Chapter 458 - Abyssal Mine

Xu Hai studied Han Wu with sharp curiosity. He never expected Han Wu to embrace something as dishonorable as robbery.

Han Wu laid out his reasoning. “It’s just a matter of resource collection. Strength rules this world, and everyone competes to seize whatever they can. I’m just a weakling. Why should I waste any chance to rob the few resources within my reach?”

Xu Hai burst into laughter, thinking Han Wu had a promising future. He was definitely more talented and ambitious than Xu Hai had ever been. Moreover, Han Wu had the resolve to cast aside his reputation and do something dishonorable all for the sake of growing stronger. Xu Hai believed that Han Wu had the potential to overturn the heavens.

After contemplating for a moment, Xu Hai offered a suggestion. “Given your power as a God, I would recommend the Abyssal Mine. They lie within another foreign civilization and form a massive network of tunnels rich in Abyssal Netherstone, a versatile ore that can be used to forge God equipment, refine medicine, and even nurture units. It’s also in high demand.

“One gram of Abyssal Netherstone with a purity index of 90% sells for 100,000 Divine Points. Many Gods and even life forms from other civilizations head there to mine it for profit.”

“If it’s that valuable, wouldn’t powerful civilizations seize the entire mine for themselves?” Han Wu asked.

Xu Hai explained, “The ore is valuable. Naturally, many civilizations fight for it. Apparently, a huge war once broke out among several civilizations over it. In the end, three factions emerged victorious and claimed ownership of the mine.

“The three factions are the Divine Civilization, the Divine River Civilization, and the Demonic Abyss Civilization. They still control the mine and take 80% of the total Abyssal Netherstone production.”

“They take 80%? What about the remaining 20%?” Han Wu asked. Xu Hai’s explanation had sparked Han Wu’s curiosity.

“The remaining 20% goes to life forms from other civilizations. However, they must first purchase an entrance ticket at an exorbitant price from the three ruling civilizations,” Xu Hai answered.

Han Wu nodded. The three civilizations avoided full control of the mine since partial access brought more profit. They could earn more money through high ticket prices and avoid another war. It was a clever strategy.

Xu Hai continued, “Since the three major civilizations technically own the Abyssal Mine, their life forms receive some special benefit. For one, the entrance ticket costs only 10% of what other life forms pay. Also, even if you fail to rob someone, you won’t be killed as long as you prove you belong to one of the three ruling civilizations. If you do fail, you might have to pay a hefty sum for your release. Still, it’s better than losing your life.”

Han Wu nodded, thinking it was good to be part of a powerful civilization. “Master, the summer break is coming. I want to head to the Abyssal Mine to test my skills and steal some resources from the other civilizations.”

Xu Hai nodded, pleased with his student’s initiative. “Sure, but take someone with you. At the very least, you’ll have allies to rely on.”

Han Wu nodded and left the office. On his way back to his dorm, he decided to call some of his friends to see who could accompany him to the mine. Before he could do that, he noticed a flood of messages from Elina.

He skimmed through them and noted that most of them focused on the incident where he destroyed a section of a foreign civilization under the Light faction. Now they were searching for him.

As usual, she urged him to join the Light faction. She also swore that he wouldn’t owe any compensation and could even claim land several hundred times larger than his current divine realm as long as he joined.

He dismissed Elina’s olive branch, marked all her messages as junk, and deleted them. He then noticed several messages from Huang Shengjun. Most of them warned him to be careful because Huang Shengjun would take revenge.

Han Wu chuckled. He hadn't even had the time to deal with Huang Shengjun, and now the man dared to threaten him? If that was his choice, Han Wu wouldn’t hesitate to kill him. He swore that if Huang Shengjun appeared before him again, he’d end his life on the spot.

He then checked the messages from his friends. Qin Shuang had messaged him to ask whether he had nowhere to go during summer break and suggested he join her in Lightning Hell, a place where lightning-based units could train and grow. The environment suited her Thunder Sparrows.

Han Wu replied like a dolt. He told her that he already had a destination in mind and wished her training went well.

Meanwhile, Sun Qingnian had sent several photos of himself hugging his girlfriend on a sunny beach. In the corner of one shot, Han Wu even spotted a Sage Foxman basking in the sun.

Han Wu didn’t need much time to figure out that Sun Qingnian didn’t have the resources to nurture a Sage life form. His girlfriend had likely given them to him. All Sun Qingnian needed to do was to eat and sleep with her to gain powerful life forms. In that way, he easily skipped twenty years of hard work.

Han Wu felt jealous.

Sun Qingnian, you bloody bastard.

He deleted Sun Qingnian’s messages and opened Jing Jing’s next. Her message was simple. She wanted to follow him to any foreign civilization he planned to visit. She didn’t care about the destination, the schedule, or the life forms they were going to fight. All she wanted was to stay by his side.

As Han Wu read her message, he felt that she had written a love letter. Every line carried her love and admiration for him. After reading it again, he realized it felt more like a letter from the most devoted believer to a god.

He went through it several times and slapped himself. “Don’t overthink this. She’s a skeleton, and I’m not. We’re not the same...”

Well, technically skeletons come from living life forms like me. And who can say with absolute confidence that two different life forms can’t produce offspring?

He frowned at the thought. “If she were to give birth, how would it work? Would they just take the baby out of a cavity directly or deliver it normally? Would the child be a skeleton or...?”

Han Wu drifted through those questions far too long before snapping himself out of it. “Now’s not the time for this. Also, I already have Qin Shuang. I’m not a bastard that keeps multiple girlfriends. Even if it sounds tempting, it would turn into a bloodbath once they found out.”

𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Despite that, for some reason, he still thought about Jing Jing from time to time. When he returned to his dorm, he recalled her message. She wanted to follow him during the summer break and train wherever he chose.

In the end, he replied and even gave her a ticket to the Abyssal Mine. As he expected, Jing Jing accepted the ticket, agreeing to follow him.

Han Wu felt safer with another ally. Her skeletons would assist him, and he could carry out his plan to steal resources. When the time came, he could unleash destruction on his enemies with his locusts and her skeletons. There was also Steely’s Steelcutter and Dark Locust’s infinite Self Detonations. At worst, part of the Abyssal Mine would be destroyed forever, which he didn’t see as a serious loss.