Inspecting the Mine
Inspecting the Mine
Knock! Knock!
"Yes?"
"Xin Jie?"
Mu Xin's eyes lit up when she heard Ye Jiao's voice. She opened the door and found the two of them had returned. "Jiao'er, did you find anything useful?"
"Yeah, but let's wait for the others."
Qi Huan, Lu Wan, and Lin Cai came not long afterwards. Lin Cai's complexion was still pale because she hated the air around there, but she still came. There was a mask on her face that covered her nose and mouth to prevent the foul smell from entering her nose.
Each of them shared what they found one after another.
"So, there's a high possibility that there's someone who deliberately tries to sabotage the mine?" Lu Wan frowned.
"Yes, just like what you say, Lu Wan. There are a lot of travelers that come here. At least, there's one new traveler each week. Some of them also show interest in the mine, and the workers didn't really pay any attention to that because it's common," Qi Huan summarized.
"As long as they pay one hundred low-grade Eon Energy Stone, they can enter the mine, so there's a possibility that there might be a group that deliberately tries to take advantage of this. They might find something precious inside and form an array to prevent anyone from entering the mine again."
Lu Wan tilted his head. "Can we enter the mine?"
"I'll take care of that," Qin Zheng nodded his head. "Take some rest for today and arrange a plan. I'll talk to them early in the morning."
"Alright."
"Good idea."
Lin Cai walked to the bed and lied down. "Even if there's an array, how do you expect us to get in? The Natural Type of Eon Energy can be dangerous if they're that much."
"I can tweak the array a bit if they placed the pillar outside," Ye Jiao suggested. She had some knowledge of arrays, so she knew that they needed pillars to form them. Besides that, she could also interfere with the runes to make it less effective. After all, runes needed a special route to activate.
"They'll find out."
"They won't as long as I don't interfere too much," Ye Jiao replied. "Gathering Array is not always stable. There are times when the fluctuation is unstable. If they have array masters inside, they'll surely understand that."
The word array master caused their face to change.
Qi Huan rubbed his forehead. "If there's an array master, it's not going to be easy. They'll surely be able to form an array to block us."
Ye Jiao tilted her head. "If they use the plate, yes, it's possible. However, if you're talking about an array out there, you need to be inside their range of prepared arrays first because you can't just form an array while battling easily."
"It seems that the non-combat occupations are actually very useful," Lin Cai commented.
"The best team is a team that has all four non-combat occupations inside," Qin Zheng leaned on the wall behind him. "We only have two other occupations, and Forging Master is practically useless outside of our workshop."
"Well, we can have our weapon repaired for free."
"I'll charge you 10,000 low grade Eon Energy Stones."
"You stingy junior!" Lin Cai pouted.
Qi Huan turned his head to Lu Wan. "If you're talking about future Poison Master, we have one over here. But for now, his skill is still very lousy."
"Shut up! I'll grow faster!"
"Let's just try to inspect the area first tomorrow. We might be able to get more clues as to how we should advance," Mu Xin suggested.
"Good idea."
"Yeah."
"Let's split up and rest."
…
They rested in the inn and departed the next day. Lin Cai still wore her mask because the smell was too much for her. It has become slightly bearable, but she refused to remove it, especially when heading to the mine.
"You're planning to see the mine?" a worker asked when Qin Zheng came over. "It's not a place for kids."
Qin Zheng could feel black lines appearing on his forehead when he heard the word 'kid,' but he still put on a smile. Still, the dangerous aura around him grew. "There are adults around us, so it's fine."
"Fine, 50 low grade Eon Energy Stones for the kids and 100 low grade Eon Energy Stones for the adults," the worker replied. "500 low grade Eon Energy Stones."
"…here."
Even though Qin Zheng was still annoyed for being called as a kid, he knew that his appearance was not supportive of his argument. Everyone who saw his figure would think that he was nothing more than a kid. Internally, he wished that he could grow up faster.
Qi Huan rubbed his forehead. "I'll eat some pills to enhance my growth after I return back later."
He could guess that he was also categorized as a kid. Among the seven of them, only Mu Xin, Lu Wan, and Wang Jun would be seen as an adult. One would be because of their build, and the second one would be because of the real age that was indeed the oldest in this batch.
"There's that pill?"
"I'm sure that Teacher Chen can create some."
"Share with me afterwards."
Lin Cai shook her head as they walked to the mine. "You boys are too preoccupied with that. Isn't it fine to look young?"
"Young is fine, but not kids."
"You're just 12," Lin Cai rolled her eyes. "Just be patient. When you reach 14 or 15, you'll surely grow taller much faster."
Ye Jiao inched closer to Lin Cai and whispered. "Senior Brother Qi is already 14 years old."
"Oh? He looks like 12."
Qi Huan: "…" I can hear you, girls.
The seven of them reached the mining caves. There were several mines in that area, and only one was problematic. However, even standing near the entrance was not that easy because the condensed Natural Type of Eon Energy leaked out. It blocked some of the entrance to the other mines, making it difficult for them to work.
Ye Jiao's eyes narrowed as she sensed the Eon Energy fluctuation around the area. This familiar feeling made her understand what kind of array that was there.
"How is it, Jiao'er?"
"There's…"
"HEY! What are you doing here?"