Chapter Thirteen: The Phantom Sand Lizard

"Thirty times? The boss actually dug thirty underground chambers? My goodness!"

"What a beast! Dug thirty chambers in one day—didn’t run into any fierce creatures?"

"At this speed, was he a digging machine in his past life?"

"Coke and barbecue? Is this the boss’s life? Tears are streaming down my face and straight into my mouth."

"The boss is drinking Coke, and I haven’t even had a sip of water. I’ve dug five chambers—five! Do you know what I went through for those five? Worst of all, I haven’t found a drop of water, just bread that’s choking me to death."

"Ah… well, my condolences, brother. I found mineral water, so I have something to drink. Jealous?"

"Emmm…"

...

[...Is that all?]

The tone from the Eye was faintly mocking.

Seeing his plan go off track, Fang Tang felt a bit awkward. Everyone stumbles sometimes, just as even the best horse may trip—nothing to be done about it. He could only eat his barbecue in silence, sip his soda, and watch as the others took the conversation in wild directions.

Just then, Xie Ling sent him a message.

"Boss, did you find some meat?"

Fang Tang raised an eyebrow, a strange smile slowly spreading across his face.

"Yes, I’m eating it now."

Xie Ling: "...Barbecue, huh? Must taste amazing?"

Fang Tang: "Not bad. Pork belly, you know—it’s never tough, always tender, no matter how you grill it. Pity there’s only two pounds."

Xie Ling: "Only two pounds… isn’t that a bit little?"

Fang Tang: "Once the pork belly’s gone, there’s still five pounds of tenderloin. Gotta be careful with that though—tenderloin dries out easily and takes longer to cook."

Xie Ling: "Emmm… Boss, I suddenly find you really annoying!"

Fang Tang couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

That expression was just so… well, mischievous.

He could almost picture a young girl staring mournfully at her newspaper, swallowing hard with envy.

He kept typing.

"Want some?"

Xie Ling: "Yeah, I do!"

Fang Tang: "Wait a moment."

He took a few skewers of barbecue off the rack, thought for a moment, then added a few wafers, a piece of chocolate, and an apple, sending the link to Xie Ling.

A short while later, Xie Ling replied.

"Aww… Boss, you’re amazing! The barbecue is delicious, and there’s biscuits and chocolate too. I’m so happy!"

Fang Tang smiled and said nothing more.

He held tightly to the lucky star’s coattails.

He just hoped that when she found something good in the future, she would think of him first. That would make this barbecue worthwhile.

After a delightful dinner, Fang Tang stood up.

He planned to get some training in.

After the whole day, he could feel his own lack of strength—arms weak, poor stamina, little power. Years spent sitting in front of a computer without exercise had taken their toll.

Fortunately, he had kept a regular diet and had no bad habits, so his health was still decent—he just needed to work out more.

Besides, his learning and adaptability were exceptional.

In these two areas, he could be called a genius.

After a full two hours of intense training, Fang Tang was drenched in sweat.

He used up two bottles of water—quite lavishly—to wash up, then crawled into his tent.

Lying on the soft fibers and cotton, already a little tired, Fang Tang soon drifted off to sleep.

...

The night passed without incident.

Fang Tang awoke groggily.

The campfire had long since died out, with only the Fire Spirit Stone casting light in the chamber.

He scrubbed his face, shuffled over to the two water collectors.

In eight hours, the two collectors had produced sixteen liters of water—plenty to last him for a while.

He poured all the water into a bucket, stuffed the rest into his newspaper, and looked over at his pickaxe.

[After half a day’s rest, the Workhorse Pickaxe is full of energy again and ready to dig!]

"Heh, has twelve hours already passed?" Fang Tang smiled, glancing at the surrounding walls.

[Wooden chests, wooden chests everywhere—aren’t there any better supplies? Oh? There’s an iron chest below.]

Fang Tang looked down, hefted his pickaxe, and struck the ground.

Knowing the pickaxe could only dig thirty chambers, he decided not to take any detours.

Yesterday he’d hit several empty ones. At first, he hadn’t minded, but now, looking back, he felt he’d wasted a lot.

Now, with a flamethrower in hand, he no longer needed to avoid anything.

The shock-absorbing insoles had proved their worth before, but every time he used them, their effectiveness still surprised him.

"Hmm… I could make a few extra pairs to trade for Elemental Stones."

At this stage, many people still didn’t know the value of Elemental Stones.

Even those who did kept it to themselves.

The fewer who knew, the better.

It had practically become an unspoken rule among everyone.

Quietly making a fortune!

Inside the iron chest, he found only some water, bread, and fiber.

After using the Disassembly Hammer to retrieve three iron ingots, Fang Tang looked at the surrounding walls.

On all sides: ahead, a Bluewater Stone; to the left and right, wooden chests; behind, nothing.

Without hesitation, Fang Tang went for the Bluewater Stone.

His main focus now was collecting rare resources like Elemental Stones and glass. Ordinary supplies could be gathered along the way.

He picked up a Bluewater Stone with ease.

[Ahead, there’s a wooden chest guarded by a crocodile. The loot in the chest isn’t much, but the crocodile is your real target, right?]

Fang Tang grinned—the Eye really understood him best.

The Eye had said before that the pale red pearl was valuable, and could be traded for good items at the underground store.

If the Eye said it was good, then it truly was.

Just like the Disassembly Hammer.

With the power of his flamethrower plus, the sand crocodile fell quickly.

This time, facing the crocodile head-on, Fang Tang realized just how lucky he’d been to win last time.

The crocodile was fast, explosive, with a terrifying bite.

If not for the devastating power of his flamethrower plus, a whole magazine probably wouldn’t bring it down.

And the crocodile was cunning, too.

At death’s door, it would play dead and secretly gather strength, waiting for an enemy to approach before launching a deadly attack.

Fang Tang couldn’t help but marvel at the wonders of these underground chambers.

With a pale red pearl in hand, he turned to face a new underground creature.

[To the left, there’s a creature slightly stronger than a kobold—a Phantom Sand Lizard. Its strength isn’t in attack, but in its ability to turn invisible, making it the perfect hunter in these dim caverns.]

Reading the description, Fang Tang smiled.

"What good is that power against the Eye?"

[Since you said so, what more can I add? Oh-ho-ho… I’m laughing like that skeleton with the explosive hair.]

He used his pickaxe to make a hole, tossed in a Fire Spirit Stone, waited quietly for a moment, then entered.

[Left corner—this guy has no sense of honor, trying to ambush a loyal comrade of twenty years, to trick—]

As soon as the subtitles appeared, Fang Tang whipped out his flamethrower and pulled the trigger toward the corner.

Bang!

A burst of fire lit up the darkness.

A sharp, shrill cry echoed out.

Fang Tang saw a spray of blood bloom out of thin air.