After a good night’s sleep, Cen An blew his wooden whistle early the next morning to summon Su Rui.

The fellow tried to negotiate terms, but when Cen An shoved a piece of dried tangerine peel-cured bacon into his mouth, he immediately fell silent—the dried tangerine peel used for the bacon had actually been found in the snakeskin pouch he’d given him.

This time, Cen An didn’t let him use his wind-elemental abilities; instead, he made him accompany him while he traveled on his own. As they passed by, the map lit up as expected.

It took them half a day to reach the vicinity of the cave.

“Lumber, hardwood, ore, medicinal herbs…” Cen An quietly listed the items he needed, then turned to ask, “Are there many medicinal herbs around here?”

Su Rui: “Many…?”

Fine, he knew asking this guy was a waste of time anyway, so he’d just have to look for them himself.

He didn’t know if there were many herbs, but there were certainly plenty of trees nearby. Cen An reached into his bag and pulled out an axe.

The sound of chopping echoed through the deep mountains.

Su Rui watched for a while, finding it amusing, so he conjured an axe of his own, and the sound of chopping became a duet.

【Congratulations! You have obtained 12 pieces of wood】

In front of Su Rui, Cen An stowed the wood into his backpack.

Over a dozen pieces of wood vanished right before his eyes. Su Rui didn’t even bat an eye; he handed over the wood he’d chopped, muttering under his breath, “Always collecting all sorts of weird stuff…”

Cen An shot him a glare.

What followed was endless tree-chopping.

“Hm?” As soon as the axe struck, Cen An sensed something was off. A strong scent of pine wafted over, and when he looked up, sure enough, it was a pine tree.

A pine tree… it would be a shame to cut one down.

You can collect pine resin from pine trees; mix it with twigs and strips of cloth to make torches. Add some rushes and white crystals, and you can craft a wall lamp for lighting at night.

His little shack really needed this. Right now, he and Xiao Yi relied on the fire pit for light at night—it was bright, but it was just too hot.

Cen An skillfully carved a small wooden tube and hung it on the tree, then made a few slits in the bark. The tree had a strong pine scent, and in no time, he had collected five portions of pine resin.

Too bad he didn’t have any white crystal yet…

Ore, ore… Could it be that there are no mines near Yongning Village?

After cutting down five or six trees, Cen An was exhausted. He sat down to rest and took out the wooden bucket from his basket, which was filled with white grass soup.

The turmeric-colored broth tasted sweet and smooth—not bad at all. With a single sip, his lost energy gradually returned, and the soreness in his hands subsided significantly. It felt quite refreshing.

He glanced at his backpack; it already contained 124 pieces of common lumber, but not a single trace of hardwood or softwood was to be found.

He sipped the broth and looked at Su Rui, who was still chopping wood. “Are there any strange trees around here?”

Su Rui: “What do you mean by strange?”

“I mean trees with trunks that are particularly hard,” Cen An thought for a moment, “or particularly soft.”

“There are, but not over here. I’ll take you to them.”

Before Cen An could nod, he suddenly felt a gust of wind sweep beneath him, carrying him into Su Rui’s arms. Su Rui smiled smugly as he pulled him close, and the two of them soared into the air.

Cen An jabbed him hard in the ribs. “Are you being childish or what!”

Su Rui didn’t even flinch.

After floating for about ten minutes, they arrived at an extremely dense forest.

The trees here were indeed unlike ordinary ones; their trunks were black, and even the leaves were black, with a texture resembling plastic.

Cen An took out his axe and swung it down. The sound it made was like metal clashing—sharp and ringing.

Despite his strength, he managed to leave only a white scratch on the tree trunk.

Su Rui took the axe and swung it with two sweeping strokes—

【Congratulations! You have obtained Hardwood x3】

It was indeed hardwood!

Cen An’s eyes lit up with a smile. “That’s definitely it.”

Hardwood yields far less than ordinary wood; a single tree only drops three or four pieces.

Just the railing for the small courtyard would require four trees, and upgrading the ramshackle hut would require even more.

Su Rui didn’t know what he planned to do with all this, but chopping down these trees was no trouble for him—he could split them open with just two swings.

So, from then on, one chopped trees while the other collected the wood; working together made the task quite easy.

After clearing a small patch of hardwood nearby, Cen An was just about to suggest moving to another spot when he suddenly sensed something was wrong—a feeling of impending danger…

Deep within the dense jungle, a shadow lunged toward him with such speed that it left a trail of afterimages on his retina; he had absolutely no time to react!

Clang—

A deafening crash!

A long sword blocked the path in front of him. Hanging from the blade was a blue-gray, wolf-like mutant beast. Its eyes were blood-red as it stared at Cen An with excitement, its fangs clamped firmly onto the back of the blade, dripping blood-tinged saliva drop by drop.

Cold sweat broke out on Cen An’s back. The Windhunter Wolf’s jaws were less than ten centimeters from him; he could even smell the blood in its mouth. If Su Rui hadn’t blocked the blow for him, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Su Rui held his long sword aloft to block the Windhunter Wolf, while his other hand swiftly chopped down a hardwood tree with two swift strikes. He didn’t even glance in that direction, looking utterly at ease.

Only after the hardwood hit the ground did he toss aside his axe, grip the sword hilt with both hands, and twist it… The Windhunter Wolf, nearly as tall as a man, was hurled aside, and he charged forward after it.

What followed was a brutal… er, savage rampage.

The Windhunter Wolf was a Level 4 mutant beast, incredibly fast and possessing wind-based abilities that rivaled those of a Level 5. Even when playing games, Cen An rarely took on this creature alone.

Yet at this moment, the Windhunter Wolf was like a toy in Su Rui’s hands—he made it go east when he wanted it to, and west when he wanted it to.

It took only two minutes for the wolf to go from wild and untamed to whimpering like a puppy.

Two minutes later, like a battered stuffed toy, the Windhunter Wolf lay trampled under Su Rui’s foot, its tail tucked between its legs as it whimpered for mercy.

Su Rui shook his long sword and tilted his head. “Want to stab it a couple of times?”

Cen An hadn’t even had time to react. “Isn’t this a Level 4 mutant beast?”

“What’s the difference? Whether you have abilities or not, the level doesn’t matter.” Su Rui was completely unconcerned. “You love running into the mountains so much—how can you get by without honing your skills?”

That made sense, but it sounded so infuriating… Cen An’s lips twitched slightly. He drew his iron sword and walked over, then suddenly remembered something. “So why didn’t you let me try when you killed that spider last time?”

He thought for a moment, then asked suspiciously, “Did you think tearing off spider legs was too much fun, and you didn’t want to let me try?”

Su Rui replied solemnly, “How could I be that childish?”

Cen An looked at him for a moment, then nodded. “So you really did do it because tearing off spider legs is fun.”

Su Rui remained serious. “This Windhunter Wolf has been wounded by me and can currently only display the abilities of a Level 2 mutant beast. Is that okay?”

Cen An shook his head; a Level 2 mutant beast still couldn’t hurt him. He stepped forward and began to spar with the Windhunter Wolf.

Su Rui stepped back to the side, scratching his head in confusion. Strange—why can’t I fool this guy no matter what?

Though the Windhunter Wolf couldn’t understand their words, it had evolved a modicum of intelligence. With the restraints lifted, it didn’t rush to flee but remained cowering on the ground, trembling.

Cen An frowned, raised his iron sword, and just as he was about to strike, a sudden gust of wind whistled past his ear. A wind blade grazed his cheek; he dodged to the side, and a dark shadow flashed before his eyes as the giant wolf lunged straight at him.

Cen An instinctively swung his sword. Though the blow landed, it was rushed and left only a shallow wound.

The Windhunter Wolf had already passed him; mid-air, it twisted its body, its fangs aimed at the back of Cen An’s neck.

Thud—

Su Rui leapt into the air, landing on the wolf’s head and stomping it hard into the ground.

“Woo-woo-woo—” The Windhunter Wolf immediately looked pitiful.

Su Rui shook his head. “What terrible swordplay. Give me the sword.”

Cen An grimaced as he handed over the iron sword.

Su Rui examined it closely, then tested it. “It’s a fine sword.”

Cen An thought to himself, Of course it is—it’s a starter weapon from the system.

“But it’s not right for you,” Su Rui continued. “It’s too heavy; you’re too weak.”

He casually conjured a thin sword as narrow as a blade of wheat, “Use this to practice for now. Once you build up your strength, you’ll be fine.”

Cen An took it and swung it; sure enough, it felt much more comfortable than the iron sword.

The Windhunter Wolf was released once more.

This time, Cen An sparred with it for over half an hour, learning how to dodge wind-elemental attacks, how to deal with wolf-type mutant beasts, and a few sword techniques before finally piercing the wolf’s abdomen.

He didn’t have to deal with the carcass; Su Rui handled it in a few swift moves, sorting the crystal core, hide, and mutant beast meat into separate categories for him.

After that, the two encountered several more mutant beasts, and Cen An’s skills improved rapidly.

Now, he could handle third-tier mutant beasts without resorting to items like the Azure Blast Crystal Pills. As for fourth-tier mutant beasts, while he still fell short, he certainly wouldn’t be as helpless as he had been when facing the Binding Silk Spider last time.

As a result, his backpack was now filled with the carcasses of two Rock Armor Beasts, a Snow-horned Deer, and a Purple-backed Fanged Boar.

In addition, the two of them encountered a Thread-Clinging Bird-Catching Spider. Though also a spider, the Thread-Clinging Bird-Catching Spider wasn’t as massive as the spiders that attacked him before; it was only about the size of a tabletop and was merely a Level 3 creature.

Cen An fought it off for a moment before stabbing the spider to death. Sure enough, Su Rui happily stepped forward and began tearing the spider’s legs apart one by one.

As the two chopped down trees and fought mutant beasts, they found themselves venturing further and further away.

“202 pieces of common wood, 14 pieces of hardwood… That’s enough for a fence. Next up is medicinal herbs… Wait, what’s that?” Cen An looked ahead and saw a shimmering, moving mist. A faint, ethereal fragrance wafted from within it.

“That?” Su Rui glanced over as well. “Those are Illusionary Fragrant Butterflies.”

“Illuminating Fragrant Butterflies!” Cen An jumped to his feet. “So many of them!”

The Illuminating Fragrant Butterfly is a Level 1 mutant beast. Though its level isn’t high, it’s incredibly useful—the phosphorescent powder on its body can be used to create Illuminating Fragrant Mist, which has a crowd-stunning effect!

His supply of Azure Blast Crystal Pills was almost gone—wouldn’t replenishing it with Illusionary Light Mist be just the thing?

“The Thread-Clinging Bird-Catching Spider gave me three strands of silk—just enough to make an insect net!” Cen An immediately opened the recipe and crafted an insect net. He tugged at Su Rui’s sleeve, “Hurry, help me round them all up—not a single one should be left behind!”

This was exactly the kind of thing Su Rui loved to do. He leaped high into the air and landed right behind the swarm of Illumination Butterflies. Trapped between the two men with ulterior motives, the butterflies were herded toward Cen An.

Before the swarm could react, Cen An charged forward, insect net raised.

The system-issued net had a slight insect-attracting function; since the Illumination Fragrant Butterflies were only Level 1, they were completely helpless against it.

【Congratulations! You have obtained Illumination Fragrant Butterflies x4】

【Congratulations! You have obtained Illumination Fragrant Butterflies x6】

【Congratulations! You have obtained…】

Waving the net nonstop yielded a bountiful harvest every time. In less than half an hour, the entire family of Illumination Fragrant Butterflies was caught in one sweep.

【You have obtained Illumination Fragrant Butterflies x132】

Cen An casually opened the recipe: 3 Illumination Fragrant Butterflies yield 1 unit of Illumination Fragrant Powder, and 5 units of Illumination Fragrant Powder can craft 1 unit of Illumination Fragrant Mist.

The recipe started churning away… Ten minutes later, Cen An’s backpack contained 8 units of Illumination Mist and 4 units of leftover Illumination Powder.

“Are you done?” Su Rui asked curiously.

“Done,” Cen An replied with a smile. “Quite a bountiful harvest. Next… uh, wait, something doesn’t seem right.”

He furrowed his brow, suddenly remembering something: the Illumination Fragrant Butterfly. It didn’t seem to be a gregarious mutant beast, did it? Although they did perform a mating flight during the courtship season, that was on the water’s surface…

After asking Su Rui, he indeed received an affirmative answer, and Cen An’s eyes slowly lit up.

A large-scale gathering of the same species of mutant beast… this situation… it looked familiar to him!

Easter egg!

Those two words immediately popped into Cen An’s mind!

“There’s an Easter… a massive concentration of supplies nearby!” Cen An grabbed Su Rui’s sleeve. “Can you smell it? It’s on a massive scale. If it’s herbs, there must be hundreds of them; if it’s other supplies, there must be hundreds of portions too!”

“Is there such a good thing?” Su Rui’s eyes widened instantly. He sniffed the air with his high, straight nose, searching intently…

A moment later, he opened his eyes and pointed. “Over there! I smell something incredibly fragrant!”

Cen An was still trying to figure out what kind of resource could be “so fragrant, so fragrant” when Su Rui tucked him under his arm and took off into the air.

Cen An: …

Once they landed, before Cen An could even get angry, Su Rui said triumphantly, “Look!”

Cen An looked ahead and twitched his lips—sure enough, it was that “wonderfully fragrant” scent: a field of flowers!

But flowers are actually quite useful; they can be used to make many things. The Hundred Flowers Spirit Staff with healing effects, the Flower Soul Necklace that restores spiritual energy, the Hundred Flowers Spirit Dew that dispels negative states… though these all require other materials to combine with.

The simplest item was the Hundred Flowers Cough-Relief Pill—the one from the mixed potion bottle earlier—which required only fresh flowers to craft.

Additionally, there was another item: the “Hundred Flowers Divine Offering Tray.” This could be crafted with just fresh flowers and one piece of wood. As the name suggests, it was used for praying before divine statues.

Last time, the Ten Treasures Meat Platter earned Cen An a Raindrop Essence Cup, so naturally, he wouldn’t miss out on this Hundred Flowers Altar.

So, the two grown men dove into the flower field and began picking.

Picking flowers, of course, didn’t take much time. Half an hour later, the entire patch of colorful flowers had been picked bare by the two of them.

【You have obtained Fresh Flowers x167】

【You have obtained Nectar x11】

【You have obtained Pollen x9】

【You have obtained Cochineal x7】

【You have obtained Dewdrop Beetles x10】

【You have obtained Wind Chime Beetles x8】

The unexpected haul from the flower field turned out to be quite substantial!

Honey, pollen, and all kinds of insects—they’re all ingredients for recipes!

For example, combining honey with a Dewdrop Beetle creates a Honey Drop Pill, which neutralizes bee venom and blocks the perception of mutant beasts—very useful when encountering a swarm; mixing pollen with a Wind Chime Beetle makes a Wind Chime Scent Pouch, which blocks some miasma toxins and is an essential item for venturing into swamps; Cochineal Beetles are slightly more common and can be used to dye clothes…

What delighted Cen An the most was that he also obtained a Swordhorn Beetle, which can be used to craft Sword Enhancement Pills—taking one boosts attack power by 20%!

Unfortunately, Swordhorn Beetles are extremely rare; this was only possible because of the flower Easter egg. If he were collecting flowers in the mountains and forests under normal circumstances, he might not find even one after picking a hundred blooms.

Cen An happily packed everything away, feeling a bit regretful that he hadn’t come deeper into the woods sooner—the resources here were so abundant, all top-notch items!

It was far richer than the foothills, which had been combed over countless times by the villagers!

But then he thought better of it. Before he met Su Rui, he wouldn’t have dared to come here either; even the Level 3 and Level 4 mutant beasts alone could have devoured him down to the bone. So he let the thought drop.

“Are you done?” Su Rui asked, turning his head while playing with a bright red cochineal beetle in his hand.

Carmine beetles aren’t rare, so Cen An paid him no mind and replied, “I’m done. We can go… Ah!”

Cen An was standing right in the center of the colorful flower-covered field, surrounded by grass that had been picked bare by them. At a glance, it looked perfectly flat… but suddenly, he felt a gap open up beneath his feet!

The hole was actually expanding. Cen An’s feet sank right in, and his body lurched sideways. In his panic, he reached out to grab the edge and pull himself up, only to find himself clutching a strong, powerful hand… The next moment, he was pulled tightly against a chest, and the two of them fell into the darkness together.

On the ground, a black hole suddenly appeared in the midst of the colorful flowers and eggs, then vanished just as quickly.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

With a dull thud and a violent jolt, the two of them hit the ground together.

It was pitch black all around, not a single glimmer of light, only the scent of dampness.

Beneath them lay soft, loose sand, which cushioned their fall perfectly; neither of them was injured.

In the darkness, the sound of fabric tearing echoed.

Su Rui:?

Just as he raised an eyebrow, a flash of fire lit up the space.

Cen An held up a torch; a strong scent of pine resin wafted out, and the yellow glow illuminated his calm face.

“Where did you get that torch? Did you bring it with you?” Su Rui tilted his head in confusion.

“I made it just now.” Cen An shone the light between them and realized he was still sitting on the man’s lower abdomen; he quickly stood up. “Cough. This looks like a cave.”

Su Rui stood up as well, nonchalantly brushing the dirt off his clothes. “It’s a mine shaft.”

Cen An froze. “A mine? Are there mines near Yongning Village?”

Su Rui thought for a moment. “There’s one deep in the mountains. This is my first time seeing one, too.”

Cen An nodded. His initial excitement at discovering the mine subsided slightly as he continued to survey his surroundings. “This mine doesn’t seem very productive.”

They had fallen straight down from the surface and had no idea which level they were on. There were very few ore deposits in this mine; so far, Cen An had only spotted a few pieces of iron ore, two shiny pieces of copper ore, and a single piece of quartz.

He picked up the seven or eight pieces of ore and stuffed them into his backpack. “Looks like we’ll have to keep moving forward to find a way out.”

Su Rui, of course, knew this. The opening they’d fallen through was already sealed. He’d just scanned it with his earth-elemental ability; if they tried to force a hole open, several thousand cubic meters of soil above would likely collapse all at once—it would be extremely dangerous.

Therefore, searching for another way out was the safer option.

The mine shaft was vast and silent. The two of them inside felt like tiny insects tossed into an ink bottle—it was a bit unsettling.

Cen An tore off another piece of cloth, fashioned a torch, and handed it to Su Rui. The light finally grew a bit brighter.

“Do you want this?” Su Rui, with his sharp eyes, pointed to a piece of ore half-exposed on the wall and asked.

Cen An peered over and said, “Yes!” This was exactly the white crystal he’d been hoping to find—he quickly pulled out his pickaxe.

Su Rui chipped it loose for him in just a few quick strikes.

【Congratulations! You have obtained 1 White Crystal】

Next came iron ore, copper ore, and more… The two explored the entire mine but found no exit; instead, they discovered a downward-leading passage.

Since some mine exits are indeed located on lower levels, they decided to go down and take a look.

Su Rui lowered himself down first, then used his wind-elemental ability to pull Cen An down… Cen An landed smoothly. Before he could even look up, he heard the flapping of wings. “A bat monster?”

Su Rui had already fired a metal spike, and the bat monster crashed to the ground. He glanced at it. “A Level 1 Fanged Blood Bat.”

Cen An did the math. “This must be the second level of the mine. We were on the first level just now.”

It seemed that their lack of encounters with mutant beasts earlier wasn’t due to good luck, but rather because there were no mutant beasts on the first level of the mine.

As for how many levels this mine had, that was hard to say. The number of levels in a mine isn’t fixed, but the more levels a mine has, the more likely it is to contain rare ores.

The obsidian Cen An had previously traded for from Yu Fei wouldn’t appear until the 60th level of the mine.

Level 1 Fanged Blood Bats aren’t particularly useful, so Cen An casually mined their crystal cores and mutant beast meat before continuing onward.

“Nothing but copper ore and iron ore—this mine really is a dead end,” Cen An sighed. Though he said this, he didn’t let a single ore go to waste.

Over there, Su Rui flicked his wrist, sending a piece of ore flying straight into his hand. “Fine… all right, quartz.”

Quartz isn’t exactly useless—it’s needed later for brewing barrels, pickling barrels, alchemy machines, and even logging machines.

But no matter what, the fact remained that this was the most commonly dropped stone—apart from iron ore and copper ore…

Perhaps because the surroundings were too quiet, Cen An found himself talking more than usual, muttering under his breath, “Give me a blue crystal… Alright, a blue crystal might be too extravagant. Then an amethyst… Pink crystal… or maybe a few white crystals? It takes three to make a wall lamp.”

Another whoosh of wind came from over there, and a piece of ore landed precisely in his hand—it was indeed a white crystal.

Glancing back, Su Rui’s eyes were bright, and a smile played at the corners of his mouth as he gave him a thumbs-up. “Hey!”

Cen An’s lips twitched, and he burst out laughing, “You’re something else.”

After exploring the second level, their haul consisted of 4 Fanged Blood Bats, 10 Iron Ore, 3 Copper Ore, 1 Quartz, and 1 White Crystal.

Man, this mine is so stingy.

There was no exit, of course, so they continued downward.

The number of Fanged Blood Bats on the third level suddenly increased; a rough count revealed there were over a dozen.

But they were only Level 1 mutant beasts; no matter how many there were, they were just a piece of cake for Su Rui.

Both of them felt quite relaxed. For the last three, Su Rui even stood by and watched, letting Cen An take the lead to practice.

Cen An had never faced enemies flying in the air before; it took him three consecutive practice runs to finally figure out the trick.

Su Rui didn’t care about the crystal cores at all, so he handed them all over to Cen An to keep.

So, his backpack now contained 14 crystal cores and 14 pieces of mutant beast meat.

The third level was a monster lair—not a single ore in sight.

Next came the fourth level: the usual trio of Fanged Blood Bats, iron ore, and copper ore; the fifth level added a pink crystal; and on the sixth attempt, he finally unearthed another white crystal—enough to make a wall lamp…

In the blink of an eye, the two had reached the seventh level.

The moment they landed, Cen An sensed something was wrong. Apart from where they’d landed, the ground in the mine was solid rock—hard as a rock—but now, the ground beneath his feet was soft, sandy soil…

Wait a minute, this environment seems…

Before Cen An could finish his thought, Su Rui had already lifted him up. “Huh?”

Right where he was standing, a flesh-colored worm as thick as a calf’s leg suddenly burrowed out of the ground. It opened its hideous, gaping mouth to bite, but upon realizing no one was there, it quickly retreated back into the earth.

“A Level 2 Mutant Beast—the Burrowing Worm?” Cen An frowned slightly. “This one’s going to be a bit tricky to deal with.”

Burrowing Worms could burrow deep into the ground, making them impossible to hit normally; one could only attack when they reared their heads to strike. If you didn’t time it right, you’d easily get bitten. Cen An had suffered plenty of losses at their hands in the past.

“Hm?” Su Rui was confused. “What makes them hard to deal with?”

He tapped the ground with his toe, and the smooth sandy soil began to churn. The worms beneath the surface surged upward as pebbles sifted through a sieve, writhing in confusion on the surface. Su Rui had already scattered a handful of iron nails, impaling each one to death.

“Uh…” Cen An, held aloft like Simba, ventured, “The difficulty is that it’s hard for an average person to lift a grown man?”