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

And next.

He then heard the communicator announce a detailed address.

"East 11.42, South 37.56."

This is Liyue's map marking method, somewhat similar to the latitude and longitude positioning of Rhodes' previous life. Specifically, a center point is first defined on the map of the Laminar Stream, and then the directions are marked by the horizontal and vertical distances from this center point in all directions.

With this specific location information.

D'Artagnan took out his map, compared it carefully, left a message saying, "I'm going to meet up with the Ninth Company first," and disappeared from Rhodes' sight as quickly as possible.

After he left.

The entire supply point fell into a deathly silence. Under the dim light of the lumenite, Rhodes kept his eyes fixed on the spot where Tartaglia had left.

Only after he was certain that Tartaglia had gone far enough away that he could not possibly return did he speak into the still-connected communicator: "A thousand cliffs and towering peaks, unyielding and immovable, I am Rod, the special envoy of the Grass God of Sumeru."

This time.

The person on the other end of the communicator finally stopped giving that fake name, and the voice that answered was now a clear, cold female voice: "I am Ye Lan. Is there anything I can help you with?"

The same words, but the implied meaning is completely different from before.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 223 Apostle of the Abyss

"Where's the young master?"

The woman who had come to the supply point with the expedition team looked around.

The lighting was indeed a bit dim.

But what is certain is that the young master who should have been here is missing.

"He went to find that Ninth Company."

Rod shrugged.

"The Ninth Company?"

The woman frowned and muttered something under her breath.

The voice was so soft that even someone with Rhodes's hearing couldn't make out what she had just said.

However, judging from her expression, she was probably cursing.

Think about it too.

The lady and the young master carried the orders.

It's obvious they're trying to win Rhodes over to the Winter Solstice camp, and even if they can't win him over, they're trying to avoid making the relationship too strained.

In order to achieve this goal.

She even went so far as to reveal her identity as a senior sister from five hundred years ago.

So how could the lady not be angry when she saw the young master ignoring the mission and going about his own business?

Of course, Tartaglia didn't really disregard the mission issued by the Ice Queen.

In fact.

Tartaglia and the Lady are arguably the most loyal executors among the Fatui, and there is no way they would do anything to disregard the Queen's orders.

So he will choose to leave the team alone at this point.

The reason was that he realized it wouldn't be easy to persuade Rhodes to join Winter's side.

Based on Rhodes's understanding of D'Artagnan.

This person is somewhat naive.

Not the kind of innocent kind, but the kind of simple-minded kind.

if you can.

He would never try to persuade him like before; instead, he would use force to forcibly tie Rhodes to Winter.

However, after that contest, realizing that he was still no match for Rhodes, and that the lady was no match for him either, he decisively abandoned all plans and declared this mission a failure.

D'Artagnan is not a sore loser.

If a mission fails, it fails.

He would not try to persuade Rhodes again until he could find a way to bring him back to Winter.

Instead of wasting time here, we should hurry up and bring the Ninth Company back to complete the second mission of this mining trip.

This included the matter of Rhodes asking Yelan for help.

Specifically, the plan was to have Yelan destroy some of the traces left by the Ninth Company and fabricate some more, leading Tadalia to the place where the Ninth Company had previously encountered danger, in order to prevent Tadalia from returning so quickly.

Besides.

Rhodes marked the location of the Frost Nail beneath the Abyss of Layered Rocks for Yelan, and also told her the solution.

We need to solve the pollution problem in underground mining areas.

The first thing to do is to deal with that Frostbite Nail.

if not.

With it bound, the power of the abyss can never be contained, just like the paths Rhodes and his companions have walked before.

It should be noted that the local Ninth Company had previously passed through this area.

Given their mission to 'eliminate darkness,' these places should not have any residual abyssal power, at least not such a large amount.

But the truth is that the power of the abyss here is still very strong.

If Rhodes hadn't cleared the path before the supply point as a vanguard, it would have taken the ordinary scholars in the expedition team much longer to get there.

However, the underground mining map drawn by Liyue is actually incomplete.

After all, prior to this incident, Liyue had been developing the Laminariat, and only a small part of this underground mining area had been surveyed before the unexpected event occurred, ultimately forcing them to seal off the entire mining area.

The map that Rhodes now has is quite detailed.

It was hand-drawn by Yelan herself, bit by bit, underground after the Abyss of Layered Rocks was sealed off.

Compared to the map in the hands of the Fools.

The document in Rhodes's hand was much more detailed and expanded upon.

Using the Ninth Company as a laborer to explore the map—only she could come up with such a wicked idea.

However, although the map was detailed, the location of the Frostfire Nail was not on the map. Rhodes marked the blind spot on the map in a completely black area based on his memory. He also specifically reminded Yelan to investigate the place before taking action, so as not to go to the wrong place and waste her time.

Just like when Rhodes asked her to help delay D'Artagnan's search, Nightlan didn't raise any questions and readily agreed, then unilaterally cut off their communication.

Whether she will release the bound Frostfire Nail or search for it remains to be seen.

"What delicious food should I make?"

While everyone else was busy organizing the survey results, Seno grabbed a meat-filled fried dough stick and came to Rhodes' side, examining the strange, colorful meatballs in his hand.

The air in the underground mining area was hot and humid, and filled with various unpleasant odors.

Even though the scholars didn't have to do heavy physical labor every day like the miners, their physical exertion along the way was still enormous.

The supplies prepared by Liyue are very professional, mostly consisting of foods that can quickly replenish stamina and salt and are easy to store. The taste is average, but they are very suitable for the needs in such a harsh environment as the underground mining area.

The scholars of Sumeru are not picky eaters.

Back when everyone was still called Diliyesi, they had ventured into all sorts of deep mountains and forests. The scholars that Nasida selected were all masters of wilderness survival.

Not to mention the supplies Liyue is providing now, when they were exploring the ruins in Sumeru, they could even eat rotting animal carcasses.

Relatively speaking.

For them, who were starving, this food was already considered a delicacy.

The only different person here.

That's Rod.

While everyone else was eating fried dough sticks, he sat to the side, sipping cold water and eating meatballs, which made Seno curious about what he was holding.

They were fellow disciples under the same master.

Unlike Tinari, Seno wasn't reserved. Seeing that Rhodes had brought his own food, he came over wanting some.

only.

Rod's next sentence made him abandon his previous idea.

"It's made of slime. I had someone specially make it for me. Would you like to try some?"

Rod chuckled and handed over the meatballs in his hand.

These slime balls, treated with elemental power, no longer emitted black mist; instead, their original color was now tinged with fine black threads, making them look incredibly strange.

"Slime"

Sino's lips twitched slightly.

Make sense.

When he was hunting criminals, he would eat whatever was at hand. During the most difficult times, he even ate insects.

But he'd never actually tried slime.

to be frank.

I'd really like to give it a try.

If they taste good, he can catch a few slimes to fill his stomach if he runs out of food while hunting criminals, since there are so many of them, you can see them everywhere.

"You want to eat it?"

"Then let's wait until we get back. I'll go find that chef and have her make you a real slime feast so you can have a good taste."

Rhodes didn't give Seno a chance to taste the slime dumplings, swallowing the dumpling in his hand in one gulp.

What a joke.