Chapter Thirteen: The Secret of Woodcutting (An Extra for Silver Clan Leader Lazy Sheep’s Chivalrous Deeds)

Beep—beep—beep!

Listening to the dial tone on the other end, Xiao Jie couldn’t help but sneer coldly, just as expected.

So easily rattled, Liu Qiang? You really haven’t changed.

Xiao Jie sat before his computer, exporting the recording and quickly editing it.

Though his words had sounded arrogant earlier, inside he wasn’t as calm as he appeared.

Liu Qiang had been playing Old Earth for a long time, undoubtedly strong, and he knew where Xiao Jie lived. If he really decided to make a move, Xiao Jie wouldn’t be able to escape.

But he had calculated that Liu Qiang wouldn’t dare take action. This guy was clever but too self-interested; he would never do anything that would cause him a loss. Hurting others to benefit himself? Sure. But actions that hurt both parties? Absolutely not.

So Liu Qiang would rather use two precious activation codes as bait than personally get involved.

Still, Xiao Jie had to prepare for the worst. If he provoked Liu Qiang enough to lose his reason, then the second step of his plan would be set in motion.

His intent to provoke wasn’t just for venting anger. Gaining power in the game took too long; revenge through that method was uncertain. If he could force Liu Qiang to come after him and finish him off, all the better.

Soon, the recording was edited.

Xiao Jie directly dialed the number left by the man in the black coat.

“Hello.”

“What is it, Mr. Xiao?”

“Liu Qiang just called me. He threatened to kill me, saying it would be as easy as killing an ant.”

As he spoke, Xiao Jie sent over the edited recording.

“Uh, Mr. Xiao, your editing skills could use some improvement.”

“…Alright, I did edit it, but if he hadn’t said that, there’d be nothing to cut. So he really does want to kill me.”

“Sorry, but that evidence probably isn’t strong enough. Besides, recordings are no longer recognized as admissible evidence. But rest assured, we will crack down mercilessly on anyone violating the Player Management Act. If Liu Qiang actually tries to harm you, he won’t get away. If he has accomplices, we can uncover them through interrogation.”

Xiao Jie thought: Then I’d be dead already. While revenge demands risking life and death, it’s better not to die if it can be avoided.

“Can you send a few people to protect me?”

“Heh, Mr. Xiao, don’t joke. That’s impossible. There are too many conflicts between players, and our manpower is limited. We can’t protect everyone. We’re law enforcement, not a security company. All we can guarantee is that no wrongdoer will go unpunished.”

Xiao Jie wasn’t surprised by this outcome. As a common man, what right did he have to demand protection? The guarantee of not letting a bad person escape was enough.

After hanging up, Xiao Jie let out a long breath.

Although he was quite sure Liu Qiang wouldn’t dare attack him directly,

relying on others for his fate still left Xiao Jie feeling uneasy.

He was still too weak and had to depend on others’ protection.

If he were strong enough, none of this trouble would be necessary.

Anyone who dared provoke him would be wiped out along with their entire family.

His earlier words to Liu Qiang about pursuing power weren’t just a show; there was some sincerity in them.

For a moment, Xiao Jie almost wanted to withdraw all his money to buy gold and, like the player “I Want to Ascend” that morning, gear up and go grind monsters outside the village to level up.

But in the end, he restrained himself, expressionless, picking up his bowl of noodles and eating with a helpless look. Such a shame—the noodles had clumped together.

After finishing lunch with some difficulty, Xiao Jie returned to his computer.

He opened the help post titled “How to Chop Firewood” in the “Sea of Consciousness” forum, where a flood of replies had appeared.

“People still chop firewood for fire these days?”

“Probably some wilderness survival blogger.”

“What tricks could there be? Just chop it.”

“Use an axe! What kind of nonsense is a ‘wood-cutting knife’?”

“I chopped wood as a kid. You have to cut along the grain where the branches fork. There are patterns there, and cutting along them is easy.

Never chop vertically into the trunk; that dulls the blade.”

Xiao Jie’s eyes lit up. So that was it. There really are experts in everything. In fact, it was surprisingly simple.

In other games, such detailed mechanics would be hard to implement, but in Old Earth, since attacks can be controlled with the mouse’s angle and force, it was entirely feasible.

Of course, it required skill, but that was no problem for him.

He searched online for pictures of branches and compared them to the explanation, quickly grasping the concept of cutting along the grain.

Re-entering the game, Xiao Jie went to the back mountain and found a dead tree to examine.

Sure enough, the branches had many forks, each with an angled cut.

He raised his wood-cutting knife and slashed diagonally at one of the angled cuts.

Snap.

System message: Dry firewood +1.

Another slash.

System message: Dry firewood +1.

Ha! So easy!

But joy turned to sorrow when his mouse trembled slightly, and he struck the trunk instead—

Snap!

Chop wood failed!

Fortunately, it was just a failure, no durability lost.

Xiao Jie steadied himself, found the right angle, and slashed again.

This time, no mistake.

Snap—snap—snap—snap!

One branch per slash, and after a dozen or so swings, the dead tree was stripped down to its bare trunk.

Xiao Jie immediately moved on to another tree. In less than five minutes, he’d gathered a full bundle of firewood, increasing his efficiency by about one and a half times.

The more he chopped, the happier he became. Now he could definitely make money.

Snap!

Just as he finished chopping the branches off another tree,

System message: Your woodcutting skill has leveled up to Proficient.

[Woodcutting (Proficient)

Passive effect: Reduces stamina consumption by 20% and increases critical hit rate by 20%.

Skill description: Through continuous chopping, you have mastered certain techniques and methods, elevating this seemingly ordinary skill to a proficient level. You can now chop wood faster and better.]

Woodcutting has critical hits? What effect could that have?

The answer came quickly. After five or six chops—

Snap! One slash cut through two branches at once.

Woodcutting success—Dry firewood +2.

Well... at least it added some sense of accomplishment to the tedious woodcutting task.

As critical hits increased, Xiao Jie even grew a little excited. Though it was a simple woodcutting game, it gave him a rare feeling of achievement.

At least it was far more interesting than that dull, boring online game currently on the market.

He spent the entire afternoon chopping wood. Finding the right method dramatically boosted his gains: stamina drained more slowly, and the wood-cutting knife’s durability barely decreased.

By three in the afternoon, his backpack was full of dry firewood.

This time, he exchanged his haul for 200 copper coins from Wang Daniu.

He bought four steamed buns to fully restore his satiety and continued chopping.

When he raised his woodcutting skill from Proficient to Expert, a system notification delighted him:

[System Notice: Through continuous woodcutting, you have gradually mastered the use of bladed weapons. You have unlocked the related skill [Blade Weapon Mastery (Beginner)].]