https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-10-Fire-Chrysanthemum-Soldier-Drones-and-the-Small-Fragment-Zone/12833186/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-12-Star-Sea-Alien-Race-First-Class-Psionic-Shield/12833188/
Chapter 11: The High Efficiency of the Raging Tiger Type 1 Floating Land Mining Vehicle
Chapter 11: The High Efficiency of the Raging Tiger Type 1 Floating Land Mining Vehicle
About half an hour later, the onboard AI of the Raging Tiger mining vehicle issued another notification.
"Detected a radiation signature of Mithril Ore at coordinates xxxxx on the left. Preliminary estimates suggest a deposit of over ten tons."
Song Chi initially dismissed the alert, but then he realized the significance.
"Mithril? And ten tons?"
If his memory served him right, mithril was a resource far more valuable than refined gold. The average price of refined gold was around 1 strand of zero-stage floating land essence per ton, while mithril could fetch as much as 5 strands of zero-stage floating land essence per ton.
If it was indeed a deposit of over ten tons of mithril, it would definitely be worth mining. Don't underestimate 50 strands of zero-stage floating land essence. The initial 1000 strands Song Chi had were thanks to his parents, both of whom were veteran Ember Fleet captains. For a typical newly awakened Ember Fleet captain, a single interstellar exploration mission usually yielded around 100 strands of zero-stage floating land essence. The 50 strands from this deposit would already make up half of that.
Without hesitation, Song Chi maneuvered the Azure Sky toward the left, carefully approaching the coordinates where the mithril deposit was suspected to be located.
He wasn't in a rush, and as he moved forward, he kept a close eye on the radar. After reaching level 4 in the Guiding Technique, his mental and physical capabilities had both improved significantly. Multitasking was a basic skill, and it was said that at higher levels, one could handle ten tasks or more simultaneously.
While the standard aerial radar couldn't detect life signals, it could still pick up high-speed movements of advanced star sea creatures or the approach of specialized warships from alien civilizations. However, the chances of encountering such entities during the first exploration phase were very low. There were no other incidents, and the Azure Sky quickly reached the target fragment.
The fragment was several dozen meters long, much larger than the Azure Sky. Song Chi didn't rush to deploy the mining vehicle. Instead, he circled the area to ensure there were no dangers before landing the shuttle on the fragment.
After that, he had nothing else to do. The onboard AI of the Raging Tiger Type 1 mining vehicle took over, guiding the vehicle out of the Azure Sky's hold and to the location with the strongest radiation signature. It then began the mining operation automatically.
Inside the Azure Sky, Song Chi waited quietly, his expression calm but inwardly quite satisfied. The Raging Tiger mining vehicle was expensive, but its efficiency was impressive.
If another newly awakened Ember Fleet captain had to mine the ten tons of mithril manually, it would take at least five hours. With the Raging Tiger mining vehicle, the job was done in just forty minutes.
As it turned out, Song Chi's expectations were met. Thirty-five minutes later, the Raging Tiger Type 1 mining vehicle returned to the Azure Sky's hold with ten tons of mithril, completing the task in less than forty minutes.
Song Chi quickly entered the market and stored the mithril in an empty area before resuming his exploration.
Two hours later.
The Azure Sky continued to slowly navigate through the debris field. Since the ten tons of mithril, no other valuable deposits had been detected that were worth a second manual effort—either the value was too low, or the quantity was too small.
However, a recent scan had detected over eight tons of raw refined gold, which piqued his interest. Although refining the ore would reduce its volume, it would still fetch around 5 to 6 strands of zero-stage floating land essence. Even a small amount was better than nothing, and it was certainly better than aimlessly wandering around.
As Song Chi was deep in thought, the mining vehicle's onboard AI issued another alert.
"Moderate 'Primal Copper' radiation detected. Estimated reserves exceed five hundred tons. Fragment coordinates: xxxxx."
Song Chi's eyebrows shot up, and he quickly snapped out of his contemplation. Detailed information about Primal Copper immediately surfaced in his mind.
Primal Copper is a low-tier metal resource, typically valued at about one strand of zero-grade Floating Land Essence per five tons. It's not particularly valuable.
However, the sheer volume made a difference. With a conservative estimate of over five hundred tons, if all of it were mined, it could fetch at least one hundred strands of zero-grade Floating Land Essence.
Other low-tier Ember Fleet ships would likely ignore such a find, not only because they might not have an Anger Tiger mining vehicle but also because transporting such a large quantity back would be a significant challenge.
But Song Chi was different. With the All-Realms Marketplace and an Anger Tiger Type 1 Floating Land Mining Vehicle at his disposal, he was determined to secure those hundreds of tons of Primal Copper.
Without hesitation, he proceeded as he had done before. Upon reaching the target fragment, he first surveyed the area to ensure there were no dangers. Only then did he deploy the mining vehicle to begin its work.
Mining hundreds of tons of Primal Copper wasn't a difficult task, but it certainly wouldn't be completed in a short time. To avoid wasting this period, Song Chi reinstalled the specialized exploration instrument on the mining vehicle.
He planned to use this downtime to conduct a preliminary survey of the surrounding area. This way, once the Anger Tiger mining vehicle finished with the Primal Copper, they could immediately move on to the next resource.
Although removing the exploration instrument would slightly slow down the mining process, the overall efficiency was higher when both tasks were performed separately for a while.
Before leaving, Song Chi, feeling a bit uneasy, left three Fire Chrysanthemum Soldier Puppets to guard the fragment. This was to prevent the noise from the mining operations from attracting the attention of unknown creatures.
A few hours later, several hundred kilometers away from the fragment where the Anger Tiger mining vehicle was working, the Canopy's speed slightly decreased. The exploration instrument issued another alert.
Without the onboard AI's active notification, Song Chi had to manually leave his seat to check.
"Mercury Crystal, ten kilograms. This stuff is more valuable than Mithril, but the quantity is too small to justify mining."
Just then, the sky patrol radar on the control panel began to emit a series of alarms. Song Chi reacted swiftly, returning to the cockpit and scanning the radar screen and the projection screen.
He quickly identified the source of the radar alarm. On the radar map, several hundred fragments, originally stationary, had simultaneously shifted several thousand kilometers away.
Clearly, this was not normal, or the sky patrol radar wouldn't have sounded the alarm.
Song Chi's eyes narrowed, and his expression grew serious. The energy required to cause such a disturbance was far beyond the zero-grade level.
Thinking about this, he instinctively shrank back, not wanting to get involved in whatever was happening.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
