Chapter 228: Return to the Mine

It was a quiet day, and watching the youthful school life of those teenage boys and girls, Su Sheng sometimes wondered if, had he not joined the army, he would now be having a similar youthful school life.

But youth has already been pledged to the nation, and although Su Sheng isn't really that old now…

After work he got home, ate dinner, chatted with his parents for a while, and at a little past 7:50, his dad was even more impatient than Su Sheng and rushed back to his bedroom to play the game.

Returning to the game, Su Sheng appeared in an outdoor tent at the level‑45 training spot in Zhu Que City.

He had logged off here about the same time while grinding yesterday.

The loot was decent; the little fellow had already reached level 33, and Su Sheng's experience bar was a little over forty percent into level 41.

At least it was a level‑45 monster, so the experience it gave was acceptable.

He calculated the time; the dwarf said it was 24 hours, but he wasn't sure if that counted offline time. If it's 24 real‑world hours, he'd be able to go find them in another two or three hours.

If it's 24 in‑game hours, then he'll have to wait until tomorrow.

He'll check later; anyway there's nothing else going on.

Su Sheng pulled out a green‑quality meat patty and started gnawing it.

The shop only sells white‑quality food.

Not bad; he had to admit the green‑quality food his own production made tasted decent—this virtual‑real game perfectly replicated taste.

Su Sheng is now an ordinary chef, and the chance of producing a green‑grade grilled patty is only ten percent.

This green grilled patty also has a bonus effect: Strength +3 for ten minutes.

Although that attribute is useless to Su Sheng, it's still a food with a bonus.

As for the big rabbit head he harvested back in Newbie Village, Su Sheng also took it out to cook yesterday.

Spicy Rabbit Head (Green)

Category: Food

Effect: Fullness +80

Bonus: HP +500

Duration: 10 minutes

Green‑grade ingredients always produce at least green‑grade food, and if the chef's level is high enough, they might even crit into blue.

Unfortunately, there was only one serving.

Su Sheng smacked his lips and kept grinding monsters.

He'll go check the dwarf mine in Wutong Town later.

Su Sheng kept thinking about the Divine Artifact material—Three‑Color Tree Heart—and whether it could be forged.

A Divine Artifact…

Looking at the equipment leaderboard, the top Divine Artifact made his eyes water with greed.

That player didn't want the Divine Artifact; back then, Su Sheng and the rest of the crowd never got one.

In Su Sheng's anticipation, the two‑or‑three hours flew by.

Su Sheng immediately used a Return City Scroll, returned to Zhu Que City, fetched the Demon God Tree Heart from his warehouse, and then used a Teleport Array to arrive at Wutong Town.

He then spurred his mount and galloped straight to the coordinates of the dwarf mine.

A crimson‑red figure sped across Wutong Town's road, drawing the attention of many players.

"You think this Mo Wen Qianchen isn't just showing off his mount on purpose, right?"

"Leaving aside whether he's actually showing off, just tell me whether you're jealous or not."

"He's not the only one with a mount; it seems the world's Shen Wang also got one."

"Are mounts that easy to get? When we hit level 40, can we also easily obtain one?"

"You're dreaming; before the Recharge System launches, mounts and pets will lock out most players."

"What do you mean? Got insider info?"

"My many aunts and uncles… basically my relatives, in the Yanhuang Guild!"

"And then?"

"Yeah, go on."

The show‑off player didn't see any envy on the faces of nearby players and felt a bit disappointed.

As for envy, he didn't know which of your relatives is in Yanhuang; it's not like you yourself have anything to be jealous of there.

Of course, if he were in Yanhuang, he wouldn't be here flaunting to them.

Wutong Town has several hundred thousand residents, yet the Yanhuang Guild has only a little over three thousand members; considering the Assassin Alliance already has over a thousand, joining Yanhuang isn't easy.

"That's based on the info the Mo Wen god shared inside the guild."

"Pet and mount eligibility each costs 500 Gold Coins, so a pet plus a mount costs a thousand."

"I'm talking 1,000 Gold Coins, eighty thousand cash!"

Su Sheng naturally didn't know the other players' endless chatter.

About twenty minutes later, Su Sheng had already sprinted to the spot of that dwarf mine.

By then the dwarf mine's entrance had been completely altered, with a stone wall built up about three meters high, giving it a somewhat miniature appearance.

Back then the troll boss was already about three meters tall.

However, a few small Bed Crossbows were mounted on the wall.

They still had a bit of deterrence; although they looked a little smaller than those on Wutong Town's city wall, Su Sheng was surprised the wall had been erected so quickly.

But those Bed Crossbows—if dwarven forging is supposed to be superior, why do these defensive ones look so weak?

The wall's notice indicated that a few dwarf NPCs with green names were patrolling.

Green names denote the friendly side.

Su Sheng rode his horse closer, and the dwarf NPC on the wall immediately became alert.

After seeing that it was Su Sheng, they relaxed.

"Explorer, it's you, huh? Our place is small, please dismount and come in," the dwarf NPC greeted Su Sheng.

"Alright!" Su Sheng replied, then dismounted; this place was indeed a bit cramped, and he felt he could at least walk in and even bump into the City Gate.

"Has your forge been repaired? Can we forge today?" Su Sheng asked as soon as he entered.

"Yes, Explorer, I'll take you to see the leader."

Su Sheng followed the dwarves into the mine; not only had the outside changed dramatically, the interior of the mine had also been completely transformed, gaining a sense of daily life. Though it was still a mine, it no longer had the cold, gloomy atmosphere of the Dungeon at the start.

From time to time, some dwarves passed by, curiously eyeing Su Sheng; they said nothing when they saw the dwarf who was guiding Su Sheng.

"These are the clan members who were scattered across the lands before. Explorer, after you helped us reclaim our home, you gathered them back together," the guiding dwarf explained to Su Sheng.

Upon hearing that, Su Sheng nodded and asked, "Have you always lived here?"

"No…" the guiding dwarf said, sounding a bit despondent, "We dwarves once had a kingdom, but it fell under the attack of the Demon Race, and the Dwarf Race was forced to scatter and wander across the lands."

"I'm sorry…" Su Sheng said, apologizing upon hearing that.

"It's fine. I grew up in this mine; when the dwarf kingdom fell, I was just a little kid, so I didn't feel much," the guiding dwarf said with a smile.

Soon, under the dwarves' guidance, Su Sheng saw the dwarf leader again, Iron Hammer.