"Phew, it's the familiar air of the mines. How long has it been since I was last here?"
"Don't get too relaxed. Why do I smell something… unfamiliar?"
"Well, we're carrying a lot of stuff, and we can't just jump straight down… that wobbly crane is really distracting."
"You—honestly, you've just been spending too much time on the surface."
Hearing the exchange between Zhiqiong and Jinwu, Paimon sniffed hard and asked in confusion, "How come I don't smell anything? Are all miners' noses this sharp?"
"Haha, if your nose isn't sharp down here, you're as good as dead. There are all kinds of toxic gases. If you can smell them, that's fine—but the real danger is the odorless and colorless ones. By the time you notice, you're usually already poisoned and unconscious!"
"Odorless and colorless? Th-then what do we do?"
"Don't worry, that's why we brought finches." Stroking the lively little bird in its cage, Zhiqiong carefully explained, "Birds are much more fragile than humans. When toxic gases appear, they'll show symptoms before we do. Watching their condition helps us avoid danger."
"That's such a simple concept—I actually understood it."
"In theory, Paimon could serve the same purpose, right?" Lumine looked Paimon up and down and nodded thoughtfully. "After all, you're small too. If there's poison, you'd definitely show symptoms before we would."
"Hey! I'm your best partner, you know!" Paimon stomped her foot in daily protest, fulfilling her routine duty of indignation.
While they chatted, Jinwu, who had walked some distance ahead toward something of interest, turned back and called, "Over here! Didn't expect to find these things this close to the surface. I thought they wouldn't form in structurally weak areas…"
There was a Lumenstone, glowing faintly with a pale blue light. Its hue was identical to that of the Lumenstone Catalyst—and it was floating mysteriously in the air.
Zhiqiong ventured a quick guess. "They're fragments of that thing underground, migrating along the rock veins until they ended up here."
Jinwu countered, "Don't talk nonsense. These are local rocks. The Qixing commissioned us to analyze them—Lumenstone is mostly made of native minerals from The Chasm. It's just been altered by external forces… and restructured into this peculiar crystal."
"Sounds like Jinwu's explanation makes more sense."
"Good girl, Paimon. I'll give you a candy later." Jinwu chuckled, then pointed toward the area ahead. "I'll set up a temporary forward camp there. Zhiqiong needs to go deeper to survey and draw maps. I'll need one of you who can use elemental powers to go with her."
"Jinwu, what about Old He?" Zhiqiong reminded her.
"I haven't forgotten. Since we've got two capable allies here, I'll ask the other one for help. Old He was a senior miner of ours. When the workers were evacuated from The Chasm years ago, he was one of those who went missing. I believe he's still alive. We can't give up on the search."
Having descended into the mines, Victor Wang, who had been silently pondering how to save Zhiqiong, finally spoke up. "Leave the rescue to Lumine. I'll go with Zhiqiong."
Lumine had no objections, but Zhiqiong pouted slightly—perhaps disappointed she couldn't work alongside her admired senior.
Jinwu gave her a stern reminder. "You're too energetic. Always running off. When surveying, proceed step by step. Don't rush too far ahead. If you cause trouble and drag everyone down, my fists won't show mercy."
Covering her ears, Zhiqiong shook her head. "Aiya, you've nagged me so much my ears are growing calluses. I grew up in the mines, you know—I'm not unaware of the dangers! I'll head out now."
Watching her dart off, Jinwu sighed, then turned to Victor Wang. "Then I'll leave Zhiqiong to you."
Victor Wang nodded and followed after her.
In his mind was a perfectly clear map of The Chasm—one that Zhiqiong herself had once risked her life to create.
If I were to redraw it under Little Wen's name, it would probably crush her spirit to explore The Chasm again. But… that would be too cruel.
The area ahead of the temporary camp—the first region Zhiqiong was to map—was The Chasm's temporary main mining route. Because there were many man-made paths, though the terrain had shifted and become uneven, the way forward was still relatively smooth.
However, danger still lurked around every corner.
"Up north, down south, left west, right east… this side's the right, so that means…"
"East." Zhiqiong answered immediately. "What are you thinking? Don't tell me you're using the direction we descended from to tell left and right?"
"Yeah."
"Who does that? What if you came down facing the wrong way? Then all your directions would be messed up!"
"You're right." Victor Wang looked around the identical tunnels, where no sun, moon, or stars could be seen—it truly felt like a giant maze. "That's why I made sure to keep facing north when we descended."
"You—" Zhiqiong's expression turned odd, and she couldn't help but tease, "What kind of adventurer does that? You'll probably lose your bearings no matter where you go."
"I have a good memory. Even if I get lost, I can retrace my steps exactly."
Zhiqiong sighed helplessly and decided not to argue further. After walking for a while longer, noticing the featureless surroundings, her eyes suddenly lit up. She turned to Victor Wang and said, "Alright then, close your eyes and start spinning. I'll tell you when to stop."
As Victor Wang obediently did so, she silently shifted a few steps in another direction. "Okay, okay, open your eyes. Which direction are you facing now?"
Victor Wang thought for a moment, then calculated aloud, "Up north, down south, left west, right east—this must be south."
Pulling out a compass, Zhiqiong frowned, then grudgingly admitted, "You actually got it right… But why do you always have to recite 'up north, down south, left west, right east' every time?"
"…Habit. I can't be sure unless I say it all."
"…"
Zhiqiong was finally speechless. She wanted to tell him to carry a compass, but then again, he could control the wind and had a near-perfect memory—aside from these lightless mines, what could possibly trap someone like him?
She moved forward silently, climbing one vantage point after another, raising her telescope to scan the surroundings, then marking the blank map with careful strokes—detailing every notable feature she could find.
"Eh, over there… seems like there's a fork. Let's check it out."
Victor Wang casually brushed his hand against a teleport waypoint, then followed Zhiqiong's gaze. "Up north, down south… ahem, that's south, right?"
"Correct. Let's go."