Chapter 49: Heart of Life

Just as Xiao Yang was chipping away at the ore with a grunt, a communication chime from the God Game suddenly interrupted him.

It was Redbeard, sending him a message.

[Brother Xiao Yang, I've just returned from the Abyss. When are you heading to the Heavens Trading District? Your big brother has managed to get some incredible items this time, and I am definitely going to blow your mind!]

Seeing this pop-up message, a trace of joy appeared on Xiao Yang's face.

Redbeard returning early was fantastic news; he could finally ask about the tenth-tier advancement.

The Heavens Trading session was scheduled for tomorrow, and since he owed Redbeard a massive favor, it was high time to return the gesture and show his older brother something truly astonishing.

Xiao Yang had made a fortune in this gem cave, and a fiery red ruby that looked like burning flames would make the perfect gift.

With this in mind, Xiao Yang replied.

[Tomorrow it is, Big Brother Redbeard!]

With a click on send, the money-grubbing God Game immediately relieved Xiao Yang of nearly ten thousand spiritual coins.

Conversations were becoming unaffordable. Xiao Yang checked his balance and found he only had just over ten thousand spiritual coins left—barely enough for the teleportation fee and the ticket to the next Heavens Trading session. But it wasn't a big problem. Thinking of the pile of miscellaneous items in his backpack and the massive haul of various gems he had just acquired, Xiao Yang felt certain that this Heavens Trading session would lift him out of poverty once and for all.

Full of confidence, Xiao Yang stopped what he was doing, suddenly reached out and scooped up Little Bone beside him, and vigorously ruffled its skull.

"Little Bone, we're going to be rich soon! When the time comes, I'll take you out of the dungeon to sightsee!"

Xiao Yang lacked proper tools, so mining relied entirely on using "Cordial Greetings" to pry loose rock layers. Large chunks of ore were pried off, and if luck was on his side, one or two gems embedded in the rock wall would be revealed.

Little Bone, meanwhile, squatted on the ground, sifting through the rock fragments Xiao Yang had pried off in search of any leftover gems. Little Bone had been doing a fine job, but suddenly being grabbed and vigorously rubbed by Xiao Yang left it either too embarrassed or too terrified, as it instantly vanished back into the shadows without a trace.

At this, Xiao Yang let out a hearty laugh.

"No more mining!"

He hadn't come to the dungeon purely to mine. After toiling away for half a day, his mind felt somewhat dazed. This gem cave was far wealthier than he had imagined, yielding results even with such reckless excavation.

Still, it was simply too tedious. He would have to ask Redbeard if he could procure some proper mining tools.

He still hadn't pried out well over half of the gems on those gem bugs, but Xiao Yang had now figured out how to deal with these damned creatures: simply flip them over and surround them with a ring of stones. Once flipped, even after fully recharging, they couldn't turn themselves back over and could only wave their little legs in confusion, struggling helplessly.

The gem cave was safe for the time being. With the threat of the gem bugs eliminated, the cave murlocs wouldn't dare approach a gem cave glowing this brightly.

To be honest, Xiao Yang had been pushing himself relentlessly over the past seven days, never once getting a proper night's sleep.

As his stats grew higher, Xiao Yang's ability to pull all-nighters had also improved significantly. Operating on five or six days of continuous wakefulness left him feeling relatively okay, but fatigue had inevitably accumulated. The moment he relaxed, a wave of exhaustion crashed over him.

Clutching "Cordial Greetings" in his arms, Xiao Yang found a flat spot to sit down in the gem cave. Leaning against the sharp, cold rock wall, he drifted into a deep sleep.

Shortly after, Little Bone reappeared from the shadows, quietly and dutifully standing guard over Xiao Yang.

Of course, some amusing events took place during this time, such as an argument between Little Bone and the gem bugs.

The largest red gem bug had finished recharging and exited its gemstone state, waving its legs and struggling to flip itself over. Failing to do so, it grew anxious and began to hiss, seemingly trying to summon the other gem bugs for help.

However, the other gem bugs were also trapped upside down by the stones Xiao Yang had placed around them. Soon, hissing sounds filled the air, one after another. This disturbed Little Bone, who was on guard duty. Highly displeased with the commotion created by the gem bugs, soul flames flickering within its eye sockets, Little Bone began to answer them with the loud, rhythmic clacking of its bones.

Hiss, clack, hiss, clack—Little Bone and the gem bugs started arguing with each other.

…………

Xiao Yang slept soundly and didn't oversleep. Waking up refreshed, he stretched lazily. Little Bone was nowhere to be seen, and the flock of gem bugs remained sprawled out on their backs in poor, listless conditions, their limb-waving noticeably slower than before.

Unexpectedly, however, the gems on their bodies had fallen off. Xiao Yang picked up the ruby dropped by the largest gem bug.

[Heart of Life
Quality: Epic
Type: Wondrous Item, Material
Effect: Increases maximum health pool by one hundred points.
Description: Kid, you have no idea what that poor gem bug went through. It actually lost an argument!]

So what on earth happened while he was asleep? That was Xiao Yang's first reaction after picking up the Heart of Life. His second reaction was that these gem bugs could actually produce epic-grade wondrous items.

Without hesitation, Xiao Yang equipped the Heart of Life. His health pool instantly jumped from two hundred to three hundred, increasing by nearly half and giving his sense of security a massive boost.

Even so, Xiao Yang still had no idea what had transpired last night, but it didn't matter.

Seeing the listless appearance of these gem bugs, which had just revealed even greater value, Xiao Yang decided to treat them a bit better. He chose to flip them right side up so they could happily crawl around the gem cave for a while.

Perhaps doing so would encourage them to produce even more good things for him.

The very instant he set the gem bugs down, the moment the largest red gem bug righted itself, without a moment's hesitation and fairly radiating grievance, a beam of colorful light blasted straight toward Xiao Yang.

The familiar scene played out once more: Xiao Yang scrambled and scurried away in a panic, howling as he dodged the onslaught.

It had to be said, Xiao Yang's experiences in the dungeon were always quite lively and chaotic.

Back in the physical plane, the Lunar New Year would soon arrive. Xiao Yang wondered if he would be able to crawl back up from the dungeon before the celebrations began.