Chapter 168
At the entrance to the abandoned mine, five or six bandits wearing iron beetle armor were smashing the survivors' mine carts with steel pipes, and manganese crystal ore rolled all over the ground with a "clang".
The scarred man at the head of the group stood on a fist-sized manganese crystal, sweat beading on his armor, yet he still arrogantly shouted, "Put down the ore! This lousy mine is under our control from today onwards! Anyone who dares to resist, don't blame my steel pipe for being blind!"
Old Zhou, who had been robbed, clutched half a broken ordinary mining blade, trembling with rage.
This was 20 kilograms of manganese crystals that their team had dug up in three days. They had intended to exchange it for some armor-piercing rounds, but they never expected to encounter this group of bandits wearing beetle armor.
He tried to chop at Scarface's armor with the ore blade. With a "clang," the ore blade chipped, but there wasn't even a scratch on the armor.
"Don't waste your energy! This shell is from a second-tier iron-shelled beetle; your broken swords can't cut through it!"
Scarface kicked over the mine cart, scattering ore all over the ground. The short thug next to him also took the opportunity to snatch half a bottle of purified water from Old Zhou's pocket.
Just then, a crisp metallic sound came from the hillside on the west side of the mine—
Su Jing, gripping the unreinforced mining blade at her waist, emerged from the abandoned mine tunnel. The hood of her black heat-resistant suit covered half her face, revealing only her calm eyes.
She didn't speak, but tapped the communicator with her fingertip. An anonymous icon that read "I am the God of Wealth" popped up on the screen, and she gestured for Lao Zhou and the others to step back.
"It's the God of Wealth!"
Old Zhou's eyes lit up, and he immediately led his teammates to retreat.
Scarface paused for a moment, then sneered, "What 'God of Wealth'? I think he's just asking for trouble! Even if you have a tracking laser gun, I'm not afraid of this beetle armor!"
He waved the steel pipe and shouted to the bandits behind him, "Go! Take her weapons, so we can make armor-piercing rounds later!"
Two thugs immediately rushed forward, their steel pipes whistling as they swung towards Su Jing. She dodged to the side, simultaneously retrieving the deep purple, third-tier Giant Rock Beast Demon Core from her spatial storage—
As soon as the demon core appeared, it emitted a faint glow of energy. Su Jing pressed the demon core to the hilt of the mining blade, and a pale blue power emanated from her fingertips. The demon core instantly melted into a stream of energy, which seeped into the blade along the hilt.
The ore blade, which originally had a pale blue sheen, now had deep purple spiral patterns on its surface. A thin layer of energy membrane surrounded the edge of the blade. The communicator popped up: [Ore Blade (Tier 3 Enhancement): Fusion with Tier 3 Giant Rock Beast Demon Core Energy, Hardness 120HRC, Can penetrate Tier 2 Demon Beast Carapace and Derivative Armor, With Rock-Shattering Properties].
"This knife...it's glowing!" The short thug behind Scarface took a step back in fright.
Su Jing gave them no time to react, gripping her reinforced mining blade and charging forward, slashing down at the chest of the first bandit's armor—
With a crisp "crack," the beetle shell was cleaved open like a piece of paper. The remaining force of the mining blade grazed the bandit's shoulder, leaving a bloody mark.
The bandits screamed and fell to the ground, their armor fragments scattered everywhere.
Scarface's pupils contracted, and he raised the steel pipe, intending to launch a sneak attack.
Su Jing turned around, her mining blade blocking the steel pipe in an instant. She then thrust forward, pressing the blade against the scarred man's armored throat: "Give back the stolen ore and get out of here."
Suddenly, Scarface pulled a modified laser gun from behind his waist, aimed it at Su Jing's chest, and pulled the trigger—
A pale red beam of light shot towards him, and Su Jing dodged to the side. The mining blade pierced the gap in Scarface's armor with a "thud," and Scarface groaned as he fell to the ground, twitching a few times before going still.
The remaining three bandits, terrified by their leader's death, turned and ran. Su Jing didn't chase after them, but instead gave orders into the communicator: "Number 1, Number 2, come over and clean up the scene. Collect all the beetle shell fragments, don't leave a single one."
Robots No. 1 and No. 2, hidden in the mine tunnel, immediately ran out. Their robotic arms picked up the scattered armor fragments and put them into the space transmission box—these fragments were hard and could be used to reinforce the villa's metal protective netting.
"Thank you, 'God of Wealth'! If it weren't for you, our entire mine would have been robbed!"
Old Zhou ran over and handed her a bottle of purified water. Su Jing shook her head and pointed to the manganese crystal ore on the ground: "Put the ore away and leave here as soon as possible. There have been signs of a beast tide near the mine recently."
She paused, then added, "Your mining blades need to be replaced; ordinary mining blades can't deal with armored bandits."
After dealing with the mine, Su Jing returned to the villa with Robot No. 1 and Robot No. 2.
As soon as she entered, Xiao Jin ran over, its little paws tugging at her trouser leg. Its voice, tinged with urgency, cried out, "Su Jing! I just heard the news on the communicator. Many outposts are saying the beast tide has increased! Some people even said they saw second-tier windwing birds and iron-shelled beetles appearing together. It's so dangerous!"
Su Jing nodded, walked to the protective netting of the villa, and had Robot No. 1 melt the beetle shell fragments into thin strips and wrap them around the posts of the protective netting.
"Number 3 and Number 4, set the sensitivity of the vibration sensor to the highest level, and install a second spray belt 10 meters outside the protective net."
Number 5: Take out the plastic sheeting from the space and lay it around the sprinkler belt to form a double layer of protection.
She touched the enhanced mining blade; the deep purple patterns still shimmered faintly. "Although the extreme heat has subsided a bit, the beast tide hasn't decreased. We need to build up the defenses around the villa and try to minimize going out in the future."
As the sun set, the villa's security netting looked brand new.
The outer layer is wrapped with thin strips cast from beetle shells, the middle layer is a double-layered spray belt, and the outermost layer is covered with a smooth plastic plate. The green light of the vibration sensor flashes, constantly monitoring the surrounding movement.
Su Jing stood in front of the monitor screen, watching the sky gradually darken outside, while news of beast tides from various places continued to come through the communicator.
She knew that building the defensive perimeter was only the first step; the upcoming beast tide would be the greater test.
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