Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shen Yanming and, remembering his connection with the capital, beckoned him over: "Little Shen, come here for a second!"

Shen Yanming roughly guessed what the other party wanted to see him about, gave Bi Qiaoan a wink, and then jogged over: "Greetings, Alliance Officer Wen!"

"Thank goodness you're all safe and sound!" Wen Chaohui patted Shen Yanming's arm with a smile, looking very concerned.

Shen Yanming nodded: "It's all luck. Thank you for insisting on the rescue. Otherwise, we would probably be in trouble."

"It's also because your wife is so compatible with you. If she hadn't reminded us, we probably would have missed this important clue about the crevice."

After Wen Chao finished speaking, he lowered his voice and asked, "Xiao Qi and I are going to the capital. What about you? Do you want to come along?"

Shen Yanming's eyes flickered, and he shook his head: "No, there are still about a hundred brothers we haven't found yet. I can help out here."

Wen Chaohui didn't insist; he nodded and prepared to leave.

Unexpectedly, Shen Yanming grabbed his arm and handed him a green crystal the size of an egg: "Please pass this on to Chief Alliance Officer Li."

Li Sikai wasn't mentioned, but General Li should know what to do.

The reason they chose green crystals was that, after research, the couple felt that green was full of vitality and might be beneficial to health or the environment.

Wen Chaohui shook his head and chuckled, then scolded, "You, you know perfectly well what I'm going to do, yet you still stuff this thing into my hands."

Shen Yanming smiled obsequiously: "You are acting in the public interest, while I am acting in the private interest; it's different."

Wen Chaohui assumed that Shen Yanming was maintaining relations with Li Zongmengguan.

But Shen Yanming was thinking that the crystal that Lao Qi brought over would be taken into the laboratory and might not end up in Li Sikai's hands.

That guy's health isn't good; having this crystal might make him feel a little better.

Once it's fully developed, his physical condition or the space he needs will see a significant improvement.

Wen Chaohui and Qi Xili flew away just like that. Apart from the twenty-eight people who had been inside the mine, everyone else thought that the two had returned to Haishi.

However, these twenty-eight men kept their mouths shut, fearing that their spoils would be confiscated by their superiors. So they pretended to be stupid and only said that they woke up at the bottom of a ditch.

Because they had "similar" experiences, Yu Shui and the others had no doubts.

He even smugly took out the space stone to show off, making one want to curse him: "Idiot!"

Upon seeing this, Shen Yanming slapped him on the back of the head and cursed, "Are you fucking looking for death? Don't you realize you almost lost your life!"

Yu Shui winced in pain, realizing he had been too conspicuous. His face paled, and he hesitated to look at the other person.

Shen Yanming sighed, shook his head, and left.

However, he mentioned, intentionally or unintentionally, that "Su City has more space stones than Hai City. We haven't returned yet because we've made some gains here."

Tong Hongshun and Wu Wei nodded gratefully, and while searching for the missing person, they also checked if there were any space stones nearby.

I don’t know if it’s because the volcano had just erupted, but we’ve already found something after searching for a short time.

They were all so happy they could spin around in circles.

Shen Yanming and his group rested for more than two hours before Liang Huaxin said he would send them back to Haishi.

The two with broken bones left first, and the rest were divided into three groups.

The twenty-eight people who had passed through the passage were in relatively good spirits, so they volunteered to stay and help.

Actually, there are some secrets that are not convenient for outsiders to know; they have to wait for Wen Chaohui's instructions.

Liang Huaxin noticed that Bi Qiaoan hadn't left, so he asked her, "Aren't you going back?"

Bi Qiaoan smiled and said, "Going back would be pointless, so I'll stay here and keep you company."

Seeing that Shen Yanming did not object, Liang Huaxin nodded in agreement: "If you can't take it, just say so, and I'll arrange for someone to send you back. It's freezing cold here, nothing like the comfort of the base."

Bi Qiaoan ignored his grumbling, thanked him, and went to find her dear husband.

----------

Wen Chaohui and Qi Xili flew for more than three hours before finally arriving in the capital.

It was already completely dark by then. Qiu Man took the two of them to have a meal before going to see Chief Alliance Officer Li.

"Old Wen, what's the matter that's so urgent that you had to come all this way?"

Li Zongmengguan poured Wen Chaohui a glass of water and asked him to sit down and talk slowly.

Seeing that there were no outsiders present, Wen Chao took out the green crystal from his pocket and stuffed it into his hand: "Yanming gave this to you, take a look."

General Li asked in bewilderment, "It's just crystal, what's so interesting about it?"

He held it in his hand and examined it: "The color is quite nice, and it's transparent enough."

Just as I was about to ask him why I gave him the crystal, I felt a surge of pure energy flow into my body.

It felt similar to the water Xiao Shen brought him—warm, comforting, and making him feel completely relaxed. However, there were subtle differences.

"What is this?" He stared in shock, his eyes widening, and he understood why Shen Yanming had given him a piece of "crystal".

"This is what the expedition team obtained after surviving countless near-death experiences in Suzhou." Wen Chao deliberately exaggerated the matter to ensure that the capital city wouldn't forget their contributions. He also wanted to squeeze some benefits out of everyone.

Li Zongguan smiled, not exposing the truth, and asked, "Are there any other crystals?"

Wen Chaohui pointed to Qi Xili's backpack: "It's full! But let me make this clear beforehand, this is something our team members risked their lives to get back. You can study it if you want, but for any subsequent development, you'll have to share in Shanghai's profits."

Especially Old Qi, who is quite old and almost lost his life; we can't forget him if there's any benefit to be had.

Li Zongmengguan shifted his gaze to Qi Xili and nodded: "Captain Qi, it's been a long time!"

"Long time no see, Chief Alliance Officer Li!" Qi Xili bowed before sitting down.

“Since we know each other, I won’t introduce you. These stones are Old Qi’s private collection. He’s contributing to the alliance by bringing them out. If you find any new ones, remember to return them to him.”

Li Zongmengguan chuckled and pointed at Wen Chaohui's nose, scolding, "You're still as stingy as ever."

However, I do agree with Wen Chaohui's statement; we can't just take what belongs to others for nothing.

He called Qiu Man over and handed him the green crystal: "Take this to Xiao Kai."

Qiu Man nodded, put the item in his pocket, and left.

"Now you can tell me how this crystal came about, right?"

Wen Chaohui looked at Qi Xili, and Qi Xili then recounted all his experiences during this period.

"You said you suddenly appeared in that passageway?"

"Yes, I was there when I woke up. I don't know how long I was unconscious, and I have no memory of what happened before I lost consciousness."

"Was Xiao Shen there at the time?"

"Yes, he has always been with us."

Li Zongmeng Guan did not suspect that Qi Xili was lying, but he did think that their amnesia might be related to Shen Yanming.

That guy is full of secrets, but he's quite lucky. He stumbled upon a mineral vein while falling, and it turned out to be a space stone ore.

As for the crystal, he didn't know its function, but he knew it was a good thing.

"How many mine shafts are there? How big are they? Besides space stones, are there any other things? What are the reserves like? Can you estimate them?"