Chapter 222: I am Ye Lan

Sure enough, eating it raw has an earthy smell.

Adding some spicy seasoning should make it taste better.

Listening to Luo De's reply.

Da Da Li Ya felt like going crazy: "Is that what you're asking me? What exactly are you researching? Researching how to make slime taste good?"

Hmm.

I'm just researching this.

Luo De's confident reply left Da Da Li Ya completely speechless.

He had genuinely thought all along that Luo De was trying to use this slime at hand to research a method to resist the Abyssal force in this underground mining area.

But he never expected.

Luo De's so-called research was actually about how to eat slime.

No, that's not right.

The problem isn't the slime.

The key issue is whether this slime thing can be eaten.

What kind of look is that?

Who told you slime can't be eaten?

I know a chef who specializes in cooking slime; once we get out of the Layered Rock Abyss, I'll take you to try his slime set meal.

After saying that,

Luo De no longer paid attention to the stunned Da Da Li Ya, but instead savored the benefits this slime brought.

Just as he had thought.

Directly swallowing this monster corrupted by the Abyssal force really can avoid waste.

Unfortunately.

Not all monsters can be turned into something like compressed biscuits that can be eaten as a snack like slime can.

Fortunately.

Luo De also doesn't need to devour all of the Abyssal force in this mining area.

Moreover, he doesn't have the appetite to consume all of that Abyssal force; such selective consumption is already sufficient.

Experiment complete.

Luo De rose to his feet, satisfied, and asked Da Da Li Ya, "Want to have another match?"

How shall we compete?

Compete on who kills more monsters.

At the mention of a match, Da Da Li Ya immediately snapped out of his earlier shock and became enthusiastic again.

The match is about killing monsters.

Looks simple.

But besides comparing strength, it also tests each other's skill.

When Da Da Li Ya was learning martial arts from his master back then.

His master once said.

Combat isn't just about brute strength; when there isn't a huge gap in strength, having superior martial arts can well make up for the difference.

Because of his master's words.

Da Da Li Ya forcibly trained himself to reach his current level of proficiency in all martial arts.

Even his archery, which he considers his weakest.

In the eyes of those strong experts, it is still top-tier martial arts.

Back when he was in Mondstadt.

Da Da Li Ya once had a match with Luo De.

That match.

Each won one bout, so nominally it was a draw.

But actually.

Da Da Li Ya knows very well.

If it were a life-or-death fight, with Luo De's mastery of elemental energy, he could completely overwhelm him by flooding him with elemental energy.

Therefore, the result of that match.

Da Da Li Ya simply considered himself the loser in his heart.

Precisely because of that.

Since leaving Mondstadt, he has devoted himself entirely to training; even though the Ice Empress sent him to Liyue, he has not slackened in the slightest, and whenever he has time he continues to improve himself.

And such high-intensity training.

Is so that when he meets Luo De again, he can avenge his previous shame.

Now is the perfect opportunity.

Looking at the enthusiastic Da Da Li Ya, Luo De added a few conditions to the match: "Add some difficulty, make the slime into those pellets I just made, take only the heart of the Rock Drake, ignore the Hilichurls and just kill them—how does that sound?"

Are you just using me as labor?

After hearing Luo De's demands, Da Da Li Ya narrowed his eyes and his voice grew a few degrees lower.

He may be reckless, but he's not an idiot.

Luo De said all those fancy match conditions; regardless of win or loss, he could harvest a big pile of slime pellets and other ingredients rich in Abyssal force.

Put simply.

Isn't this just using yourself as a lackey to help him quickly gather ingredients?

"Pfft—"

Luo De didn't deny it, still chuckling, said, "Just say whether you'll compete or not?"

"Compete!"

"Why not compete!"

Even though it was a match with nothing at stake, and even though he knew Luo De was using him, Tartaglia couldn't resist Luo De's provocation and immediately agreed.

So the two of them returned to the black mud that had been blocking the road.

They warmed up a bit.

Luo De went left, Tartaglia went right.

Both exerted their utmost speed and most practiced techniques, charging left and right through the monster horde, crushing every ferocious monster as per Luo De's earlier demand, piling them into a heap of special ingredients.

With Luo De and Tartaglia's skills.

It took only a moment.

Not only were the monsters gathered in the black mud completely wiped out, but the silt vents blocking this place were also sealed by the two using luminite, so at least for a short time these silt vents won't risk erupting again.

"I lost."

After the battle, Tartaglia openly admitted he had once again lost to Luo De.

Still the same problem.

Luo De's elemental energy reserves are terrifyingly huge; relying on brute strength, he can more than make up for his many shortcomings in technique.

Especially his grass elemental energy.

In Tartaglia's eyes, it is practically endless and inexhaustible.

This matter left Tartaglia quite puzzled.

Actually, the real reason is that Luo De's grass element divine eye shattered.

After losing that divine eye,

Since his body lacks an organ to store elemental energy, Luo De's way of using grass elemental energy shifted from initially drawing energy from his divine eye to now being able to draw the grass elemental energy diffused in the air at any time.

In other words.

Unless he is in a place completely devoid of grass elemental energy, the grass elemental energy he can use is essentially inexhaustible.

This is no joke.

You should know that even elemental beings rely on their own elemental energy storage organs to use elemental energy—for example, the heart of the rock drake that Luo De specifically asked Tartaglia to keep.

But Luo De has now broken this restriction, allowing him to use grass elemental energy freely and smoothly.

Putting it mildly, this is a privilege brought by his status as an incarnate.

Putting it broadly, this is a special ability comparable to that of a god.

Having won the match again, Luo De happily accepted the spoils from Tartaglia's hand, then walked forward a bit to an open area, found a still-operating lift, sent up a request for supplies, and then sat down to wait for the main force to arrive.

Compared to the busy scientific expedition team, Luo De and Tartaglia need only focus on combat, whereas the expedition team that came with a mission has many more things to consider.

They must constantly monitor the concentration of the abyssal force in the underground mining area and, based on the actual situation, devise a plan to clear away the pollution.

Besides that.

They also lack the ability of Luo De and Tartaglia to traverse the entire underground mining area without supplies, relying solely on their own strength.

With all these troubles piled up, even with the protection of Cyno, Tighnari, and the lady, the scientific expedition team cannot advance very quickly.

By the way.

Protecting the scientific expedition team is a joint obligation of Sumeru and Snezhnaya.

This is written in the bilateral cooperation agreement; even if the lady is reluctant, with Tartaglia having fled, she must still follow the agreement's requirements and protect the safety of the scientific expedition team.

The place where Luo De and Tartaglia are now.

exactly a supply point marked on the map.

This place is very safe, with luminite placed at the key points around it.

Thanks to the luminite, there is no black mud, no monsters, and no diffused abyssal force here, making this a rare safe spot in the mining area.

"The Ninth Company did a good job."

After walking around, Tartaglia returned satisfied.

The Ninth Company is the Foolish Masses squad that they said was still left in the underground mining area before they set out.

It is an elite unit.

It belongs to the old superior of Tartaglia, the Fifth Executor, Gongji Puchienella.

The unit that Ningguang previously said had received supplies from the Liyue citizens is them.

This safety point ahead is obviously their handiwork.

Luo De also nodded and said, "Indeed, not bad."

The butterfly effect has already appeared.

Under his meddling.

Without Zhongli's feigned death, there would be no Tartaglia's stunt of summoning the Archon to attack Liyue Harbor, nor would there be a broken relationship between Liyue and Snezhnaya.

Therefore, this company, wholeheartedly aspiring to be heroes, is no longer that demoralized remnant defeated by cut supplies.

Liyue's supplies to them are still ample, and communication has never been interrupted.

Thinking of this,

Luo De touched the communicator Ningguang gave him.

A mechanism crafted using immortal arts.

It has extremely strong anti-interference ability and an extremely wide transmission range; according to Ningguang, even if Luo De is at the entrance of the Chasm, he can still send the message to Yelan deep in the underground mining area.

Luo De turned his gaze toward Tartaglia and immediately, without hesitation, connected the communicator.

After a brief silence.

In Tartaglia's doubtful gaze, a voice that could not be distinguished as male or female came from the communicator.

"Password."

Upon hearing that.

Luo De still did not avoid Tartaglia's meaning, and said: "Central Plains offal, tasty and cheap."

"."

After a moment of silence on the other end of the communicator, a voice sounded: "I am Logistics Bureau Specialist Mu Ning. Which department are you from? Is there something you need help with in sending this message?"

Logistics Bureau Specialist Mu Ning.?

Luo De continued without changing expression: "I am Sumeru Envoy Luo De, currently conducting an inspection of the underground mining area of the Layered Rock Abyss jointly with the Snezhnaya Envoy, and this Snezhnaya Envoy wants to know the exact location of the Foolish People's 9th Battalion."

Upon hearing the name of the 9th Battalion.

Tartaglia's eyes lit up, and he stared intently at the communicator in Luo De's hand.

Compared to what, this inspection, that research?

What he cared more about was that the 9th Battalion were fellow soldiers, possibly even former comrades.

And then.

He then heard the communicator report a detailed address.

"East 11.42, South 37.56."

This is Liyue's map marking method, somewhat similar to Luo De's previous life's latitude and longitude positioning; specifically, one first defines a central point on the map of the Layered Rock Abyss, then marks the position by the horizontal and vertical distances east, west, north, and south from that central point.

With this specific location information.

Tartaglia took out his own map, carefully compared it, left the sentence "I'll go meet up with the 9th Battalion first," and disappeared before Luo De's eyes at top speed.

After he left.

The supply point instantly fell into a deathly silence; under the dim, flickering glow of the luminescent stone, Luo De kept staring at the spot where Tartaglia had left.

Only after he confirmed that Tartaglia had gone far away and could not possibly turn back did he speak into the still-connected communicator: "Thousand-layered cliffs, stacked peaks unmoving, I am Luo De, the Dendro Archon Envoy of Sumeru."

This time.

Finally, the other end of the communicator no longer gave that false name, and the responding voice changed to a cool female voice: "I am Ye Lan. What do you need my help with?"

The same phrasing, but its meaning was now completely different from before.

(End of chapter)