Chapter Forty-One: Good Deeds Bring Good Fortune (Bonus Chapter—Please Add to Your Collection)

The first attack nearly ended in failure, causing Liu Zong’s expression to grow solemn. He understood that this was no ordinary battle as before; he was now facing an elite monster, and on its own turf no less.

Recognizing this, Liu Zong scrambled up from the ground and made a quick leap to the side and rear of the lava worm, thrusting his spear directly at it. At the same time, Liu Chun’s attack landed as well. Unlike Liu Zong, Liu Chun wielded a hammer—a heavy two-handed one.

From the very beginning, Liu Chun had set his path; his chosen profession was known as the Soul Prisoner, a type that grew stronger by devouring souls. This path, when taken to its end, would cause the body to grow gigantic, even to the size of a giant, making hammers the ideal weapon for him.

Right now, Liu Chun was wielding his finest weapon: a square-headed two-handed hammer that summoned a faint, ghostly fire with every swing.

Compared to Chen Jialiang, Liu Chun’s attacks—whether skill-based or physical—could actually harm the lava worm. After a few blows, the worm’s attention, which had just been drawn away by Liu Zong, turned back to him.

By this time, Liu Zong had familiarized himself with the terrain and the worm’s combat style. He did not attack frequently; instead, he would always pick his spot in advance, then plunge his spear with precision.

Each thrust struck a spot the lava worm could not counterattack, and though his blows were not especially powerful, their presence was unmistakable. No matter how much damage was done, at the first sound of the spear, the worm’s attention would instantly shift to him.

Thus, as soon as his spear landed, Liu Zong would leap away, following his predetermined route, darting back and forth, giving Liu Chun and Chen Jialiang the opportunity to attack from behind.

Only when the lava worm felt itself grievously wounded would it finally turn to attack Liu Chun or Chen Jialiang.

Given these circumstances, the lava worm, being merely an elite and not a boss, did not enter a rage phase after losing a certain amount of health.

Soon, the lava worm collapsed into the magma, never to rise again.

As soon as the worm was slain, Chen Jialiang reacted first, jumping onto its body. Unconcerned with the red blood and molten lava, he traced his hands over the creature’s body, and before long, retrieved a heart-shaped ruby.

He carefully turned the gem into a card and stored it away, then produced two portions of cards and handed them to Liu Zong and Liu Chun.

Liu Zong took his share and saw it was exactly as Chen Jialiang had promised: ten units of standard sulfur. He nodded, then looked over at Liu Chun.

Liu Chun stood by the worm’s corpse, contemplating something. It was clear he was interested in the creature, but unsure how to broach the subject with Liu Zong, since it had already been agreed that Liu Zong would get a portion.

In truth, Liu Zong didn’t mind letting Liu Chun have the lava worm, as their relationship was good and Liu Chun often thought of him when there were quests.

Still, he could not be too direct about it, lest Liu Chun feel belittled. After some thought, Liu Zong said, “Brother Liu, do you want what’s below it?”

Liu Chun glanced over and saw Liu Zong pointing to the place where the lava worm had emerged, likely having spotted something there.

With that in mind, Liu Chun shook his head. “I don’t have much use for these things. If you want them, take them all.”

“Thank you, Brother Liu. I’ll take these, and the rest of the worm is yours.” With that, Liu Zong didn’t wait for a reply and jumped straight down the pit from which the worm had crawled.

Seeing this, Liu Chun immediately understood his intent. He called his thanks after Liu Zong and began to process the worm’s corpse.

Liu Zong had initially meant to do Liu Chun a favor, but as he jumped into the spot where the worm had emerged, he realized he had struck it rich.

Beneath lay the worm’s lair. To defend this sole spot where sunlight could reach each day, the lava worm had made its home here, eating and living in the same place.

Living was one thing, but after every meal, leftovers accumulated, and over the years, the remains had piled up until they filled the lair.

Dropping down, Liu Zong felt as though he’d leapt into a mountain of bones.

Of course, this was not a typical bone mountain. There was little edible here; most of the remains were chitinous exoskeletons of insects, and some scraps of electrical appliances swept in by wind and sand.

Under the influence of the worm’s magma, nearly all of these items had acquired a fire element. With a careful examination, Liu Zong discovered at least a dozen fire-attribute bones.

Such materials were invaluable to Liu Zong. Normally, whether he obtained common materials, magic mercury, or high-grade standard gems, everything had only a single attribute.

Dual-attribute materials like these were reserved for players above level one; in the player market, the exchange rate between dual-attribute and normal materials was usually about ten to one, and for some rarer ones, they were priceless.

Among undead resources, bones with sun or fire attributes were the rarest of all. Creatures of sun and fire, even in death, were not easily converted to undead.

This was only Liu Zong’s initial survey; with careful sorting, who knew what other treasures might be hidden here.

Feeling he’d stumbled upon a stroke of luck, Liu Zong made no attempt at modesty. He busily converted every dual-attribute bone he found into cards, and only then began to process the ordinary bones and scrap.

As Liu Zong saw it, given that he had already found so many dual-attribute bones, who could say what else might be mixed in? Better to take everything and sort it out later than risk missing something valuable.

With that mindset, Liu Zong dismantled the entire lava worm’s nest. The final haul did not disappoint him.

In total, he collected seventeen units of fire-attribute bones, sixty-nine units of ordinary bones, forty-three units of ordinary electrical scraps or parts, and eleven units of fire- or shadow-attribute electrical scraps or parts.

Additionally, at the bottom of the lair, Liu Zong discovered a curved blade made from wild boar tusk and a lava worm egg that seemed devoid of life.

Upon touching these two items, the system indicated they were quest items—perhaps someone at the Song Valley outpost would recognize or need them. Thus, Liu Zong refrained from turning them into cards and simply carried them out as they were.