Chapter 42

Why say it's a pile of strange stones?

Because normal stones, although they may show various different colors or vein patterns.

But stone has a unique texture that always lets one feel at a glance that it is stone.

But that pile of stones is not like that; the whole pile is bluish-black, almost no mottled veins, the color on each stone is quite consistent.

The shape is rather arbitrary, but from the fracture surface of the stones one can see that these stones were likely knocked off by violence.

But these are still normal; what really makes Lin Yifan feel strange is.

This pile of stones……is actually glowing!

Just like the halo behind the Buddha's head, it is emitting a faint halo.

Lin Yifan squeezed his eyes shut hard; he almost thought his eyes were playing tricks, closing them three times in a row before confirming he wasn't seeing things and hadn't looked wrong.

That pile of stones is indeed glowing!

Such a strange school, how could he turn a blind eye?

He hurriedly chopped away the thorny vines blocking his front and quickly walked to the pile of stones.

And at this moment he finally knew what that pile of stones was.

【Premium Iron Ore】×16

Iron content: 99%

(Special reminder: Premium iron ore cannot be directly used in industrial manufacturing; it must be forged into cast iron in a Casting Furnace before it can be used.)

"There's still iron ore!"

Lin Yifan picked up a piece of iron ore with a face full of surprise; although only fist-sized, it weighed a good ten or so kilograms.

No wonder the iron content reaches as high as 99%!

It's just a pity that iron ore cannot be used directly; it must be cast in a Casting Furnace.

These past few days, Lin Yifan has been buying various blueprints, yet he has never seen a Casting Furnace blueprint.

The blueprints he received these past few days are actually not many, because the blueprints on the market are basically the most basic.

He has already purchased one copy of each useful blueprint; the remaining optional ones need not be collected.

And for industrial-type blueprints like the Operation Platform, Synthesizer, and Casting Furnace, he has bought all he could see; unfortunately, so far he has only managed to buy the Operation Platform blueprint.

The Synthesizer and Casting Furnace have never appeared.

Aside from other things, Lin Yifan has been longing for this Synthesizer for a long time.

The Shelter's upgrade conditions are becoming increasingly harsh, and the required materials have shifted from basic to intermediate.

Basic materials can be gathered in the wild; for example, Basic Wood can be obtained by chopping trees, Basic Feed by striking stones, and Basic Clay can be dug oneself.

But intermediate materials are different; aside from Treasure Chests, currently only the Synthesis Room can synthesize basic materials into intermediate materials.

Moreover, the function of the Forging Table is not solely for refining iron ore; if he wants to forge weapons, he also needs the Forging Table.

Especially for weapons of fine quality or above, not only can the Forging Table craft them, but there are also requirements for the Forging Table's level.

For example, the Bronze-level Weapon he currently holds, the Gale Chasing Cloud Bow, requires a medium-level Forging Table to be crafted.

Of course, Lin Yifan now only hopes to possess a basic Forging Table; otherwise it would be overreaching.

In fact, if he truly wanted a Forging Table blueprint, it is not impossible.

Ruan Qingdan has already promised him the Talent Use Rights for next week; as long as he prepares a Treasure Chest, he can 100% obtain what he wants.

Originally he wanted Ruan Qingdan to help him open a Level 4 Shelter Blueprint.

But now it seems the Forge Table and Synthesizer blueprints are more important.

If he cannot obtain these two blueprints going forward, he will only be able to consume Ruan Qingdan's Talent Count for next week.

Lin Yifan, while thinking, swiftly tossed all the ore into his space, then stood up satisfied.

Originally he wanted to continue forward to clear a path and explore, but thinking lunchtime was approaching, there happened to be a large stone nearby, and this spot had a broadleaf tree, with hardly any rain.

So he simply sat on the large stone, took out the steamed buns he brought in the morning, and prepared to settle his lunch.

Just then, the small cave beside the iron ore over there suddenly emitted a faint movement.

"What is it?"

Lin Yifan immediately turned his head to stare at the small cave, and instantly saw a dusty rat head poking out from inside.

"Rat?"

Lin Yifan was slightly stunned, then instantly felt a bit disappointed.

He had originally thought if it were a rabbit, he could catch it and have a quick bite; but it turned out to be a rat, which made him lose the idea of having a snack.

If it were a couple of days ago, he would definitely not despise a rat.

But now it's different; now he has a shovel, bread, and wild boar meat in his space, so there's absolutely no need to eat rat meat.

So the rat was frightened by him into a panicked flee, and he also couldn't be bothered to catch it.

However, at this moment Lin Yifan suddenly discovered that the mouth of the small cave, due to the rat's panicked scramble, had actually collapsed a large chunk.

Then he saw that inside the cave there was actually a pile of chestnuts!

This is a great thing!

Whether boiled into a sweet soup to fill the stomach or made into sugar-roasted chestnuts as a snack, both are quite good choices.

Moreover, the rat's nest having chestnuts indicates there must be chestnut trees nearby.

Although he doesn't understand, if he can find them, he can again accumulate some food reserves.

Lin Yifan hurriedly pulled the chestnuts out of the cave, and they actually amounted to four or five catties.

He picked up a chestnut, peeled it open; the chestnut meat inside was still very fresh, and eating it was crisp and sweet.

Unable to resist, he stubbornly gnawed four or five raw, then satisfiedly stuffed all the chestnuts into his space.

Unexpected gains always make one's mood pleasant!

After Lin Yifan put away the chestnuts, he sat back on the stone, satisfied, and continued to eat the buns.

However, thinking of that pile of iron ore, although there are as many as 16 pieces, by volume, if all were forged into cast iron, there should be quite a lot.

There are still many places that will need cast iron later; this little bit is still a drop in the bucket.

It would be great if we could find an ore vein!

Iron ore never exists in isolation, and moreover this is high-grade iron ore with 99% iron content; it must come from the core position of an ore vein.

There must be iron ore nearby!

It seems that in the afternoon, besides looking for a water source, iron ore and chestnut trees also need to be added to the search targets.

Meanwhile, while he was thinking and calculating, the five buns he had brought were all eaten.

So he did not linger any longer, got up, and prepared to continue clearing the path and exploring.

The afternoon rain was a bit heavier than the morning's; the dense rain curtain fell on the raincoat, actually producing a noisy sound.

Such weather really made him a bit irritable, but he still steadied his mind and continued clearing the path and exploring.

The afternoon's harvest was not bad; by only 1:00, he had found two treasure chests, and one of them was green.

This made his mood quite good!

However, his good mood lasted only four or five minutes before being dispersed by the strange sight before his eyes.

Because a water pool appeared before him!

A pitch-black water pool as deep as an abyss, whose bottom could not be seen at all!