Grizzly Mine, the sunset gradually fading.
In front of the entrance to the mine cave, the back compartment of the electric tricycle was already piled high with various large and small ores, as well as eight raw logs that required a person to encircle, filling the electric tricycle the size of a mini truck to the brim.
"No wonder this tricycle is so expensive; the high price is justified."
Lin Qi looked at the ores and logs on the vehicle and sighed to himself, wondering when he could own one himself.
The ores on the electric tricycle, just by rough estimate, weighed two tons. A single load was worth 600 Bits. With the addition of the eight logs, if ordinary people in the Gao Wu world were tasked with transporting them, who knows how many trips they would need, but now just an electric tricycle gets the job done.
You could say that as long as you make four trips back and forth, you not only earn back the monthly rental of the tricycle, you also have thirty-two extra logs. With these logs, slightly refurbishing the training room of the Martial Arts Hall should be no problem.
The training room inside the Martial Arts Hall is a large standalone room, covering nearly 200 square meters and currently also serving as the place for players to rest and sleep.
Now the number of players has reached ten, and the floor inside the training room is already riddled with holes to the extent that many areas are unusable, resulting in the nearly 200 square meters of space accommodating only nine people presently.
As for the one remaining, they could only sleep in the small corner of the training hall.
If it could be refurbished, not only could it accommodate more players for rest, but also charge players a higher lodging fee, achieving two goals with one action.
Lin Qi directly rode the tricycle, waved at Luo Wushang and the other three, signaling them to sit on the logs.
"Ah, are we leaving already?" Twilight of the Gods said with a look of difficulty.
While Fang Zhen was also looking back at the distant forest step by step, making a reluctant face.
"What? Do you two want to sleep here instead?" Luo Wushang looked at the reluctant two, feeling curious, "Or have you developed feelings for the trees while chopping them down here?"
"How could that be? We just feel that the scenery here is quite nice." Twilight of the Gods quickly explained.
"Exactly, we usually stay underground where it’s dark as night, and now being able to see the sky and green trees makes us feel a lot better." Fang Zhen also nodded, looking very honest.
"Fine, next time we come here, you can chop trees all you like." Zhang Qingwei laughed while looking at the two who seemed addicted to chopping trees.
The task of transporting ores made earning Points too easy. This time she and Wushang both earned 60 Points in one go. If it wasn’t for the need to load logs onto the tricycle, earning 200 Points in one go would have been no problem.
"Alright, then next time we come here, leave the tree chopping to us."
"Being able to come out and enjoy the scenery now and then, I think it’s quite nice. Although we earn a bit less, our mood is what’s most important."
When Fang Zhen and Twilight of the Gods heard this, they were all smiles as they hopped onto the back compartment of the tricycle, their eyes filled with uncontrollable excitement.
"What’s up with them?"
Lin Qi found the two odd, as chopping trees was a tough job. He was even planning to increase the rewards next time, worried that no one would want to do it.
But now these two seemed to enjoy it, which was definitely odd.
Lin Qi then pulled up their data panels.
"Damn!" Lin Qi almost gasped when he saw their data.
Fang Zhen, Shattering Stone Fist First Layer Pile Shattering Realm Beginner (54%)
Twilight of the Gods, Shattering Stone Fist First Layer Pile Shattering Realm Beginner (33%)
In just half a day, their Shattering Stone Fist proficiency increased by more than 15%, as if they had hacks on. It’s known that proficiency gets harder to hone as it increases, especially Fang Zhen’s Shattering Stone Fist, whose proficiency had already surpassed his own.
"Hall Master, when can we come here again?" Fang Zhen asked Lin Qi with anticipation.
At Grizzly Mine, spending just half a day allowed him to reach 54% in the First Layer entry of Shattering Stone Fist. This efficiency was like a training holy ground, and if he could come every day, he wouldn’t even need a week.
He could become the first to break through the entry of Shattering Stone Fist, fully unleashing the power of the First Layer.
"We’ll be coming here every day from now on." Lin Qi said, looking at Fang Zhen in the rear-view mirror, also filled with joy inside.
Unexpectedly, the trip to Grizzly Mine yielded such great rewards: making money, fixing the Martial Arts Hall, and honing Shattering Stone Fist proficiency. Not coming here daily would be a huge loss.
The joy on Fang Zhen and Twilight of the Gods’ faces in the back compartment intensified upon hearing this.
"What’s up with those two? Are they hiding some secret?" Luo Wushang looked at the two with even bigger smiles and felt that this situation was definitely not as simple as it seemed.
"Doesn’t matter, we’re earning plenty as well." Zhang Qingwei smiled and also pulled up her attribute panel.
Strength: 97.8 kg. (Apprentice level target: 100 kg)
Speed: 10.1 m/s. (Apprentice level target: 10 m/s)
Martial Arts: Leopard Shadow Step First Layer Wind Chasing Realm Beginner (43%)
Zhang Qingwei didn’t quite understand why using Leopard Shadow Step in the mine cave led to significant enhancement, but since someone was willing to give her this opportunity, she was naturally happy to accept it.
The sky was darkening as night fell.
Lin Qi carefully drove the large tricycle through the desolate ruins, keeping a constant watch on his surroundings.
The wilderness outside Chasing Light City was extremely dangerous, even areas close to the city were no exception.
This was because, in the wilderness, not only could one encounter monsters, but also various forms of radiation, and a large number of illegal vagabonds.
Within Chasing Light City, whether in the abandoned area or the suburbs, people generally followed some rules, but in the wilderness, all rules became void; everything was determined by strength.
This was why Lin Qi was reluctant to come out here; if he didn’t have a certain degree of self-defense ability now, he would never have dared to venture out.
"Hall Master, there seems to be something over at those ruins," Fang Zhen suddenly pointed to a dilapidated small house, speaking with urgency.
Upon hearing this, Lin Qi turned to where Fang Zhen was pointing, tense with anticipation.
Sure enough, there was something lying beside the small house, but the sky was too dark to make out more than a blurred silhouette. Without careful attention, one might easily overlook it.
"Yes, there is indeed something going on over there. I can smell a faint scent of blood," Luo Wushang nodded in agreement.
"Is it a special scenario?" Twilight of the Gods looked at the situation and commented, likely suspecting a special storyline event.
As Twilight of the Gods spoke, Lin Qi instinctually rolled his eyes at him.
Damn special scenario!
This was clearly a problematic situation, and a major one at that.
Spotting a strange figure in such an abandoned place was troublesome enough, not to mention accompanied by the scent of blood—that was undoubtedly big trouble.
However, they were fortunate that Fang Zhen’s sharp eyes and Luo Wushang’s keen nose enabled them to identify the issue early, otherwise, it would have been difficult to handle the situation.
"Fang Zhen, can you see what that figure is about?" Lin Qi parked the tricycle and asked quietly.
They were still over thirty meters away from the house, giving them some room to react if there was any threat.
"It looks... it looks like a monster," Fang Zhen examined closely and confirmed, "that monster somewhat resembles a rhinoceros, just covered with multiple spikes, standing over three meters tall. But... this rhinoceros beast seems odd."
"A rhinoceros? Multiple spikes on its body?" Lin Qi felt uneasy at first but calmed himself to ask, "What’s odd about it?"
Crocodile-toothed Rhinoceros!
This was a relatively common monster in the wilderness, with formidable strength. Regular apprentice martial artists would have to flee at the sight of it; only true martial artists could kill it.
In terms of power, a Crocodile-toothed Rhinoceros could rival a martial artist, making it almost certain death for an apprentice to encounter one, with no chance of escape.
"That rhinoceros monster," Fang Zhen rubbed his eyes in disbelief, "seems to be missing half its body."
"Half its body?" Lin Qi was stunned and couldn’t help but ask, "Are you sure?"
"Positive," Fang Zhen nodded.
"Great! Excellent!" Lin Qi couldn’t help but smile.
The carcass of a Crocodile-toothed Rhinoceros was a treasure for anyone living in Chasing Light City, and if half was missing, it likely meant it was killed by another monster that ate most of it before leaving.
If a martial artist had killed it, nothing would be left, given the high value of its flesh and blood, priced at over 600 bits per kilogram. Even one ton would mean 600,000 bits, not to mention a significant portion of a Crocodile-toothed Rhinoceros, which would offer a substantial income for a martial artist.
This was an unexpected windfall from the heavens!
"Quick! Load that rhinoceros monster onto the vehicle and leave the logs behind," Lin Qi hurriedly commanded.
Half of a Crocodile-toothed Rhinoceros would be enough to repair more than half a martial arts hall, not to mention with the players’ help here, saving a little could make a complete renovation possible.
Fang Zhen and the others quickly took action, assisting Lin Qi. Together, the five of them spent nearly ten minutes finally loading the half carcass of the Crocodile-toothed Rhinoceros onto the large tricycle’s rear compartment.
"Great, everyone, get in the vehicle,"
Lin Qi urged Fang Zhen and the others to quickly get in the vehicle after securing the carcass.
As Fang Zhen and the others climbed back into the vehicle, an arrow flew in from a distance with a whoosh, narrowly missing Twilight of the Gods’ ear and piercing through the iron panel of the tricycle.
Twilight of the Gods looked at the arrow lodged in the tricycle, touched his cheek, and couldn’t help but angrily exclaim,
"Who the hell shot at me?"