Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Wu Rui was feeling a little hesitant. Xia Chengfeng was not wrong. However, he was not a fool either. The value of his items was far higher than what Xia Chengfeng was trying to trade for.
[Exquisite Steel Pick] could not only increase the speed of digging, but it could also dig through granite.
[Singing Grass Seed] can be used to grow singing grass. A player could dig toward another cave and the creatures in the cave could be dug into another player’s space bubble. The singing grass released a sound when they were touched. They were equivalent to an alarm system.
[Furniture Manufacturing Blueprints] requires no elaboration. Most people were still living a primitive lifestyle. Later, after their basic needs for food and water had been met, they would naturally start to desire furniture.
The most important item of the bunch was the level one energy crystal. Wu Rui did not want to use it as a trade item.
Xia Chengfeng’s steel sword was also of inferior quality and would not last long. Wu Rui felt that he was on the losing side of this deal no matter how he thought about it.
Wu Rui: “Three items. You can only choose three items.”
Xia Chengfeng was elated. This had been his goal all along. This was the art of haggling. One had to demand more at the start.
Xia Chengfeng put on an act and said, “You’re putting me on the spot.”
Wu Rui: “I can’t go any higher. I don’t have many resources myself.”
He hesitated for a moment, then replied, “Fine, I’ll get the [Singing Grass Seed], [Furniture Manufacturing Blueprint], and [Level One Energy Crystal].”
Wu Rui: “Deal.”
The two parties engaged in the transaction. Xia Chengfeng received the three items that they had agreed upon.
The first thing he did was to plant the singing grass seeds all around his space bubble. He then scattered his plant essence and watered the seeds.
Soon, short, grass-like plants grew out of the soil all around him. They were all carrying an air bubble and would release an alarm when any foreign enemies approached his space bubble.
He examined the blueprints for a variety of furniture in the [Furniture Manufacturing Blueprint]. There were, for example, beds, tables, stools, cabinets, etc.
He needed tools such as saws, hammers, and rulers to create these items. He also needed materials like planks of wood and metal screws.
“I’m lacking resources.” Xia Chengfeng realized how poor he was. He still had to work hard to free himself from this primitive lifestyle.
Xia Chengfeng chose to absorb the level one energy crystal.
Pure energy entered his body. The process took about three hours.
Xia Chengfeng felt that his body was brimming with energy after he used the crystal. He felt as though he had been going to the gym every day for the past three years.
Xia Chengfeng accessed his attribute panel. There were already changes to his stats.
“Name: Xia Chengfeng”
“Age: 22”
“Race: Human”
“Strength: Common creature”
“Stamina: 20”
“Status: Normal”
“Magic Soul: Destruction Soul (One Star)”
“Talent: Evil Eye of Destruction (One Star)”
“Survival Space: 127 cubic yards”
“Storage: 70% occupied”
There were no attributes like power and speed on his interface as Xia Chengfeng did not have a main profession yet.
Under normal circumstances, it was best for his main profession to be complementary to the talent ability of his magic soul.
The best way to obtain a main profession was through a “Profession Enlightenment”. These things could be obtained from treasure chests or from the caves of living creatures after a player defeated them.
“I should explore other caves now.” Xia Chengfeng felt more at ease now that his abilities had improved slightly.
He grabbed the divination crystal ball and started to conduct a divination. “What will I discover if I dig toward the left?”
Currently, Xia Chengfeng had no intention of digging upward or downward. Those options took too much stamina, and he required better equipment.
The divination crystal ball flickered slightly, then revealed a faint red color. There were words in the ball.
“Ferocious underground creatures live there. Lift your sword and advance.”
According to Xia Chengfeng’s experience, the color red in the divination crystal ball usually meant danger. However, if the color was not too dark, it meant that the danger was within an acceptable level.
“It’s about time to face off against some underground creatures.” Xia Chengfeng decided to dig toward the left. He now had a weapon and had learned a sword technique. His body had also been strengthened. He should have no problems dealing with a common underground creature.
As a safety precaution, Xia Chengfeng even wove a simple vest out of vines for himself.
System notification: “Obtained [Simple Vine Vest]: Crass workmanship. Can be used to defend against physical damage to a certain extent.”
Then Xia Chengfeng started to dig. With his enhanced stamina, his digging speed had become much faster.
An hour later, Xia Chengfeng had dug into the next cave.
A stench assaulted him through the tunnel. However, it was not to the point that he could not breathe.
“Rumble…” The cries of beasts spread from within the cave. Xia Chengfeng did not recklessly enter the cave. Instead, he chose to puncture a small hole within the soil and spy into the cave.
The cave contained a space covered in wild grass that was much larger than the cave Xia Chengfeng had been in. A massive underground boar slept less than ten meters away from the end of the tunnel. It had black fur and a short pair of fangs.
Looking further into the cave, Xia Chengfeng noticed that there was not just one boar. A dozen other boars were moving around the cave. There was a small pit of mud within the cave. The boars were rolling within the pit.
There were also bugs flying around the cave.
Strictly speaking, this was not something that should have been there ecologically. However, Xia Chengfeng was no longer surprised. There were endless possibilities for what could appear within these caves.
He wouldn’t have been surprised even if he saw Godzilla within one of the caves. The creatures in the caves might have come from another world or area completely. Since the caves were basically space bubbles, they wouldn’t collapse within a short time.
“I can finally eat some meat.” Xia Chengfeng salivated when he saw the underground boars. He had not had meat for a long time. Moreover, he had been digging constantly and had depleted a great deal of his stamina. He could not work as hard as he would like without meat to satisfy his hunger.
However, he knew he shouldn’t underestimate these boars. Not only did wild boars have immense strength, but they also had thick hides and were extremely irritable. Even an experienced hunter would have to be extra careful when dealing with them.
Furthermore, underground creatures might not be the same as ordinary creatures. It would not be surprising for there to be one or two magic creatures or mutated creatures in this bunch.
Xia Chengfeng was not confident that he could deal with this many boars at one go. The wild boars would send him flying if they all charged toward him at the same time.
Thus, he continued to dig his tunnel and made it so that the entrance of the tunnel could only fit one wild boar at a time. This way, the wild boars would not be able to gang up on him.
Besides that, he dug a vertical trap within the tunnel and covered it with vines, then camouflaged it with soil.
He stayed behind the trap in the tunnel to ensure his safety.
While he was digging the tunnel, the space bubble in the underground space would elongate accordingly to maintain the integrity of the tunnel. This way, the tunnel would not collapse easily.
“Come, my wild piggies. I’ll show you what defending the fort alone really means.” Xia Chengfeng was fully prepared. He tossed a block of mud toward the sleeping wild boar.
The wild boar was jolted awake by the impact. It roared in fury and started to search around for the person who had disrupted its sleep. It immediately squealed in anger when it saw Xia Chengfeng.
Wild boars were territorial in nature and would drive away invaders of their territory. Furthermore, they regarded Xia Chengfeng as food.
The wild boar was infuriated by Xia Chengfeng. It charged toward him squealing.