https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-45-Deep-Water-Clam-Pearls-Advanced-Body-Forging-Elixir/12833254/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-47-The-Bigwig-Behind-the-Black-Mountain-Guild/12833256/
Chapter 46: The Ring of White Tower Asteroid Belt, Tianyu Mining Company
Chapter 46: The Ring of White Tower Asteroid Belt, Tianyu Mining Company
The second advanced body-strengthening elixir lasted only a day, but the pain it brought to Song Chi far exceeded that of the previous one, which had lasted three days.
The reason was simple: the elixir's potency was too strong for his current physical condition, leading to severe discomfort.
Despite the pain, Song Chi gritted his teeth and persevered, driven by the astonishing cultivation effects.
...
While Song Chi was fully immersed in his cultivation, a fleet was speeding through the desolate starry expanse outside the White Tower Floating Land.
This fleet consisted of fewer than ten starships, emerging from the White Tower Floating Land and heading straight for a nearby asteroid belt.
The asteroid belt was not far from the White Tower Floating Land, less than 300 million kilometers away. At the speed of light, the fleet reached the outer edge of the asteroid belt in just over ten minutes.
Since it was within the gravitational field of the White Tower Floating Land, the asteroid belt was simply named the Ring of White Tower Asteroid Belt.
The Ring of White Tower Asteroid Belt was a medium-sized asteroid belt, spanning less than 100,000 kilometers in diameter. After centuries of continuous mining by various companies on the White Tower Floating Land, the resources in this belt were nearly depleted, leaving only a few scattered areas where independent mining ships still operated.
"Who would have thought that this nearly exhausted resource point would still hide an extremely rare titanium crystal vein," Shen Wenjie mused in the main control room of the lead starship on the left side of the fleet.
In response, Song Chao's voice came from another escort-class psionic starship, which was in communication with Shen Wenjie's "Copper Halberd" escort-class psionic starship: "Let's hope so. The two miners from Tianyu Mining Company only reported seeing what they suspected to be titanium crystals; they haven't confirmed it through actual mining."
After a brief exchange, the two ships led the way into the asteroid belt, followed by seven more psionic starships of varying lengths.
Indeed, the entire fleet of nine starships was composed entirely of ember starships.
As they moved forward, they encountered several ordinary mining ships drifting in the asteroid belt. Although the belt had been mined for centuries, there were no other resource points around the White Tower Floating Land, so some independent miners still came here hoping to get lucky.
After all, even though the days of easily finding resources were long gone, there were still recent examples of miners discovering rare resources and becoming wealthy.
Upon seeing the fleet pass by, these mining ships reacted uniformly, quickly moving out of the way to avoid any conflict with these powerful figures.
To these ordinary people, every ember starship was a formidable presence, far beyond their reach. The fact that the ember starships in this fleet were different from those they had seen before, especially the two leading ships, made them even more cautious.
The entire hundred-meter-long hulls of these ships were covered in black armor, and the shimmering energy shields were clearly impenetrable. The main gun turrets, several meters in diameter, were menacing, and even the secondary turrets scattered along the hull could easily tear apart any top-of-the-line mining ship.
The fleet continued its journey without any incidents.
...
The Tianyu Mining Company's exclusive mining zone, one of the busiest in the Ring of White Tower Asteroid Belt, saw hundreds to thousands of mining ships passing through daily. To maintain order, the company had established a dedicated mining zone patrol fleet.
"Lu, I had a pretty good day today. I managed to mine five tons of refined gold. After work, how about we head over to Old Lady Sun's place for a drink? I'll treat you. I heard her old lady is back in town, so you can really let loose after we're done."
Lu Erhe, who had been sitting in the patrol boat feeling rather bored, perked up at this. However, he quickly feigned indifference and replied, "Got it. We'll talk about it after work. Just remember not to take too much for yourself, or I'll be too busy to clean up your mess."
Hearing Lu Erhe's response, Old He in the adjacent mining ship grinned, knowing he would have another extra bit of income today.
After a moment, Old He closed the short-range communication with a polite nod. What Lu Erhe didn't know was that as soon as the communication ended, Old He's fawning expression turned into a mocking sneer.
"Tsk, tsk, Old Lady Sun has been with so many men. Only you, Lu the Fool, still treat her like a treasure."
After his mocking laugh, Old He prepared to steer his mining ship toward the company's inspection point. However, the next second, he froze, his eyes shifting to the side of the starfield.
"It's... it's a Flametorch Fleet. Why are there so many Flametorch ships here? They don't seem to be the lowest-tier psychic shuttles. Could they all be Tier 1 Flametorch ships?"
Clearly, Old He wasn't the only miner to spot the Flametorch Fleet. Since Song Chao and Shen Wenjie hadn't hidden their presence, it didn't take long for most of the miners in the area to notice the fleet.
The result was that within a couple of minutes, hundreds of mining ships scattered to the sides of the mining area, instinctively clearing the central region.
However, the unfamiliar Flametorch Fleet showed no intention of leaving. As the miners puzzled over this, a cold, mechanical voice emerged from the lead Flametorch ship.
"Who is the manager of this mining area?"
The miners hesitated for a moment before pushing forward Lu Erhe, the patrol team captain. Just as Lu Erhe was panicking, the message from the Flametorch ship only asked for a detailed star map of the mining area.
This greatly relieved Lu Erhe. He had only become the patrol team captain through connections, aiming to make some extra money. The idea of defending the company's mining area to the death was far too much to ask of him.
Almost immediately after the request, he transmitted the detailed star map, not wanting to delay even a second.
Onboard the Copper Halberd psychic shuttle, Shen Wenjie compared the star map with the one he had obtained from the market a few days earlier. After confirming its accuracy, he and Song Chao exchanged a glance.
They nodded to each other, and the fleet set off again, heading toward the coordinates they had obtained.
However, out of the nine Flametorch ships, only eight left. One remained, and a circle of light spread from it, quickly enveloping most of the mining area.
On a small asteroid several dozen meters in diameter, Old He's mining ship lay quietly docked. Before anyone else realized what was happening, Old He recognized the subtle light barrier.
"They've deployed a temporary communication blockade. Looks like something valuable has appeared in this mining area again."
(End of Chapter)
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