What Was So Special About This Rock Wall?

The collapsed passage stretched for hundreds of meters, but Larvitar's almost freakish digging ability posed no real obstacle.

Just five or six minutes later, the boulders and dirt blocking the way had completely vanished. A smooth, sturdy passage carved out by Larvitar's strength opened up, reconnecting with the last area the miners had excavated before the disaster.

Yet the newly opened passage brought more than just a path forward.

As the dirt and rubble were cleared away and compacted, some stark-white skeletal remains buried deep beneath the ruins were exposed to the flickering torchlight.

They lay in different postures, silently recounting the despair and struggle of the moment disaster struck.

Lin Xia stopped in his tracks. Looking at those bones, so glaring beneath the orange-red firelight, a chill mixed with an indescribable heaviness rose in his heart, tightening his throat as he stood there in silence.

Lou Gao's tall figure stood at the boundary between firelight and shadow.

The smile had long vanished from his face, replaced by deep solemnity and an indelible sorrow.

Lou Gao said nothing. He merely walked forward in silence, his movements exceptionally gentle, as though afraid of disturbing the sleeping dead.

He crouched down and carefully picked up the scattered remains, intact or broken, piece by piece, bone by bone, solemnly placing them into the inconspicuous Storage Soul Tool at his waist.

Lin Xia watched Lou Gao's broad back without saying anything, but his heart grew even heavier.

After gathering the remains exposed in the passage, Lou Gao slowly rose to his feet. The firelight cast deep and shallow furrows across his face.

After taking a deep breath, as though calming the turmoil in his heart, he finally said in a low voice:

"Let's go. Up ahead... should be the final stretch. I hope... we haven't missed anyone."

Lou Gao's voice was low and hoarse.

"Yō Jī! Yō Jī Yō Jī!"

At that moment, Larvitar, who had long been unable to hold itself back, let out an urgent, excited cry.

No longer content to stay where it was, it waved its Small Claws forcefully toward the relatively open area at the end of the passage, untouched by the collapse. It bounced ahead to lead the way, repeatedly turning back to urge Lin Xia and Lou Gao on. Its ruby-like eyes gleamed with the blazing light of someone who had found treasure.

Lin Xia immediately understood. Suppressing the emotions churning within him, he quickly followed Larvitar, while Lou Gao held up the torch and followed close behind.

The end of the passage connected to a fairly spacious branch of the Ore Cave. This place had indeed escaped the direct impact of the collapse, and the cave walls remained relatively intact. However, mining picks, rotten mine cart parts, and the remnants of long-weathered daily necessities lay scattered across the ground.

What was even more horrifying, however, was that three relatively intact skeletal remains lay scattered in a corner of the cave wall and inside a recess!

Their curled-up postures, the empty waterskins beside them, and the food scraps that had long turned to dust all showed that they had been trapped to death inside the Ore Cave.

Lin Xia's heart sank sharply, and an indescribable sense of suffocation Choked his throat.

Lin Xia instinctively looked toward Lou Gao, his expression complicated. Only now did he finally understand why Lou Gao had reacted so fiercely and spoken so heavily when he had proposed prospecting at the dinner table.

This was no alarmist warning. It was experience forged in blood and tears!

Lou Gao's gaze swept over the three skeletal remains. The muscles in his face twitched slightly, and deeper pain flashed through his eyes.

Yet Lou Gao did not let his emotions show too much. He still walked forward in silence and solemnity, carefully gathering the three remains with the same gentle reverence he had shown the companions in the passage.

Only after finishing did Lou Gao straighten up and let out a long, heavy breath, as though trying to expel the grief that had been building in his chest.

At that moment, Lou Gao also noticed that Lin Xia was looking at him with a gaze mixed with sympathy, understanding, and curiosity.

Lou Gao tugged at the corners of his mouth, trying to force out a smile, but it carried unmistakable exhaustion and bitterness.

"Kid, what kind of look is that? What are you staring at Old Man for? Don't tell me you think Old Man is so upset he's about to cry?"

Lou Gao tried to hide it behind his usual gruff tone, but his low voice revealed his true state of mind.

"Teacher... I..."

"Enough!"

With a Wave of the Hand, Lou Gao forcibly cut Lin Xia off, as though trying to sweep away the heavy atmosphere.

Then he deliberately raised his voice, sounding somewhat helpless and gruff.

"Old Man has lived more than half a lifetime. What storms haven't I seen? Feeling bad is one thing, but life still has to go on, and I still have skills to teach! Put away those thoughts of yours. This isn't the time to dawdle!"

Lou Gao turned his gaze toward Larvitar, which was excitedly spinning in circles before a rock wall ahead, constantly scraping at the stones with its Small Claws, directly changing the subject.

"There, look at your Little Glutton. Its tail is practically about to wag itself off! What good thing did it find to get it this excited?"

Lin Xia's attention was immediately diverted.

Larvitar stood beneath a rock wall on one side of the Ore Cave, its gray-green little body trembling slightly with excitement.

It looked up with its little head, Scarlet Eyes fixed tightly on an unremarkable dark-brown rock wall that looked no different from anywhere else. Shimmering drool ran uncontrollably from the corners of its mouth, while urgent rumbling sounds came from its throat. Its short tail slapped the ground with loud smacks. Its drooling appearance was several times more exaggerated than when it had seen Star Gold, Star Gold Essence, and Star Cold Iron earlier!

"Teacher!"

Lin Xia's breathing quickened involuntarily. He hurried to Larvitar's side and followed the Little Guy's gaze toward the rock wall. Yet no matter how much he concentrated his senses, he detected nothing besides the cold hardness of stone—not the slightest obvious Energy Fluctuation or anything unusual.

Alarmed and uncertain, Lin Xia turned toward the experienced Lou Gao.

"Can you see anything unusual? This rock wall... doesn't seem to be anything special?"

Lou Gao had already moved closer. With a grave expression, he extended a thick, callused finger and lightly tapped the rock wall, tilting his head to listen to the dull echo.

He then carefully felt the rock's grain and texture with his fingertips, even leaning in to smell it.

Finally, he took out a small Mining Hammer with strange patterns from his Storage Soul Tool. He lightly chipped off several fragments from different parts of the rock wall, carefully examined them in his palm, crushed them between his fingers, and sniffed them beneath his nose.

However, after this professional inspection, Lou Gao furrowed his brow and shook his head with some confusion and uncertainty.

"Strange... judging by the echo, texture, grain, and smell, this really is an ordinary accompanying mixed rock layer. It's even more barren than the rock around the main Ore Vein. It shouldn't be..."

But when Lou Gao looked at Larvitar's utterly desperate expression, he simply could not explain the Little Guy's unusual excitement.

"Old Man can't see any obvious anomaly either, unless..."

"Yō Jī—!!!"

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