The Strange Man in the Mine Tunnel

The stone slab is very heavy.

Lu Yuan used his shoulder to push open a crack, and a musty smell mixed with the metallic grease rushed out. He squeezed in sideways and pulled Lin Xiao in with his other hand.

The pursuers were already several feet away.

He turned and braced his back against the stone slab. The slab slid back into place, isolating him from everything outside.

dark.

A few breaths later, a faint blue light appeared—the soul-guiding light sphere was suspended on the metal rod on the ceiling. The light was dim, barely illuminating anything.

The space is not large.

The ground was covered with blackened, dry grass and rags, and the corners were piled with broken metal parts, tools, and dirty bottles and jars. Wooden planks were nailed to the rock walls, which were covered with dense lines and symbols drawn with charcoal.

The most striking thing is the people.

The middle-aged man had disheveled, gray hair, stained with dust and grease. His face was gaunt, with high cheekbones and deep-set eyes. But his eyes shone frighteningly bright in the cold light.

He was half-squatting beside the haystack, holding a strange crossbow in his hand.

The crossbow body is engraved with metal patterns, with a dull crystal embedded in the center. The crossbow arm is short and thick, and the arrow slot does not contain an arrow, but a thin metal tube with a faint blue luster.

The crossbow bolt was aimed directly at Lu Yuan's chest.

The man didn't speak, he just stared. His breathing was a little rapid, but his hand holding the crossbow was very steady.

Lu Yuan didn't move.

He slowly raised his hands, palms open. Lin Xiao leaned against his legs, half-conscious, his amber pupils barely open, staring intently at the man.

A few seconds of deathly silence.

The faint shouts of pursuers echoed through the tunnel. The man's ears twitched, and he tilted his head to listen, his eyes growing even colder.

He suddenly moved.

He moved quickly, but a little unsteadily. He moved to the edge of the stone slab, listened intently for a moment, and then quickly checked the cracks along the edge of the slab—they were stuffed with dried moss and scraps of cloth, a camouflage. Only after confirming that there was no movement outside for the time being did he breathe a sigh of relief.

The crossbow bolts remained raised.

"Blue Silver Grass?"

The man spoke, his voice hoarse and dry. His gaze fell on Lu Yuan's palm— the Martial Soul summoned when pushing the stone slab had not yet been fully withdrawn, and the dim Blue Silver Grass barely maintained its outline in the dim light.

"Why would those arrogant bastards from the Hundred Refinements Pavilion go to such lengths to chase after the two of you?" He frowned deeply. "One Trash Martial Soul, and the other is a half-dead kid."

Lu Yuan did not answer immediately.

He quickly scanned the cramped space. Soul-guided lighting, tools, blueprints, a strange crossbow... this didn't look like a temporary shelter.

"We have a grudge against the Hundred Refinements Pavilion," Lu Yuan said, trying to keep his voice steady. "They want to capture us alive. We've stumbled upon this place by mistake, seeking only a way to survive. If you can grant us temporary refuge, we will surely reward you."

The man scoffed.

"Reward?" He licked his dry, cracked lips. "What reward? That blade of grass in your hand, or a few ounces of flesh from this kid's body?"

He paused, his gaze sweeping across Lu Yuan's face.

"The Hundred Refinements Pavilion..." he repeated, his tone suddenly turning icy, "Those incompetent fools who hold positions without doing their jobs and suppress dissent. They monopolize material channels, control technical standards, and if anyone has a slightly new idea or refuses to follow their outdated rules, they'll destroy them."

The resentment in his words was overwhelming.

Lu Yuan's thoughts stirred slightly.

Teacher Zhou Chun gave me an address: Old Shipyard Alley, Vast Sea City, saying that there are people there researching "things that can't be brought to the table." Lin Xiao also mentioned that there are strange people there.

The person in front of me...

"You seem to know a lot about the Hundred Refinements Pavilion," Lu Yuan probed.

"Understand?" The man laughed again, a bleak laugh. "Understand? More than just understand. They forced me into this situation back then!"

He was so emotional that his hand holding the crossbow trembled slightly, but he quickly regained his composure.

"Stop with the preamble," he said coldly. "How exactly did you get involved with them? Explain yourself clearly. If you try to fool me..."

The dark blue metal tube at the muzzle seemed to glow for a fleeting moment.

Lu Yuan remained silent for a moment.

He glanced at Lin Xiao. The boy was burning up with fever, and pus and blood were seeping from his wounds through the strips of cloth. If they delayed any longer, he would really die.

Let's take a gamble.

"I improved a basic circuit for a Soul Tool, which infringed upon their interests," Lu Yuan said briefly, omitting details about the academy. "They first tried to bribe me, and when that failed, they hunted me down. This friend was implicated because of me."

The man narrowed his eyes.

"Improved circuit?" He looked Lu Yuan up and down. "You? How old are you? What level is your Soul Power?"

"Level 14.3"

"Level three Soul Power, improved circuit?" The man laughed as if he'd heard a joke, but the laughter caught in his throat. He stared into Lu Yuan's eyes—there was no panic there, only an overly calm composure.

It doesn't seem like a lie.

The man fell silent.

He gripped the crossbow and slowly straightened up. His old leather apron made a soft rustling sound. He walked to the rock wall with nailed planks, touched a line on it, and then looked back at Lu Yuan.

"The triangular stable structure has excessive Soul Power loss at the third node. How can it be modified?" he suddenly asked.

Lu Yuan was taken aback.

Examination.

He quickly retrieved the relevant knowledge. The triangular stable structure is a common foundation for low-level Soul Tool, and the third node is an old problem. The traditional solution adds a flow channel, but sacrifices response speed.

"Redundancy in the flow channels," Lu Yuan replied. "We can add reverse flow lines between the second and fourth auxiliary patterns. They don't need to be too deep; a 0.3-millimeter indentation is sufficient. When Soul Power passes through, it generates a slight vortex, offsetting inertial loss."

The man's eyes widened suddenly.

He stared intently at Lu Yuan, as if he were looking at a monster. A few seconds later, he suddenly strode back and grabbed Lu Yuan's shoulder with great force, his nails almost digging into his flesh.

"Where did you learn that?" His voice trembled. "Reverse turbulence... It took me three years to even get the hang of it, and you..."

He couldn't continue.

Lu Yuan's shoulder ached, but he didn't struggle. "Theoretically, it's feasible. The actual depth and angle of the engraving need to be fine-tuned based on the material's soul-guiding affinity; I haven't practiced it."

The man released his grip.

He took two steps back against the rock wall, his chest heaving violently. A mix of emotions churned in his deep-set eyes—shock, doubt, excitement—before settling into a complex, almost painful light.

"Never put it into practice..." he muttered repeatedly, then suddenly laughed bitterly, "What a 'never put it into practice'! I did put it into practice, and then what? I blew up half the workshop, saddled myself with a mountain of debt, got labeled a 'dangerous element,' and was kicked out like a dog..."

The voice grew softer and softer, turning into a suppressed cough.

He coughed for quite a while before stopping.

When he looked up again, the hostility in his eyes had faded considerably, replaced by weariness, and a faint glimmer of hope that even he himself didn't notice.

He glanced at the crossbow still aimed at Lu Yuan, hesitated for a moment, and finally lowered the muzzle.

"Forget it." He waved his hand, his tone complicated. "You guys... stay here for now. Those bastards outside haven't gone far."

He walked to the corner and rummaged through the bottles and jars, finally pulling out a small glass bottle and tossing it to Lu Yuan.

The bottle was cold, and half of it contained a murky, dark green liquid with a pungent odor, like a mixture of rotting herbs and sulfur.

"Put it under your nose," the man said. "To fight off the miasma. Deep inside the tunnel, there's residual energy leaked from an early soul-guided ore vein, mixed with underground moisture. Inhaling too much will damage your foundation."

Lu Yuan took it without hesitation, poured out a little and applied it under his nose. The spicy and cool sensation rushed to his head, instantly invigorating him. He then applied it to the drowsy Lin Xiao.

The man watched but did not stop it.

His gaze fell on Lin Xiao's wound, and his brows furrowed again.

"With an injury like this, ordinary medicine won't work." He crouched down, lifted the strip of cloth to take a look, and clicked his tongue. "It's infected, and there's still a slight residual toxin. If we delay any longer, this arm will be gone."

Lu Yuan's heart sank. "Is there a way?"

The man didn't answer immediately.

He got up and rummaged through the pile of clutter. Clinking and clanging, he pulled out a small tin box, bandages, and several jars containing powders and ointments of different colors. Finally, he found a palm-sized, flat metal box with simple engravings on its surface.

Open.

Inside was a semi-transparent, pale yellow, gelatinous substance that trembled slightly, resembling solidified grease.

"You guys are lucky." The man stared at the lump of glue, his eyes suddenly turning fanatical, his previous fatigue vanishing. "You bumped into me. And I just happened to... need someone to try out my new 'rapid wound clotting glue'."

He looked up at Lu Yuan, grinned, and gave a strange smile.

"The theoretical derivation is complete, the material ratios have been adjusted seventeen times, and three rounds of animal experiments have been conducted. The results... should be good. But it hasn't been used on humans yet."

He paused, then added:

"It might hurt a little. And maybe... well, there might be some other side effects. But it's better than your arm rotting away, right?"

Lu Yuan looked at the lump of glue, then at the man's hands, which were deformed and covered with calluses and scars from long-term contact with metal Soul Power Etching, yet were now incredibly steady.

These hands, which just moments ago gripped the crossbow with Rock steadiness, are now handling tools and materials with practiced precision, their movements imbued with an absorbed, almost obsessive focus.

madman.

He's a genius too.

The idea of "Key" and "craftsman" in Lu Yuan's mind became crystal clear at this moment.

Knowledge is the Key. But the Key needs someone to forge it, polish it, and insert it into the lock.

The down-on-his-luck, stubborn man covered in grease might just be the first "craftsman" he's been searching for, the one who can forge the Key.

"Give it a try," Lu Yuan said, his voice steady.

The man's eyes lit up.

Without further ado, he immediately got to work. He used a small knife to scrape away the rotten flesh around Lin Xiao's wound and clean away the pus and blood, his movements quick and precise. Then, he used a flat metal plate to pick up a clump of pale yellow gel and evenly spread it on the surface of the wound.

The colloid made a slight "sizzling" sound the moment it came into contact with flesh.

Lin Xiao's body trembled violently, and he let out an unconscious groan.

The man stared intently at the wound, muttering to himself, "Contact reaction... clotting factors activated... fibrous network beginning to form..."

After a few breaths, the bleeding visibly slowed down.

After another ten seconds or so, a translucent, elastic, pale yellow film formed on the surface of the wound, completely covering it.

The bleeding has stopped.

The man let out a long breath, fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. He stared at the thin membrane with the burning intensity of someone looking at a lover.

"It's done..." he murmured, then looked up at Lu Yuan, grinning with barely suppressed smugness, "See that? The thing I made!"

Lu Yuan remained silent.

He simply stared at the thin film, at Lin Xiao's gradually steady breathing, and at the man's hands, which remained steady but were trembling slightly.

Outside the tunnel, the footsteps of the pursuers had long since faded into the distance.

But the crisis in this confined space seems to have only just begun.