"Intersection of Xiling Road and Bangshan Road..."

Liu Kai drove the snowmobile back, repeating the same phrase over and over.

This is the location of the single-person mining machine that Dr. Huangfu mentioned.

It's quite a coincidence.

This place is not far from the "Lishiquyuan" residential community.

Moreover, this intersection is also the dividing line between urban and rural areas, and the mineral vein of Guangming Town is located 35 kilometers further ahead.

Thinking about this, a bold guess inexplicably surfaced in Liu Kai's mind.

Dr. Huangfu said his son was a mine owner and seemed to be quite wealthy.

Big bosses are very well-informed.

It's likely that Dr. Huangfu's son had already begun "preparing" when he heard about the discovery of mineral deposits in Guangming Town several years ago.

Besides the relationships that should be respected and taken care of.

Those dozen or so mining machines stored in the warehouse must have been acquired first.

However, unexpectedly, due to environmental considerations, the authorities ultimately did not allow mining.

If his bold guess is true.

Putting everything else aside, the mining machines in the warehouse must be consistent with the geological characteristics of Guangming Town.

Soil texture, water content, and rock content vary from place to place.

The machines are designed to handle most situations, but each has its own area of ​​expertise.

Thinking about this, Liu Kai gradually became excited.

Just like the excitement when we first discovered the bunker, we can't wait a moment longer!

Even though it was almost noon, he still made the decision to continue "working overtime".

And they were happy to work overtime willingly.

In a good mood, humming a song all the way, I drove into the multi-level parking garage and disappeared.

Liu Kai found it strange that the female officer hadn't been spying here today, and he wondered what she had gone to do.

A few minutes later.

Liu Kai appeared in an inconspicuous spot about a kilometer away and walked towards the warehouse.

As you travel further into the countryside, the surrounding buildings become increasingly sparse.

Eventually, it turned into a vast expanse of ice, burying all the surrounding low-rise houses beneath the ice.

Only the distant, snow-white mountain peaks are faintly visible.

In order to avoid attracting attention, he suppressed his speed to the level of a normal survivor.

They also secretly changed the heat source signal several times along the way.

So this stretch of road, which should only take 5 minutes to run at full speed, took the steady Liu Kai an hour to complete.

Finally, he saw a towering concrete saucer-shaped water tower appear before him.

Based on his memory of the city's layout, Liu Kai knew that the warehouse was nearby.

The scan begins, and the senses gradually spread.

The suburban ruins buried under the ice are also in full view.

Of course, Liu Kai also naturally discovered the warehouse that Dr. Huangfu's son was preparing.

His eyes opened with surprise.

There were indeed mining machines inside!

Taking a deep breath of the icy air and suppressing his pounding heart, Liu Kai made sure no one was around before going to the towering water tower for cover.

The next moment.

His figure vanished like a ghost in an instant, only to reappear in the huge warehouse hidden under the ice.

The warehouse occupies a huge area, and the interior is pitch black.

Liu Kai kept the scanner on, taking in everything around him.

They are not afraid of the dark at all, and have no need for a flashlight.

The hail shattered some of the windows around the warehouse, and snow and ice fell in, freezing a lot of miscellaneous items.

The good news is that the corner where the dozen or so mining machines were stored was intact, and the machines were covered with a thick tarpaulin covered in dust.

Liu Kai wasn't interested in the building materials and miscellaneous items in the warehouse; instead, he walked towards the pile of mining machines with anticipation in his eyes.

Using the storage space, he easily moved the tarpaulin to another location.

The machine below appeared in front of him!

Those were 14 cylindrical metal structures, each 3 meters in diameter and 5.5 meters long.

Its size is similar to that of a common Foton light truck.

However, the overall shape resembles a miniature tunnel boring machine.

Ahead lay a dense array of alloy awl drills, their sharpness silently proclaiming themselves.

Liu Kai tore down the instruction manual hanging on one of the machines and turned on his flashlight to read it carefully.

"Otter 2040 medium-sized tunnel boring machine?"

Although Dr. Huangfu didn't fully understand mechanics, he was right about one thing: this machine could be operated by a single person!

It generates electricity by burning diesel fuel to power the electric drill bit and hydraulic system.

It is equipped with a constant temperature system to ensure that the diesel and hydraulic systems do not freeze in extremely low temperatures.

As the latest generation product from 3 years ago, it is still very convenient to use.

It doesn't require the concrete excavation portal, entry rails, or fixing bolts that a real tunnel boring machine would have.

It can be used directly even on muddy slopes, and digging through ice is effortless.

For the average person, the slag and mud extracted from the drilling need to be transported out of the hole using a conveyor belt.

The process is rather complicated.

For Liu Kai, his storage space is the perfect conveyor belt.

The only downside is its small size and slow mining speed.

It can move forward about 85 meters per day.

Liu Kai wasn't in a hurry.

After completing the official transportation task in two months, he'll have plenty of time to slowly wear himself down!

A further examination is needed.

After all, these machines have been sitting here for more than two years. If even one of the internal electronic components breaks down, they may not be able to function properly.

Liu Kai doesn't know much about mechanics either, but he's very good at troubleshooting mechanical faults.

Take a deep breath, close your eyes, and concentrate.

Liu Kai immediately focused his scan on the mining machine in front of him.

Like a CT scan, it examines the complex internal parts inch by inch.

The first mining machine finished scanning quickly, and Liu Kai's expression was not good.

The problem was caused by three of the eight hydraulic struts inside the mining machine breaking, which was due to the hydraulic oil freezing and expanding.

Hydraulic struts are like the legs that allow the machine to move forward, which means that the first mining machine was rendered useless.

However, there were still 13 units left, and he couldn't believe he was that unlucky.

continue!

After more than ten minutes of work, Liu Kai finally finished inspecting all 14 mining machines.

In the end, only 5 units were intact.

Other machines either had hydraulic failures or battery module failures.

In short, Liu Kai had no repair tools.

Even if it exists, I won't fix it.

Therefore, he did not need to take those damaged machines as a spare parts warehouse.

"Five units are fine, it's better than nothing."

Undeterred, Liu Kai put the mining machines he had just inspected into his storage space one by one.

In fact, based on their designed lifespan, these machines are sufficient to mine tens of millions of tons of raw ore.

That's enough!

The most difficult mining machine has been acquired.

Next, you only need to complete 3 simple preparatory steps.

First, return to the bunker to thaw the mining machine, then store it in the storage space to alleviate the expansion load on the hydraulic system.

Secondly, collect enough diesel fuel and thaw it, since mining machines are notorious gas guzzlers.

Third, go to the Fenghai City Land and Resources Bureau to find the geological survey map of the platinum mine in Guangming Town.