9: Section 9

Su Ming, however, couldn't find it in himself to be happy at all.

The messy footprints all over the ground and the discarded junk scattered everywhere proved that the pre-planned mob-grinding spot was most likely deserted!

And sure enough.

Su Ming, who had ventured deep into the mine with a glimmer of hope, finally walked out of the Fargode Mine with a dark expression on his face!

Picking up a high-yield mine for free was certainly something Su Ming was happy about.

But... his pre-planned experience gift pack had run off on its own. Where was he supposed to find such a high-quality grinding spot now?

The Defias Brotherhood?

Don't be ridiculous!

Just because you could hunt them down across the map in the game didn't mean you could replicate that operation in reality!

Even the Kobolds knew to migrate their entire tribe and relocate their nest.

Let alone the Defias Brotherhood, who were fellow humans!

In his helplessness, Su Ming could only turn into a scavenger, frantically Gathering from the abandoned houses, tracks, minecarts, and various other unclaimed items around the mine.

[You have obtained: Wood *2, Stone *8]

[You have obtained: Charcoal *3, Gunpowder *1]

[You have obtained: Iron Ingot *4, Rubber *2]

[You have obtained: Wood *8, Stone *4]

...

The system notifications kept flashing for over two hours. By the time the sun was high in the sky, all the supporting facilities outside the Fargode Mine had been turned into basic materials and stored in the system inventory.

"Good thing I have the Creators Backpack talent. Otherwise, with the capacity of a basic inventory, I'd be totally screwed."

[Talent: Creators Backpack Max]

[Category: Rule]

[Attributes: Space Talent +20, Spatial Perception +5]

[Effect: You can perform multiple partitions, folds, categorizations, and retrievals on the backpack space!]

Space Talent and Spatial Perception were clearly high-end stats, but unfortunately, Su Ming, who lacked related skills, felt nothing from them.

The important thing was that after the backpack space was enhanced.

Not only did its volume increase significantly, reaching up to tens of thousands of cubic meters.

Each individual cubic meter of space was further folded multiple times, such that items of the same type could be stacked up to 99+ while only occupying one spatial unit.

Furthermore.

Items Su Ming put into the backpack, whether obtained through Gathering or simply picked up,

Would be automatically categorized according to Su Ming's subjective will.

When he wanted to take out an item or tool, a single thought would result in precise retrieval!

This greatly lowered the operational threshold for Su Ming. Of course, there were side effects; one of them was that Su Ming increasingly viewed the real world as a massive sandbox game.

Glancing at the empty expanse outside the mine, Su Ming knew that the Fargode Mine would eventually be reclaimed by the Kingdom of Stormwind.

It was just a pity for such a beautiful place with singing birds and fragrant flowers.

To be honest.

Su Ming actually felt an impulse to settle down here and enjoy the romantic scenery.

After all.

The wind in the Northlands was truly torturous.

Sighing, Su Ming didn't linger and immediately headed straight into the mine.

For what?

To mine, of course!

While Stormwind City hadn't reclaimed the Fargode Mine yet, he might as well fleece it for all it was worth.

Soon.

System notifications began flooding the screen again.

[You have obtained: Copper Ore *1, Iron Ore *2, Stone *2]

[You have obtained: Tin Ore *3, Turquoise *1]

[You have obtained: Copper Ore *4, Stone *2]

...

Time passed day by day like this.

Su Ming teleported to Azeroth every morning at eight to begin a full day of Gathering operations, and at eight in the evening, he would return to his home in the Northlands exhausted.

When he was hungry, wild boars and reindeer provided high-quality meat.

When he was thirsty, a quick Gathering action in the river yielded pure water filtered of impurities by the skill.

When he was tired, he would walk out of the mine and lie down under the shade of a tree.

Since all the benefits belonged to Su Ming alone, he didn't care if this schedule felt too much like a corporate grind.

During this period.

Su Ming didn't just focus on manual labor.

Based on his hazy memories, Su Ming successfully found the trade route leading to Goldshire.

And during one of his hunting trips, he happened upon a noble merchant caravan returning to Stormwind City from Westfall Garrison.

It was precisely this encounter.

That taught Su Ming that every Comprehensive Network Terminal came with a permanent language comprehension function.

Thus.

Su Ming, claiming to be an adventurer, successfully established a connection with this caravan.

He bundled up the mountain of animal hides and bones in his inventory—except for one best-quality bear skin he kept for himself—and sold them all to the caravan manager.

In return, Su Ming received twelve gold coins!

This was undoubtedly a huge sum of money!

You see, Su Ming, having just made a fortune, couldn't wait to go on a shopping spree with the caravan manager, yet in the end, he only spent three gold coins!

But what he got was a set of exquisite bedding and a set of practical kitchen utensils.

Plus a stack of popular science books.

The kitchen utensils were to improve his monotonous diet, while the soft bedding would give Su Ming a better sleep experience.

However.

What Su Ming truly valued was precisely that stack of inexpensive science books.

Strictly speaking.

It was a set of gazetteers—geographical records of Elwynn Forest and the surrounding Redridge Mountains.

Through them, Su Ming greatly expanded his Gathering range.

It was also because of this transaction.

That Su Ming's inventory gained herbs like Peacebloom, Silverleaf, Earthroot, and Mageroyal, as well as extraordinary gems like Blue Fluorite, Crystalstone, and Black Crystal.

Even better news was.

After a week of high-intensity Gathering, Su Ming actually managed to level up his L2 Gathering skill to L3 through the accumulation of proficiency!

[Skill: Gathering L3]

[Category: Rule]

[Attribute: All-Thing Analysis +5]

[Effect ①: Material Compendium]

[Effect ②: When performing Gathering operations on things already recorded in the Material Compendium, energy consumption is halved! Additionally, the player can moderately change the form of the material.]

[Effect ③: Once the player successfully gathers a new material, it can be entered into the Material Compendium, which will significantly increase Gathering skill proficiency.]

The L3 Gathering skill had undergone an earth-shaking enhancement.

Not only was a Material Compendium added.

But an additional path to help level up the Gathering skill was also introduced!

By comparison, the halved consumption when using the Gathering skill was nothing.

Chapter 11: Goldshire and the Marshal

With the start of a new week, Su Ming finally ended his dark days of working like a beast of burden.

It wasn't because he was tired of this monotonous routine.

Nor was it because he had hollowed out the Fargode Mine.

It certainly wasn't because he felt like moving after a long period of stillness or because he was short on supplies.

Strictly speaking, as a massive open-pit composite vein, the Fargode Mine's reserves were definitely not something Su Ming could deplete alone in a short time.

The real reason was.

The +5 All-Thing Analysis indicated that if he continued mining, Su Ming might very well bury himself!

Simply put.

If he continued mining, there was a high probability of a cave-in.

Su Ming certainly had the ability to set up new supports to ensure the Gathering work continued, or he could find another spot to continue fleecing the mine.

But...

Doing so would eventually be discovered by Stormwind City.

SI:7 was no joke.

That group of Rogues under Mathias Shaw was even more terrifying.

Su Ming didn't want to follow in VanCleef's footsteps and end up on Stormwind City's most-wanted list. Helplessly, Su Ming could only leave with tears in his eyes and set off on the road to Goldshire.

Of course.

Su Ming's journey was far from peaceful.

In the complex ecosystem of Elwynn Forest, there was never a shortage of stubborn predators.

A super spider the size of a millstone, covered in fur and hiding in the bushes waiting for an ambush, was pierced through by Su Ming's spear mid-leap!

[You have obtained: Spider Silk *10, Venom Sac *1, Insect Carapace *1]

A brown bear standing over four meters tall on its hind legs was killed by a trap Su Ming had set in advance!

[You have obtained: Bear Skin *1, Bear Paw *2, Beast Meat *6, Beast Bone *1]

A leopard pouncing from a tree branch missed its attack because the surrounding air was sucked away, and its skull was then pierced by Su Ming's bone-made triangular military spike.

[You have obtained: Beast Hide *1, Beast Bone *1]

When passing by a small river.

Two Murlocs floating downstream also met with bad luck, their bodies pierced by Su Ming's ten-foot spear. Heaven have mercy, those little things probably weren't even adults yet!

In any case.

Su Ming finally arrived at Goldshire.

Goldshire is situated at the intersection of two main roads in Elwynn Forest and is the most important logistical hub for Stormwind City and its surrounding areas.

Therefore.

There was a piece of land in Goldshire specifically reserved for military barracks!