Chapter 86

The entrance to the gold crystal vein gleamed with a warm, bright yellow luster against the deep purple sky.

The continuous rock formations resembled polished gold after being smelted, their surfaces so smooth that they reflected the faint red glow of stars. Unlike the crisscrossing fissures of hematite veins, there were only occasional golden veins that spread along the rock's texture. The metallic scent in the air changed from scorching to crisp, and breathing it into the lungs brought a coolness similar to chilled metal, making even breathing feel refreshing.

As Su Jing stepped onto the flat rocky ground in front of the entrance, she suddenly felt a vibration from the system panel at her fingertips. The five robots that had been guarding the hematite vein had arrived via spatial teleportation. Ten silver-gray robots were neatly arranged behind her, and their side displays lit up with a pale blue standby light, like a row of metal guards ready to pounce.

"Buzz—" A muffled sound suddenly came from the rocky ground beneath my feet, and the vibration spread from the soles of my shoes to my knees. Immediately afterwards, ten metallic scraping sounds came from behind the rock formations at the entrance of the mine, as if heavy machinery was awakening from underground.

Su Jing immediately raised her hand, and the 10 robots instantly spread out in a fan shape, their bodies slightly lowered, and the alloy shields on the outside popped out simultaneously—the pale silver shields gleamed with a cold light, and the reflective coating on the surface refracted fine spots of light under the luster of the gold crystal ore. The system prompts: [10 advanced mining robots have switched to combat mode. The reflective coating of the alloy shields is activated, which can cover a 180° defense angle and supports cross reflection].

The next second, ten alien guardians slowly emerged from behind the rock formation. Each one was 3 meters tall and covered in a dark silver metallic shell. The edges of the shell were tightly sealed, with only 10-centimeter-wide gaps at the elbows, knees, and necks. Pale blue energy light flowed through the gaps, like solidified lightning.

Their heads have no facial features, only a rhomboid blue crystal embedded above their "neck". A metal tube about the thickness of a thumb extends from each side of the crystal, and the opening of the tube has a cold blue tint, which is obviously a laser emission device.

When the thick metal feet stepped on the rocky ground, they could leave a 5-centimeter-deep imprint. Each step brought a muffled "thump, thump" sound, causing fine cracks to appear on the rocky surface, and even the air seemed to tremble slightly.

"Buzz—" The guard at the front suddenly looked up, and the rhomboid crystal suddenly lit up with a dazzling blue light. Two light blue lasers shot out from the two metal tubes in an instant, one heading straight for Su Jing's chest, and the other aiming at the robot on the left!

Su Jing didn't dodge. Her fingertips slid rapidly across the panel as she issued commands to the 10 robots: "Ten robots working together to form a double-layered defense matrix! The outer layer of 6 robots covers a 120° reflection angle, while the inner layer of 4 robots provides cross-positioning, locking onto the reflected targets and guarding the joint gaps!"

Ten robots instantly adjusted their positions: the six on the outside were deployed in a regular hexagonal shape, with the alloy baffle tilted at 45° to catch the two incoming laser beams.

The four inner units are staggered at the center of the hexagon, with baffles forming an "X" shape to fill the blind spots on the outer side.

The pale blue laser beam was precisely reflected the moment it touched the outer baffle, with one beam bouncing off at a 45° angle and striking the guard's knee joint gap that had emitted the laser.

The blue laser pierced through the gap, instantly melting the energy lines inside. The guard's knees bent sharply, and the metal shells collided with each other with a "clang." The body, losing its support, tilted to one side, and the blue light of the rhomboid crystal dimmed.

Seeing this, the remaining nine guards raised their heads in unison, their rhomboid crystals lighting up simultaneously. Nine pale blue lasers attacked from different angles, some sweeping towards Su Jing's ankles, some aimed at the robot's barrier joints, and two rocks heading straight for the mine entrance, seemingly trying to use falling rocks as a barrier! "Matrix contraction! Barrier angle fine-tuned by 15°, prioritize reflecting joint targets!"

Su Jing's voice was calm and unwavering. The ten robots immediately contracted their formation, transforming the hexagonal shape into a tight circle. The angle of the baffles was simultaneously and subtly adjusted, ensuring that not a single one of the nine laser beams escaped; they were all reflected away.

Three arrows struck the guard's elbow joint, two hit his neck, and four others, though they struck the rocky ground, only stirred up a shower of golden dust-like pebbles, without harming Su Jing in the slightest.

"Now!" Taking advantage of the moment when the guards were distracted by the reflected laser, Su Jing quickly slid to the right, her body skimming along the rocky ground—

There was a golden crystal rock about half a person's height protruding there, which blocked the guard's view.

She took out an enhanced laser gun from her spatial storage, her finger on the trigger, her eyes fixed on the elbow of the nearest guard: the pale blue energy light in that slit was the brightest, clearly the key pathway to the energy core.

A faint red glow emanated from the muzzle of the laser gun. Su Jing took a deep breath, using the protruding rocks as cover, leaned out, aimed at the crevice, and pulled the trigger—

A red energy blast shot out with a "whoosh" sound, precisely piercing the gap in the guard's elbow joint. With a muffled "bang," the energy light in the gap instantly went out, the metal shell was blown outward, and the guard's arm fell limply, unable to be raised again.

Seeing its companion injured, the other guard rushed over with heavy steps, its metal feet thumping on the rocky ground. The diamond-shaped crystal on its head was aimed at the rock where Su Jing was hiding, ready to fire a laser!

Su Jing immediately rolled behind another rock and simultaneously ordered the panel: "Robots No. 3 and No. 7, reflect lasers to attack the gaps in their necks!"

The two robots immediately adjusted the angle of their shields, deflecting a stray laser beam that struck the guard squarely in the neck.

The blue laser pierced through the crevice, and the light of the rhomboid crystal dimmed instantly. The guard froze in place, as if a pause button had been pressed. A few seconds later, he collapsed onto the rocky ground with a "boom," his metal shell colliding with the rock and scattering a cloud of golden fragments.

The last guard, whose knee joint had been hit by the reflected laser, was trying to retreat behind the rock formation. How could Su Jing give it the chance?

She quickly stood up, locked the laser gun muzzle on the metal tube below the rhombus-shaped crystal on her neck, and pulled the trigger—the red energy bullet hit the laser emission port directly. With a "sizzle," the metal tube melted instantly, and the blue laser exploded inside the tube, shaking the rhombus-shaped crystal off its head. It rolled onto the rocky ground with a crisp "clinking" sound.

Without the crystal, the guard was like a machine without power; its entire metal shell lost its luster, and it collapsed to the ground with a thud, completely losing its ability to move.

In just seven or eight minutes, three of the ten guards had been destroyed. The remaining seven, seeing this, had their rhomboid crystals flash a few times, seemingly assessing the situation. Then they all turned around and retreated back to the rocky outcrops with heavy steps. The metallic footsteps gradually faded away, and the tremors in the rocky ground subsided.

Su Jing did not pursue, but instead raised her hand to signal the robots to deactivate their combat mode. The alloy shields of the 10 robots slowly retracted, the display screens returned to light blue, and the temperature indicator lights on the sides of the robots showed "Slight overheating, requires 5 minutes of cooling." The system message read: "[Battle over, robots undamaged, reflective coating worn 8%, energy remaining 75%]."

She walked to the destroyed wreckage of the guard and bent down to examine it: the dark silver metal shell was exceptionally hard, and when she tapped it with the butt of the laser gun, only a shallow mark was left.

The energy lines in the joint gaps had melted and were charred black. The detached rhomboid crystals had lost their luster and turned into an ordinary blue stone that felt cold to the touch.

"These metal fragments might be able to reinforce the villa's defenses."

Su Jing put several complete shell fragments into her spatial storage, and a notification popped up on the panel: "[Added 5.2 kg of alien metal fragments, now stored in the 'Supplies Area']".

After the robots cooled down, Su Jing gave them new instructions: "All personnel enter the gold crystal mine, activate low-power mining mode, dig up any ore you encounter, and store it directly into your space. Be careful to maintain low vibration and avoid any possible guard marks."

Ten robots received instructions and entered the mine entrance in turn. The detector lights on their bodies lit up with a pale green light, scanning the bright yellow rock surface. They quickly locked onto an area with dense gold veins. The diamond-coated drill bit slowly extended, and when it touched the rock, it only made a very slight "rustling" sound without causing any vibration.

Su Jing leaned against the rock at the entrance of the mine, just about to catch her breath, when a pale gold notification suddenly popped up on the system panel: [Current dungeon ore gathering ranking updated: 1. I am the God of Wealth, 2. Hunter, 3. Nightingale... Data is updated hourly, the top 10 will receive ore ability].

Her gaze lingered on the name "Hunter" for two seconds—it was obvious it was Jack; his gathering efficiency had indeed increased after he stole the robots from the other mission participants. But Su Jing didn't care. The gold crystal ore in the vein was being continuously mined and stored in her space by the robots, and her ranking would only become more and more stable.