Chapter 57: The First Resource Dungeon!

Upon hearing Yinglong's words, Lin Mu was left utterly speechless, feeling as though he had fallen into some cliché trap. The legendary true dragon Yinglong actually lacked the authority to deal with him? Could it be that even the Yinglong guarding the [Yellow Dragon Token] had no power over its master? It seemed he had truly bound himself as the master of the [Yellow Dragon Token].

Lin Mu let out a breath of relief. After cycling through panic, relaxation, terror, and relaxation once again, his mind felt somewhat dizzy.

After waiting for a moment, Yinglong's voice did not echo again; it seemed to have lost interest and was no longer paying attention to him.

"Sigh, that legendary existence has been figured out, but as for the compensation, it must be an extremely difficult task, right? I wonder if it involves collecting some rare items or undertaking an insanely hard quest. What a headache." Lin Mu mused in his mind. He possessed no treasures of his own, save for the precious Yellow Dragon Divine Token. Surely it wouldn't covet his belongings, so it must want him to run errands for it. Since this mysterious entity had existed for ages, the task it required probably wouldn't be simple. Could it be an epic-level quest?! A mixture of shock and joy washed over him...

However, since Yinglong made no further response, its attention must have drifted away, leaving him alone.

The mere thought of a mighty Yinglong keeping tabs on him every day made Lin Mu deeply uncomfortable, as if all his secrets were laid bare, standing stark naked before others.

Good grief, this was absurd. To think that even with a cheat-like rebirth ability, he still couldn't escape the fate of a humble character—what a subtle, lingering sorrow! He could only hope everything would turn out for the best!

"My Lord, what is wrong? My Lord..." Gao Jin called out, standing beside Lin Mu.

"Oh, it's nothing, nothing at all. I was just lost in thought, my apologies!" Lin Mu snapped back to reality, casting all those wild thoughts out of his mind.

*Uh, just what was he thinking about to drench the clothes on his back in sweat? Could the lord have encountered some terrifying trouble? That expression just now was so scary!* Gao Hai thought to himself anxiously nearby.

"If the lord has encountered any difficult problem, though our talents are meager, we fervently wish to share your burdens and resolve your troubles," Gao Jin offered sincerely.

"It's nothing, really, just some minor issues. For now, you should go announce the relocation matter to the villagers and properly comfort them so they don't panic or grow resentful!" Lin Mu instructed.

"Furthermore, divide the villagers into five batches of fifty thousand people each. I will arrange a thousand elite soldiers to escort you along the way, as there are still some wild beasts roaming these paths, which could pose a slight danger," Lin Mu added.

"By the way, Gao Hai, can the buildings inside the stronghold be left undemolished and preserved? In the future, this place can serve as a transit station and resting point for hunters and villagers who venture deep into the Qilian Mountains to hunt," Lin Mu inquired.

"Leaving the stronghold's buildings undemolished is not a problem at all. Although our family's fortunes have declined, our lineage still possesses some foundation, and we do have blueprints for Runesmith workshops. However, does the lord require the village-establishment token located inside the stronghold's council hall? It can be dismantled, but if we do, the stronghold buildings here won't be able to be upgraded in the future!" Gao Hai replied.

"I'll go handle that later. Because our True Dragon Village is rather special, the handling of village-establishment tokens is a bit different. You'll understand in the future," Lin Mu said with a mysterious expression.

"Very well, then we shall head down to get things done. The lord is free to stroll around our stronghold; if you need anything, just order our men to find us!"

...

After discussing other matters with Gao Jin and Gao Hai, the two took their leave to pacify the villagers. Instead of returning to the stronghold, Lin Mu walked over to inspect the glowing, shimmering instance dungeon portal.

Lin Mu wanted to step inside this resource secret realm to see it and understand its conditions firsthand.

In *Mythical Three Kingdoms*, instances generally fell into three standard types: mirror instances, cyclical instances, and resource instances.

Mirror instances functioned like those in traditional games, where each player or team entered as a separate mirror image, completely isolated and unaffected by others. Every player or team had their own independent dungeon progress. Countless players or teams could enter mirror instances simultaneously.

Cyclical instances could only be cleared once per day. After the monsters inside were cleared out, the dungeon required time to refresh. For instance, the rebel camps within his own territory were cyclical instances that refreshed once every twenty-four hours, each reset spawning twenty thousand Level 30 rebel soldiers. Additionally, there were special cyclical instances, such as the howling wolf camp; if the boss, the Howling Silver Wolf King, was slain, it took three days to respawn, whereas its lesser minions, the howling wolves, only needed one day to refresh. That was the distinction.

The final category was resource instances. These were similar to cyclical instances, but they typically yielded specialized resources whose replenishment rate was extremely slow. Some resource instances did not refresh at all, acting as one-time bonuses—once the resources inside were harvested, the dungeon would be completely depleted.

From Gao Jin and Gao Hai, Lin Mu had learned that the resources within this secret realm did respawn, though the cycle was three months long—very slow indeed! However, the resources inside were exceptionally precious and immensely helpful to runesmiths.

Lin Mu approached the dungeon entrance, stepped inside, and heard a system prompt ring in his ears:

"Ding!"

"——System Prompt: Player Lin Mu, do you wish to enter the [Empty-Origin Marten] resource secret realm? Entering requires a fee of 100 copper coins. Do you wish to pay?"

Good grief, it was actually a paid resource dungeon! Yet, for a mere 100 copper coins, Lin Mu confirmed without the slightest hesitation. Following a sudden transformation of heaven and earth and a brief dizziness in his vision, Lin Mu found himself standing on a vast patch of grassland. The grass here grew exceptionally lush, reaching over twenty centimeters in length. The verdant, tender green blades looked ideal for raising livestock and developing the animal husbandry industry.

However, this place was also home to the [Empty-Origin Marten], an omnivorous elementary-tier mystical beast. According to Gao Hai, the Empty-Origin Marten not only fed on tender green grass but also readily consumed the flesh of ordinary beasts, making it thoroughly unpicky about its diet. Though it appeared docile at first glance, anyone attempting to capture it would quickly be taught a harsh lesson by its razor-sharp claws!

"Ding!"

"——System Prompt: Congratulations, player Lin Mu, for entering the resource dungeon. As you are the first player to enter a resource dungeon, the system specifically rewards you with +50 Reputation!" *Oh, wow, a trailblazer-type achievement, but why is the reward so meager? Couldn't they reward me with a divine artifact instead?!*

Lin Mu checked his reputation: 1,350. Not bad. Recently, his reputation hadn't seen much growth. Staying cooped up in this remote Yinglong Valley had one major drawback: his reputation and merits accumulated very slowly. Without receiving any quests, it almost felt like playing a standalone single-player game. Ah, the loneliness of being invincible!

Appearing right at the dungeon entrance, Lin Mu saw no sign of any Empty-Origin Martens, indicating that the mystical beasts here had already been cleared out.

Across the swaying verdant grassland ran a few artificially tamped dirt paths stretching straight into the distance.

Under a cobalt-blue sky, the boundless emerald grassland and the rustic paths resembled the setting of a fairytale village, making one linger and forget to return.

Lin Mu strolled along one of the winding dirt paths, eager to venture deeper into the dungeon to explore.

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*Seeking recommendation votes~~ Seeking bookmarks~~ Thank you to [Blood Shadow Lustful Wolf] and [Five-Tone Sovereign] for the tips! The bookmarks have reached one thousand, and recommendation votes have surpassed 500, so today we have four chapters~~ Going back to writing now, thank you all for your support~~ Thank you!*