The words "mob grinder" were something Ruan Mei found a bit difficult to comprehend.
She could only imagine a tower-shaped structure, but the words "mob" and "grinder" were a complete mystery to her.
Out of curiosity, she stood up, leaped down from the edge, and landed gracefully on the ground below.
"Mr. Fu Zhu, what is a mob grinder?"
Ruan Mei's sudden voice startled Fu Zhu. He turned his head and saw that she was already standing beside him, looking a bit confused.
"Why did you jump down here?"
Ruan Mei touched a finger to her lips, her mind still replaying the words "mob grinder." "I was a bit curious about what kind of structure this 'mob grinder' you speak of is."
Seeing her curiosity, Fu Zhu offered a simple explanation.
"It's a structure that makes the monsters of this world spawn in a concentrated, fixed area. Then, some mechanisms are used to gather them together for a convenient, one-time mass slaughter. It allows me to collect a large amount of resources and experience."
"Experience? Do you mean for honing combat skills?"
"No, it's a different meaning. It's a bit hard to explain, but you'll understand once you see it. I'm just collecting some blocks. I'll demonstrate for you in a bit when we get back up."
"Alright."
Ruan Mei agreed and then stood quietly by Fu Zhu's side, watching him continuously use his pickaxe to collect cobblestone and ore.
After a dozen or so minutes, Fu Zhu roughly calculated the number of blocks he had. Seeing that he had collected nearly enough, he put away his pickaxe. He then equipped the elytra that had been sitting in his inventory and held a firework rocket in his hand.
"Ruan Mei, can you fly? Do you need me to carry you up?"
Ruan Mei looked up at the height of the deep pit and then nodded. "Thank you for the kind offer, Mr. Fu Zhu, but this height is not a problem."
"Alright, I'll wait for you at the top."
Fu Zhu launched the firework rocket in his hand, and with a whoosh, his entire body shot into the air, a blooming firework trailing behind him.
Seeing this, Ruan Mei couldn't help but blink, muttering to herself.
"Mr. Fu Zhu's methods are truly peculiar. He even has to set off a firework while flying... Is this a custom from his homeland? Or is he implying that he needs this firework to fly?"
After all, a high-tech object like a rocket was, in a sense, just a very large firework. It wasn't particularly strange to use a firework to fly.
It was just that the firework Fu Zhu had held looked more like a child's toy. It was unlikely it could help a person fly into the sky.
Ruan Mei couldn't figure it out, but she didn't want to dwell on the issue. She was currently more curious about the mob grinder and the "experience."
After waiting for a short while at the top, Fu Zhu saw Ruan Mei fly up. He then entered a command and summoned a zombie to his side.
"Ruan Mei, stand back a bit."
Ruan Mei obediently moved to the side. Fu Zhu drew his Divine Meteor Sword, killed the zombie with a single strike, and then immediately retreated several steps.
At first, Ruan Mei was confused by Fu Zhu's actions. But when she saw the zombie's body disintegrate after being slain, leaving behind only a few translucent green orbs floating on the ground, she understood.
"Are these little orbs what you call 'experience,' Mr. Fu Zhu?"
"That's right."
Ruan Mei crouched down, cautiously extending a fingertip to touch one of the experience orbs. But as her finger drew near, the orbs seemed to be drawn to her, suddenly shooting forward and merging into her body.
"!!"
Startled by this strange phenomenon, Ruan Mei quickly checked her body to see if anything was amiss.
Seeing her jumpy reaction, Fu Zhu couldn't help but chuckle.
"Don't panic, Ruan Mei. These experience orbs are only beneficial to people, not harmful. Though, I don't know if they'll be of any use to you."
Hearing Fu Zhu's words, Ruan Mei immediately calmed down and began to carefully inspect her own body.
After a thorough examination, Ruan Mei was surprised to find that an extremely pure energy had appeared inside her. This energy didn't belong to any known type she was aware of, but it could perfectly replicate the functions of all other energies. It could even enhance the power of her own Path!
"Incredible..."
Ruan Mei suddenly remembered what Screwllum and Herta had told her earlier: all the creatures in this simulated world seemed to be Pathstriders.
Could it be that this "experience" was the power of their Paths, scattered upon their demise?
But Ruan Mei had seen the power of a Path before. The Path energies of the outside world were not nearly as pure as these experience orbs—so pure that they could substitute for any other energy.
---o---
Ruan Mei couldn't help but turn to Fu Zhu and ask, "Mr. Fu Zhu, do all the creatures in this world drop experience value?"
Fu Zhu first nodded, then shook his head. "Not all of them, but the vast majority of creatures do drop experience value. The amount varies, though. The stronger the monster, the more experience value it drops."
Ruan Mei's brow lifted as a possibility came to mind.
"What about the Ender Dragon?"
This was the strongest MC creature she knew of, according to Screwllum and Herta. How much experience would it drop?
"The Ender Dragon? That's a whole lot!"
Fu Zhu's answer somewhat confirmed Ruan Mei's suspicions.
According to Herta and the others, the creatures in this world were essentially all Pathstriders, just of varying strengths. The Ender Dragon was estimated to be at or above the level of an Emanator, perhaps even equal to an Aeon.
This was consistent with what Fu Zhu said about the Ender Dragon dropping a massive amount of experience. It was just like in the real world: when an Aeon falls, the power of its Path scatters.
In other words, this so-called "experience" was likely a form of energy equivalent to, or perhaps even superior to, the power of a Path!
The more Ruan Mei thought about it, the more she felt her guess might be correct.
If her guess was indeed correct, didn't that mean she could have a creature absorb a massive amount of experience, thereby allowing it to reach the level of an Aeon?!
Wouldn't that mean she could achieve the goal she had pursued all this time?
The more Ruan Mei thought, the more excited she became. Her fair face began to flush with excitement.
However, she quickly calmed herself down. For now, this was just her speculation, a theory built upon the words of Fu Zhu and Herta. There was no concrete evidence to prove it.
To verify this, she would have to experience the "mob grinder" Fu Zhu spoke of and call on Herta and the others to research it together.
Thinking of this, Ruan Mei turned to face Fu Zhu with a serious expression.
"Mr. Fu Zhu, may I observe you building the mob grinder? I promise I won't tell a soul!"