Yun Luohe pulled out an ordinary shovel but could not dig anything.She had no choice but to take out the Military Shovel.An advanced Military Shovel crafted from Refined Steel and Obsidian—its first use, unexpectedly, was to shovel dung.Yun Luohe could only sigh helplessly. She had deliberately not used it on the way here, unwilling to waste a high-end tool on simple tasks, but now it had come to this.From the wall smeared with excrement, she dug out a type of Corrupted Fecal Crystal.It was a material used for crafting high-grade fertilizer.And there was no small amount of it.[Corrupted Fecal Crystal: A mixture of certain animal feces, moss, and mineral substances. Can be used to produce high-grade organic fertilizer, promoting plant growth and improving crop quality.]Yun Luohe became quite engrossed in digging, while the two nearby exchanged glances.But Yun Luohe could not keep digging indefinitely. She soon realized that the ceiling of the cave was covered with honeycomb-like holes—the roosting spots of bats.The densely packed holes were filled with bats.The eyes that had been watching them earlier belonged to these creatures.Countless bats stared at them—or more precisely, at the torches in their hands—too intimidated by the fire to make a move.The eerie atmosphere made everyone feel uneasy.The cave extended deep underground, winding and sloping downward. The three of them proceeded cautiously. The ground was extremely slippery, making it impossible to move quickly.The torchlight revealed darkness all around, and their expressions darkened as well, initially mistaking it all for piles of bat droppings. Fortunately, they soon realized it was just damp moss.Though still filthy and smelly, psychologically, it was somewhat easier to bear.Eventually, they reached the depths of the cave and discovered that it was, in fact, a mine.Bat droppings covered the iron ore deposits, making them hard to detect. However, Lin Zhu had learned the [Mining] skill, so he recognized the mine's nature immediately upon entering.Yun Luohe quickly used the Military Shovel to clear away the bat droppings from the walls and ground, revealing the metallic luster beneath.She struck with a pickaxe, instantly extracting iron ore.This mine was quite large, and the iron ore reserves appeared substantial. The three of them immediately prepared to excavate.However, they still had to remain cautious of the bats above their heads. Their torches could not be extinguished for even a moment. Ideally, two people would dig while one person kept watch over the bats, preventing a surprise attack during mining.In that case, they would need to take turns standing guard. Although this would reduce overall output, it would at least ensure their safety.They also agreed that if an accident occurred before all three finished mining, those who dug more ore would share some with those who mined less—this way, it would be fair.After discussing it, they decided the guard rotation by playing rock-paper-scissors.As expected, Yun Luohe had the worst luck.Holding the torch, she stood expressionless, staring up at the bats clustered on the ceiling, thinking to herself that it was fortunate she did not have trypophobia—these bats looked bizarre enough as it was.In her whole life, she had rarely seen bats, let alone this many all at once.They changed shifts every thirty minutes.Time passed quickly. Zhao Xuan was the second to take over.Yun Luohe joined Lin Zhu in mining.There was an abundance of iron ore here. With each strike, several chunks would fall. Based on this rate, they could probably gather several hundred iron ore in an hour.Yun Luohe increased her pace. As she mined, she unexpectedly uncovered Refined Steel.The color of Refined Steel differed from iron ore—iron ore was black, whereas Refined Steel was silver, with a bright metallic sheen. It was easily identifiable upon exposure.Though Refined Steel was scarce, after the first discovery, they noticed that roughly every twenty pieces of iron ore yielded one piece of Refined Steel.Yun Luohe practically wished she could grow more hands to keep digging.She urgently needed Refined Steel to craft more weapons and tools—such as Steel Axes and Steel Pickaxes. These items had durability limits, and her current pickaxe would wear out eventually.Moreover, other members of the [Management Trainee Program] still lacked proper weapons. This Refined Steel could be handed over to Yang Mian to forge a few better weapons for the team.Half an hour passed quickly, and Lin Zhu went to relieve Zhao Xuan.That was when the unexpected happened.The ground suddenly trembled, and the bats became restless. Ignoring their fear of the torches, they dove straight down. As they spread their wings, they unleashed a sonic attack. Hundreds of bats emitted sound waves simultaneously—the range and intensity increased dramatically.If they had not been wearing earplugs, they would have fainted instantly.Even with earplugs, the pain was severe.The three of them immediately stopped what they were doing, aiming their torches at the tumors on the bats’ bodies. The flesh tumors shriveled upon being burned, and the bats’ shrieks diminished significantly.But there were too many bats. Yun Luohe raised five resin torches at once, burning them as she swung the Military Shovel, hacking at the tumors on other bats.After several minutes, more than half the bats in the cave had been eliminated. The floor was littered with bat corpses, which disintegrated into [Bat Wings] within seconds.As for the tremor earlier, they still did not know the cause—but it was clearly abnormal.To prevent another quake from collapsing the cave, the three of them worked together to eliminate the remaining hundred or so bats.Most of the dropped [Bat Wings] had been killed by Yun Luohe, so her [Magnet Ring] automatically absorbed them into her backpack without the others noticing amidst the chaos.Thus, when they later divided the [Bat Wings], Yun Luohe did not bother collecting more and simply continued mining.When they finally emerged from the cave—After staying so long inside that foul-smelling bat nest, the fresh air outside felt wonderful.On the way out, Yun Luohe also collected some [Corrupted Fecal Crystals]. As disgusting as they were, since they could be used to craft high-grade fertilizer, there was no reason to leave them behind. Growing more high-quality vegetables and fruits would also help her level up [Cooking].After all, good ingredients were the foundation of fine cuisine.Lin Zhu asked, "Where to now?"Yun Luohe replied, "Let’s head up the mountain. Within several kilometers, only the mountain has trees, so they must be extraordinary trees."Yun Luohe happened to be participating in the [Spring Reforestation Program]. The moment she spotted unique trees, she could not resist. If she could obtain high-grade saplings to plant back home, it would undoubtedly boost her score.Lin Zhu and Zhao Xuan agreed. After all, they were already at the mountain’s base, and the peak was not high. Climbing it would allow them to scout the island’s terrain from above and better plan their next move.They prepared to ascend. Although the mountain appeared low, there was no proper path, making the climb challenging.The slope was extremely steep—over 60 degrees.Lin Zhu pulled some rope and climbing poles from his backpack. Where the terrain became difficult, they used rock crevices to aid their ascent.Zhao Xuan had his own method, using his sickle to carve footholds as he climbed step by step.Yun Luohe, trained in climbing from her days with the police force, scaled the mountain with ease, relying only on her hands. She quickly surpassed the others.Seeing Yun Luohe’s speed, the two men refused to fall behind. Motivated by rivalry, the three of them reached the summit in no time.It was noon by then, and their stamina was nearly depleted.They decided to rest at the top and replenish their energy.Zhao Xuan and Lin Zhu combined their food supplies. Lin Zhu pulled out some rations and shared them with Zhao Xuan.Yun Luohe rinsed her hands with water, then took out a few pieces of roasted meat and sat on a nearby rock to eat.From the summit, they could see a jagged ravine stretching a kilometer deep.Back when they first arrived on the island, they had assumed the ravine was only a few hundred meters long. But the rear section had collapsed, making it impossible to discern from the bats’ roost earlier.Now, mist swirled at the bottom of the ravine. The cliff walls on both sides were sheer, as if carved by blades, exposing a terrifying vertical drop.The mist made it difficult to see the bottom clearly.At that moment, a strong wind blew, nearly knocking them over. If they had not grabbed the large boulders on the mountain, they would have been thrown down.But the gust also scattered the mist below, revealing the scene beneath.The ravine was not as deep as it looked—one could see the bottom at a glance.The ground was littered with rubble and animal bones.From the cliff edges, numerous twisted vine-like tree trunks grew, tangled and interwoven, clinging to the rock walls, reaching upward.Yun Luohe's sharp eyes quickly noticed a natural stone path beneath the tree trunks, winding down to a cave. Its entrance resembled a bat's gaping mouth.She relayed the discovery to Lin Zhu and Zhao Xuan."What do you think? Do we go down?"The only way down was to climb via the vines and rope, reaching the stone path, then following it to the cave.One misstep meant falling into the ravine.The ravine looked shallow, but a fall still meant certain death.But having spotted that cave, they had no reason not to investigate.They had already found valuable resources in the previous bat cave. The one below might contain even better loot. After all, they had come here precisely to acquire high-grade materials.Lin Zhu and Zhao Xuan exchanged a glance—the answer was obvious."Of course we’re going. Why wouldn’t we?" Lin Zhu said.Yun Luohe nodded. "Let me chop down these trees first, then we move."She had wanted to cut them earlier, but her stamina was depleted at the time.Now that she had recovered, cutting trees came first.Yun Luohe pulled out her Steel Axe and swung at the tree, but it barely left a mark.What kind of tree was this? Even a Steel Axe could not cut through it.Rather than feeling frustrated, Yun Luohe’s face lit up with excitement. It had to be a high-grade tree species.But no matter what methods she tried, she could not chop it down. Even Lin Zhu and Zhao Xuan could not damage the tree—it clearly was not an issue of tools.The tree was simply too hard and required special means to harvest.Even the Military Shovel only left shallow scars on its surface.Yun Luohe thought for a moment, then simply set the tree on fire with a torch.It was wood, after all—surely it could not be completely fireproof.Yun Luohe brought the torch close to the tree bark and burned it for a while—there was an immediate reaction. The bark blackened, then peeled off, the surface beneath visibly softened.Yun Luohe took out the Military Shovel again.The Military Shovel, enhanced with Obsidian, was sharper and harder than a Steel Axe.Yun Luohe used the Military Shovel to slowly carve into the tree, forming a deep notch, then kicked the trunk forcefully.The tree toppled over, disintegrating into wooden materials.[Iron Birch Wood ×10][Iron Birch Wood: A type of ultra-hard wood used for construction and weapon crafting. Density is 15% higher than steel. Collection method: must first soften with fire, then harvest with high-grade tools.]Iron Birch Wood was an upgrade material for the Reef.The next upgrade required 100 pieces of Iron Birch Wood. Yun Luohe's eyes lit up, and she quickly raised her torch to continue burning the bark.Lin Zhu and Zhao Xuan followed suit.The three of them soon divided up all the trees on the mountaintop.Yun Luohe harvested the fastest and gathered the most—over 80 pieces of Iron Birch Wood.Lin Zhu managed only 50 pieces, while Zhao Xuan collected the least, just 30.It was mainly thanks to Yun Luohe's superior tools. The Military Shovel was exceptionally effective.Lin Zhu asked, "Can you make more of that shovel? I’ll buy one off you when we get back."Yun Luohe replied, "Not for sale. Unless you can bring me three pieces of Obsidian—then I’ll trade you one. This shovel’s made with Obsidian."Lin Zhu immediately understood, "No wonder it’s so powerful."It was not that he could not come up with three pieces of Obsidian, but sacrificing that much for a single shovel—he was reluctant."Alright, since there’s nothing left here, let’s head down."Cutting trees had burned through most of their stamina. Yun Luohe drank a bowl of soup and ate a few pieces of meat.She filled her stomach completely, replenishing her stamina bar.She pulled out a sturdy rope, tied it securely to her waist, then anchored the other end to a large boulder at the mountain’s summit before slowly descending along the cliff face.Lin Zhu had a specialized set of climbing equipment—similar to a descender and harness—allowing him to anchor himself and slide down slowly. It was safe, but slow.He also wore a helmet to protect his head from falling rocks.Yun Luohe, seeing how slow the two of them were, ignored them entirely. "See you at the cave," she called out before stepping off.She gripped the rope, kicked her feet against the cliff face, one hand holding the rope, the other carrying a pickaxe, ready to strike into the cliff to anchor herself and control her descent if needed.——Roughly five minutes later, Yun Luohe reached the narrow stone walkway built into the cliff.She cautiously untied the rope from her waist and moved toward the cave below.The walkway was extremely narrow—barely wide enough for one person to stand. Even walking normally was difficult, so Yun Luohe had to stay hyper-focused and proceed with utmost care.A single misstep, and she would fall.She kept one hand on the rock wall, the other gripping her pickaxe. Each step felt like walking a tightrope, her heart lodged in her throat.Voices from Lin Zhu and Zhao Xuan drifted down from above, but she could not afford to look up, nor glance down.When she was only a few meters from the cave entrance, she discovered the walkway ended abruptly.And the remaining distance to the cave? Several meters.Jumping straight down was clearly not an option.Yun Luohe wiped the sweat from her forehead. The intense tension earlier had made cold sweat bead on her skin.If the wind picked up even slightly right now, she might not be able to stand steady.Yun Luohe took a deep breath, scanning her surroundings for anything she could use.She quickly spotted a few thick vines not far to her right. If she could leap over and grab them, she could swing down to the cave. But if the vines were weak, the consequences would be disastrous.Her mind was exceptionally clear in that moment, calmly analyzing every option. Ultimately, this was the only viable method with the highest success rate.If the vines failed, she would immediately drive the pickaxe into the cliff to slow her descent and grab onto other vines during the fall.No hesitation—Yun Luohe gritted her teeth and leaped.Above, Lin Zhu and Zhao Xuan were dumbfounded by her boldness.Yun Luohe grabbed the thickest vine, sliding downward with thrilling speed. Her palms blistered and tore into bloody streaks, but she barely registered the pain—her mind was focused elsewhere, alert to every danger.When she finally landed safely at the cave entrance, Yun Luohe exhaled in relief, gasping for breath.She planned to rest here while waiting for the others to descend, but had just sat down when a startled cry rang out.She looked up to see Zhao Xuan plummeting from high above, his body spinning wildly. Something had gone wrong.Yun Luohe's heart clenched. She swiftly threw a vine toward him.The next second, Zhao Xuan grabbed the vine tightly, halting his fall.He planted his feet on a rocky protrusion, steadying himself, wrapped the vine around his wrist, then drew his bow.The arrow, trailing the vine, shot straight toward the cliff above the cave entrance. Zhao Xuan swung across like a pendulum, landing beside Yun Luohe.The whole process left everyone holding their breath—it was nerve-wracking to witness.One had to admit, Zhao Xuan had nerves of steel and formidable skills.Lin Zhu’s descent was far safer. Using his climbing gear, he faced no real danger.But when he landed, his expression was grim."I’m kinda afraid of heights," Lin Zhu admitted.Yun Luohe gave him a look of understanding. For someone afraid of heights, descending like that was impressive.If they did not haul back significant loot after risking this much, it would truly be a waste.From the bottom of the ravine, the roar of rushing water could be heard, yet the river itself was nowhere in sight.The cave loomed ahead, but they did not rush in.Yun Luohe sensed immense danger emanating from within—the air was heavy with the stench of death.A faint red glow flickered inside, along with eerie sounds.Lin Zhu appeared nervous. "Are we going in?"Yun Luohe slipped her dagger to her waist and gripped the Military Shovel tightly. "Let’s go. We’re already here."——The three of them held their breath and entered the cave.It was pitch black inside, the walls coated with crimson moss stained with bat droppings.The moss was clearly a resource. Yun Luohe used the Military Shovel to scrape off several chunks.[Crimson Moss: A unique resource of Bat Island. Grind into powder and mix with special plant essential oil to produce Cold-Blooded Potion.]The cave floor was littered with Crimson Moss. With each step, Yun Luohe harvested more, her [Magnet Ring] automatically absorbing the resources.The cave resembled a labyrinth of interconnected vertical shafts. The tunnels were roughly two meters tall, just wide enough for three people to walk side by side.The rock walls were covered in claw marks and dried bat droppings. The Crimson Moss on the ground was slick and sticky, creating an unsettling texture underfoot.A nauseating stench filled their nostrils. Yun Luohe had donned a gas mask upon entering, or she might not have been able to endure it.After walking for several minutes, they reached a spacious cavern—and were stunned by the sight.The cavern was several meters high, with hundreds of inverted bat nests hanging from the ceiling. In the center stood a natural stone pillar, eroded by feces into a honeycomb structure, oozing dark red fluid.A passage ahead led further down to another chamber.It appeared this cave system descended layer by layer.The most alarming sight was the ceiling—swarming with sleeping red bats.There were far more than in the previous cave—several times more.And these red bats were clearly stronger than the black ones—larger, more grotesque, visibly more dangerous.Facing this overwhelming number ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) of bats, the three fell into an immediate dilemma.They exchanged glances, gesturing silently, not daring to make a sound—communicating only through messages.

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