Along the way, Fang Zhou did not forget to collect the hundreds of Fierce Ant eggs from the hatchery. No gain was too small, let alone these readily available ant eggs that could all be converted into contribution points.

After moving quickly along the winding ant tunnel for more than ten minutes, Fang Zhou finally saw the light of day again. Compared to the stuffy, foul-smelling ant cave, the air in the open-pit mine, even one littered with the corpses of Fierce Worker Ants, felt incredibly fresh.

By this point, the faint glow of the Magic Energy Moss had almost completely dimmed. However, the open-pit mine received some uninvited guests. They were a pack of wolves with fur as black as night and eyes flickering with a vicious light. Drawn by the scent of blood, they encircled him, warily watching the stranger who had intruded upon their hunting grounds.

The Wolf King howled at the sky. Instantly, the enraged pack surged toward Fang Zhou like a black tide.

Fang Zhou remained calm. He gently raised the Apprentice Magic Staff in his hand and glanced at his attribute panel. While purifying the Fierce Ant Queen's Magic Crystal, he had successfully comprehended a brand new Skill: [Mental Shock]. He was previously unsure of its specific effects due to a lack of living subjects for experimentation. Now was the perfect time to test this new Skill's power on the pack of Fierce Wolves that had so willingly offered themselves up as test subjects.

Fang Zhou swung the Magic Staff. An invisible mental wave emanated from him, rippling through the surroundings.

Mental Shock!

This force was formless and intangible, silently penetrating the air to strike directly at the minds of the wolf pack.

Just as the wolves were about to reach the line of Skeletons, their movements suddenly became sluggish. The vicious light in their eyes dimmed as if they had been plunged into a state of deep confusion and fear. Their howls abruptly ceased and their bodies began to shake. Some even collapsed to the ground, twitching in pain.

The power of [Mental Shock] was immediately apparent. Although it couldn't inflict direct physical wounds, its impact on a creature's psyche was significant.

However, Fang Zhou also clearly felt his Spiritual Power rapidly drain, and a wave of fatigue washed over him. He realized that while this Skill was remarkably effective against smaller Demons and creatures of low intelligence, capable of inflicting unexpected psychological trauma, it might prove inadequate when facing larger Demons or more intelligent opponents. Its single-target power couldn't compare to [Skeleton Flying Spear], and its area-of-effect damage fell short of [Skeleton Arrow Rain].

Moreover, its high Spiritual Power consumption made continuous use of the Skill a major challenge.

Despite this, Fang Zhou was not disappointed. On the contrary, he keenly sensed the immense potential of [Mental Shock]. If he could infuse this invisible mental shock with Undead Mana or Corrosive Poison elements, he could perhaps develop more powerful composite Skills.

For instance, injecting Undead Mana into it would form [Death Shock]. This would not only strike a creature's spirit directly but also evoke a deep-seated fear of death, even stirring the latent Death Qi within their bodies to accelerate the decay of their Life Energy.

Likewise, integrating Corrosive Poison elements would create [Corrosive Poison Shock]. This would not only inflict intense pain on a mental level but also allow toxins to invade the target's body, causing continuous Corrosive Poison Damage.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Fang Zhou swung his Magic Staff and unleashed another [Mental Shock].

Amidst the invisible psychic tide, the few remaining Fierce Wolves that were barely standing also fell, collapsing in a dizzy, convulsing heap.

He casually commanded a few Skeletons to step forward and dispatch the small pack of Fierce Wolves, then activated his personal terminal to meticulously record the data and inspiration from this combat test. Once the Cave Hunting event concluded and he returned to Sea City Military Academy, he intended to leverage the abundant resources and knowledge of the Undead Mage research group to further analyze and refine [Mental Shock].

Meng Hongzhuang, Bai Xiaochan, you two little assistants have your work cut out for you. Don't even think about slacking off!

"Hunting Points +15."

"Soul Power +0.3."

After dealing with the minor incident involving the Fierce Wolf pack, the sky had turned completely dark. Fang Zhou decided to set up camp upwind in the open-pit mine. He took out the thick hide left behind by the deceased Fierce Ant Queen and the carapace collected from the Fierce Ant Leader, directing the Skeletons to place them around his tent. The ferocious aura lingering from the Apprentice Upper-Level Demon leader, combined with the bloody scent of hundreds of Fierce Worker Ants, should repel the majority of Night Demons.

After eating and drinking his fill, Fang Zhou lay inside the warm tent and let out a contented sigh.

Tonight should be a peaceful one. A perfect time to tally up my massive haul from the Cave Hunt.

He didn't know how the other cadets had fared over these three days, but he himself had struck a fortune, earning the biggest windfall since he had entered Sea City Military Academy.

His Hunting Points were close to 800, a world of difference from Meng Hongzhuang's second-place score of just over 200. According to the Cave Hunting rules, every 100 Hunting Points could be exchanged for 10 contribution points. This meant Fang Zhou could receive 80 contribution points.

But that was just a small portion. The real jackpot was the various Demon materials he had collected over the three days.

Ignoring the miscellaneous items, the more abundant materials alone—such as Kobold Mineral Crystals, Fierce Ant Carapaces, Goblin Pointy Ears, Fierce Rat Tails, Burrower Monster Fins, and Ice Troll Hearts—were worth at least 600 contribution points. He had also obtained dozens of pieces of Gray Inferior-quality Equipment from Demon elites and leaders. Exchanging them with the academy would net at least another 200 contribution points. In addition, the dozens of Refining Stones found on the Kobolds, along with Heavenly and Earthly Treasures like the Evergreen Fruits from the Thorn Jungle, were worth at least 300 contribution points.

He also had rare Marvels like the Goblin Sealed Bone Bell, Frog Drum, Regeneration Phylactery, Charging Scroll, and Heroic Spirit Battle Banner. Although they were also worth a great deal, Fang Zhou intended to use them himself and had no plans to exchange them with the academy.

Of course, the greatest treasure of all was undoubtedly the open-pit mine beneath his feet.

Although an iron vein itself wasn't worth much and offered little reward, the associated Refining Stone vein was invaluable. Based on his limited geological knowledge and the number of Refining Stones seized from the Kobold camp, Fang Zhou judged that the reserves of this Refining Stone vein weren't abundant. It was likely just a micro-vein. However, in Cave No. 1, which had a low Energy Concentration, nurturing such a micro-vein of Refining Stones was already quite an achievement.

According to the Longxia Federation's reward rules, discovering even the lowest-grade micro-vein of Refining Stones would net him at least 500 contribution points. Not to mention, he would be entitled to a 1% share of all future output from the mine.

Once the academy's exploration team determined the exact reserves of this Refining Stone vein, Fang Zhou would become a mine owner, able to sit back and comfortably reap the rewards.

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