In Teyvat, it all begins with rescuing the grass god.

Not too many people can be sent at once.

As the first group to go down into the mine and also the ones facing the highest risks, Rhodes, Seno, Tinari, the Lady, and Datalia were all in this team.

The straight-line distance from the underground to the disaster-stricken underground mining area is no less than a kilometer. The elevator descends slowly, and everyone is reluctant to speak because of the dark and gloomy atmosphere.

Feeling somewhat depressed, Rod simply jumped out of the elevator by himself, taking advantage of his ability to fly, and plummeted straight down.

The further down you go.

The darker the view, the more Rhodes spread his Night Owl Wings, using the faint light from his elemental powers to illuminate the path ahead.

soon.

He saw the ground, folded his wings, and landed smoothly.

After taking out the map and referring to it.

Rod confirmed that he was now in the underground mining area where the accident had occurred.

"Sniff, sniff-"

After sniffing twice, the familiar scents around him made Rod unable to help but show a comfortable expression.

He had anticipated this before he came.

He just never thought of it.

The abyssal power here is incredibly concentrated.

At this entrance, which is theoretically the least powerful in the abyss, the abyssal power it contains is already strong enough to harm mortals.

"Luckily, there's Lumenite."

Rod said, pursing his lips.

However, Lumenite is intended for ordinary people who cannot withstand the power of the abyss.

For Rhodes

The concentration of abyssal power is just right.

Before the elevator descends.

Rod opened his arms and took a deep breath.

For an instant.

The abyssal power that had been accumulating at the entrance seemed to have found a breakthrough, surging wildly towards Rhode's body, and was completely devoured by Rhode in just a moment.

"Comfortable."

A satisfied Rod patted his stomach and let out a long, pleasant sigh.

at first.

At most, Rhodes' absorption of the Abyss's power only allows him to sense an increase in elemental power.

Don't know when it started.

He would feel inexplicably full after each time he devoured the power of the abyss.

And this is not an illusion.

Instead, it will make him feel like he's really full, with inexhaustible energy all over his body.

in other words.

As long as he was in this underground mining area where the power of the abyss was emanating everywhere, Rhode did not need to rely on food and water like others.

Such a unique characteristic.

Rhodes's explanation is that it refers to the characteristics of elemental beings.

Based on his physical structure.

Referring to Dvalin's ability to go five hundred years without eating or drinking and simply sleep, Rhode, after confirming that his true nature was that of an elemental being, felt that he should also be able to do the same.

"You are indeed special."

Just as Rod was looking around with the lumen lamp, the woman's voice sounded softly behind him.

The woman's sudden appearance.

Rhodes wasn't surprised at all. He was still there, checking the map and looking around to make sure he was safe. He simply replied casually, "You sent my two senior brothers and your colleagues here just for this?"

"Humph--"

Hearing the faint rumble of the engine, the woman had no intention of wasting words with Rhodes and spoke again: "Her noble Ice Queen asked me to pass on a message to you: are you interested in joining the Fools and becoming a member of the Executive, working together for Her Queen's lofty ideals?"

Rhodes paused, frowning, and said, "You chased me all the way here just for this?"

"Yes."

The woman readily agreed.

Hear this answer.

Rhodes stopped exploring the mine, turned around, looked directly at the woman, and asked earnestly, word by word, "What if I don't agree?"

“The Fools do not have the habit of forcing others to join them.”

The woman chuckled and said, "Her Majesty the Queen just feels that it's a waste for a talent like you to be under the command of that good-for-nothing Grass God. Why not join our Winter God? You'll have a better chance to put your talents to good use."

"Oh?"

"Should I thank His Majesty the Ice God for recognizing my talent?"

Rhodes was not angry; he simply said calmly, "Go back and tell your queen that I will not agree."

It wasn't an unexpected answer.

The woman, her expression unchanged, said, "Her Majesty the Queen said you will agree sooner or later."

"So confident?"

Now it was Rhodes's turn to be surprised: "What's the reason?"

"Because Her Majesty the Queen's ideal is the noblest will in the world."

"Only by following Her Majesty the Queen can you truly see the absurdity and indifference of this world, and truly rewrite that damned law of nature."

The woman's voice grew increasingly fervent, as if the Ice Queen's ideals were the only truth in the world.

Especially when it comes to 'damn natural justice'.

Even the black mask couldn't conceal her ferocious expression, contorted with rage, as she whispered as if she wanted to devour the heavenly principles high above, a whisper that even moved Rhodes.

only.

Such fanatical pronouncements had no effect on Rhodes.

He still gently shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, I don't have any plans to join the Fatui for the time being. As for whether I will change my mind in the future, we'll see."

"ignorance."

Rhodes's answer displeased the woman, but she knew she had failed in her recruitment attempt. She left with the words, "I hope you won't regret your decision today," and then fell silent into the darkness.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 221 You call this research?

(The ending of Chapter 143 felt a bit off, so it has been rewritten and revised.)

The scholars in the Order of the Church are all professionals.

After landing.

They formed groups of three or five, carrying professional instruments, and first observed the activity level of the finches, and then began to detect and sample the surrounding environment.

Before the second group of scholars arrived.

The first preliminary test report has been completed.

Although it was just a rough report, it covered a wide range of topics, providing simple numerical results for almost every aspect related to the next stage of exploration.

in summary.

The most serious issue is that the air in the underground mining area contains toxic substances, and small amounts of components similar to the power of the Dead Zone have been detected.

Regarding this report.

Rod's response was to sniffle loudly.

He thought his actions had cleared away the abyssal power in the area, but he didn't expect there would still be some residue left.

"This lumenite works very well."

Tinari, who had also read the report, also took a test.

The content is about Lumenite's ability to convert the power of the Abyss.

The result of this test.

This is the root cause of Rhodes's leakage of some of the abyssal power.

Under the influence of Lumenite, the abyssal power near it will turn into a snowflake-like substance that drifts down.

And after testing.

These transformed black snowflakes will not cause harm to the human body as long as they do not come into direct contact with it.

same.

Excessive intake of this black snowflake will cause far greater harm to the human body than the death zone itself.

With this report in hand.

Including Seno and Tina, they all wore pre-prepared protective suits, covering themselves completely so that not a single inch of skin was exposed.

As for the Lumen Stones sent by Liyue, they used them as miners' lamps and wore them on the headgear that functioned like a safety helmet.

This way, the lighting won't be affected, and the swirling abyssal power won't find a gap in the Lumenite's radiance to sneak into the body.

However, the woman from Zhidong and Dadalia ignored the test report that Rhodes had kindly shared and remained the same as when they came in.

D'Artagnan is the same as Rhodes.