Chapter 77: Dance of the Spirit Fox, Energy Bar
When it came to unnecessary conflicts, Su Ning had always ignored them—even glancing at such things felt like a waste of time.
But if someone dared to provoke her first, she would never back down an inch.
The monkey-faced man in front of her was clearly picking a fight on purpose. Not only that, but he was shamelessly trying to steal the reward Su Ning had worked hard for.
How could she possibly tolerate this?
She’d give a warning first—but seeing the man’s smug face, assuming she wouldn’t dare to make a move…
Su Ning spun around and landed a swift, powerful kick straight to the man’s face.
The monkey-faced man let out a miserable scream and crashed to the ground, the blue stone ore in his hand dropping to the floor.
Su Ning calmly walked over, picked up the rare mineral without a word, casually wiped it clean with her hand, and tucked it into her pocket.
Ever since the game instances descended upon the world, Su Ning had come to a deep realization: Only by becoming stronger could she truly protect herself.
Especially as a woman, no matter where she went, she would always attract strange malice or bullying.
To prevent this, Su Ning kept increasing her combat ability.
However, no matter how hard she trained, she couldn’t seem to reach a breakthrough.
That’s when she began looking into the various hidden skill books in the instances.
She started checking stores set up by other players, hoping to find someone selling one.
After much searching, her persistence paid off.
She found a skill book titled “Dance of the Spirit Fox.”
Skill: Dance of the Spirit Fox
Move with grace and precision. Grants the player exceptional close-combat ability.
This skill book had cost Su Ning a fortune.
The seller didn’t just want money—they demanded all kinds of resources too.
Fortunately, Su Ning had access to supplies and funds thanks to her [Survival General Store], so she lacked neither.
With this close-combat skill, her melee strength had significantly improved.
Su Ning glanced at the stunned monkey-faced man and sneered coldly.
He pointed at her in disbelief. This fragile-looking woman had burst forth with such explosive power!
“You… you… you…” he stammered, jabbing his finger repeatedly before finally spitting out, “Just wait!” and scurrying off.
Su Ning watched his retreating back with a look of contempt.
Fortunately, the scuffle ended quickly, and the patrolling cyborg guards elsewhere didn’t notice anything.
In the shadows, Andy had seen everything. Her eyes lit up in surprise.
Beside her stood a middle-aged man, silently observing Su Ning as well.
Andy whispered, “Brother Dong, this player—number 1008—seems really promising. What do you think?”
The man nodded slightly, his eyes still on Su Ning, a contemplative glint in them.
“This is the one you’ve taken a liking to? She does seem capable… but one person alone won’t be enough to carry out our plan.”
He hadn’t expected such strength and speed from someone who looked so ordinary.
His opinion of Su Ning shifted dramatically.
Andy replied, “I know, of course one isn’t enough. But there were many new miners who came down with player 1008.
And whoever sent them must be someone powerful—so many new humans, all at once? It’s a huge opportunity for us!”
She was excited.
“With their help, we can finally complete the plan.
We’ll escape this prison-like mine… and strike a blow to the colonial company.”
A flicker of hope appeared in Ma Dong’s eyes.
He knew all too well how hard life here was—endless labor, brutal conditions.
If it weren’t for the belief he still clung to, he would’ve given up long ago.
“But these newcomers are too reckless,” Ma Dong warned. “We’ve already lost one new human. We can’t let it happen again.”
Though he was hopeful about recruiting more, he understood they had to move carefully—one wrong step could ruin everything.
“Understood. Let’s begin the plan,” Andy said firmly.
Ma Dong nodded in agreement. They had to act quickly, harnessing the newcomers’ power to achieve their goal.
Thanks to her show of strength, Su Ning had scared off any other would-be bullies.
She returned to mining.
Even though her stamina recovered quickly, the intensity and length of the labor was still exhausting.
“To think I’d dig here for four years… what a joke,” Su Ning muttered, wiping sweat from her brow.
Her resolve to complete the energy crystal mission grew even stronger.
Finally, the day’s mining shift ended.
Dragging her tired body out of the cave, Su Ning checked her miner ID—and was surprised to see the countdown had shortened by eight hours.
That had been her full shift.
Su Ning was confused, but didn’t dwell on it.
No matter what, shortening her time in this world could only be a good thing.
After leaving the mine, she quickly blended into the crowd, trying to shake off any attention.
Meanwhile, Andy, who had been searching for her, muttered to herself, “She left so fast? Strange… well, whatever. One more or less doesn’t change much. Still, it’s a shame. My intuition’s usually spot on—this one definitely has potential.”
Unable to find Su Ning, Andy began scouting other players.
But Su Ning had no idea what Andy was planning.
She only knew one thing: no one could interfere with her mission.
Her every action must prioritize her own interests. Nothing else mattered.
She had to leave this instance.
She had to protect herself.
Andy might be hiding secrets—but none of that had anything to do with her.
Everything she did had to serve her own survival.
“So far, all I’ve learned is that the ammo for the Disintegration Gun is made from energy crystals,” Su Ning thought.
She was curious: what exactly were these energy crystals?
Some kind of power source?
“Crystals? Are energy crystals also mined?”
This instance wasn’t going nearly as smoothly as her last three.
She was facing restrictions everywhere—not only did she have to hide her talents, but she also had to guard against malicious people.
At the cafeteria, Su Ning received her meal.
Staring at the long, stick-like ration in her hand, she fell into thought.
[Energy Bar]: A special nutrient stick. Colorless, tasteless, but provides a full day’s worth of energy.
Thank you to the supporters this month.
(End of chapter.)
