8 Ethernum (2/2)

”Oh, a single beeping at most cases means that you found some Ethernum crystal fragments rather than whole pieces. The second-ranked reading is when there is a double beeping. If you happen to have one, it means that you have most likely found a lot of crystal fragments banded together or a large nugget of crystal, with the latter being more likely,” the professional miner answered. As he spoke, he continued cracking the ground apart with a pickaxe.

”Okay, thanks for helping me.” Wuxing smiled and also tried to get to work but he was stopped by the professional miner.

”Don't worry about it. I will handle it this time. You should just watch and learn.”

”Oh, okay. Why not.” Wuxing shrugged casually. Who wouldn't agree if someone else wanted to do the hard work for free? However, from the miner's sketchy smile, Wuxing instantly thought that something was quite suspicious.

Wuxing looked around and seeing the others' sneers, he became sure that the miner who taught him the ropes wanted to do something greedy and unfair. In this situation, it was not hard to guess what.

”He he… I guess he was not lucky, after all.” Watching the situation, the prisoner who earlier complained giggled, muttering to himself.

Many others who saw the miner in-charge working enthusiastically couldn't help but shake their heads. For them, it was not important that their outputs were doing badly as long as others were doing worse. They came from the latest batch of criminals who had just arrived a few days prior, and some of them already got scammed by the scheming miner before. They were looking forward to Wuxing tasting the same bitter medicine.

'He he, what an idiot. If it's a nugget like the last time, I would get a nice bonus this month,' the professional miner thought as he shoveled out the broken rocks away quite happily. From time to time, he glanced at Wuxing to check if he was even a bit suspicious. He felt even more confident seeing Wuxing yawning and looking idly around.

The miner checked again and the reading said that the Ethernum crystals were about half a metre below the surface, just as the scanner showed before. It took the miner only two to three minutes to reach the level of the crystals. Of course, he skillfully covered them with bits of dirt before the purple colour could be seen by Wuxing.

Changing to the hammer and a chisel, the miner kneeled next to the hole he created and started extracting the purple crystals while covering his work with his body. He could see various small purple fragments, but that was not what he was after. He wanted the big one.

'Here you are! Ha ha ha ha ha! I hit the jackpot! It's almost as big as a fist!'

The miner laughed maniacally in his mind as he finally pulled out the huge purple crystal. He quickly slipped it into the pocket of his pants as he bent over into the hole before he started the collection of all the other fragments. All the while, he was trying to hide his big smile.

”Ayy, I guess we are not lucky today. A false alarm. There were only small fragments stuck together. You will do better next time, don't worry.” The miner put on a warm but encouraging smile and handed Wuxing a few tens of fingernail-sized purple crystals. ”Here, take a look.”

”Only this? You sure there is nothing else?” Wuxing looked surprised. He stared at the small purple crystals before he let out a disappointed sigh.

”Yeah, it happens sometimes. Okay, I hope you can work on your own now. If you need anything else, just call for me.” The miner patted Wuxing on the shoulder before he quickly decided to leave.

”Take care. Thanks for teaching me,” Wuxing thanked with a smile and waved as a goodbye.

As the miner walked away, he could see many prisoners looking at him weirdly but he didn't mind as he got what he wanted. With his back towards Wuxing, he reached out to pat his pocket, only to have his soul slip out of his body when he felt nothing inside. He dramatically searched every pocket but couldn't find his Ethernum crystal anywhere.

”Ha ha ha, I can't believe it! He was tricked like a kid!”

Suddenly, the miner heard loud laughter behind him and turned around. What he saw made his blood boil. Wuxing was holding his fist-sized Ethernum crystal while looking at it curiously from all sides.