He changed Tiwat

“Of course. Our School of Life Theory is the most professional in the Academy when it comes to pharmaceuticals. To put it bluntly, in terms of medical technology, our School of Life Theory is unparalleled on the Teyvat continent!” Hydif made no attempt to hide his pride, arms crossed, his goatee sticking up high.

"Do you have any medicine on hand right now?" Han Fulai continued to ask.

"This...this needs to be brought from Sumeru..."

Haidif hesitated for a moment, then suddenly seemed to remember something, a look of embarrassment on his face: "Ah, I'm sorry, Mr. Han, are you worried about Lao He's treatment? I was so engrossed in my research that I forgot to write a letter to Husseini..."

As he spoke, he pulled a piece of paper from the table, picked up a pen, and began to write a letter, saying as he wrote: "Husseini is my junior at the Faculty of Evangelism. Although he is a member of the Stuart school, his research also intersects with that of our Stuart school... In short, he will definitely be willing to help me with a small favor in order to graduate."

"Is it to bring you medicine for Lao He, or... to bring you something else related to the abnormal ley lines?" Han Fulai asked softly.

Haidif's hand suddenly stopped, his expression one of surprise and uncertainty.

Han Fulai pressed down on the pile of documents on the table with one hand, leaned forward, and stared down into Haidifu's eyes.

“Mr. Haidif, let’s be frank – there’s no medicine that can cure Lao He. What you can prescribe for him is just a placebo that won’t have any effect on his health, right?”

"Mr. Han, do you not trust me, or do you look down on the professional standards of our Training Institute? If that's your attitude, I can simply abandon Old He..."

Haidif's words were clearly tinged with anger, but Han Fulai remained completely unmoved.

"It was precisely because I trusted your professional expertise that I realized you were lying to me, Mr. Haidif."

Han Fulai smiled and said, "'Fungal infection' can make people mentally unstable, incredibly strong, have bloodshot eyes and abnormal skin color, and even experience auditory hallucinations... Regardless of whether it's possible or not, let's just assume that's the case..."

He tapped the corner of the table lightly, gesturing with his eyes to "Star Mushroom" lying on the shelf.

"Since you can name a disease called 'fungal infection' and have a good understanding of fungi as microorganisms... then when facing a fungus with such terrible infectious consequences, I suggest you at least wear a mask and gloves, and preferably also a pair of goggles, before conducting any research. What do you think?"

“Ah…” Hydif realized that he had completely underestimated the Deputy Minister Han in front of him—this high-ranking bureaucrat of Moonsea Pavilion was completely different from ordinary Liyue people!

He seemed to really understand what fungi were, what "fungal infection" was, and he even seemed to know the operating procedures and standards of the Academy of Sciences laboratory.

"Don't be nervous." Han Fulai patted Haidifu's shoulder. "I'm here to cooperate with you, Mr. Haidifu. So I said from the beginning that I hope we can be honest with each other."

"Simply put, Mr. Hyde, your interests are aligned with mine; we both hope that the Stratorock Abyss can be fully opened. You can do your research and write your papers, and I can complete my task."

“I hope you can tell me everything you know, just like Sister Jinwu did, without hiding anything. I don’t care about your personal ambitions or the purpose of the Order of the Church, nor will I delve into what you… want to take away from the bottom of this giant rock abyss.”

Haidif's pupils suddenly dilated—what else does this Han Fulai know?

Han Fulai smiled.

In fact, Haidifu's flaws were already fully revealed on the day Qi Ding disappeared.

Yesterday morning, when Haidifu heard that Qi Ding had gone missing and that his goal was to blow up the "Wishing Stone," his first reaction was—"Oh my god! The 'spirit stone' can't be blown up!"

Although he quickly used his concern for his "thesis" as a cover, Han Fulai still noticed the unusual look in his expression.

Haidif knew that the "Wishing Stone" had a serious impact on people's spirits, and he should also know that it would be difficult for Qi Ding to withstand the spiritual influence of the "Wishing Stone" and blow it up.

His lack of concern for Qi Ding's safety could be explained by the fact that the scholars of the Academy were all academic fanatics or that he was rather cold-blooded—but his concern for the "Wishing Stone" was undeniable.

For him, the existence of the "Wishing Stone" in the Abyss of Laminaria was of paramount importance, and he was very worried about the consequences of the "Wishing Stone" being destroyed—all of which showed that Haidif actually knew the truth about the "Wishing Stone," knew the significance of its existence, and even knew that the "Wishing Stone" could indeed be destroyed!

He knew more about the "wishing stone" than anyone else in the exploration team, including Jinwu, but he did not share his knowledge with the team members.

Furthermore, according to Jinwu, Haidifu, this sucker, kept funding the exploration team out of his own pocket, but turned a blind eye to the team's reselling of supplies—but this is really unreasonable, because if the exploration team was forced to disband because of the reselling of supplies, he would really be a sucker who spent a lot of money but gained nothing.

Moreover, the lack of armed support for this exploration team had long made Han Fulai suspicious of Haidifu's true intentions.

Han Fulai had previously guessed that Haidifu's reliance might be on Sister Jinwu, who had served as the deputy chief researcher of the survey team and was quite skilled—but after Qi Ding's disappearance, Jinwu and Haidifu's performance made Han Fulai silently overturn this guess.

Haidif was neither involved in nor concerned with the miners' reselling of supplies, nor did he care about the miners' safety or the survival of the exploration team.

Therefore, his reliance on exploring the strata abyss was not on an exploration team.

He didn't really care whether the exploration team lived or died.

—So Han Fulai made a new conjecture: Haidif himself had a way to explore the strata rock abyss!

The monsters at the bottom of the giant rock abyss, the gushing black mud, the research on the "Wishing Stone"—Haidif must have a way to solve these problems without relying on the exploration team!

Funding the exploration team was just a pretext for him. Whether the exploration team existed or not was irrelevant; what mattered was the opening of the Stratorock Abyss.

This guy is not a "sucker" at all!

Han Fulai confirmed that Haidifu had ulterior motives because of Haidifu's attitude towards Lao He.

After examining Lao He and offering him medication, he refused Jinwu's offer of monetary compensation with the attitude of a wealthy tycoon.

He just said this: "Actually, I discovered this special mushroom during the last investigation. At that time, I wanted to study the long-term effects of consuming this mushroom on the human body. Now, we finally have experimental data..."

To Haidifu, Lao He was merely an experimental subject, valuable data from human experiments. Han Fulai, on the other hand, clearly understood why Lao He had become the way he was now, and even more so, he understood what Haidifu meant by the "special mushroom"—the "mushroom monster," a "mushroom monster" influenced by the "black mud"!

What Haidif probably wants... is "black mud"!

Chapter 166 A biologist who doesn't understand ley lines isn't a biologist.

Haidifu steadied himself and forced a smile that looked worse than a grimace.

"Well... since Vice Minister Han has said so, how can I not cooperate..."

In just over ten seconds, Haidifu completed a complete transformation from arrogant to obsequious.

“No problem.” Han Fulai didn’t mind at all and extended a hand to Haidif. “This rocky abyss is very strange and unpredictable. With an expert like Mr. Haidif to help, it is really reassuring.”

Haidif quickly grasped Han Fulai's hand, just as they had when they first met.

"Not at all, I should be thanking Deputy Minister Han for his help. With your help, my work is like... there's a saying in Liyue, 'like a long-maned tiger with wings'..."

"It's like adding wings to a tiger," Han Fulai said with a smile.

“Yes, yes, it’s like adding wings to a tiger.” Haidif nodded vigorously.

Han Fulai released his grip and adopted a posture of attentive listening.

"Now, I'd like to hear your opinion, Mr. Heidif. The 'Layered Rock Abyss,' the 'Wishing Stone,' the 'Black Mud,' the 'Mushroom,' and the 'Mushroom Monster'... these things are all connected, aren't they?"

Haidif paused for a moment, then put on his serious face again, which looked like he was approaching fifty, and said, "Let's start with my thesis."

He reached into the pile of papers on the table and pulled out a thick stack of academic papers titled "The Ancient Civilization of the Layered Rock Abyss and the Influence of Earth Vein Anomalies".

"In fact, although the current evidence is not sufficient, according to the information I have now, there are the ruins of an ancient civilization at the bottom of the Layered Rock Abyss, and that ancient civilization disappeared in the ley line mutation. And the 'black mud' that you saw, Vice Minister Han, is a product of the ley line mutation. Based on the academic research of some predecessors, I call it 'chaotic power'."

“The earth’s veins have changed… ‘chaos’…” Han Fulai repeated these words softly.

“You know, I’m currently a trainee ‘Tasata’ ​​in the Faculty of Arts… At my age, a young scholar who can become a trainee ‘Tasata’ ​​is already, well, in Liyue’s words, ‘extremely rare’! My junior, Hussein, is almost thirty years old and is still only a ‘Diriethi’, and he hasn’t even graduated yet…”

Haidif stroked his goatee with a rather smug air.

Looking at his old face, Han Fu couldn't help but sigh—a man's biggest fear is choosing the wrong career! Look at Haidifu, a once-wealthy man from Sumeru, ever since he became an academic laborer, he's been subjected to constant manipulation by his professors in the Faculty of Education, look at how he's been ruined...

"To become a true 'Tosata,' the hard requirement is that two papers on different topics must pass review. Ideally, these two topics should be related but belong to different research fields. For example, Senior Anisa..."

When this senior was mentioned, Haidifu seemed a little uncomfortable.

“Senior Anissa’s research paper on ‘marine biology’ caught the attention of our sage Nafis of the Amirido Academy, and she even received the surname ‘Pulbiruni’ because of it… As you know, in Sumerian, ‘Pul’ means ‘apprentice’, and receiving the surname Pulbiruni means being the successor of the previous sage. This is a great honor for us disciples of the ‘Pulbiruni’ school, and she has thus become an apprentice ‘Tasata’…”

With an outstanding senior student above you, and having quickly won the "Outstanding Young Scientist" award thanks to the favor of a big shot, you must be under a lot of pressure... Han Fulai nodded with some sympathy.

"But! Even Senior Anisa, to become a full-fledged 'Tasata' from an apprentice, still needs two research papers to pass review! She's currently in Inazuma, researching the 'Umi-no-Mikoto Statue.' The Umi-no-Mikoto Statue is a folk sculpture from Umi-no-Mikoto Island in Inazuma, related to the island's culture and history, and falls under the research field of the 'Hetu-no-Shoku' school... And if I want to become a 'Tasata' faster than Senior Anisa, I also need to make achievements in a field outside of the 'Sata-no-Shoku' school..."

“Oh, so you chose… the ‘Sultan’ school?” Han Fulai recalled Husseini, the junior of the Sultan school whom Haidifu had mentioned earlier.

“Yes.” Haidif shook the paper in his hand. “Alchemy, elemental science, ley lines… these are all research areas of the ‘Elemental Theory’. The investigation of ancient civilization ruins is related to the ‘Cause Theory’. And the mineral and biological surveys of the Stratified Abyss are the specialty of our ‘Life Theory’… So, my research project spans three interdisciplinary fields! If it yields results, let alone ‘Tasata’, even ‘Hapandha’ will not be out of reach!”

“The sage Sibanka once said, ‘A doctor who doesn’t understand astrology is not qualified to call himself a doctor.’ Similarly, a biologist who doesn’t understand ley lines is not qualified to call himself a biologist! The abnormality of these mushrooms actually represents the abnormality of the ley lines!”

When Haidif mentioned his academic research, his eyes lit up, and he picked up the "star mushroom" on the shelf.

"...Deputy Minister Han, you may not know this, but it is actually one of the 'Three Phases of Things' in Sumeru, known as the 'Star Mushroom.' From the outside, it is no different from the 'Star Mushroom' in Sumeru...but its internal structure has been completely changed."

"What is 'three phases and many things'?" Han Fulai asked curiously.

Although he was a time traveler, Sumeru was a completely unopened area when he traveled there, so his knowledge of Sumeru was quite limited, and "three phases and all things" was also a new term to him.

“On our Sumeru land, there are many species containing abundant grass element. They enter an activated state under the influence of lightning element and a withered state under the stimulation of fire element—normal state, activated state, and withered state are the so-called ‘three-phase transformation.’ And we scholars of the life theory school collectively call them ‘three-phase creatures,’” Haidif explained.

"Since Sumeru and Liyue are adjacent and border this Rocky Abyss, it's quite normal for some of our Sumeru mushroom spores to drift into the Rocky Abyss. So when I first discovered 'Star Mushrooms' in the Rocky Abyss, I didn't pay enough attention... until I discovered that these 'Star Mushrooms' could actually glow!"

"The Abyss of Layered Rocks is, after all, a dark environment. It's possible that the 'Star Fungus' evolved to adapt to the environment and developed components like luciferin. Originally, this type of fungus should be a species more suited to growing in forests... But since it has evolved luciferin, why hasn't the fungus's physical appearance changed at all?"

"With this question in mind, I studied the 'Star Mushroom' and discovered..."

"They absorbed the energy of the 'spirit stones' and turned into something similar to 'lumen stones'?" Han Fulai said, revealing his previous guess about the "star mushrooms".

Haidif paused, then nodded. "Yes. The 'Star Mushrooms' in the Layered Rock Abyss are no longer the 'Star Mushrooms' of Sumeru..."

"They have completely lost the ability to undergo 'three-phase transformation'!"

Chapter 167 Pursina Light Nails

“Completely lost the ability of ‘three-phase transformation’... What does this mean?” Han Fulai asked, frowning.

He had a vague feeling that the key to this matter lay in the anomaly of the Layered Rock Abyss.

"This means... the lower level of the Abyss of Layered Rocks is a completely different 'otherworld' from the outside world. In the lower level of the Abyss of Layered Rocks, the existence of the seven elements has been weakened!" Heidif raised the "Star Mushroom" and said very seriously, "The so-called 'three-phase transformation' is due to the blessing of the Great Tree King, a gift of life and wisdom brought by the grass element."

Han Fulai's pupils contracted, which coincided with his guess when he encountered the "bloody dog" before.

If... the appearance of the "Bleeding Dog," the break in his connection with Gan Yu and Xiao, and the incarnation of the "Wishing Stone," etc... all these events are related to the "alienation of the Layered Rock Abyss" that Haidifu mentioned...

Han Fulai recalled what Zhongli had told him in the Salt God Ruins.

"In the former 'paradise,' the mountains were higher than the sky, and the earth was larger than the dome... But in that war, the sky collapsed and the earth cracked. The boundaries of the world were torn apart, the tides rose, and raging floods poured into the land. Many lives were lost in that war, and many civilizations were destroyed in the catastrophe, but in the end, the Prime Minister prevented the destruction of the world."

"The war has ended, but both sides have paid a heavy price, including the Prime Minister's two aides. However, the hidden dangers remain. Because in that devastating war, an external force invaded the world."

Could the "chaotic power" that Haidif speaks of be the same as the "external power" described in Zhongli's story?

The current continent of Teyvat is a world ruled by the seven elements and the seven ruling powers of the mortal realm, but there exists a "power from outside the world" at the bottom of this rocky abyss that is different from the continent of Teyvat.

According to Haidif, the "Star Mushroom" should have been a fungus rich in herbaceous elements, a "three-phase creature" with the ability to undergo "three-phase transformation," but it lost this ability only in the Layered Rock Abyss.

Even the Grass God, the ruling deity of the Sumeru Kingdom, could not apply his divine power to the towering abyss of layered rocks.

What about Zhongli?

Is the reason why the Geo Archon, who has protected Liyue for 3,700 years, has not personally intervened to resolve the anomalies in the Abyss of Laminaria also related to this "external force"? Could it be that the anomalies in the Abyss of Laminaria have exceeded Zhongli's capabilities?

Although he remained outwardly calm, a bead of cold sweat trickled down Han Fulai's forehead—if his guess was correct, this joke had gone too far! Had he really released something that couldn't be released by breaking the seal of the Layered Rock Abyss? If so, wasn't his attempt to resolve the aberrations in the Layered Rock Abyss just courting death? Shouldn't he announce the withdrawal of the exploration team now and reseal the Layered Rock Abyss?

However, he quickly calmed down because his "Liyue's Radiance" plan was a conspiracy with Gan Yu, and Gan Yu also knew that he had come to the Laminariat—Gan Yu agreed to let him come because she believed that he had the ability to resolve the anomalies in the Laminariat.

—So far, nothing in Liyue has escaped Gan Yu's control, the permanent secretary of the Moonlit Pavilion.

In addition, as a member of Yao Guang Star, Jiang Xue should also have some understanding of the situation at the bottom of the Layered Rock Abyss. Since he asked to go down the Layered Rock Abyss with him, he must be confident. Although Jiang Xue once said, "I am just waiting for this life to come to an end," which made Han Fulai a little worried... he believed that Jiang Xue would at least not drag him down with him. After all, with Jiang Xue's strength, if he really wanted to harm him, he would have plenty of ways to do so.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but smile self-deprecatingly. He was a man destined for great things! How could the "successor of the Emperor," who held the highest power in Liyue, back down here?

“Besides the ‘Star Mushroom,’ there is also the ‘Fungi Beast,’” Haidif continued. “As you know, in addition to consuming this mutated ‘Star Mushroom,’ that miner Lao He also consumed that ‘Mushroom Monster,’ which is our Sumeru ‘Fungi Beast.’”

"Wait... is that 'mushroom beast' also a product of Sumeru?" Han Fulai asked.

“Yes.” Haidif nodded seriously. “Based on your description and the ‘mushroom meat’ you brought back, I can be completely certain that what you saw were special elemental creatures of our Sumeru, ‘mushroom beasts’. They look very much like mushrooms, but they have their own elemental attributes and generally only live in our Sumeru rainforests.”

"But why would they go into the Abyss of Layered Rocks?" Han Fulai stroked his chin.

“That’s what we need to study,” Haidif shrugged. “I can only tell you that the ‘planktonic fungus’ you saw is theoretically a very gentle creature, at least in Sumeru. In fact, fungus are generally quite docile and usually don’t attack humans… Our bio-theory school has actually done quite a bit of research on fungus…”

"Based on our understanding, although there are records of fungus attacking humans in Sumeru, those are usually related to changes in the earth's veins... In addition, according to the records, that is to say..."

Han Fulai continued, "There is an anomaly in the lower layer of the Layered Rock Abyss. This anomaly affected the mushroom beasts, making them ferocious. And consuming the mushroom beasts contaminated by this anomaly also changed Lao He's physique, right?"

“Yes, yes, that’s exactly it.” Although Haidif was somewhat surprised, Han Fulai’s strong comprehension was clearly a great help to him. “So, to treat Lao He, what we need is not medicine, but—'Pulsina Light Nails'!”

"Pulshner...is it something you invented, Mr. Heidif?" Han Fulai blinked.

“Ah…no, not Pursina, but Pursina…” Haidif gestured awkwardly in the air with Sumeru script. Although Han Fulai couldn’t understand it, he roughly understood that it was a homophone.

"She was a famous 'Habantha' of our Shenglun School, and was considered the most likely successor to the sage position of the Shenglun School. She was an expert among experts on the relationship between the earth's veins, living beings, and the human body. She had a famous saying: 'A healthy body creates a sound soul, and a sound soul guarantees a healthy body.'"

"From Pulshina's perspective, Lao He's physical abnormalities can be explained as 'an abnormality in his soul.' The 'Pulshina Light Nail' invented by Pulshina is made using technology from a strange ancient civilization called Kan. It can absorb 'chaotic energy' and convert it into ley line energy. Although this machine has a few minor flaws, I believe it can expel the 'chaotic energy' from Lao He's body."

"In short, I wrote to Hosseini, asking him to apply to the Holy See for a 'Pursina Light Nail' to bring here. With the 'Pursina Light Nail,' we can not only save Old He, but also solve the problem of those 'black muds.' Although the application process with the Holy See is quite difficult, but..."

Haidif gritted his teeth, looking like he had made a huge decision: "I'll say in the letter that I want Husseini to be the second author of this article! He'll definitely be tempted!"

"Then thank you very much, Mr. Haidif." Han Fulai knew that this was a great sacrifice for Haidif, and smiled as he patted Haidif on the shoulder. "Next, please explain to me, Mr. Haidif, what the ancient civilization ruins in the Layered Rock Abyss are all about."

Chapter 168 Ayexia Chaos Probe (Special thanks to Songfeng)

(Thanks to the generous "Songfeng" for the treasure chest! I'll add an extra chapter today as a token of my gratitude!)

The next day, Han Fulai, Jiang Xue, and Zhiqiong set off again. Their goal for the day was to conduct exploration work for the new forward base.

Simply put, it means thoroughly cleaning up the area around the new mining area to ensure safety.