Cliff Chamber
Unlike the previous indescribable gaze that seemed to come from the depths of the soul, this fleeting sight truly belonged to "human beings".
Could it be that besides them, there are other people with normal consciousness active elsewhere in the mine?
Is he a "local" like Sorens who has not been alienated for some reason, or is he an "outsider" who was transferred here from the outside world like her, Ruisha and Morina?
If you think about it carefully, it's not impossible.
During the exploration of the teaching building, she and Morina discovered the corpse of a swordsman, which meant that in addition to them, there were other "outsiders" who had arrived in the academy but failed to survive.
Besides encountering the old man, getting the spare key from him, and entering openly, perhaps there are other ways to bypass the academy's seal...
Thinking of this, Ximu suddenly had a flash of inspiration and reacted.
If that's the case, then isn't this underground mine a perfect transit point?!
The mine is located underground, extremely deep, and well-connected. As long as you come in from other ground entrances, pass through the mine, and find the entrance to the workshop, you can naturally enter the academy without anyone noticing!
Although the seal set by the Moon Sage is tight, it is clearly not enough to cover such a deep mine...
Is this a loophole?
Or has he been in a high position for so long that he never imagined that this place might become a loophole in the academy's defense?
I wonder if Mia Rhodes used this mine to replenish his forces during the initial invasion of the academy... If their assassination attempt was successful and they needed to further control the academy, they might actually do so...
Unconsciously, Ximu began to think divergently again. After simulating several different versions of the situation that might have happened at that time in his mind, he returned to the issue of how to deal with the "outsider".
If you really meet someone, just see their attitude first.
Although Ruixia said that she would unite all possible forces, but...
To be honest, if anyone who appears around Ximu doesn't show up with the strength to "deal with the slightest movement immediately", it will be almost impossible for any subsequent development to happen.
This is true for Morina, Sorens, and even... the original Ruisha.
Now she certainly wouldn't break their necks over a disagreement, but... generally speaking, she still had big problems with the way she interacted with others.
If Ruixia's approach to dealing with people she meets for the first time is to show kindness, avoid hostility, and strive for unity, then her approach is—
Weak, harmless, not processed;
Strong, stay away, be alert;
Unable to stay away and feeling threatened, they will use all means to eliminate the threat.
Her unusual upbringing left her with no communication skills or negotiation abilities at all. She could only try to control the person and then bring him back to let Ruixia see what to do.
but……
She glanced at the brown-haired boy who was talking to Morina and chiseling something at the same time, feeling somewhat worried.
It's easy to deal with someone like Sorens who is honest by nature and has no physical strength. Moreover, the teaching building and the dormitory are relatively close, so it is not difficult to bring one more person back.
But for some reason——
Her intuition, which had always been accurate, had been hinting to her that the owner of that gaze might not be so easy to deal with.
It’s so troublesome… If only Ruixia were here.
He is sociable, good at talking, and naturally friendly. Moreover... if he can help her with heavy firepower in the rear, if she really fights with the enemy, her fighting pressure will be much less.
Come to think of it, if Ruixia had been there to help her, she could have directly tried to fight the centipede monster instead of just running away with her teammates...
After muttering to himself for a while, Ximu was suddenly shocked by his own assumptions, and even his thoughts stopped.
Why did she make such a meaningless assumption?
Ruixia has been using limited resources to improve as many facilities as possible. He has not been idle in the base, but has been working non-stop... A lot of mental calculations are mentally and physically demanding, but it can be seen that he has hardly had a rest, and he is so busy that he doesn't even have time to tie his hair.
and……
He didn't come, so why should we assume what would happen if he was here?
Any thoughts that were not related to the current situation were a waste of time, and this was rarely the case for her in the past.
Is she... thinking about him?
She subconsciously touched the crown of thorns wrapped around her hair, and the extremely light metal gave her a slightly cool yet warm touch, unlike the cold and distant feeling of ordinary metal.
Recalling the way Ruixia stood behind her and gently tied her hair, an inexplicable feeling came over her, making her feel a little at a loss for a moment.
Fortunately, this abnormal chaos did not last long.
Molina, who was not far away, seemed to have discovered something. She stood up, waved to her happily, and called out loudly: "Ximu, we found Ni Xijin!"
This was the metal that Ruixia specifically wanted, so Ximu naturally took it to heart. After jumping down from a high place, he used the cliff wall to gain leverage and reunited with them in a moment.
This small piece of ore was currently in Sorens's hand. He carefully examined it in the light of the lantern in Molina's hand, then handed it to Ximu and said with certainty, "This is the raw ore of Nixi gold. If you want to make it into jewelry, it needs some refining and processing."
Compared to Millianna's ring, although the color is similar, this piece of raw ore does look a little rough.
Ximu nodded and handed the half-palm-sized Nixi gold ore to Molina, signaling her to put it away.
In fact, this is also a routine operation. After all, only Morina is carrying a small shoulder bag, and any good things picked up are usually left with her first.
"Ruixia really wants this to repair the ring, right? Why don't you keep it for yourself and give it to him when the time comes?"
Unexpectedly, this time, Morina did not reach out to take it. Instead, she tilted her head and winked at her, as if she meant something.
——What do you mean by giving it to him directly?
Didn't they have to show Ruixia the ores they brought back? Why was it necessary to give Nixijin to him separately?
Ximu was puzzled and finally came to this conclusion.
"...Is there too much room in the bag? Then let Sorens help me put it away. My clothes don't have many pockets, so it's hard to put them in."
The young man next to him was suddenly called and subconsciously wanted to answer it, but he caught a glimpse of Morina rolling her eyes at him. He felt that he could not afford to offend either of them and was at a loss for a moment.
Xi Mu was completely unaware of this. Seeing him stretch out his hand, she simply slapped the raw ore into his palm very naturally.
"Since we can't let it go, let's go back first."
If you play Speed again in the workshop later, carrying too many things will affect your performance.
Sorens put the things into his robe with great trepidation, and while comforting Morina who was suddenly a little angry for some reason, he pulled her to catch up with Ximu who had gone ahead.
"I'm creating opportunities for you, why are you so useless? This is material for making a ring, a ring! Oh, gods, why are there such stupid people..."
The murmurs and mumblings drifted into Ximu's ears one by one, and even continued until the elevator started. Molina kept whispering some crimes that Ximu didn't understand at all.
Why did she stay still...
Ximu was puzzled, but felt that Morina was like a bloated pufferfish at the moment, and might just be blowing bubbles, so he let it go in one ear and out the other, not paying any attention to what she was complaining about.
"That's right."
The elevator platform that had been rising steadily suddenly stopped, Ximu pointed towards the collapsed ancient ruins, and looked sideways at Molina and Sorens.
“Do you still want to go to this place?”
The priest and the magician looked at each other, then stretched their heads to look around.
Sorens actually didn't care. He didn't see any clues from the ruins pressed into the stone wall, nor did he have much curiosity.
The curiosity on Morina's face was still obvious, but she was obviously a little hesitant as she was holding a large bag of ore.
"How about... just a quick look? If there's any danger, then don't fight and just retreat, how about that?" she suggested.
In fact, Ximu originally wanted them to stay on the elevator while he went in to take a quick look.
But on second thought, if there really were "others" active in the mine, and they happened to have bad intentions, then it would be too dangerous for them to be left alone.
Although Sorens' defensive magic should be able to hold them over until he can get back, if the opponent has a speed-type player like her who knocks him out before he can cast magic, then it will be all over.
Alas...if Ruixia could be in the team right now, she wouldn't have to worry about these things.
"Let's go together."
Even if there is a problem with the lift, they can always find some way to deal with it, but once the team is reduced in number, it will be a serious loss.
Amidst the squashed remains of ancient buildings, there's a narrow gap, just wide enough for one person to pass through. The path itself is uneven, lacking any traces of artificial carving. One wonders why nature, with its uncanny ability, has left behind such a long, secluded path leading deep into the mountain wall.
The leader Ximu held up the lantern modified by Ruixia and led his teammates to slowly approach the place where the purple light was faintly emitted in the passage.
Logically speaking, such a deep cave would always have some shade-loving animals and plants living there, but as they walked along, they didn't see any bats, let alone any wild grass.
"Come to think of it, it seems like there haven't been any small animals here... Before in the dense forest, those things we thought were animals were actually monsters and mecha beasts." Morina muttered softly in the back.
Indeed, in such a vast area, not even a single living bird or beast has been seen.
This only means that the possibility that Ruixia speculated that this might be a whole huge illusion is still increasing.
As they went deeper, the originally narrow tunnel began to widen gradually, and the difficult road surface became smoother, which made Ximu subconsciously alert.
These are traces of artificial carving and paving.
But "outsiders" shouldn't focus on such things... Could it be that someone is using this place for a long time?
As if to confirm her guess, the long corridor came to an end in a purple light.
The three of them hid at the edge of the cave entrance and carefully peeked out, then all showed expressions of surprise to varying degrees.
Sorens' eyes widened, and he was the first to speak in surprise:
"Is this... a laboratory?"
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