He changed Tiwat

Kritov raised his voice, his face full of grievance: "I swear to God, I really did check the secret passage carefully as my second brother instructed, and made sure it was absolutely safe! But, but as soon as my second brother and the others came down, there was a sudden earthquake, and then the secret passage collapsed, almost burying us all alive!"

Uh... this earthquake seems to have been triggered when I broke the seal... Han Fulai twitched the corner of his mouth.

"Fortunately, the brothers outside had someone blast open the collapsed passage and get us out... My second brother scolded me severely, saying that I was more trouble than I was worth, and could only do the simplest tasks, so he sent me to scout out the location for Brother Hua and Sister Tie Niu..."

"I really thoroughly and carefully investigated that ore warehouse, confirming that it was perfectly safe, with no one else and no monsters... But when Brother Hua and the others went to move the raw ore, they suddenly ran into a Thousand Rock Army captain with a long spear, who almost captured them all! When Brother Hua and the others went back and told my second brother, he suspected that I was an undercover agent sent by the Hat-wearing guy, specifically to sabotage his plans..."

Ah... Hua Ge and Tie Niu, are they the treasure-hunting gang that he chased away that day? Han Fulai thought of the pair of male and female thieves.

"I'm truly innocent! Tell me, how can this be my fault?"

Kritov grabbed Han Fulai's arm, looking like he was begging a righteous official to intervene.

The upright and just official Han Fulai patted Kritov on the shoulder.

"If it's not your fault... then is it my fault?"

Chapter 171 The Fools' Business

"Alright, stop with this nonsense." Han Fulai stopped Kritov's complaints. "You have violated many of Liyue's laws. This won't lessen your crimes."

Han Fulai counted off the charges against Kritov on his fingers, "You joined an illegal treasure-hunting gang, participated in the theft of raw ore, manufactured dangerous goods, operated without a license and sold counterfeit medicine, and just now you even tried to deceive government officials... Tsk tsk, at least seven years."

"Ah..." Seeing Han Fulai's unfriendly expression, Kritov immediately realized that his attempt to play the victim and get close to Han Fulai would not get him to let him go, so he quickly changed his tune.

"Look... don't you think I single-handedly thwarted the treasure-hunting gang's scheme? Even if I didn't achieve anything, I certainly put in the effort, right?"

"Oh, should I praise you then?" Han Fulai said sarcastically.

"He's just a stupid thief," Zhiqiong said dismissively.

Jiang Xue didn't say anything more, but she took out a handkerchief from somewhere and patiently wiped the snot and tears that Kritov had wiped onto her shoulder.

"I have another question. Why did the treasure-hunting group come down to the bottom of the Layered Rock Abyss today?" Han Fulai asked.

That's what he's most concerned about.

Logically speaking, the treasure-hunting gang under Second Brother already knew that the government had sent people to the Layered Rock Abyss, had experienced the misfortune of the secret passage collapsing, and had even been beaten up by Han Fulai when stealing raw ore. With so many warnings in advance, they had no reason not to stop, right?

Why would they commit such a crime at a time like this? What are they after? Do they really want to be captured and brought before the Thousand Rock Army?

"...I...I'm just a small fry, and they even treated me like an 'undercover agent'...Their operation plan...they wouldn't tell me that..." Kritov stammered as he explained.

Han Fulai raised an eyebrow and stared at Kritov's small, lake-blue eyes.

Kritov clearly felt the pressure, and his eyes darted around nervously.

"I see..." Han Fulai touched his chin and began to think.

He was not satisfied with Kritov's answer.

Kritov's hesitant explanation clearly concealed something, the most obvious flaw being—why would the treasure-hunting gang imprison him at the bottom of the Rocky Abyss? According to Jinwu, the gang's base was in the "Gathering Valley" area, so why didn't they imprison Kritov there? Did they really intend to throw Kritov down there to feed the dogs, and "bloody dogs" at that?

The normal procedure would have been to hand Kritov over to the Thousand Rock Army for interrogation—but that would likely have exposed the exploration team's illegal sale of supplies.

Han Fulai had finally managed to turn Haidifu, Jinwu, Mu Ning, and others into his "community of shared interests," and he didn't want anything to happen at this critical juncture that would affect the opening of the Layered Rock Abyss.

Perhaps we should do as Jiang Xue said, "A good beating will make everything clear?"

Although Kritov wasn't particularly clever, he was quite adept at reading people. From Han Fulai's silence, Kritov realized his situation might be dire, and quickly begged the group for mercy again: "Please, everyone, have mercy and show leniency..."

He spoke Liyue proverbs fluently, much like a habitual offender pleading for leniency after being caught, clearly having learned a lot from the Treasure Raiders.

"Tch, let's not waste time with him. Let's just take him back and hand him over to the Thousand Rock Army. Our exploration team still has a lot to do!" Zhiqiong clearly didn't want to pay any attention to Kritov.

Upon hearing "exploration team," Kritov's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed, "Wait! If you want to explore the Abyss of Layered Rock, I'll be of great use to you! I know the terrain very well! Please take me with you! After all, I've been kicked out of the treasure-hunting group... I'm somewhat innocent now, right?"

Han Fulai turned to ask Zhiqiong and Jiang Xue.

Is he innocent?

Both of them shook their heads.

"Shouldn't we give it to the Sen'iwa Army?"

Both of them nodded.

"Wait, wait! I've turned over a new leaf and reformed myself. From now on, I sever all ties with the treasure-hunting gang and we'll never live under the same sky again! Really!" Kritov raised his hand and swore an oath.

"Then you'd better show some appreciation." Han Fulai deliberately squeezed Kritov's shoulder hard, making his shoulder blades creak.

"Ouch...ouch...please be gentle..." Kritov cried out in pain but dared not shout. He had to put on a smile to please Han Fulai. Even Zhiqiong felt sorry for him.

"I heard that in your treasure-hunting gang, joining requires stealing something as a 'pledge of allegiance'... 'to make amends for past mistakes,' you understand?" Han Fulai asked softly.

"Ah...ah! I understand, I understand." Kritov nodded quickly. "I know the location of their camp and the secret passage! I'll lead the way!"

"Heh, you're quite shrewd... Too bad we don't have time. Save those words for Qianyan Army." Han Fulai shook his head with a regretful expression.

"No, no! Master Han, please have mercy and tell me what you want me to do..." Two white streaks suddenly appeared on Kritov's face, which was blackened by the smoke; they were traces of sweat.

Han Fulai's lips curled up slightly.

"Didn't I just ask you what I wanted to know? Your memory isn't that bad, is it?"

Kritov's face was covered in even more sweat...

Finally, he gritted his teeth, as if he had made up his mind.

“I… I heard from my second brother that he received news today that he was going to do a big business deal with someone, so he came to the bottom of this giant rock abyss. Actually, my second brother and the others are just taking it out on me because I… I’m just too good at causing trouble, so he locked me up… He sent Brother Hua and the others to do the business, while he stayed here to keep an eye on me, saying that if everything goes well, he’ll consider letting me go.”

In other words, the second brother was afraid of Kritov's mystical bad luck, so he locked him up first to prevent the mysterious power from Mondstadt that he carried from causing trouble.

Of course, in the end, Kritov being locked in a cage could still ruin his second brother's plans.

"What kind of business? Who are you doing business with?" Han Fulai pressed.

"I don't know what kind of business this is, but before Brother Hua left, Second Brother seemed to have told him... he must find, find the Fool..."

With a "smack," Han Fulai slapped Kritov on the shoulder.

With a loud "thump," that was the sound of Kritov being slapped on the butt by Han Fulai.

"This is outrageous! You dare to catch fish from the Abyss of Layered Rocks? And you plan to sell them? Can you just feed these fish to people? What if they get food poisoning?"

This series of righteous yet inexplicable questions left Kritov completely bewildered, unsure of what to say. However, Han Fulai had no intention of letting him continue.

Han Fulai lifted Kritov off the ground, dusted him off, and his voice returned to normal.

"Sorry, I recently rescued a miner who had food poisoning, so I'm a bit sensitive about this kind of thing and I went a little too far..."

"No, it's okay, I don't feel any pain at all, really..." Kritov replied, grimacing.

“Well, that’s good. Kritov, I now believe you have the sincerity to reform,” Han Fulai said with a smile. “So I want to give you a chance to atone for your sins.”

Chapter 172 Genius and Ordinary Person (Special thanks to Boss Lao Liu)

"Really?" Kritov was overjoyed. Although he didn't know why Mr. Han had suddenly changed his attitude, he knew that the opportunity for "redemption through meritorious service" that Han Fulai mentioned was rare. If he did well, he should be able to avoid imprisonment.

"I, Han Fulai, have always treated people with sincerity." Han Fulai maintained his business-like smile. "Tell me first, besides 'leading the way,' what else can you do for our exploration team?"

Kritov thought about it seriously for a moment, "Hmm, for example... mixing explosives?"

"You mean the kind of explosives that can be used in engineering projects to blast tunnels?" Han Fulai immediately became interested.

He knew that the "Kritov cocktail" and "smoke bomb" used by the treasure raiding gang were made by Kritov, but the technology of these simple Molotov cocktails and smoke bombs was obviously not on the same level as that of engineering explosives.

“Of course,” Kritov replied confidently.

"I... I studied alchemy in Mondstadt before. Now I'd say I'm... an amateur alchemist..."

"Don't believe him, Master Han! This kind of guy who sells fake medicine is not trustworthy at all!" Zhiqiong had no intention of giving him any face.

"Yes, it's true!"

Kritov was clearly quite proud of his profession, a flush showing through his smoke-blackened face.

"By doubling the concentration of 'Rockstone Oil,' it can be used as a catalyst for explosives! When I was in the treasure-hunting group, they used the explosives I modified to open tunnels..."

"Double-concentrated 'Rock Oil'? But rock elements shouldn't cause an explosive reaction, right?" Han Fulai asked doubtfully.

He knew something about "Rock Oil." It was an oil that made people more compatible with the Geo element, and in the game, it was used to increase the Geo damage dealt by the player character.

In fact, when he went to Bubulu before, he had seen Baizhu use an alchemy table to make such potions. For Baizhu, "Rock Oil" was used to treat bruises and sprains. If it were in China, this stuff would probably be something like "Safflower Oil" or "Yunnan Baiyao", which is one of the common medicines for adventurers.

As an adventurer, Zhiqiong was clearly familiar with "Rock Oil," and she laughed so hard she coughed.

"Hahaha...cough cough...you've been exposed, haven't you? I had 'Rock Essence Oil' in my bag, how could that thing explode?"

Kritov quickly retorted, "What you're saying is just a basic alchemical perspective, but if you'd met Master Abeddo, you'd be amazed at your own ignorance!"

"Hmph, stubborn as a mule!" Zhiqiong raised her eyebrows and glared fiercely at Kritov.

Han Fulai, however, reacted upon hearing the name "Abedo"—if it was the alchemist Abedo he knew… then it wouldn’t be surprising if he invented something.

Furthermore, he remembered that Abedo in the game possessed the Eye of the Geo Element, so giving him two doses of "Rock Oil" wouldn't be surprising if he conjured a bomb by hand...

Kritov, unusually, abandoned his previous timid demeanor and waved his hand vigorously to emphasize his point of view.

"If enough rock element particles are compressed into a small container, the explosive force generated once the reaction is triggered is also very powerful! Although the explosive produced in this way will be a little unstable and may be detonated by collision, and if the life structure within the blast radius is affected, it will 'disintegrate,' 'rupture,' 'leak,' or 'disperse'... but its power is beyond doubt!"

...Doesn't this sound like nitroglycerin before Nobel invented safe explosives? If Kritov could mass-produce the so-called "concentrated rock oil" and improve its safety, wouldn't Liyue be able to quickly acquire modern explosives? Han Fulai's thoughts drifted far away in an instant.

"Did you study under that Master Abedor of the Knights of Favonius in Mondstadt?" Han Fulai asked.

“No…it’s just that I was fortunate enough to receive some guidance from him for a few days…” Kritov’s voice suddenly dropped. “It’s because I met him that I came here…”

"Huh? What do you mean?" Han Fulai blinked.

Kritov gave a wry smile.

“Sigh… When I was studying alchemy in Mondstadt, I still believed that dreams were fair to an ordinary kid like me. I thought that as long as I worked hard, I could also become a master alchemist… But later I realized that some gaps can never be crossed… and some people can never be caught up with.”

"After meeting Master Abedo, I realized that alchemy is a discipline designed for exceptionally gifted geniuses or those with vast amounts of learning resources. Compared to them, even the colors of our dreams are different."

"Ha, you joined the treasure-hunting gang for this reason?" Zhiqiong said coldly, arms crossed.

“I… don’t want to live a mediocre life, so I want to change my way of life. I originally thought that joining the Treasure Thieves might give me more opportunities for development.”

Kritov scratched his head sheepishly. "You see, in this world, some people are destined to do bad things, and some people are destined to do good things... This can be considered 'the other side of freedom'... right?"

"So you're not only a thief, but also a coward!" Zhiqiong rarely got angry, and it was unclear why she was so upset.

"Alright, alright..." Han Fulai comforted Zhiqiong and said, "How about this... I'm not the captain of the exploration team, so I don't have the authority to let you join the team so easily. We'll have to go back and let Jinwu and Haidifu decide together. As you can see, Miss Zhiqiong doesn't like you very much either... but if you perform well, I'm willing to persuade them to give you a chance."

"I will definitely obey! If Master Han tells me to go east, I will never go west!" Kritov almost pounced on Han Fulai's leg.

Zhiqiong continued to protest, "Those guys in the treasure-stealing gang have the mindset and mentality of criminals... all that talk about 'repentance' and 'washing their hands of crime'... If you actually believe their nonsense, they've already reached into your pockets. Even Lord Yan couldn't protect our wallets."

No, no, Lord Yan couldn't even protect his own wallet... Besides, this exploration team isn't exactly clean either, it's just that you don't know it, Zhiqiong... Han Fulai thought to himself.

“No matter what… Qi Ding is no longer able to work, and it’s a fact that the exploration team is currently lacking someone who knows how to prepare explosives. I think we should take him back and discuss it with everyone, which would also be a chance for him. A person who sincerely repents should be… a very hardworking and conscientious person, right?” Han Fulai stared at Kritov meaningfully.

Kritov nodded vigorously, like a chick pecking at rice: "Absolutely! Absolutely! I am honored to contribute my efforts to the exploration of the Stratostrata Abyss!"

Zhiqiong turned her face away disdainfully: "Hmph, I'm not prejudiced against them... but the Treasure Thieves are not to be trusted."

"That's just prejudice..." Han Fulai clapped his hands and made a decision: "Alright, let's explore a little further and find out the road to the 'Spirit Stone' before we call it a day. Kritov, lead the way."

"Yes, sir!" Kritov, in a fawning manner, began his first task of "redeeming himself."

Chapter 173 I think I've fallen into a trap

Upon returning to camp, the first thing Han Fulai heard Jinwu say was—

"Are you here to explore the Layered Rock Abyss, or to find someone?"

Even with Han Fulai's eloquence, he couldn't help but smile wryly upon hearing this, because he simply couldn't refute it.

Three days have passed since the Laminar Abyss was unsealed, and Han Fulai has gone down into the mine three times—and then he brought back three living people.

The first time was Qi Ding, the second time was Lao He, the third time was Kritov... Even Han Fulai himself doubted whether he could still get someone back from the "Wishing Stone" tomorrow...

It must be said that Kritov was quite diligent in "redeeming himself." His familiarity with the terrain as a "guide" was no exaggeration; the route he pointed out was far more accurate than Zhiqiong's memory from two years ago. Moreover, this was a route the treasure-hunting group had repeatedly taken when stealing the ore, and they wouldn't encounter any danger along the way.

Although Zhiqiong was somewhat unconvinced, she still dutifully drew up a map for this new road.

If anything unexpected happened—the mine tunnel leading to the "Wishing Stone" was blocked by a collapsed boulder.

It was a tunnel dug two years ago by the miners of the Black Rock Factory. In the complex terrain of the "Rugged Stone Hall," filled with all sorts of strangely shaped rocks, it was incredibly difficult to carve out a tunnel. And after the Abyss of Layered Rocks was sealed off, the treasure-hunting team naturally didn't have the ability to dig a new tunnel. So both Zhiqiong and Kritov were certain that it was the only way to the "Wishing Stone."

Kritov said the mine tunnel was open just a few days ago, and he didn't know why it collapsed.

Han Fulai knew that Kritov was telling the truth, because Qi Ding had been near the "Wishing Stone" three days ago. If the road had collapsed then, Qi Ding obviously wouldn't have been able to get there.

Zhiqiong attributed the landslide to Kritov's bad luck and complained about him for a long time. Kritov could only meekly accept it—he himself accepted the fact that he had a mysterious bad luck from Mondstadt.

However, in a way, this landslide turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Kritov—because Qi Ding, who was in charge of mixing the explosives, was now unable to work, and they just happened to need a demolition expert to mix the explosives and blast away the boulders blocking the road. Kritov's appearance was a timely help for the exploration team.