Apocalypse Descent: Farming with My Harem

Chapter 38: Chapter 38: Ore Everywhere, Fork in the Road

Assam’s resolute face furrowed with pain.

Moments later, he also sensed an increase in power within him, his eyes taking on a look of surprise.

“So, this is the Lord’s intention, is it? Truly amazing.”

“Thank you for the whipping, honorable Lord!” Assam said respectfully.

At this point, Assam, a bit embarrassed, said, “Lord, may I perhaps be whipped a few more times?”

“Assam wants to become even stronger!”

Cao Xing shook his head and said, “No, only the first whipping has an effect.”

Hearing this, Assam nodded regretfully.

The people nearby, hearing their conversation, were utterly baffled.

Although they understood that Cao Xing’s actions might have some purpose, it was certainly peculiar.

Cao Xing, realizing they misunderstood, coughed twice, then explained the effect of the whip to them.

The group, upon hearing this, had a sudden realization in their eyes.

At this time, Cao Xing said, “Well then, Andrew, Sarah, let me also bestow blessings upon you.”

Andrew and Sarah exchanged a glance, then nodded.

Cao Xing whipped one by one.

“Snap!”

“Snap!”

In this deep mine, the sound of the whip cracking echoed.

Andrew was fine, with its thick skin, the pain was negligible.

Sarah, on the other hand, was slightly trembling.

When it was Liu Muxue’s turn, she looked fearfully at the whip in Cao Xing’s hand and said softly, “Axing… do I, do I have to?”

Cao Xing pondered for a moment, then nodded, “Hmm, a 10% increase in move speed is a significant enhancement.”

“And it only takes one whip, just bear with it, and it’ll be over.”

Liu Muxue contemplated for a moment, then nodded and said, “Hmm.”

Cao Xing, without any extra thoughts, whipped directly.

“Ugh!”

Liu Muxue let out a muffled groan, then pitifully looked at Cao Xing.

“So… so painful…”

Witnessing this scene made Cao Xing recall last night, causing his emotions to surge for a moment.

But he quickly calmed down.

Cao Xing coughed twice and said, “The status has been enhanced, let’s continue moving forward.”

Andrew and Assam continued to advance forward.

In the passage, there was an iron rail extending deeper inside.

Cao Xing advanced along the route while collecting the iron rail off the ground.

[Iron Rail +1]

[Iron Rail +1]

It wasn’t long before Cao Xing had gathered over a hundred meters of rail!

Even when broken down into iron, it amounted to several hundred pieces!

Cao Xing happily thought, “Just a bit more iron rail, and I can connect that coal mine to my territory, significantly boosting resource collection speed.”

Just then, a fork appeared ahead in the mine.

The left path seemed to lead deeper into the mine, with faint machinery rumblings emanating from within.

The right path was sealed with wooden boards, marked with a red ‘X.’

This seemed to be a restricted area.

The group halted, awaiting Cao Xing’s decision.

After contemplating for a moment, Cao Xing said, “Andrew, take down the wooden boards, let me take a look inside first.”

Andrew obeyed, swinging his massive bear paw over.

“Crack! Cr-crack!”

The boards shattered instantly, revealing the scene inside the mine.

Cao Xing saw several collapsed mine carts in front, with some excavated ores scattered around.

The Mole Men seemed to have encountered some problem, unable to evacuate in time, leaving everything here.

Sarah, emerging from the shadows, suddenly said, “I sense a dangerous presence inside…”

Cao Xing frowned at this,

Hearing this from Sarah, a level 20 elite monster, indicated a formidable creature was lurking inside.

Cao Xing said, “Sarah, go scout it out.”

Sarah nodded, then vanished into the shadows.

A minute later, Sarah reappeared and said, “Scouting complete, there’s a Second Order demon creature’s lair inside.”

“A Second Order demon creature, how strong is it?”

Sarah pondered for a moment and replied, “It should be on par with my strength.”

Cao Xing nodded in realization.

Being on par with Sarah meant it was a level 20 elite monster.

Cao Xing asked, “Confident in handling it?”

Sarah considered for a moment, then answered, “With the Lord’s bestowed blessing, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“If we then coordinate with these two companions, victory is almost assured.”

Upon hearing this, Cao Xing felt reassured.

“Great, let’s head straight inside then!”

With that said, Andrew and Assam proceeded toward the right mine passage.

Cao Xing and Liu Muxue followed behind.

He quickly arrived at a collapsed mine cart, with some ore scattered beside it.

Cao Xing packed away the cart along with the ore on the ground.

[Obtained Mine Cart *1, Iron Ore *31, Curse Metal *7, Secret Silver Ore *8, Magic Energy Stone *17, Stone *64…]

“Huh? So much Secret Silver and Magic Energy Stone?” Cao Xing was delighted.

These were high-grade materials, valuable indeed.

Cao Xing began inspecting ahead.

[Iron Ore: Can be processed at an Ore Processing Plant, 1 ore can be processed into 5 pieces of iron.]

[Curse Metal: A metal fused with the grudge of the dead.]

(Can be used to craft certain evil alchemical items.)

[Secret Silver Ore: Can be processed at an Ore Processing Plant, 1 Secret Silver Ore can be processed into 3 pieces of mithril.]

(Note: Requires a level 3 Ore Processing Plant.)

[Magic Energy Stone: An energy-containing stone that can power certain special devices.]

…

Satisfied, Cao Xing nodded, his eyes on the remaining mine carts.

He packed them all up as well.

[Obtained Mine Cart *1, Obtained Iron Ore *42, Curse Metal *9, Secret Silver Ore *7, Magic Energy Stone *19, Stone *72…]

In addition to these, he didn’t bypass the iron rails on the ground either.

[Obtained Iron Rail *42, Obtained Abandoned Mine Cart *7, Obtained…]

…

Cao Xing followed behind Andrew and Assam, collecting various ores from the ground.

Liu Muxue also assisted in gathering.

As she picked up items, she exclaimed with a joyful smile, “Axing, so much iron ore, and so many Secret Silver Ores!”

Cao Xing nodded, “This trip is quite a haul, just these ores and mine carts make it worthwhile.”

Liu Muxue also displayed the joy of their acquisition.

Clearly, the Mole Man Mine was a high-level area.

At least, with the current survivor strength, it was impossible to get in.

But Cao Xing, having three generals under his command, could explore this mine for treasures at his level.

The haul was indeed abundant.

So far, Cao Xing had gathered nearly two hundred sections of rail.

Thankfully, the survivor’s [Carrying Backpack] feature had 20 slots for storage, with similar materials stackable up to 400 units in one slot.

And larger items like mine carts could be stacked nearly 100 times, occupying just one slot.

The carrying backpack was quite spacious.

The team continued to move forward.

Until they reached the tunnel’s depths.

The light here dimmed considerably.

However, with Cao Xing retrieving a magic energy stone torch from his backpack, the darkness was instantly dispelled.

They noticed white spider webs appearing on the ceiling and walls of the mine.

The further in they went, the denser the webbing became.

Some large webs even filled the passage, blocking the group’s path.

Meanwhile, an evil, formidable aura rushed toward them!

…