Chapter 10: The Dwarf Dungeon Opens? A Treasure Hunt Adventure: The Dwarf Dungeon...
After planting the potatoes that carried the hopes of the entire museum, Lin Yue felt even more motivated—or more likely, because he was hungry.
Although they have wonderful fantasies about the future of potatoes, and their minds are full of future fries, potato chips and mashed potatoes, for now, "Bluebird Wild Vegetable Stew" is still their staple food without fail.
After eating this for so many days in a row, Lin Yue felt like he was about to develop a conditioned reflex to the color blue; whenever he saw a blue sky, he wanted to sprinkle some salt and spices on it first.
"No, we have to improve its diet!" Lin Yue thought to himself. "Besides, Xiao Fen is still growing, and drinking meat broth all the time isn't a solution. We need to give it calcium supplements! Boss Gray also needs more energy to move bricks... uh, I mean, build our home!"
What's the prerequisite for improving our meals? Better tools, of course!
With better tools, Gray can hunt more efficiently, gather more efficiently, and perhaps... maybe he can try to challenge the "Stone-skinned Lazy Bug" mentioned by the system earlier?
Just from the name, you can tell that guy has amazing defense; you definitely can't handle him without good tools.
Better tools, in turn, require better materials and more sophisticated... well, prehistoric forging techniques.
Therefore, finding better quality stone to make improved stone tools, and finding clay to build more fire-resistant smelting furnaces or stoves, became one of Lin Yue and Gray's main tasks recently.
That day, the two people and their dog embarked on another treasure hunt. Xiao Fen was now a loyal shadow, following them everywhere they went, claiming it was to patrol their territory.
Their target was a nearby mountainside that looked like it had good rock quality.
Along the way, Lin Yue fully demonstrated his "walking bullet screen machine" nature, giving Gray and Xiao Fen a one-sided science education:
"Gray, look, this stone has a relatively smooth surface and is fairly hard; it's barely enough to make a scraper. But it's still far from the flint required in our blueprints."
"Xiaofen, how many times have I told you not to pick wildflowers by the roadside, especially brightly colored ones, they're mostly poisonous! Do you want your butt to get a beating tonight?"
"Gray, do you think there might be bears in these mountains? If we manage to hunt one, bear paws... slurp... should we braise them or steam them?"
Gray maintained his signature "silence is golden" style, occasionally responding with a simple word or two. Little Finn, on the other hand, expressed its disdain with its actions—chasing after a butterfly and running far away.
Lin Yue: "..." I can't carry him, I really can't carry him.
Just as Lin Yue was talking to herself and felt like she was about to turn into a broken record, Gray suddenly stopped and looked sharply at the ground in front of him.
"What's wrong?" Lin Yue quickly went over to him.
Strange marks suddenly appeared on the muddy ground ahead!
The marks were various depths but relatively neat edges, clearly left by some kind of tool. Moreover, on a nearby rock, there was a peculiar symbol resembling an crossed axe and hammer.
“This is…” Lin Yue looked at the marks and symbols, a thought flashing through his mind. He subconsciously focused his mind, wanting to systematically scan and analyze them.
Sure enough, the system interface immediately provided feedback:
[System Scan: Traces of intelligent life activity detected. Tool type: Suspected metal pickaxe. Marking symbol: >80% similarity to commonly used markings of known 'dwarf races'.]
Dwarfs?!
He stared in surprise at the marks and the strange symbol, his mind racing. Dwarves? The race that's supposedly skilled in mining and forging in almost every fantasy setting?
How did they end up on the outskirts of this godforsaken, cursed land? Shouldn't they be deep in the mineral-rich mountains?
He looked up at Gray and saw that Gray was also frowning, carefully examining the symbol on the rock, with the same solemn and puzzled expression on his face.
He clearly recognized what the symbol might represent, or at least felt that it was unusual.
“Grey,” Lin Yue pointed to the symbol, “do you know what this is?”
Gray stared at the symbol for a long while before slowly shaking his head, his expression growing more serious. "...Like...a mountain people's...mark," he added, "...rarely seen."
The system immediately provided a translation and added speculative information: [System Translation: The other party indicated that this mark resembles that of a mountain person—presumably referring to dwarves or other mountain tribes—and is extremely rare.]
Although Gray didn't directly say the word "dwarf," his reaction and the system's prompts corroborated each other, making Lin Yue even more convinced that the owner of these marks was very likely the legendary dwarf race!
This is even stranger. What made the dwarves leave their familiar environment and come to this dangerous outskirts? And judging from the freshness of these marks, they seem to have been left not long ago.
"Shall we...follow them and take a look?" Lin Yue suggested, his curiosity completely piqued.
Dwarves! They're a race that's practically walking ore detectors and has built-in forging skills! If they could recruit... no, make friends with a dwarf, wouldn't their little restaurant's tool upgrade project take off on the spot?
Gray hesitated. Mountain people were traditionally portrayed as a stubborn, xenophobic, and short-tempered race. A hasty pursuit could be dangerous.
But Lin Yue's sparkling eyes, filled with a desire to pursue science and technology, ultimately convinced him.
“…Be careful,” Gray warned, then began to follow the trail.
Lin Yue quickly grabbed Xiao Fen to prevent it from running away, and then followed.
The trails were intermittent, but their direction was clear, extending deep into the mountainside. The further in you went, the more rugged the terrain became, the sparser the vegetation, and the more exposed the rocks. A faint smell of sulfur seemed to linger in the air.
"Looks like this dwarf is looking for minerals," Lin Yue thought to himself. "I just wonder if he's found any yet."
After walking a little further, they came to the entrance of a small mine that looked like it had been artificially excavated.
The mine was very rudimentary, consisting of only a small opening dug into the mountainside, with some discarded metal tools scattered around. These tools appeared to be made of iron, but the workmanship was extremely crude, and they were heavily rusted.
[System scan: Abandoned mine pit detected. Internal structure unstable, risk of collapse. Weak life signals remain inside the pit.]
Weak life signal? !
Lin Yue's heart tightened.
Just then, a very faint, intermittent groan came from deep within the mine!
"...Help...help me..."
The voice was hoarse and weak, but it was definitely a cry for help! And it sounded... similar to Gray's language, but with a more robust and abrupt accent.
"There's someone inside!" Lin Yue immediately deduced.
Gray heard it too. He gripped his wooden spear tightly, watching the dark entrance to the mine warily, ready to fight at any moment.
Lin Yue quickly grabbed him: "Wait! Don't be impulsive! The people inside seem to be injured, and..." He pointed to several obvious cracks above the mine pit, "...there might be a risk of collapse here! We have to be careful!"
He tried shouting into the room, "Hey! People inside! Can you hear me? How are you?" He used the common language of the other world that he knew.
There was a moment of silence inside, then the weak voice came again: "...Who? Who's outside?...The stone...is pinning...my leg..."
[System Translation: Attempting to identify accents --- Dwarf accent detected. The other party claims their legs were trapped under falling rocks.]
They really are dwarfs! And they're trapped!
Lin Yue and Gray exchanged a glance.
To save or not to save?
If we try to rescue them, there's a risk of the mine collapsing, and the other party is a dwarf with an unknown temperament.
If we don't help... it's against my conscience as someone who grew up under the red flag! Besides, this is a potential technical talent delivered right to our doorstep!
Lin Yue made a decision almost immediately: "We must save them!" He looked at Gray with a determined gaze, "Gray, let's give it a try!"
Gray looked at Lin Yue, then at the dark mine pit, and finally nodded.
“…You, outside. I, inside.” Gray pointed to himself, then to the mine, indicating that he should go in and explore first.
"No way! It's too dangerous!" Lin Yue immediately objected. "We'll go together! I may not be as strong as you, but I'm smarter... uh, I mean, I can help you observe the environment and provide technical support!"
Gray: "..." He didn't seem to want to understand, and felt that it wasn't something nice to hear.
Ultimately, the two decided to go in together. Xiao Fen was ordered to stay outside in a safe place, even though she was very unwilling and whined, wanting to follow them in.
Lin Yue first lit a fire with the pyrite and quartz he carried with him, then pulled out a burning piece of wood from the fire to use as a makeshift torch, and together with Gray, they carefully entered the mine.
The mine was deeper than I had imagined, the air thick with dust and a musty smell. The passageways were narrow, barely wide enough for one person to pass through. The rocks overhead looked precarious, sending a chill down my spine.
After walking about ten meters, they finally saw the trapped dwarves.
It was a burly figure with a stubble beard (a typical dwarf look?). He was curled up at the bottom of the mine tunnel, one leg pinned down by a fallen rock, unable to move. His face was ashen, his breathing weak, clearly indicating he was seriously injured and had been trapped for quite some time.
Upon seeing the firelight and figures, the dwarf weakly raised his head, his eyes filled with a desire to survive and a hint of wariness.
“…Save…save me…” he said with all his might.
Lin Yue quickly went forward to check the situation. The boulder that was pinning the dwarf's leg was enormous; there was no way the two of them could move it.
“Gray, brute force won’t work, we need to find a way to use leverage!” Lin Yue quickly assessed the situation. “Let’s find a sturdy piece of wood, and a fulcrum…”
Just as they were about to split up, a cracking sound suddenly came from above.
Immediately afterwards, dust and gravel fell like raindrops.
"Oh no, it's going to collapse!" Lin Yue shouted, instinctively trying to lunge towards the dwarf and shield him with his body.
A note from the author:
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