Chapter 10

Qi Yuan stood with an old telescope, silently observing the movements near the mine entrance. After two hours, the heavily guarded mine finally showed some changes.

"An opportunity has come!"

Qi Yuan's eyes narrowed, and he cast his gaze toward the mine entrance, which was about half a person's height. He chuckled, "I never thought I would have to crawl through a rat hole one day!"

After discovering that the black-toothed rats had dug through to the mine, Qi Yuan did not immediately enter. Instead, he waited for the guards to relax their vigilance.

At the mine entrance, a miner rushed out, panicking, "Report to the officer, there's a black-toothed rat inside the mine!"

"Black-toothed rat!" Hu Hao's brows furrowed.

The black-toothed rat's strength was average. If it were outside, a fully armed warrior could easily deal with it alone. However, the underground mine was complex, and the black-toothed rat was fast and skilled at digging, making it difficult to hunt.

If left unchecked, the black-toothed rat could wreak havoc inside the mine, affecting the miners' work. Once it tasted blood, its aggression would intensify, and it might even attack humans.

Another abandoned mine had a group of shadow lizards deep inside, and a group of bloodthirsty black-toothed rats was also a significant obstacle.

After a moment of thought, Hu Hao continued, "Has the black-toothed rat disturbed the rock-armored lizard inside?"

"No."

Hu Hao breathed a sigh of relief, glad that no major trouble had been caused.

Deep inside the mine, there was a rock-armored lizard with multiple first-tier abilities, including first-tier defense. Although not as powerful as the shadow lizards in the other mine, it was still a formidable insect beast. Only a few people in Blackstone Town could kill it, and that would require luring it outside and using heavy weapons.

Fortunately, the rock-armored lizard's aggression was not too strong. As long as there was enough food and its territory was not invaded, it generally would not hunt.

To prevent the rock-armored lizard from causing chaos, miners fed it blood meat every five days. This arrangement had been peaceful for over half a year.

After some thought, Hu Hao made a decision.

"I will deal with the black-toothed rat. You guard the mine and do not allow anyone to approach. No matter who it is, if they get close, kill them immediately!"

"Understood!"

The order was given, and the surrounding warriors quickly became alert, no one daring to be negligent about the mine's safety.

Before entering the mine, Hu Hao suddenly said to the only warrior without a gun, "You come with me."

The warrior, who had been playing with two round mud balls, gently shook his hands. The mud balls suddenly melted and extended, quickly transforming into two heavy daggers.

Qi Yuan watched as the two entered the cave. About half an hour later, when they emerged, Hu Hao was holding the corpse of a black-toothed rat.

Seeing this, Qi Yuan smiled slightly, bent over, and carried the last black-toothed rat into the cave.

Although the black-toothed rats had tried to dig a large tunnel, the height of the cave was still less than half a meter. With Qi Yuan's height, he could only crawl forward. Fortunately, the tunnel had been widened by the black-toothed rats, so he was not stuck by protruding rocks.

The cave was filled with sharp, small stones, but they could not penetrate his strong steel defense. He only tore his combat suit, leaving no wounds.

Following the tunnel dug by the first black-toothed rat, Qi Yuan felt himself getting closer to the sign-in point.

A powerful extraordinary ability was calling to him!

When he was less than 200 meters from the sign-in point, the narrow tunnel suddenly widened, allowing a burly middle-aged man to walk normally. It was clear he had entered the mine.

"They didn't block this tunnel!"

Qi Yuan was surprised to see the dark mine. The surrounding soil emitted a faint glow, providing the only light in the darkness, preventing complete darkness.

With the faint glow, Qi Yuan noticed something was off.

There were no mine lamps inside the mine!

Unless one had night vision, this light would certainly cause one to get lost. The miners were ordinary people and could not work in such conditions.

Moreover, there were no patrolling warriors or the sound of miners working, making the place eerily quiet.

Qi Yuan turned and carefully examined the tunnel dug by the black-toothed rats. He realized that the tunnel behind was much smoother than the front, not like something dug by rats.

"No wonder they didn't block the tunnel or leave any traces of mine lamps. There must be someone with the ability to control soil on this side of the mine, who connected the tunnel to another area!"

Qi Yuan instantly realized Hu Hao's plot. In such a short time, only someone with the ability to control soil could have created such a tunnel.

"To become the captain of the mine guard, this Hu Hao indeed has some skills. He silently dug a pit for me!"

Qi Yuan glanced at the deep tunnel, where the faint glow only allowed him to see a short distance, not the far end.

Realizing it was a trap, Qi Yuan was in a dilemma. The sign-in point was less than 200 meters away. If he retreated now, it would be hard to come back. If he continued, he didn't know what dangers lay ahead.

After a moment of silence, Qi Yuan made a decision. In this dangerous new era, even with the talent tree, one must face various risks. These sign-in points were designed as tests.

Qi Yuan had a vague premonition that he was very close. If he left out of fear now, the sign-in point might disappear forever.

Looking around the tunnel, Qi Yuan noticed some traces of miners digging for ore, indicating that he was still inside the mine. However, this section had been abandoned, likely due to the danger inside, forcing the mine guards to take action.

The danger inside might not be as terrifying as he imagined!

Although this mine had been partially abandoned, it was not completely abandoned like the other one.

The black-toothed rat had become quiet, its senses more acute than humans, already detecting the danger.

"Go ahead and explore."

Qi Yuan pressed the gun to the black-toothed rat's head, forcing the poor insect beast to walk in front.

The black-toothed rat was clearly afraid but had to continue under Qi Yuan's threat.

The black-toothed rat slowly approached the deeper part of the tunnel, and Qi Yuan slowed his breathing, following behind.

As they got closer to the sign-in point, the black-toothed rat's body began to tremble. Qi Yuan focused on the darkness ahead, his right hand gripping the Falcon, feeling the sweat from his increased metabolism.

90 meters!

80 meters!

70 meters!

60 meters!

50 meters...

The closer they got, the more tense Qi Yuan became, even hearing his own rapid heartbeat.

When they were less than 30 meters from the sign-in point, Qi Yuan suddenly noticed the mine becoming more spacious, like entering a large underground nest!

He had entered the insect beast's nest!

Just as Qi Yuan realized the change, a sharp sound came from the darkness.

Whoosh!

Something was approaching in the darkness!

It was extremely fast!

Qi Yuan's scalp tingled as if he had been electrocuted. The black-toothed rat in front let out a cry and turned to run.

Before the black-toothed rat could turn, it was captured by an invisible force. It seemed as if an invisible hand in the darkness dragged it away, and it disappeared.

Squeak!

From the darkness ahead, the black-toothed rat's terrified scream was followed by a series of wet, crunching sounds, and the scream abruptly stopped.