In addition, he was wearing a very delicate pair of mechanical eyes, with fine gears around the eyes, and the eye frames were a special device similar to a monocular telescope, which could be extended and adjusted.
Beside him was also a set of work clothes, two buckets of foul-smelling asphalt, and two baskets filled with tools.
The purpose of this asphalt was, naturally, to deal with the small stone creatures inside the mine.
This viscous, unformed, liquid asphalt could easily make the small stone creatures fall to the ground and stick to their entire bodies like a plaster, making it impossible for them to break free.
Slaut's muffled voice came from under his helmet as he greeted, "Mr. Durin, you've arrived as expected! Cough, cough~"
Durin wore a mask and kept a certain distance from Slaut.
In particular, he noticed a strong smell of ore dust in the air, which made him extremely uncomfortable.
Durin nodded and replied, "Are you all ready?"
"Of course! You'll soon see some very valuable Synthetite crystal.
Trust me, it's really valuable!" Slaut said with conviction.
Durin first showed hesitation, pointing to the coal residue on the ground, then asked seriously, "Wait! Isn't this a coal mine? Are you sure there will be crystals in a coal mine?"
"Cough, cough! You don't know this, but I suspect there's a Synthetite crystal vein nearby, after all, right next door is a super-large mine with all kinds of ores, like iron ore and silver ore.
But that mine belongs to a Chem-Baron, and there are a dozen people patrolling it 24 hours a day."
Slaut looked left and right, and after confirming that there was no one else around, he lowered his voice and explained, "I estimate that a very small part of the crystal vein extends deep into the coal mine, but I only found one spot.
Cough, cough, cough! Alright, let's hurry up and go!"
Durin didn't ask any more questions, but nodded warningly, "Alright, we're going in now, but remember, don't play any tricks!
As soon as I sense something is wrong, I'll make sure you regret it!"
Although Slaut had always been friendly, Durin still didn't dare to relax his guard.
The two had only met once, one was the debt collector, and the other was the debtor, so there was practically no trust between them, only temporarily allied for a bit of money.
No one could guarantee that this seemingly frail old man wouldn't play any tricks for money.
Slaut, however, shook his head repeatedly, saying he had no ulterior motives.
Before entering the mine, Durin also needed to change into the work gear provided by Slaut, and bring mining tools, an iron pickaxe, and two buckets of asphalt.
After listening to Slaut's instructions on what to pay attention to inside the mine, he followed the old miner Slaut into the tunnel.
This tunnel was not straight; it had a certain curvature, and the environment was pitch black all the way.
Only the mining lamps they carried provided a faint light, allowing them to walk through the tunnel.
Bending over to enter the tunnel was very uncomfortable, but fortunately, this section of the path was not long.
After walking about ten to twenty meters in the tunnel and turning two small 120-degree bends, the dirt ceiling that had restricted his height disappeared, replaced by a mine shaft large enough for two or three carriages to pass through.
The exterior of this mine was very narrow, but its interior space was vast, about 7 meters high and 4 meters wide.
There was even a railway outside the cave that led directly into the mine, with coal cars parked on it.
Emerging from the narrow tunnel, Durin discovered that this tunnel was connected to the mine.
Durin held the mining lamp to the entrance of the passage.
A large sign was nailed to the rock wall, with a hideous skull painted on the wooden board in dark, faded crimson paint, and the words "Right passage extremely dangerous, do not enter!" written in eye-catching white outline.
Although he only understood Noxus script, Durin had lived in Zaun for half a year, so he could understand common written meanings.
Slaut pointed to the right passage, which was sealed off with wooden boards, and said seriously, "We need to go to the right."
Durin immediately became displeased.
He pointed to the words on the sign and retorted, "To the right? Didn't you see it says 'extremely dangerous'?!"
"Don't worry, this sign has been here for five years.
Cough, cough, cough!!!"
The violent coughing made Slaut's frail body tremble.
After a long while, his slightly pale face returned to normal, and he said hoarsely, "Generally speaking, the small stone creatures won't attack us, but the small stone creatures here are a bit different; they probably consider the right passage their territory.
They will only attack actively if they are discovered after entering the right passage; they usually don't come out from inside."
"The mine manager is also corrupt and doesn't want to spend money hiring people to deal with it, so he uses this simplest method to warn others not to go in.
There was one time when my mining lamp broke, and I accidentally walked in when I couldn't see anything, and that's when I discovered the Synthetite crystal."
Slaut looked up, his fawning gaze mixed with a hint of determination: "Don't forget, Mr. Durin, this piece of Synthetite crystal can sell for at least 3 gold cogwheels!
How much money is that? How long would it take us to earn that much normally!
Let's go! Opportunities like this don't come often!"
With that, he picked up a bucket of asphalt and resolutely walked inside.
Durin looked at Slaut's hunched back and couldn't help but fall into thought.
Indeed, he had come all this way; he couldn't go back empty-handed.
He needed money!
Two gold cogwheels would be enough to change his living situation, enabling him to afford the blacksmith apprentice fees, and he wouldn't have to look for those difficult and poorly paid temporary jobs in the mornings.
Thinking of this, Durin gritted his teeth and followed, simultaneously deciding to grab the crystal and leave immediately, not lingering at all.