Chapter 85 – Atom

The two of them arrived at a nearby restaurant and found a seat. Wu Shaocheng was about to order when Shao Wei quickly stopped him and said, “No need to spend money, do you need help with something?”

“Smart,” Wu Shaocheng thought to himself, but still ordered some dishes. If he was going to eat, why not enjoy it? After placing the order, he asked Shao Wei, “What’s your name? I mean your game ID.” Shao Wei’s ID was hidden, and Wu Shaocheng could only tell he was a warrior.

“My in-game name is Atom. If you need anything, just say it. I’ll help if I can,” Atom replied.

“There is something. I need a medicinal herb, and only your master has it. I was planning to buy it from him, but I got kicked out,” Wu Shaocheng said helplessly.

“Really? I’ll think of a way. My master’s temper is quite strange. If he doesn’t want to sell it, no amount of money will change his mind,” Atom said.

“Hm, how did you become his disciple?” Wu Shaocheng asked, curious.

“I just arrived in Jiao City a couple of days ago. Because of my talent, I immediately chose to learn the alchemist profession. Once, while I was making medicine, my master saw me and said I had great talent in alchemy, so he took me as a disciple,” Atom explained.

“Your talent must be related to alchemy, right?” Wu Shaocheng asked with wide eyes.

“Yes, it increases my alchemy success rate by 50%,” Atom said honestly.

Wu Shaocheng had initially thought that only combat professions had talent boosts, but now he realized that crafting professions had their own talents as well. Looking at Atom’s clear gaze, Wu Shaocheng had an idea forming in his mind.

“You need some herbs, right? Let me see if I can get them from my master. But if you need to buy them, you’ll have to pay for it. I don’t have much money on me,” Atom said, feeling a bit awkward.

“That’s fair. Don’t worry, I won’t let you help me for free. If you can get me the herbs, how about I give you 100 gold coins?” Wu Shaocheng offered.

“Ah, no need, no need. It’s just a small favor. You don’t have to pay me,” Atom quickly waved his hand.

Seeing Atom react this way, Wu Shaocheng’s resolve grew stronger. People like him were hard to come by in today’s world.

“It’s fine. Alchemy is really expensive, and without early investment, it’s hard to get started. Don’t be quick to refuse. It’s not that easy to get this thing,” Wu Shaocheng said.

“What exactly is it?” Atom asked, confused.

“Yomi Spirit Fruit!” Wu Shaocheng replied. “I’ve taken on a mission that requires it. But if you just ask your master for it, he won’t give it to you. You’ll need to find another way.”

“Ah, how do I get it? You’re not asking me to steal it, right?” Atom asked in shock.

“No, you just need to see if there’s any medicine that requires this herb to refine. When you ask him for it, tell him you need it to make the medicine. He might give it to you. It’s probably of no use to him just sitting there,” Wu Shaocheng said, though unsure.

“Uh, do you think that will really work?” Atom asked weakly, clearly not very confident.

“Do your best. I’ll add you as a friend. Let me know if anything changes,” Wu Shaocheng said. He had no other choice but to put his hope in Atom. He was pretty sure it wasn’t going to work with him asking directly; he had been kicked out after just a few words.

“Alright,” Atom agreed, nodding. Immediately, a system prompt appeared.

“Ding, player Chenfeng requests to add you as a friend. Do you accept?”

“Ah!” Atom stared at Wu Shaocheng in shock. “You… you’re Chenfeng, the great one?”

“Mm, I am Chenfeng. But don’t call me great. I’m just a normal player. I’m counting on you for this,” Wu Shaocheng said.

“Mm, I’ll definitely handle it!” Atom suddenly became very excited.

“Alright, let’s eat first. Don’t waste the food we ordered.”

After finishing their meal, the two of them went their separate ways. Before leaving, Wu Shaocheng forcibly traded 20 gold coins to Atom. Alchemists spent a lot of money early on, and even though Atom had amazing talent, he couldn’t level up his alchemy without materials. Currently, Atom was an intermediate alchemist, but he had been gathering herbs himself and didn’t buy any. If he had more money to buy materials, his talent, combined with the guidance of his master, would probably have already made him a high-level alchemist.

Giving him 20 gold coins was both a test and a way to ensure Atom would help him with full commitment. In this society, there were no free lunches. Even someone as pure-hearted as Atom couldn’t just expect someone to help them without giving something in return.

After parting ways with Atom, Wu Shaocheng thought for a moment. He needed to level up, or others would catch up to him. He had originally thought of farming the Blood Prison Wild Lions, since they respawned quickly, and those lions didn’t have crowd control skills. But in the end, he decided to head towards the Abandoned Mines instead. He had always suspected there was a boss down there, and leveling up was always more fun with a boss fight.

Wu Shaocheng arrived at the Abandoned Mines. As soon as he entered, he heard sounds coming from inside.

“Is someone here?” Wu Shaocheng thought.

He activated his stealth skill and snuck in. The monsters in the first mine area had already respawned, and when Wu Shaocheng reached the first area, he saw a team fighting level 20 skeletons in a group. There were four shield warriors in the front holding shields, two priests healing them in the back, and a mage casting Fire Sea to burn the skeletons. The skeletons didn’t have ranged attacks, so only the shield warriors in the front could take damage. The other skeletons were just running in circles inside the Fire Sea. The mage’s damage was incredibly high, and the skeletons’ health dropped rapidly.

Wu Shaocheng watched with envy. Fighting monsters with a mage was so satisfying. Following his principle of “don’t bother others if they don’t bother me,” he decided not to interfere and simply bypassed them, continuing deeper into the mines. Since someone had come, more people would likely show up soon. If there was a boss below, it would be best to defeat it early, otherwise, others might steal the kill.

As Wu Shaocheng went deeper, there were more monsters, and he had to clear a path. However, fighting these lower-level skeletons only gave him a bit of experience, and he couldn’t trigger his Undying Body skill, so he didn’t bother clearing them all.

After a while, he finally reached the second level, where the monsters were fewer. He continued walking, ignoring the ghosts he encountered since they were too slow to level up with. The light here was too dim, and Wu Shaocheng just wanted to find out how many levels the mines had and if there was a boss down there.

After some time, he finally reached a stone door. This should lead to the next level, and there was a mechanism beside it. Wu Shaocheng, being bold, directly pressed the mechanism. The stone door slowly opened with a “creak” sound. Wu Shaocheng peered inside, but it was pitch black, and he couldn’t see anything.

Since he had come this far, there was no turning back. Wu Shaocheng cautiously stepped inside. Just as he entered, the stone door slammed shut behind him. Oil lamps suddenly lit up, revealing the scene inside.

It was a massive hall, with eight enormous pillars in the center. Each pillar had a vividly carved dragon, and chains ran up the pillars, connecting to a huge coffin in the center. Surrounding the coffin were over a hundred stone statues, all with lifelike expressions, as if real people had been petrified.

Wu Shaocheng felt a chill in his heart. Turning around, he found the stone door seemed to only open from the outside, with no switch inside. He pushed the door with all his strength, but it didn’t budge. He took out a return scroll to use, but as expected, the system notified him that special maps couldn’t use return scrolls.