Chapter 4: Time to Mine  

Inside the empty underground space, Yang Tao crafted two chests and placed them on the ground. They merged into a large chest. After organizing his items, he grabbed his tools, a newly crafted workbench, a furnace, torches, and some food, then got ready to go mining. 

He walked to a corner of the space and started digging downward at a 45-degree angle. This way, he could stay as safe as possible—if there was an open space below, he wouldn't fall straight down. The sound of his pickaxe echoed as he slowly dug deeper. 

After collecting over thirty cobblestones, the texture of the blocks ahead finally changed. The stone now had black spots on it. 

"Finally, coal! Burning wood for charcoal always feels like such a waste!" 

Excited, he quickly mined the coal. It was a small vein, with over twenty coal ores connected together. As the coal blocks broke, glowing orbs also appeared and floated into his body. Mining and killing mobs both gave experience, but only ores that dropped minerals directly would provide it. 

Experience levels were only useful for enchanting in Minecraft—other than that, they served no purpose. There was no warm sensation when leveling up, no boost to physical strength, nothing. 

Life is full of surprises. As soon as he mined the last piece of coal, the stone in front of him changed color again. It had the same spotted pattern as coal but was brown instead. 

"Iron ore!" 

Finally, he had found iron. Without hesitation, he mined all the iron ore and placed his furnace and crafting table down. There were eight pieces in total, and he put them all in the furnace to smelt. 

Time passed quickly, and soon all the ore was smelted. He took the iron ingots out. 

Achievement Unlocked: [Acquire Hardware] 

Achievement Unlocked: [Isn't It Iron Pick?] 

Ignoring the achievements that kept popping up, Yang Tao thought for a moment and decided to craft an iron pickaxe, an iron sword, and a bucket—using up all eight ingots. 

"I should head back up, grab some water, and check the time." 

He quickly ran to the surface. The sun had already moved westward—it looked like it was around 2 or 3 PM. 

Walking to the river, he noticed that some of the wheat he had planted had grown a little taller. It looked like it would be fully grown in another two or three days. 

He returned underground and continued digging at the bottom of his mine. Suddenly, he heard the sounds of monsters nearby. That meant there had to be a natural cave around, but right now, caves were too dangerous for him. He needed to play it safe. 

Time flew by, and before he knew it, his inventory was full. He had mined several stacks of coal, about a stack and a half of iron ore, some gold ore, lapis lazuli, and redstone. But not a single diamond. *Is my luck really that bad?* 

Back at his underground home, he organized his items and placed all the iron ore into the furnace for smelting. 

"I should check the surface and see what's going on." 

Yang Tao was about to go up when he remembered that he had sealed the entrance earlier. Carefully, he removed one block to peek outside. 

The moment he stuck his head out— 

*Whoosh!* 

A red flash appeared on his body as an arrow struck him, making him jump involuntarily. 

Startled, Yang Tao looked up and saw a skeleton standing not far away. It was aiming directly at him, drawing its bowstring, ready to fire again. 

Panicking, Yang Tao quickly blocked the entrance again and backed away. He glanced up and saw the arrow sticking out of him. Reaching for it, he tried to pull it out. 

 But when he touched the arrow, his hand passed right through it. The whole thing was just an illusion—he couldn't actually grab it. After a few tries, he gave up. It wasn't causing any pain anyway.