Jingluo Nanbei: "Exactly, because—"

Shadiao: "Lord Demon King's remuneration is too low, we can't even afford equipment with that paltry mission income! And those grinders are outrageous, they reached Black Iron status in just two days! Can you believe it?! Are they even human?! They must be skeletons in real life!!"

Jingluo Nanbei: "In any case—"

Shadiao: "We decided to go solo! It just so happens you grinders are too busy working and have no time to take care of your hygiene, so we thought why not open a bathhouse where we scrub down patrons!"

Jingluo Nanbei: "Yeah, even though there's no water, scrubbing is still fine! I heard they have dry bathhouses up north!"

"There aren't any, are there...?"

Before Xiao Wan could timidly mention that her hometown was quite in the north, she was abruptly interrupted by someone as imposing as a great white shark.

"Let me finish first!"

Xiao Wan: "Yes! Yes...?"

Who's the customer here anyway!

Shadiao: "And guess what! Those guys lived too rough! They didn't care about their body odor at all and had the nerve to say that since they can't smell themselves, stinking out the opponent means victory! Stingy fellows, doesn't anyone think about Lord Demon King at all?!"

"That's the situation," Jingluo Nanbei smiled and nodded, patted Shadiao's head, and continued speaking to Xiao Wan, "Want to give it a try? You don't have to worry about anything, just leave your body to us... it's only 1000 Joss Paper."

1000 Joss Paper?

That means...

1000 kilograms of coal?!

Just as Xiao Wan had been almost reflexively shrinking her shoulders, considering supporting their venture, she instinctively distanced herself from the two unscrupulous skeleton soldiers.

"Not going for it, huh...?"

A disheartened Shadiao sighed softly without pushing further, but couldn't help muttering under her breath.

"I told you... who would accept this!"

Jingluo Nanbei also felt regret but still consoled her best friend.

"Starting a business is always full of bumps, just take it as accumulating setbacks."

Watching the duo bounce ideas back and forth, Xiao Wan not only admired their friendship but couldn't help making a slight quip.

"You guys... could actually consider stand-up comedy, seems like it might earn more than a dry cleaners."

"Really?!" Shadiao, a second ago still dejected, excitedly jumped in front of her, grabbing her hands, "Tickets! How much would you pay for them!"

The fiery glow in those skeletal eyes almost seemed to shape itself into Joss Paper.

"10... Joss Paper?"

"That's too little!"

Shadiao made a dramatically heartbroken gesture, placing a hand on her empty chest.

Yet Jingluo Nanbei considered it seriously for a moment, a spark of intellect flickering in her eyes.

"Hmm... stand-up comedy, huh? But I still think a beauty bath might have more of a selling point."

Xiao Wan: "Skeletons... you can't scrub."

Jingluo Nanbei: "Not even if we 'open the mics'?"

Xiao Wan: "Uh... Uh? Are we even talking about the same thing?"

There seemed to be a misunderstanding in their concept of 'scrubbing.'

Fortunately, Jingluo Nanbei finally realized the issue and, with a sigh, gave up on the idea.

"Forget it... looks like this path is unworkable, maybe we'll consider it after we reincarnate as slimes."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Wan also breathed a sigh of relief.

While she was curious why reincarnating as a slime would work, her intuition told her it was probably better not to ask.

At least, the game currently didn't support turning into slimes, so the trends likely wouldn't be led astray by these two jesters.

But speaking of which, this was the first time she had ever talked this long with anyone in a game.

The exhaustion of the day felt cured...

Shadiao chimed in, "Speaking of which, others just have some slime on them, why do you have so much spider silk on you? Were you carried away by the BOSS?"

"Not exactly, it was mostly due to Lord Demon King's task..." Xiaowan recounted her recent ordeal somewhat sheepishly.

Because she was afraid of spiders, she had been sent by the Demon King to clean up, and by the time she regained her senses, her body had already turned out like this.

"Hmm... that's really pitiful," Jingluo sympathized, thoroughly inspecting Xiaowan's body wrapped in spider silk and said helplessly, "It seems like this stuff won't come off... Why not try burning it with fire, or maybe just kill yourself?"

Xiaowan sighed.

"Well, I'll think about it."

Seeing the dejected Xiaowan, Shadiao comforted her with a playful grin.

"Don't be too sad. Actually, it looks quite nice without taking it off, kind of like a wedding dress."

Jingluo: "Oh? The ripped and tattered kind?"

"Hey, hey, you know your stuff!" Shadiao stood up, gave her a nudge with her elbow, and said with a sly grin, "Send me the details, I want to appreciate it!"

"That's not impossible... But I suddenly have a new idea I want to try out."

Jingluo touched her chin, her gaze at Xiaowan suddenly becoming intense.

"What do you think... about using this stuff to make clothes?"

Clothes?

Xiaowan was stunned for a moment, then her eyes brightened.

That idea didn't sound so bad...

She couldn't believe she hadn't thought of it herself!

As her mobility wasn't very convenient, she happened to be skilled in crafts like knitting sweaters, crocheting scarves, and embroidery.

"But skeleton soldiers don't need clothes, do they?" Shadiao rubbed her chin, looking somewhat unconvinced, "And these guys don't care about their appearance anyway, shall we just stick to comedy—"

"Silly!"

Jingluo knocked on her head.

"When I say clothes, you just think of clothes. Think broader! Like backpacks, there's always a demand for those, right? Especially for hoarders, bringing more supplies can save trips back home! They could also pick up more treasures to bring back!"

"Not to mention armor, and then there are bandages! It would be troublesome if a bone breaks while exploring a labyrinth, right? Just wrap our bandages around, and you can fight again! Don't you think they'd sell like crazy as soon as we make them!"

"Damn! Damn, damn!" Shadiao excitedly looked at her best friend, her ghostly flames in the skeleton's head reshaping into Joss Paper, "You're freaking brilliant! Right! Mouse-people's skins might also work!"

"Of course!" Jingluo said confidently, then looked at Xiaowan and extended her right hand, "After all, the inspiration was from you... How about it? Want to join?"

The answer was obvious.

Seeing those sparkling eyes, Xiaowan couldn't bring herself to say no.

She wanted to give it a try.

Even in the game, she wanted to seek out her own value.

And most importantly...

She really didn't want to mine anymore.

If this went on, the MMO RPG with limitless potential was almost turning into a coal mining simulator for her.

As Xiaowan placed her hand on Jingluo's, Shadiao also excitedly put hers on top.

"Awesome! The Great Graveyard's first leather factory is officially established!"

"Hold your horses," Jingluo, who performed the ribbon-cutting ceremony, put her hand on Shadiao's shoulder, pushing her toward the direction of Lord Demon King's workshop, "Since we've decided to do it, let's do it right. Let's get ready!"

Manufacturing the loom required many materials, including wood for building the spinning wheel.

However, the entrance to North Peak Mine was currently blocked by an air wall, preventing anyone from accessing the outside.

But Jingluo figured, since the NPCs were so intelligent, negotiating a solution should be possible.

After all, metal tools were available in the shops, it would be strange not to have materials available!

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