Chapter 3: Official Uniform Activation
At midnight on April 1st, the official global release of "Global Mining" went live worldwide.
The game update details had already been announced: the first phase of real estate in the five major cities was now open. Players could buy houses and resell them through NPC agents. Houses granted attribute bonuses, especially stamina boosts, and allowed players to raise pets and NPC teams to secure their property. The more houses one owned and the more luxurious they were, the stronger the bonuses. The first hundred players to purchase houses would receive additional rewards.
Players who merely logged in daily for a few coins were not worth considering. But surely, one couldn’t help but think that the money earned would eventually have to be spent back.
Dachun originally had no interest in buying a house. But with Shirley in the picture, he suddenly wondered if he could buy a house for her to live in. That would make their relationship more stable...
Amid the countdown cheers echoing across the entire network, Dachun gathered his spirits and eagerly launched the game.
The opening cutscene had been updated: On towering, majestic mountains, tens of thousands of human miners tirelessly extracted ores, their carts stretching like dragons weaving through the peaks. On a nearby mountain, hundreds of mages cast explosive spells, golden light piercing through the dust, filling the hills with cheers. Suddenly, a dragon’s roar thundered across the sky as a huge dragon swooped down, flames blazing…
The fiery scene shifted to the abyssal lava pits, where countless imp miners dug deep abyssal gems glowing with magical light… Then cut to the ocean floor, where endless murloc miners excavated sea jade… Finally, the camera panned to an asteroid belt resembling outer space…
—System message: Welcome to the Golden Continent. Please choose the city-state to serve. Each city-state is named after its resource distribution. You may currently choose Black Iron Pioneer City, Copper Vanguard City, Silver Glory City, Gemstone Starlight City, or Oak Breeze City. When your reputation and wealth grow sufficiently, you may immigrate to the mighty Golden Empire…
The five starting cities corresponded to the five mainstream combat professions: Warrior, Engineer, Paladin, Mage, and Healer.
Dachun’s public test character was from Black Iron City, specializing as a warrior. But what truly attracted players was the low cost of living there.
Without further ado, he skipped the cutscene and logged into the game.
Dachun appeared in the city square, which was still densely packed with players.
—System message: It is currently April 1st, 12 noon, Golden Continent time. Game time corresponds one-to-one with real time. Please manage your work and play accordingly.
—System message: You serve Black Iron Pioneer City as a civilian, level 1. You have received the “Newcomer’s Three-Day Grand Blessing,” which grants free lodging and food for three days, additional rewards for major achievements, and a comprehensive evaluation bonus after three days. You may now head to the Mining Guild to dig up your first bucket of gold, or join the Warrior Guild for employment. Wishing you success!
—System message: Congratulations! You have triggered the “Scavenger” profession quest. Please proceed to the Night Rose Bar at the harbor to meet Vivian for job placement. Hidden professions are part-time and do not affect your warrior employment.
A hidden profession at the start! This is going to take off!
Dachun habitually opened his attribute panel:
Level: 1. Newcomers without a profession gain +1 Attack, +1 HP, +1 Carry Weight, +1 Stamina per level.
Reputation: 0
Attack: 10
Defense: 0 (Damage = Attack – Defense. When Defense exceeds Attack, damage is immune but minor stamina is consumed.)
Attack Speed: 10
Movement Speed: 10 (Current max speed. Player speed is continuously maintained at max, with increasing stamina consumption.)
HP: 100
Carry Weight: 100 (Equivalent to strength, affecting push, pull, and lift. Carrying more items increases stamina consumption and reduces speed. Reaching the limit prevents movement.)
Stamina: 100 (Higher max stamina means faster recovery.)
Hunger: 0 (When hunger reaches 50, attributes decrease. At 100, death occurs.)
…
At the newcomer stage, the attributes were simple, and the combat calculations straightforward, emphasizing the supremacy of heavy armor in the age of melee weapons. Defense was calculated separately for each part, pursuing realism. Mostly, this was to save computing power for more AI calculations.
Carry weight, stamina, and hunger were three unpleasant but realistic attributes, making mining money harder to earn. Carry weight equaled strength but did not equal attack power. Like a wasp with terrifying attack but zero strength…
Meanwhile, the city chat exploded with curses.
No need to say more—the city’s scramble for outlying villages had begun. But many backbone players in Chinese internet cafes could not log in, as expected.
Dachun still preferred to check the flower shop for Shirley first, but she wasn’t there. Makes sense—she was on the night shift.
Then he headed to the bar. The dancer lazily tossed him a card: “Go to Dock 4 at the shipyard and find the Old Drunkard. Just follow his orders and start as a helper; don’t mess up, got it?”
Alright, he thought she was a job transfer mentor, but she was just an agent—an agent?
Dachun quickly snapped back. Agents had more flexibility, and after his duel with her, their relationship was different from before. Time to retry the previously failed strategy!
He asked, “Miss Vivian, does the Old Drunkard like drinking?”
The dancer exclaimed, “Which sailor doesn’t?”
Dachun felt a bit nervous. “I’m a newbie arriving empty-handed. Is it okay if I ask Miss Vivian to lend me a bottle of good wine as a gift?”
She had refused his prior request, but would she agree to lend?
The dancer stared at him, stunned: “Are you joking?”
Another failure? Unbearable!
Dachun sighed, “That was rude of me. I’ll head out now.”
The dancer laughed, “I mean, what old drunk deserves good wine? But if you’re sure, sure, sign a note, repay with your wages!”
Whoa, breakthrough! If she agreed to lend, that was a big door opening!
Dachun eagerly said, “I’ll sign!”
The dancer smiled, “How about I lend you one bottle of Frostfire Dragon Wine, worth 10,000 coins, with interest at 0.3% per day?”
Whoa! She chose the most expensive bottle! He only earned 6,000 coins during the public test even mining AFK! That interest was 30 coins per day. What was the real cost of this wine?
He felt a bit queasy: “Alright!”
—System message: You have signed a loan agreement with Vivian. No renewals allowed before completion…
The dancer snapped her fingers, and a clerk respectfully presented a beautifully decorated double-dragon flying wooden box.
The dancer said, “This wine is valuable and might get stolen on the way. We’ll send a carriage for you. Go out the back door.”
The clerk said politely, “This way, please.”
This kind of treatment… seemed like an event trigger. The loan was worth it!
“Thank you!”
At the back door, Dachun boarded the clerk’s carriage to the shipyard. Compared to the million players on the streets, fewer and fewer players appeared in this suburban industrial area, until none remained.
Dachun was thrilled. This meant he had reached a zone no other players worldwide dared to venture. Of course, even if top players triggered shipyard events, they would be from the Copper Vanguard City, experts in engineering, capable of building airships and submarines.
Upon arrival, he showed the card to the lazy shipyard guard and was allowed inside.
Workers scattered, playing cards or napping lazily. Dachun knew the shipyard was not Black Iron City’s strong suit, but such slackness was actually good—it meant more corruption, so delivering wine would be more effective.
He found the dilapidated Dock 4. The task prompt said to find a drunken old man there. What level of AI did a drunkard NPC have?
Dachun approached and presented the card.
The old man sneered, “Sent by Baron Fatpuff? Young man, you could do better things…”
Was this profession so despicable? But just for disrespecting that fat guy, they were friends.
Dachun immediately pulled out the box: “Sir, this is a small token from me. Please accept it!”
The old man trembled, his expression shifting from disdain to shock, then to reverence: “For, for me?”
Though he asked, his hands already tightly gripped the box.
—System message: You have gifted the Old Drunkard the “Frostfire Dragon Wine.” Your friendship level with him has risen to “Appreciation”!
Wow! From strangers to appreciation in one gift. Giving a hundred flowers to a woman couldn’t match this wine’s impact!
The old man quickly hid the wine on himself, looking around excitedly: “Young man, come to my quarters first!”
Clearly, good fortune was at hand. This was the classic “smoke bridges, wine opens roads” for newcomers meeting benefactors.
As they walked, the old man said, “Do you know what your first job is?”
Dachun guessed, “Cleaning barnacles off the ship bottom?”
The old man nodded, “Exactly. These barnacles secrete layers of acid that harden like rock on the hull. If not cleaned in time, they corrode the ship and cause it to sink. Actually, these clustered barnacles are a kind of alchemical acid rock. Cleaning them is like mining underwater and swimming practice combined. To be a scavenger, you must know how to swim.”
Dachun hesitated, “But I didn’t learn mining at the Mining Guild.”
The old man smiled, “Good. This is underwater mining, different from mountain mining. You have to train and comprehend it yourself—that’s real mining! It’s tough to start, but much easier to advance to expert and master later.”
Dachun suddenly understood. That explained the key to mining advancement!
The old man pointed to a distant lighthouse like a needle: “That’s the North Bay Channel. There’s an old whale covered in barnacles causing trouble. Ships often scrape against it, which brings business to the shipyard. That whale is a high-level scavenger mission! You can consider it early.”
Dachun was stunned: “Remove barnacles from a whale?”
The old man laughed: “If you can scrape barnacles, why not just kill it?”
Dachun caught the point: “If the whale stops hitting ships, wouldn’t that reduce the shipyard’s business?”
The old man laughed heartily: “I don’t know how to handle that either. Also, your line of work will take you to filthy, haunted places. For that, visit the old fortune-teller lady in the Dark Alley’s astrology shop.”
Exorcism—what a noble profession!
They arrived at the old man’s quarters, a messy warehouse stacked with boxes and fishing rods, with flies buzzing near a corner that looked like a kitchen.
The old man pulled out a set of goggles and a tight diving suit, sprayed it with oil: “Young man, this was my gear when I was young. Now I lend it to you. I wouldn’t be so polite to others.”
—System message: You have received the “Old Sharkskin Diving Suit Set” and “Shark Oil” from the Old Drunkard.
Old Sharkskin Diving Suit Set: Weight 8, Defense +7, Goggles, Corrosion Resistance +87% (with oil), Water Resistance Reduced by 74% (with oil). Durability: 32/1000.
Shark Oil: Weight 0.6, used to waterproof and protect leather. Four uses remaining.
…
Dachun was amazed—not only the exaggerated percentages rivaling legendary gear, but the key “Resistance Reduction” attribute! Similar to “Magic Resistance Reduction” or “Defense Reduction,” this was a high-end stat. Normally, to deal the same damage, you either increase attack or reduce defense, both seemingly the same.
But underwater, where “force doesn’t always work miracles,” the stronger the force, the greater the resistance. Bullets can barely travel a meter underwater. Here, “Resistance Reduction” was essentially legendary!
Seeing the equipment’s durability was only 32 left, Dachun felt anxious: “Sir, this durability is too low. Can it be repaired?”
The old man shook his head: “This isn’t ordinary sharkskin. Never heard of anyone repairing it. When it wears out, it wears out. Try to learn something before that happens…”
Indeed, with a max durability of 1,000 (normal gear maxes at 100), this was clearly boss-level shark material. The old man must have had quite a story in his youth.
He handed Dachun a one-handed pickaxe resembling a herb-gathering tool, waving him off: “Go ahead. Old man’s going to drink now. If the pick breaks, come back for another. Just don’t wake me…”
Drunken on the job—this shipyard’s slackness was promising!
Suiting up, Dachun set off.