The next day.

Wangchuan held back a little and didn't push himself to mine excessively, collecting twelve hundred pounds of ore that day.

But something happened during that time.

Heipi's iron pickaxe broke.

The handle snapped at the joint, rendering it useless.

Fortunately, it happened after the mining convoy had collected the ore, so it didn't significantly affect the day's earnings.

Lin Dahai and the others joked:

"Heipi, you're really calculating to the bone."

"The durability of the pickaxe dropped to 5 points, and you still wouldn't replace it. How many Copper Coins would it cost to repair?"

"Exactly."

Old Li said:

"You could still mine for two more hours in the afternoon, earn twenty Copper Coins, and repairing the pickaxe's durability would only cost you ten Copper Coins. In and out, you'd lose thirty bucks from your bonus this month."

"Tch."

Heipi lounged lazily at the mine entrance, utterly at ease, with a face full of indifference: "I'm not like you workhorses, toiling for two hours, then lugging a heavy load over mountains for more than an hour, all for thirty bucks... Why would I work myself to death? Isn't it better to rest, lie down, and enjoy the breeze?"

"......"

Everyone was speechless.

Three hours of hard labor for thirty bucks did seem a bit of a loss.

"Forget it, I can't talk about life with you guys who don't understand it. I'm heading back to the village to log off early and spend time with my girlfriend."

Wangchuan shook his head and chuckled.

He had long heard Heipi mention he found a girlfriend, logging off straight to her tender embrace every day after completing tasks, and it seemed to be going well.

But Lin Dahai sternly called out:

"Heipi!"

"Have you forgotten the company's rules?"

"Yeah, Heipi."

"We're all from the same studio, leaving and returning to the village, we move together, that's the rule! If you go alone and something happens, this job is gone!" Wei Zhe also chimed in.

"What could happen... You guys just like to make a fuss."

Though Heipi said this, he stopped moving.

He didn't dare to anger everyone.

To be precise, he valued this job very much.

Especially since everyone had accumulated a week's worth of Copper Coins on them; if something went wrong, it would be a big problem.

In the end, Heipi didn't run off.

Wangchuan took the opportunity to ask about everyone's salary and bonus situation from last month.

Hearing the others, today was the day to settle the earnings back in the village, and someone from the company would come to collect the Copper Coins, which made him a bit excited, so he casually inquired about everyone's income.

Lin Dahai laughed:

"I'm not sure about that."

"We each have different quotas to submit every month, and we all hand over to the people from the county individually. Apart from the fixed monthly salary of ten thousand, I really don't know how much bonus everyone gets."

"Heipi even got a girlfriend, so his bonus must not be low, probably around twenty thousand." Old Li joked, without revealing his own income.

Finally, Lin Dahai explained:

"Actually, as long as we submit one hundred and fifty Copper Coins every day, complete the tasks, the ten thousand salary for the month won't be less. The extra Copper Coins you submit will be counted as your bonus at a ratio of one to three."

"I see."

Wangchuan suddenly understood.

He did some quick mental math.

Every day, he could earn 225 Copper Coins from mining, saving at least 75 Copper Coins daily, multiplied by three, that's a bonus of 225 bucks, a guaranteed monthly bonus of 6750.

This didn't even include the rewards from completing tasks at the Blacksmith Shop.

Not bad at all!

If he could forge three Hundred-Tempered Steel Ingots a day, he could earn at least 60 Copper Coins, which is 180 bucks.

A steady monthly income of twenty thousand.

Thinking about how he never had more than four figures in his account, and now he could earn twenty thousand by the end of the month, his mood brightened considerably, and even the clanging noise seemed like the pleasant sound of Copper Coins.

By around four in the afternoon, everyone finished their work and carried their hundred-pound baskets out.

A group of over forty miners—recently, a few more vagrants had joined in succession.

The team was growing larger.

Back in Blackstone Village, from afar, they could see several men in short beast-skin clothes, with swords at their waists, standing at the village entrance, exuding an impressive aura.

Lin Dahai, Chen Feng, Heitan, and others led their teams toward one of them.

Clearly, these people were from different studios, all coming to the village to collect accounts.

Wangchuan naturally followed Lin Dahai's group to a burly man with thick eyebrows and a bald head, who had a not-too-deep cut on his face, the wound not yet scabbed.

"Escort Head Wang."

Lin Dahai approached with a serious expression: "What happened? Was the road unsafe?"

The man snorted arrogantly through his nose and said:

"Ran into a few vagrant thieves, already dealt with."

Wangchuan's heart tightened.

Indeed, the outside was dangerous.

This Escort Head Wang was clearly not someone to mess with, yet those vagrants dared to provoke such fully armed men. If they encountered their group of miners...

He dared not think further, only silently reminding himself to be more cautious and vigilant outside.

He couldn't afford to lose his job with a twenty-thousand monthly bonus.

At this point, everyone took out their money bags and began to submit their weekly mining earnings.

Lin Dahai's group of six handed over their earnings one by one.

Escort Head Wang took out a piece of paper to record.

Being a newcomer, Wangchuan's name was listed separately.

As it turned out, Wangchuan handed over the most Copper Coins.

One hundred and eighty Large Copper Coins, nearly double compared to the others.

Wangchuan only kept eight Large Copper Coins for pancakes and emergencies, submitting the rest to the company.

Escort Head Wang was quite surprised, giving him an extra look before noting his name and the numbers.

"Alright."

"All your money has been received."

"I should be going."

"I must return to the county before sunset."

After saying this, Escort Head Wang secured the wooden box filled with Copper Coins on his back and left Blackstone Village with the others who came to collect accounts.

The group didn't even enter the village before leaving.

Wangchuan was quite surprised:

"It's getting dark, isn't it too dangerous for them to leave the village now?"

"Don't worry."

Heipi, quick to speak, said:

"They're Quasi-Martial Artists who escort goods, skilled in martial arts. If they're fast, they should make it back to the county before dark."

To read the uncut version, go to [pawread.com].

"Yeah."

Lin Dahai nodded:

"They're not like us; they specialize in escorting, knowing where the dangers are and where they can go. Plus, it's always been this time for transactions, and nothing's ever gone wrong."

"Alright then."

Wangchuan remembered the term 'martial arts.'

Hmm.

This is what a game world should be like.

Everyone returned to the village to hand over the iron ore, then logged off.

Wangchuan bought four pancakes and went alone to the Blacksmith Shop to continue the 'Hundred Temperings into Steel' task.

Yesterday, the 'Hundred-Tempered Steel Forging Art' gained 3 Experience Points, and he logged off at eleven. Today, he wanted to challenge himself.