Time Alone, Entering the Mine Tunnel

"Hello--!"

Upon noticing Lin Yu's unusual movement, Fern immediately cried out and rushed towards the Mine Cart where Lin Yu and Moss were.

Although she had wanted to explore the Mine Tunnel, that was with Zao present!

Even though the fern reacted very quickly, it was still a step too slow.

She lunged forward with all her might, but her fingertips missed the Mine Cart a hair's breadth.

Because she lunged so hard, Fern almost lost her balance. By the time she regained her footing, the Mine Cart was already moving at a speed far exceeding that of an average person running.

"Damn it! What are you doing?!"

Fern tried to run after the Mine Cart, but after two steps she stopped and shouted.

Lin Yu lifted his head from the Mine Cart, holding Moss, and smiled at Fern.

"I've already explained it—these are extraordinary times, and I believe we need some special measures to break the deadlock."

After Lin Yu finished speaking, the Mine Cart completely disappeared into the dark Mine Tunnel!

Everything is just right.

Lin Yu nodded in satisfaction as he saw that no fern had followed.

Given Fern's personality, she should wait for Algae to return—although Fern sometimes seems a bit reckless, Lin Yu can tell that Fern is overly dependent on Algae.

Or, among the three personalities... Zao is responsible for "external defense" and "responding to threats".

The fern might correspond to "communication" and "daily life".

Of course, it doesn't matter if Fern just grabbed the Mine Cart.

Lin Yu would kick her down or throw her down—doing so would simply be playing the role of the "grass" persona, which would differ from his own expectations.

Fortunately, the fern didn't catch up.

This was thanks to the force of Lin Yu's kick, and the fact that when he carried Moss into the car, he deliberately shifted his weight to the front of the Mine Cart and even bumped the front panel of the Mine Cart with his shoulder.

Inside the Mine Tunnel, only a few Xenon Lamp hung precariously from the tunnel ceiling at long intervals for lighting, resulting in very low visibility.

The dust-laden air further reduced the lighting efficiency of those old-fashioned hanging lamps, and the air was murky, pungent, and filled with a dull, astringent smell.

The Mine Cart accelerated rapidly to its maximum speed, causing the entire Mine Cart to shake and sway, with the wheels and levers making a clicking sound.

Even knowing it was a dream, the shaking and speeding sensation still made Lin Yu instinctively nervous.

Using the faint, shifting light, he looked at the moss, which was also in the Mine Cart.

The little child remained calmly seated in the carriage—in fact, he had adjusted his posture even earlier than Lin Yu.

There was no crying or shouting; she even sat cross-legged against the side of the carriage, calmly looking at Lin Yu through the holes in her mask.

Lin Yu could read the other person's calm and composed emotions through their eyes.

Even though she was practically kidnapping him, Tai remained completely unmoved.

You see, even as an adult, Fern was so anxious that she shouted – her Profession was even "Liar".

"That's good. Whether he's smart or not, at least he's a Leng Jing child."

"However, being able to remain Leng Jing... means one isn't necessarily stupid."

Lin Yu exhaled and blew away some of the dust in front of him.

Negotiations can begin.

This was also the purpose behind Lin Yu's actions just now.

He needs to find the right opportunity to address the issue that Moss has not developed "belief".

The ferns and algae had subconsciously come to see themselves as "personalities" like them, as one of them, but the moss had not.

Before meeting Twenty... Lin Yu had to deal with all of this guy's personalities.

Therefore, although the timing wasn't ideal, Lin Yu couldn't worry about that now.

Because the time he had left was already very limited!

"What do you mean by saying the grass embraced the moss and left?!"

At the entrance to the Mine Tunnel, Zao, who had returned, rubbed her hair and said in an incredulous tone.

"I was only gone for fifteen minutes... or even less."

Fern sighed, "Actually, less than five minutes after you left, Grass shouted something about 'special treatment for extreme cases,' then grabbed Moss, jumped into the Mine Cart, and ran off."

"You didn't stop them?"

Zao asked again in disbelief.

"I tried to stop him, but... I wasn't expecting him to do this at all," Fern kicked the black gravel on the ground in frustration. "Damn it, who would have thought Grass was so crazy—I thought he was a gentle, tolerant, and comforting figure."

"Then why didn't you chase after them!"

Zao questioned again, pointing to the Mine Cart beside her. "Even if we can't catch up, isn't there still another one?"

"Because I was waiting for you," Fern said indignantly. "Don't accuse me as if you have no responsibility. It was clearly you who insisted on acting alone—was it a wise choice?"

"I was just checking to see if there were any other exits or unusual locations."

Zao's momentum weakened somewhat, and she muttered something under her breath.

The fern looked at the algae and asked, "So you're back so quickly, did you find anything?"

Zao pursed her lips. "No... but how would I know if I didn't go?"

"I already felt there wasn't one before you went."

Fern persisted.

"Alright, alright, let's not talk about this anymore," Zao quickly interrupted Jue. "The most important thing now is to catch up with those two—after all, more than ten minutes have already passed!"

After saying that, Zao walked straight to the remaining Mine Cart parked on another track.

"But can you be sure that the tracks for these two Mine Cart are heading in the same direction?"

The fern raised a question.

This is also a major reason why she didn't get on another Mine Cart to catch up.

"It's alright. If there's a fork in the road, I can jump off with you in time," Zao said after thinking for a moment. "You said the Mine Cart is fast, so we'll go as far as we can along the way to save as much time as possible."

"And what if these two tracks actually lead to the same point? Wouldn't that be a huge bonus!"

After Zao finished speaking, she directly pulled the lever of the Mine Cart.

Fern was persuaded by Algae once again, and the two of them climbed together into the Mine Cart that had started moving.

However, compared to Lin Yu and Tai, who are one adult and one child, it was somewhat crowded for two adults to squeeze into this boxy Mine Cart.

"Set off!"

As she spoke, Zao grabbed the edge of the Mine Cart, stepped her legs out of the cart, and kicked twice to speed Mine Cart up.

The Mine Cart sped up and soon plunged into the dark Mine Tunnel!

The Xenon Lamp illuminated the mine tunnel, and Fern observed the parallel railway tracks beside her and the supporting structures around the tunnel, gradually letting out a sigh of relief.

"Good news, maybe the destination really is the same!"

"This is a mine tunnel that follows the main ore vein... so it's very likely that there's only one path to this entrance."