Ch. 244: The Guide Fee

Mo Fei gripped the hunting knife and peered deep into the mine tunnel.

The light reached its limit, revealing only slick, damp rock walls. There was no way forward.

Locke said Valk came out to the outskirts to scout an abandoned mine and went silent afterward, yet his knife ended up here... Did something happen to him?

Footsteps sounded behind him. Lily pulled her sleeve over her mouth and nose, waiting not far away with her packed shoulder bag over her back.

Greg said he found a massive pack of rat-hound monsters deep in the abandoned mine. If this is the place... No, better not risk it.

Mo Fei slotted the hunting knife into the side of his delivery box, then turned back to pack the rest of the white clay.

Lily walked over. Her gaze dropped to the hilt jutting from the side of the box, then drifted up to him.

"A knife?"

"Don't worry about it. Anything else you need to gather?"

Lily watched him for a moment. "Done."

"Then let's head back."

The two retraced their steps out of the tunnel. By the time they returned to the city, it was already past noon.

At the workshop doors, Lily patted her bulging bag. "Once it's blended, I'll give you a portion."

"Sure, I'll look forward to it."

---

Back in the workshop, Toby was still handling the rest of the day's tasks. Mo Fei picked up the emblem of The Inverted from the corner of the desk.

A purple light flared, and Locke's voice came through.

"Any news?"

"I found Valk's hunting knife in an abandoned mine on the outskirts."

The other end went quiet for a beat.

"Are you sure it's his? Where is that mine? Where inside did you find it?"

"Head out of the city toward..." Mo Fei stalled halfway through. "How do I even explain it? It's hard to describe."

"Are you at the workshop?"

"Yeah."

"Wait there. I'm coming over right now."

The purple light snapped off.

While waiting for Locke, Mo Fei decided to prep the container for refining Adamantine first.

After configuring a shaping circuit on the matrix plate, he placed the white clay on top and channeled Artificial Ether to light up the array lines.

Guided by the matrix, the white clay stretched outward and raised its walls. The material drew tighter and tighter, hardening into a solid, flat-bottomed trough.

He retrieved the white ceramic bottle and uncorked the white clay plug sealing the opening. The pungent stench had barely escaped when a bright emerald tentacle shot out from the side, aiming straight for the mouth of the bottle.

"You can't eat this!"

Mo Fei swatted the tentacle away and held the bottle up high. Prototype No. 1's beady black eyes tracked the bottle upward, its tentacle still wriggling midair.

"Why are you always trying to touch this stuff? This Aqua Fortis melted right through my shoes—do you want your tentacles to have a taste too?"

Only then did Prototype No. 1 pull its tentacle back, puffing out its body with a sulking, disgruntled look.

Knock, knock, knock.

Mo Fei froze mid-motion.

Toby went to answer the door. "Excuse me, who—"

Locke brushed past him into the workshop, speaking the moment his eyes landed on Mo Fei.

"Where's the knife?"

Mo Fei pressed the clay plug back into the bottle's neck. The Adamantine was still sitting aside untouched.

He handed the hunting knife over. Locke flipped the blade over for a look, then tested his grip on the hilt.

"It's his. Where did you find it?"

"In a rock crevice inside the tunnel."

Locke kept his eyes on the blade. "Take me there."

Mo Fei didn't answer immediately.

If the mine Greg mentioned is this one, running into that pack of rat-hound monsters deeper inside would be bad news... But Valk went through life and death with us after all, and with Locke around, nothing too crazy should happen, right?

"Fine, I'll take you." Mo Fei paused. "Though, shouldn't you at least cough up a guide fee?"

Locke reached into his cloak and tossed a gold coin straight over.

Mo Fei fumbled to catch it. Back then, when I asked for 15 gold in compensation for my damages, he slashed it down to 5 without batting an eye. Now I just make a passing remark and he tosses over a whole gold coin... Something's off with this guy today.

"Let's move." Locke had already turned and was heading out, gripping the hunting knife.

Mo Fei stowed the coin away. As he grabbed the Ether lamp, he swept his eyes across the shelves, finding nothing that could deal with rat-hound monsters.

I only handed the rat poison recipe to the Chamber yesterday; they haven't had time to mass-produce it yet...

He slung the delivery box over his back, Prototype No. 1 curled inside as usual.

On the way, Locke stayed in the lead the entire time, his pace never slowing.

"What was Valk even investigating in that abandoned mine?" Mo Fei asked.

"No idea." Locke didn't look back. "He never goes into detail about the jobs he takes."

Mo Fei stared at his back, just about to ask more when Locke spoke first. "What were you doing out there?"

"Accompanying my neighbor to gather mushrooms," Mo Fei said. "Didn't expect to pick up a knife along the way."

"So you weren't specially helping look for him?"

"If I said yes, would you bump up the guide fee?"

"In your dreams."

---

Returning to the pool of standing water, the air in the tunnel was still sour and stinging.

Mo Fei pointed to the crevice. "Right here."

Locke crouched down to examine the cleft, then stood up and traced his eyes along the rock wall.

Mo Fei walked over, only now noticing several scorched strike marks on the rock, as though slashed by something.

I was so busy digging up clay this morning that I didn't even notice this.

Locke stared at the marks for a long time. "He wouldn't leave his knife behind in a place like this for no reason. There are signs of a struggle here. He probably lost consciousness after the fight."

He looked past the standing water.

"Dead end that way," Mo Fei said. "I checked this morning. Just puddles and white clay."

The two returned to the main tunnel and continued forward.
As they walked, the solid rock underfoot gradually gave way to loose gravel. Locke kept his head down, scanning as he went, and stopped before they had gone far.
The gravel on the ground had been crushed and pushed to both sides, revealing two wagon ruts in the damp earth beneath. The tracks were fresh, leading straight toward the depths of the tunnel. Several tufts of fur clung to the wet mud—some gray, some yellow, and a few from creatures he couldn't even name—along with a single mud-caked feather.

Mo Fei recalled the caged wagon Greg had spoken of. They really did haul it into this mine...

Locke tightened his grip on the hunting knife and followed the ruts deeper in.

"Wait," Mo Fei called after him. "I heard from someone that there's a huge pack of rat-hound monsters deep inside this mine."

Locke didn't slow down. "Then we can't afford to wait."

Mo Fei gritted his teeth and hurried after him with the lamp.

The deeper they went, the clearer the ruts became. Locke walked faster and faster until Mo Fei had to jog to keep up. The tunnel curved around a bend, and a rank, musky stench thickened the air.

The moment the lamplight spilled inside, countless tiny pinpricks of light glittered in the dark.

Eyes.

One pair, two pairs... densely packed, crowding the entire cavern.
Long, pointed snouts poked from the shadows, and thick, whip-like tails dragged across the gravel with a dry rustle.

The light swept past the sea of arched backs to the farthest reaches of the cavern. The way was blocked by a brick wall set with a riveted iron door, the mortar between the bricks still strikingly fresh.

The ruts at their feet vanished beneath the swarm, pointing straight toward that door.

A door... inside an abandoned mine?

That sea of eyes shifted in unison, and the swarm of rat-hound monsters surged toward them.