Survival in the Core: I'm writing a guide for the entire server.

Chapter 20 The Hidden Realm of the Earth's Core! Exploring the Dark Mine!

……

[The Hidden Depths of the Earth: The Dark Mine]

【Depth of the Secret Realm: 1 (Normal)】

[Challenge Time: 60 minutes]

[Player Limit: Maximum of 4 players can challenge simultaneously; minecarts cannot enter the secret realm]

[Secret Realm Description: This is a mine consisting of several winding tunnels. Besides some exposed minerals, some weak monsters also roam here. You must always be vigilant against ambushes from the shadows.]

[Death Penalty: Inflicts "Soul Weakness" status for 24 hours]

[First Clear Reward: Selectable Blueprint Chest (Green) x1]

[Additional Information: This Netherworld dungeon will be available to all players in the current beginner zone 24 hours after the first clear.]

……

"A treasure chest of green-quality custom blueprints..."

Lin You licked her lips, feeling somewhat tempted.

Green-quality blueprints mean he can create facilities or equipment that are more advanced than what is currently available.

However, he did not rush to enter the secret realm.

Instead, I went back to the minecart and opened my friends list.

Qi Chuan's avatar was lit up, indicating he was online.

[Lin You: Are you there?]

Qi Chuan's reply came as soon as the message was sent.

[Qi Chuan: Yes, yes, yes! Boss, you finally contacted me!]

Qi Chuan: I thought you'd forgotten about me...

Lin You smiled and typed a line of text.

[Lin You: How could that be? Today's harvest was good. I'll give you the second batch of supplies I promised you first.]

He took out several portions of roasted mushroom charcoal from the treasure chest and sent them via the gift function.

[System notification: You have gifted player "Qi Chuan" 5 "Roasted Mushrooms" and 10 "Charcoal"]

[Qi Chuan: This is enough for me to last for several days! Thank you, boss! Thank you!]

You could feel Qi Chuan's excitement even through the screen.

[Lin You: You're welcome. We agreed on installment payments, and I won't renege on my promise.]

[Qi Chuan: You're so honest, boss! By the way, did you see the announcement? The newbie protection period ends tonight!]

Lin You: I saw it.

[Qi Chuan: Boss, do you have any suggestions?]

Lin You thought for a moment and typed a line.

[Lin You: Don't rush. How much fuel do you have left?]

[Qi Chuan: I haven't finished using the charcoal you gave me yesterday. Adding the one you just brought, I have 15 portions of charcoal left. Converted to fuel... that's about 75 points.]

[Lin You: That's enough. You stay in the minecart tonight and don't go out. Wait until my new strategy is out tomorrow before you make any moves.]

Qi Chuan: Okay! I'll listen to you, boss! Boss, please be careful too!

[Lin You: Okay, I have something to do, I'll talk to you later.]

After closing the chat interface, Lin You began preparing for her trip to the secret realm.

He first went to the furnace and took out all the copper ore in the store.

Including what was previously mined, there are now a total of 35 copper ore deposits.

[Rock Furnace: 3 Copper Ore + 1 Charcoal → 1 Copper Ingot, Time: 5 minutes]

The entire melting process will take approximately one hour.

While waiting for the smelting process to complete, Lin You opened the trading market.

Search for "slime gel".

There are many gels on the market, and their prices vary.

After some searching, Lin You found a seller with a reasonable price.

[For Sale: 5 x Slime Gel]

Price: 15 copper coins

"Three copper coins for a serving of gel is acceptable."

Lin You didn't haggle and placed the order directly.

[Transaction successful! You have received 5 "Slime Gel"!]

[15 copper coins consumed, 15 copper coins remaining]

After buying the golden pet egg at the auction, Lin You's savings were running low.

Hopefully, this dungeon will drop some good loot to recover some losses.

These gels are used to make torches.

Since the minecarts cannot enter the secret realm, they lose the light source of the lanterns and must carry their own.

Otherwise, you'll have to outwit and outfight the monsters in complete darkness.

That wasn't the experience Lin You wanted, after all, darkness was the domain of monsters.

Back at her workbench, Lin You began making torches.

[Torch: Wood x1 + Slime Gel x1]

Use all five portions of gel to make five torches.

A torch can burn for two hours, and the secret realm lasts for a maximum of 60 minutes.

Theoretically speaking, one is enough.

But just to be on the safe side, Lin You still stuffed two torches into his backpack.

Next came food and water.

Lin You took out several skewers of roasted mushrooms and a bottle of purified water from her backpack and put them in.

After these few explorations, he had so many roasted mushrooms that he couldn't possibly eat them all!

[Smelting complete! You have obtained 11 "Copper Ingots"!]

"The copper mine has just burned out."

Wiping away his sweat, Lin You took the slightly hot metal ingot from the furnace and placed it on the makeshift worktable.

Then, he took out a few more pieces of wood from the box and opened the crafting interface.

[Bronze Pickaxe: 3 Copper Ingots + 3 Wood]

[Copper Axe: 3 Copper Ingots + 3 Wood]

[With all the materials in place, let's begin...]

[Crafting complete! You have obtained 1 "Bronze Pickaxe" and 1 "Bronze Axe"!]

A brand-new bronze pickaxe and a bronze axe appeared on the workbench.

The pickaxe head is triangular and has a cold, metallic sheen.

The bronze axe has a sharp blade and a comfortable handle.

……

【Bronze Pickaxe】

[Durability: 100/100]

[Excavation Level: 2]

[Note: Can mine common rocks, soil, copper ore, iron ore, and other low-grade minerals]

[Additional Information: It can be disassembled at the workbench, and one-third of the crafting materials will be returned regardless of the amount of durability loss.]

……

"It's far superior to stone tools."

Lin You waved his bronze axe and nodded in satisfaction.

Since it's a mine, there are bound to be minerals, so how can you get by without a suitable pickaxe?

With everything ready, Lin You took a deep breath, got out of the car, and headed towards the entrance of the Earth's Core Secret Realm.

Standing before the slowly flowing blue light portal, a system notification appeared.

[Enter the Dark Mine, the hidden depths of the earth?]

"Yes."

[Transferring...]

Lin You felt a blur before her eyes, and her body was pulled by an invisible force.

The next second, he appeared in a completely different space.

It was pitch black all around, with only the faint smell of damp earth emanating from overhead.

Inside the narrow tunnel, the rock walls were rough and uneven, with sharp protrusions everywhere.

The air was damp and stuffy, with a faint smell of sulfur.

Lin You subconsciously gripped the bronze sword, and with his other hand, he pulled a torch from his backpack.

"Snap—"

The torches were lit, and their orange-red light dispelled the darkness.

The view inside the tunnel became clear.

Ahead was a winding mine tunnel, with excavation marks covering the rock walls on both sides.

The ground was littered with rubble and abandoned minecart tracks, and it looked like it had been abandoned for a long time.

"Luckily, I brought a torch."

Lin You breathed a sigh of relief.

In such a completely dark environment, it is impossible to move an inch without a light source.

Instead of rushing forward, he took out three Mushroom Monster cards from his backpack.

"Card Control Technique - Summon!"

The three magic cards burned in his hand, turning into a pale blue light.

The light fell to the ground and condensed into three mushroom monsters.

They stood in front of Lin You, tilting their heads up to look at him, awaiting his command.

"Go ahead and scout the way."

Lin You issued the order.

The three mushroom monsters stepped forward slowly, their roots spreading out.

Lin You followed behind, keeping a distance of about five meters.

The torchlight illuminated the path ahead and also the figure of the mushroom monster.

As the tunnel went deeper, the air became increasingly humid.

After walking for about two minutes, Lin You suddenly stopped.

The torchlight shone on the rock wall in front of them, revealing a patch of greenish-blue ore.

Copper mine!

And it wasn't just one piece, it was an entire pile of ore!

Lin You strode forward and examined him closely.

This copper mine is quite large; a rough estimate suggests that more than a dozen copper ore blocks can be extracted from it.

"Good luck."

Lin You took out a copper pickaxe from his backpack and gripped the handle tightly.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

The pickaxe struck the ore, sending up a few sparks.

Cracks appeared on the surface of the copper ore, and a piece of ore broke off.

You have obtained 1 "Copper Ore"!

[Gold Miner's Ring effect triggered: Double production!]

You have received an extra "Copper Ore" x1!

Lin You's eyes lit up.

"Double output triggered! That feels great!"

Although the Shadow Fang I saw before was very cool.

But his Gold Miner's Ring wasn't entirely without its disadvantages!

In the field of cryptocurrency mining, the miner's ring is clearly more authoritative!

He kept swinging the pickaxe, one swing after another.

"Clang clang clang—"

You have obtained 1 "Copper Ore"!

[Gold Miner's Ring effect triggered: Double production!]

You have received an extra "Copper Ore" x1!

The mining process went more smoothly than expected.

The effect of the Gold Miner's Ring is frequently triggered, giving nearly a one-third chance of doubling the yield for every piece of copper ore mined.

In less than ten minutes, Lin You had completely hollowed out this copper mine.

Inventory of Receipts:

You have obtained 18 "Copper Ore"!

With the extra harvest from double production, a total of 24 copper ore blocks were mined!

"It's here! It's here!"

Lin You wiped his sweat and put the copper ore into his backpack.

Just then, a rustling sound came from ahead.

The three mushroom monsters stopped at the same time, their bodies trembling slightly.

Lin You narrowed her eyes and looked in the direction where the summoned creature was alert.

A red outline appeared at the corner of the tunnel ahead.

It's different from the slimes and mushroom monsters we've encountered before.

This time, the enemy has a humanoid appearance!