With a flick of his chopsticks, the chicken fell right off the bone.

Cen An picked up a piece and popped it into his mouth… It was indeed very tender.

The chicken had been slowly braised in a clay pot, its juices rich and savory, infused with the aromas of spices, mushrooms, and moss—so fragrant it was enough to make one swallow their tongue.

Especially the thin layer of chicken skin on the outside—the fat was the most fragrant part, having absorbed the seasoning and the aroma of the moss, with a hint of lemongrass. It truly lived up to the description: fragrant yet not greasy, melting in your mouth!

As for the mushrooms and ground fruit inside the chicken, they were just as delicious as the meat itself. Tender and well-seasoned, they melted slowly in your mouth with just a gentle nibble of the tongue…

Cen An ate a chicken drumstick and a wing, then served himself half a bowl of wild berries and mushrooms, and already felt quite full. He settled down to slowly sip the remaining moss soup.

The moss soup didn’t provide much energy, but it was gentle, flowing little by little from his stomach throughout his body, as if a thin protective shield had been draped over him—he could no longer feel the cold, damp air of the cave.

Comfort.

Lin She’s complexion also improved; a hint of color began to rise to his pale cheeks.

Su Rui, as usual, polished off the rice Cen An had left, then asked him for an apple.

Cen An took out two apples and three fragrant apricots, and the three of them shared them.

After a century, these fruits had remained perfectly preserved in the Fresh Spirit Pouch; when held close, one could even feel the moisture of dewdrops.

Imagine it: perhaps on some early morning, the fruits were picked and carefully placed into the Fresh Spirit Pouch. Then, after spanning several centuries, they finally awaited their moment to be enjoyed.

Crunch.

That was the sound of an apple being bitten into; fresh juice spurted out, and a sweet, crisp fragrance wafted through the air.

“Kid, give me half,” Lin She, who was leaning against the bed, suddenly spoke up.

Su Rui held them up for comparison and handed him the smaller half.

Lin She was speechless at his stinginess, but took it without hesitation and took a bite. Sure enough, it was juicy and sweet.

Compared to apples, Cen An actually preferred apricots. Back in elementary school, there was an apricot tree on campus. Once the fruit ripened, every time he walked beneath it, he’d catch a whiff of that enticing fragrance.

Little Cen An would gaze longingly at them every time he passed by.

Perhaps because he was such a well-behaved child, a gardener picked a few and gave them to him. He only remembered that the apricots were small, hard, and a bit sour—he had to wait a long time between each bite. Yet they were among the few fruits he ever got to eat.

In comparison, the fragrant apricot in his hand looked much more appealing.

Cen An pinched the stem end and pulled it apart—the yellow flesh split open with the pressure, and crystal-clear juice seeped out, revealing a tiny apricot pit.

Cen An quickly took a bite; sure enough, it was sweeter than honey, both sweet and fragrant.

With even a post-meal fruit to enjoy, all three felt thoroughly satisfied.

As for the Green Shade Mouse, the little fellow was actually quite shy; upon seeing Lin She, it scurried into Cen An’s sleeve.

Cen An picked out a few items to feed it, but it only ate the mushrooms and moss—its appetite was indeed quite small.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Once they had eaten and drunk their fill, Cen An brought up the second matter at hand: “Senior Lin, we’ve found a way out. Will you be joining us afterward?”

“Oh?” Lin She opened his eyes slightly, a hint of interest in his voice. “It seems you’ve had some serendipitous encounters on the lower levels?”

Cen An briefly recounted what had happened in the stone house. “With this formula in hand, our chances of getting out are much higher. If you’re willing, Senior, you can come with us.”

Upon hearing that they were dealing with someone from hundreds of years ago, Lin She closed his eyes. “Why would I go out with you? Isn’t it fine here?”

Given Cen An’s sharp wit, he could naturally tell that this was merely a temporary dwelling for Lin She.

According to Su Rui’s account, Lin She had been in these mountains and forests for several years now, and such temporary lodgings were likely not limited to just this one.

With Lin She’s bearing and temperament, he didn’t seem like the sort to subject himself to hardship in the depths of the wilderness. The only question was whether he had come here to escape something or to accomplish something.

But since he didn’t wish to accompany them, there was nothing he could do. So he said, “Then we’ll have to trouble you, Senior.”

He was about to lead Su Rui away.

But then Lin She added, “There’s a leather sack in the corner. I have no use for what’s inside, so if you want it, take it.”

A leather sack?

Cen An was momentarily taken aback, but Su Rui reacted quickly, striding over and beginning to search.

In the corner lay a pile of firewood and dry grass, and sure enough, buried beneath it was a leather pouch.

He opened it and exclaimed, “This is…”

To his surprise, it was filled entirely with ore. At a glance, he could see gold ore, white crystal, emeralds, and various other low- and mid-grade ores!

Cen An couldn’t help but smile. Senior Lin might seem short-tempered, but in reality, he was just all talk and no action.

He also spotted a small bundle of herbs beside the haystack. Picking them up and examining them closely, he couldn’t help but warn, “Senior, many of these herbs are poisonous. Please be careful not to use them incorrectly.”

After a moment, a voice came from the stone bed: “Stop nagging.”

Cen An shook his head good-naturedly and finally followed Su Rui downstairs.

The two arrived at the seventeenth floor of their current expedition.

Sensing the unfamiliar presence disappear, the Green Shade Mouse cheerfully crawled out of Cen An’s sleeve and chirped twice.

Cen An saw its cheeks puff out as it pulled an apple seed from its mouth. He recalled that Su Rui had apparently fed it the leftover apple core earlier.

The little mouse held the seed up with its tiny paws, looked around, and buried it in a crack in the rock. This was the only spot on the entire level with a small pile of soil.

Cen An watched as it scooped up a handful of clear water to pour over it, looking quite diligent, and couldn’t help but smile, leaving it to its own devices.

He took out the ore from the animal-skin pouch and began to count it.

These ores were clearly just things Lin She had picked up along the way; there was no iron ore or copper ore to be found—the lowest grade was quartz.

After counting, the quantities were as follows: Quartz x25, Gold Ore x6, White Crystal x5, Emerald x5, Topaz x3…… What surprised Cen An the most was that there were also 4 Yellow Earth Crystals and 1 Sky Blue Sapphire inside! These were high-grade gemstones!

Cen An happily pulled out the recipes to check them one by one: the basic ore requirements were already complete!

As for the intermediate-grade ores, he was only missing: Pink Quartz x5, Yellow Sapphire x3, and Amethyst x2.

Although most items were still missing for the high-grade ores, the list was now much shorter: 1 Spatial Stone, 2 Stellar Iron, 2 Yellow Earth Crystals, 1 Sky Blue Sapphire, and 1 Starlight Ore.

Not only had the quantity dropped significantly, but the variety had also decreased considerably!

They were one step closer to going home.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

The two adults, along with a little mouse, continued exploring the lower levels of the mine.

Eighteen levels—not a very auspicious number.

Cen An could now climb the rope ladder on his own without any trouble, but Su Rui still insisted on following behind him, so that if anything happened, he wouldn’t have to worry about the boy falling.

So, Cen An followed Su Rui down the rope ladder. Halfway down, he felt a rush of hot wind beneath his feet.

Is it on fire? No… Ah, he remembered—there seemed to be such an environment in the mine: the magma layer!

Continuing downward, sure enough, he saw a dark red glow winding like a river beneath his feet.

Su Rui had already landed below and was looking up at him.

Cen An immediately quickened his pace and jumped down from the rope ladder.

The heat hit him like a wall, instantly making his face burn. “This is way too dangerous…”

Before he could finish his sentence, the ground beneath his feet suddenly cracked open. His body lurched to one side—but right next to him was the river of magma!

In the midst of the crisis, a strong hand grabbed him, while another wrapped around his waist, yanking him back to safety!

“That was close!” Cen An exhaled deeply. “Thank you…”

But before he could finish speaking, the ground beneath Su Rui’s feet also cracked open. While Cen An had merely stumbled, Su Rui plummeted down along with the chunk of earth beneath him!

Cen An’s blood ran cold. “Su Rui!”

Su Rui actually looked up at him, his face devoid of expression… Then, his falling figure blurred and vanished suddenly…

The entire mine shaft fell silent.

In that split second, Cen An’s mind froze. “Su… Su…”

Someone tapped his shoulder from behind. He spun around abruptly, meeting that sharp, piercing gaze head-on.

“Su…” Only then did Cen An realize he’d forgotten to breathe; the effort had left his vision going white.

Su Rui poked him again, his tone laced with a hint of amusement. “I thought you were going to cry…”

Cen An took a deep breath, looked at him, and took another deep breath…

Su Rui sensed something was off and quickly whispered an explanation: “It’s a spatial ability, you know. Isn’t it amazing? It can slice through space and let you teleport short distances. Want me to show you how it works…”

Cen An finally caught his breath, smiled, and walked past his feet. “Ah, there won’t be a second meal today.”

Su Rui:?

Su Rui: 

Su Rui: “Why? I didn’t do anything! What did I do…?”

Cen An circled the only source of sound in the cave, surveying the terrain of this level.

The reason the two had faced so many dangers upon descending was that they had landed right at the edge of a lava pool. The rocks along the edge had been baked by the lava for so long that they had become extremely brittle and could crumble at the slightest misstep.

In fact, the lava pool covered less than a quarter of this level’s area; as long as they avoided it, it was quite safe.

And because of the lava pool, this level was also rich in volcanic rock.

Volcanic rock was equally useful; besides crafting fire-element equipment, it could also be used to build fire-element traps.

These traps were nothing like the ones Cen An had used to catch rabbits before; these were traps capable of hunting down mutant beasts, and they were one of his greatest assets.

So, since they’d come across them, he naturally had to collect as many volcanic rocks as possible.

Just as he reached for a volcanic rock, a shadow darted over from the side. Su Rui beat him to it, picking up the rock and handing it to him. “Hehe!”

Cen An ignored him and continued searching for the next one. Su Rui had even better eyesight than he did; he quickly scooped up several stones and handed them over, trying to curry favor. “Here.”

Cen An’s lips twitched, but remembering what had just happened, he suppressed the urge and walked past him nonchalantly.

Su Rui was so flustered that he was pulling at his hair and scratching his head. He quickly scooped up a handful of volcanic stones from the ground and held them out to him. Seeing that Cen An’s expression remained indifferent, the guy—who knew where he’d gotten this sudden wit from—had a flash of inspiration and blurted out, “I was wrong!”

Cen An immediately retorted, “What did you do wrong?”

The moment the words left his mouth, they sounded odd—though he couldn’t quite put his finger on why…

Su Rui was even more baffled than he was. After a moment’s thought, he huffed and puffed in confusion, “I… shouldn’t have… fallen down?”

Cen An: …

He gave a calm smile. “Ah. Tomorrow’s meal is gone, too.”

A wail echoed through the cave once more.

Cen An’s lips twitched, and he finally couldn’t help but laugh.

After collecting every last piece of volcanic rock on this level, the two of them descended to the nineteenth level together.

This time, however, Su Rui refused to let him go alone, insisting on taking him down with him.

Cen An didn’t dare take the risk either, so he agreed.

The two climbed down the rope ladder together, and the first thing that met their eyes was a glimmer of silver.

Perhaps it was a case of “after the worst comes the best”—this level turned out to be a mineral bonus.

Yes, even in mines there are such bonuses, though the odds are low.

Cen An peered down as he landed and smiled. “It’s a silver ore bonus.”

Although they had already collected enough silver ore to craft a spatial gate, silver ore had a wide range of uses, so stockpiling more could only be beneficial. Not to mention, several types of defensive gear required silver ore as a material.

Su Rui saw that he had finally smiled and immediately felt relieved. “Wait here. I’ll get it all for you.”

He silently patted his chest. Strange—this human clearly couldn’t beat him, yet seeing him get angry actually made his heart flutter… Humans really are terrifying.

His spatial ability was incredibly useful for mining. With just a few swift movements, he used the power of space to transport all the silver ore from the mine shaft, piling it into a small mountain of silver right before their eyes.

Even though he knew that silver in this world wasn’t the same as money, Cen An couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed with excitement at the sight of the silver mountain. “How magnificent.”

Su Rui opened his hand again. “And there are a few of these.”

Cen An looked up. The Green Shade Rat in his sleeve, sensing the scent of plants, poked its head out.

The man and the rat examined it closely. Cen An smiled. “It’s a Green Crystal Fruit. I’ll make it into a snack for you later.”

Su Rui immediately perked up. “Are we making them today? I’ll go look for more!”

Cen An let him run wild. There wouldn’t be any dinner tonight, so he’d just make some dried fruit to satisfy his craving.

As he gathered the pile of silver ore on the ground into his backpack, a system prompt popped up: 【Congratulations on obtaining 68 silver ore.】

Even though he knew the power of the Easter egg, Cen An was still stunned by the numbers. If used to craft Silverlight Armor—a common defensive gear made primarily from silver ore—it would be enough for seventeen full sets, enough to arm Qu Yue and the others as well!

Easter eggs really do mean a bountiful harvest!

Since the previous few levels hadn’t required much effort, Cen An didn’t feel the need to rest and continued descending.

Levels 20 through 22 were unremarkable—just ordinary ore layers. The only notable gain was collecting two pink crystals, which slightly boosted his recipe collection progress.

The two soon reached the 23rd level.

Once again, Su Rui led the way down… Even before they touched the ground, the sound of rushing water reached their ears.

The sound was much louder than on the ninth or tenth levels. Cen An looked down and saw that the flow was indeed much stronger.

The surging groundwater had formed a wide river, winding in a semicircle around the stone cavern.

The two landed lightly on the ground. Just as Su Rui was about to step forward, Cen An pulled him back.

Su Rui tilted his head in confusion, but Cen An gestured to him and pointed at the rope ladder.

So, the two who had just descended climbed back up again.

It wasn’t until they returned to the twenty-second level that Cen An let out a long sigh. “That river is full of cave hydras.”

Su Rui thought for a moment. “Those transparent little bugs? But aren’t they Level 1 mutant beasts?”

The implication was: what’s so scary about Level 1 mutant beasts?

Cen An shot him a scornful glare. “They are indeed Level 1 mutant beasts, but there were hundreds, even thousands of them! And don’t be fooled by the fact that they’re in the water now—they can come ashore. Once on land, the cave hydra swarm emits a toxic mist; even a single drop will slow your movements and reduce your attack power.”

“Also, if more than a third of the group dies, the remaining cave hydras will immediately shed their exoskeletons and transform into cave flying hydras—at which point they become Level 3 mutant beasts! Just think about it: hundreds or even thousands of Level 3 mutant beasts—aren’t you afraid?”

Su Rui wasn’t afraid of Level 3 mutant beasts, not even hundreds or thousands of them. The problem was that the mine shaft was too small; many of his abilities couldn’t be used, which made things very troublesome…

So Su Rui nodded obediently. “I am afraid. What should we do?”

Cen An patted his dog on the head. “Let’s get ready first.”

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Cave Hydras are water-type mutant beasts, and as long as they’re water-type, none of them are immune to fire… So, volcanic stones came in handy.

3 volcanic stones and 2 pieces of coal can make 1 fire trap.

Coal is plentiful in the mines; it’s one of the most common basic ores, and he’d accumulated over sixty pieces in his backpack along the way.

As for volcanic rock, the 18th-level mine alone had provided him with twenty-six pieces.

So, Cen An took 24 units of volcanic rock and 16 units of coal to craft eight fire traps.

Once the Cave Hydra transforms into a Cave Flying Hydra, it will swarm through the air like a swarm of moths. But that’s no problem; Cen An has a solution for that as well.

2 units of Absorbing Grass and 1 unit of Fine Grass Rope can be used to craft 1 Blood-Binding Flying Net.

Don’t let the intimidating name fool you—it’s simply a trap shaped like a flying net. Once thrown, it unfurls in the air like a fishing net, dealing damage to any mutant beasts caught inside. It’s most effective against flying mutant beasts.

Cen An had a total of 35 units of Extraction Grass in his backpack. There was no point in being frugal now; he took them all out at once and crafted 17 Blood-Bound Flying Nets.

It must be said, the finished flying net traps were blood-red, resembling blood-stained spiderwebs—they certainly looked a bit terrifying.

Once the traps were ready, Cen An took out some Rock-Crevice Thorns.

The Green Shade Rat caught the familiar scent and crawled over to sniff it.

Cen An patted it on the head, took 24 portions of Rock-Crevice Thorns, and crafted a Thorn Armor.

This was for Su Rui to wear. Although he was formidable, there were simply too many cave hydras. If even one or two managed to slip through the net, it wouldn’t end well.

It was better to be thoroughly prepared.

Finally, Cen An took out the cave hydra shell powder.

He had a total of six portions of this: five were given to him by the owner of the stone house, and he had previously retrieved a shell from the river, which he ground into powder to make the sixth portion.

Cavern Hydra shell powder can be used to make defensive pills—but defend against what? Against the very poison mist emitted by the Cavern Hydras themselves.

It really is a bit of a dark joke.

He used all six portions to make two doses of Hydra Antidote Pills.

With that, all preparations were complete.

Starting with the fire trap, Cen An explained to Su Rui what each item was for and how to use it.

Su Rui listened intently. His combat instincts were truly remarkable; even though it was his first time seeing these two types of traps, he came up with several ways to use them in the blink of an eye.

As Cen An described each item, Su Rui stowed it away in his spatial pocket. Soon, it was time for the Thorn Armor.

The Thorn Armor looked quite imposing. Although the outer layer was covered in thorns, wearing it didn’t actually make him look like a hedgehog… or perhaps it was because the person wearing it was tall with long legs, which enhanced the aesthetic appeal of the outfit.

Su Rui looked at the armor on his body and asked, “Do you have this one too?”

Cen An was helping him adjust his clothes and replied casually, “What?”

Su Rui said, “This suits you better. Defense is just as good as offense. Later, I’ll gather more rock-crevice thorns for you, and you can wear them every day.”

Cen An laughed. “There are plenty of rock-crevice thorns left. I’m sure I have some too.”

Seeing that Su Rui didn’t believe him, he simply took out 24 portions of thorns himself and made a set to put on.

And so, two hedgehogs appeared in the stone cave…

As for the Antivenom Pills, Cen An gave both of them to Su Rui. He certainly didn’t intend for them to split them—he’d only be holding Su Rui back if he went down.

He’d made two because a single Ant-Shedding Antidote Pill only provided ten minutes of protection; two offered greater assurance.

However, once this was over, they’d have plenty of materials for more antidote pills.

Fully equipped, Su Rui climbed down the rope ladder once more.

Watching his figure fade away bit by bit, Cen An felt a twinge of anxiety.

Taking a few deep breaths, he listened intently for any sounds from below. He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but he seemed to faintly hear a few soft noises…

Before long, a wisp of mist rose from the mine entrance. The mist had a watery scent, somewhat reminiscent of early morning fog.

He recognized it immediately—it was the poisonous mist of the cave hydra. His expression turned grim as he found a rock of suitable size and blocked the mine entrance.

While Su Rui fought his way through down below, he had to protect himself as well.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Down below, Su Rui was holding his own.

Just as Cen An had said, the moment he approached the riverbank, the cave hydras inside immediately crawled out.

A dense swarm of insects instantly covered the riverbank. Although these transparent creatures didn’t look particularly terrifying, their sheer numbers were somewhat unsettling.

As more and more cave hydras crawled onto the shore, a white mist began to billow out.

Su Rui immediately felt his limbs grow heavy and his mind clouded… He realized this was the hydra’s poisonous mist and, having prepared in advance, took an antidote pill and swallowed it.

Almost instantly, the slight discomfort in his body faded away.

The corners of Su Rui’s lips turned up, revealing a defiant smile. His human was formidable; he had always known that.

Yet, at every moment, his human never ceased to surprise him.

As a Level 1 mutant beast, the cave hydra possessed no intelligence, only the instinct to drive out intruders.

Following the lead of their kind, they crawled up the riverbank, secreting toxins… then, they saw a red stone plummet from the sky.

The stone didn’t raise their suspicions; the transparent creatures continued crawling forward in single file. Until the red stone hit the ground with a boom, igniting a 3×3 grid of flames. The hydras trapped within the grid immediately thrashed, curled up, and died.

Cave hydras have extremely low defense; their bodies are practically nothing but a mass of water, so they essentially die upon contact with fire.

Su Rui raised an eyebrow and, thoroughly enjoying himself, tossed out a few more traps, clearing away vast swaths of insects. The insect corpses were almost burned to ashes, leaving behind only handfuls of gleaming crystal cores.

Humans would definitely love this.

The thought flashed through Su Rui’s mind. He curled the corner of his mouth and raised his hand to unleash a fire dragon.

The fire dragon roared as it flew past, causing the river water to boil and billow white steam, while the toxic mist in the air grew even thicker.

Realizing this approach wasn’t working, Su Rui immediately stopped and resumed casually tossing out traps.

At the same time, he was mentally tallying the number of dead cave hydras…

A third of them were killed in the blink of an eye, and the remaining cave hydras seemed to have received some command, all lying motionless on the ground.

Su Rui tossed out the last fire trap, and just then, the sound of flapping wings reached his ears.

Looking up, he saw Cave Flying Hydras breaking through the water’s surface and soaring into the air. The swarm of Level 3 mutant beasts exuded an aura of intimidation rivaling that of a Level 6 mutant beast.

The adult Silver Moon Wolf suddenly bared its teeth, revealing a smile brimming with aggression.

Hey, no need to rush into using the flying net just yet. Let’s have some fun first!