After Zhongli easily dealt with the Level 100 BOSS, the most powerful ruler of the Underground Mine, the Slime Queen, Arkz and his two companions found their journey through the Underground Mine completely unobstructed.
This was because the BOSSes beyond Level 100 had already been eliminated by the Slime Queen; she had transformed these sections of the Underground Mine into incubation chambers for breeding Slimes.
Arkz and the others curiously observed the eggs of various colors piled up inside the incubation chamber.
Arkz asked curiously, "Are these eggs slime eggs?"
Xiao responded, "Are Slimes born from eggs? I recall that Slimes on the Teyvat continent are naturally formed by Elemental Power, aren't they?"
"Truly miraculous!" Even Zhongli couldn't help but be shocked by the scene before him.
"This technology was developed to enable stable reproduction for the tribe, solving the problem of the Slime race being unable to procreate."
Even Arkz couldn't help but sigh, "Now I understand why those Slimes are so loyal to the Slime Queen, willing to fight fearlessly even if it means sacrificing their lives."
The three fell silent.
After a moment, the trio headed toward the deepest part.
In the deepest part of the Underground Mine, within the Level 120 space, sat a magnificent golden treasure chest.
Arkz walked up and opened the chest.
"This is..."
"A Skeleton Key?!"
Indeed, the treasure chest contained only an arm-sized Skeleton Key, and nothing else.
"That's it?" Arkz unhappily stuck his head inside the chest, only to find it completely empty.
Xiao stood with his arms crossed, looking at the Skeleton Key in Arkz's hand.
"The person who placed this key in this chest truly has a sick sense of humor. You two would get along great."
"This design would probably scare children to tears!"
Arkz teased, "Xiao, don't tell me you're scared of this key."
"Boring!"
Xiao turned his head away, ignoring Arkz's taunt.
Zhongli stepped forward, his expression gentle, showing no trace of the terrifying aura he possessed during the earlier battle.
"Young friend Arkz, my business here is concluded. Please forgive me for taking my leave!"
Arkz looked up and noticed a faint sense of urgency on Zhongli's usually placid face.
He asked curiously, "Oh! What's so urgent that you have to rush off? I was planning to invite you and Xiao over to my farm for a meal."
Zhongli gave a wry smile, "I took leave from Director Hu for this trip. Now I must hurry back to work overtime."
"Otherwise... Director Hu might dock my pay."
Although Zhongli didn't lack Mora, since he had promised Hu Tao he would return as soon as the matter was settled, he couldn't go back on his word.
Despite feeling a bit of regret, Arkz understood. "Then we'll have to meet another time."
Zhongli nodded. "Farewell!"
As he spoke, Zhongli transformed into a streak of light and vanished in an instant.
After Zhongli departed, Arkz turned to Xiao, who was standing nearby, and asked,
"You aren't leaving too, are you?"
Xiao coolly nodded.
"The resentment of the demon god in the wilderness has not yet been cleared. I must continue fighting."
Arkz sighed helplessly, waved his hand, and said,
"Go, go then."
"Remember to get some water of purity from me."
Xiao leaped high into the air and departed like a gentle breeze.
A voice drifted faintly from a distance.
"Understood."
Arkz was left alone in the Underground Mine.
He picked up the Skeleton Key in his hand and murmured,
"Is this key used the same way as in the game?"
"To open the gate of the Desert Mine?"
If the Level 120 Underground Mine was the novice village for miners, then the Desert Mine was their sacred ground.
The Desert Mine was a truly endless mine where precious Five-Colored Fragments and Iridium Ore were not considered rare.
Powerful monsters also emerged there ceaselessly.
"Desert Mine?"
"On the Teyvat continent, the only place referred to as a desert seems to be the desert in Sumeru!"
"Do I have to return to Sumeru?"
The mere thought of the junior student Dottore in the Sumeru Akademiya sent a shiver down Arkz's spine.
"I don't necessarily have to explore the Desert Mine. This current mine is sufficient for my needs for now."
Arkz's fear of Dottore had long since vanished as his strength grew. Now, his avoidance of Dottore was mostly due to wanting to avoid trouble.
After all, getting entangled with a mad scientist like Dottore was truly troublesome.
"I got an egg from a treasure chest in the Level 100 mine earlier, but I haven't had a chance to look at it yet."
"System, appraise it."
[Ding! Appraisal successful.]
[slime princess egg: The masterpiece of the Slime Queen, inheriting the Slime Queen's wisdom and power. It is the future monarch of the Slime race.]
"Slime Princess?"
"Interesting."
"If I could make the Slime Princess my subordinate, wouldn't I be able to control all the Slimes on the Teyvat continent?"
"Then I could open a Slime breeding farm, offer Slime rental services, and Mora would pour in!"
Arkz held the slime princess egg, lost in a fantasy of a beautiful future.
"System, are there any items like a Pet contract?"
[Ding! Complete the task: Earn 1,000,000 Mora by selling farm crops to unlock the System Shop.]
"1,000,000 Mora?"
"Easy peasy."
Arkz, full of confidence, stored the slime princess egg in his system inventory.
The second batch of planted crops, including strawberries, was about to mature. The first batch of potatoes planted had already been harvested a few days ago after ripening.
Because placing crops into the system space meant he didn't have to worry about spoilage, as time seemed to be frozen within the system's space, Arkz planned to take the strawberries along when they matured to sell them in Mondstadt City.
Selling so many high-quality crops with magical effects for 1,000,000 Mora in the Mondstadt market would surely be simple.
...
...
"Sigh!"
"Sigh!!"
"Sigh!!!"
Siegfrieda was shaking her head and sighing beside Amu, while Amu was searching for treasures around the farm with A Qiu.
"Help me! Amu!"
Amu held up a dinosaur thigh bone she had just dug up on the farm, her eyes full of innocence untouched by knowledge, and asked doubtfully,
"What?"
Siegfrieda said helplessly, "Amu, the supply order Sara entrusted to us! Did you forget?"
"If we can secure the supply order from Mr. Arkz, Sara promised to hand over all future delivery commissions for Springvale Farm to us!"
"Do you know what that means!!!"
Amu played along by asking, "What does it mean?"
Siegfrieda spread her arms wide, embracing the sky, and exclaimed loudly, "It means we'll have a stable source of commissions for our work!"
"We won't have to spend the whole day waiting for a single commission like today, only to play in the mud on the farm!"
"If this continues, we'll have enough Mora to expand the scale of our business!"
"Hire subordinates, start a company!!!"
"Expand our delivery business across all of Teyvat!!!"
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Rexlent
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"