62: A Top-Tier Ore Deposit Discovered—The Enderman Appears!

"Xiao, quickly check your personal panel and see how much health you've lost," Ryen urged as he snapped back to reality.

In the MC world, there was no need to worry about the exact nature of injuries. Even if someone lost an arm or a leg, it wouldn't hinder their movement in the slightest. As long as one's hunger bar was full and the damage wasn't an instant death, all injuries could be healed—and quickly, too.

At the moment, Xiao's hunger bar was definitely full. If they waited a moment longer, he'd probably fully regenerate.

Hearing Ryen's reminder, Xiao pushed aside his shock over the iron armor and quickly summoned his personal panel. As he focused on it, he noticed that his health bar had already recovered by one block right before his eyes. Only half a block remained to reach full health.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Ryen," Xiao said with a complicated expression, "I've already recovered… there's only half a block of health left to regenerate."

"…"

The group didn't know whether to feel relieved or frustrated. After all, he had just suffered a broken rib—a significant injury. Even with Xiao's extraordinary constitution as the Conqueror of Demons, it should've taken at least ten days to recover.

But here?

A blink of an eye, and he was almost as good as new.

"Hold on!"

Xiao suddenly shouted, frowning slightly as he seemed to focus on something in the interface. After a moment of hesitation, he looked at Ryen with visible confusion.

"I'm fully recovered."

"…"

The room fell into an awkward silence. Of all those present, Cloud Retainer looked the most disgruntled. She had put all her strength into that strike, almost draining herself completely.

And yet, Xiao, who had supposedly suffered a broken rib, was already back to full health?

While she was relieved that he was unharmed, she couldn't help but feel a sense of humiliation.

"So, the damage from that attack was about one and a half blocks of health?" Ryen muttered, glancing at Cloud Retainer with a hint of pity.

A moment ago, he had been in awe of her strength, marveling at the elegance and power of her attack. But now…

"Still not as strong as a Creeper…" Ryen mumbled under his breath, careful to make sure Cloud Retainer didn't hear.

Her attack had proven largely ineffective. To put it bluntly, it was all flash and no substance.

Of course, Ryen didn't entirely blame her. It was likely due to the MC world's mechanics severely nerfing her, combined with the fact that the weapon she wielded—a Staff of Homa stripped of its divine essence—had been heavily sealed.

But regardless of the reasons…

Low damage was still low damage.

Frankly, Ryen was convinced that even if he took an iron sword and hit Xiao himself, he'd do at least two or three blocks of damage. If he used his Yama Blade, it would likely only take one strike to finish the job.

After all, up until now, he still hadn't been able to test the upper limit of the Yama Blade's power—everything fell with just one hit.

Xiao, ever perceptive, noticed Cloud Retainer's dejected demeanor. Feeling a twinge of guilt, he spoke up:

"Perhaps the damage wasn't just one and a half blocks. If you're willing… Cloud Retainer, we could test it again?"

Cloud Retainer, who had just eaten a few apples to replenish her hunger bar, had already restored herself to full capacity. In this world, all damage was quantified in little hearts, and one's overall condition was reflected in the hunger bar.

Her earlier strike had burned through four whole hunger blocks.

At Xiao's suggestion, however, she shook her head with a wry smile. Her mood had already settled.

"There's no need. From the time of your injury to when you checked, only a short moment had passed. I can confidently say the damage was about one and a half blocks."

She paused, glancing at the iron armor Xiao wore.

"This iron armor truly surpasses all expectations. It is a genuine divine artifact."

No one disagreed with her assessment. After all, it had withstood a full-force blow from a weakened immortal, which was still an extraordinary feat.

That said, equipping all of Liyue's Millelith soldiers with such armor was… impractical.

It wasn't that resources were lacking. Rather…

How would soldiers wearing twenty tons of iron armor look? Would they be warriors or demolition crews?

At least for now, Ningguang's plan was to find a way to smelt the iron ingots and forge them into something more manageable.

"There's one very important thing that none of you have noticed," Zhongli suddenly spoke, breaking his silence.

His calm, steady gaze rested on Xiao as he continued, "Conqueror of Demons, in Teyvat, how long would it typically take for your injuries to heal with the aid of your adeptal energy?"

Xiao furrowed his brows slightly, considering for a moment before answering respectfully, "At least three days, assuming my adeptal energy remains fully charged."

Zhongli nodded slightly, his expression betraying a faint hint of thoughtfulness. He then turned to Ningguang and the others, his golden eyes carrying an implicit message.

And he wasn't disappointed.

In that instant, Ningguang suddenly froze, her eyes widening in realization before lighting up with excitement. Even someone as composed as her couldn't entirely conceal her enthusiasm.

"Any injury in this world," she began, her voice trembling slightly, "is quantified as lost health. And health loss is tied to one's hunger bar. As long as the hunger bar is full, then…"

Keqing cut in, finishing her thought with evident excitement:

"As long as there's still a breath left! In this world, with a full hunger bar, recovery is almost instantaneous!"

"If this is true, then… the Millelith soldiers in Liyue Harbor who've suffered severe injuries… could they…?"

Keqing trailed off, her voice faltering. Ningguang reached out, gently pulling on her sleeve, silently reminding her to hold her tongue.

After all, no matter how miraculous this world was, it still belonged to Ryen.

It wasn't as if Keqing could expect him to fulfill her every whim or allow unrestricted experimentation in his domain.

Understanding this point, she felt a twinge of guilt and quickly murmured, "I'm sorry, Ryen. I didn't mean to…"

"It's fine," Ryen interrupted with a calm smile. His expression was unreadable, as though nothing could faze him.

"If this world can help you, then I'm happy to see it used for good. However…" His tone shifted slightly, laced with a subtle warning, "Don't turn my world into some kind of revival point. I don't mind personally, but if news of your collaboration with my world spreads, it could bring unwanted trouble."

Hearing this, Ningguang and the others exchanged glances, their thoughts immediately turning to the Fatui.

No further discussion was needed—they nodded in silent understanding.

The topic was dropped, but the implications lingered.

…

Based on the incidents with Xiao and Cloud Retainer, everyone had come to some important conclusions.

The relationship between health points and hunger was paramount in this world.

Still…

For now, there was no need to publicize this discovery.

Ningguang and the others were determined to maintain their position as the pioneers of this collaboration.

This opportunity was too valuable. While they understood Liyue couldn't monopolize it forever, the longer they could keep it to themselves, the more Mora they could amass, and the stronger their nation would become.

For now, secrecy was their best strategy.

Once rested, the group ventured deeper into the mines.

Unlike before, when they moved with utmost caution, their confidence had visibly grown. Now, they walked with ease, chatting and laughing about the quirks of the MC world.

Only Xiao, at the front, maintained his vigilance, shield in hand as he scanned their surroundings.

The others, however, carried torches and marveled at the strangeness of this world.

It couldn't be helped.

Equipped with full iron armor and iron swords, they felt invincible.

The difference between wearing iron gear and not was night and day.

As they moved, Ningguang couldn't help but comment, "If all the monsters we've encountered so far came at us at once, they'd just be free experience points now."

Her words were met with laughter.

After half an hour of walking, Xiao suddenly stopped.

Noticing this, the others immediately fell silent, weapons at the ready.

"Ryen, there's ore ahead," Xiao said, his face calm. Judging by his expression, there didn't seem to be any danger.

"Ore, huh?"

Ryen nodded slightly and walked toward the dark space with a torch in hand, a playful tone in his voice.

"Let's hope it's not more cursed coal…"

But as he stepped closer, Ryen's words trailed off, replaced by stunned silence.

Under the dim torchlight, the others couldn't quite see what had left Ryen speechless.

Ganyu grew anxious at once.

"Ryen!" she called, rushing to his side without hesitation.

The others quickly followed, weapons at the ready.

When they reached Ryen, they found Ganyu flustered, inspecting him nervously.

Ryen, however, seemed entranced, staring wordlessly at a section of the dimly lit wall as though something had stolen his soul.

"Ryen, what's wrong?" Ganyu's voice quivered slightly with worry, and she gently touched his arm.

Even Zhongli, normally composed, was momentarily taken aback. He began to wonder if some soul-snatching entity from this world was at work, debating whether he should reveal his true power and intervene.

After a brief silence, Ryen finally moved, slowly raising his hand to point ahead.

With an intense glint in his eyes, he planted the torch firmly into the ground, illuminating the area.

In the warm glow of the light, the truth of what lay before them was revealed.

"This… This is a goldmine!" Ryen's voice trembled with excitement.

Everyone turned to look, and even those accustomed to great wealth, like Ningguang, found themselves speechless.

Even Xiao, who had thought he was beyond shock, widened his eyes.

The entire wall before them—approximately 17 by 26 blocks in size—was made entirely of ore!

On the edges, veins of iron stretched in abundance.

Toward the center, clusters of deep blue lapis lazuli sparkled faintly.

Higher up, a striking red glow emanated from a series of redstone blocks.

But it was the very center that captured their attention—nine gleaming blocks of gold.

For a moment, no one spoke. Even Keqing, who had been skeptical of this world's riches, could only mutter in disbelief:

"So many… so many ores… And those gold blocks… How much Mora would that be worth?"

Before anyone could answer, Ningguang responded with precision, her calculations immediate.

"Based on our earlier assumptions, a cubic meter of gold weighs approximately 19 tons. A single gold ingot requires nine gold nuggets to craft, and if each nugget represents one-ninth of a block's weight, then…"

She paused for dramatic effect, her eyes gleaming.

"Each gold ingot weighs over two tons. If these gold blocks can each yield a single ingot, that's 19 tons of pure gold… at least."

"19 tons of gold…" Keqing's voice was barely above a whisper.

Ningguang's eyes practically burned with fervor, a rare crack in her usual calm demeanor.

"That's worth at least 100 billion Mora."

Her statement left everyone, even Cloud Retainer, wide-eyed.

A hundred billion Mora.

Such an astronomical amount was just sitting there, waiting to be mined.

The sheer weight of the number left even the stoic Xiao momentarily dumbfounded.

As for Ningguang, she couldn't deny how tempting it was.

This alone was nearly the cost of constructing the Jade Chamber from scratch.

…

While the others were lost in thoughts of unimaginable wealth, Ryen chuckled softly.

Gold was valuable, but in the MC world, it wasn't particularly practical.

What truly excited him were the lapis lazuli and redstone surrounding the gold.

Those were his primary targets for this mining expedition.

"Let's get to work!" Ningguang's voice snapped him from his thoughts, her gaze filled with anticipation. "Ryen, you go first!"

She didn't dare act recklessly. With so much at stake, even the slightest mistake would haunt her.

Ryen nodded and was just about to pull out his enchanted iron pickaxe with the Silk Touch enchantment when a commotion from Xiao's direction drew his attention.

"Stay back! If you come any closer, I will attack!" Xiao's low voice echoed through the cave, sharp and commanding.

Ryen frowned and turned toward him, his expression shifting immediately when he caught sight of the long, slender figure in the darkness.

That shadowy form. Those glowing white eyes.

Ryen's face turned pale as he shouted, "Everyone, look down! Don't make eye contact!"

But his warning came too late.

The tall, slender black figure locked eyes with Xiao, its glowing gaze meeting his.

The Enderman… had been provoked.

~~----------------------

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