He changed Tiwat

He took Zhiqiong's hand and held it tightly.

"I want to entrust my life to you, Miss Zhiqiong. Are you willing to accept this commission and become my 'hope'?"

Chapter 186 First Encounter in the Layered Rocks and the Abyss, A Glimpse of Han Lang and a Lifelong Decree

Zhiqiong's face flushed red instantly.

She felt a buzzing in her ears and a dizzying sensation in her head.

Her shoulders suddenly felt heavy, but her heart was beating incredibly lightly. Since joining the exploration team, she had always heard people say "cannot, not allowed, should not..." This was the first time someone had told her so solemnly that he needed her.

Moreover, she is still needed as a "hope" in a life-or-death situation.

Zhiqiong gripped Han Fulai's hand tightly.

"I accept this commission!"

After watching Zhiqiong leave, Jiang Xue chuckled and said, "Heh, I didn't realize you were so good at sweet-talking young girls."

Han Fulai sighed.

"Alas, it's just a delaying tactic."

Even if he forcibly sends Zhiqiong back to camp today, there's no guarantee that Zhiqiong won't run around afterward—in fact, given Zhiqiong's personality, she'll definitely break away from the group and explore on her own.

Moreover, at that time, Han Fulai and Jiang Xue didn't have time to rescue her.

In fact, Han Fulai understood Zhiqiong's thoughts; ultimately, she hoped to achieve "self-actualization."

On the day she first met Han Fulai, Zhiqiong made a vow in front of him: "Towards the stars and the abyss! — The deepest part of the strata rock abyss!"

Becoming the first adventurer to venture deep into the Laminar Abyss was her way of achieving self-realization. For her, that was the meaning of life.

Every young person has a time when they set lofty ideals and goals and aspire to make a name for themselves; Han Fulai himself went through this process. It's like asking a kindergarten child what they want to be when they grow up; the child might answer "astronaut/scientist," etc. But if you ask a college student, the answer is usually "whatever makes money."

To older people like Jinwu, Zhiqiong's adventurous spirit seemed more like "recklessness" and "foolishness." Moreover, Jinwu's various prohibitions on Zhiqiong were mainly out of concern for her—but for Zhiqiong, this concern was too heavy and felt more like a constraint.

Therefore, the more Jinwu and the others cared, the more rebellious Zhiqiong became. Rather than focusing on her own safety, she was more eager to achieve results and prove herself.

Many tragedies occur during this process.

But Han Fulai didn't want a tragedy to happen to Zhiqiong. This simple and brave girl still had a bright future ahead of her—he was still hoping to bring Zhiqiong under Keqing's command!

According to Sister Jinwu, Zhiqiong is a stubborn mule. And to deal with a stubborn mule, you have to use the "carrot and stick" approach.

If sternly refusing Zhiqiong's request to take the adventure together was a "big stick," then the request just now was a "carrot."

His mission was to give Zhiqiong a sense of being valued and having a "mission" – people who bear a heavy mission usually cherish their lives until the mission is completed.

No matter how much Zhiqiong wants to prove herself, she must first fulfill her role as an "insurance" and "hope" in order to live up to her proud identity as an adventurer.

Moreover, having Zhiqiong take the message back was indeed an extra layer of security. Even if they were unfortunately trapped down below, as long as the message could reach Yujingtai, Ganyu would definitely send reinforcements.

Although he could have simply sent a message back to achieve this goal, since he needed to stall Zhiqiong anyway, Han Fulai decided to put on a great performance and get Zhiqiong to accept this "important mission".

"Hehe, a delaying tactic, huh..." Jiang Xue chuckled. "What you just said sounded like... I think that girl might misunderstand."

"What misunderstanding?" Han Fulai was a little confused.

Jiang Xue patted his shoulder and said, "In a few years, you'll probably be a man burdened with sins."

History has proven that Jiang Xue made a wrong judgment—because there was no need to wait a few more years.

Six months later, Tian Tiezui would compile a new storybook, supposedly adapted from the oral accounts of a famous adventurer. The opening poem in it later became a popular rhyme circulating throughout the streets and alleys of Liyue.

"We first met amidst towering cliffs and deep abyss, and one glimpse of Han Lang sealed my fate. Holding hands, we entrusted our lives to each other, wishing only that your heart would remember me."

Although Han Fulai didn't know what Jiang Xue was referring to, he wisely chose to change the subject.

"Senior Jiang Xue, should we jump off here now... or find an easier path?"

The "Wishing Stone" would suddenly fall and create a passage; no one could have predicted that. Jiang Xue certainly didn't take this route to the Abyss of Laminaria before, nor did Ye Lan and the Fools—in addition, there were those Hilichurls who disappeared into the depths of the Abyss of Laminaria.

Ever since the foreman Yuehui asked Han Fulai and his team to investigate the "psychotic Hilichurls," Han Fulai has been keeping an eye on the monsters' movements in the Lava Pit for the past few days, but he hasn't seen a single Hilichurl.

This indicates that the Hilichurls also have a secret passage leading to the depths of the Laminar Abyss.

Jiang Xue first pointed to the natural rocky path where they had just fought the "Dark Shell".

"If you walk to the end of that walkway, you'll see a dead end blocked by a giant rock—but that's an illusion. Behind the illusion of the rock is a tunnel leading to the lower level. However, I don't recommend taking that path."

"Because there might be traps and ambushes on that road." Han Fulai had the same thought.

Now that they have offended the forces of the Abyss, they must be careful that the other party may ambush them on their only route.

“Yes. But this suddenly opened passage won’t have this problem. So… I’ll jump first, and you follow.”

After Jiang Xue finished speaking, she took a step forward and leaped into the passage created by the "Wishing Stone".

He stepped on rock protrusions no bigger than half a foot, his figure leaping lightly across the rock face as if walking on flat ground, and soon disappeared from sight.

Brother, don't jump so fast... Not everyone has your kung fu skills... Han Fulai silently complained.

But Jiang Xue had already jumped, and he had no other choice.

Han Fulai shook his head, summoned his black-tasseled spear, and then cast a jade shield on himself.

Although in the game, even wearing a shield cannot prevent the fate of falling from a great height and turning to dust upon landing, he had already tried it in the real world of Teyvat. The Jade Shield in reality can almost negate all damage, including landing damage—the confidence he had when he dared to jump from the Jade Pavilion onto Ba Che's face was of course given by the Jade Shield.

With his eyes closed and his legs pushing off, Han Fulai jumped down as well.

The freefall distance wasn't very long because the path created by the "wishing stone" wasn't vertical, but rather at an angle of about 75 degrees. While it would be difficult for an ordinary person to maintain their balance on such a steep slope, Han Fulai was no longer considered an ordinary person.

After jumping down the slope, he used the black-tasseled spear in his hand as a cushion, leaping down in small sections until he soon saw Jiang Xue's figure.

Jiang Xue was already standing on the ground waiting for him. Not far from Jiang Xue, a thick black mist, almost tangible, was rolling around and almost obscuring the entire space below.

Chapter 187 The Darkness Grows Thicker, Hiding Danger

Han Fulai walked to Jiang Xue's side, also gazing at the layer of black mist.

"This is……"

The thick black fog completely obscured the path ahead. Han Fulai had only glimpsed what appeared to be the ruins of a dilapidated tower when he jumped down. The fog, like an inverted bowl, enveloped everything, including the ruins of an ancient civilization.

"...Some kind of barrier?" Han Fulai observed for a while and roughly came to a conclusion.

"I don't know." Jiang Xue shook her head. "It wasn't like this a few years ago."

Clearly, this place was transformed into this state after the "Abyss Order" arrived. Han Fulai guessed that this place was probably the "base" or something similar of the "Abyss Order".

Furthermore, he did not see any trace of the "wishing stone".

From the time the "Wishing Stone" smashed through the earth to create a passage, to the time he and Jiang Xue jumped down, only about twenty minutes had passed, yet the "Wishing Stone" had vanished without a trace.

It's unclear whether it disappeared into the black mist or flew to some other place.

In short, we have to try and see if we can get through this black fog.

Han Fulai stepped into the black fog.

The black mist was filled with black mud, and he could clearly feel the nauseating sensation of his feet sinking into the sticky mud. Relying on the jade scepter's shield, Han Fulai ignored the obstruction of the black mud and mist and strode forward for about ten meters, but soon he felt an invisible force field blocking his way.

The black mist was like a flexible wall; the further in you went, the greater the resistance became. Han Fulai had no doubt that if he took a few more steps, he might be bounced away by the black mist.

Moreover, this black mist is not just a barrier; it is essentially the same as the black mud. The energy of the jade shield is continuously being depleted within the black mist. If one stays in the black mist for too long, the shield may be destroyed and the person may die.

It seems he has to find another way to break through this layer of black mist.

Han Fulai withdrew from the black mist and turned to Jiang Xue, saying, "Just going in like this probably won't work. Should we try to break through this layer of black mist?"

“I tried it before you came down.” Jiang Xue shrugged and unleashed an invisible sword aura at the black mist in front of Han Fulai.

The sword energy sliced ​​through the black mist, but after advancing only a few feet, it vanished without a trace, like a mud ox sinking into the sea. The part that was sliced ​​by the sword energy was quickly covered by other black mist.

“Blocking, eroding... and also has a self-repairing function…” Han Fulai immediately summarized the nature of the black mist.

“To be able to cover such a large area, the energy required is extraordinary. Ordinary methods would probably be very difficult to break through this layer of black mist,” Jiang Xue said.

This makes perfect sense. Just as Ningguang's Jade Pavilion defensive barrier requires the Thousand Wonders Core and immortal talismans to operate, the larger the area covered by such a defensive barrier, the stronger its defense, and the more energy it requires. From this perspective, if they wanted to forcibly break through the black mist's defense, they would naturally need much greater power than they do now.

Han Fulai had gleaned some clues from the previous attempt, but he was still hesitant about what to do next.

"There are Hilichurl footprints here."

While Han Fulai was attempting to enter the black mist, Jiang Xue wasn't idle either; he was currently crouching down to examine the surrounding ground. Unlike the upper level of the Layered Rock Abyss, the lower level, although still predominantly rock, showed signs of artificially repaired and leveled roads.

Jiang Xue was inspecting a road paved with dirt, on which were some footprints of varying sizes.

Based on the workers' previous statements, these Hilichurls must have entered the Abyss of the Rocks a week ago, and the footprints that disappeared into the black mist confirm this. Those Hilichurls who entered the Abyss likely ended up in these ancient ruins.

"The Hilichurls went in... There are two possibilities. One is that someone, such as an Abyss Apostle or someone else, controls these black mists and can open or close them as needed; the other is that these black mists do not reject Hilichurls, but only humans like us, so Hilichurls can go in directly," Han Fulai analyzed.

“Such a large-scale barrier must be very difficult to open and close, and those Hilichurls…” Jiang Xue seemed to remember something and shook her head, “In short, I think it’s the second possibility.”

"If that's the case, it means this barrier automatically identifies the person entering, and this black mist can distinguish between humans and Hilichurls. As for the method of differentiation, it's probably..."

Han Fulai's eyes glanced at the black mud on the roadside.

The black mud they had just seen near the "Wishing Stone" was nothing compared to the mud in front of them. If the upper layer of black mud was a "swamp," then what was in front of them was probably a "lake."

Those delirious Hilichurls were probably covered in black mud... Han Fulai even suspected that if he rolled around in the mud, he could pass through this black fog—whether he would survive after doing so was another matter entirely.

"Perhaps there are other paths." Jiang Xue's voice was unusually lacking in confidence; the way things had turned out was indeed something he hadn't anticipated.

"Then let's search around and maybe find some clues," Han Fulai suggested.

The two kept a certain distance and searched the area in front of them, and indeed found other paths.

However, these paths did not lead to the ruins within the black mist, but rather to other places. Jiang Xue could only identify one of them as a possible secret passage to the upper area, and he did not know where the other paths led.

However, the unknown may hold opportunities. At present, it seems that the only option is to take the most rudimentary approach – to try every possible path.

Just as the two were about to choose a path and mark the intersection, Han Fulai noticed something unusual—not far away, at the entrance of what Jiang Xue said might be a secret passage leading to the upper level, there was an inconspicuous little mound.

At first glance, it just looked like any other clod of earth, but from a different angle, Han Fulai noticed that the shape of this mound was rather strange—simply put, it was too regular in shape. It didn't look like it was formed naturally, but rather like something had been thrown there and buried by dust and sand.

Han Fulai decisively dug open the small mound, revealing a square backpack with a four-leaf clover badge printed on it.

—This is the mark of the Fools!

Sure enough, the Fools' infiltrators were active on this floor!

Why would the Fools' belongings be left here? Han Fulai opened his backpack with this question in mind. Inside was only a "tactical manual," which was the Fools' soldiers' logbook.

The cover of this "tactical manual" is missing, and much of the content is also missing, making it impossible to discern the owner's name and identity. Fortunately, however, it contains intelligence that is of great help to them. Even more fortunately, Jiang Xue is fluent in the language of the Zhidong Kingdom.

Sergeant Anton discovered a large bell in the southeast... There are writings about 'them' on the rock face. It's similar to the bell the captain saw in the ruins to the northwest, perhaps...

[Dispatch Schneitzfna and Fadeka to each ring the large bells on either side of the ruins. A terrifying howl echoed through the rock walls, and the black mist dissipated. This inexplicable phenomenon seemed to herald the arrival of someone…]

[Ten men have been killed, and both vanguard squads have suffered heavy losses. The captain has ordered an immediate retreat...]

As Jiang Xue turned the page, a simple map slid out of the journal, marking two large clocks in the northwest and southeast, and drawing two striking skulls on the map.

Chapter 188 Ye Lan, if you don't come out, I'm quitting!

According to the records in this logbook, this Fools' army consisted of at least one "captain", one "sergeant", two vanguard squads, and more than twenty people—ten of whom had already died, and many others were wounded.

In addition, this group of fools discovered a way to dispel the black fog: ringing the large bells located in the ruins on the northwest and southeast sides.

What's most thoughtful is that they even drew a map.

If there's any good news—it seems the Fatui and the Abyss Order aren't allies. After dispelling the black mist, the Fatui apparently clashed with the Abyss Order, resulting in serious casualties.

This means that the Fools lurking in the Abyss of Lava are likely an independent force, surrounded by enemies on all sides, and their strength has been severely weakened.

In other words, the task of capturing the Fools might be much easier.

Of course, the premise is that he has to be ahead of Yelan's progress—but that's no longer a problem.

As Han Fulai pondered this, he burst out laughing.

Jiang Xue looked at him, puzzled, and asked, "What are you laughing at?"

"I laugh at how pie can fall from the sky, how a pillow can fall when you're sleepy, and how you can even find a Mora while walking down the street..." Han Fulai replied with a smile.

"Oh?" Jiang Xue lifted the brim of his straw hat, sensing that Han Fulai's words were loaded with meaning.

Han Fulai raised his voice.

"This means that all of this was prepared for us by someone. Miss Yelan, am I right?"

There was silence all around, and no one answered.

Han Fulai didn't care at all and continued speaking loudly to himself.

"This backpack of the Fools was buried by loose soil before the secret passage leading to the upper level—whether we come down from the secret passage or go back to the upper level through it, this is the only way."