83: Discover a mineral vein and receive dividends

As the leader of the coordination effort, Zhong Xin departed a little later.

While waiting, Shi Li watched groups of people continuously move across the plain.

"Zhong Captain, why don't we use vehicles for exploration?"

He raised his question.

The base clearly had so many vehicles.

"It's not that we can't use them, but that they don't want to use them."

Zhong Xin explained with a smile.

"Vehicles are fast, and sometimes it's easy to miss details on the ground.

You see, sometimes high-quality materials grow in inconspicuous places.

If you just ride in a vehicle and glance around, it's easy to miss things."

"Another point is that even silent vehicles might generate fluctuations that attract Demons' attention.

Encountering Demons can sometimes cause unnecessary trouble and waste time.

So, based on past experience, it's better to go on foot."

Hearing him say that, Shi Li couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

Such a vast grassland, it was clearly an excellent environment for galloping.

"So what is the purpose of our exploration this time? How far do we go before turning back?"

He asked again.

"There's no set purpose, but the Pioneer Team will provide salary subsidies based on the area explored, so theoretically, the further you go, the greater the reward.

Of course, there's a time limit; this trip, including the round trip, is set to be completed within ten days.

Alright, it's about time for us to depart too."

Zhong Xin hoisted his large bag and jumped directly down from the base's high city wall.

Shi Li followed closely behind.

Card Players' physical fitness far exceeded that of ordinary people, and their walking speed was also very fast.

Walking 7 or 8 kilometers in an hour was not a problem; if they jogged, they could go even further.

So, after walking for more than 40 minutes, the base behind them had already shrunk to the size of a grain of rice.

What appeared before the two of them at this moment was a bare valley.

Because not a single blade of grass grew there, it seemed out of place with the surrounding vast grassland.

And as they got closer, they could see faintly glowing stones exposed on the muddy surface of the mountain.

"Good luck, this seems to be a mine."

Zhong Xin's eyes brightened slightly.

According to the Pioneer Agreement, those who discover a mine will receive a dividend based on the mine's actual value.

However, the specific mineral reserves need to be measured on-site by subsequent development personnel.

"Are there Demons here?"

Shi Li, on the other hand, inquired.

It was mentioned in books that mines usually breed a batch of Demons that rely on the mineral ecological cycle for survival.

Some Demons even feed directly on minerals.

"That's right, we need to be careful."

Zhong Xin lightened his footsteps.

Although they had encountered almost no Demons along the way, they couldn't let their guard down.

Reaching the edge of the mountain, he scrutinized the nearest exposed glowing stone.

"Judging from its appearance, it seems to be some kind of medium material."

Saying that, he used [Gather] on that stone.

A flash of light in his palm lit up and quickly extinguished; [Gather] failed.

After several continuous attempts, Zhong Xin had no success.

Instead, with his repeated Gathering, the stone's glow grew dimmer and dimmer, eventually turning into an ordinary stone.

Seeing this situation, Shi Li also found a glowing stone and started operating.

[Gather failed, Stamina - 5]

[Gather failed, Stamina - 5]

[Gather failed, Stamina - 5]

[Gather successful, Stamina - 5]

[You obtained [Steadfast Medium (One-Star)] x1.]

"Oh?"

The exceptionally brilliant light in Shi Li's hand attracted Zhong Xin's gaze.

"It seems this is a Steadfast Medium ore vein."

Through this card, Zhong Xin got the answer.

"Such a large ore vein, it must be worth a lot of money, right?"

Shi Li knew that what they saw was just the tip of the iceberg; usually, there were larger ore reserves underground.

"I estimate this mine could be worth between two to three million and tens of millions of cubic coins.

The specific value still depends on the efficiency of later mining."

Zhong Xin said, appraising it.

This kind of thing requires specialized mining experts to handle.

The so-called specialization refers to Card Players who hold specific tool cards or Talents that can increase the gathering rate of Steadfast Medium ore.

Otherwise, like the two of them, frequent [Gathering] would only consume and waste a large amount of ore.

"This is not a problem we should solve; what we need to solve is inside."

Zhong Xin patted Shi Li's shoulder, pointing into the valley.

Since it was a medium ore vein, there must be a Demon entrenched deep within it.

And generally, after absorbing the nutrients from the ore vein, the energy contained within the Demon's body would be even more refined.

After killing these Demons, the probability of [Gathering] corresponding materials from them would greatly increase.

So, for Card Players who are not good at mining, these Demons are essentially indirect miners.

Of course, such Demons are usually more powerful.

However, this level of "power" was nothing in Zhong Xin's eyes.

"Let's go, follow me."

So he strode into the valley.

The structure of the valley was relatively simple; although winding, there was ultimately only one path.

As a result, the two walked for a long time without even seeing a shadow of a Demon.

"This might be the territory of a powerful Demon."

Shi Li didn't relax; instead, he became even more vigilant.

"Oh? How do you figure that?"

Zhong Xin's smile held a deeper meaning, as if he intended to test him.

"Here."

Shi Li randomly pointed to a stone, which had obvious unnatural scratches.

It was very likely traces left by a Demon colliding with it as it passed.

"Minerals are attractive to many Demons, but we've walked this long without seeing any.

This indicates that a powerful Demon might have claimed this as its territory, driving away or deterring other Demons from approaching."

He stated his analysis.

"You're right."

Zhong Xin nodded appreciatively.

It seemed this genius was very adaptable to wilderness activities, with keen observation skills.

Rumble! Rumble!

Just then, a heavy thudding sound approached from deep within the valley.

[Roar...]

And the low growl echoing through the valley both confirmed Shi Li's conjecture.

"See, here it comes."

As Zhong Xin's words fell, a massive figure quickly appeared in their line of sight.

This creature's appearance was somewhat like a rhinoceros, with three horns on its head and six legs ending in clawed feet like a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Its entire body was covered in slightly glowing scales, whose texture and luster were very similar to medium ore.

[Armored Rhino Beast, ☆☆☆ - LV7]

The tag above its head already proved its level.

This was actually a LV7 Three-Star Demon.

"Step back, I'll handle it."

Zhong Xin's expression remained as calm as ever.

He didn't even use a [Detect] tool card; instead, he backhanded a Card Player mark at it.

And so, the card game unfolded before Shi Li's eyes.

...

...