Douluo Continent: Martial Soul Young Gilas, Sandstorm King!

Chapter 53: The first lesson in prospecting is not to be fooled by appearances!

Lin Xia withdrew her soul power, her face showing a mixture of shock and emotion. She looked at Lou Gao, who was still fuming with anger, and tentatively asked:

"Teacher, this... Ghost Douluo really returned everything that we've been exploited for these past few years? With so many gold soul coins and materials, should we... still go prospecting?"

Upon hearing this, Lou Gao stopped spinning and cursing. The anger on his face subsided slightly. He stroked the storage ring in his hand, and his eyes became deep.

Lou Gao nodded, his tone resolute.

"Go! Of course you want to go!"

Lou Gao looked at Lin Xia with determination and passion in his eyes.

"Xia, look carefully. There are a lot of things here, and they are really valuable. There's plenty of refined iron and cold iron, and there's also mithril and refined gold, but what are these?"

"These are the basics! They are consumables!"

The sound from the high-rise building carried a clear-headed insight into the essence of things.

"What we lack now is rare minerals! Primitive mineral deposits that can support the core of advanced soul-guided arrays and may even contain special rule powers! The keys that can support our research into the epoch-making creation of soul-guided mechs!"

Lou Gao weighed the storage ring in his hand, his tone resolute.

"Is it in here? No! What Ghost Douluo returned is just ordinary stuff that Miles has extorted from us over the years."

"We don't yet have the truly top-tier, rare minerals that are crucial for the soul guide core!"

"What we need, we can only try our luck and dig for ourselves deep in those unexploited veins!"

Lou Gao's eyes gleamed with the light of an adventurer and a thirst for unknown treasures.

"Prospecting! We must go! This isn't for the money, it's for our path! For that 'unprecedented' creation!"

Lin Xia looked at the rekindled, even more determined flame in her teacher's eyes, and the hesitation she had felt because of the unexpected windfall instantly vanished.

The mystery and excitement of the unknown in mineral exploration, along with the desire for rare mineral deposits, grew wildly in Lin Xia's heart like weeds.

Lin Xia nodded emphatically, a smile of excitement spreading across her face:

"The teacher is right! What we need is the key to open a new door! So... shall we set off?"

"set off!"

With a wave of his hand, Lou Gao exuded an air of grandeur, as if his previous anger and the immense wealth before him had become nothing but fleeting clouds. His thoughts had completely drifted to the depths of the mineral veins outside the city, which held endless possibilities.

"Sidi, you guys watch the house! Xia and I are taking the little guy out for some fresh air! Get the car ready, we're heading to the Blackrock Valley mine in the west of the city!"

"Yoji!"

Young Gilas seemed to understand "departure" and "mining spot," and instantly perked up. Its big, scarlet eyes gleamed with excitement as it tugged at Lin Xia's trouser leg with its little paws, making urging noises.

For it, prospecting means a fresh feast of minerals that may contain powerful energy, which is much more attractive than staying in the association and munching on existing stock!

After all, it also wants to improve the taste!
After tidying up briefly, Lin Xia and Lou Gao headed directly to the Black Rock Valley mine in the west of the city.

The horse-drawn carriage rolled along the rugged dirt road on the western outskirts of Gengjin City, raising a trail of dust.

Inside the carriage, Lou Gao and Lin Xia both changed into durable leather armor that allowed for easy movement, covered by dark cloaks.

Young Kiras lay on Lin Xia's lap, its scarlet eyes curiously observing the desolate scenery rushing past the window, its little nose twitching from time to time, as if trying to catch the faint mineral scent in the air.

"It's just ahead, Black Rock Valley."

Lou Gao pointed to a deep chasm in front of him, like a scar on the earth, his voice filled with anticipation.

"The newly discovered rich deposit has a complex geological structure, but the energy reaction is very strong. The old explorers in the association patted their chests and guaranteed that there's something solid down there, and it's an uncontaminated, primary vein! It's a good opportunity to try our luck, and by the way..."

Lou Gao patted the bulging storage device at his waist. "Let's try out our new gadget."

Upon hearing about the new weapon, Lin Xia's eyes flashed, and she immediately reached out her hand.

"Teacher, give me that shotgun first, and then give me an assault rifle for self-defense. The environment in the mine is complex, and there is a high possibility of close combat."

Lou Gao grinned without the slightest hesitation.

"Haha, just what I wanted!"

Lou Gao skillfully took things out of his personal storage soul tool belt.

A heavy metallic clanging sound echoed in the carriage.

The first weapon handed over was a rugged-looking weapon with a short, thick barrel, a wide grip, and powerful lines—it was a shotgun designed by Lin Xia.

Next up is an assault rifle with sleek lines and a precise design, its long, narrow magazine hinting at its sustained lethality.

Finally, Lou Gao pulled out two heavy ammunition pouches and boxes of bright yellow bullets, and stuffed them into Lin Xia's hands.

"Here you go! We've got plenty of shotgun and rifle ammunition!"

Lou Gao carefully pulled out an AK assault rifle with a wooden stock and a distinctive curved magazine, and lovingly stroked the cold metal barrel and smooth wooden handguard.

"Hey, this is really good!"

"He looks handsome!"

Lin Xia didn't know what to say about this.

As long as your teacher likes it, that's fine.

Lin Xia's lips twitched immediately afterward.

Since they didn't know if there were any toxic gases below, Lou Gao took out two more masks from his storage soul tool. He tossed one to Lin Xia and then put on the other himself.

The moment the mask was put on, combined with the gun in his hand, Lin Xia felt a sense of absurdity for some reason. They didn't look like prospectors, but like two robbers about to commit a robbery!
However, given Lou Gao's experience, Lin Xia didn't refuse and immediately put on the mask as well.

The wheels rolled over the last stretch of rugged mountain road and came to a stop at the entrance to the valley.

Lou Gao jumped off the carriage first, took a deep breath of the fresh, woody air, pointed to the lush valley ahead, and said boldly to Lin Xia, who followed him off the carriage:
"We're here! Xia, this is it, Black Rock Valley!"

Lin Xia looked around, her eyes full of doubt.

The valley before us is lush with vegetation, tall trees with abundant branches and leaves, low shrubs, and wildflowers. Underfoot is soft humus and thick fallen leaves, a scene of vibrant primeval forest, with not a trace of a mine.
Lin Xia imagined a mining site to be a desolate place with exposed rocks, slag heaps everywhere, and dust and the smell of metal filling the air.

"teacher!"

Lin Xia couldn't help but speak, her voice filled with deep confusion.

"Are you sure this is a mining site? This... this place is densely wooded and lush, it doesn't look like a mining site at all. There's not even a trace of slag, let alone any mine shafts or pits."

Upon hearing this, Lou Gao grinned smugly beneath his thick beard, as if he had been waiting for Lin Xia to ask this question.

Lou Gao did not answer immediately. Instead, he bent down and picked up a fist-sized stone covered with moss and soil from the seemingly ordinary layer of fallen leaves at his feet.

"Heh heh, kid, you can't judge a book by its cover. The first lesson in prospecting is not to be fooled by appearances!"

Lou Gao weighed the stone in his hand, his eyes sharp as an eagle's.

"Look."

(End of this chapter)