Chapter 25

"Whoa!~" After clearing out a group of thieves, Mu Feng finally leveled up to level 13. At the same time, Xiao Xi, who had been diligently casting Natural Blessing on Mu Feng, also leveled up to level 2. However, after leveling up, Xiao Xi didn't gain any stats, and the skill level of Natural Blessing didn't increase. It was unclear at what level Xiao Xi would be able to upgrade to level 2 Natural Blessing.

During this time, Xiao Xi and the assistant robot 01 had become quite familiar with each other. Xiao Xi even learned a highly challenging trick—hanging underneath the assistant robot 01 and letting it carry her around while flying.

Since the name of the intelligent robot 01 was too long, Mu Feng renamed it to Qiu Qiu. After all, it was just a flying copper ball. Thus, an amusing scene unfolded: while Mu Feng was fighting monsters, Qiu Qiu would zoom past with its propellers whirring, followed by Xiao Xi's excited screams. As Qiu Qiu passed by Mu Feng, Xiao Xi would cast a Natural Blessing on him. When monsters dropped items, Qiu Qiu would fly over and automatically pick them up, sending them to Mu Feng's backpack.

Pushing forward, Mu Feng mowed down the monsters like a bulldozer, quickly gaining experience. Soon, Mu Feng, along with his two flying pets, arrived at the entrance of a mine.

"Ding, the player has successfully explored the Emerald Mine, +20 experience points." The system notification sounded as Mu Feng stepped into the Emerald Mine.

As soon as he entered, the light dimmed, and the sound of clinking could be heard. A group of small dog-headed men with candles on their heads were busy mining. Mu Feng's appearance immediately drew their attention, and they howled, raising their mining picks and charging at him.

Mu Feng confirmed the quest content: to kill the band of thieves controlling the Emerald Mine and rescue the hostages from Lionheart City's patrol team. He then activated his Sacrifice ability and charged forward. The combination of Blade Rush and Sacrifice quickly killed the dog-headed men. He continued advancing.

"Who are you? How dare you interfere with the affairs of the Death Thieves! Die!" Finally, Mu Feng encountered the thieves. A group of thieves dressed in black leather armor and wearing red masks charged out.

Of course, they ended up as corpses on the ground. However, to Mu Feng's surprise, Qiu Qiu had also leveled up! Could mechanical constructs level up? Mu Feng had never expected this, so he immediately moved forward to test Qiu Qiu's damage.

"Tap, tap, tap, tap." -2, -2, -2, -2... Mu Feng was completely disappointed...

No matter what dropped, even a copper coin, Qiu Qiu would fly over the loot, shoot a red beam from its bottom, and all the items would be teleported to Mu Feng's backpack. This was the only thing that comforted Mu Feng.

Pushing through to the deepest part of the mine, Mu Feng finally found his target. The leader of the Death Thieves, along with two subordinates, was guarding a gray cage, inside which was a disarmed human warrior. The three thieves consisted of one large and two smaller ones, with one being an elite level 18 monster.

Van Cleef: Level 18 Elite, 18,000 HP. Leader of the Death Thieves.

The other two were level 15 Death Thieves Elite Guards, each with 15,000 HP.

"Xiao Xi!" Mu Feng called, and Xiao Xi knew it was time to fight. She flew over and cast Natural Blessing on Mu Feng, who then immediately used Blade Rush to charge forward.

"Swish!" -832! Blade Rush brought Mu Feng behind Van Cleef, and he immediately turned, leaped, and swung his weapon.

-1078! The powerful blow was terrifying, but Mu Feng's attack was interrupted. Van Cleef's figure suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind Mu Feng, striking him with his dagger.

-374! -154! -156! Three damage numbers appeared on Mu Feng.

"Ding, you have been hit by Van Cleef's Bash skill, stunned for 1.5 seconds!" The system notification sounded, and Mu Feng was frozen in place.

"Damn!" Mu Feng hadn't expected Van Cleef's skill to be a combination of Stealth and Bash, leaving him stunned. Without hesitation, Mu Feng activated Soul Burn, instantly increasing his attack and defense by 300%. The sudden boost in defense allowed Mu Feng to easily withstand the 1.5-second stun. Once the stun ended, Mu Feng immediately used Life Stone to restore his health and activated all his skills to eliminate Van Cleef and his subordinates.

"Fools... our cause is just!" Ignoring Van Cleef's dying cry, Mu Feng took the key Qiu Qiu had picked up from his backpack, walked to the cage, and opened it, freeing the hostage.

"Let's go, I'm here to save you!" After escorting the hostage back to Lionheart City, Mu Feng gained a large amount of experience and leveled up to level 17. He had 25 free attribute points, which he allocated as 10 Agility, 10 Stamina, and 5 Intelligence.

Van Cleef also dropped a blue leather helmet. Red Silk Mask: Leather, (Excellent), +11 Agility, +10 Stamina, +40 Armor. It was the same red mask worn by Van Cleef and the other Death Thieves. When Mu Feng put it on, it covered his face below the eyes, leaving only his starry eyes exposed.

By this time, it was already 5:00 AM. After creating Qiu Qiu, Mu Feng's Engineering skill had increased by 50 points, reaching the level required to craft Bronze Grenades. Mu Feng then bought some materials from the auction house and spent the remaining time crafting several dozen Bronze Grenades for backup. He finally logged off at 5:40 AM.

Exiting the game pod, Mu Feng felt very refreshed since the mysterious crystal's energy had not surged again. He went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for Xiao Jiu. After finishing the breakfast, Xiao Jiu appeared in the living room on time.

"Xiao Jiu, come and eat!" Mu Feng placed the breakfast on the table.

Today's breakfast was, as usual, nutritious, with a fried egg, grilled sausage, and... a full glass of milk! Although Xiao Jiu was almost 14 years old, her height and body development were... so she was very concerned about her nutrition. Mu Feng was happy that Xiao Jiu was willing to eat such a nutritious meal.

After finishing breakfast quietly, Mu Feng personally escorted Xiao Jiu to school. This had become his routine, and he did it every school day.

"Study hard, Xiao Jiu!" Mu Feng couldn't help but remind her as she got out of the car. Although Mu Feng didn't expect Xiao Jiu to become a great person in the future, she needed to master basic knowledge.

"I know, servant. Hmph, the subjects at school are a piece of cake for me!" Xiao Jiu replied in her middle schooler way. However, she did appreciate Mu Feng's concern. Wearing her school uniform, she looked adorable. But when classmates greeted her, she suddenly turned serious and ignored them, refusing to communicate with anyone. In her world, there was only Mu Feng and herself. Seeing Xiao Jiu like this, Mu Feng couldn't help but feel a bit worried.

As she walked forward, Xiao Jiu's thoughts drifted back to the game. "Hmph, I'll reach level 20 tonight. Then I'll find my brother and surprise him! Oh, and I'll introduce him to Xiao Die, my only friend... She still doesn't believe that Melancholic Wind is my brother!"