Chapter 90

Thirty-six hours have passed since the instance opened, and the bright yellow light deep within the gold crystal vein remains as thick and dense as molten gold that cannot be melted.

The surface of the continuous rock shimmered with a warm, gentle light. Each time the robot drill fell, it unearthed luminous ore, which Su Jing collected into her spatial storage via her consciousness as soon as it left the rocky ground. The "Ore Zone" notification on the panel had long since changed from "Quantity Increase" to "Categorized Storage": Gold Crystal, Silver Crystal, Manganese Crystal, Iron Ore...

Various ores were piled up like small mountains in the space, filling even the corners, leaving only passageways for later retrieval.

Su Jing leaned against a golden crystal rock about half her height, her fingertips tracing the "Dungeon Ranking" interface on the system panel—

The pale gold lettering clearly displayed "1. I am the God of Wealth, 2. The Hunter, 3. The Nightingale." The ranking had remained stable for 12 hours, and the gap between the player and second-place Jack was widening.

She put away the panel and her gaze fell on the 10 busy robots not far away: they had been divided into two groups according to instructions, with 5 in "drilling mode", diamond-coated drill bits spinning at high speed, the "buzzing" sound echoing in the mine tunnel, and the excavated ore being continuously collected into the space.

The other five robots were "taking turns charging" on the flat rocky ground next to them. Several pieces of burning iron ore were placed next to the energy interface on the side of the robot. Pale red energy light flowed into the robot's interior through the interface, and the energy bar on the display screen slowly rose from 30% to 80%. The system prompted: "[Robot energy replenishment efficiency: 1%/minute, burning iron ore heat conversion rate 85%, no energy waste]".

"Switch between the charging and excavating groups, and be careful to maintain low vibration."

Su Jing issued commands through her mind, and the two groups of robots responded instantly—

After charging, the five robots slowly stood up, adjusted their angles, aimed at a rock densely covered with silver crystals, and restarted their drills.

The five excavators that were digging stopped and moved in an orderly fashion to the charging area. Their energy interfaces automatically connected to the iron ore and began to replenish their energy. The entire process was orderly and without any chaos. Only the slight clicking sound of the metal joints could be heard, which sounded particularly rhythmic in the empty mine tunnel.

Su Jing stood up, brushed the gold dust off her clothes, and cast her gaze into the darkness deep within the mine—

There had been no movement there since the alien commander fled, but she knew that the core resources of a dungeon were often not in the areas that had already been explored.

During the previous excavation, the robot's detectors detected an "energy anomaly zone" at the edge of the ore vein. The system suggested that it might be an "ore refinery," where higher purity ore could be found, and there might even be equipment for refining ore, which would be crucial for the subsequent enhancement of cyber equipment and the creation of defensive items.

More importantly, the edge of the mine is far from the gathering areas of other mission participants, which can avoid unnecessary conflicts. After all, although Jack's team has retreated, there is no guarantee that they will not come looking for them again.

"Organize the space, prioritizing the retention of high-value ores and compressing the storage of low-value ores." Su Jing focused her mind and immersed herself in the space—she moved the iron ore piled in the center to the "energy zone," placing it together with the anthracite coal she had previously stockpiled;

Ores such as silver crystals and manganese crystals that can be used for circuit upgrades are classified as "Cyber ​​Materials Zone";

Gold crystals are placed separately in the "core ore area" for easy access later.

After organizing, the space suddenly felt much more spacious, and the panel displayed "[Remaining space capacity: 15%, can continue to store ore]", which is enough to accommodate the resources to be mined later.

With everything prepared, Su Jing led 10 robots toward the edge of the mine.

The mine tunnel gradually narrowed from its previous width, and the color of the rocks changed from bright yellow to light blue (silver crystal ore), and then to orange-red (iron ore). The metallic smell in the air changed from crisp to warm, which was obviously a sign of approaching the iron ore vein.

Occasionally, traces left by other mission participants could be seen along the way: discarded ore pickaxes, scattered fragments of low-purity hematite, and even a few drops of congealed blood. Su Jing instructed the robot to slow down and move close to the rock surface to avoid these traces and prevent encountering other mission participants.

After walking for about an hour, a clanging sound of metal colliding suddenly came from the mine tunnel ahead, mixed with a man's muffled groan—

Su Jing immediately raised her hand to signal the robots to mute, and the five robots in digging mode instantly stopped drilling and pressed their bodies against the rocks;

The five robots that were charging also retracted their power interfaces, their displays went dark, and the entire team remained motionless, like shadows blending into the rocks.

She cautiously peeked out from the source of the sound—at the corner of the mine tunnel, a man in a dark blue protective suit was being chased by two alien guards. The left arm of the suit had been torn, revealing a bleeding wound, and the iron rod in his hand had fallen to the ground; he was clearly powerless to resist.

Su Jing recognized him at a glance—it was Ivan from the Russian Bear Country, the mission taker who had previously complained about the "lack of pills" on the global channel.

The two alien guards were more agile than the ones they had encountered before. Their metal shells gleamed with a dark silver light, the gaps at their joints were narrower, and their laser emplacements were pointed directly at Ivan, with pale blue lasers that could be fired at any moment.

Ivan also saw Su Jing not far away, and hope instantly ignited in his eyes. He shouted loudly, "'I am the God of Wealth'! Save me! I know there is a hidden gold crystal mine in the mine, I will take you there! Please help me!" As he shouted, he tried to run towards Su Jing, but one of the guards' lasers swept the corner of his clothes. With a "sizzle", his protective suit instantly started to smoke, which scared him so much that he quickly lay down on the ground and dared not move.

Su Jing's fingertips paused slightly on the panel, without the slightest hesitation—she wasn't sure if Ivan was deliberately luring her into this trap, and she didn't want to delay her journey to the ore refinery because of rescuing people. If it attracted more guards, or even Jack's team, all her previous efforts might be in vain.

She gave the robots the command to "move stealthily." The 10 robots, clinging to the rocks, moved slowly to the other side of the mine tunnel like silver-gray shadows, avoiding the conflict zone at the corner.

When Ivan saw Su Jing about to leave, he shouted anxiously, "Don't go! I can give you points! I still have 5,000 points! I'll give them all to you!" But Su Jing didn't turn around. She just sped up and quickly rounded the corner, leaving Ivan's shouts and the metallic clanging of the guards far behind.

The orange-red light ahead in the mine tunnel grew brighter and brighter, indicating the direction of the iron ore vein and the only way to the ore refinery. Su Jing knew that only by reaching the refinery as soon as possible and obtaining more core resources could she add another layer of protection for her survival in the apocalypse during the remaining time in the dungeon.

The robot resumed its digging mode, the drill hummed again, and the excavated iron ore glowed with an orange-red light, and was stored in the "energy zone" of its space.

Su Jing glanced back at the corner of the mine tunnel, where the sounds were fading. She looked away and continued walking forward.