The mine tunnels branched out in many directions, providing numerous hiding spots. However, hiding in the mine without being detected by Andrew was impossible. Andrew’s primary target was players within his line of sight. Once no players were visible, his radar-like perception covered the entire level, allowing him to locate his next target. Even Master-level Stealth couldn’t evade Andrew’s detection! As for whether Grandmaster-level Stealth would work, Xiao Hua wasn’t sure. But he was betting on another possibility.
Taking advantage of Andrew not yet reaching the first level, Xiao Hua quickly had the phantom enter Stealth mode and move to a side passage. The phantom bypassed the miners rushing up from the second and third levels and quietly positioned itself near the entrance to the second level.
Players kept pouring out of the entrance, clearly panicked by Andrew’s pursuit. Miners typically spent at least ten hours mining, and having half their ores plundered would render their efforts almost futile.
After another extremely anxious player bolted out, a sturdy dwarf followed closely behind, bursting out of the door. Seeing this, Xiao Hua immediately controlled the phantom to dash into the second level as Andrew emerged from the entrance!
Andrew seemed to sense something and looked back at the entrance suspiciously. However, noticing the fleeing player getting farther away, Andrew dismissed his doubts and chased after them.
Xiao Hua had already left the mine with the crowd. Outside the mine, over two hundred people had gathered. The ore merchants, who had been sitting idly, were now grinning from ear to ear as they busily collected ores.
"Darn it! Andrew took half of my ores!" complained a player who hadn’t managed to escape in time.
"Haha, look on the bright side. Be more careful next time. I’ve been robbed by him five or six times," comforted a more seasoned player.
The surrounding miners nodded sympathetically. In the world of gaming, one had to expect setbacks. If you wanted to mine, you had to accept the possibility of being plundered by Andrew!
"Everyone’s out, right? In a few more minutes, he’ll probably return to his cabin and go back into seclusion. Man, I wonder how he can survive without eating or drinking!" griped a miner.
"How do you know? Maybe he eats and drinks ores, that’s why he only comes out every few days!" speculated another miner.
Xiao Hua wasn’t paying attention to their conversation. His focus was entirely on the phantom. It was his first time in this mine, and he needed to familiarize himself with the layout quickly to find the way to the third level.
Fortunately, the map of the three-level mine was much simpler compared to those with five or seven levels. After circling around the second level, the phantom found the entrance to the third level. Descending to the third level, locating Andrew’s cabin wasn’t difficult, as it was always situated in the most spacious area at the bottom of the mine!
Passing by a few monsters, the phantom traversed through damp, narrow tunnels before arriving at a tall, dark cavern. Andrew’s cabin was about forty to fifty meters away at the end of the cavern.
The phantom swiftly approached the cabin. The door was slightly ajar. Xiao Hua directed the phantom to slip inside the cabin!
The cabin was about ten square meters in size. On the left side of the entrance was a wooden bed, with a wooden table next to it. Opposite the bed was a wooden shelf holding a few porcelain items. That was all the cabin contained.
Shortly after the phantom entered the cabin, Andrew casually walked back inside and locked the door!
Now alone with Andrew, Xiao Hua had nothing to worry about. As soon as the door was locked, he commanded the phantom to attempt theft!
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Steal Failed!
Xiao Hua saw the failure notice and felt disappointed. It seemed he wouldn’t be as fortunate as when he stole from the Frost Dragon.
With the theft unsuccessful, the phantom’s Stealth mode was broken, and it appeared behind Andrew.
Andrew turned around sharply and immediately reached out to touch the phantom!
Outside the mine, Xiao Hua received a sudden system notification: You have been plundered of half your ores by Andrew!
Damn! Andrew’s Plunder skill indeed affected him through the phantom!
Although he was mentally prepared, Xiao Hua still felt a pang of frustration.
But whom could he blame? The phantom was simply too realistic!
Stealing from Andrew wouldn’t be as smooth as he had hoped, but Xiao Hua had planned for this scenario. Since he considered the possibility of Andrew’s skills affecting him through the phantom, he had devised a countermeasure!
Now that he had lost half his ores, Andrew couldn’t plunder him again for a while. Without wasting time, Xiao Hua reentered the mine and sprinted to a deserted area. He dumped all his ores on the ground, leaving only one poor quality ore in his backpack.
Want ores? Here’s a poor quality one!
Looking at the single poor quality ore in his otherwise empty backpack, Xiao Hua felt a vindictive satisfaction. He still remembered when Andrew had plundered him during the beta.
A minute later, Andrew made his move again.
System Notification: You have been plundered of all your ores!
Seeing the poor quality ore disappear from his backpack, Xiao Hua quickly picked up all the ores from the ground and placed them back in his backpack. Then, he quickly threw all the ores out again, leaving only the poor quality ore.
Another minute passed, and the ores in his backpack vanished once more. Xiao Hua repeated the process of dumping and collecting ores.
This cycle repeated for five minutes, and the phantom tried to steal again!
Steal Failed!
Even a full-health Andrew, despite being only level 30, seemed to significantly reduce the chances of successful theft.
Seeing the failure notice, Xiao Hua sighed and calmed down, preparing for a long battle. If he could successfully steal from a 50-level superboss like the Frost Dragon, why couldn’t he do the same from a mere level 30 NPC like Andrew?
Initially, his backpack contained nearly five stacks of ores. After losing half to Andrew, he had a little over two stacks left. Based on the ores in his backpack, he could sustain this for four hours at most. Four hours might be enough, but it might not. To be safe, Xiao Hua added a mining step to the process of dumping and collecting ores, ensuring he’d never run out of ores for Andrew to plunder!
Inside the cabin, Andrew and the phantom were touching each other. The difference was that Andrew acted every minute, while the phantom could only try to steal every five minutes.
Thirty minutes later, when the phantom attempted its seventh theft, Xiao Hua received a system notification.
System Notification: You obtained a Crystal Ore!
Crystal Ores were essential for forging purple-grade and above equipment blueprints. They could be mined with a Master-level Mining skill in the sixth level of a mine, but the chance was minuscule. Currently, Crystal Ores were in high demand in Second World, with prices ranging from 20,000 to 50,000 gold, though some desperate buyers might offer up to 100,000 gold. Normal transaction prices were based on patience, so some merchants stockpiled Crystal Ores to sell at opportune moments.
Xiao Hua certainly wouldn’t complain about the Crystal Ore. Selling it would provide him with enough funds to upgrade his skills, making this mining venture well worth it.
Handling the stolen Crystal Ore required caution. A careless mistake could result in it being plundered back by Andrew, rendering the effort futile.
With initial income, Xiao Hua continued dumping, collecting, and mining ores while attempting to steal from Andrew every five minutes.
About forty minutes later, Xiao Hua received another system notification.
System Notification: You obtained a Crystal Ore!
Alright, keep going!
After receiving another income, as Xiao Hua was about to continue, another notification popped up.
System Notification: Andrew lost two precious Crystal Ores. His mood is starting to sour.
What does his mood have to do with me? I’m happy!
Ignoring the notification, Xiao Hua was determined to steal everything from Andrew!
Another thirty minutes passed.
System Notification: You obtained a Crystal Ore!
System Notification: Andrew lost three precious Crystal Ores. His emotions are becoming agitated.
Hmm, continuing might lead to some undesirable consequences.
Reading the notification, Xiao Hua had a feeling that pushing further might not be a good idea.
But who was Xiao Hua? The guy who earned the absolute hatred of the superboss Frost Dragon! At worst, he’d earn the same from Andrew!
With unwavering resolve, Xiao Hua decided to continue stealing from Andrew!