It has been less than twelve hours since being pressed into service, yet the gang of mouse spirits is already facing an enemy attack and preparing for battle.
From Jiang Yuan's extensive experience with unemployment, when a rival comes aggressively, the more one's "company" resists, the more devastating the loss. According to convention, they will be beaten beyond defense, forced to flee chaotically, and subsequently dissolve and declare bankruptcy.
It's a pity that the two Flame Rats on guard have health bars too thick, while others have combat strength so low that they can't even beat a bat. There's no way to take advantage of the chaos to kill them and escape.
But Jiang Yuan isn't worried; he even senses the impending failure of the ragtag group before it disbands—a kind of atmosphere that words can't capture. Without sufficient experience with company closures, most people wouldn't notice it.
"Xi'Er, Mom's here." Amidst a bustling crowd, a tall and thin farm woman with a sallow complexion rushed in three steps, pulling her daughter to her side.
Previously, the mother and daughter were assigned to opposite sides of the camp, causing Qiao Mei to worry about her daughter's safety.
After a blind young man rearranged the lineup, the mother and daughter were placed not far apart on the assembly line. Under Mouse King's direct supervision, everyone worked silently, unable to converse despite stealing glances.
At this moment, as the Mouse King orchestrated the evacuation amidst the noisy crowd, Qiao Mei seized the opportunity to reunite with her daughter, protecting her.
"Mom!" Lin Chunxi hugged her mother's arm, overflowing with mixed emotions, tears streaming down. "I almost got bitten to death by a bat! Luckily, a young man helped kill it, so I narrowly escaped."
While speaking, she wiped her tears and searched for a unique figure amid the crowd.
Qiao Mei held her daughter with her right arm, her bloodshot eyes scanning anxiously and fearfully around, trying to find a chance to escape with her child amidst the chaos.
With her husband killed in resistance and her son's fate uncertain, she couldn't just wait for doom. Even with a slim chance, she had to gain it for her daughter and take her far from cruel monsters!
"He's over there! Mom, the young man can't see. Let's go help him." Lin Chunxi, oblivious to her mother's tension, found the young man's figure in the crowd and her tear-filled eyes suddenly lit up.
"Shh!" Qiao Mei patted her shoulder and moved forward with the crowd, whispering, "Stay away from him; who knows if he's good or bad."
Lin Chunxi murmured, "Of course he's good! He saved me and Mingchuan from our village. Without the young man's intervention, he would've been beaten to death!"
"Even so, perhaps he's just putting on a show for the Mouse King. While his team restructuring keeps us from being beaten and sucked dry, the Mouse King gains many spirit stones. Who knows if he is currying favor or secretly helping us. Xi'Er, don't easily trust strangers. Don't forget how we got captured?"
"But..." Lin Chunxi felt the young man was good but couldn't refute, recalling the tragic attack on her village, leaving her feeling somewhat lost as she surreptitiously watched his distant figure.
Jiang Yuan knew the miners might be led into the cavern; if imprisoned, escape would be much harder. After a tiring night, he was hungry and exhausted. Better to quit the game, eat something, devise a strategy, and then come back for a heroic rescue.
The plan changed quickly. As soon as the thought arose, a massive shadow crossed the sky, blotting out the moonlight, bringing a howling wind and overwhelming pressure down upon them!
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!" shouted a large mouse spirit, trying to call for reinforcements;
Another was already seized by sharp claws descending from the sky, hung by its neck. It struggled fiercely, whipping its Steel Whip-like tail, spewing fire to save itself, only to be heavily smashed into protruding rocks, tumbling down, bruised and bloodied, barely breathing.
The sudden change unfolded rapidly; some screamed, others crouched nearby, too scared to move, while Jiang Yuan rushed with a date wood stick to urge people, "What are you doing standing there? Run!"
Like a phantom, a fleeting shadow passed overhead; another Flame Rat saw the dire situation, spewed flames to repel the attacker, and turned to run toward the camp. There, the sides fought fiercely, roaring and crying amid fire and chaos, almost scaring people to death.
Lin Chunxi was shocked by the sudden bloodshed, about to scream when her mother covered her mouth, "Stay quiet, run!"
"Don't panic, first find the direction!" Wan Mingchuan saw the chance to escape, enduring the pain to drag two injured villagers, leveraging his height to scout for survival paths in the dark unfamiliar forest.
He knew that in chaos, one mustn't panic; otherwise, they could easily run into monsters from either side, becoming prey.
"Run that way, quickly!" Jiang Yuan pulled those too scared to move up, pointing out the direction he was brought to help the brave young leader find his way, "While they're fighting, run as far as you can! Spread out past the marsh, avoid being caught again!"
Upon hearing this, the strong and calm Wan Mingchuan decisively rushed forward, and other miners supported each other, following en masse into the forest.
Jiang Yuan stayed behind, not because he didn't want to escape but because the scene was too chaotic, with a half-dead mouse spirit convulsing not far away.
Worrying about injured people being trampled and fearing a sneak attack from the barely alive mouse spirit, he thought to first disperse the crowd, then quit the game, eat, rest, and re-enter to escape, as he'd be faster and less prone to unexpected issues.
Once the people scattered successfully, even the old and weak managed to slip into the forest. Jiang Yuan was about to quit the game but turned to see the large mouse's dwindling health bar, tempting his hands.
Fighting monsters and looting is one of the pleasures of gaming; how could he not seize this opportunity?
Moreover, he had impressions of this large mouse, always issuing orders beside the Flame Rat leader. When he laid out assembly lines, stripping others of supervising and arbitrary beating rights, its hostility toward him reached extremely dangerous levels.
Without the Mouse King's restraint, it would've torn him limb from limb. With enemies in sight, he couldn't leave a hidden threat unchecked!
"Alas, my kind nature means I can't bear to see others suffer." He checked his surroundings for safety and approached with a stick, sighing, "With injuries like this, you're beyond saving. Better I give you a swift end to spare you the pain."
The mouse spirit's previously vacant eyes suddenly widened, staring stunned at a seemingly ordinary stick that came crashing down!
-80
-80
...
[Achievement: Killed the first Qi Refining Stage monster. Reward: Spirit Stone X500]
[Flame Rat Hide +1]
[Steel Whip Rat Tail +1]
Muttering "Eighty! Eighty!" repeatedly, Jiang Yuan swung the stick five or six times until the mouse spirit died completely, becoming a puddle of blood. Its broken storage bag yielded two pieces of loot, with spirit stones directly entering his account, showing the privilege shop open.
Jiang Yuan had no time to check the privilege shop. After fighting bats all night and now killing a large mouse, he was just a fraction away from leveling up.
If killing monsters boosts experience, would leveling up make him a cultivator? Could he fight monsters freely in the wilderness someday?
A thirst for power made his blood boil; suddenly, his back didn't hurt, his legs felt fine, and he wasn't hungry. Hidden in shadows, he watched the chaotic mining camp, hoping for another chance to seize an opportunity.
Of course, Jiang Yuan wouldn't recklessly risk danger; he guessed that during chaos, injured escapees would flee. By staying nearby and ambushing, even picking off the weakest mouse spirit would allow him to level up!