The heavy crystal core put Cen An in a lighthearted and cheerful mood. Though he usually wore a stoic expression, this time joy shone in the corners of his eyes and brows, as if a dot of cinnabar had been added to an ink-wash painting, bringing it to life in an instant.

Su Rui sat cross-legged on the ground, watching him. As he watched, a smile crept onto his face. This guy usually wore a fierce, cold expression, and it was rare to see him smile like this; his gaze, however, resembled that of a dog looking up at its master.

Cen An sensed his smile and turned his head, asking, “What are you looking at?”

Su Rui: “Heh.”

Cen An shook his head and chuckled. After a moment’s thought, he pulled a large handful of crystal cores from his backpack. “Here, a little something for everyone.”

“What am I supposed to do with this?” Su Rui folded his arms behind his head. “It’s not like it’s of any use.”

Cen An asked curiously, “Aren’t you an ability user? Don’t you need to absorb crystal cores?”

Although crystal cores contain frenzied energy, for now—at least until Cen An’s farm is upgraded—absorbing crystal cores remains the primary source of power for ability users.

At worst, once he’s accumulated enough frenzied energy, he can just munch on some Chinese cabbage!

Su Rui shook his head. “I have other, better ways.”

Cen An didn’t press the matter. He put the crystal core away, clapped his hands, and said, “Let’s go. Keep heading down.”

Level 24 of the Mine.

This was a standard level with both ore deposits and monsters.

The moment they landed, they encountered three Corrosive Ore Worms.

These were also common Level 3 mutant beasts found in the mine shafts—arm-length insects resembling earthworms, with soft mouthparts capable of spraying corrosive fluid that sizzled as it hit the ground.

Although the corrosive fluid of these mutant beasts is potent, their defense is weak, and they aren’t very fast.

Su Rui descended the rope ladder without even setting foot on the ground, then flew back up and hurled a fireball at them—the three massive worms were instantly reduced to ashes.

Cen An picked up the crystals. As the worms burned, their flames illuminated the surroundings, allowing him to clearly see the layout of this level.

Beyond the twentieth level, the mine contained more copper ore than iron ore. The mine was quite spacious, divided into two chambers, and was completely flat with no unusual terrain.

Cen An gave the ground a light tap, and a clinking copper ore rolled out. As usual, he picked it up and stuffed it into his backpack.

Su Rui was now a seasoned worker; he left the easy-to-pick ores for Cen An while he himself held a pickaxe, clanging away at the rock wall.

He understood—after all, they needed everything except the land itself.

The Green Shade Rat was even more obedient; the tiny creature would scurry off the moment they touched the ground, gathering unusual plants to bring back to it’s master.

Cen An felt, for some reason, as if he’d moved into a mine shaft with his whole family in tow…

【Congratulations! You have obtained Copper Ore x2】

【Congratulations! You have obtained Coal x3】

【Congratulations! You have obtained Mine Sand x2】

After a series of notification sounds, Cen An chuckled softly, “There’s actually Mine Sand here?”

Su Rui asked out of habit, “What exactly is Mine Sand?”

Cen An: “Mine Sand isn’t particularly useful. Although you can use a furnace to turn it into gold bars, that’s about it. However, according to legend, a long time ago, Mine Sand used to attract many gold prospectors. The mine is dangerous, and many prospectors have died inside. Their lingering spirits turned into ghosts, haunting those who entered the mine and forcing them to complete tasks for them…”

He was, of course, referring to the quest descriptions in the game. As a farming game, Happy Farm also features some side quests, issued by various NPCs. The Mine Ghost quest is one of the easier ones to trigger.

Generally speaking, the sign that triggers the Mine Ghost quest is the mine sand.

Of course, that’s just in the game; in reality, there’s certainly no such thing as a ghost…

Cen An fell silent.

In the dark, damp mine, the temperature dropped inexplicably by a few degrees, as if a cold breeze had swept through.

Su Rui turned around, puzzled as to why he’d stopped mid-sentence, only to see Cen An silently raise a finger and point toward the corner.

Su Rui followed the direction of his finger and saw a semi-transparent figure standing in a corner of the mine.

The figure was gaunt, with sunken cheeks, a pale complexion, and a blank expression. His clothes were tattered and worn, as if they hadn’t been changed or washed in a long time. His mouth moved, emitting a chilling, ethereal voice: “Kind travelers, please help me. Kind travelers, please help me…”

“What is this…” Su Rui asked, looking over.

Cen An tilted his head, gesturing for him to read his lips: Ghost!

He hadn’t expected the system to recreate even this detail… Or perhaps, this world actually had ghosts?

Then again, considering they even had supernatural abilities, the presence of a ghost… didn’t seem all that surprising.

Although the Mine Ghost was designed to be a bit scary, it wouldn’t attack players, and completing the quest came with rewards—rewards that were usually quite generous… Thinking of this, Cen An’s fear subsided.

He took a step forward and said calmly, “What do you want us to help you with?”

The mine ghost seemed to regain a bit of its senses, its gaze focusing. “Kind traveler, are you willing to help me?”

Cen An nodded. “Yes, I’m willing. So, what kind of help do you need?”

The Mine Ghost’s quest wouldn’t be too difficult; it usually had to do with an obsession from their time alive—like eating a certain dish, delivering a personal item to a specific place, or delivering a letter…

The ghost spoke slowly, “My wife was an excellent cook; she loved making apple pie. Every time I eat apple pie, I’m reminded of her sunny smile. I haven’t seen her in a long time. Kind traveler, please bring me a slice of apple pie.”

…Just as I thought.

He just hadn’t expected the quest item to be an apple pie… He did have apples, though—the apple and apricot he’d found earlier in the stone house. He’d saved one of each, intending to bring them back for Xiao Yi to eat.

It seemed he’d have to use them now.

Cen An opened the recipe book and, sure enough, found the apple pie recipe. He then took out the required ingredients one by one.

Su Rui spotted the bright red apple and cleared his throat. “What’s this? Weren’t you going to take it back for that unwanted child to eat?”

Cen An shot him a glare, too lazy to argue with him.

The recipe activated, and a round apple pie quickly appeared on the wooden tray, its golden crust giving off the sweet scent of apples.

Cen An took a small knife, cut the apple pie into four pieces, and handed one over. “Here, eat up.”

The Mine Ghost took a piece, just as expected.

Hmm… I wonder how the ghost manages to pick things up, since his body is already semi-transparent…

Well, I guess there’s no need to dwell on that right now…

The mine ghost’s pitch-black mouth opened wide, and he shoved the entire slice of apple pie inside. The sudden inhumanity didn’t inspire fear, but rather a sense of heartache.

Tears welled up in its vacant eyes. “Thank you… Thank you. I’ve already seen her… I’m going… to find her…”

The translucent figure emitted a flash of white light, and Cen An couldn’t help but close his eyes… When he opened them again, the Mine Ghost was gone, leaving behind only an amethyst and a letter.

“Huh?” Cen An exclaimed in surprise. “The reward for this mission is so generous—it’s actually an amethyst!”

Amethyst +1. With this, they were only one amethyst short.

He picked up the letter. The envelope was open, its edges frayed—it was clearly something that had been handled many times. He opened it and read.

“My wife, Yong’an, when I left home, you were already pregnant. I wanted you and our child to have a better life, so I decided to go down into the mine to pan for gold. Little did I know that this departure would be our final farewell. I don’t know if the child was born safely, or if you’ve been doing all right…”

This was a letter that was never sent. Cen An looked at the signature: Geng Qingxue of Yongning Village.

Huh? So this mine ghost was actually from Yongning Village?

Cen An thought for a moment, then put the letter in his backpack as well. He didn’t know if his wife or descendants were still alive, but if they were, he would deliver the letter to them—it would at least serve as some closure.

Putting the amethyst away as well, Cen An held out the remaining apple pie. “Want some?”

No one answered.

Su Rui tilted his chin. “Hmph, aren’t you going to bring it to that unwanted kid?”

Cen An wasn’t about to indulge him. “Take it or leave it. If you don’t eat, you’ll go hungry.” With that, he started to put it away.

Su Rui quickly stepped forward, grabbed a slice, and growled, “I’ll eat it. I won’t starve!”

Cen An: …

He picked up a slice as well, tore off a small piece, and handed it to the Green Shade Rat, then took a bite himself.

The golden, flaky crust was fragrant and crisp, while the fruit filling inside was soft, tender, and sweet, with a rich apple aroma—truly a delicious dessert.

The delightful sensation of the sugar lingered on his taste buds, lifting his spirits.

After just one piece, Cen An felt a bit full, so the other piece went straight into Su Rui’s stomach without a fight.

After finishing their morning tea, the two continued collecting ore.

After killing three more Corrosive Ore Bugs, there was nothing left on the twenty-fourth level, so they headed down to the twenty-fifth.

Climbing down the rope ladder as usual, Cen An hadn’t even had a chance to look up before Su Rui pulled him into his embrace.

After waiting quietly for a moment, sensing the tense muscles beside him relax, he finally lifted his head. “What’s wrong?”

Su Rui shook his head. “The spatial energy… It’s chaotic.”

Cen An looked around. “Could it be that the exit just vanished from here?”

Su Rui thought for a moment. “It’s possible. The Mica Stone Scroll says the spatial energy at this exit is chaotic, and it could be that Sen Wan has just finished organizing it.”

Cen An immediately felt a pang of regret, but then he thought better of it. They hadn’t gathered all the materials yet; even if they encountered a spatial gate, they wouldn’t be able to leave. It would be better to save their luck for later…

With that in mind, he crawled out of Su Rui’s embrace and continued mining.

It was still the standard layer of monsters and ore.

This level had an unusually high number of monsters: Level 2 Stone-Shelled Hard Crabs and Level 1 Fanged Blood Bats attacked in waves. Occasionally, where the ground was exposed, Burrowing Beetles would launch surprise attacks, and there were even two Corrosive Mine Beetles.

These creatures looked annoying, but they weren’t much of a bother to Su Rui—it was just a matter of two quick blasts.

Ore was scarce, with only a few scattered copper nuggets; it was basically a total bust.

Cen An shook his head. “This level was a loss. Let’s go to the next one.”

“Cheep cheep!”

The sound of the Green Shade Rat suddenly echoed from within the stone cave.

This little fellow was usually very quiet and rarely made a sound unless necessary, so Cen An quickly looked up at it. “Where are you?”

The little green rat was nowhere to be seen, but its chirping continued, “Cheep! Cheep~”

As they spoke, Su Rui had already reached a stone wall. “It’s here, inside.”

Cen An hurried over and tapped the wall. “There’s a hidden passage here!”

A “hidden passage” refers to an extra stone chamber within a mine shaft, but its entrance is sealed by a thin layer of rock—you have to break through the wall to get in.

There weren’t many hidden chambers in the mine, but whenever one appeared, there was usually something valuable inside.

Cen An tapped his way around the stone wall and finally discovered a small hole where the wall met the floor; the Green Shade Rat had likely entered through here.

He roughly pinpointed the location of the hidden entrance, grabbed an axe, and handed it to Su Rui.

Su Rui, as if holding a toothpick, tapped the wall twice with a clang, and sure enough, a small, chamber-like space was revealed.

The Green Shade Rat scampered over, tugging at Cen An’s pant leg with one little paw while pointing inside with the other, “Cheep! Cheep!”

It looked quite anxious.

Fearing he might step on it, Cen An quickly picked it up and cradled it in his hand as he stepped into the hidden passage. Immediately, he spotted small blades of grass on the ground that resembled pine needles.

“This is!” Cen An took a couple of quick steps forward, examined it closely, and broke into a smile. “Sure enough, this is Swiftwind Grass. It can be used to make Swiftness Pills, which increase movement speed by 30% when consumed!

Thirty percent might not seem like much, but for him, it’s the difference between walking and riding a bicycle. For Su Rui, wouldn’t that be like upgrading from a private car to a supercar?

Cen An immediately began gathering them carefully.

【Congratulations! You have obtained Swiftwind Grass x12】

“Twelve of them! That’s enough to make three Swiftwind Pills.” The young man smiled as he stowed the herbs away, but noticed the Green Shade Rat was still pointing in a certain direction, urging him to go there.

“Are there more herbs?” Cen An smiled and ruffled the little creature’s head; sure enough, it obediently led him over.

This time, however, it wasn’t herbs. Under a rock, Cen An pulled out three pink crystals.

There aren’t many things you can make with pink crystals; most are jewelry, and they all boost charm. Usually, Cen An wouldn’t have given them a second glance.

But now it’s different. Crafting a spatial gate requires pink crystals, and he was exactly three short!

Now, the pink crystals are all here!

The young man broke into a wide grin and couldn’t resist giving the little mouse a kiss on the head. “Our Little Green has done a great job! I’ll make you something delicious for lunch today!”

The little green mouse was hardworking and clean, with a fresh, herbal scent about it. It seemed a bit shy after being kissed, so it clung to Cen An’s thumb and rubbed its cheek against it.

Su Rui couldn’t stand it anymore; he pinched the little mouse and tossed it aside. “What’s there to kiss? It rolls around on the ground like a Karami every day—who knows how much dust it’s picked up…”

As he spoke, he sounded a bit aggrieved. “It’s just three pink crystals, isn’t it? I’ve found so many more pieces for you, yet I haven’t seen you…”

Cen An hadn’t quite caught that. “What did you say?”

“N-nothing.” Su Rui cleared his throat. “There’s nothing left on this level. Let’s head down.”

“……” Cen An eyed him suspiciously for a moment before finally nodding.

Level 26.

The two of them continued climbing down the rope ladder… climbing… climbing…

They climbed all the way to the bottom of the ladder, but their feet still hadn’t touched the ground.

“Something’s off,” Cen An whispered. “The height of each level in the mine is usually about the same. This shouldn’t be happening.”

As he spoke, he pulled a torch from his backpack and tossed it down.

A dim, yellowish glow led their eyes downward, falling and falling. It took quite a while before it finally clattered to the ground.

The two exchanged glances. The depths below were not only deep—they seemed almost bottomless.

Su Rui wrapped his arms around him again. “Hold on tight.”

As soon as Cen An clung to his shoulders, he felt himself lifted into the air.

Su Rui channeled his wind-elemental ability, hovering in midair, and with one hand, he unleashed a fire dragon.

The fire dragon soared overhead, finally illuminating this level of the mine.

The twenty-sixth level of the mine was divided into two sections: one resembled a normal mine, while the other was a bottomless cliff, pitch-black below.

The fire dragon swept through the upper section before plunging into the lower one. At the bottom of the cliff, a few ore blocks were occasionally visible—along with a massive black shadow that seemed to writhe slowly.

It was merely a fleeting glimpse; the fire dragon had already burned itself out and gone dark. Yet the massive shadow imprinted on his retina still left Cen An deeply shaken.

“Was that… did you see it?”

Su Rui also furrowed his brow slightly. “I saw it, but it didn’t seem to be a mutant beast.”

He hadn’t sensed the oppressive aura or presence typical of a mutant beast.

“Even if it isn’t a mutant beast, it’s definitely going to be a tough opponent.” That shadow covered nearly half the cliff’s base; by a rough estimate, it was even much larger than the little shack!

Su Rui raised his hand again, and Cen An quickly grabbed it. “What are you doing?”

Su Rui looked at him. “I’m just going to shine the light on it again.”

“What if we provoke it?” Cen An pressed down even harder. “It lives in the dark; it must be sensitive to light. What if it has a bad temper?”

“Then what do you suggest?” Su Rui had already checked earlier—the entrance on the upper side hadn’t led down, so the opening must be at the bottom of the cliff. Sooner or later, they’d have to face this massive black creature.

“Let me think…” Cen An mulled it over for a moment, then suddenly said, “I’ve got it.”

He raised his hand, and five herbs appeared in his pale palm: these herbs had narrow, elongated leaves resembling spring chives, with a bluish-green hue and a surface covered in shiny black spots.

“This is Starry Grass. It can be used to make Starry Eye-Brightening Pills, which enhance night vision when taken.” Cen An’s expression relaxed. “Wait for me to prepare them.”

In addition to Starry Grass, the Starry Eye-Brightening Pills required three other herbs. He hadn’t been able to gather them all before, but now he had every single one.

He took out the other three common herbs and began preparing the formula.

Su Rui watched his movements with curiosity; this man truly had many tricks up his sleeve.

Two pills were ready in no time: the black pills were dotted with purple specks that twinkled and flickered—truly living up to the name “Starry Eyes.”

The two divided them, each swallowing one.

It was Cen An’s first time taking a pill from this world. He savored it carefully; it was a bit bitter, a bit sour—the taste wasn’t exactly pleasant…

The moment the pill touched his tongue, the transformation was immediate: the world before him seemed to have switched on a night-vision camera. No matter how dark the scene, everything was crystal clear. The sensation was different from seeing things in daylight—it was simply magical.

Cen An looked around curiously, steeled himself mentally, and then glanced down at the bottom of the cliff.

On one side of the cliff’s base, sure enough, a massive black shadow lay crouched on the ground, its body rising and falling with each breath.

“So this thing is actually black,” Cen An murmured. He had thought he hadn’t seen clearly earlier.

Su Rui nodded. He was observing it closely as well. He still couldn’t sense any fluctuations from a mutant beast, yet this creature gave him a very dangerous feeling—though it was different from the danger posed by an enemy…

More importantly, if this thing wasn’t a mutant beast, what could it be? Could an ordinary animal grow this big?