverted and taciturn, not very talkative. Zhang Tie had been working here for several days but hadn't made a single friend. However, this suited him just fine. It was better that no one paid attention to him. Zhang Tie also pretended to be introverted and taciturn, quietly working in the mine.

Outside the mine, there was a large area of abandoned gravel. On rainy days, these gravel stones made the roads around the mine much better to walk on, at least with less mud. The entrance of the mine was quite large, spanning several dozen square meters. Zhang Tie rested at the mine entrance, cleaned the mud off his shoes on a stone, and then took out a torch and a pickaxe from his mining basket. After lighting the torch, Zhang Tie held it up and entered the mine...

Even in broad daylight, after walking a few dozen meters into the mine and turning two corners, the mine tunnel became pitch black. Without a light source, it would be impossible to proceed. Fortunately, the ground in the tunnel was relatively flat, with few obstacles, making the dark, black tunnel a bit easier to navigate.

The light from the torch and Zhang Tie's footsteps startled a few bats at the mine entrance. The sound of their wings flapping in the dark mine was quite loud, often startling first-timers. Zhang Tie was also startled the first time he came, but he got used to it after a few more visits.

The light from the torch cast a shadow of Zhang Tie on the tunnel wall, moving with him. Each time he came, Zhang Tie couldn't help but secretly observe the strange walls of the mine. The yellow-brown walls were covered with strange, tire-like marks, densely packed throughout the tunnel. Zhang Tie was certain that these marks were not left by human activity. Each time he saw these marks, he thought of the legend of the gold-eating pythons that appeared here thirty years ago, as told by Sha Wen. Walking through these tunnels, which were three to four meters in diameter and extended deep underground, with strange marks all over them, and imagining the terrifying giant pythons that had crawled through these tunnels decades ago, Zhang Tie always felt a chill. It seemed that something in the darkness was always watching him, though he knew it was just a psychological effect, he still couldn't help but quicken his pace...

The faint sound of pickaxes striking rocks ahead calmed Zhang Tie's heart. It was the sound of pickaxes hitting the rocks. After walking several hundred meters further into the tunnel and reaching its end, a huge space appeared before Zhang Tie. This space was even larger than the Citizen Square in Black Flame City, resembling a natural cave. A few weak torches provided light in various places in this dark underground space. These torches, inserted by the miners at their work sites, were barely noticeable in the darkness. The sound of pickaxes striking rocks echoed in the space, sometimes distant, sometimes close. For those who had walked through the long, dark tunnel, seeing the faint light and hearing the sounds of pickaxes in the darkness brought a sense of relief and happiness. At least, that was how Zhang Tie felt...

Zhang Tie's usual mining spot was more secluded than others. It was another tunnel within the underground mining space, and even with a torch, the light didn't reach far outside. This tunnel also had several branches and turns, leading deeper underground. This place was ideal for Zhang Tie.

Arriving at his usual mining spot, Zhang Tie set up a small, inconspicuous mechanism at the tunnel entrance using a few pieces of gravel to alert him if someone was coming. He then completely relaxed.

He inserted the torch into a crack in the tunnel wall, and the light immediately illuminated the several dozen square meters of space. He placed his mining basket on the ground, took out the spare torches and dandelions, and then unstrapped his dagger, water bottle, and food from his waist. After taking a drink of water, Zhang Tie picked up his pickaxe, put all his strength into it, and joined the chorus of pickaxes in the underground cave!

While Zhang Tie was swinging his pickaxe, he didn't know that at the Wild Wolf Castle above, a message hawk from Black Flame City had brought the latest news from the past two days. Yesterday, a major event occurred in Black Flame City, and this event was related to the envelope Zhang Tie had sent. After a week of fermentation, the storm triggered by Black Flame City shook the entire Andaman Alliance. The rain yesterday seemed to be a harbinger of an even bigger storm to come for everyone in Black Flame City...

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