Chapter 81: Mining

After manually collecting stones once, she found that upon encountering another stone, she could use the system’s gathering skill. It appeared as though she were operating herself, but in reality, it was the system controlling her movements, allowing her to collect stone after stone quickly and efficiently.

Gathering stones was hard work. Even with the gathering skill, she became hungry very quickly. Fortunately, she had prepared enough food and water. She filled the pits herself by hand—not for any particular reason other than not wanting the dust here to worsen, though she wasn’t sure if it would help.

After searching the mining area for several hours, Yun Qing finally reached the central zone of the abandoned Han family mine. Before her feet stretched a bottomless pit; in the past, only valuable ores would have been dug so deep. Searching in such places might offer a better harvest.

When she entered the Han family mine, it was almost noon. After several hours spent digging for common stones, it was already near dusk. Yun Qing remembered the gatekeeper’s warning to leave before nightfall, but her harvest today amounted to only a few stones. For someone at the second postnatal stage, carrying even one of these stones would be difficult, and they wouldn’t fetch much silver if sold. In short, her efforts had yielded nothing.

She wasn’t sure what dangers the night might bring. Even the gentle breeze and ever-present dust made spending the night here quite a feat. If she didn’t stop to dig for stones, the journey would be quick, but now that she was already in the mine, she was unwilling to leave without exploring further.

At the very least, she wanted to see if the leftover scraps in the mine were worth returning for tomorrow. After all, there were many abandoned mines—if not this one, she could switch to another.

Following the winding and steep path, Yun Qing slowly descended into the mine. When she reached about ten meters deep, a text prompt appeared before her:

“Low-grade iron ore. Gathering skill level 21 required.”

The ore was about the size of a rice bowl, embedded in compacted soil rather than rock, making it easier to extract. After a few swings of her pickaxe, the system notified her:

Gathering experience +21; acquired low-grade iron ore *1.

Yun Qing focused on the heavy stone in her hand, its white surface speckled with black. At last, she had unearthed something different.

Low-grade iron ore: rich in impurities, a basic resource with wide applications.

With a thought, she placed the ore into her system backpack. Continuing downward, she found more stones and low-grade iron ore along the way.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Yun Qing saw a small group of miners coming up from the depths of the mine. Each carried a heavy pack. Their leader, level 39, had dust covering his head and face, obscuring his features. Half of the miners behind him possessed postnatal strength, while the others were below level 30.

Seeing Yun Qing searching for ore not far from the mine entrance, the leader called out, “Hey, little brother, it’s getting late—want to head out together?”

Yun Qing was still searching for ore. With her determination to become a resource hoarder, she even enjoyed scavenging. The man called again, and Liuli, beside her, reminded her, “He’s calling you, Brother Yun Qing.”

Only then did Yun Qing recall her appearance: a coarse linen robe made from beast hide, suitable for either gender, with her head and face tightly covered. Her still-developing figure made it impossible to tell she was female at a glance.

The miners here were, to some extent, desperate men. Yun Qing wanted teammates, but among men who rarely saw women, she couldn’t let her guard down. Her shelter wasn’t reinforced; she didn’t want to invite trouble—not out of fear of offending others, but of monsters destroying her home.

She replied in a hoarse voice, keeping it brief, “No, I’m waiting for someone.”

“All right, little brother, we’ll go ahead then.”

The group of a dozen or so passed by Yun Qing. She made way at the fork in the path, watching them leave with a touch of melancholy. “Liuli, staying overnight in the mine may be dangerous, but outside isn’t much safer!”

“You have enough food and a place to sleep. If there’s danger, you can retreat to your shelter. Spending the night in the mine isn’t impossible.”

“You have a point. I’ll keep digging for ore until I have enough, then leave this place for somewhere better to level up—and eventually travel to Rogue Cultivator City for cultivation techniques.”

With her decision made, Yun Qing stopped thinking about leaving for now. She continued searching for ore. More miners trickled out of the mine, and each time they saw her, they asked if she wanted to leave together.

After refusing several times—risking suspicion—Yun Qing simply retreated into her shelter when no one was around.

Production building, level one reinforcement.

Building Level One Reinforcement: Wood *2, Stone *2, Iron Ore *1.

In addition, she needed level 2 energy. Along the way, Yun Qing had gathered thousands of units of level 2 energy—more than enough for her needs.

She had plenty of wood, but only the stones and iron ore she’d gathered today—enough for four sets. She used her intermediate crafting machine to produce four sets of level one reinforcements.

After tending to her machines and farmland, Yun Qing lay down on her cracked wooden bed to recover her strength.

She’d slept on this rickety bed for quite some time. Every day she woke up full of energy, yet plagued by back pain. Who knew when such days would end?

Drifting into sleep, Yun Qing awoke to find all the level one reinforcements completed. Her backpack now held her latest harvest.

Building Level One Reinforcement: Used to reinforce ordinary buildings; non-tradable.

With a thought, Yun Qing applied one set of reinforcements to a one-meter-wide section of fencing. A hammer icon and progress bar appeared above the spot. A few seconds later, both vanished, and the previously dull fence section now gleamed orange.

Focusing on it, she discovered it even had a “health bar,” displaying defense 10/10.

The adjacent, dull-colored fence lacked a health bar or any defense display—no wonder even a chick could break it.

Next, Yun Qing reinforced the wooden wall. Its color shifted from gray to orange, and it, too, gained a defense value and health bar.

She did the same for a section of the floor and roof; the results were identical.

Now, her fence, floor, wall, and roof each had one glaringly orange patch among the otherwise drab surfaces—conspicuous and mismatched.

No, she thought, she needed to gather more stone and iron ore and reinforce the entire shelter as soon as possible.

With a thought, Yun Qing left her shelter. It was already dark outside, and the mine was pitch black. This abandoned mine was frequented by scavengers each day, but at night the workers all left—there was likely no one around.

Intent on gathering more ore, Yun Qing lit a torch and searched by its light. She could also use her internal energy to sense things and ore within two meters, but that would be exhausting and quickly deplete her strength.

A torch, on the other hand, illuminated a much wider area.

Following the winding path deeper into the mine, she found that iron ore—always low-grade—only appeared in hard-to-dig or easily overlooked places.

Even after reaching the bottom, her haul was meager.