After Joining the Game, She Came Out as Gay [Infinite] - Chapter 20

A warm current flowed into her heart.

Qi Cheng  was slightly stunned for a moment, then she slowly reached out her hand and lightly covered the back of Xia Lin’s hand, patting it reassuringly.

Given her personality, this was already the maximum limit of maintaining intimacy while adhering to the “romance game rules.”

Xia Lin, who was usually so strong, now looked at her with an expression that seemed as if she might cry at any moment.

Of course, this girl didn’t actually cry, nor did she make a pathetic face.

But Qi Cheng  could just tell.

That was why she gathered the courage to touch her and comfort her.

Though her hand quickly retracted.

Normally, Qi Cheng ’s proactive touch and comfort would make Xia Lin feel incredibly happy.

But right now, Xia Lin couldn’t focus on a romantic mood.

She wanted Qi Cheng  to give her a promise—to say that she wouldn’t do anything foolish.

However, Qi Cheng  seemed to be intentionally avoiding the topic, immediately calling out to the boss.

“Boss, can you give me a few empty beverage bottles that the customers don’t want?”

“I can, but what do you want those for? Those things aren’t worth more than a few copper coins even if you sell them by the pound.”

The boss thought she wanted to collect them to sell as scrap. After all, the income of these miners was pitifully low. The boss wasn’t without sympathy.

Plus, since Qi Cheng  and Xia Lin came to eat every day, their reputation at the “Midnight Canteen” had climbed from “Neutral” to “Friendly.” His attitude toward them had become much kinder.

Qi Cheng  gave a mysterious smile: “Well, it’s better than nothing.”

The Next Day

“Our branch’s performance has fallen so far behind the other branches. Don’t you all feel ashamed?”

“Yes! What the Great One says is absolutely right!”

“I’m asking you, are you really putting all your effort into working seriously? If you want a monthly salary of over ten thousand to find happiness, you must show the determination to die trying.”

“Yes! What the Great One says is absolutely right!”

“If you feel you can’t deliver results because your working hours are completely insufficient, I happen to have a solution.”

“Yes! Please instruct us, Great One!”

“Reduce your sleep time, reduce your mealtime, and it’ll be fine. It is said that the immortals of old lived by drinking morning dew and eating morning clouds—it was precisely because of this that their mental power surpassed the world, and they became existences close to gods! Similarly, if you can use challenging yourselves as spiritual food and motivation, then the feeling of wanting to eat or sleep becomes completely insignificant.”

“Yes! What the Great One says is absolutely right!”

“Listen well! You must all be filled with love for the company! Above your spouses, family, and friends, the company should be your top priority! As long as you can integrate love into your work, then no matter what the realistic obstacles are, they cannot become hindrances to your progress!”

“Then strive to obtain praise from customers and recognition from the boss! That way, challenging yourselves in your work will become even more meaningful. Going back and forth like that, it will be a cycle that can be called a priceless treasure.”

“As long as you throw yourselves into this cycle, then the door to happiness will surely open for you!”

“Yes! What the Great One says is absolutely right!”

“So, for your happiness, please put in dozens of times more effort to improve this department’s performance. If you want to sleep, wait until the day you die. At that time, you can sleep as long as you want. While you are still alive, you should naturally do things more meaningful than sleeping! For the company you dearly love, for your happiness, please put in a hundred times more effort today!”

“Yes! We shall follow the Great One’s teachings!”

Every morning, the Manager would personally visit to spend five or ten minutes holding a morning meeting for the miners, motivating the employees to strive upward.

By the way, the morning meeting time did not count as working hours.

In other words, it was held during the period from 5:40 AM to 5:50 AM.

If you dared not attend the morning meeting, you were finished.

The Demon Guards beside the Manager would let your body experience what it meant to do a “Thomas Flare Ascension.”

Of course, if a participant thought they could assassinate the Manager during the morning meeting, they were dead wrong. The Demon Tribe’s “Ultimate Ascension Destruction Cannon” would immediately level the place to the ground, turning you into a part of the smoke and dust, vanishing into thin air.

How to effectively kill the Manager was a profound field of study.

After the morning meeting, Qi Cheng  and Xia Lin went straight to the Goblin Mine Overseer.

After explaining their intent, the Goblin Overseer said very happily: “Oh! You heard the Manager’s speech, felt inspired, and want to challenge yourselves and strive for innovation? Good, good! Young people should have a pioneering spirit and a bit of drive to do great things! No problem, no problem at all! Although it’s a bit dangerous, the rewards you can get are doubled. Though I have many things to say to you both, that would be a waste of your time, wouldn’t it? Please do your best. If you die, no one will help collect your bodies.”

“Overseer.”

“Anything else you want to say?”

“…I’m not giving my last words. I want to ask, can you give us a few more pickaxes and dynamite?”

“I see. Of course, no problem, they aren’t worth much anyway. As long as you can carry them, you can take as many tools as you want! But Qi Cheng , let me remind you, dynamite won’t have much of a killing effect on those powerful magic beasts below the third floor.”

“I understand, thank you very much, Overseer!”

…Talking to these corporate jerks is truly exhausting.

Because the “Mining Game” was set under the premise of the Second Yuga, subordinates had to show absolute loyalty and respect to superiors.

For example, during the morning meeting just now, if you didn’t respectfully answer “I follow your teachings” when the Manager was lecturing… just try it.

You’d immediately be given the “Thomas Ascension Double Style.”

In their spare time, Xia Lin had given Qi Cheng  a detailed explanation of the four cycles of the Yuga.

Qi Cheng  also gained a deep understanding of the significance of the Second Yuga stage and had many thoughts on the nature of all things presented in this stage, comparing it to their actual current life.

After the two of them geared up, they arrived at the third floor of the dungeon.

Seeing Xia Lin walking toward the mining spot, Qi Cheng  pulled her arm and said, “No rush to mine. Let’s first go to the point closest to the Slime patrol route and wait for them.”

Xia Lin understood and said, “You want to test our skills first to see if we can smoothly deal with the Slimes?”

“Mm.”

As expected, Xia Lin was smart; she got it instantly.

“Understood. But, can we walk a bit slower? I want to compare as we walk to see if there are any errors in the map drawing.”

When encountering unknown territory, they could also complete the map.

If Qi Cheng  “seriously” started moving, her foot speed was extremely fast, and she made no footstep sounds at all.

Just now, when entering the third floor from the second, Xia Lin had barely managed to keep up with Qi Cheng .

And Qi Cheng  probably hadn’t even shown her true strength yet.

Qi Cheng  laughed: “Don’t worry, I won’t walk too fast from here on.”

Walking so fast through the first and second floors was also to test Xia Lin’s stamina and speed.

She passed completely.

If Xia Lin couldn’t walk fast, Qi Cheng  would have to drop all the equipment and carry Xia Lin on her back to escape if necessary.

Although Qi Cheng  had a petite frame, her strength was startling.

Qi Cheng  glanced at the map, identified a direction, and said to Xia Lin, “Follow behind me.”

Throughout the way, Qi Cheng  was very cautious.

Xia Lin also drew the map while keeping her ears sharp to catch any movement in the surroundings.

If there was any sign of trouble nearby, she could catch it immediately with her hearing and alert Qi Cheng .

After walking for about ten minutes, Xia Lin suddenly lowered her voice and said, “Stop.”

Qi Cheng  stopped in her tracks immediately.

“At the 2 o’clock direction, about a thousand meters away, there’s movement. I can’t tell what the object is from the sound, but it might be Slimes.”

“Can you hear how many there are?”

“Two.”

“We’ll circle around behind them.”

The two approached quietly. When they were 200 meters away, they could already see the Slimes.

Two Slimes were wandering aimlessly.

Xia Lin checked the map; these weren’t the Slimes patrolling around the mining spot.

Qi Cheng  carefully observed the surrounding environment and had Xia Lin hide behind a rock pillar that was not easily attacked.

“Wait here. If you hear any other sounds approaching you, run to my side immediately.”

Qi Cheng  took off her backpack, took only one pickaxe, and rapidly approached the Slimes.

Her movements were incredibly fast, swift as the wind. Even though she was running, almost no footsteps could be heard.

Xia Lin was mesmerized by her figure, which looked like a wolf god.

Qi Cheng  calculated the angle, used the momentum from her acceleration, and threw the pickaxe.

The strike was as fast as lightning.

Like a boomerang, the pickaxe spun in the air, piercing two magic cores in one fell swoop before returning steadily to Qi Cheng ‘s hand.

Amazing!

Xia Lin marveled inwardly.

It was just that from Xia Lin’s angle, she couldn’t see that when the pickaxe flew back into Qi Cheng ‘s hand, the wooden handle had been completely corroded away by the acid. The iron head, at the moment it flew back, almost hit Qi Cheng ’s head.

But who was Qi Cheng ? Her reactions were also lightning-fast. To keep Xia Lin from worrying, she just slightly tilted her head, letting the pickaxe head graze past her cheek.

A close call.

If it weren’t for her precise calculations, she wouldn’t have been able to pull it off.

The Slimes’ bloated bodies quickly turned into puddles of acid, sizzling and bubbling on the ground.

In this cavernous dungeon, the sound wasn’t small.

Although her hearing wasn’t as sensitive as Xia Lin’s, Qi Cheng  had undergone various survival training in the past, and her alertness was beyond ordinary.

She observed the surroundings, and after ensuring there was no potential danger, she retreated to Xia Lin’s side.

Xia Lin also spoke at this time: “Don’t worry, no creatures are approaching.”

Qi Cheng  nodded, put her backpack back on, and the two walked back to the Slime corpses.

She took out an empty bottle and threw it onto a Slime corpse.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle. The glass bottle was dissolved very quickly.

The Slime’s acid was really strong; the iron pickaxe that had just flown back was also partially corroded.

Originally, she had thought about collecting some Slime acid to make sulfuric acid traps to deal with the Manager later.

Although the Manager would build hatred toward the first target that attacked him and perish together with that first target when his HP reached only 1 point, Qi Cheng  and Xia Lin had researched that if it were a pre-set trap, the Manager shouldn’t be able to establish primary hatred.

Or to be safe, they could just have an NPC help by being the first one to bury the trap.

Although NPCs valued their lives and wouldn’t actively rebel against the Manager, it was still possible to trick them into doing trap-work under some other pretext.

Races with lower intelligence, like Orcs, were very easy to fool.

Looking at the rapidly dissolving bottle, Xia Lin sighed, “It seems the plan to borrow Slime acid won’t work for now.”

“It’s fine, we’ll think of another way. Anyway, our primary task today is to mine enough high-quality magic crystals.”

To prevent inhaling harmful gases, Qi Cheng  pulled Xia Lin back.

“But killing these things is effortless; they truly are the trash of the dungeon.”

Xia Lin laughed. It’s because you’re too powerful. If it were herself, she wouldn’t be sure she could smoothly kill a Slime.

With the experiment a success, they finally began to proceed cautiously toward the known mining spot.

The NPC’s information was indeed accurate.

A cluster of high-quality magic crystals, glowing with a faint blue light, was growing quietly along the edge of the wall.

As far as the eye could see, there were 10 large ore pieces.

“Quite a harvest.”

The commission for one piece of high-quality magic crystal was 25G.

These 10 pieces of ore were enough to buy 5 MP recovery potions.

If they stayed here all day and waited for the ores to respawn, the commission they would get would be far more than 250G.

To make the respawn time of the ores reset as quickly as possible, Xia Lin no longer saved her strength and helped with the rapid mining.

When they were mining the seventh piece, Xia Lin suddenly said, “Qi Cheng , there’s movement. It should be the patrolling Slimes approaching.”

“Understood. You keep mining to lure it over; I’ll handle it.”

“Qi Cheng , three of them came this time,” Xia Lin reminded.

Surely she couldn’t hit three with one throw?

Qi Cheng  gave a confident smile: “I can handle it.”

She then picked up another pickaxe with her left hand.

Xia Lin: “…”

Holy crap! Qi Cheng  baby, you’re about to go full Dynasty Warriors.

Qi Cheng  ran toward the direction of the Slimes. Two minutes later, she ran back with a relaxed expression.

Xia Lin: “…” (I really did trick an incredible wife.)

The ten pieces of ore were quickly finished.

Xia Lin asked, “Are we staying here to guard the mining spot, or are we going deeper to explore?”