6: Chapter 6 Stealing the Last Bite of Rice

At the first light of dawn, there was already movement in the Dead Ash Mine.

Overnight, the gray fungus zone had swelled by two layers. Small, white-gray fungal sacs were squeezed into the crevices of broken bones and slag, looking like a patch of terribly ugly frost. In the warm pits on the outer ring, the newly born rats huddled together, squeaking softly against the gray, warm geothermal air. Several mother rats were using their tails to curl up soft ash and cover them, their movements significantly more agile than yesterday.

Lu Jin stood on the wind well tower, his divine sense sweeping across the entire mine.

The rat pack's numbers had increased by over thirty.

Twenty-one of the offspring had survived.

The gray fungus could barely provide enough for some of the adult rats to gnaw on, but it was far from being "full." The residual bones piled on the outer ring had already been half-gnawed away; if they lasted another two days, they would hit bottom.

His gaze landed on the pile of materials beside the altar.

Five Black Well cores, twelve pieces of intact rotten wood, and seventeen segments of hard bone.

This was all the assets he had now.

Not enough.

Far from enough.

That battle at the resource node was about competition and supplies. Without divine liquid to stabilize the domain, without ready-made unit cards, and without external divine art scrolls, relying solely on this bit of slag and bone, it was doubtful he could even feed the rat pack enough to be able to fight a battle.

Lu Jin withdrew his divine sense. When he opened his eyes, only a nearly burnt-out candle wick remained in the old room.

He lowered his head and glanced at his communication ring.

There was only half an hour left until the resource distribution time.

The school had revoked his key cultivation qualification last night, but by rights, the basic resources for awakened students would be distributed until the end of the month. Two portions of basic divine liquid, ten faith crystals, plus a bag of the cheapest gray wheat feed powder.

It wasn't much.

But it was the exact bite of food that this Dead Ash Mine lacked the most right now.

Lu Jin got up, grabbed his jacket, and went out the door.

The resource building of Qinglan No. 3 Middle School was much livelier than the training building.

The first-floor lobby was packed with newly awakened students, the air filled with the mixed scent of divine liquid and packaging materials. Behind the long counter were silver-white resource boxes; when opened, they would occasionally emit a faint glimmer of different attributes, drawing uncontrollable gasps of amazement.

"Liu Shuo, two portions of basic divine liquid, one portion of fire-attribute supplement, one primary domain stabilization card!"

"Zhao Jin, two portions of basic divine liquid, one bag of wind-perch grass seeds, twenty faith crystals!"

"Next!"

Every time a name was called, a wave of discussion would rise from below the platform.

Some people walked out clutching their resource boxes, their faces beaming with smiles; others were surrounded by groups of people as soon as they received their items, busy trading, showing off, or asking about the Unified Exam arrangements.

When Lu Jin joined the queue, the surroundings went quiet for a moment.

Someone recognized him, and their expression changed instantly.

"Isn't that Lu Jin?"

"The one from the Dead Ash Mine yesterday?"

"He's still coming to collect resources? Wasn't his cultivation qualification already revoked?"

The voices weren't loud.

Yet every word stabbed right into his ears.

Lu Jin ignored them and looked up at the counter in front.

His turn came up quickly.

A thin, tall teacher sat behind the counter, wearing the blue badge of the Resource Department, and was looking down, checking the list. Lu Jin pushed his student ID card over; the other person glanced at it, and the crystal screen beside them immediately lit up with a red light.

Beep.

[Access Frozen]

The thin, tall teacher paused and looked up at Lu Jin.

There was no malice in those eyes, only a hint of annoyance.

"Your qualification for basic post-awakening resource distribution was revoked by the Cultivation Department yesterday afternoon."

Everyone queuing nearby heard it immediately.

A wave of low laughter erupted from all around, impossible to suppress.

"So it really is gone."

"Hilarious, he came so early too."

"Does a rat nest deserve to eat divine liquid?"

Lu Jin pressed his fingers against the edge of the counter, his voice flat: "Doesn't everyone get basic resources?"

The thin, tall teacher tapped the light screen and brought up a clause: "The monthly basic distribution for ordinary awakened students is based on the premise that ordinary cultivation permissions are still active. Your priority status is revoked, and ordinary status is suspended, so the Resource Department can only execute this as a freeze."

"The Unified Exam registration is still there, though."

"But collecting resources, no."

In the end, it came down to that same thing.

The school hadn't expelled him directly, but they didn't intend to leave him any buffer either.

Lu Jin didn't continue arguing about the clauses with him.

Clauses could explain reality, but they couldn't change it.

Suddenly, someone nearby whistled.

"Isn't this our Lu family's waste domain genius?"

The voice was cavalier, with a hint of intentionally heightened mockery.

Lu Jin turned his head to look.

Three boys wearing fire-patterned school uniforms were pushing through the crowd, all wearing the Lu family branch badge on their chests. The one standing in front was named Lu Chuanze, the dog who ran errands most diligently for Lu Jingyao. He had awakened a Red-horned Fire Hound and usually loved to throw his weight around, relying on Lu Jingyao's name.

He was still holding a resource box he had just received and deliberately shook it in front of Lu Jin.

The box lid wasn't closed tightly, and two vials of light blue basic divine liquid inside flashed dazzlingly under the lobby lights.

"What, here to snatch food?"

Lu Chuanze grinned, "Too bad, the school won't even give you dog food now."

Another sycophant next to him immediately chimed in: "You're wrong, why would a rat deserve dog food? Eating ash is enough."

The surrounding crowd roared with laughter.

Even those queuing behind were happy to look over, like watching a free joke.

Lu Jin's gaze landed on that resource box.

Two portions of divine liquid, one bag of gray wheat feed powder, twenty faith crystals.

These items, in Lu Chuanze's hands, were probably just background props to show off when bragging to others today. But for that group of Gray-tailed Burrowing Rats in the Dead Ash Mine, this was life that could keep them alive for three more days.

Seeing him staring at the box, Lu Chuanze smiled even more smugly.

"Got your eye on it?"

"Beg me."

"If you kneel down and call me Brother Lu, I might be in a good mood and reward you with a bag of feed powder to feed your rats."

Lu Jin looked at him, his expression extremely indifferent.

"Get lost."

The lobby went quiet.

The smile on Lu Chuanze's face faded bit by bit.

"Say that again?"

Lu Jin couldn't be bothered to waste words with him; he reached out and took back his student ID card.

"Don't block the way."

Lu Chuanze stepped forward, the Fire Hound divine pattern flashing on the back of his hand, clearly intending to use the familiar contract to intimidate him. But before he could exert his aura, Lu Jin had already looked up at him.

That look was cold.

Not a forced coldness.

It was as if he truly regarded him as a stone blocking the path.

Lu Chuanze felt a strange stagnation in his heart, followed by even greater anger: "Does a piece of trash deserve to act tough here?"

He slammed the resource box onto the counter, deliberately lowering his voice, though his tone was more sinister than anyone's.

"Young Master Lu said, you want to compete for a resource node, right? Fine, he left the most suitable one for you."

"The No. 9 Abandoned Well node."

"Grade D reward, the lowest tier."

"It's fitting enough for your Dead Ash Mine."

The two people behind him heard this and all laughed.

Someone didn't understand and asked in a low voice: "Isn't the No. 9 Abandoned Well the lowest-level node? What are they laughing at?"

Someone nearby immediately replied: "Lowest level? That place collapsed twice last year, the strata are chaotic, and it's buried with residual poison from old fire veins. It has the worst rewards and the highest death toll; whoever touches it is unlucky."

"So that's it..."

"Lu Jingyao has dug the pit for him already."

Lu Chuanze leaned in a bit, smiling viciously.

"Don't you want to snatch resources on your own?"

"Go on then."

"The No. 9 Abandoned Well is perfect; a hole-digging rat goes well with an abandoned well, how fitting."

After hearing this, Lu Jin's expression didn't change at all.

The lowest-level reward.

The worst terrain.

The worst win rate.

This really sounded like something Lu Jingyao would do.

It looked like he was giving a path, but in reality, he was sending someone to their grave. If he lost, he deserved it; if he died, it was even cleaner.

Lu Jin tucked his student ID back into his sleeve and asked the teacher at the counter: "Where is the resource node registration?"

The thin, tall teacher was slightly stunned, then raised a hand to point to the side hall: "To the right, the registration desk."

Lu Chuanze was taken aback, as if he hadn't expected him not to even change his expression.

"You actually dare to sign up?"

Lu Jin walked past him sideways, his voice neither high nor low.

"The pit your Young Master Lu left for me, I have to go take a look."

"And while I'm at it, let him see if the fire is big enough to burn me to death."

The side hall was much quieter than the resource lobby.

There was only a long table here, with two registration teachers sitting behind it, and three node projection maps suspended above the table.

Node No. 1, Fire Pattern Granary, best rewards, open terrain.

Node No. 2, Black Well Mining Tunnel, medium difficulty, resources lean towards minerals.

No. 3, which was the No. 9 Abandoned Well that Lu Chuanze mentioned, hung with a Grade D label. The projection map was dark red, the strata lines as dense as a spider web, and there were striking collapse warning patterns at the corners.

A few people were already gathered around the table.

Lu Jingyao wasn't there, and Ji Mingxiao wasn't there either, but their names were already posted. Under the Fire Pattern Granary was Ji Mingxiao, under the Black Well Mining Tunnel was a veteran top-ten student, and the column for the No. 9 Abandoned Well was empty.

It was as if it was specifically left for someone.

The person in charge of registration was a middle-aged female teacher; seeing Lu Jin walk over, her brows furrowed.

"Are you sure you want to sign up for a public node?"

"Sure."

"Which one are you signing up for?"

Lu Jin didn't even look much at the map, his finger pointing directly at the third projection.

"No. 9 Abandoned Well."

The few people around turned to look at him.

The female teacher also clearly paused: "The No. 9 Abandoned Well has the lowest rewards, the most chaotic strata, and the highest casualties in last year's node competition. It's not too late to change nodes."

Lu Jin's expression was calm: "I won't change."

The female teacher stared at him for two seconds, didn't try to persuade him further, and handed over the crystal pen.

"Sign, and press your blood pattern."

Lu Jin took the crystal pen and signed his name on the registration board without hesitation.

[Lu Jin]

The moment the blood pattern was pressed on, the projection of the No. 9 Abandoned Well flashed, and his name was firmly set.

The entire side hall was very quiet.

The laughter and discussions outside seemed to be cut off.

Lu Jin put the crystal pen back and turned to leave.

The female teacher watched his back and couldn't help but speak: "Lu Jin."

He stopped but didn't turn around.

"Before the node competition begins, all participants' divine domains will undergo a routine fluctuation check. If you... really have any trump cards, hide them well."

Lu Jin turned his face sideways, his voice flat.

"I have no trump cards."

"I only have my life."

After saying this, he had already left the door.

The laughter in the lobby was still there.

Lu Chuanze stood in the crowd, clutching the resource box. Seeing Lu Jin come out, he was just about to mock him a couple more times, but his communication ring suddenly vibrated.

He lowered his head, finished reading, his eyes lit up, and his mouth immediately curled up.

The sycophant next to him leaned in: "Brother Chuanze, what is it?"

Lu Chuanze tucked the resource box into his arms, unable to suppress his smile.

"Young Master Lu has made a move."

"What?"

"What do you mean 'what'?" Lu Chuanze licked the corner of his mouth, "The No. 9 Abandoned Well competition is six days away, but to destroy a Dead Ash Mine, you don't need to wait six days."

He looked up in the direction Lu Jin had left outside the door, smiling like a fire snake flicking its tongue.

"People have already gone in."

The wind in the old alley was cold.

Lu Jin stopped halfway, his footsteps suddenly pausing.

It wasn't because he heard anything.

It was because one of the faith lines in his divine domain had suddenly tightened.

Very thin, yet exceptionally sharp.

It was like a red-hot nail had suddenly been driven into the originally stable flowing gray soil.

The next moment, deep within the Dead Ash Mine, a strange heat surged up along his stratum perception.

It wasn't the altar's heat vein.

It was living fire.

And, it was more than one source.

Lu Jin's eyes instantly turned cold.