He changed Tiwat

“Furthermore…” she pointed to Corporal Nikolai’s injured leg, “It is obvious that he is unable to move on his own in this state, and he also does not have the ‘powerful strength’ to break down the support structure of the secret passage… but he is accompanied by a ‘Thunderhammer Vanguard’ captain.”

"So the scene at that time is easy to imagine. After seeing the 'Black Swordsman,' the captain carried Corporal Nikolai into the secret passage, and then, with his last bit of strength, smashed the passage down with a hammer, so that his subordinate might still have a chance to live. The captain, on the other hand, used his own life to delay the enemy, bravely facing death..."

At this point, Ye Lan paused and looked at Han Fulai.

Han Fulai clapped lightly, "As expected of Miss Yelan, your thinking is exactly the same as mine. I think what happened back then was just as Miss Yelan said. Perhaps after Corporal Nikolai wakes up, we can ask him about the specifics."

"Hmph. Actually, I also have some questions I haven't figured out, but judging from your expression, it seems like you know everything?" Ye Lan snorted, looking very unhappy.

Han Fulai scratched his cheek. "Well, because I know some things that Miss Yelan doesn't know, I... have a general understanding of what happened here."

"About that 'black-clad swordsman'?" Yelan asked.

"Yes." Han Fulai nodded.

“I understand,” Ye Lan nodded.

Jiang Xue smacked her lips.

"Tsk, can you two consider that there's a third person here? Can you stop trying to communicate in this two-person way?"

"...Please don't use such misleading language," Ye Lan retorted to Jiang Xue, sounding annoyed.

Jiang Xue raised her hands, looking completely innocent.

“It’s like this…” Han Fulai explained, “Miss Yelan’s question is, how did that ‘black swordsman’ enter the fortress without breaking the fence, and how did he leave? Before Senior Jiang Xue destroyed the fence, this fortress was actually like a ‘secret room.’ Without breaking the door, it should be impossible to enter or leave.”

"But the reality is that there were no signs of battle here, nor was there the captain's body. At the same time, the 'Mokosh device' that should have been with the captain was also gone."

Han Fulai gestured with his hand to form the shape of a "door," saying, "It's as if that 'black swordsman' appeared out of thin air and then disappeared with the captain and the device... Senior Jiang Xue, what are you thinking about?"

"Ah! It's him!" Han Fulai's reminder made Jiang Xue realize the key point.

“That’s right. It’s him.” Han Fulai’s tone turned serious. “I guess he’s here to get the ‘Mokosh Device,’ so he took the captain and the device with him.”

“Recall Corporal Nikolai’s record, he said, ‘Those guys can see us through the black mud,’ and I immediately thought of the ‘Black Serpent Rider’ I saw in that ancient ruin.”

"I think Miss Yelan probably knows something about the 'Black Serpent Knight' that emerges from the black mud."

Yelan nodded. Of course, she knew what the monster that emerged from the black mud the exploration team had encountered years ago was. However… there was no black mud growing here, and she found it hard to imagine that those “Black Serpent Knights” could enter this fortress without breaking down the gate.

In her memory, although those "Black Serpent Knights" were powerful, even capable of using elemental forces in combat, their intelligence was actually not very high; they simply slaughtered the humans who appeared before them. The exploration team back then relied on their familiarity with the terrain to quickly escape their capture range, thus leaving behind a few survivors, including Jinwu.

Moreover, according to the battle records provided by Jinwu back then, those monsters were more like "dolls" or something similar, unable to communicate, and even lacking language capabilities.

Such monsters are usually not very intelligent, and when they fight, they charge around like "Ruin Guardians." Given the Fatui's tactical prowess, they shouldn't be as desperate as Nikolai said—but if that "black swordsman" is a new monster, then it's a different story.

Han Fulai continued in his persuasive tone: "He also said, 'It seems that even a sturdy metal fence can't stop it; I knew it just by looking at its appearance'... Logically speaking, Corporal Nikolai had been chased by the monster in the black mud for so long; even if he didn't know the monster's origin, he should have been aware of the monster's power. But in his message, he used a very unfamiliar, speculative way of saying it. Why would that be?"

“Because he had never seen that ‘black swordsman’ before; he was a special ‘Black Serpent Knight’,” Jiang Xue said in a deep voice.

Han Fulai nodded. "That's right. That 'Black Serpent Knight' displayed some kind of special movement technique, so Nikolai knew at a glance that 'the metal fence couldn't stop him,' because..."

"—He can use 'teleportation portals'." The two spoke at the same time.

"Is it my turn to say, 'Can you two stop communicating in this two-person way?'" Ye Lan glared at Han Fulai.

"I'm sorry." Han Fulai gave an awkward laugh. "Senior Jiang Xue, could you tell Miss Ye Lan about this? About the 'ability' of the 'black swordsman' we met?"

He specifically emphasized "the swordsman in black" and "ability," meaning he would only talk about what he could, and he wouldn't mention the relationship between Ye Mingxiang and Jiang Xue.

Jiang Xue hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded.

So Han Fulai told Ye Lan about how they had been suppressed in their battle with Ye Mingxiang, including that the other party was a "Black Serpent Knight" who could speak and think, and that the other party was related to Kanria and the "Abyss Order" and had the ability to "teleport".

Considering that they will be venturing deeper into the Abyss of Layered Rocks and likely encountering and fighting Ye Mingxiang, it is essential to ensure that Ye Lan has a thorough understanding of the enemy's combat strength.

Upon hearing that the opponent had single-handedly suppressed Jiang Xue and Han Fulai (Han Fulai embellished the battle details slightly to save face for himself and Jiang Xue, and did not reveal the miserable state of the two at the time), even though Ye Lan had considerable combat experience, she did not want to hide her surprise at this moment—this was at least a "celestial-level" opponent!

She now understood why Han Fulai had shamelessly sought her out as soon as he emerged from the ancient ruins; it was clearly out of consideration for replenishing their fighting strength.

only……

"To avoid giving you unrealistic expectations of me, let me be frank upfront... Judging from your descriptions, even with me on your side, we might not have a chance of winning." Ye Lan was quite frank about this.

Han Fulai nodded silently. Ye Lan's statement was very responsible. Ye Mingxiang's combat power was clearly not yet at its peak. Even with Ye Lan's help, the three of them might not be a match for her... However, he wasn't blindly venturing into the depths of the Layered Rock Abyss.

“Let’s send Corporal Nikolai back first; this isn’t a place for the wounded,” Han Fulai said.

"Tomorrow we'll explore the location of the 'main fragment,' and then return to the exploration team's camp. I hope my junior from Haidif has arrived by now."

Chapter 136 The Kingdom of Winter Does Not Believe in Tears

In the deep abyss of layered rocks, neither sun nor moon can be seen, nor is there any temperature difference between day and night. Deep underground, the temperature remains consistently cold.

While it's not as freezing as a snow country where people can be turned into ice sculptures, it's not something you can resist by simply curling up.

Katarina lit the campfire. If you don't light a campfire to warm yourself before going to bed, you'll find your hands and feet are cold and stiff the next day, as if they'd fall off at the slightest touch.

She knew she should sleep, but she just couldn't fall asleep.

The flickering campfire reminded her of the warm fireplace in winter, of Nikolai and Lyudashka, with whom she used to play and frolic in front of it...

Katarina herself has no siblings; she is actually an orphan, or rather, every child who grew up in the "House of Hearths" was an orphan. The so-called "siblings" were not related by blood; they were simply peers adopted together. But in Katarina's heart, they were true brothers and sisters.

"House of Hearths" is an orphanage established by Arecino, the tenth Executor of the Fools. It houses orphans from various countries across Teyvat. Lady Arecino gave them surnames: the male orphans are "Shenezevich" and the female orphans are "Shenezfna." "Shenez" means "snow" in Winterfolk, signifying that they are "children of snow."

The orphans, once they grow up, will join the Fools and be assigned to one of the eleven Enforcers, serving under each one. For example, Katarina and Nikolai were assigned to the fifth seat, "Rooster." Nikolai joined the Ninth Special Forces Company, while Katarina was assigned to another company until this mission to the Layered Rock Abyss, when she was reassigned to the Ninth Company to reunite with Nikolai.

Lyudashica, on the other hand, was chosen by Lady Arecino to become a "nail" and was sent to Inazuma...

Thinking of Lyudmila, Katarina seemed to see Lyudmila's long black hair and her oval face, which was trying hard to keep a serious expression. They grew up together, received training together, and were granted the "Evil Eye" at the same time, becoming "Thunderfire Sorcerers".

Lyudashica always puts on a stern face in front of outsiders, trying her best to imitate Lady Arecino's elegant and proper demeanor, but Katharina knows that Lyudashica is actually a very eccentric idiot who is clumsy in everything she does, and she doesn't know why Lady Arecino chose her.

Come to think of it, it's been several years since I last saw Lyudashka. I wonder if that idiot can complete the task Lady Arecino gave her, and if anyone is as willing as I am to listen to her wild and silly ramblings...

Katarina realized that she might have been too immersed in her memories today. Beautiful memories are like a slow poison, gradually corroding the warrior's body.

She knew she shouldn't be thinking about these things, but she couldn't help it.

Katarina clenched her fist again and gently placed it on her heart. She kept thinking about the man named Han Fulai and the feeling of his touch in her palm.

She knew she shouldn't be thinking about these things, but she still couldn't help it.

Because Han Fulai gave her hope, the hope of being able to sit with her brothers and sisters in front of the fireplace again.

Even though she knew that this hope was actually illusory, like the little girl in the fairy tale who sold firewood at the "Festival of the Ice and Fire," lighting the dry wood one by one and eventually freezing to death on the street—hope is so beautiful that even death cannot stop people from yearning for it.

With hope in her heart, Katarina drifted off to sleep.

In her dream, she returned to the "House of Hearths" and saw the warm fireplace.

Nikolai was playing that old balalaika. He was still the same as when he was a child, with rosy cheeks and chubby fingers, and he always pressed the wrong strings when he played.

Lyudashka laughed at his chubby hands, saying that he could always pluck three strings with a single finger movement.

Whenever he made a wrong note, Nikolai would get nervous, and the more nervous he got, the more mistakes he made. Finally, he slipped and the triangular resonator hit his foot, which hurt so much that Nikolai almost cried.

Lyudashka rubbed Nikolai's head vigorously, telling him it didn't hurt, that rubbing it would make it go away. Then Nikolai cried out in a sob, "Sister Katya, Lyudashka is bullying me again! My feet hurt and she pulled my hair!"

Katarina picked up the balalaika and began playing "Alexandra," while Nikolai and Lyudashka stopped their antics and joined in the singing.

"Everything is slowly sculpted by time; how could the Kingdom of Winter be built in the blink of an eye?"

"This city never believes in tears, but love is the only constant law."

"Snowflakes gently fall from the sky, and the forest is covered in silver under the magic."

"The Land of Winter provides fertile soil for plants and trees, and delivers warmth to fleeting travelers..."

As the song played, the door to the common room was pushed open, and Lady Arecino walked in.

Her steps were graceful, like a dance; her noble temperament was natural; and her voice was warm and lovely, like spring in a snow country.

She hugged each of the children and then guided them to look towards the door.

A long food cart was parked outside, filled with delicacies rarely seen in ordinary times: large loaves of bread grilled over charcoal, emitting a rich wheat aroma; red borscht with a creamy fragrance; sizzling roasted lamb chops; sweet honey; and of course, butter and cheese...

The food cart was piled high with gift boxes.

The children cheered and hurriedly pushed the food cart to the fireplace, helping Lady Arecino set the large dining table neatly.

Everyone will wait together for the hall bells to ring.

As the bells rang, the seventh day of January arrived. Lady Arecino stood up and announced the arrival of the "Festival of the Ice Furnace," inviting everyone to celebrate Her Majesty the Queen's birthday.

Then Lady Arecino led everyone in paying homage to the statue of Her Majesty the Queen, to thank her for the "Festival of the Ice" gift and to express gratitude for her continued protection of every child in the new year...

After the service, Nikolai awkwardly walked up to Katharina with his hands behind his back and said, "Sister Katya, I have prepared a gift for you."

Katarina knew that Nikolai had hidden a new bridge on his back. She smiled and took out the gift she had prepared from her bosom: a pair of picks that would fit Nikolai's small, short hands perfectly...

In her hazy state, Katarina felt an itch on her face, as if someone was touching it.

She opened her eyes groggily and saw a young man with black hair squatting in front of her. It was Han Fulai. He was wiping away the tears streaming down her face with a handkerchief.

Seeing that Katarina had woken up, Han Fulai helped her sit up and then led her to look to her side—in the tent not far from her was Nikolai's familiar sleeping face.

"Miss Katya, I've brought Corporal Nikolai back," Han Fulai said with a smile.

Katarina paused for a moment, seemingly wondering if she was still dreaming, and then... she suddenly hugged Han Fulai's neck and kissed him on the cheek.

Chapter 237 The Door to the Rock Hall

Nikolai regained consciousness the day after his rescue. Due to his weakness, he rested for a day at Katharina's hideout.

During this time, Han Fulai also inquired about Nikolai's experience of being separated from the main force—Nikolai was unaware of the conflict above and thought that the Thousand Rock Army's allies had finally arrived to rescue him. Out of gratitude for being saved, Katharina did not stop Nikolai from recounting his experience.

Although Nikolai used some Winter's language euphemisms or omitted the more confidential parts, such as the "Mokosh device" and the "main fragment," Han Fulai and his team had read the captain's log, so they were able to fill in the gaps in Nikolai's experience on their own.

Nikolai's description was largely consistent with their previous deductions based on various clues:

During their last exploration mission more than half a month ago, they were preparing to use the "Mokosh Device," which the technical team had barely managed to repair, to remove the black mud entangled on the "Main Fragment." However, they were ambushed by monsters emerging from the black mud, namely the "Abyss Order" and the "Black Serpent Knight."

The technical detachment was completely wiped out, and the other members of the 9th Company also suffered heavy casualties. Shortly after the captain issued the retreat order, he lost contact with the enemy.

Anton and his men were relentlessly pursued by the enemy in the "Fluorescent Passage," and their situation was extremely critical. In order to cover the retreat of the main force, including his sister, Nikolai made the choice to sacrifice himself. He used his professional skills as a "musketeer guerrilla" or "sniper" to conduct guerrilla warfare, luring the enemy away from the main force.

During this process, Nikolai happened to enter a tunnel and rejoined the missing captain. The two fought and retreated, using the terrain to their advantage to separate the pursuers. They were entangled with the enemy for about a week, but both were seriously injured. Finally, they retreated into the ruined fortress and held out.

The Abyss Order seemed in no hurry to wipe them out, or perhaps unwilling to suffer further losses in their desperate counterattack. They simply summoned a Ruins Guardian to block their escape route. The other end of the secret passage in the fortress ruins had collapsed (the captain deduced it was due to the earthquake a few days prior), trapping the two men inside.

Three days ago (the day before Han Fulai heard the countdown to the "Wishing Stone" and encountered Ye Mingxiang and Dain), a dark-skinned swordsman suddenly appeared, tearing through space in front of the fortress. Nikolai, believing he was doomed, left a final note, but the captain suddenly dragged him into a secret passage, giving him the last supplies and urging him to survive…

Nikolai knew nothing about what happened after the captain destroyed the secret passage.

Through Nikolai's narration, Han Fulai completed the final piece of the intelligence puzzle—

The Abyss Order not only corrupted the Wishing Stone with Abyssal power in the upper levels, but also did the same to the Master Fragment in the lower levels.

Because the 9th Company of the Fools attempted to thwart the Abyss Order's plans with the "Mokosh Device," the Abyss Order annihilated the 9th Company's forces. Afterwards, the Abyss Order was busy carrying out the "purification ritual" at the ancient ruins, which is why they didn't completely wipe out the 9th Company.

The "black-clad swordsman," Ye Mingxiang, seemed to have different intentions from the "Abyss Order." So, when the "Abyss Order" was preoccupied with the Fools, he descended upon the fortress and took the captain away.

Clearly, he could easily kill both the captain and Nikolai, but that wasn't his goal. His reason for taking the captain away was probably for the "Mokosh device."

When Nikolai met the captain, the "Moksch device" was no longer with him, which is slightly different from Han Fulai's reasoning, but this does not affect the result.

The "Mokosh Device" was likely lost during the "Black Serpent Knights'" attack on the technical unit. As the leader of the "Black Serpent Knights," Ye Mingxiang probably obtained the "Mokosh Device" during that attack. Given the Fools' modus operandi, such military-secret equipment would likely have various security measures in place, rendering it useless to outsiders. Therefore, Ye Mingxiang needed to keep the captain alive to operate the device, which is why he captured the captain.

Jiang Xue wanted to investigate Ye Mingxiang's purpose, Ye Lan wanted to obtain the "Mokosh Device", and Han Fulai wanted to solve the anomaly of the Layered Rock Abyss - no matter what their goals were, their destinations were the same, and all the answers lay at the end of the "Fluorescent Narrow Pass".

The three entered the "fluorescent passage" again. This time, their operation was similar to "preliminary reconnaissance"—to gather as much information as possible about the "main fragment," to see the enemy's layout, and to run if discovered. Anyway, Ye Lan could become invisible, Jiang Xue was fast, and Han Fulai could activate a shield; in terms of survival, each of them possessed unique skills.

Unfortunately, the reconnaissance plan failed in its first step—because at the bottom of the "fluorescent passage" there was an extra gate tens of meters high, blocking the way.

The gate was constructed of heavy stone, imprinted with ancient patterns that emitted a faint blue glow, resembling the designs found in ancient ruins. In the center of the gate was a square recess, seemingly for placing something inside. Approaching the gate, one could hear a faint echo of wind behind the cracks, indicating a large space beyond—presumably the location of the "Master Fragment" mentioned by the Fools.

"This is... a mechanism from an ancient civilization's ruins, right? Should we force our way through?" Jiang Xue wasn't good at solving puzzles or mechanisms, but he was very good at destroying them.

"It's best not to. There's no record of this door in the Fools' records." Yelan gently knocked on the stone door.

Neither the captain's log nor the accounts of Anton, Katharina, Nikolai, and others mention this door, indicating that it appeared after the Ninth Company's retreat.

Of course, these weren't the main points. In her eyes, this door was far more than just a "ruin mechanism." She had already used magic to probe the door, but the feedback... even her family's inherited magic couldn't decipher its structure.

Ye Lan had ventured into far more ancient ruins and secret realms for work than the average adventurer, and she was certain that the technology contained within this door was far beyond what ordinary ruin mechanisms could match. It included at least alchemy, mechanical arts, elemental power, and even the power of some runes that she could not decipher.

If a typical relic's mechanism is like the wooden door of a house, then this stone door is the vault door of the "Golden House." She didn't think it was possible to break through this door by brute force.

“We have the ‘key’ if we want to get in… but I don’t think now is the right time,” Ye Lan said, looking at Han Fulai.

Her meaning was clear: the "key" was in Han Fulai's hands.

Han Fulai certainly knew what she was referring to.

Even though Han Fulai didn't recognize the ancient civilization's writing, he could still tell that the square groove on the door was a mechanism that required a similar-shaped object to be inserted as a "key" to open the door—he happened to have a "Rubik's Cube" that the Abyss Singer had dropped.