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

……

The opening of the Secret Realm Ranking has caused a huge sensation among players.

"Holy crap! Someone cleared the dungeon! Lugo! 65 points!"

"So fast? I was killed by the kobolds as soon as I went in..."

"Me too! That kobold miner was too strong; one pickaxe hit and he took away half my health!"

"You're alright upstairs, but I was whipped to death by the kobold overseer and am now in a state of spiritual weakness..."

What does it feel like to have a weak soul?

"All my stats have been reduced by 50%, and even my maximum health has been cut in half, for 24 hours. I'm like a salted fish now, unable to do anything."

"This is terrible... This secret realm is way too difficult!"

"Difficulty is what makes it challenging! That master Lu Ge who has already cleared the game is the true strongman!"

"Who is Lu Ge? Does anyone know him?"

"I don't know, but he's definitely a ruthless person."

"By the way, where's Lin You? Why isn't he on the list?"

"Yeah, why didn't Lin You participate in the ranking event?"

"If Boss Lin You were to make a move, he would definitely take first place."

"Stop bragging. Being able to write a guide doesn't mean you're skilled. Maybe you're just lucky."

"Exactly! With Lu Ge's ranking standing there, how can Lin You surpass him?"

"Just wait and see, I believe in Lin You's abilities!"

......

On the forum, the discussion about Lin You and Lu Ge intensified.

Some people support Lin You, believing that he can easily surpass Lu Ge's score.

Some people support Lu Ge, believing that he is the real powerhouse, while Lin You is just all talk and no action.

The two groups of players were arguing fiercely on the forum.

Lin You himself was completely unaware of these debates.

He was engrossed in mining, his eyes fixed on the glittering ore.

......

An unknown amount of time passed.

The furnace finally smelted all the copper and iron ore.

Lin You wiped away her sweat and began to take stock of the resources at hand.

Copper ingots: 50 pieces, copper ore: 50.

Iron ingots: 20 pieces, iron ore: 30.

Coal: 40 pieces, charcoal: 20 pieces.

Stones: 200+, more than you can use.

Timber: 50+. With the availability of coal as fuel, the rate of timber consumption has decreased significantly.

This was the resource Lin You had left after upgrading the simple minecart to level 5.

......

[Simple Mine Cart]

[Level: 5/10 (White)]

[Durability: 200/200]

[Mining efficiency: 100%]

Light intensity: 50%

[Remaining Fuel: 80/150]

[Additional Function: Basic Worktable]

Upgrade Materials: 500 Copper Coins, 20 Wooden Planks, 30 Copper Ingots, 20 Glass, 20 Gel

[Additional Information: After this upgrade, the mining truck will have an additional car section.]

......

"We're still a long way from reaching the S-class minecart level, but at least we've taken the first step."

Lin You stretched, feeling sore all over.

Upgrading the simple minecart to level 6 requires a huge amount of materials, far exceeding any previous upgrade.

But after seeing the additional information, Lin You felt it was all worth it.

The Level 6 Simple Mine Car can have one more car!

This means a lot to him!

An extra carriage means more facilities can be placed inside.

For example, storage boxes, furnaces, and water collectors significantly improve the efficiency of resource acquisition.

"I have copper ingots, and I can buy gel from the market. As for glass and wood panels..."

Lin You focused her attention on the two materials she needed.

Glass: Can be obtained by smelting "sand blocks" (requires a furnace).

[Plank: Made from "wood", requiring the sawing of wooden tables]

We now have a method for obtaining glass.

You can make your own sand by buying sand blocks from other players.

But Lin You still didn't know how to make the sawing table needed for the "plank".

"I never thought I'd be troubled by formulas."

After making a self-deprecating remark, Lin You temporarily put the upgrade of the minecart on hold.

Because there was another important matter that required his attention at that moment...

The pet egg that was bought at a huge price at the auction is about to hatch!

The flame patterns on the surface of the pet egg are glowing faintly, and the temperature is slightly higher than before.

It felt like something was gently pulsating inside.

[Remaining time until hatching complete: 0 hours, 1 minute, 22 seconds]

Upon seeing this notification, Lin You's drowsiness vanished instantly.

"It's finally going to hatch..."

He walked over to the pet egg and waited patiently.

Time passed by, second by second.

Lin You stared at the egg, not daring to blink.

Finally, the countdown reached zero.

"Click."

A tiny crack appeared on the surface of the eggshell.

"Click, click."

The cracks multiplied and spread like a spider web across the entire eggshell.

"Bang!"

The eggshell cracked, and a fiery red figure emerged from it, raising its wet little head to look at Lin You.

Meow~

Although cats are viviparous, this is a survival game and cannot be judged by conventional standards.

Perhaps due to the blood oath, the newborn Flametail Cat was very affectionate towards Lin You.

As soon as the latter reached out, the civet cat nuzzled its little head against her affectionately.

"Good girl."

Seeing such an adorable little guy, Lin You felt all her fatigue instantly vanish.

While gently stroking the spirit cat's head, he checked its attributes.

……

【Flametailed Spirit Cat (Unnamed)】

[Status: Healthy, Belongs to God]

[Level: 1]

【Life: 110】

[Stamina: 150]

【Magic Power: 200】

【property:】

[Strength: 14 (E)]

[Constitution: 11 (E)]

[Spirit: 20 (E)]

[Willpower: 10 (E)]

[Luck: 10 (E)]

……

[Talent: Fire Devourer (Enhances oneself by consuming flames)]

[Skills: Claw Strike, Flaming Tail Whip]

……

"As expected of a gold-quality battle pet, its stats are already this high at level 1."

Lin You browsed through the kitten's attribute information and marveled at it.

Judging by its stats alone, this battle pet is equivalent to a level 5 player.

"Unnamed... What name should I give you?"

Lin You stroked the kitten's chin with her finger while pondering.

After a moment, he decided to stop torturing himself and directly extracted two words from "Flame-tailed Spirit Cat".

"From now on, you will be called 'Flame Spirit'."

The Flametail Cat seemed to possess a spirit, nodding at Lin You before starting to circle around him, displaying great liveliness.

[Naming successful! You have named your current pet "Flame Spirit"!]

Lin You teased Yan Ling for a while, and only after it got tired of playing did she remember that there was another mouth to feed in the house.

"Roasted mushrooms... the little one probably won't eat them, right?"

Lin You tried to put a skewer of grilled mushrooms to Yan Ling's mouth.

The kitten smelled the aroma of food and excitedly came over to sniff it carefully.

He then looked disappointed and turned his head away listlessly.

Clearly, mushrooms are not on a cat's diet.

"I knew it."

Seeing this, Lin You shook her head helplessly, opened the market, and searched for meat ingredients.

You wouldn't believe it until you searched; the search results sent a chill down Lin Youxin's spine.

Meat was available in the market, but most of it was extremely expensive, and a small portion was only available through barter.

Even with Lin You's current wealth, such a price still stings him.

Of course, there are cheap meats on the market, but... they're not the kind you can actually eat.

……

【carrion】

Grade: 1 (White)

[Note: This is formed from the condensed and solidified undead power that falls from a zombie; most people wouldn't want to eat it.]

[Additional Information: Can be used as an ingredient in the alchemy cauldron to craft undead poison]

……

"...Flame Spirit."

Lin You glanced at the Flame Kitten lying at her feet.

Do you eat rotten flesh?

"Meow! Meow meow meow!"

Yanling shook her head vigorously, rejecting Lin You's "kindness".

"Alright, looks like I'll have to find a way to earn money to support you."

Lin You sighed and gave up on feeding the Flame Spirit with rotten flesh.

It's all about making money, isn't it? As the number one strategy author in the 25535 newbie zone, it would be a bit ridiculous if he couldn't make money.

After recalling the information he had gathered over this period, Lin You began to form a plan in his mind.

"But before that, let's fulfill today's agreement."

Lin You had not forgotten his debt relationship with Qi Chuan.

If it weren't for the gold miner's ring that the other party lent him on a loan.

He couldn't collect enough ore to upgrade the mining carts.

Lin You took out several portions of roasted mushrooms and charcoal from the box and sent them to Qi Chuan via email.

The latter replied quickly.

"Thanks, Boss Lin You! The supplies arrived just in time!"

"By the way, good luck, boss! Don't get angry at some people's comments. I believe you can do it!"

"Um?"

Upon seeing this seemingly random message, Lin You raised an eyebrow.

What happened on the forum while he was engrossed in mining?

"...Oh, I see."

After browsing through the chat rooms and posting areas, Lin You roughly figured out what had happened.

He simply shrugged at the rhythm, completely unconcerned.

Only he himself knows his true strength.

As for the expectations and doubts of other players... they are all just unfounded speculations.

However, those questioning words could not disturb Lin You.

But he was also aroused with curiosity, wanting to know what score he could get on the leaderboard.

"If all three conditions for clearing the level are met... I should get around 80 points, right?"

Lin You muttered something to herself, then opened the lid of the bubbling cooking pot in front of her.

A delightful aroma rose up and filled the mine cart.

You've won the "Giant Mushroom Stew"!

……

Giant Mushroom Stew

Grade: 2 (Blue)

[Effect: Restores 100 stamina points within 5 minutes and increases maximum stamina by 20% for 60 minutes. This effect is not stackable.]

[Additional Effect: Due to the use of special ingredients, consuming this item permanently increases Constitution attribute by 10 points (only effective once)]

……

Lin You used a water bottle to scoop out the thick soup from the cooking pot and savored it.

After obtaining the recipe for "Mushroom Stew", he thought of using the "Giant Mushroom" ingredient from the Brutal Mushroom Monster.

Just before venturing into the depths of the earth, a bowl of hot mushroom soup will boost your physical strength.

You have consumed the "Giant Mushroom Stew," permanently increasing your Constitution attribute by 10.

Your current constitution attribute is: E-level, 20 points.

Your maximum health and stamina have been increased to 200 points.

"Hmm~ Perfect."

After finishing the delicious mushroom soup in one gulp, Lin You wiped her mouth with satisfaction.

Then he saw Yanling looking at him with a resentful look in her eyes.

"Don't worry, I'll buy you meat to eat once we get out of the secret realm."

Lin You chuckled and gently patted Yan Ling's head.

He then picked up his backpack and brought up the game menu.

[Would you like to challenge the Underground Dungeon: Dark Mine? (Depth 1, Normal Difficulty)]

Regardless of whether you clear the dungeon or not, you can only challenge this dungeon once per day.

"Yes."

[Entrance fee deducted: 50 copper coins]

Without giving Lin You time to back out, his remaining funds dwindled by another 50 copper coins.

The next moment, the familiar dizzying sensation of teleportation surfaced in my mind.

Lin You's vision blurred for a moment, and when she came to her senses, she was already in the familiar mine tunnel.

However, the location teleported to this time is different from the location during the first clear.

"It seems the teleportation point is different each time."

"However, the requirements for clearing the game should be the same..."

As Lin You pondered, he heard the clanging sounds of kobolds mining in the distance.

Then, he took out the whip of the kobold overseer and confidently gave the order.

"Flame Spirit, let's go!"

……