Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sunless mine tunnel reeked of a putrid, sour stench.
A gaunt, tattered figure and the occasional clanging sounds from afar filled the space.
Lin Ping lay on the cold, pebble-strewn ground, taking it all in, lost in thought for a long time, unable to accept the fact that he had Transmigrated into a Black Mine laborer.
But everything his eyes landed on was so real.
And the fragmented memories in his mind became increasingly clear.
Warlords contended for supremacy, the weak were prey to the strong, and factions carved up territories; Yao Beasts ran rampant, wreaking havoc everywhere, devouring living beings.
His original body was a mere Odd jobs in a tavern, climbing from the bottom, finally making it to a purchasing agent, which sounded incredibly inspiring.
Yet, the other party, in a moment of hot-headedness, played the hero to save a beauty, was then framed, and thus ended up in this sunless Black Mine.
But why did the other party suddenly lose his life?
"Ping Ge, are you… are you alright?!"
The gaunt, tattered, sallow-faced young man crouched beside him, his body hunched, trembling as he reached out and waved his hand a few times in front of Lin Ping's eyes.
"Was he perhaps struck silly by that rock Zhou Laogou threw just now?"
Zhao Tie muttered to himself.
Because he saw Lin Ping, ever since he slowly opened his bloodshot, lifeless eyes, lying motionless on the ground like an idiot.
"I'm fine!"
Lin Ping gently pushed his hand away.
He pushed his hands against the ground, sitting up from the cold surface.
"Hiss—"
A piercing pain shot through the back of his head, making Lin Ping wince.
He reached back and felt a warm, sticky sensation.
Pulling his hand back, he saw it was covered in blood!
The glaring crimson between his fingers and the pungent smell of blood seemed to flip a switch...
In an instant, Lin Ping seemed to finally shake off the muddled hangover feeling, and an intense wave of pain surged over him!
"Hmph! Hmph!"
He leaned against the cave wall, his chest heaving, gasping for quick, continuous breaths.
He looked down to the left side of the ground.
The top of a bowl-sized rock was stained with some fast-drying blood.
His previously fragmented memories now connected.
Although his original body had been framed and sent to this Black Mine, his righteous sense of justice, his love for helping those in need, had not changed.
Not long ago, his original body had seen Zhou Laogou trying to forcibly snatch the coarse bran cake from Zhao Tie's hand, so he intervened.
Then, during the struggle with Zhou Laogou, Zhou Laogou picked up a rock from the ground and smashed it hard against the back of his head.
After understanding the reason for his original body's demise.
Lin Ping fell silent.
His original body was fine, just walked away.
But he himself was miserable; not only did he have to endure the lingering pain, but he also had to face the sunless situation of this mine tunnel.
Seeing that Lin Ping was truly fine, Zhao Tie breathed a sigh of relief.
"Ping Ge, thank you for stepping in just now, otherwise I..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Lin Ping raised a hand to cut him off.
At this moment, he truly just wanted to be quiet...
Recalling some of his original body's memories about the mine tunnel, Lin Ping's expression turned incredibly grim.
"This is truly a sin!"
He gently closed his eyes, sighing inwardly!
"What should I do?"
Clearly, how to survive in this mine tunnel became his top priority now!
And Zhao Tie, squatting to the side, seeing Lin Ping's dispirited expression, his lips trembling slightly, finally gritted his teeth and couldn't help but whisper.
"Ping Ge, why don't we escape?"
"If we continue to stay here, let alone lasting three years, we'll probably die miserably in this mine tunnel within three months."
Lin Ping slightly opened his eyes, glanced at him, and shook his head weakly.
According to his original body's memories, three days ago, a young Mining laborer, unable to endure the various tortures in the mine, chose to escape in the middle of the night, but was caught by the overseer.
He was whipped hundreds of times, almost turning into a pile of rotten flesh, and his body is still hanging there as a deterrent.
Lin Ping completely ignored Zhao Tie, who was simple-minded and idiotic.
"If it were that easy to escape successfully, wouldn't everyone have already run away?"
He silently picked up the pickaxe.
In this mine tunnel, every Mining laborer had to mine a fixed amount each day; if the quantity was not met, they would not receive food and water.
If he couldn't complete his task today, he would go hungry, leading to a vicious cycle until he starved to death!
So he dared not delay; only by surviving first could he create miracles.
Lin Ping lowered his hips, stiffly raised the pickaxe, and brought it down hard, as if venting his many dissatisfactions.
Clang!
As a loud clang of the pickaxe striking metal echoed.
A gray stone slab suddenly appeared in Lin Ping's mind.
"Oh my, am I having hallucinations from being hit by a rock?"
Lin Ping muttered inwardly, quickly stopped, propped himself up with the pickaxe, and rubbed his temples.
But the more he rubbed, the clearer the gray stone slab in his mind became.
Though in his mind, it was clearly visible, which was very strange.
Not a hallucination, could this be a Transmigration benefit?
Thinking of this, Lin Ping's eyes suddenly lit up, and his breathing quickened.
Then, with a thought, he concentrated and carefully examined the gray stone slab again.
The next second.
A line of strong, chiseled characters appeared on the stone slab.
【Mining: 1 / 100 / Beginner.】
Golden Finger?
Lin Ping sensed the information on the gray stone slab in his mind, and his eyes couldn't help but moisten.
The stories of countless novel protagonists flashed through his mind.
When others Transmigrated, they became all sorts of big shots.
But he was an ox and horse before Transmigration, and after Transmigration, he was even worse than an ox and horse, actually a small Mining laborer in a mine tunnel.
No joke.
If it weren't for the sudden appearance of this gray stone slab, he really didn't know how long he could last in this Black Mine.
The text information on the gray stone slab was simple and easy to understand, just the literal meaning.
Lin Ping quickly accepted the existence of the gray stone slab in his mind.
Since he had Transmigrated, wasn't it normal for a Golden Finger to appear?
Lin Ping also had some guesses about the function of this Golden Finger.
Just now, he had just swung the pickaxe once to mine, and it showed the proficiency of beginner Mining and the upgrade value.
Simply put, it was somewhat similar to the character data panel he used to see when playing games in his previous life.
All the skills he learned would show a progress bar on it.
If it was truly as he guessed, then couldn't he just lie low in this mine tunnel and slowly develop himself?
Thinking of this, the gloom in Lin Ping's heart dissipated a lot, and he became excited.
He saw hope.
He just didn't know if this proficiency point was easy to increase.
He would try and see.
If each swing yielded a proficiency point, then it would be incredibly satisfying.