Chapter Eight: The Time Traveler

There are deeper layers of space within the Liyue Underground, and figures are seen moving, suspected to be the true culprit of the black mud spreading.
Li Wen looked at the Fool's actions diary and learned a lot of information.
“Sir Executive, the Ninth Brigade is ready and can explore again at any time.”
Anton's voice came from beside him, and Li Wen closed the diary, frowning.
“Explore? Well, then, you have received a new order: to safely evacuate the Liyue region.”
"But..."
“Order, evacuate.”
Under the authority of the commander, the Ninth Company had no choice but to pack up their supplies, yet most of them wore smiles on their faces.
Their loyalty to the Ice Queen enables them to persevere, but if they can leave, it is undoubtedly a good thing.
With motivation, their actions are swift, packing up machinery and equipment, loading up big and small bundles, and eventually arriving at a doorway blocked by giant rocks.
The Foolish Crowd knows there is a small path, but its width is too narrow. With so much equipment, they cannot simply leave it at the Layered Rock Abyss, so Anton plans to set up a cannon to blast it open.
"I will do it."
Li Wen waved his hand, condensing a thunder spear that crashed into the giant rock, and a deafening thunderclap resonated throughout the Layered Rock Abyss.
"Dong!"
震动引起了区域性落石，愚人众这边倒是没什么问题，只是不远处，拿着望远镜的夜兰，差点被砸中。
It seemed like she was really taking people away. She dusted herself off and continued observing the Fatui troops through her telescope.
“Sir Executive...”
The reflection from the telescope caught Anton's attention. They had been exploring underground for a long time and had encountered similar situations, speculating that someone was watching them from the shadows.
Li Wen followed the light and saw the person's appearance as shown by the myriad wonders. He had seen this person in the rock tea room; a Liyue person? Monitoring the actions of the Fatui, could it be that they are a spy for Ningguang?
“It's okay, keep moving forward.”
There's no need to engage for now; approaching recklessly will only raise alarms. First, escort this group of fools out, then meet with Ningguang before discussing this matter.
```htmlAfter the interlude, the Ninth Company slowly approached the vicinity of the camp, and the main force came to a halt. Li Wen then walked into the camp alone.
"Jinwu sis."
"So it's your people. You startled me."```
Jinwu put down the pickaxe in his hand and greeted Li Wen.
After that, they used the cable machine to take the ninth squad out of the Layered Rock Abyss, without any issues, and smoothly arrived on the ground.
“Yan Bo!”
“An Dong!”
On the ground, there was a small squad of Qianyan Army, and the leader, who knew An Dong, embraced him, as if they were reuniting after a long time apart.
Other team members also chatted with the Qianyan Army, as they were part of the same team that had once explored the Chenyuan Giant Abyss, and they all recognized each other.
The atmosphere was relatively good, mainly because the Qianyuan Army learned about the situation of the Ninth Company, and their initial resentment slowly turned into guilt.
After making plans to drink together when they had time, the Ninth Company left the Layered Rock Abyss and headed towards the mechanical factory.
The factory that once produced Ruin Guards is still operational overall, despite the young master's damage to a few machines.
With the mediation of Li Wen, the puppets sent researchers over, and Liyue also dispatched experts to collaborate.
The research topic is the Ruins series, where he proposed the construction of a mech controlled by a person inside, used for exploring dangerous areas.
The masterpiece is Titan, and its pilot is named Iron Ruler; the people from the Ninth Brigade are well suited for this task.
"Yes!"
After seeing the Ninth Company off, Li Wen stretched lazily. The tasks as an executive officer were over, and now it was time for his personal exploration of the Liyue region.
However, before that, he still needed to pay a visit to Ningguang to give a report.
身化雷电，很快就进入到璃月港，作为愚人众的执行官，想见凝光并不难。
片刻后，李闻登上群玉阁，走进了凝光的办公室，一阵招呼后，就直接进入正题。
“The Fatui want to continue exploring the Chasm?”
“No, it’s just my personal opinion.”
Ningguang looked at Li Wen, pondering for a moment. He was indeed a powerful adventurer, but because of his affiliation with the Fatui, she couldn’t fully trust him.
Li Wen noticed Ning Guang shaking her head and guessed her thoughts; she doesn't trust him enough. Well, let's change his identity.
He rubbed his nose as a flash of light passed by, and the controlled body transformed back.
When Ningguang saw this, her face showed a rare look of surprise. She paused for a moment, then slowly smiled and said.
“I didn’t expect you to have this kind of habit.”
“No! This is the randomness of the spell. It’s not me, I don’t have that, don’t say nonsense.”
In a hurry, Ningguang nodded and began to look at the resume of Olya on the table.
“Then you should go. This is your proof; once you get there, you can find Yelan, as she is very familiar with the Chasm.”
“Is that the young lady with deep blue hair?”
“Have you seen her? That's good; it's quite interesting. She has inserted many undercover agents into the Fool's group. I didn't expect one of them to suddenly pop up as an executive undercover. I'm really curious about her reaction.”
"Is she the intelligence minister of Liyue?"
Ganyu smiled without saying anything, offering no explanation. Li Wen shrugged at her enigmatic demeanor and left the Yuyuan Pavilion.
After coming down from the Yuyuan Pavilion, he didn’t rush over; instead, he walked to the Rock Tea House.
Passing through the gate's guards, I entered what appeared to be an ordinary tea house. I had heard that this was once a casino, but it seemed that the rumors were just that—rumors.
“Customer, how many people?”
"No need."
Li Wen waved his hand and walked straight to a table, sitting down.
“Did you come back from over there?”
At the table sat Li Wen's acquaintance, Zhong Li, who picked up his tea cup and spoke.
```html“Well, I've rescued someone, now it's time to explore.”
“By the way, how did you end up here?”
“I heard this place had turned into an ordinary tea house, so I came to try it out. It seems this place is anything but ordinary.”```
“However, the tea is quite good.”
听到钟离的推崇，李闻好奇地抿了一口，没什么特别的感觉，可能还没到那个年纪吧。
“Want to hear a story?”
It was an ordinary tea house, and there was no storyteller to alleviate the boredom. Seeing Li Wen feeling uninterested, Zhong Li decided to talk about the matter of the Layered Rock Abyss.
"Sure."
“That has to start from five hundred years ago…”
The Qianyuan Army and the Yaksha; Li Wen had once read a brief summary of them in the background story of the artifacts, but now, hearing from the God of Geo, the details were much richer, even allowing him to see the scene of the Qianyuan Army entering the Chasm of the Liyue region.
“The reverse traveler is admirable.”