Hearing Chang Yi's urgent call, Fawei quickly got up and walked over with his wolf following closely behind.
The idle miners nearby all perked up with curiosity and excitement, gathering around in a hurry.
Before Fawei could even speak, one of the miners eagerly asked,
"Vice Captain Chang Yi? Has the exploration of Mine No. 5 been completed? Can we start mining now?"
Chang Yi was momentarily stunned before shaking his head.
"No, Lord Conqueror of Demons hasn't returned yet. This isn't about Mine No. 5."
"Then—does that mean a powerful enemy is attacking?!"
At the mention of this, the miners grew even more excited rather than alarmed.
"In that case, we need to move fast! We have to take care of them before those iron lumps do!"
"Yeah! Last time, when those seven or eight zombies and skeletons attacked, we didn't even get a chance to fight before those two iron lumps smashed them to pieces!"
"We understand that the great lords mean well, but we are also fighters! The blood of Liyue's people has never run cold!"
The enthusiastic chatter quickly became a raucous commotion, making Fawei's expression darken. He immediately reprimanded them in a deep voice,
"Quiet! What kind of behavior is this?! Our duty is to secure resources for Liyue! If the Qianyan Army hasn't requested our help in battle, then we have no business interfering!"
"Each person must focus on their own responsibilities—that is the rule we must follow!"
At his words, the miners groaned in protest.
"Vice Captain Fawei, you already have your own wolf. At least think about us too!"
"Yeah! We want our own wolves too!"
"That's right! Seeing you with your wolf every day makes us so jealous!"
Hearing this, Fawei couldn't help but feel a bit proud. He reached down and patted his wolf's head affectionately.
"Don't talk nonsense. This was a reward from Lady Ningguang and the others. As long as you work hard, you'll get your turn sooner or later!"
"Besides, the wolves are still few in number and must be prioritized for combat units."
"And let's not forget, your wages are already the highest in all of Liyue—don't be too greedy!"
A stocky miner scratched his head and said honestly,
"To be honest, Brother Fawei, even if you gave me gold now, I'd still rather have a wolf of my own."
At this, Fawei playfully scolded him,
"You fool! Have the rich resources in the mines made you lose your mind? You're talking about taking gold? That's a strategic resource of Liyue! If the great lords hear about this, you'll be writing a very long self-reflection letter!"
The miner awkwardly scratched his cheek.
"I was just joking! Besides, we're all working for Liyue's growth—I'd never actually do something like that."
"Alright, enough nonsense. Vice Captain Chang Yi, what urgent matter needs our help?"
Fawei cut off the idle chatter and turned to Chang Yi with a serious expression.
The latter rubbed the back of his head and chuckled.
"It's nothing too serious. While we were patrolling, we were reminded of the wooden watchtowers we built earlier."
"They seem a bit too flammable, so we were hoping you could help us rebuild them with stone instead."
Hearing this, one of the miners immediately pounded his chest confidently.
"Ha! That's nothing! Leave it to us!"
"Yeah, the brothers are getting bored anyway—this'll give us something to do."
Seeing everyone agree so readily, Chang Yi smiled and nodded.
"Then I'll be counting on you. How about… after this, we let you take a little extra wood and grain from our supply?"
In this world, both the Qianyan Army and the miners were given top-tier wages in Liyue.
Additionally, each person received resource allocations—typically, about half a stack of wood and a good amount of food.
If sold outside, that would easily bring in hundreds of thousands of Mora.
At first, many of them were eager to take advantage of this opportunity and brought back large amounts of wood to trade.
But over time, fewer and fewer people bothered.
Simply put, they didn't have the motivation.
After all, if they wanted to gather resources to sell, they'd have to collect them personally.
With that effort, they'd rather focus on exploring this world—building houses, learning new skills, and improving their settlement.
Besides, with Liyue constantly supplying the market with abundant resources, wages had skyrocketed.
They might not be making as much as the merchants, but they could easily afford to buy a house in Liyue now.
These Qianyan soldiers and miners weren't overly ambitious in terms of wealth.
More importantly, working alongside the Adepti and the Liyue Qixing, knowing that their contributions directly impacted Liyue's growth—
That was what truly mattered to them. That was something worthy of being recorded in their family histories.
Far more important than simply making money.
Of course, if they did have any personal material desires…
It would be either owning a wolf of their own or obtaining an enchanted weapon.
Declining Chang Yi's offer of extra resources, the miners eagerly gathered their tools and set off to renovate the watchtowers.
And, well… what started as a simple project to reinforce the watchtowers quickly escalated.
With so many hands available, they figured—why not go all the way?
Soon, they weren't just fixing the watchtowers.
They were reinforcing stone walls, upgrading defensive structures, and even rebuilding their homes and farms.
By the time they were done, even the Qianyan Army soldiers had set aside their weapons, picked up tools, and joined in the grand reconstruction effort.
As for security…
To be honest, the soldiers were more like a last line of defense.
Between the iron golems patrolling the area and the ever-growing wolf pack standing guard—
If something managed to break through both of those, then, well… they'd have much bigger problems.
Some of the Qianyan soldiers who had visited Ryen's manor even started sharing tips on how to build decorative structures like fountains and fish ponds.
All in all, everything was progressing smoothly.
Meanwhile, over at Mine No. 5, Xiao had been leading his team deeper underground, placing torches as they went.
Once he confirmed that there were no particularly dangerous creatures—no Endermen, no monster spawners—he led his team back to base.
…
Two days passed in the blink of an eye.
During this time, everything in Teyvat remained as usual.
In Mondstadt, the unreliable Anemo Archon had begun his poetic schemes, persuading Lumine and Jean to start collecting Dvalin's tears.
In Inazuma, the war raged on without rest, while Beidou's shipment of iron ore had finally set sail.
As for the Fatui stationed in Liyue Harbor—after being given yet another thorough beating, they had settled down, behaving themselves while quietly purchasing coal and iron.
And if they were secretly investigating the source of these high-quality materials…
The Ministry of Civil Affairs couldn't be bothered to care.
Because no matter how much they searched, what could they possibly find?
That small courtyard at the base of Mt. Tianheng?
…
If anyone was foolish enough to approach that place, they'd have to deal with the two wolves belonging to Ningguang and Keqing, plus the existing pack of four. Even if an entire advance squad of the Fatui went in, there was no guarantee they'd all make it out in one piece.
Meanwhile, over in Sumeru, the Akademiya was thrown into chaos. The sudden price surge, combined with the intense scrutiny from the Ministry of Civil Affairs, left them scrambling for solutions.
To make things worse, none of the Sages could be reached at the moment. Without guidance, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and endure the financial bleeding.
Originally, their estimated earnings were expected to be around three hundred billion Mora. But once the Ministry of Civil Affairs tallied everything up, they realized this venture could yield close to five hundred billion Mora.
With that kind of wealth, everyone at the Ministry walked with an unmistakable swagger.
After all, money brings confidence.
As for the Minecraft world, things were running smoothly. The miners had resumed their work in the caves, and Xiao, instead of leading another expedition, was pulled away by Cloud Retainer to help flatten the land behind the mountain—she had plans to renovate Jueyun Karst.
…
The most significant event, however, came from Ryen and his team: they had found a Nether Fortress.
Two days ago, after gathering resources, they had built an airborne bridge made of Netherrack, spanning across the lava sea in search of more materials.
In the past two days, they had collected an ample supply of magma cream and ghast tears.
They had even taken down a couple of Wither Skeletons and engaged in several trades with the Piglins, acquiring a stash of important supplies.
During one of these encounters, they witnessed a Piglin hunting a Hoglin, followed by an elaborate victory dance—a fascinating cultural display.
Compared to the passive and docile villagers of the Overworld, the Piglins resembled true nomads.
This led the group to conclude that the Piglins might just be the only intelligent beings residing in the Nether.
Of course, this realization came with its fair share of mishaps…
Hu Tao had enthusiastically attempted to sell coffins to the Piglins.
Predictably, this led to them being chased all over the Nether.
But as the saying goes: a blessing in disguise.
It was during this desperate escape that they stumbled upon the Nether Fortress.
The previous afternoon, after gathering plenty of Soul Sand from the surrounding area, Ryen made the call—it was time to raid the fortress.
Now, standing at a high vantage point, Ryen surveyed the imposing structure ahead.
The fortress loomed over the lava sea, an ominous stronghold of dark bricks, exuding an aura of both danger and mystery.
Zhongli, ever composed, casually deflected a ghast's fireball with a flick of his sword—another clean kill, another ghast tear added to their collection.
By this point, the group had become desensitized to such feats.
They had taken down so many ghasts in the past two days that it was practically routine.
Hu Tao, hands on her hips, grinned mischievously at Ryen.
"See? If it weren't for my business negotiations with the Piglins, we'd still be wandering around looking for this place!"
Ryen chuckled, shaking his head. He didn't bother arguing.
The fortress looked just as it should—suspended over the lava sea, dark and foreboding.
But Ryen knew better than to underestimate it.
His gaze sharpened as he observed the structure closely.
On one of the bridge corridors, two dark figures wielding swords paced aimlessly.
Wither Skeletons.
Vile creatures capable of inflicting the dreaded Wither status.
A quick scan of the area revealed at least a dozen Blazes wandering near a small chamber—undoubtedly the location of a Blaze Spawner.
Ryen wasn't looking to fully clear the fortress just yet.
Both Blazes and Wither Skeletons were invaluable for farming—especially the latter, as their skulls were essential for summoning the Wither.
But for now, their priorities were simple:
Secure Nether Wart.
Gather more Soul Sand.
If possible, loot the fortress chests.
Why the chests?
Ryen had an eighty percent certainty that they contained diamonds—possibly even diamond gear.
And if nothing else, horse armor was almost guaranteed.
These fortress chests were a goldmine, but… they were guarded.
Right near the loot, two Wither Skeletons stood watch.
Their deadly Wither effect made them an absolute menace in combat.
To make matters worse, Ryen had only one bucket of milk left—a crucial item for countering the Wither effect.
His shield was in bad shape, having been battered during a fight with Magma Cubes. The only remaining intact shield belonged to Zhongli.
To top it off, Wither Skeletons didn't always drop skulls.
If they fought them now and didn't get any drops, it'd be a complete waste of effort.
And then there were the Blazes.
With so many of them lurking outside, getting swarmed was a real danger.
Ideally, the best strategy was to return later with proper equipment—including more shields—and grind the fortress at their own pace.
For now, Ryen's main goal was securing Nether Wart.
His gaze locked onto a room filled with the crimson fungi, ripe for harvesting.
There was plenty of it. Once they secured some Soul Sand, they could start growing it back home.
After a moment of contemplation, Ryen pointed toward the chamber.
"Alright, listen up—here's the plan."
The group immediately quieted, focusing on him.
"We're going to build a bridge with Netherrack directly to the Nether Wart chamber. Once we get there, I'll break open the entrance and hold the door. Your job is simple—harvest every single Nether Wart and Soul Sand."
He glanced at Zhongli.
"If there are any Blazes inside—"
Zhongli calmly responded, "I'll take care of them."
Ryen nodded.
"Good. Once we've gathered everything, we'll move immediately to the Blaze Spawner room. Our goal is to collect at least a full stack of Blaze Rods."
His voice was firm.
"Everyone clear on the plan?"
A collective nod from the group.
Ryen exhaled, adjusting his grip on his pickaxe.
"Alright then… let's move."
~~----------------------
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