The wind wasn't cold; it even carried a faint warmth.

Even more strangely, the depths of the passage were not pitch black, but rather shimmered with faint blue light on the rock walls.

At that moment, Su Tang's heart skipped a beat uncontrollably.

Really?

Her breathing became rapid for a moment, and she grabbed Qin Ye's hand and walked quickly into the depths of the passage.

The further you go, the denser the blue lights on the rock face become.

Qin Ye reached out and touched the glowing crystals on the rock wall.

"Tangtang, this stone..."

Su Tang was somewhat excited:

"This is the Hermes-7 composite ore vein! A super strategic resource. My God... it actually exists within the territory of our Dragon Kingdom."

At the end of the passage was a natural cave that was even larger than the previous one.

The entire cave wall, from top to bottom, is densely inlaid with and covered with countless blue crystal minerals!

These minerals, gathered together, emitted a faint blue light that illuminated the entire underground world as bright as day, resembling a blue crystal palace buried deep underground.

Qin Ye had lived for nearly thirty years, and he would never have dared to do something like this even in his wildest dreams.

"Tangtang, what... what is this?"

Seeing Su Tang's excited expression, he also felt nervous.

"Are these glowing stones very valuable? More precious than gold?"

"gold?"

Su Tang turned to Qin Ye and said:

"Gold is nothing but a pile of worthless clods of earth in front of it."

She tried to calm her turbulent emotions and explained in a way that Qin Ye could understand best.

"Qin Ye, do you know how important steel is to us now? Our Lian Steel manufactures guns, cannons, tanks, and warships."

Qin Ye nodded solemnly.

Steel production is a key indicator of a country's industrial and defense capabilities; how could he not know that?

"These ores are core materials for manufacturing next-generation aircraft engines, ultra-high-strength armor, and even controlled nuclear fusion devices, enough to enable a country's technological level to leap forward by generations."

Su Tang pointed to the cave full of blue minerals:

"This thing will be ten thousand times more important to the world a hundred years from now than steel. It's a treasure that every country in our time would fight tooth and nail to get its hands on."

Ten thousand times more important than steel?

What does this mean?

Su Tang simply put it more bluntly:

“Airplanes made from materials refined from this stuff can easily fly into outer space! Tank armor made from it can only be scratched by our most powerful armor-piercing shells! And electricity generated from it… just this small piece,” she gestured, “can provide enough electricity for our entire Tibetan region for a year.”

"Is this... really true?" Qin Ye asked with difficulty.

"In our time, this kind of ore was only found in a tiny vein on Antarctica, the southernmost continent on Earth, hidden under a layer of ice thousands of meters thick. Dozens of countries were fighting tooth and nail to get it, and even the most technologically advanced could only extract a tiny bit."

Su Tang looked around at the enormous, incredibly rich natural mine:

"I never dreamed that there would be such a large... such a huge rich mine in our country, in the Tibetan region! Qin Ye, do you know what this means?"

Qin Ye knew, of course.

He may not understand aircraft engines or ultra-high-strength armor, but he is a soldier.

He understands how much blood was shed to write the six words "If you fall behind, you will be bullied"!

If what Tangtang said is true...

What they are standing on is not some mineral vein, but the lifeblood of the nation's destiny, enabling it to stand tall and proud at the pinnacle of the world.