Chapter 9

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

It was the next morning.

Su Chen woke up and got dressed. He was about to have breakfast.

‘If I end up staying in the mine for the whole day, I won’t have time to eat.’

Yesterday, the system rewarded him with energy bars that could provide him with energy for the whole day.

He tore off one of the energy bar’s packaging and took a bite. His hunger immediately disappeared and his body was filled with vigor.

“Ding dong! You have successfully checked in and obtained a virus insulation physique! From now on, your body will not be affected by any viruses. You are also immune to all poisons!”

Another reward was given. Su Chen was no longer afraid of any viruses.

After packing up his equipment along with the max-level pistol, he set off.

Since it was still early, there were not many people on the streets.

Su Chen activated his scamper skill and felt the wind whistling past his ears. It did not take long for him to reach the entrance of the gold mine.

There were many huge footprints at the entrance. They were similar to the ones he saw in the woods.

Su Chen became suspicious.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of rolling stones.

He looked up and saw a huge stone rolling rapidly towards him. 

Su Chen had no time to dodge. Just as the rock was about to hit him, he exerted all his strength and pushed it away with both of his hands. The rock flipped and landed behind him.

It ended up crushing a bungalow nearby.

When Su Chen returned to his senses, he looked at the top of the mountain and saw the white figure again!

Upon witnessing that Su Chen was unharmed, the figure turned around to run.

This figure had been appearing in front of Su Chen from time to time again. 

Su Chen was determined to find out if the figure was a human or a ghost!

He activated his scamper skill again and quickly chased after it. 

The white figure looked bulky and strong, but it was also quite agile.

After a while, it began to run on all four legs.

‘Could it be a bear? A polar bear?

‘This makes no sense. Why would there be a polar bear in this place?’

Soon, Su Chen caught up to the monster.

He pressed it against the ground to get a good look.

Apparently, it was an animal that looked like a human.

There was thick hair that looked like a beard covering its face. Its exposed skin was no different than a human’s.

However, all the hair on its body was white.

At the same time, although the creature was caught, it did not struggle.

“Are you a person?”

Su Chen asked.

The creature did not react, so he activated his animal communication skill.

‘Are you an animal?’

‘I am the legendary snow monster.’

Su Chen got a reply in his consciousness.

So, the snow monster was a hybrid of some sort.

There were reports about the snow monster before, but nothing was ever confirmed.

Humans did not want to acknowledge their existence.

Today, Su Chen witnessed it with his own eyes.

‘Why did you attack me with a rock?’

‘I’m the guardian of the gold mine. I’ll stop any humans that attempt to enter it.’

‘Who are you guarding it for?’

The snow monster did not respond.

Su Chen did not want to waste any more time on the monster, but he could not bear to kill it.

Thus, he took out one of the ropes and tied the monster up like a dumpling.

As long as it did not disturb him, he would release it after checking in at the gold mine.

Besides, he was not trying to pillage the gold mine. He just wanted to sign in.

‘There are various dangers in the gold mine!’

Although Su Chen had walked some distance away, he could still hear what the monster was saying in his mind.

Su Chen returned to the entrance of the mine.

He found a tree nearby and tied one end of a rope to it tightly.

The other end was tied to his body.

Then, he effortlessly removed the stone slab that was blocking the mine’s entrance.

Almost instantly, a wave of foul gas assaulted his nose.

Su Chen held his breath even though he was invulnerable to poison.

He brought out the gas mask, put it on, and stepped into mine.

Before he could even turn on the flashlight, a chill ran down his spine.

It was dark inside and countless specks of faint red lights appeared.

Su Chen composed himself and readied the pistol in his hand.

Although he was mentally prepared, he was still shocked the moment he turned on the flashlight.

In front of him were countless rats as big as cows!

Clearly, they were no longer normal rats.

The faint red lights earlier were their eyes!

They stared at Su Chen.

Actually, the light disturbed them and they even seemed to be frightened. The rats squeaked and rushed toward Su Chen.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

One by one, the giant rats fell to the ground.

After struggling and wailing for a while, they finally died.

The other rats saw that their kindreds were killed and realized the danger.

They all turned around and ran deeper into the mine.

Just like that, the place became quiet again. It was as if nothing had happened!

Su Chen moved closer to get a better look at the fallen rats.

Not only were they huge, but their teeth were about four inches long. They were also as sharp as daggers!

If a person was bitten, they would definitely be either crippled or dead!

Su Chen could not help but sigh in his heart. The world appeared to be peaceful but it had actually begun to collapse.

The rats had already mutated into giant beasts that could eat humans. If they decided to go above ground, then society would… 

Regardless, Su Chen continued to walk further into the mine.

He looked around.

There were some murals on the walls, but they could also be just graffiti.

One of the paintings looked like a human. It had a regular body, two arms, and two legs. However, it also had two heads.

The heads were elongated and it had big eyes.

Moreover, there were only three fingers.

Next to the painting were some weird-looking shapes which might be words.

This gold mine really seemed to be left by aliens!

Su Chen was confident in his deduction.

As he continued to walk, the path became narrower and narrower.

At one point, Su Chen even had to crawl.

Then, a split path appeared.

There were two holes on the left and right. 

The size of the holes was exactly the same. It was not too big. The cow-sized rats from earlier would not be able to enter at all.

‘Where did they run off to?’

There were no other paths as far as the eye could see.

Su Chen shone his flashlight into the holes.

So far, everything looked the same.

‘Should I enter the right or left hole?’

…