Chapter 41: Mood

[Prompt: Your zombie clone has obtained Coal *21, your Basic Mining EXP +29.]

[Prompt: Your zombie clone has obtained Coal *16, your Basic Mining EXP +21.]

[Prompt: Your zombie clone has obtained Coal *22...]

[Prompt: Your Mining skill level has increased to LV: 2.]

Half an hour later, seeing that the zombies had already begun digging up coal, Fang Heng patted his pant legs with relief and stood up from the ground.

It was time to go back and see how tonight's accommodations were holding up.

Night was approaching.

Zhou Yi and Lu Yu had divided the labor to clear some of the zombies around the small cabin and reinforced the wooden door and windows to ensure the safety of their shelter for the night.

The group lit a bonfire inside the cabin.

"Thanks for your hard work these past few days, you two!"

Fang Heng casually pulled a pack of ice-cold beer from his backpack, placed it by the bonfire, and tossed two cans to each of them.

"I'll show off a little tonight. I'll whip something up for everyone to taste my cooking."

It was the large skewers of grilled meat again!

Fang Heng's signature specialty.

In the game, with the bonus from his Recipe skill, the taste of the large skewers was explosive!

One could eat them endlessly without ever getting tired of them!

Fang Heng even carried a grill with him at all times so he could have a meal whenever the craving struck.

He took out the meat chunks, prepared them into skewers, and placed them on the grill, flipping them continuously like a professional chef.

Golden fat sizzled loudly.

The aroma of the meat skewers drifted straight into the noses of Lu Yu and Zhou Yi.

They couldn't help but salivate!

In this zombie apocalypse game, Lu Yu and Zhou Yi were considered professional-level players.

They had been constantly studying game guides and understood the game extremely well.

But despite their rich experience, their food over the past few days had been nothing but roasted potatoes, roasted wild vegetables, roasted berries, and roasted bird eggs...

They had been living a miserable life, barely managing to fill their stomachs.

After all, they spent their days desperately completing Apocalypse Merchant tasks to earn survival points for homemade bombs, leaving them with no extra time to gather food.

They never imagined that someone could actually be happily grilling large skewers of meat and drinking big bowls of beer in the game.

Seeing Fang Heng sprinkle cumin on the skewers and carefully brush on a layer of secret sauce, the two men's eyes went wide.

Good grief!

Are you here to survive, or are you here to participate in a gourmet competition?

This behavior! It's too cruel!

Fang Heng raised his beer can.

"Thanks for your hard work, you two. A toast! To our successful cooperation in the future!"

"To successful cooperation! If you need help in the future, just look for us. We're reliable, at the very least!"

Zhou Yi picked up a large meat skewer and took a massive bite.

Delicious!

The juices, carrying all the savory flavors, burst in his mouth along with the fat of the pork belly!

The seasonings were blended perfectly!

The slightly bursting texture enhanced the aroma, which flowed down his throat and through his nasal cavity.

Good food could heal the soul and sweep away fatigue.

As Zhou Yi ate the skewers and drank the beer, his mood, which had been somewhat dampened by Fang Heng's recent strikes, finally recovered a little, allowing him to enjoy a hard-won moment of happiness in the apocalypse.

After eating and drinking their fill.

Lu Yu and Zhou Yi strongly requested to take the night watch as a way of affirming the meal.

Fang Heng did not object.

The group chatted casually for a while longer.

"By the way, Great God, although we drove off Qiang She and his group today, we still need to be careful."

"Hmm?" Fang Heng was surprised. He put down his beer. "They dare to come back?"

"Don't forget, Great God, in a few days, the game will open the Channel Teleportation service."

Zhou Yi spoke seriously, explaining to Fang Heng.

"At that time, all players below Level 5 in the Main God Game can spend Main God Points to enter our game world."

"Qiang She is famously ill-mannered, but many people don't want to provoke him."

"He used to belong to a game guild called 'Dawn.' Since their attack on the prison failed this time, they probably guessed that you were the one who established this super-large shelter."

"If he reports the prison incident to the guild, you might be in trouble."

"Dawn..."

Fang Heng muttered the name softly and nodded slightly.

This body possessed the memories of this game guild.

Dawn had a terrible reputation in the game; most of its players were a bunch of thugs.

Indeed.

Now that the prison and the mercenaries had been exposed, Fang Heng felt he would inevitably have to face those greedy villains.

Furthermore, as time passed, the game's restrictions would gradually lift.

Two days later, players below LV: 5 would be unlocked.

A month later, players below LV: 10 would also be able to consume Main God Points to enter the game.

Fang Heng sensed the approaching trouble.

However, he was not afraid of trouble.

At first, being secretive, carefully hiding his identity, and quietly developing might buy the prison more time to grow and avoid unwanted attention.

But it would also significantly sacrifice his development speed.

Fang Heng felt that if the enemies wanted to come, they should just come!

What he needed to do was to always stay one step ahead of the players and keep the initiative firmly in his own hands!

If he could crush them with sheer strength, what was there to fear!

Kill one if one comes! Kill a whole group if a group comes!

Even though Fang Heng feared death, he still preferred a direct confrontation!

...

The next day.

The sun rose, dispelling the darkness.

The night watchman, Zhou Yi, stretched.

He had been lucky.

Last night was very quiet; no zombies had come to harass them.

Coupled with the fact that he had eaten his fill last night, his mood was much better than in previous days.

He stood up, preparing to go outside the cabin to breathe some fresh air.

"Come on! Zhou Yi! Don't be so depressed! Face life positively!"

Zhou Yi slapped his cheeks to encourage himself.

He also realized that his morale had been somewhat low due to the successive blows dealt by Fang Heng during this period.

*Click...*

As he pushed open the wooden door of the residence, Zhou Yi was shocked.

What was this?

Outside the small cabin, piles of stones had been gathered into over a dozen "small mountains," each more than two meters high.

Black small stones were mixed within these "small mountains."

Black stones...

Hmm?

Is it coal ore?

Confusion welled up in Zhou Yi's heart.

What was going on?

He wondered if he was hallucinating because he had only slept four hours last night.

Zhou Yi slowly walked up to one of the "small mountains" and picked up a small piece of black coal.

The coal ore immediately vanished from his hand.

[Prompt: You have obtained Coal *1.]

It was real!

It wasn't a hallucination; it was coal ore!

It was damn near supernatural!

Where did all this coal come from?

Did it appear out of thin air?

Was it some kind of ghostly relocation? Did the Main God have a bug?

Puzzled, Zhou Yi looked around.

He saw a zombie walking shakily toward him from a distance.

Zhou Yi reflexively raised his weapon.

This zombie was wearing "Lumberjack" clothing.

It was likely one of the Great God's summons.

Zhou Yi lowered his weapon and slowly backed up a few steps, remaining vigilant.

The Lumberjack zombie ignored Zhou Yi and showed no desire to attack.

It walked past Zhou Yi and arrived in front of the newest "small mountain."

Then, Zhou Yi witnessed a scene he would never forget for the rest of his life.

The Lumberjack zombie took pieces of stone out of its backpack and tossed them toward the "small mountain," adding bricks and mortar to the rising pile.

After finishing this, it turned around and returned the way it came.

Behind it, two more zombies followed in succession, repeating the same action.

"This..."

No way...

Could these zombies actually mine?!

Zhou Yi felt like he was going crazy.

Impossible! How could zombies help players mine?

It made no logical sense!

He immediately chased after the zombies, wanting to see for himself what was happening.

Five minutes later, Zhou Yi arrived at the side of a mountain.

After one night, a large hole over ten meters deep had been excavated into the mountainside...

The group of zombies he had seen yesterday were swinging stone pickaxes, working hard to strike the mountainside.

Zhou Yi silently sat down on the spot.

He didn't know what was happening either...

Suddenly, his mood felt bad again.

(End of Chapter)