He changed Tiwat

"Is this... resonance?" Han Fulai asked Jinwu beside him.

“That’s right, the catalyst and this kind of crystal are actually the same thing. They have the same structure, so they will naturally resonate with each other,” Jinwu explained.

Han Fulai had actually guessed that this was the case, since the term "catalyst" in chemistry is equivalent to a "catalyst," a substance typically used to accelerate chemical reactions. Using the principles of Teyvat, it's roughly similar to the activating reaction between grass and lightning elements, thus "activating" the substance.

The "lumenstone" catalyst in his hand actually looks like a handheld energy-conducting device added to the base of the lumenstone ore to regulate its light energy. The main source of light is still the lumenstone itself. The only difference is that the lumenstone with the catalyst in his hand is brighter than the lumenstone that grows directly from the ground.

Jinwu took out a pickaxe from his backpack and knocked the "lumen stone" off the stone wall.

After examining it, Jinwu confirmed the type of ore.

"Sure enough, this is raw Lumenite. I didn't expect Lumenite to appear so close to the ground... I thought these things wouldn't grow in structurally weak areas."

Zhiqiong then spoke up, saying, "They are fragments of that 'thing' underground, which migrated along the veins of the rock and eventually arrived here."

Jinwu directly refuted Zhiqiong's statement: "Don't talk nonsense. They are just local rocks. The reason they became like this is simply because they underwent some kind of transformation and crystallized. Seven Stars commissioned us to do an analysis... The majority of their composition is still the local minerals of the Layered Rock Abyss, but... they were reconstructed into peculiar crystals due to external forces."

As she spoke, she weighed the freshly mined Lumenite in her hand. "Although a detailed analysis of its composition has not yet been conducted, judging from the parts that have not yet fully deteriorated, this thing should have been a rich deposit of white iron ore at the bottom of the Layered Rock Abyss."

She then said to Han Fulai, "After processing, this raw lumen crystal can enhance the lighting function of the catalyst in your hands. If you find this lumen crystal during your subsequent explorations and have the capacity, you can collect some and bring them back to me. I can help you upgrade your equipment."

Han Fulai agreed to the matter.

The group then checked their surroundings and confirmed two things: first, Qi Ding was not there; second, there were no demons present.

Jinwu then went to check the elevator control panel.

The elevator is designed somewhat like a modern elevator. After descending for a period of time without anyone operating it, it will automatically rise back to the ground, which makes it convenient for people at the ground camp to inspect and maintain the equipment. If people in the Blackrock Mine want to return to the ground, they have to use this control panel to lower the elevator back down.

The control panel was covered in a thick layer of dust, clearly indicating it hadn't been used in a long time. In other words, Qi Ding hadn't returned yet—if he wanted to return to the surface camp in the Layered Rock Abyss, he would have to operate the elevator here.

If Qi Ding took the tools and gunpowder after everyone in the camp fell asleep and came here by elevator, it would be about ten hours since then.

Qi Ding was an old miner, and he knew the route just as well as Zhi Qiong did.

If Qi Ding really intended to blow up the "spirit stone" with gunpowder, and everything went smoothly along the way, this time should have been enough for him to make a round trip—in other words, whether he succeeded or failed in blowing up the "spirit stone," he should have returned here by now based on the distance traveled. But clearly, he didn't return.

This means that, just as Jinwu guessed, Qi Ding may have fallen under the influence of the "spirit stone," entering a state of mental confusion similar to the previous victims, or worse, perhaps encountering a demon...

Of course, there are other possibilities. After all, the Abyss of Layered Rocks has been closed for several years, and no one knows if the route has changed. Moreover, Qi Ding hasn't been down here for a long time. It's possible that he got lost along the way, or that he couldn't remember the route and was moving slowly, causing delays.

But no matter what, so much time has passed. If Qi Ding really has encountered a demon, then if they go there now, they may only see a corpse—or even a whole corpse.

If Qi Ding hadn't encountered any monsters, but had simply fallen into a dazed state, or had been delayed on the road and was hiding while waiting for rescue, then their rescue team would have had a chance to find him.

"In short, the rescue is all we can do; whether we can save lives is up to fate. The key is that you must ensure your own safety."

—After analyzing the current rescue situation with them, Jinwu made the above summary.

As a veteran miner with over twenty years of experience, Jinwu has witnessed countless heart-wrenching separations and deaths underground—her husband died in a mining accident.

In terms of experience in the mines, even the "mining superstar" Lao Tu would have to take a backseat, let alone Han Fulai and the others. Therefore, Jin Wu immediately appointed himself as the captain of this rescue team, and Han Fulai and the others had no objections.

As the temporary leader of this rescue team, Jinwu's top priority was to warn Han Fulai and Jiang Xue, who were also members of the rescue team, especially Zhiqiong, who was eager to rush into the depths of the rocky abyss, that they must not put themselves in danger in order to save others.

Jinwu then began assigning tasks: "Now that the safety here has been ensured, I'll go up and call a few people down to help me set up an advance camp here, and send down some equipment and first-aid medicines. If you can bring Qi Ding back, he might need first aid."

Among the miners who were previously affected by the "spirit stone," some have experienced symptoms of physical exhaustion. To prevent this from happening, it is essential to be prepared for emergency treatment.

"Also, let's agree on a time." Jinwu said, patting another cage of small magpies in her hand. "We'll use night as the dividing line. Before nightfall, that is, after I've fed the magpies three times, you must return here regardless of whether you've found Qi Ding or not."

While clocks exist in Liyue, they are mostly large grandfather clocks. The common people still primarily use timekeeping devices like sundials. Smaller clocks, such as pocket watches, have extremely complex mechanisms and are generally produced by the people of Fontaine, making them very expensive and only used by wealthy merchants in Liyue.

In the mines, where it's impossible to tell the sun or moon, a sundial is obviously useless. Miners inevitably experience bumps and bruises while working in the mines, and even if they were given a pocket watch, it would break after a short time. Therefore, the miners use the "biological clock" of the magpie to keep track of time.

The finches typically need to be fed three to four times a day, usually three hours apart. When they are hungry, they will start fluttering and chirping in their cages. Once they are fed, they will quiet down. The time between feeding the finches three times is approximately ten hours. If everything goes smoothly, based on the distance traveled, they should indeed complete the search and rescue operation and return here within ten hours.

“If you don’t return on time, I will report you missing to the General Affairs Department. Especially you, Xiao Qiong, don’t run around recklessly and drag Mr. Han and Mr. Jiang Xue down with you.” Jinwu solemnly instructed Zhiqiong.

"Okay, Jinwu-jie." Zhiqiong pouted unhappily, then turned her back and secretly stuck out her tongue at Han Fulai.

Han Fulai smiled helplessly.

Zhiqiong seemed to suddenly remember something and said, "By the way, speaking of the search and rescue, Sister Jinwu, should we also look for Lao He? Didn't you always say that Lao He definitely wouldn't die?"

"Who is Lao He...?" Han Fulai asked.

Jinwu sighed, “Old He is a senior in our mine, and should have been the most senior person here. He was one of the miners who went missing when the evacuation of the miners from the Chuangyan Giant Abyss a few years ago… He is hard of hearing, so he probably didn’t notice the evacuation alarm. In fact, Huishan Hall had already given his family an accident compensation, and his family had even held a funeral for him. They even invited me to the banquet… but I didn’t go.”

"How to avoid mining accidents, how to escape, how to gather food on the spot and wait for rescue, and so on... He knows a lot. Most of my mining skills were taught by Lao He. To be honest, even if I die, he might not." Jinwu crossed her arms and raised her chin slightly, showing that she really had a lot of confidence in Lao He. "I think he must still be alive somewhere underground."

"I've told Zhiqiong before that the place where Lao He worked before the miners left is on the road to 'Ling Shi'. If you have the time, please help me find Lao He as well... Of course, everything is based on ensuring safety. If you don't have enough time, please don't force yourself."

"What does Senior Jiang Xue think?" Han Fulai asked.

Han Fulai always respected the opinions of this nominal "bodyguard." His involvement in the search for Qi Ding was already an added burden, and adding Lao He only exacerbated the situation. Jiang Xue himself had his own personal matters to attend to, and had no real reason to search for anyone among the exploration team.

“…Okay.” Jiang Xue only considered it for a moment before answering.

"Okay, then we'll help look for Lao He to the best of our ability." Han Fulai nodded.

"Thank you very much." Jinwu bowed her head to thank the two. Although she wasn't familiar with Jiang Xue, Jinwu had heard Zhiqiong tell her about Han Fulai's deeds. With this "hero's" help, perhaps they really could find him.

"Also, please take care of Zhiqiong for me... I've watched her grow up since she was little, and to me she's like... well, anyway, I'm entrusting this to you two. Actually, I'm already very grateful that you two are willing to help search for Qi Ding."

"Sister Jinwu, you're too kind. We've received a lot of help from Miss Lai Zhiqiong in the mine. Don't worry, we'll be fine," Han Fulai said with a smile.

“Exactly, exactly,” Zhiqiong said proudly.

Jinwu pulled Zhiqiong's hand and shoved a white object into her hand with a "snap".

"Keep it in your mouth and stop chattering. If you behave, you'll get candy when you come back."

Chapter 133 Rescuing the Missing Miners (Part Two) [4k]

"So, Sister Jin always brings candy with Sen, not because I like candy..." On the way, Zhiqiong, with a piece of candy given to her by Jinwu in her mouth, explained to Han Fulai and Jiang Xue with some unclear speech.

With Zhiqiong's explanation, Han Fulai and Jiang Xue gained a general understanding of Jinwu's past life.

Jinwu comes from a mining family. She started going down into the mine with her father when she was a teenager. Building camps, making crystal mining lamps, and maintaining mining equipment were all things that Jinwu learned from a young age.

Jinwu's father was in charge of equipment safety and maintenance at the mine. As her father got old and his eyesight deteriorated, she took over his business.

Later, in Jinwu's words, it was like this: "When she got older, she had a man; when the man was gone, she had a daughter; when the daughter grew up, she went to school in Xumi."

Mining is a dangerous job, and accidents happen from time to time. The men in the mine die early, and the children left behind are all taken care of by Jinwu. For example, Zhiqiong also comes from a mining family and lost her parents at a young age. To her, Jinwu is more like a mother than a sister.

Jinwu carried small sweets with her because the children she cared for loved them. She didn't have the fancy candies produced in Mondstadt; the white sugar she gave Zhiqiong was a simple sugar cube, as unassuming as a miner's. Although not a rare treat, it always brought a sweetness to her heart—this was Zhiqiong's comment.

...Although she says she's not a child anymore and doesn't like sweets, it's not very convincing for her to say that with candy in her mouth.

"Although Sister Jinwu always says she's old, I think she's still...you know, still quite charming, right?" Zhiqiong finished her candy and started talking nonsense again. "Actually, Lao Tu hasn't found a wife all these years, but I think he's definitely interested in Sister Jinwu. Hey, it's just that he's big, but he's timid and doesn't dare to say it."

"Then why didn't you try to match them up?" Han Fulai asked with a smile.

“Then Sister Jinwu will have to kick me out of the mine…” Zhiqiong stuck out her tongue. “Speaking of which, Sister Jinwu has always been unwilling for me to go down into the mine. She always says that girls shouldn’t come to the mine and should go find a good family to marry into. But I have my own ideals too. Although drawing maps sounds very un-adventurous, adventurers can’t do without them.”

"We adventurers explore various secret realms every day, also to leave behind the experience and safe paths for future generations. If we had a complete map of the Layered Rock Abyss, wouldn't it be clear to miners where it's dangerous and where it's safe when they go down into the mines? Then there would be far fewer tragedies like the one that happened to Sister Jinwu's family caused by mining disasters!"

As Zhiqiong spoke, she took a roll of map paper from the bulging backpack on her back. "This is a map I drew from memory... Hmm, this place hasn't changed from before."

She made a few marks on the map with a pen and pointed in a direction, "That's where Sister Jinwu said Lao He used to work. Let's go take a look."

This area still belongs to the Blackrock Factory's mining area, and it's not too far from their camp, about a half-hour walk away, so traces of human intervention are still visible. Along the way, you can still see the beams used by workers to reinforce the tunnels, as well as the crystal mining lamps that have been extinguished due to lack of power.

Thanks to the illumination provided by the "Lumenite" catalyst, the three were unaffected by the darkness within the Layered Rock Abyss, making their progress quite efficient. They quickly approached the location Jinwu had mentioned. According to the map, it should be a former miners' rest area.

Zhiqiong, who was leading the way, suddenly stopped because the little jay in the cage suddenly fluttered and made a slightly sharp chirping sound. But it was clearly not feeding time yet, and the little jay's behavior often indicated that there was dangerous gas in the air.

Zhiqiong took a deep breath and quickly frowned.

"It smells like asphalt... yeah, the kind of stuff that seeps out from cracks in rocks, melts when heated by a torch, and you sometimes encounter it while mining... This pungent smell, there's no mistaking it..."

But the question is, why is there such a strong smell of asphalt here? This used to be a miners' rest area; who would want to rest in such a pungent place? And in Zhiqiong's memory, there shouldn't be asphalt here, right?

Even without Zhiqiong saying it, Han Fulai and Jiang Xue quickly smelled the scent as well.

Han Fulai was currently experiencing mixed feelings of joy and worry. He was pleased because asphalt is a chemical resource with many uses, such as waterproofing and corrosion protection for buildings, and paving roads. Moreover, this asphalt seeping from rock strata is often so-called "natural asphalt," formed when petroleum seeps into the rock and comes into contact with air—in other words, there might be oil in the deep rock formations!

What's worrying is that Zhiqiong's expression was clearly off, and her tone just now was also very doubtful, indicating that smelling asphalt here is probably not a good thing, and may even be a sign of some kind of anomaly!

As if confirming Han Fulai's guess, the "anomaly" soon appeared.

Suddenly, Jiang Xue shouted, "Get back!"

Then he flashed forward, his figure wearing a bamboo hat suddenly blocking Zhiqiong's path, and pushed Zhiqiong far away with a palm.

Han Fulai also stepped forward, pulled Zhiqiong, who had been pushed back by Jiang Xue, and protected her behind him. At the same time, he silently channeled his immortal power, ready to activate the Jade Shield at any time.

Almost simultaneously, a foul-smelling wind carrying a large amount of sand and dust rushed towards us, along with a gigantic figure.

With a clear, ringing sound, Jiang Xue's bladeless sword was drawn and collided with the massive figure.

That enormous figure was none other than a fully grown rock dragon lizard!

Unlike the juvenile rock dragons they encountered when breaking the rock barrier on the surface, this rock dragon had lived a long life, growing from a juvenile about one meter long into a behemoth over three meters tall. Its silent pounce carried the force of a thousand pounds.

If Zhiqiong had been pounced on by it just now, she would probably have been crushed into a pulp.

But Jiang Xue withstood the rock dragon lizard's claw attack, his feet not even flinching. The blunt sword in his hand, which was almost as thin as a piece of iron, steadily held off the lizard's sharp claws used to dig through the rock, showing no sign of being at a disadvantage.

The rock dragon let out a low growl, which sounded like anger, or perhaps pain.

Under the illumination of the "Lumenite" catalyst, Han Fulai discovered that this rock dragon lizard was different from the rock dragon lizards he knew and had seen in the game. Although this rock dragon lizard still had the earthy yellow armor of the rock element on its body, its color was already very dull, and most of its body was occupied by a muddy black substance.

It looked as if it had emerged from some swamp or mud pit.

"This is... 'Black Mud'! This monster is tainted with 'Black Mud'!" Zhiqiong exclaimed in surprise from behind Han Fulai.

Hearing Zhiqiong's shout, Han Fulai's heart stirred, recalling the record he had seen in the report. The main reason why Jinwu's exploration team withdrew back then was not because the miners were affected by the "wishing stone," but because a large amount of "black mud" emerged in the strata abyss, forcing them to interrupt their research and retreat to the surface.

“Monsters affected by the ‘black mud’ will go into a berserk state, which is very dangerous!” Zhiqiong said urgently.

The "rage" of the berserk rock dragon lizard, stained with "black mud," was quickly manifested—the rock dragon lizard leaped high into the air and once again pounced on the enemy in front of it.

Jiang Xue deftly dodged the attack, leaving only a large crater in the wake of the rock dragon lizard's impact. But the berserk rock dragon lizard seemed to possess inexhaustible strength, leaping high once more and unleashing another "Mount Tai Press" attack on Jiang Xue. It seemed to know that the human before it could not withstand its full-force pounce indefinitely—even someone as strong as Jiang Xue could not continuously block such a powerful attack.

"Hero Han, please help him!" Zhiqiong also realized the crisis.

Jiang Xue kept dodging, while the rock dragon lizard relentlessly pursued her, gradually moving away from Han Fulai and Zhiqiong's position.

"Okay." After Han Fu finished speaking, he reached out and covered Zhiqiong's eyes.

"What are you doing?" Zhiqiong asked, puzzled.

"The scene is too bloody; it's not suitable for you to watch," Han Fulai said.

As soon as Han Fulai finished speaking, Jiang Xue seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

Then, when the rock dragon lizard pounced again, Jiang Xue's sword moved; to be precise, his sword energy moved.

Only in the dark environment of the towering cliffs and abyss could one vaguely see the white glimmer on the tip of Jiang Xue's sword.

The rock dragon lizard in mid-air was torn to pieces as it swooped down, scattering a large spray of blood.

Jiang Xue turned away to avoid it, only a few drops of blood staining her bamboo hat.

"It's done." Han Fulai moved his hand away.

All that remained before Zhiqiong's eyes were Jiang Xue, who had sheathed her sword, and the corpses of demons scattered all over the ground.

“This…this is…” Zhiqiong’s lips trembled.

"You know, a chivalrous swordsman's secret sword technique is usually not shown to outsiders," Han Fulai said, changing the subject.

Zhiqiong knew she shouldn't ask any more questions now, so she could only nod.

"Let's go take a look. We need to find out why this monster has mutated." Han Fulai led Zhiqiong around the monster's corpse and walked with Jiang Xue towards the direction the monster had come from.

The further you go in that direction, the more pungent the smell of asphalt becomes.

Although one could somewhat guess the reason for the monsters' mutation, seeing the scene before one's eyes was still deeply shocking.

There should have been a rest camp built by the miners in front of them, but now only ruins remained. Not only that, the ruins were covered with a black, viscous, muddy substance, flowing outwards like black lava.

This muddy substance is the "black mud" that Zhiqiong just mentioned. In the center of this black mud is a huge purplish-black clump of mud. This clump of mud is even bubbling and bubbling, just like a boiling soup pot. Just looking at it sends chills down your spine, and you don't want to get close to it at all.

—It's like some kind of biological instinct, an intuition warning them that contact with the black mud will bring bad luck.

“No one could possibly survive here,” Jiang Xue coldly concluded.

Of course, this is obvious. Putting aside monsters, this black mud alone is definitely not something that can coexist with humans.

Moreover, according to the report, this black mud is extremely harmful to the human body, and anyone who comes into contact with it either dies or is seriously injured.

“This kind of ‘black mud’ will corrode everything… Old He might be somewhere else.” Zhiqiong shook her head, telling herself to keep hope alive.

She pulled out her map again and marked the location with an X.