The copy has 0 error tolerance, and the last words on the ground are all wrong for me.

Chapter 362 This time it's really inspiration
As you enter the deep mining area, the height of the mine becomes narrower and unlike the shallow mining area, it does not allow an adult to walk upright.

Wu Chang and others no longer walked down, but instead found a mine steam train for transportation.

In Stirland, underground steam trains have only become popular in the last one or two years. The more mainstream way of transporting coal is still to use ponies and manpower.

Because it is difficult to drive a steam locomotive underground in a mine, the mine tunnels and rails are narrower and more prone to malfunctions, even in large coal mines such as Songshu Coal Mine, steam locomotives are not used very often underground.

The difficulty of driving a train underground in a mine made Ravington and Thomas not optimistic about Wu Chang's decision. However, Wu Chang got on the steam locomotive, just took a few glances, and then started the train skillfully.

Wu Chang used his occult mastery to condense occult runes with energy, which covered the area around the steam locomotive and absorbed all the sounds made by the train.

Then he called out, "Revington, you go and add the coal; Thomas, you come ahead and show the way."

Raverton waved his shovel and shoveled coal into the boiler of the locomotive, and asked incredulously:
"You can actually drive a steam train?"

He couldn't understand how Wu Chang, a descendant of a declining noble family who didn't even know what life was like at the bottom of society, had learned how to mine and run steam locomotives.

Wu Chang said in a natural tone:
"Of course it depends on talent. I heard that every descendant of the Mystic Knights has some talent to a greater or lesser extent. My talent is to automatically master the use of various vehicles. Why, you don't have it?"

Raventon showed a confused expression. Seeing Wu Chang speaking seriously and convincingly, he began to think about it.

Is it his talent that he can interpret the truth through details and reconstruct the course of events?
Or it means that he focuses on acting and has a strong learning ability.

It couldn't be that he didn't inherit the talents of the Knights of Arcane.

Seeing Ravington shoveling coal while thinking, Irene turned her face to the window. She was afraid that if she looked at him for a few more seconds, she would laugh out loud.

The underground train traveled all the way to 500 meters underground before it stopped due to Wu Chang's emergency brake.

The mine deeper ahead has collapsed due to the previous explosion.

Wu Chang came out of the cab and shouted to Reventon:
"Great Detective, the road ahead is blocked. Do we need to go back?"

Raventon shook his head and said, "No need. Unless something unexpected happens, this road will not be blocked."

He inserted the shovel into the coal pile, came to the collapsed mine, took out the folding magnifying glass he had taken before, and observed the surroundings carefully.

"Just as I thought, the explosion here is completely different from the explosion in the shallow mining area."

"The explosion in the shallow area was so powerful that it shattered the additionally reinforced mine shaft walls, causing the mine to collapse."

"But it's different here. It looks like the collapse was complete, but in fact the explosion was far less lethal than in the shallow mining area. Otherwise, the rails wouldn't have extended all the way to the collapse site, causing fractures and deformation."

At this point, Ravington changed his tone and spoke in a very formal, announcing tone:

“So I dare to assert that the collapse of the mine in front of us is not real.”

Raventon's voice echoed in the mine, carrying with it an extraordinary energy, and when it reached the ruins blocking the road, a crisp sound like shattering glass suddenly rang out in the air.

Wu Chang could clearly see that a layer of transparent mystical barrier shattered by Raventon's declaration.

He could see the mystical barrier that Raventon had cracked from the beginning, but he was sure that with Raventon's attainments in mysticism, he should not be able to see it.

Moreover, when breaking the mystical barrier in front of him, Raventon did not use any mystical means to break it, but rather used some kind of magic.

He asked curiously, "How did you do that?"

Raventon suppressed the smugness on his lips and said in a calm tone: "It's just a simple application of the True Name Technique combined with the First Law of Mysticism."

Wu Chang asked, "What is the True Name Technique?"

Raventon frowned. He thought Wu Chang was deliberately looking for trouble, but he could see the pure ignorance on Wu Chang's face, so he couldn't help rolling his eyes.

If it were another time, he would be willing to explain these extraordinary common sense to Wu Chang to regain some ground for his mysticism.

But explaining it now would make him feel like he had told a brilliant joke and was waiting for the audience to respond, but the audience said blankly, "Sorry, I didn't understand a few words in your last sentence."

He had to explain the "joke" he had thrown out himself, which made him more depressed than not making the audience laugh.

"True Name Technique is a branch of magic that combines magic and mysticism. The creator of this magic believes that everything has its true name or essence. As long as you grasp that essence, you can gain its power."

"The first law of mysticism states that the more you believe in the existence of a certain power, the stronger that power becomes."

"Through self-hypnosis and the first law of occult science, if you can tell the truth accurately, you can partially unravel the mystery of the truth."

"Just like I firmly believe that this mine has not really collapsed, and everything in front of me is just an illusion. If this guess is correct, it can help me see the existence of something that blocks the truth and help me break it."

Wu Chang suddenly realized what was going on and clapped his hands.

"Amazing! You are worthy of being the best detective in Grimland."

Although Raventon received praise from Wu Chang, the previous explanation greatly reduced his sense of accomplishment.

With a dark face, he came to the collapsed ruins and took out a hand-held dust sprayer. He gently squeezed the rear air bag, and fine dust emitting fluorescent light sprayed out from the front of the dust sprayer.

The dust was evenly scattered in the ruins in front of him, forming a thin layer of fog, except for an area the size of a head where the luminous dust was particularly densely attached.

He put the duster back into his arms and said:

"Found it. It's just like the shallow area. Someone used mysticism to do something with it."

"It's just that his method is very covert, and it's hard to detect it through the remaining aura. Only by confirming in advance that there has been tampering here can we deduce where the problem lies."

After discovering the area where the occult ritual was held, Raventon wanted to untie it, but when he was halfway through getting the tools, he remembered that Wu Chang was right behind him, so he made a gesture of invitation and said:

"With you here, I don't have to waste my time."

Wu Chang shook his head slightly, condensed the mystic runes in his hands, and dropped them on the rubble that blocked the collapsed mine.

The rune fell on the area marked by the fluorescent dust, and the broken stones blocking the road shrank back to both sides of the mine with a rumble. The twisted and deformed rails were also restored, allowing the steam train to continue moving forward.

Wu Chang started the train again. He looked at Reventon who had come back to add coal and said:
"How can you be sure that this road leading to the underground mine will not actually collapse?"

Ravington shrugged and said:
"Thomas said that the place where coal essence is produced is the deep mining area, which is the core of the Pine Tree Coal Mine."

"And your discovery in the shallow mining area shows that the explosion at the Songshu Coal Mine was not a coincidence."

"From the traces of explosions along the way, we can see that the explosions in the deep mining area are weaker than those in the shallow mining area. There is no obvious gas residue in the entire mine tunnel, which shows that the original explosion was not to destroy evidence, but to cover up the secrets of the deep mining area."

"Since it is a temporary cover-up, we will need to take away the secret or restart it after the incident has subsided. Naturally, we will not blow up the steam minecart passage leading to the deep mining area."

Wu Chang took the opportunity to ask, "What do you think is the secret of coal?"

Raventon pondered for a moment and said, "It should be the refining technology."

Wu Chang raised his eyebrows slightly. Raventon didn't have the king's badge, so he couldn't see the hidden clues on the jet. How did he find out?
Seeing Raventon's expression as if he was about to ask me, Wu Chang paused for a moment and said:
"Oh."

Raventon:?

What do you mean? For the next plot, shouldn’t you ask me how I know it? Shouldn’t I show you my understanding? Oh, what’s going on?

Wu Chang curled his lips and said, "Do you know that it is the refining technology that is amazing? He also knows that."

They are competitors now, so just wait and see. You won’t win if you guess it. You will only win if you really find the extraordinary purification machine.

The steam train runs all the way down to 600 meters underground, where is the coal loading station at the end of the track.

When we arrived at the coal loading station, the underground space was much wider, allowing people to stand up straight again without having to hunch over.

Miners would mine coal from small mines in the surrounding area, transport it here, load it onto trucks, and then send it to the surface.

Near the coal loading station, you can see the temporary resting place mentioned by Thomas.

There were no miners in the temporary rest area. One could see the quilt covered with black coal ash half open, as if there were still miners resting here when the explosion occurred.

But after the explosion, all the passages leading to the surface were sealed by occult rituals, and the workers who stayed in the temporary rest area were nowhere to be found. The workers were nowhere to be found, but there were no footprints on the ground when they left, indicating that someone had returned to clean up the scene, and cleaned it up very thoroughly.

Wu Chang gave Raventon a look, indicating that it was Raventon's turn to perform.

Ravington began his inspection from the temporary resting place. He raised the kerosene lamp, his eyes moving quickly, reading all the details in the temporary resting place.

"There is no residual occult energy in the house, no signs of fighting in the rest area, and no signs of dragging on the ground, which means that the miners inside were not taken away by force."

"There were two half-fueled safety lights that were missing, and three used pickaxes, which suggests they left this place not to try to dig a passage, but for some other purpose."

"One, two, three, four. There are four different footprints on the ground, but there are only three open beds. Someone came here after the explosion and took the people inside away."

"The person who showed up was very trusted by the miners. After hearing the miners' request, he immediately followed them and left without even taking lighting tools, digging tools, and the two most important pieces of black bread in case of disaster."

Ravington leaned over and carefully examined the four footprints, scraping a little coal dust from one of them.

"The coal powder on the later-coming one is lighter in color and has more moisture. It is shallow-layer coal. To be precise, it is the same type of coal that I just added to the steam locomotive."

"If the other party came from a shallow mining area, there wouldn't be so much coal dust left on the soles of their shoes. There is only one possibility."

"We took the miners away and also took a steam train into the deep layers."

Ravington walked out of the temporary resting place and paced around. He took out the hand-held duster again and sprayed it around, but this time, the fluorescent dust failed to reveal any new clues to him.

His face was serious as he said, "I am almost certain that the clue is nearby, but I can't find where it is."

"If I'm not mistaken, the disappearance of these miners should also be related to steam trains."

Wu Chang asked: "Then why don't you try the True Name Technique again?"

Ravington shook his head and said, "The Real Name Technique will only work when I have collected enough direct clues and can reconstruct the facts in my mind."

"If there aren't enough clues, forcibly using the True Name Technique will not only be ineffective, but I will also be backfired by the spell itself."

After hearing this, Wu Chang's interest in the True Name Technique waned. Judging from Raventon's description, the True Name Technique was just an icing on the cake and could not be a lifesaver.

He came to Ravington and said:
“Sometimes, your thinking is too rational. Let go of the constraints of rationality and use your instinctive inspiration to perceive everything. Maybe you will see something different.”

Raventon closed his eyes and let go of his inspiration as Wu Chang said, but soon opened his eyes again and said:

"No, I can't see anything."

"If I were investigating this case, I would return to the city and go straight to Julie. But now, I want to see how the Inspiration Flow detective will proceed to the next step."

Wu Chang smiled, closed his eyes and began to feel everything around him.

This time he did not look for resentment, nor did he ask for the Omniscient Crystal, because there was no need at all.

The area where the coal loading station is located has a very strong supernatural atmosphere. He uses his inspiration to perceive and can sense various supernatural energies that gather into a network in this space.

The very center of this network is the core of this area.

He followed what he saw with inspiration and walked to the door of the temporary resting place, which was exactly between the dividing line between entering and leaving.

He opened his eyes, took a safety lamp that was left in the house, lit it, and said:

"Turn on the miner's safety light and stand still and wait."

"What are you doing..." Before Raventon could finish his questioning, he saw Wu Chang disappear in front of him.

Raventon looked as if he had seen a ghost. He rubbed his eyes and quickly went to the place where Wu Chang disappeared.

He quickly squeezed the duster, and a large amount of fluorescent dust fell down, without showing any abnormalities.

He followed Wu Chang's example, lit the remaining safety lamp, stood there, and began to count numbers in his mind.

When he counted to ten, the scene in front of his eyes flipped, and after a brief feeling of weightlessness, he entered an unfamiliar space.

He saw Wu Chang standing outside the temporary rest area and said to him:
"Welcome to the heart of the Pine Tree Mine."

Raventon walked outside and found a huge hemispherical mine outside, which was more than twenty meters high.

More than 70% of the space in the mine is filled with a huge machine.

The unknown machine was constantly vibrating, making a low roar. Along with the roar, one could see particles of high-purity coal being discharged from the machine and falling into the mine cart parked below.

This is the extraordinary purification machine hidden under the Songshu Coal Mine, which can purify ordinary deep-seated coal into coal essence.

Looking at the huge monster in front of him, Raventon's eyes widened and he said blankly:
"How did you find this hidden space?"

If Wu Chang had discovered the space for coal ore refining through his amazing mystical abilities or by praying to the Light of Eternal Purity, then Raventon would not have found it unacceptable.

But the problem is that Wu Chang found the clues through conventional methods. Not only that, the method Wu Chang found also allowed him to enter this space. This further proves that the method Wu Chang used did not come from some special ability, but was the original setting in Songshu Coal Mine.

Wu Chang said proudly: "Can't figure it out?"

Ravington nodded and said, "I really can't figure it out."

Wu Chang reached out his hand to Raventon, who asked in confusion, "What do you mean?"

Wu Chang said as a matter of course: "You won't forget the bet between us, right? If you can't figure it out, then I win and you owe me thirty-three gold pounds."

Raventon felt a little stuffy in his chest and said dissatisfiedly:
"As the leader of the Mystic Knights, you can't get any money from the Queen. Do you need my thirty-three gold pounds?"

Wu Chang kept his hand out as if to ask for the money and said:

"That's different. I'll admit defeat if I lose."

Raventon clicked his tongue, took out his wallet, took out seven gold pounds, and stuffed the rest of the money into Wu Chang's hands.

"Can i do it now?"

Wu Chang put the money in his pocket and said:
"I have actually already taught you the method. This time I really used inspiration."

"That's what you call collecting enough clues first, then making basic inferences based on the actual situation at the scene, and finally having a flash of inspiration in your mind."

Raventon looked at Wu Chang suspiciously, as if he didn't believe that everything was so simple.

"What is your reasoning?"

Wu Chang said:

"First of all, I think your reasoning is correct. The miners disappeared near the temporary resting place. The extraordinary person who arranged the occult ritual must have used some method to hide a certain space."

"Thomas said that the production of coal essence is very stable, with at least eight truckloads every month. The extraordinary person who arranged all this would never stay in the Songshu Coal Mine with its harsh environment just because of coal essence."

"After all, even the coal mine owner himself stays here no more than three days a month. Therefore, there must be a way to allow ordinary extraordinary people, or even ordinary people, to enter the area where coal essence is refined."

"Combined with Thomas's story about the missing miner, it's not difficult to infer that the method of entering the refining area has a lot to do with the temporary resting place."

"Following this line of thought, inspiration guided me to find a way to get in here."

This time, Wu Chang really didn't cheat. He really relied on inspiration to find a way to get in here.

But Raventon always felt that things were not that simple. Before he could continue asking, his attention was attracted by the extraordinary purification machine.

He discovered that the extraordinary purification machine no longer spit out coal ore, but instead converted all of the coal ore it produced into energy. Not only that, the roar of the machine became louder and louder.

Raventon pointed at the extraordinary purification machine with a faint light on its surface and said in a trembling voice:
"Look, it's about to explode!"

(End of this chapter)