Chapter 14: Inner Mysteries

After putting away the black soil, Zhao Hai led Mu Tou and Shi Tou to Mei Lin and Mei Ge to see how they were doing with the cleanup.

Although this iron mountain had many dwarf mines, it was actually one large mine, with almost the entire mountain being hollowed out by the dwarves. However, the structure of the mountain was very unique, and with the dwarves' extensive mining experience, the entire mine was built very sturdily, so there was no need to worry about cave-ins.

Mei Lin and Mei Ge, though women, had always served the Buda family and were good helpers to Green. Doing this task was naturally not a problem for them. The slaves, encouraged by Zhao Hai's promise of freedom, worked with great enthusiasm and did not need to be supervised.

However, during the cleanup, they found that not much of the mine was usable. The first few dozen meters of the mine were a residential area composed of open spaces and stone caves where the dwarves lived. This area, after a good cleanup, could be used to raise blue-eyed rabbits. However, further inside, the mine sloped downward and was already filled with water.

But even just the areas they had cleaned up were enough to raise a large number of blue-eyed rabbits, at least several tens of thousands without any issues.

The dwarves, who had to live in the mine for long periods, designed it to be similar to a small city, not far from a water source, with drainage facilities. The area was spacious and close to the entrance, and although there was water in the mine, it was still quite dry, making it an ideal place to raise blue-eyed rabbits.

This was the first time Zhao Hai had a clear view of the true appearance of the dwarf iron mountain. The entire iron mountain was not very high, with an altitude of about one thousand meters, stretching for a few thousand kilometers in a semi-circular shape, enclosing the Black Soil Wasteland. The only way in and out of the Black Soil Wasteland was through the opening of the semi-circular mountain range. Zhao Hai's castle was built against the mountain, with part of it on the hillside, backed by the iron mountain. The dwarf mine was on the mountain's waist, at a relatively high elevation. Behind the iron mountain was the notorious Corpse Swamp, one of the five forbidden areas on the continent.

The land on the mountain was a deep brown, with patches of weeds growing here and there, but they were not thriving, looking as if they were about to wither. Even the few twisted trees looked malnourished and deformed.

Seeing this, Zhao Hai couldn't help but sigh. He now understood why the nobles had exiled him here and why Green had spent all his wealth on supplies before coming here. This place was a dead land, and even if they worked hard in the future, they would be lucky to have enough to eat. For the Buda family to rebuild here was like a dream.

Looking at the busy mine in the distance, Zhao Hai quickly walked forward and soon arrived at the mine. However, Mei Lin and Mei Ge were inside directing the slaves and did not notice Zhao Hai's arrival.

Although the mine was built by the dwarves, the entrance was quite large, about three meters high and five meters wide. Inside was a large open area with various-sized caves scattered along the walls, almost like a city within the mountain. It could easily accommodate tens of thousands of people.

Zhao Hai was stunned by the sight. He had never imagined that the dwarves could create such a mountain city. It was truly amazing.

Looking inside the mine, he saw that the walls were all built in an arched shape with stones. This was no longer a mine but a subterranean base.

Zhao Hai nodded in agreement. This place was really excellent. As long as it was properly cleaned up, it could not only be used to raise blue-eyed rabbits but also serve as a secret base. However, the cleanup would take time, and they didn't have the time to do it now.

At this moment, Mei Lin noticed Zhao Hai and hurried over. "Young Master, why did you come here? It's very dirty. You should go back to the castle."

Zhao Hai smiled slightly. "It's fine. I just wanted to see what this place is like. Grandma Mei Lin, how many such caves are there on the mountain?"

Mei Lin quickly replied, "There are only two such large caves on the mountain. One is on this side of the castle, and the other is on the other side of the mountain. The scale is similar to this one. The rest are small passages, and there are dozens of them."

Zhao Hai nodded. "Are these caves connected? How deep is this mine? We need to build barriers here, or it will be impossible to catch the blue-eyed rabbits."

Mei Lin said, "Young Master, don't worry. These caves are likely connected, which is a dwarf custom. However, the passages are generally built at the bottom of the mine to ensure the mountain doesn't collapse. They don't dig horizontal passages on the outside. But now the caves are filled with water, and it's unknown how deep they are, so they are dead ends. You can use this place with peace of mind."

Zhao Hai smiled and nodded. "That's good. We can't take care of the cave on the other side of the mountain for now, but this one is perfect. We should repair the road leading here and block off the mine entrance. Although there's water inside, we don't need to worry about the blue-eyed rabbits escaping, but we should prevent them from drowning."

Mei Lin nodded. "Young Master, don't worry. I know what to do. This place isn't where you should be. You should go back."

Zhao Hai smiled slightly. "It's fine. I'm not in a hurry. Grandma Mei Lin, you continue working. I'll go check the water in the mine to see if it's usable."

Mei Lin nodded. "I'll go with you. I'm a water mage and know a lot about water. I can help you."

Zhao Hai smiled. "Alright. There's nothing to do here anyway. It's good for you to take a break." He then stepped into the mine.

Mei Lin followed Zhao Hai, with Mu Tou and Shi Tou behind them. Mei Ge stayed behind to supervise the slaves.

The four quickly entered the mine, which sloped downward but not steeply. It looked like there were originally iron tracks, but they had been removed, leaving only a brown stone floor.

After walking down the slope for a few hundred meters, Zhao Hai saw an underground lake. Yes, it could only be described as an underground lake. The area was so vast that, even with the light from the mine entrance, he couldn't see how large it was, only hearing the sound of water.

At this moment, a white light suddenly appeared next to Zhao Hai. Curious, he looked over and saw that Mei Lin was holding a ball of light, like a lamp.

However, he quickly understood. This was magic, and from Adam's memories, he knew it was a light spell, a spell for illumination. It had no offensive, defensive, or healing capabilities and could be used by any mage, even a novice, because it had no elemental restrictions.

Zhao Hai glanced at it and then turned his attention to the underground lake, using the light to carefully examine it. He realized that calling it an underground lake was not an exaggeration. The water surface was much larger than a typical underground lake, almost boundless. What surprised Zhao Hai the most was that there were several small islands on the lake, though they were not large, only a few dozen square meters, and they connected to the sky above and the ground below, like pillars.

Zhao Hai asked Mei Lin, puzzled, "Grandma Mei Lin, do you know what those pillar-like things are for?"

Mei Lin smiled. "Young Master, you're right. Those are pillars left by the dwarves to support the entire mountain. The platforms are command stations where dwarves would stand to direct the work below. The area you see is completely hollowed out, essentially a lake."

Zhao Hai's eyes lit up, and he laughed. "That's great! This is really great! We can raise fish here, a lot of fish. This is a natural treasure trove!"

Mei Lin looked around. "Young Master's idea is good, but we need to check this place thoroughly. If it's stagnant water, it won't be suitable for raising fish. However, the water elements here seem quite active, so it's not stagnant. The problem is the source of the water. If there's a river flowing in, there must be an outlet. Otherwise, the water level wouldn't remain constant. If there's an outlet, any fish we put in might escape through it."

Zhao Hai nodded. "Yes, that's a big problem. I noticed the same issue with the moat. We need to solve this problem first." He then turned to Mei Lin. "Grandma Mei Lin, can you get some water for me? I want to take it back for research."

Although Mei Lin didn't understand Zhao Hai's intentions, she agreed and moved her hand. A one-meter-diameter water ball slowly rose from the surface and stopped in front of Zhao Hai. Zhao Hai marveled at the magic's power but didn't waste time. He focused, and the large water ball entered his spatial storage.

After storing the water ball, Zhao Hai felt no prompts from the spatial storage, confirming that the water ball was indeed stored. He couldn't help but marvel at the spatial storage's magic, which could even store water.

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End of Chapter 14