He changed Tiwat

Thanks to the addition of Han Fulai and Jiang Xue, the exploration team's progress in exploring the Strata Rock Abyss can be described as "lightning fast." These two not only have the ability to use "Luminite" catalysts to disperse the black mud, but they are also incredibly strong. During the exploration, they practically swept through everything in their path, unlike the miners who had to avoid danger, so their progress was naturally much faster.

According to the original plan of the exploration team, it would have taken them almost a week just to explore the main mining area, set up a temporary camp, and explore the road to the new mining area. But in order to rescue the two missing miners, Qi Ding and Lao He, this three-person team completed the exploration team's planned route in just two days - according to Jin Wu, this can be considered a "blessing in disguise".

In theory, if they go to explore the terrain near the "Rugged Stone Hall" south of the new mining area today and help Zhiqiong draw up a topographic map, the exploration team's temporary camp can be moved to the new mining area.

The new mining area has a water source nearby, as well as facilities left behind by the former Blackrock Miners, making it ideal as a new forward base. Furthermore, the new mining area is closer to the "Spirit Stones," reducing travel time and avoiding unnecessary journeys.

Compared to the previous two days, their three-person team's equipment has been upgraded.

Han Fulai is currently holding a Lumenite catalyst that has been improved by Jinwu and is now more effective. To put it in perspective, if the Lumenite catalyst Han Fulai used on his first day in the mine could be used five times for "pure light bloom" (that is, to maximize the light energy of the catalyst to dispel the black mud), then the Lumenite catalyst he is currently holding can be used ten times for "pure light bloom," and even if it exceeds the number of uses, it will not be completely damaged.

At the same time, Jinwu also made an important improvement to the "Lumenite" catalyst - she added an energy conversion tank at the bottom of the catalyst.

The existence of this conversion tank allows Han Fulai to continuously charge the "Lumenite" catalyst using fragments of Lumenite crystals, essentially adding a charging port to the catalyst. Jinwu's improvement greatly enhances the durability of the "Lumenite" catalyst, making long-term exploration possible. Han Fulai no longer needs to worry about losing light at the bottom of the Layered Rock Abyss; as long as he has Lumenite crystals, he can have lighting indefinitely.

The birdcage that Zhiqiong was carrying was no longer the same one as before—the one she was holding now was the "Jade Finch" cage that Sister Jinwu used exclusively for herself.

This blue-green jasper-like bird is the "caged bird" often mentioned in ancient miners' records. If the equipment used by miners had different grades, the cage of blue-green jasper that Zhiqiong is holding now can be considered S-grade. This is a rare species that was personally captured and carefully raised by Sister Jinwu, and is not easily touched by ordinary people.

The Blue-crowned Finch is prized because its health is easily discernible from the color of its feathers. If a Blue-crowned Finch inhales toxic gases, its feathers quickly lose their color and turn grayish. Miners don't need to wait for the bird to become unconscious or die; they can detect the abnormality simply by observing the color of its feathers. Compared to ordinary Blue-crowned Finches, this bird is undoubtedly a more sensitive "hazard gas detector."

Jinwu was willing to entrust her precious Jade Sparrow to Zhiqiong mainly because she was worried about Zhiqiong's health. Even now, Zhiqiong still coughs from time to time.

Ever since Zhiqiong got into contact with the black mud, her cough hasn't stopped. Although Zhiqiong herself says that the cough is nothing to worry about and won't affect her exploration work, Jinwu is still worried about her—especially that her cough might affect her perception of danger.

So when Zhiqiong emerged from Jinwu's tent this morning, rubbing her bottom, she was carrying the jade sparrow Jinwu had given her. Behind her followed Jinwu's "loving admonition"—"Xiaoqiong, if you dare kill my jade sparrow, watch out for your bottom!"

Of course, according to Zhiqiong in private, "My butt is already four-lobed, I'm not afraid even if it becomes eight-lobed!"

The most unusual thing was the new equipment in Jiang Xue's hands.

This is a spherical object, shaped like a rock element miner's lamp, with a brass band around its surface. The band is engraved with an inscription in Sumeru script: "We know more than we can say."

At first glance, it may seem like a rather uniquely shaped miner's lamp, but it has a rather impressive name – "Ayesha Chaos Prospector".

The new equipment, the "Ayesha Chaos Probe," is one of Hydif's hidden "secret weapons." Even if this exploration team is disbanded, as long as the Layered Rock Abyss is unsealed, Hydif can hire a few adventurers and use the "Ayesha Chaos Probe" to find the ancient civilization ruins he wants to explore!

As for why this exploration device ended up in Jiang Xue's hands—it was obviously a "significant gesture of cooperation" that Han Fu had asked Haidifu for yesterday.

According to Haidif, Ayesha was a senior sage of the Church and could be called a "great inventor" among scholars, whose fields of expertise covered almost all research branches of the Church.

This "Ayexia Chaos Probe" was something Ayexia casually made while researching ancient artifacts. It can detect the location of ancient ruins and anomalies in the earth's vein energy within a certain radius (according to Haidif's test, about 500 meters). Once it detects an object that meets the criteria, it will emit a beeping warning, making it a very convenient tool.

With it, you can not only search for ancient civilization ruins that may exist in the rocky abyss, but also avoid places with "chaotic energy" in advance, which is black mud. At least you can get a warning in advance so that you are not suddenly attacked by monsters stained with black mud.

In the environment of the deep rock abyss, this thing is practically a "divine artifact," which explains why Hydif is so fearless.

The "Ayexia Chaos Probe" is powered by elemental force. If Hydif were to use it personally, he would need to be equipped with some elemental energy blocks specially made by the Sumeru Cult. However, Jiang Xue herself is the holder of the Eye of God, so she can naturally use an instrument powered by elemental force.

Guided by the "Ayexia Chaos Prospector," the three of them accurately avoided the roads containing black mud, saving a lot of time, and arrived at the new mining area smoothly.

Just as they were heading towards the "rugged stone hall" to conduct their exploration, the probe in Jiang Xue's hand suddenly emitted a sharp beeping sound!

Chapter 169 Trampling Through the Mines, Finding a New Bond

This wasn't the first time they'd heard the buzzing of the "Ayesha Chaos Probe," but it was the first time they'd heard such a sharp buzzing sound—meaning danger was very close, perhaps less than a hundred meters away, and it was very likely that a demon tainted by the black mud had crept up to their vicinity.

Fortunately, this chaos detector can not only warn of dangers, but also detect the source of "chaotic forces".

The probe fired a beam of rock energy directly in front of them—a sign that danger lurked in the darkness ahead.

The three of them had become quite familiar with each other over the past three days, so they immediately switched formations. Jiang Xue drew her sword and stood guard in front, while Han Fulai activated the Lumenite catalyst to dispel the darkness. At the same time, Zhiqiong nimbly hid behind Han Fulai, grabbing her beret and crouching down to protect her head, not wanting to get in the way of these two "heroes".

The light from the lumen stone pierced the darkness—but there was nothing ahead.

Just then, the rapid buzzing stopped abruptly.

The alarm was lifted, and Han Fulai and Jiang Xue exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with helplessness.

Zhiqiong stood up and pouted, "I told you this thing is no match for a miner's nose! See, another false alarm!"

Zhiqiong had a lot of complaints about the instrument that had taken away her job as a guide.

In fact, this was not the first time the "Ayexia Chaos Probe" had given a false alarm. It had happened twice more on the way: once it pointed behind them, just a short distance away, and the other time it pointed above the cliff by the roadside—clearly, there were no ruins, no black mud, and certainly no monsters in such a place.

However, when Haidif lent the "Ayesha Chaos Probe" to Han Fulai, he did explain in advance that there was a possibility of false alarms.

Although the "Ayesha Chaos Probe" is a great invention of a great scholar, the great scholar, Ayesha, was so versatile that his inventions were usually a little... in Haidif's words, "unconventional".

For example, the "Ayexia Chaos Probe" in their hands was originally gathering dust in the Catechism Institute's warehouse—because when the Sage Ayexia invented this thing, he made it on the spot while exploring the ruins, so it was not debugged much and was a product of "not knowing why this program can run, but it just runs."

According to Haidif, the probe has an accuracy rate of up to 90%—in other words, one in ten probes will be a false alarm.

Of course, false alarms wouldn't cause them any losses, but accurate warnings could help them avoid a lot of trouble. As the saying goes, a flaw doesn't detract from the overall merit, so Han Fulai, with the spirit of err on the side of caution, meticulously verified each alarm from the probe.

After Han Fulai and his group passed by, a spatial fluctuation came from the location where the detector had triggered the alarm. Inside the spatial rift, the Abyss Apostle frowned beneath his full-face helmet—this was the third time that strange instrument had detected his presence.

With that strange alarm device in place, it would be difficult for him to track Han Fulai, monitor his movements, and set up an ambush.

He was seriously considering whether there was any way to separate Han Fulai from the instrument.

The exploration near the "Rugged Stone Hall" went relatively smoothly. Apart from the previous false alarms, the probe didn't cause any new problems, which meant that the entire new mining area was currently safe. Zhiqiong also successfully drew a topographic map of the surrounding area.

As the three were preparing to explore a little further before calling it a day, they discovered an unexpected trace—a campfire that still retained some warmth.

"Hmm... this campfire is still quite new, and people resting here will likely not have been gone for more than an hour," Zhiqiong offered her expert assessment as an adventurer.

"Are there still people active in the giant abyss of layered rocks?" Han Fulai frowned.

"They might be a treasure-hunting gang; it wouldn't be surprising if they appeared anywhere," Zhiqiong guessed.

"Impossible," Han Fulai denied on the spot.

If such traces were found a couple of days ago, they could have been left by missing miners or a group of treasure hunters, but they shouldn't be there now.

Qi Ding and Lao He were both in the camp. After the treasure-hunting group was driven away by him the day before yesterday, they should know that there are government officials active in the Layered Rock Abyss and they need to lay low for a while.

Who could have left this campfire trail?

Jiang Xue offered a constructive suggestion: "Let's explore a little further; maybe we can find the person who left this campfire."

Jiang Xue's opinion was absolutely correct, because they did indeed hear human voices not long after they walked.

The price was that Han Fulai was humiliated on the spot—because the source of the voices was the treasure-hunting gang, and not just a single member, but a team of more than ten people!

Han Fulai and his group peered down from the edge of a small hill and saw the group of treasure hunters sitting around a campfire in the open space below, eating roasted meat, looking like they were having a party.

"Hey, I just made a judgment in front of my female fans. Aren't you guys disrespecting me?" Han Fulai rarely felt the urge to punch someone.

Zhiqiong, however, didn't care at all and was the first to notice the unusual behavior of the treasure-hunting group: "Look, they're surrounding a cage, and it looks like there's someone locked inside."

Han Fulai looked closely and, sure enough, what was surrounded in the center by the thieves was a wooden cage that looked like it was used to imprison wild animals, and inside the cage was a young man huddled up, looking like he had been beaten up.

"This is... human trafficking!?" Zhiqiong's eyes widened.

"No, no... the treasure-hunting gang wouldn't do something so outrageous. Don't forget that the leader of this gang was originally the 'second brother' of your mine..." Han Fulai muttered under his breath.

"Give them a beating and we'll know what they're up to," Jiang Xue offered another constructive suggestion, and then rushed out.

The leader of the treasure-hunting gang was a middle-aged man with a large iron hammer on his back. He was burly, his face was covered with a black cloth, and there were burn marks on his hair and the corners of his eyes. He looked very fierce.

“Ah, it’s ‘Second Brother’…” Zhiqiong recognized the burn marks on the leader’s face. They were from when Second Brother used to “treasure hunt” in the mine with an open flame, but he encountered flammable gas and burned his hair, leaving these marks.

Hearing Jiang Xue leap down the hillside, the second brother turned around and casually greeted her, "Why are you so late? Where are Ahua and the others?"

Clearly, Jiang Xue's attire—a short jacket, a straw hat, and a face covering—led the second brother to mistake her for one of their own.

Jiang Xue didn't say much. She raised her bladeless sword, still sheathed, and swung it down.

At this moment, the second brother also sensed something was wrong. His skills were surprisingly good, and he quickly drew the large hammer from his back to block Jiang Xue's attack. Even though Jiang Xue didn't use her "sword energy," the second brother's reaction was already quite impressive.

"Damn it! Brothers, the ones wearing hats are coming!"

"Heh." Jiang Xue chuckled softly; he was indeed wearing a hat.

"Get moving, get moving, quick!" the second brother roared, swinging the iron hammer around with surprising force.

Jiang Xue did not want to harm them, so she took a step back. Just then, several smoke bombs rolled down in front of her and exploded, filling the sky with smoke.

"Hmph!" Jiang Xue saw that the group of treasure thieves was using the same trick again, their swords dancing like the wind, so she tried to dispel the smoke and continue the chase.

Just then, a pitiful voice came from the cage next to us: "Help! Cough... Help me!"

Then came a scream.

"Ouch! My clothes are on fire!"

Then came a commotion of beating clothes and rolling around on the ground.

Jiang Xue sighed helplessly, gave up chasing the treasure-hunting group, and swung her sword to cut the iron chains on the wooden cage.

Chapter 170 Is it my fault?

When Han Fulai walked to the cage, he saw the person who had been imprisoned by the treasure-stealing gang hugging Jiang Xue's shoulder, thanking her profusely with tears streaming down his face.

It's easy to imagine that Jiang Xue's expression under the mask must have been one of disgust.

"Thank you, sir, for saving my life. If you hadn't punished those villains, I probably would have been thrown to the dogs!"

"Sir, why were you imprisoned here by the treasure-hunting gang?" Han Fulai asked.

The man raised his face when he heard Han Fulai's voice.

He appeared to be in his early twenties, with a slightly swollen and red mouth, likely from being beaten by the treasure-hunting group. His face also bore soot marks from the smoke, probably from the smoke from the explosion of the smoke bomb. His eyebrows, hair, and eyes were all lake blue, clearly indicating he wasn't a native of Liyue.

Why would foreigners come to the Layered Rock Abyss? Could they be out-of-town merchants kidnapped by a treasure-hunting gang? Han Fulai wondered.

The man seemed to recognize Han Fulai's uniform and hurriedly bowed to him, saying, "My name is Tokliff, a traveling merchant from Mondstadt, dealing in medicinal herbs. I was kidnapped by this gang of thieves in Liyue... I am deeply grateful to the gentlemen for rescuing me..."

Han Fulai waved his hand, "This... Mr. Tokliff, since you are in the medicinal herb business, why did you come to this area near the Rock Abyss? This is a closed mining area, and why did the treasure-hunting group imprison you?"

“This…you know, ‘glass bags’ mostly grow on cliffs, and the deep abyss is their natural habitat. I came here to collect herbs…this despicable gang of thieves kidnapped me to…to extort money from my family…” Tokliff stammered as he explained.

"Huh? Mr. Tokliff is in the medicinal herb business and he personally gathers herbs for himself? The terrain of the Laminariat is treacherous, his skills are truly admirable..." Han Fulai stroked his chin. "Besides, Liyue is mountainous, and Glass Pouches don't only grow in the Laminariat; they're also found in Mount Qingce and Mount Tianheng... Also, isn't it a bit too far for this group of treasure hunters to kidnap you and extort your family in Mondstadt...?"

At this moment, Zhiqiong also came to Han Fulai's side.

Natokliff and Zhiqiong exchanged a glance, and both of them exclaimed "Ah!" at the same time.

Tokliff turned his face away, while Zhiqiong crossed her arms and raised her chin.

"Kritov, keep making this up, I'm listening."

Kritov, who called himself Tokliv, suddenly fell silent.

“Kritov?” Han Fulai turned to look at Zhiqiong.

Zhiqiong snorted, "This guy's name is Kritov, he sells fake medicine at the mine. He goes around selling this 'Great Man's Elixir,' claiming that drinking it will make you strong and incredibly powerful, but when the workers buy it, they find it's just berry syrup!"

"It's not fake medicine!" Kritov began to defend himself when he realized he couldn't hide it anymore. "My 'sweat potion' is non-toxic and harmless, stops sweating and quenches thirst, and it's even specially chilled. It's cheap and affordable, and very popular, okay!"

"Pah! Then don't use medicine as a pretext, just say you're selling sugar water! Sister Jinwu always says, 'The mineral dust on your face is easy to wash off, but the color on your hands is impossible to wash off.' I think you've been selling fake medicine to the Treasure Thieves and got arrested and beaten up!"

“Of course not!” Kritov retorted angrily.

"Then what do you think is the reason?" Zhiqiong asked with a half-smile.

"Yes... Hmph, I'm not telling you." Kritov finally realized that he was being tricked into revealing information by Zhiqiong.

Han Fulai chuckled.

"It's an internal conflict within the treasure-hunting group, isn't it? Kritov, you were the group's liaison officer sent to the mine, ostensibly to sell counterfeit medicine, but actually to investigate the surface conditions of the Abyss of Layered Rock. Tell me honestly, what did you do to deserve being locked up here?"

“Ah…” Kritov’s eyes widened.

“I know far more than you think. Don’t even think about hiding it, or I can put you in jail for life just because you made a dangerous explosive like the ‘Kritov Cocktail’.” Han Fulai put on that smug smile again and threatened Kritov in a very calm tone.

Jinwu had previously told him that his second brother had sent men to the mine, posing as small-time merchants to contact the exploration team. This Kritov was clearly one of his second brother's men. However, Han Fulai had no idea why the treasure-hunting gang was still underground in the mine, or why Kritov was imprisoned by them.

Of course, even if you don't know, you can still trick them out of it; after all, this Kritov doesn't seem to be very smart.

Kritov, intimidated by Han Fulai's words, immediately softened and hurriedly begged for mercy: "I, I'll talk, I'll talk... Sir, please don't hand me over to the Thousand Rock Army! I don't want to be locked up again!"

Clearly, the experience of being locked in a cage has caused him considerable psychological trauma.

"Stop calling me 'official,' my surname is Han. How I deal with you... depends on your performance." Han Fu waved his hand. This Kritov kept calling him "official," making him seem like some kind of villainous corrupt official who oppresses good people.

"Yes, yes... Master Han." Kritov obediently changed his form of address.

"I am indeed from Mondstadt, and I've only been in Liyue for a little over a year, and I haven't been in the Treasure Raiders group for very long... Before, I followed a few big shots I knew from the underworld, and later they joined the Treasure Raiders group to deal in ores, so I came along too. I'm just a small fry under Second Brother, helping with petty theft, contacting the guys in the mines, and stuff like that... But, you are so wise and powerful, like a divine soldier descending from the sky, and you took me down in one fell swoop..."

"Weren't you already locked in a cage before we arrested you? Get to the point!" Zhiqiong couldn't stand Kritov's sycophantic manner and scolded him with her hands on her hips.

"Yes, yes, that's how it is. I was originally sent by my second brother to the mine to investigate the situation, but for some reason, the day before yesterday, a miner suddenly told me that I was selling fake medicine... no, my unlicensed street vending was exposed, and the higher-ups sent people to arrest us!"

"Oh...it's because I came to break the seal on the Layered Rock Abyss. The exploration team was afraid that their contact with the treasure-hunting gang to resell supplies would be exposed, so they asked Kritov to tell Second Brother to stop immediately." Han Fulai understood.

“I went back to report to my second brother, and he said I was clueless and should have come back to tell him sooner… Then he said that before the men in caps went down into the mine, we should collect all the ore we could, and then he sent me down to pave the way for everyone…”