Chapter Sixty-Five: Skill Book—Equipment Maintenance Spray

In the desolate, silent depths of the mine, Huang Yunshuo kept switching from one catchy tune to another as he chipped away at the stone walls. He tossed piece after piece of ore into his backpack—most of it entirely useless. Now, his last pickaxe was on the verge of breaking, but he had already dug up seven pieces of grade-nine iron ore, exceeding his quota.

"One last strike, here goes!"

Crack.

The pickaxe shattered, and at that very moment, a particularly fine-looking ore tumbled to the ground. Huang Yunshuo picked it up, grinning from ear to ear.

Grade-eight ore!

Old Song had offered three hundred copper coins for just three pieces of grade-nine ore; who knew how much a piece of grade-eight might fetch?

Unable to contain his excitement, Huang Yunshuo hurried out of the mine.

Suddenly, a cacophony of crowing exploded outside. Ten little roosters, wild with excitement as if drunk, charged at Huang Yunshuo with astonishing speed.

"Damn it!"

Startled, he spun on his heel and dashed back into the mine. The roosters gave relentless chase, matching his speed almost stride for stride. There were so many of them that they formed a fan-shaped encirclement, and for a moment, he couldn't shake them off.

"This is insane!"

His mind spun in confusion—hadn't he already dealt with these little roosters? How had they respawned so quickly?

Fortunately, he was familiar with the tunnels near the entrance. Using his Repulsor Cannon for a burst of speed, Huang Yunshuo finally broke free, sprinting out of the cave and up to the stone mound he’d climbed before.

The roosters rampaged through the mine, but ultimately, they all spilled out after him, charging without hesitation.

What happened next was eerily similar to the fate of their predecessors.

Exhilarated, the roosters led their gang around the cliff edge, trying to launch a surprise attack from behind.

A single explosion ended it all.

Descending from the stone mound, Huang Yunshuo walked to the cliff’s edge and peered down, laughter bubbling up uncontrollably.

The cliff was about five or six meters high, and surprisingly wide at the base. Below stood at least twenty little roosters, all flapping their wings and crowing in fury when they spotted him—yet, alas, they were ground birds, not fliers.

"Farewell, little pests!"

Huang Yunshuo laughed heartily, running toward the town, a bold new idea forming in his mind.

"You actually dug up this much ore!"

Old Song, the ore merchant, leapt up from his lounge chair, spittle flying as excitement overtook him.

"That's right," Huang Yunshuo replied modestly, first handing over three pieces of grade-nine iron ore to claim his reward of three hundred copper coins, as well as his deposit.

"I’ll buy the rest for fifty copper coins each—how about that?" Old Song’s eyes sparkled with greed as he eyed the remaining ore in Huang Yunshuo’s hands.

Clearly, Old Song was desperate for iron ore, offering a generous price. No wonder: the path to the Elephant Mine ahead was fraught with hazards, not to mention that bastard Liu the Stutterer, and the rooster sentries were more than most players could handle. Other than Huang Yunshuo, no one could even enter the mine to dig.

"Deal," said Huang Yunshuo, exchanging the remaining four pieces of ore for two hundred copper coins. Now he had just over a thousand copper coins once more.

"And the grade-eight ore?" Old Song looked hopefully at the piece in Huang Yunshuo’s hand.

"How much will you offer for this one?" Huang Yunshuo paused mid-sentence, abruptly closing his mouth as he checked the material requirements for alloy armor and thrusters.

"Alloy Armor requires: grade-eight iron ore x20!"

He was stunned, then overjoyed. He didn’t yet know the market value of grade-eight ore, but judging by Old Song’s eager expression, it was worth a fortune. In fact, it was unclear whether this stuff even existed on the open market.

Now that he could mine grade-eight ore himself, how much money could he save in the future!

"Are you really so short on iron ore? It’s a pity that in all of Stone Platform Town, I’m the only one capable of mining it," Huang Yunshuo said to Old Song.

"If you can bring me more, I’ll give you a generous reward!" Old Song promised eagerly.

A new quest popped up for Huang Yunshuo.

[Old Song’s Expectation: Go to the western mine to dig ore. For every ten pieces of grade-nine iron ore, you can exchange them with Old Song for 550 copper coins. For every piece of grade-eight ore, you can exchange it for 400 copper coins. The quest has no completion limit.]

Yes! Another way to make money had appeared.

Huang Yunshuo was thrilled, though a little disheartened that he had to dig both in reality and in-game. But for copper coins, anything was worth it.

"Here, a pickaxe for you," Old Song said kindly, handing over a battered pickaxe with twenty durability points.

"You’ve got to be kidding me…" Huang Yunshuo’s face darkened. "Old Song, this is unacceptable. I risk my life digging ore for you, and all you give me is this? I’ll break it in twenty swings! How about showing some sincerity?"

"Well… I can give you two more?" Old Song fished out two more pickaxes.

Huang Yunshuo was exasperated. "Old Song, let me make this clear: if you can’t give me a decent pickaxe, I’ll sell my ore to someone else!"

He was in it for the long haul, and if he had to rely on inferior pickaxes and constantly switch them out, it would not only sour his mood but also hinder his efficiency. There was no way a high-grade pickaxe and a shoddy one could produce the same results.

Old Song’s face turned as dark as iron. "Don’t be hasty, adventurer! I have no choice… Looks like I’ll have to make a sacrifice today," he muttered.

With a pained expression, Old Song produced a skill book.

"A mining skill book!" Huang Yunshuo’s heart pounded wildly.

Could it be that learning this would allow him to mine with his bare hands?

That would be ridiculous—wouldn’t other players report him for cheating?

[Equipment Care Spray Instruction Manual]

[Studying this book teaches you how to craft Equipment Care Spray—a rare skill. As your crafting skills improve, you can produce higher-grade sprays.]

For a moment, Huang Yunshuo was dumbfounded. Then his heart raced with excitement.

So equipment didn’t have to be repaired solely by physical means? He could restore durability with a spray, just like healing HP?

That was outrageous—absolutely outrageous.

Once he mastered this, his endurance would skyrocket! He’d never again have to worry about his rocket launcher breaking down in the field. As long as he had enough rockets, he could rain destruction to his heart’s content.

If the durability ran low, just spray it with the care agent—fix the problem on the spot.

The best part? He could sell it!

After all, you couldn’t always find someone to repair your equipment, especially in the wild, during intense dungeons, or in the heat of a guild war.

Usually, when gear broke, you had to grit your teeth and keep using it or switch to a backup.

But with the Old Man’s Equipment Care Spray?

Just spray wherever it’s damaged—instant effect, painless, no side effects. As long as you have enough spray, your equipment could endure forever. Satisfying? Absolutely.