Chapter 355

Entering the deep mining zone, the mine shafts grew narrow, unlike the shallow zones where adults could walk upright.

Wu Chang and the others no longer walked downward but found a mine steam train for transport.

In Stilran, mine steam trains had only become popular in the past couple of years; the mainstream method for transporting coal still relied on dwarf horses and manual labor.

Because operating steam trains underground was difficult, with narrower tunnels and tracks more prone to breakdowns, even large mines like Pine Tree Mine rarely used them underground.

The difficulty of operating underground steam trains made Raventon and Thomas originally doubt Wu Chang's decision—until Wu Chang boarded the train, glanced at it briefly, and started it with ease.

Wu Chang used Occult Mastery to condense energy into occult runes, covering the steam train and absorbing all its noise.

He then shouted: "Raventon, add coal; Thomas, guide us from the front."

Raventon swung his shovel, shoveling coal into the locomotive's boiler, and asked incredulously:

"You know how to operate a steam train?"

He couldn't understand how Wu Chang, a fallen noble descendant unaware of the life of the lower classes, had learned to drive an underground steam train.

Wu Chang replied casually:

"Of course it's talent—I heard every descendant of the Occult Knight Order possesses some innate ability; mine is automatically mastering all vehicles. You don't have one?"

Raventon looked puzzled; seeing Wu Chang speak with such seriousness and detail, he began to ponder.

Was his talent the ability to deduce truth from details and reconstruct events?

Or was it heightened role-playing and learning ability?

He couldn't possibly have inherited no talent from the Occult Knight Order.

Watching Raventon shovel coal while thinking, Ailin turned her face to the window, afraid that if she looked another moment, she'd burst out laughing.

The underground train traveled all the way to five hundred meters below ground before stopping under Wu Chang's emergency brake.

The deeper mine tunnel ahead, affected by the earlier explosion, had collapsed.

Wu Chang stepped out of the cab and called to Raventon:

"Great detective, the path ahead is blocked—should we turn back?"

Raventon shook his head: "No need. Unless something unexpected happens, this path won't be blocked."

He stuck his shovel into the coal pile, walked to the collapsed tunnel, and pulled out his folded magnifying glass, examining the surroundings closely.

"Just as I thought—this explosion is completely different from the one in the shallow zone."

"The shallow zone explosion was immensely powerful, shattering the reinforced mine walls and triggering the tunnel collapse."

"But here, though the collapse looks total, the explosion's destructive force was far weaker than in the shallow zone—otherwise, the tracks wouldn't have extended all the way to the collapse point before bending and breaking."

Here, Raventon changed tone, speaking in an unusually formal, almost declarative manner:

"So I declare: the collapse of this tunnel is not real."

Raventon's voice echoed through the mine, and his voice, infused with supernatural energy, struck the debris blocking the path—suddenly, a crisp sound like shattering glass rang through the air.

Wu Chang clearly saw a transparent occult barrier shatter under Raventon's declaration.

Raventon had broken an occult barrier Wu Chang had seen from the start—but he was certain Raventon, with his level of occult mastery, shouldn't have been able to see it.

Moreover, Raventon hadn't used any occult method to break the barrier—he seemed to have used some kind of magic.

He asked curiously: "How did you do that?"

Raventon suppressed a smirk and replied calmly: "Just the basic application of True Name arts combined with the First Law of Occultism."

Wu Chang asked: "What is True Name arts?"

Raventon frowned; he'd assumed Wu Chang was deliberately provoking him, but he saw pure ignorance on Wu Chang's face and couldn't help rolling his eyes.

Had the timing been different, he'd gladly explain these occult basics to Wu Chang and reclaim some dignity for his occult knowledge.

But explaining now felt like telling a clever joke and waiting for laughter—only to hear the audience say blankly: "Sorry, I didn't understand a few words in your last sentence."

Having to explain his own punchline was more frustrating than failing to amuse the audience.

"True Name arts is a branch blending magic and occultism; its creators believed everything has a true name or essence, and mastering that essence grants control over it."

"The First Law of Occultism states: the more you believe in a power's existence, the stronger it becomes."

"Through self-hypnosis combined with the First Law, True Name arts, if spoken accurately, can partially dispel the fog obscuring truth."

"Just as I firmly believe this tunnel hasn't truly collapsed—that all this is an illusion—if my guess is correct, it lets me perceive the force blocking truth and break it."

Wu Chang nodded in sudden understanding and clapped:

"Impressive—no wonder you're Grimlan's greatest detective."

Though flattered by Wu Chang's praise, Raventon's sense of accomplishment had plummeted after his explanation.

He walked grimly to the collapsed debris, pulled out a hand-squeezed dust sprayer, and gently pinched its rear bulb—the front sprayed a fine, glowing powder.

The powder settled evenly over the debris, forming a thin mist—except for one area the size of a human head, where the glowing dust clung densely.

He returned the sprayer to his coat and said:

"Found it—just like the shallow zone, someone tampered here with occultism."

"But their method was extremely subtle; residual traces were nearly impossible to detect. Only by confirming tampering could you reverse-engineer the problem's location."

Having located the occult ritual's site, Raventon had planned to dismantle it himself—but halfway to retrieving his tools, he remembered Wu Chang was behind him and gestured politely:

"With you here, I won't waste time."

Wu Chang shook his head slightly, condensed occult runes in his hand and projected them onto the rubble blocking the tunnel.

The runes landed on the glowing powder-marked area—the broken rocks roared inward, retracting to the tunnel walls, and the twisted tracks straightened, allowing the steam train to proceed.

Wu Chang restarted the train and looked at Raventon, who had returned to add coal, and said:

"How did you know this path to the mine's depths wouldn't truly collapse?"

Raventon shrugged:

"Thomas said the place producing coal essence lies in the deep mining zone—that's Pine Tree Mine's true core."

"And your discovery in the shallow zone proves the Pine Tree Mine explosions weren't coincidental."

From the explosion marks along the route, it's clear that the deep-layer mine's blast was weaker than the shallow-layer mine's, and no significant gas residue remained in the entire tunnel—indicating the explosion was never meant to destroy evidence, but to conceal the secret of the deep-layer mine.

Since it was only a temporary concealment, once the incident calmed down, the secret would need to be retrieved or reactivated—and naturally, the steam mine cart route to the deep-layer mine would not be destroyed.

Wu Chang seized the opportunity to ask: "What do you think the secret of coal essence is?"

Reventon paused, then said: "It must be the refining technique."

Wu Chang raised an eyebrow—Reventon had no royal seal, so he couldn't see the hidden clues on the coal essence. How did he figure it out?

Seeing Reventon's expression—clearly waiting for him to ask—Wu Chang hesitated, then said:

"Oh."

Reventon:?

What's this? Shouldn't you ask me how I knew, then show off your understanding? What kind of "oh" is this?

Wu Chang smirked. You think knowing it's the refining technique makes you special? He knew too.

They're competitors now. Keep it to yourself. Figuring it out doesn't count as winning—only finding the transcendent purifier does.

The steam train rolled all the way down to six hundred meters underground—this was the coal-loading station at the end of the tracks.

Upon reaching the coal-loading station, the underground space opened up significantly, allowing people to stand upright again without hunching.

Miners would extract coal from surrounding small tunnels, transport it here for loading, then send it to the surface.

Near the coal-loading station, one could see the temporary rest area Thomas had mentioned.

No miners were inside the temporary rest area; half-opened quilts, caked in coal dust, suggested miners had been resting here when the explosion occurred.

But after the explosion, all routes to the surface were sealed shut by occult rituals—and the workers left in the rest area vanished without a trace.

The workers vanished, yet no footprints of their departure appeared on the surface—someone had returned to clean the scene, and cleaned it thoroughly.

Wu Chang gave Reventon a look, signaling it was his turn to perform.

Reventon began his inspection at the temporary rest area, lifting his kerosene lamp, his gaze darting rapidly as he absorbed every detail within.

"No occult energy residue inside the room. No signs of struggle. No drag marks on the floor—the miners weren't forcibly taken."

"Two half-used safety lamps were left behind, along with three used pickaxes. This means they didn't leave to dig a tunnel—they had another purpose."

"One, two, three, four—four distinct footprints on the floor, but only three open beds. Someone came here after the explosion and took the people inside."

"The intruder was trusted by the miners. Upon hearing his request, they followed immediately, even leaving behind lighting tools, mining tools, and the two most vital black breads for survival."

Reventon knelt down, carefully examining the four footprints, scraping off a bit of coal dust from one of them.

"The later intruder's coal dust was lighter in color and moister—shallow-layer coal. Precisely, the same type I just used to fuel the steam train."

"If he came from the shallow-layer mine, his shoes wouldn't still carry so much coal dust. There's only one possibility."

"The one who took the miners also arrived via steam train, entering the deep layer."

Reventon stepped out of the temporary rest area and paced around, spraying his hand-held dust injector again—but this time, the fluorescent dust revealed no new clues.

His expression turned solemn: "I'm almost certain the clue is nearby—but I can't find where."

"If I'm not mistaken, the miners' disappearance is also tied to the steam train."

Wu Chang asked: "Then why not try the True Name arts again?"

Reventon shook his head: "True Name arts only activates when I've gathered enough direct clues to reconstruct the facts in my mind."

"If the clues are insufficient, forcing True Name arts won't work—it'll backfire and harm me."

After hearing this, Wu Chang's interest in True Name arts diminished. From Reventon's description, it was merely a luxury ability—not one that could rescue in desperation.

He walked beside Reventon and said:

"Sometimes your thinking is too rational. Release the chains of reason. Let instinct and intuition guide you—you might see something different."

Reventon closed his eyes, following Wu Chang's advice, letting go of his restraint—but quickly opened them again.

"No good. I see nothing."

"If I were investigating, I'd return to town and go straight to Zhu Li by now. But now, I want to see how an Intuition Detective would proceed."

Wu Chang smiled, closed his eyes, and began sensing everything around him.

This time, he didn't seek resentment, nor did he ask the Omniscient Crystal—because it was completely unnecessary.

The occult energy in the coal-loading station area was too dense. With intuition, he sensed various transcendent energies converging here into a vast web.

At the center of this web lay the core of this region.

Following what his intuition revealed, he walked forward until he reached the entrance of the temporary rest area—right at the boundary between entering and leaving.

He opened his eyes, took one of the safety lamps left inside, lit it, and said:

"Light the miner's safety lamp. Stand still and wait."

"What are you doing…" Reventon's question cut off as he watched Wu Chang vanish before his eyes.

Reventon stared as if he'd seen a ghost. He rubbed his eyes, then rushed to the spot where Wu Chang had disappeared.

He quickly squeezed his dust injector, showering the area in fluorescent powder—but no anomalies appeared.

He imitated Wu Chang: lit the remaining safety lamp, stood still, and began silently counting.

When he reached ten, the scene before him flipped. After a brief sensation of weightlessness, he entered an unfamiliar space.

He saw Wu Chang standing outside the temporary rest area, saying:

"Welcome to the core of Pine Tree Mine."

Reventon stepped outside and found himself facing a massive hemispherical cavern, over twenty meters high.

More than seventy percent of the cavern's interior was filled with a colossal machine.

The unknown machine vibrated continuously, emitting a deep rumble—and from it, high-purity coal essence emerged, falling into mine carts parked below.

This was the transcendent purifier hidden beneath Pine Tree Mine, capable of refining ordinary deep-layer coal into coal essence.

Staring at the colossal machine before him, Reventon's eyes widened, his voice hollow:

"How did you find this hidden space?"

If Wu Chang had discovered the coal gem refinement space through his astonishing occult abilities or by praying to the Eternal Light of Purity, Raventon would not have found it unacceptable.

But the problem is, Wu Chang found the clue through conventional methods; moreover, the method he used could also allow him to enter this space, further proving that Wu Chang's method did not come from any special ability, but was originally built into the Pine Tree Mine.

Wu Chang smirked: "Can't figure it out?"

Raventon nodded: "Honestly, I can't."

Wu Chang extended his hand toward Raventon, who asked in confusion: "What do you mean?"

Wu Chang said matter-of-factly: "You haven't forgotten our bet, have you? Since you can't figure it out, I win—you owe me thirty-three gold pounds."

Raventon felt a tightness in his chest and grumbled:

"As head of the Arcane Knights Order, how much money can't you get from the Queen? Do you really need these thirty-three gold pounds from me?"

Wu Chang kept his hand outstretched, saying:

"That's different. A bet is a bet."

Raventon clicked his tongue, pulled out his wallet, took out seven gold pounds, and shoved the rest into Wu Chang's hands.

"Is that enough now?"

Wu Chang slipped the money into his pocket and said:

"I've already taught you the method. This time, I truly relied on inspiration."

"That is, as you put it—gather enough clues, combine them with the actual situation, and let a flash of insight strike your mind."

Raventon stared at Wu Chang skeptically, as if unwilling to believe it could really be this simple.

"What was your reasoning?"

Wu Chang said:

"First, I believe your reasoning was correct—the miners' disappearance method lies near the temporary rest area. The transcendental who set up the occult ritual must have hidden a space using some means."

"Thomas said coal gem production is stable—each month, at least eight carts are produced. The transcendental who arranged all this would never stay permanently in the harsh environment of the Pine Tree Mine."

"After all, even the mine owner himself spends no more than three days here each month. So there must be a way for ordinary transcendentalists—or even ordinary people—to enter the coal gem refinement area."

"Combined with Thomas's little story about the missing miner, it's not hard to deduce that the method of entering the refinement area is closely tied to the temporary rest area."

"Following this line of thought, inspiration guided me to the method of entering here."

This time, Wu Chang truly didn't cheat—he really discovered the way in through inspiration.

But Raventon always felt something wasn't right; before he could press further, his gaze was drawn to the Transcendental Refinement Machine.

He noticed the machine no longer spat out coal gems, but instead converted all produced coal gems into energy, and the mechanical roar was growing louder.

Raventon pointed at the Transcendental Refinement Machine, its surface flickering with faint light, his voice trembling:

"Look—it's going to explode!"

(End of Chapter)