Dan Heng listened and felt that Fu Zhu's suggestion wasn't a bad plan, but the key hinged on whether Fu Zhu alone could withstand the pressure of facing Cocolia.
"Let's keep it as a backup plan for now. It's better to be cautious."
"Whatever works."
Fu Zhu didn't particularly mind. If he couldn't speedrun it, then he'd aim for a no-damage run as much as possible. After all, he was currently in Hardcore Mode; if he kicked the bucket, he didn't know if he could start a new file.
"Regarding this matter, please allow Wildfire to lend you a hand."
Oleg, who had been standing quietly to the side like a background prop, suddenly spoke up. His expression was serious as he turned his head and gestured towards Seele.
"Seele is an exceptionally talented young member of our Wildfire. We hope the abilities she possesses can be of assistance to you all. After all, you've done so much for the Underworld; it's only right that we repay you somehow."
Fu Zhu had completely solved the Underworld's Furnace Core energy supply problem. In the future, all the Geomarrow mined by the Underworld could be used entirely for trading goods with the Overworld. This would significantly improve the quality of life for the Underworld residents—it was a heavy debt of gratitude!
If they didn't repay at least part of it, Oleg himself felt so ashamed he wanted to jump off the building.
Fu Zhu glanced at Seele and didn't refuse Oleg's proposal. Having an extra person help would indeed make a no-damage outcome easier.
March 7th happily thanked Oleg: "That's great! With Seele's help, things will definitely go smoother. Thank you so much, Uncle Oleg and Seele!"
Svarog also chimed in at the right moment to remind everyone.
"Esteemed guests, it is getting late. Humans require sufficient rest to complete tasks efficiently. Excessive fatigue will only impair your judgment. As thanks for Fu Zhu's repair of the Furnace Core, please rest here for the night."
Dan Heng and the others agreed without hesitation. They truly needed a safe place to rest properly.
"In that case, we shall take our leave first. See you tomorrow."
Oleg and Seele naturally wouldn't rest at Svarog's residence; they had their own places. Besides, the miners were still waiting for news back in town. If they didn't return soon to inform them, they probably wouldn't sleep a wink all night.
Fu Zhu also chose not to stay and rest. Even though he had fought Fragmentum creatures on the front lines all evening, thanks to Steve's constitution, he didn't feel physically tired. At most, he was mentally a bit fatigued, but his spirits were still quite high.
If sleeping couldn't skip the night or set a respawn point, then sleep was just a waste of time for Steve.
With time available for sleeping, Fu Zhu felt he might as well use it to go mine some more ore and unlock some achievements.
Hadn't Oleg been troubled about how to repay them? Now was the time for repayment!
"Oleg, do you know where there's any iron ore or diamond ore? Let me mine some."
Oleg, who had just stood up preparing to leave, immediately stopped and turned back, nodding when he heard Fu Zhu call him.
However, right after nodding, the image of Fu Zhu mining Geomarrow flashed through Oleg's mind, and his expression couldn't help but tighten.
Surely Mr. Fu Zhu isn't going to empty the entire iron mine in one night, right?
Although he thought this inwardly, Oleg readily agreed aloud: "Of course, Mr. Fu Zhu, please mine as much as you like. It's just that diamond ore... is truly quite rare."
For the Underworld, iron ore, coal, and Geomarrow were the top priorities, as they were easier to trade with the Overworld for various supplies. Minerals like diamond ore, which had more ornamental than practical value, were only sought after by a few nobles and researchers for trade, so the Underworld miners didn't pay much attention to diamond ore.
"No problem, just give me a general location. I can look around myself to see if there's a deposit of the size I need."
Hearing Fu Zhu say this, Oleg didn't press further and simply nodded in agreement.
Before leaving, Fu Zhu didn't forget to turn back and tell his companions, to prevent them from worrying too much.
Even so, March 7th was still a little worried, her small hands clenched tightly in front of her chest, her brow furrowed into a '川' character.
"Fu Zhu, come back to us soon, okay? Don't get into any trouble."
"Don't worry, I'm just mining some ore. If you're really worried, you can come find me anytime. It's not far from here to the town, anyway. Nothing like what happened in the Overworld will happen again."
Fu Zhu's words reassured March 7th considerably. Although she really wanted to follow and see why Fu Zhu was so obsessed with iron ore and other minerals, the whole day of running around, combined with her earlier worry for Fu Zhu when he was alone, had left her exhausted. For now, she could only stay here and rest.
Dan Heng simply reminded Fu Zhu to be careful and said no more. Xing, on the other hand, stared pitifully at Fu Zhu like a little raccoon whose treasure had been snatched away, occasionally muttering about Redstone Blocks.
Fu Zhu finally couldn't stand her pitiful gaze any longer and took out a Redstone Block, tossing it directly to her. As the heavy Redstone Block landed in her hands, Xing began to spin around joyfully.
"Don't use it for anything weird."
Fu Zhu added this instruction before following Oleg and Seele out of Svarog's residence.
"...Mr. Fu Zhu, this is the iron vein belonging to Wildfire."
Fu Zhu followed the direction Oleg pointed. On a rock wall, a considerable amount of raw iron was exposed. This sight would make any Steve smile from the bottom of their heart.
"This really is a nice spot."
Fu Zhu eagerly pulled out his iron pickaxe and struck the raw iron ore several times in succession. A dull thudding sound echoed from the rock face, and the next second, all the raw iron ore was neatly stripped out from within the rock wall by Fu Zhu.
Not one more, not one less, exactly one stack of 64 raw iron.
Conversely, numerous perfectly square holes now dotted the rock wall. This left Oleg utterly stunned.
Oleg held it in for a long time before managing to squeeze out a sentence: "Mr. Fu Zhu, your method of mining minerals... is truly... peculiar."
Oleg even went closer to inspect one of the square holes. All visible traces of raw iron within the rock wall were completely gone!
Fu Zhu's technique was tantamount to directly extracting the iron element from the stone itself—a method unheard of and unseen before.
Oleg hesitated for a moment, then tentatively asked Fu Zhu: "Mr. Fu Zhu, would Wildfire be able to purchase the usage rights for this technology from you?"
Fu Zhu thought for a moment, then shook his head and refused.
"I'm afraid that's not possible. This is an ability unique to me; you wouldn't be able to use it."
Fu Zhu wasn't a petty person. If someone wanted to make a deal and offered a suitable price, he'd naturally be willing. However, something like vein mining, he really couldn't share.
Still, there was another mining method with side effects that perhaps Oleg and his people could actually use.
"If you can accept Silverfish popping out of your bodies, then I do have a special mining technique."