My talent is 1.

While Zhong Wuyai was wreaking havoc in the mines, Zhang Haitao brought a few people and a few hundred gold coins to Yunhai City to develop his business.

These individuals were all in charge of finances for various powerful organizations, and they reached a cooperation agreement with the Xiang Group that very day.

Yang Yimu was just a member of a collateral branch of the Yang family. Since these people arrived, the two of them had almost no say in anything.

"Xiaoyang, you have to understand your grandfather. The Xiang family is not what it used to be. Many of the resources and connections we had before are no longer effective."

"But they didn't contribute a single bit to that mine; it was all the savings that Yimu and I accumulated. Why should it become theirs just by asking?"

"Don't you and Yang Yimu also get a 5% cut?"

"Heh, a profit-sharing arrangement?" He knew exactly what these people were really like. Over time, they replaced all the key positions with their own people, gradually squeezing out the others.

"What kind of attitude is that? They have [something] over there."

However, this is a fantasy world where the rules have changed. Sticking to the old ways is simply courting death!

Xiang Yang and Yang Yimu are both highly talented and skilled, and both are considered core members, but it is clear that they have been marginalized.

"Yimu, we can't go on like this. We built our own foundation, and we're not willing to give up our power like this."

"What can we do? These people were originally from their own families. If it weren't for those old guys, hardly anyone would listen to us. Especially after entering the fantasy world, many people have developed other ideas."

"A bunch of old fogies, talking about 80% of the mine's profits, do they really think they're some kind of emperor?"

"Your family is doing well, but my family is planning to send over a hundred people to take over the mine."

"Ha, that's just how they are. Ask the brothers who are with us. Anyone who's willing can come with me to find Zhong Wuyai. Anyway, it's inconvenient for him to do many things alone. I'll be his lackey, which is better than being bullied here."

"It should be possible, otherwise they wouldn't have entrusted the mine to us!"

"Then it's settled. We'll take 10% of the mine's profits, keep 30% for development, and give the rest to Zhong Wuyai. He's short on cash lately, so he should agree to our proposal."

"The mine originally belonged to them. At most, we were just getting a bargain. Now that it's like this, we might as well give it back to them."

"I'll contact the others, and you can try to find out what Zhong Wuyai is thinking."

Zhong Wuyai, who had just finished clearing the first level of the mine, was stunned when he saw the message from Yang Yimu...

What's going on? Following me from now on? ...Completely obeying my orders? ...

No, what are you doing?

"Are you two out of your minds?!"

"No, bro, what do you mean? You're abandoning us?"

"Wait, let me process this first, I haven't quite figured it out yet... You mean, if you two come with me, what will happen to your families?"

"Family is family, and I am me. Anyway, I'm now pledging allegiance to you. Will you accept me or not?"

"I'll take it! Why wouldn't I want free labor?"

Yang Yimu was speechless upon seeing the reply. "Brother, can you not be so blunt? Don't I have any pride?"

However, he also felt relieved. With such a freak protecting him, and Zhong Wuyai having never had any bad deeds, Yang Yimu felt much more at ease.

"Take your men, receive the quest, and head to the mine!"

Zhong Wuyai was eating steamed buns and drinking water at the mine entrance. The time was not long and the energy expenditure was not great. By the time Xiang Yang arrived with his men, he was already at full strength.

"That's quite a lot! I thought there would only be about ten people!"

"These thirty-odd brothers have been with us for years. There are over a hundred more, but their loyalty can't be guaranteed, so we only brought this many men!"

"It's alright, the monsters on the first floor have mostly spawned, so you two can stay on the first floor and fight there. You two, come with me to the second floor!"

Second floor? No, the monsters on the second floor are level 20, right?

The two immediately thought of Zhong Wuyai's solo kill of a level 20 gold boss, and they understood.

"Alright, five people per group, and two people specifically protect Hu Lang while he mines!"

"Oh ho, you even have miners? You've got quite a few talented people working for you!"

"Hehe~, not a miner, but a blacksmith's apprentice, and also an alchemist."

"Wow, wow, wow... This is incredible!"

What is this supposed to be? ...A dowry? ...

No, what are you thinking...?

"Stop mining for now. Team up with me for your secondary professions, and start mining after you've leveled up!"

"Okay! I'll do as you say!"

"The boss said that those with secondary professions will come with us to the second floor to grind monsters, and the boss will personally lead the leveling!"

The group was taken aback. They hadn't expected such a benefit. With the number one expert in the game leading the upgrade, they were bound to take off!

"Why the hell don't I have a side job?!"

"Alright, that's enough. Being able to book an entire mine is already considered pioneering; these days, every resource point is being fought over by super-powerful forces!"

Zhong Wuyai led seven people into the second floor, forming a team with Xiang Yang and Yang Yimu, while he led the remaining five.

Ignoring their resentful looks, he immediately started the fight!

"Chain Lightning!"

A bolt of lightning crackled and raged through the monster horde, showing no sign of stopping, and the damage it inflicted was simply terrifying.

Most importantly, starting from the fifth damage reduction, the damage becomes fixed and will not decrease further.

But in that one ricochet, more than ten monsters were bounced several times, and some unlucky ones were bounced ten times and were already on the verge of death.

Zhong Wuyai's fireball spell knocked him down instantly...

Everyone stared wide-eyed, while Yang Yimu stared blankly at everything before him...

Xiang Yang rubbed his eyes, thinking he was seeing things, then rubbed them again… Wait a minute… this skill is a bit too much, just how many lightning bolts were struck…

Everyone stared at Zhong Wuyai as if he were a monster... The word "pervert" popped into their minds!

Then, as fireballs were fired one after another, everyone froze in shock once again...

What did I see?

A single fireball deals over 7,000 damage...

"Um, my eyes are playing tricks on me. I misread the numbers; I thought it was over seven thousand instead of seven hundred!"

"No, you didn't, unless I was seeing things too, the damage would be close to eight thousand."

Zhong Wuyai completely ignored these people, unleashing fireballs one after another without stopping...

"Hey, Yimu, boss, isn't that skill on cooldown yet?"

"How should I know? Forget about cooldowns, how much mana would that take!"

"Gulp..." The group involuntarily swallowed.

No wonder he was able to solo kill the Gold Boss.

The skill has no cooldown and the damage is ridiculously high; I could solo a boss if I had it.

The way everyone looked at Zhong Wuyai changed from shock and blankness to envy and jealousy... and then to resentment.

He's cheating! This guy is definitely cheating.

Fortunately, the cheater in front of us is their leader.

No, this is the boss, we can't call him "Gua B", we should call him "Gua Ye"!

Having already fought many monsters, and with the monsters in the mine being fairly dense, Zhong Wuyai leveled up quickly.

The experience of the people behind them was also increasing rapidly.

Xiang Yang and Yang Yimu also started to get anxious.

They would go up and attack any monsters with low health. Zhong Wuyai was too lazy to care. One or two monsters were enough for them to fight for two minutes. Even if a monster was low on health, it would take at least half a minute to take it down.

I don't even know how many I killed in two minutes.

When Zhong Wuyai had almost finished cleaning up the rotting corpses on the second floor, his experience bar had reached 50%.

If it weren't for someone sharing the experience points, I would have leveled up immediately, since killing monsters above your level gives you a lot of extra experience.

But Zhong Wuyai doesn't care about these things right now.

"The boss fight is about to start. Xiang Yang and Yang Yimu, stay here. You guys go back to the first floor. Don't die here!"

Although Zhong Wuyai was confident in defeating the BOSS, the group focused their energy on their secondary professions and didn't upgrade their main professions at all.

I still have the same skills as before, and I haven't learned any of the skills after changing jobs. If I get grazed by the BOSS and die, it would be a huge loss.

The group didn't say anything, and after leaving the group, they returned to the first floor.

Moreover, the group was already quite excited, feeling that what they had seen in just a short while was enough to brag about for a long time!

[Corpse King]

Bronze BOSS

Rating: 20

Health: 260000/260000

Mana: 140000/140000

Physical attack: 620

Magic Attack: 70

Physical defense: 180

Magic Defense: 80

Power: 300

Agility: 100

Physical condition: 260

Intelligence: 70

Spirit: 140

Skill 1 [Corrosion Lv.2]

Passive skill

The attack carries a corrosive power, increasing physical attack damage by 10% with each attack.

Each attack reduces the target's physical defense by 20 points and magic defense by 10 points.

The durability of the attacked target's equipment is reduced by three times.

Skill 2 [Ghoul Eater Lv.2]

Active skills

Consuming nearby corpses restores 5% of the user's health and mana, and temporarily increases physical defense by 50 points and magical defense by 20 points.

Mana cost: 500

Release distance: 15

Temporary attribute duration: 15 seconds.

Cooldown: 200 seconds.

Fortunately, the Corpse King of Rotten Poison is a melee fighter with no ranged skills and its speed is only 12 points, otherwise Zhong Wuyai would have backed down.

Putting everything else aside, its attack reduces durability by three times, so even the toughest tank will be reduced to tears.

"Boss, the Yang family has arrived. They say they want to take over the mine and have clashed with the brothers outside."

"Tell them to get out, or I'll kill them all and say I told them to!"

After the people on the first floor relayed Zhong Wuyai's original words to the Yang family, the other party was stunned.

"Wait, you mean, this mine belongs to Zhong Wuyai?"

"What? Is there a problem?"

The Yang family members didn't react in time and immediately sent a message to Yang Yimu.

After confirmation, everyone seemed a little lost.

How did this get involved with Zhong Wuyai? Wasn't he supposed to be collaborating with a highly talented player to develop a mine?

Could it be referring to Zhong Wuyai?

Before long, the Xiang family and the Chamber of Commerce members arrived.

"Could you please call Zhong Wuyai out? I want to talk to him face-to-face!"

"No room for negotiation, the boss is very busy right now!"

The people they brought were all quite angry, but they managed to restrain themselves for a while.

On the one hand, they didn't have many people at the beginning, and there were only about ten combat personnel, so they didn't have much of an advantage.

Most importantly, the other party is Zhong Wuyai.

According to intelligence, the damage already exceeded 1000 at level 4, and who knows how strong it is now.

Putting everything else aside, his solo run of the Wolf's Lair on Hell difficulty remains a unique record to this day.

Even if the entire Yang family went all out, they might not be able to defeat a level 20 Gold BOSS.

While the outside world was arguing, Zhong Wuyai had already started fighting the boss.

The damage reduction from the Bronze Boss is almost useless under the power of Annihilation.

Each time, it deals 7,800 or 7,900 damage.

Less than fifty fireballs were enough to take down the boss.

"That easy?"

Xiang Yang was dumbfounded once again.

This could be resolved in less than a minute, so why send those guys out?

"Alright, how much longer until you guys level up!"

"I'm still a few thousand experience points short."

"I'm still short 13,000."

"Then you guys go back to the first floor, I'm going to the third floor!"

Okay, this is them kicking people out...

"Also, pick up the equipment!"

"Oh~ Oh!"

With over 10,000 experience points, the two of them leveled up quickly on the first floor, so there was absolutely no need for them to go to the third floor with me.

Not only do they require experience, but they also need to be protected. If you're not careful, you'll be instantly killed, so it's clearly not a good fit.

As soon as he came out, Xiang Yang saw two groups of people facing off.

"What's all the noise about? The boss said nobody's allowed in this mine!"

"Xiang Yang, our two families have a contract. What you're doing isn't right."

"What's this about being good or bad? This mine belongs to the boss anyway. We're just gatekeepers at best. Don't make things difficult for me!"

Xiang Yuanfeng was Xiang Yang's elder, but the two families had always been at odds, and this time the mining incident was also caused by Xiang Yuanfeng's secret interference.

But unexpectedly, Xiang Yang pulled this stunt, and the duck that was about to be eaten flew away.

"You brat, you've got guts! I'll tell the head of the household about this, and then the Xiang family will stop supporting you. You can fend for yourself!"

"Get lost, don't get in my way, you have no right to babble here!"

Although Xiang Yang cannot compare to those with exceptional talent, he is still considered one of the top talents in the Xiang family.

Stopped? ...Ask those old men if they dare to break with me...or rather, cling to such a powerful figure like me.

Moreover, Xiang Yang's combat strength is not weak. In the previous beginner village, he was the first person in the village to kill monsters and the first person to level up.

To put it bluntly, Xiang Yang and Yang Yimu could easily take care of the men that Xiang Yuanfeng brought.

After all, both of them are damage-dealing classes, and they are both wearing Wolf Fang sets and silver equipment.

Xiang Yuanfeng's men were simply not enough.

Seeing the Xiang family suffer a setback, the people from the Yang family were also unsure of what to do.

"Ichiki, could you...?"

He was interrupted before he could finish speaking.

"No, the boss is very busy, he's grinding high-level monsters, he doesn't have time to waste on you guys."

Yang Yimu's sudden use of force left the Yang family members momentarily at a loss.

How did this child suddenly become like this...?

When the Chamber of Commerce learned of the matter, it immediately stopped the two companies from engaging in reckless behavior.

Zhang Haitao specifically instructed him to befriend Zhong Wuyai...

Although the head of the Xiang family was furious, he had no choice but to listen. He summoned all of Xiang Yang's former associates, gave them a sum of money, and told them to come and find Xiang Yang.

For the major powers that have just entered the fantasy world, a mine is an important strategic resource.

It can be said that the key is whether a family can regain its footing and continue to occupy a middle-to-upper position.

Neither the Xiang family nor the Yang family are stupid...

Zhong Wuyai's eyes lit up as soon as he entered the third level...

"We're rich! We're rich! ...How many monsters are there?!"

It was teeming with black zombies.

[Green-haired zombie]

Elite Monster

Rating: 30

Health: 90000/90000

Mana: 7000/7000

Physical attack: 500

Magic Attack: 200

Physical defense: 160

Magic Defense: 77

……

Movement speed: 14

Skill 1 [Bite Lv.1]

Active skills

It seizes its target and bites wildly, causing two instances of damage.

Mana cost: 300

Release distance: 3

Damage bonus: 150% physical attack, 180% physical attack.

Cooldown: 100 seconds.

This data is quite alarming.

However, Zhong Wuyai had the advantage of speed, so dealing with him was relatively easy.

Anyway, as long as it's not a ranged monster and it can't run as fast as you, it's your experience pack.

After about ten fireballs, a green-haired zombie lay down.

[Ding! You have defeated the elite monster Green-haired Zombie and gained 700 experience points. You will also gain an additional 2380 experience points for defeating monsters of a higher level.]

This experience reward is terrifying! Killing a monster 18 levels higher than me gives such a high reward, more than three times the normal amount.

In this way, leveling up would be a breeze.

Moreover, the drops have increased; an elite monster dropped two materials and a green crystal.

How many elite monsters are needed for the entire third floor...?

Chain Lightning... Fireball... Fireball... Fire Seed...

Annihilation!

A green-haired zombie dropped 1 silver coin and a green crystal.

The green-haired zombie that Annihilation killed gave him only 1 gold coin, nothing else.

But this is a gold coin...

Zhong Wuyai tried to control his output, and continued to kill the second green-haired zombie with Annihilation.

"Holy crap... a blue crystal... an elite monster actually dropped a blue crystal!"

Annihilation has this kind of use?

Zhong Wuyai didn't hesitate and continued to use Fireball. When the damage was about right, he stopped, either using Fire Seed or Chain Lightning to keep the green-haired zombie's health bar below 500 before using Annihilation to kill it.

"Damn, that feels so good! Another gold coin!"

I should have used Annihilation to kill the boss. The level 20 bronze boss on the second floor, how much loot would have dropped if I had used Annihilation!

As the fight progressed, Zhong Wuyai noticed that his damage output had increased significantly.

"Huh? Not level 13 yet? What's going on?"

After opening the panel and checking everything myself, I discovered that the Apprentice's Book had been upgraded.

The Apprentice's Book

Special growth-type equipment for mages, does not occupy an equipment slot, and is only available to mages.

bound

Durability: 50/50

Grade: Bronze (1/1000)

Wearing level: 10

Intelligence +40

Spirit +40

Magic attack +10%

Magic damage increased by 5%.

Wow, these attributes are pretty awesome.

Not only have intelligence and spirit doubled, but there's also a 5% damage increase.

However, Zhong Wuyai still didn't understand how the equipment upgrade progress bar was calculated.

Upgrading is the most important thing right now, so let's upgrade first...

Zhong Wuyai continued his attack on the green-haired zombie, unleashing a fireball that dealt 8383 damage.

If I add some magic attack, I can easily break 10,000 damage.

Zhong Wuyai was already considering replacing the Wolf Fang Set.

You absolutely must get a staff, as staffs provide the highest magic attack bonus. Then equip items that restore mana and reduce cooldowns.

Once these are done, replace the Wolf Fang set with equipment that has higher stats, and your damage will skyrocket.

It would be best to get a full set, as the added attributes from the set can further enhance your own abilities.

After killing green-haired zombies for an unknown amount of time, the monsters on the entire third floor have become sparse.

Many people refreshed the page again and again; this was the fourth time.

Zhong Wuyai finally reached the third level.

【Purple Zombie King】

Silver BOSS

Rating: 30

Health: 680000/680000

Mana: 90000/90000

Physical attack: 1100

Magic Attack: 800

Physical defense: 320

Magic Defense: 320

……

Movement speed: 16

Skill 1 [Corpse Aura Lv.3]

Passive skill

Increase health by 10%

Increases physical and magical defense by 30%.

Increases physical attack by 50% and magical attack by 30%.

Skill 2 [Terror Claws]

Passive skill

Each attack deals an additional 20% of the physical defense as damage.

Each attack reduces the target's physical defense by 50 points for 5 seconds.

Each attack reduces the target's movement speed by 10% for 5 seconds.

Skill 3 [Crazy Claw Combo]

Active skills

It swiftly swings its claws at the target, attacking five times in succession and dealing massive damage.

Mana cost: 600

伤害加成：500+80%物理攻击、70%物理攻击、60%物理攻击、50%物理攻击、40%物理攻击。

Release distance: 15

Damage range: Single target damage.

An absolute nemesis of close combat.

Even the tankiest tank at this stage can't withstand a single Mad Claw combo.

I'm lucky to have a boot and this talent.

With 5 points of base movement speed, and 1 point of agility, the boots provide 11 points of movement speed, just 1 point more than the base speed.

If the Purple Zombie King had any ranged attack or movement skill, he would have no choice but to turn around and head back home...

Looking at the surrounding terrain, engaging the BOSS wasn't too difficult, but it was important to maintain a good distance and never get too close.

One mistake, and the Purple Zombie King only needs to attack you once to slow down your speed. If you then use another skill, you'll be sent back to town.

"Fireball!"

-7347Miss………The triggered normal attack was directly missed.

But over 7,000 damage isn't low either. It's thanks to the Apprentice's Book that it's increased; otherwise, it would only be a little over 6,000.

Fireball...Fire Seed...Fireball...

Zhong Wuyai kept unleashing his skills, slowly retreating, running for three or four seconds, then coming back to give the BOSS a hit.

This is the safest approach.

When he had nowhere left to retreat, Zhong Wuyai unleashed a chain lightning attack when he was still 20 units away.

The five seconds of paralysis just happened to bypass the Purple Zombie King from the side.

Continue... continuously casting fireballs back and forth.

After a long time...

[Ding! You have defeated the Silver Boss Purple Zombie King, gaining 150000 experience points. You will also gain an additional 510000 experience points for defeating a monster of a higher level.]

Holy crap, so many...

Zhong Wuyai leveled up instantly.

[Server-wide Announcement: Congratulations to player Sikong Shen for achieving the first kill of the level 20 Silver BOSS, the Barrier Tree Spirit! Rewards: 3000 Reputation Points, 2 Free Attribute Points]

"Uh, what happened? Didn't I kill him?"

Zhong Wuyai was stunned for a moment...

No, it's the first kill of a level 20 Silver BOSS.

I made a mistake, let's try again...

[Server-wide announcement: Congratulations to player Zhong Wuyai for achieving the first kill of the level 30 Silver BOSS Purple Zombie King! Reward: 3000 Reputation, 1 Silver Gift Box]

Ah, that's more like it...

To be honest, for Zhong Wuyai, free attribute points are much more useful than silver gift boxes.

However, the Silver Gift Box can also contain equipment.

Just like treasure chests, you get whatever you open based on your level.

This is also why Zhong Wuyai hasn't opened any treasure chests yet, because his level is currently too low.

The world channel exploded.

"Cheating, absolutely cheating. How could any player possibly kill a level 30 monster at this point, let alone a level 30 silver boss?"

"Exactly! They haven't even killed the level 30 Bronze Boss yet, and they've already taken down the level 30 Silver Boss! Zhong Wuyai is definitely cheating!"

"Use your brain, okay? This is a fantasy world, do you think we're still on Earth? You think this can be manipulated by humans?!"...

"This stick—no, this club—while the brain and small intestine look similar, don't try to stuff the contents of your small intestine into your brain!"

100 gold coins for a single message, that's really generous.

The Azure Dragon Empire's international channel was flooded with messages...

"Zhong Wuyai is awesome! He just took down a level 30 boss!"

"It's pathetic that I have to team up with several people to beat up a level 15 monster for ages!"

"Comparison is the thief of joy! I can't even beat a level 10 monster by myself!"