"Check what you have on you. Confirm you have two pickaxes and one wooden sword?"
Jiang Xuan stood at the very front of the mine shaft.
Behind him was a pitch-black mine, stretching as far as the eye could see.
He held a shield in his left hand and a wooden sword in his right, his expression stern as he glanced at the time.
The sun was directly overhead, so it was easy to tell the time in the MC world.
There were no longitudes or latitudes anyway; as long as the sun was at the zenith, it was noon.
This timing was good; at least it was safe outside.
After surveying the area for a while upon arriving, Jiang Xuan had confirmed there was no coal near the entrance.
At least, not within dozens of meters of the mine entrance.
This was a bit of a bad start, but time was running out, so Jiang Xuan decided to take a gamble today.
Going up the mountain or to other mine shafts would waste too much time.
Before coming out, Jiang Xuan had even swiped a few torches from his good brother's house, just enough for illumination.
"No problem!"
Keqing was dressed identically to Jiang Xuan, shield in her left hand, wooden sword in her right.
As for Ganyu, she held a torch in one hand and a wooden pickaxe in the other.
After all, Jiang Xuan couldn't gamble on how many lives he had or whether Ganyu and the others could respawn.
Safety first, always.
Don't be fooled by Keqing and Ganyu's seemingly strong combat prowess; Ganyu was even an Adeptus.
In the MC world, they still couldn't withstand a few slaps from a zombie.
There was no way around it; this illogical world was just that outrageous.
"Once we go down, I'll lead the way. Ganyu will stand in the middle for illumination, and Keqing will guard the rear."
"If any problems arise, you two just retreat. Don't worry about me, understand?"
Jiang Xuan gave his final instructions to Keqing and Ganyu.
The two nodded seriously in affirmation.
They didn't quibble about not leaving Jiang Xuan behind. As seasoned warriors who had fought countless battles, they knew when to care for teammates and when unnecessary worry was a hindrance.
Jiang Xuan clearly had more experience than them. Instead of worrying if Jiang Xuan could escape, they should consider if they would hold him back.
"Did you remember the techniques I taught you earlier?" Jiang Xuan asked again.
Ganyu's little head bobbed quickly.
She took out her wooden pickaxe and gestured on the wall.
"If surrounded by zombies, immediately dig into the wall to create a safe space, then place blocks behind you to block their attack path."
"If encountering a skeleton archer, dig sideways, maintaining a breathing hole and a viewing hole while ensuring you're out of its shooting range."
"If a green four-legged monster appears, immediately raise your shield! If there's water, run into it!"
Ganyu recited mechanically, and Jiang Xuan felt reassured.
Although there were many other terrifying entities in the mine, such as annoying silverfish, slimes, spiders...
Sometimes, there might even be Endermen.
But those things appeared less frequently. Relatively speaking, zombies, skeletons, and Creepers were the most troublesome.
Especially hordes of skeletons; you'd be pincushioned in minutes.
The dangers of the mine were too many: zombies wearing enchanted armor, fast-running baby zombies, and so on...
But Jiang Xuan obviously didn't have time to discuss these further.
He could only be extra careful once they went down.
"Besides remembering these, there's one most important thing!"
Jiang Xuan raised a finger. Ganyu tilted her head in thought, then said happily:
"Don't leave Jiang Xuan's side, don't stand in front of you, and don't dig randomly downwards!"
Hearing this, Jiang Xuan chuckled and clapped his hands.
"Congratulations, Ganyu has initially qualified as an entry-level miner!"
"Just entry-level?"
Jiang Xuan's joke was taken very seriously by Ganyu.
She sighed with a hint of disappointment.
"Indeed, mining is a great skill. I still need to work harder!"
Jiang Xuan awkwardly pursed his lips, turned around, and waved his hand.
"Get ready, we're off!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Keqing immediately shouldered her shield, warily following Ganyu, while Ganyu also solemnly raised her torch.
Although they were very powerful, they weren't always lone wolves.
They had cooperated many times when necessary.
Seeing this, Jiang Xuan put down his last shred of worry, completely entrusting his back to Keqing and the others.
Illuminated by Ganyu's torchlight, the three of them cautiously ventured deeper into the mine shaft.
It wasn't that he was being overly cautious; he simply didn't want to gamble on whether he would die...
The path in the mine was somewhat rugged and difficult to traverse.
However, this feeling only existed with top-tier shader packs.
Essentially, in a world made of blocks, no matter how difficult the path seemed, it was still easy.
Especially since none of the three were ordinary people.
Before long, they had advanced over fifty meters.
The sunlight from outside the mine had completely disappeared.
In the pitch-black mine, only Ganyu's torch, not weak but not overly bright, provided illumination.
Although Keqing and Ganyu were already quite brave, they still felt nervous in this environment.
At least, Jiang Xuan could feel Ganyu's breathing behind him becoming increasingly rapid.
She was almost pressing against his back.
Jiang Xuan gave a wry smile. In a completely dark environment, no one was immune to fear, and Ganyu was no exception.
Putting away his wooden sword, Jiang Xuan gently took Ganyu's wrist.
Ganyu seemed startled for a moment, instinctively looking up.
In the darkness, Jiang Xuan's eyes gleamed brightly. In that instant, Ganyu's panic vanished without a trace.
"Don't be afraid," Jiang Xuan gently comforted them both.
"Watch your step."
He then refocused his attention on the front.
He needed to be wary of any monsters that might appear. As for finding ore, Ganyu could handle that.
The ore in this place was too conspicuous. Like a lone green sprout in a field of flowers, anyone who wasn't blind could see it.
Although Ganyu knew Jiang Xuan's comfort was just casual, she inexplicably quieted down.
Taking a deep breath, she gave herself a silent pep talk.
She then focused her attention on her surroundings.
Not far into the mine, there was a high probability of finding coal and iron ore.
Jiang Xuan had said this.
Coal was black, and iron ore was somewhat whitish?
That's how Ganyu remembered it.
With the aid of the faint torchlight, Ganyu continuously scanned the surroundings.
Jiang Xuan, in front, was actually sweating a little.
He hadn't expected this mine to be so outrageous; they'd been in for so long and still no coal.
This was quite absurd.
Ultimately, it was due to a lack of manpower. If he had enough people, Jiang Xuan would have led them to dig from the mountaintop.
Forget dark mine shafts; he'd just blast open a massive crater and mine however he pleased.
After a few silent complaints, Jiang Xuan's ears caught the faint roar of zombies.
But listening closely, it seemed to be coming from behind a wall.
So, Jiang Xuan decided not to mention it to avoid making them nervous.
He estimated they had gone over a hundred meters into the mine.
Any further, and with only three or four torches on him, they truly couldn't proceed.
Jiang Xuan was also considering whether, given this poor start, he should go back and regroup, then try a different mine tomorrow.
Suddenly, Ganyu reached back and grabbed Jiang Xuan.
She spoke with suppressed excitement:
"Jiang Xuan! I see it! It's black! It's coal, right!"
Jiang Xuan paused, then pulled a torch from his inventory. Following Ganyu's pointing finger, he quickly walked over and placed the torch.
Immediately, the surroundings brightened considerably.
Jiang Xuan focused his gaze, then burst out laughing.
He turned around and nodded with certainty.
"That's right! Coal! Lots and lots of coal!"
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