C5 Passed

As soon as the sun rose, Tie Xiaoyan woke up and headed straight for the second destination. His current location was still around the base camp, and if he didn't leave early, he might be seen on the way by other people. When that time came, he would be finished if they asked him to go with them. Tie Xiao Jun didn't want his secret to be exposed, so he could only head out earlier.

Tie Xiao-jun was very clear on the route, because he had practiced it in his mind countless times. It would not be an exaggeration to say that it was memorized like the back of his hand.

After determining the route, Tie Xiao-jun had to be extra careful on the way. Firstly, be careful of the strange beasts that might not exist around here, and then be careful to not let the children or adults see him, in truth, Tie Xiao-jun was also very nervous at the moment, because he had already chosen the nearest fine steel production area, which was beyond the range that the adults had given them. In other words, this was a safe zone, so the chances of encountering danger would increase, and even if you called for help, no one would come to save you.

After walking for about an hour or so, Tie Xiao Jun's pace began to slow down. At this time, Tie Xiao Jun had already arrived at the area around the second target, and the safe distance wasn't that far, so after he arrived at the target location, he didn't immediately go in search of fine steel, but instead carefully looked around for a specific course of action. Because Tie Xiao Jun knew that monsters might appear here, he wanted to ensure that he was familiar with the terrain here, so it was convenient for him to escape.

He took out his hoe and started to search for it. Since they had already left the safe zone and most men would not come here, he saw that there was basically no one around to sell the ore, and he also saw an old hoe that was broken on the ground. Judging from this, there must have been a fight, otherwise, the people in the village would have brought the hoe back, even if it was damaged, it didn't matter, the people in the village would repair the hoe, and the old hoe would not be taken away, which meant that the people in the village were fighting against nature's monsters.

Before the mining, Tie Xiao Jun had prepared a series of security measures, and had already protected his surroundings from many simple traps. Although it was impossible to injure those monsters, it was still possible to stop them for a while, and once the trap was activated, the violent noise would be transmitted to Tie Xiao Jun through a rope filled with wind chimes.

Because the ore was still very new to sell, after mining for more than three hours, Tie Xiaoyan found the thumb-sized fine iron and steel. Because the technology was not mature, and because the body was not very strong, the mining speed was relatively slow, but three hours of time was enough to dig out the thumb-sized fine iron and steel, which also meant that Tie Xiaoyan could spend the rest of the day here to mine half a fist's worth of fine iron and steel. For Tie Xiaoyan, this was a huge fortune.

Thinking of this harvest, a smile blossomed on Tie Xiaoyan's face. He immediately brandished his hoe with all his might. Although he was tired, a steady stream of power surged out from his body as he thought about those fine steels.

In the afternoon, Tie Xiaoyan finally couldn't hold on anymore. He, who hadn't eaten, experienced such a long mining process that his whole body felt sore. Moreover, he didn't have the strength to lift the hoe anymore.

"Forget it, let's take a break first. This isn't the way to rush time, we need to find a safe place to eat." Tie Xiaoyan hid the hoe in a secret place and then left the mine. He was afraid that others would see or be seen by the wild beasts, so he could only hide the hoe.

After leaving the mine sale, Tie Xiao-jun walked towards the safety zone, stopped at a relatively safe and secret place, and began to cook by lighting a fire. Although there didn't seem to be enough dry food from the village, it couldn't sustain him for long because he didn't have the effect of swelling, and the food needed boiling water, otherwise it would be extremely hard, like a rock.

Recalling the way the adults hid their lives, Tie Xiao-jun lit up the fire with difficulty and then started to boil some water in a pot. After the water boiled, he put that hard stone-like thing in the pot, and then he patrolled around while waiting for the food to be cooked.

Although they were close to a safe zone, they were still not in a safe zone. Most of the wild beasts would come looking for them after discovering the smoke. At that time, Tie Xiao Jun would naturally be in great danger.

After cooking the food, Tie Xiaoyan quickly put out the fire. He then packed everything up and started to eat. He was doing this purely to improve his own safety.

Although his stomach was rumbling, in the face of danger to his life, no matter how tired and hungry he was, he had to endure it.

He thought about whether or not he should return to the safe zone to spend the night. Although he might not necessarily encounter wild beasts here, it was not guaranteed that he would encounter them. If something happened to him, it would definitely be a loss; he would lose his life just to be able to have more time to mine the finest iron and steel, and that would definitely be a loss.

Because food could expand, Tie Xiaoyan still had the strength to work until the sun went down. However, he thought that he should leave, otherwise, if he turned on the lights and left when it was dark, it would be even more dangerous.

As usual, he hid his hoe and hurried on his journey before nightfall. Finally, he arrived at a safe zone and directly set up a simple tent at the place where he could stay when he first arrived.

The tents brought out from the village were all opaque, and there was also a very annoying smell coming from them, so it was usually safe under normal circumstances. However, if the wild beasts saw that you entered the tents, it would be a different story.

Afterwards, a faint light shone and Tie Xiao-jun took a look at today's result. There were a total of four fine steels, shining with a greyish white light. An aura different from ordinary steels was gradually emitted, bringing with it a peculiar fluctuation.

Putting away the best quality steel and treasures, Tie Xiao-jun blew out the candle and fell asleep.

At dawn the next day, Tie Xiaoyan packed up his tent and came to the mining lode. Before that, he had already eaten the puffed up food, which would last him one day.

Perhaps it was due to Tie Xiao Jun's good luck that the danger he imagined did not appear, just like wild beasts. Seeing that it was almost dusk of the third day, Tie Xiao Jun looked at the mines that were barely mined and could not help but sigh.

At first, he thought he could harvest about fifteen pieces of fine steel, but because he spent a lot of time exploring and the adults were worried about his children, and because he started with a series of teaching exercises, he didn't leave much time for Tie Xiaoyan. Although the quantity of the eleven pieces of fine iron and steel was not a lot, it was enough to maintain Tie Xiaoyan's training.

They were only sent out for internships right now, so the next time they were sent out would be a few days later. They were, after all, the fresh blood of the village, so someone had to help them map out a safe area before they were allowed to go out again, and for the first time, those who did not qualify were not allowed to come out, and they had to pass the assessment before being able to come out again.

Carrying the heavy steel on his back, Tie Xiao-jun was naturally very confident. Even though the amount of steel was not even one-third of the amount the adults were mining, it was definitely more than the other kids. Even if someone was mining more than him, did they have the strength to carry it back?

Tie Xiao Jun refused to believe that with his physique, carrying all this metal required a lot of strength, not to mention the other children. He was certain that he was the one with the strongest physique in the village.

At this time, he was already gasping for breath, and all the bones in his body seemed to be on the verge of falling apart. It was obvious that Tie Xiaoyan had overestimated his ability and underestimated the time he had left, because Tie Xiaoyan was the last one to arrive. So many people were waiting for Tie Xiaoyan's return, only then could they leave the camp and return to the village.

"Sorry I'm late." Tie Xiao Jun heavily placed his backpack down as he gasped for breath.

Seeing that Tie Xiao Jun had returned safely, the leader nodded and said: "It's fine. As long as you're back safely, you can go eat first and then rest for a bit. We'll be on our way soon."

Hearing this, Tie Xiaojun nodded and brought his exhausted body to eat and rest.

Then, the leader turned to a man beside him and said, "Go check the amount of steel this kid is mining."

"Alright." Hearing this, the man took a few steps forward and picked up Tie Xiao Jun's backpack with one hand, and weighed it in his hand. After feeling it for a bit, he nodded to the leader and said: "Alright, this child has passed."

"Alright." Hearing this, that leader's face turned better. All the dissatisfaction he had towards Tie Xiao-jun's lateness vanished.