Once the connection with the other side is established, this abyssal underwater cavern will be left for them to explore.

Xu Xin glanced downward; the pitch-black abyss and its unfathomable depth sent a shiver down his spine, prompting him to quickly avert his gaze.

Terrifying!

This could truly bring on aquaphobia.

He swam to the rocky wall and reached out to touch the green minerals.

[Copper Ore (Green): A metal ore that can be smelted into copper ingots in a furnace, highly conductive, a basic material for making electrical devices.]

Indeed!

It's here!

Copper ore!

His suspicion was correct! It was copper ore!

Copper ore for making electrical devices!

Turns out the copper ore is hidden this deep; no wonder Li Wenxi found gold but couldn't find copper.

So, the copper ore is underwater!

However... Qin Yunlong and Qin Yunhu didn't seem to have found any copper ore.

Could it be only here?

Forget it, don't dwell on it right now. Let's gather the copper ore first!

Xu Xin took out the Explorer's Steel Pickaxe, given to him by Li Wenxi last time.

Using one hand to stabilize himself on the rock wall, he wielded the steel pickaxe with the other hand, striking at the underwater ore.

"Crack!" The pickaxe met the ore, but there was no noticeable change.

The resistance in the water was immense, severely diminishing the pickaxe's force.

Xu Xin had to swing the pickaxe repeatedly, finally dislodging a piece of ore.

"Crack!"

An entire chunk of ore fragmented into five pieces of [Copper Ore], which Xu Xin swiftly collected, though one slipped into the abyss.

"Damn..." Xu Xin felt a pang of discomfort. It had managed to fall.

There wasn't much he could do underwater, so he focused on collecting.

"Crack!"

"Crack!"

This time, none of the copper ore fell, and Xu Xin gathered the copper ore with utmost speed.

"Crack!"

This time, the threefold burst rate of the [Explorer's Steel Pickaxe] triggered, yielding fifteen pieces of copper ore at once, although three still escaped his grasp.

Shaking his head, he swam in front of a blue-grade ore.

The blue glow occupied only a small portion, likely yielding no more than one blue-grade ore.

Xu Xin swung the steel pickaxe.

After over ten strikes, he finally secured the first blue-grade copper ore.

And then the second and third pieces.

The threefold burst rate activated again, coincidentally on the blue-grade ore!

Great!

Stashing the blue-grade copper ore, Xu Xin consumed some aquatic plants to extend his time underwater, continuing his mining.

"Crack!" "Crack!" "Crack!"

Soon, his backpack contained several hundred pieces of copper ore.

Including eight blue-grade copper ores.

After that, he mined blue-grade copper ore three more times, with the threefold burst effect triggering one additional time.

"This Explorer's Steel Pickaxe is really something!" Xu Xin was highly satisfied with the performance. Not just the blue-grade copper ore, but also the green-grade copper ore had yielded more, saving him a lot of time.

There were still many untapped green mineral deposits on the cavern wall, covering the entire circumference at a depth of forty meters—abundant.

But Xu Xin decided to ascend.

He had been mining for nearly an hour; by his estimates, Lou Fei'Er should have returned by now.

Moreover, the water temperature was too low, and despite his constant activity, he was starting to feel uncomfortable.

Most importantly, he had noticed something amiss around him!

The water flow, initially rotating slowly, had sped up considerably!

If he didn't hold on to the cavern wall, he would be swept along by the current!

What made his skin crawl even more was the faint, low rumbling emanating from the depths of the cavern, akin to... whale calls.

The sound barely perceptible, yet caught by his amplified hearing.

There's something down there!

Better to ascend quickly!

His backpack now contained over five hundred pieces of green-grade copper ore and eight blue-grade copper ores. According to convention, five metal ores could be smelted into one metal ingot, and if handed over to Li Wenxi for smelting, she would likely produce more ingots.

It should fulfill the demand.

Time to go up!

Xu Xin began ascending slowly.

The current within the cavern had indeed intensified, pulling him along the cavern wall's rotation.

From the abyss, the ominous murmuring continued to rise, keeping Xu Xin tense, his jaw clenched, with occasional glances downward.

Could it be the Lake Giant Python?

Hope it wasn't lured out!

No, a python shouldn't have vocal organs, right?

But pythons can't survive in deep water either; the original world's rules don't explain anything here. This giant python seemed more akin to a dragon already.

Ultimately, Xu Xin emerged safely from the water's surface, exhaling deeply as he quickly swam toward the nearest lakeshore.

The rotating current had carried him far from where he initially entered the water.

Xu Xin reached shallow water, swam ashore, and circled the lake toward his former location, where Keke was still waiting.

From afar, he heard Keke calling out anxiously.

"Yip! Yip-yip!" Keke ran back and forth along the lakeshore, calling out to the water continuously.

Finally, it jumped into the lake itself, paddling toward the heart of the lake.

"Keke, I'm already up!" Xu Xin hurriedly ran toward Keke.

"Yip?" Keke turned its head to look at Xu Xin from the lake surface, "Yip!"

Xu Xin quickly fished Keke out of the water; the little creature could float but was not impressive at swimming.

"Yip! Yip-yip!" Keke rubbed its wet head against Xu Xin's chest, then pointed at the lake with its paw, shaking its body and sprinkling water all over Xu Xin's face.

Xu Xin didn't mind since he had just emerged from the water, fully soaked.

"There's danger in the lake..." he understood Keke's message, swallowed, and stared at the heart of the bottomless lake.

Seemingly, those faint, low sounds and the accelerating water flow weren't figments of his imagination.

Xu Xin felt some trepidation; it was a truly terrifying danger, or else Keke wouldn't be so anxious, diving into the lake to find him.

The exploration of this lake should be postponed for now.

The minerals he collected would suffice for the time being.

Let the experts handle expert tasks; pass it on to Qin Yunlong's group once this side connects with them, allowing them to explore underwater.

He should refrain from bringing trouble upon himself.

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