Through the footage transmitted by the camera, Bart could clearly see that inside the starship's warehouse, a pile of objects gleaming with a silvery-white metallic luster was slowly taking shape thanks to the efforts of countless mining nanobots.

The surface of the silvery-white object shimmered with specks of golden light!

These are pure heavy metals from inside the planet Spiritus.

Bart looked at the scene before him with great excitement.

Suddenly, Professor Chris's clear voice came through the starship's radio.

"Calling Hummingbird 1, calling Hummingbird 1, please respond!"

Bart instantly snapped out of his reverie of the mining scene before him.

A slightly embarrassed smile appeared on his face.

Oh no, I was so engrossed in watching that I forgot to report my work.

He quickly pressed the radio switch and replied rapidly, "Hummingbird One received!"

"Professor Chris, the mining nanorobots are functioning perfectly."

...

Mars City No. 2, Command Center.

Professor Chris stood anxiously on the command platform, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Even though the temperature in the command center was at its most comfortable level under the control of zero, he still felt unbearably hot.

There is no other reason.

A group of bigwigs were sitting to the side, staring intently at him.

Professor Lü Yongchang, Speaker of the Legislative Council...

It can be said that the trial operation of the hummingbird-type mining ship attracted the attention of the vast majority of high-ranking officials in Mars City.

This relates to a series of plans for the future of humanity.

The talk of breaking out of the solar system and colonizing Proxima Centauri is all just empty talk without sufficient mineral resources.

After all, without resources, they simply cannot build a super-large starship capable of traversing star systems.

As the former head of NASA's Mars Pathfinder program, Professor Chris is a researcher who has shouldered heavy responsibilities.

But unfortunately, this time the burden is really heavy.

As he watched the three Hummingbird starships that had arrived at their destination and remained motionless on the holographic projection in front of him, he kept wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Hiss..." Professor Chris glanced at Lü Yongchang, muttering anxiously to himself, "Why hasn't any news come back yet..."

"Judging by the time, it should be enough..."

Lu Yongchang didn't speak, but sat quietly in his seat with his eyes closed and his expression calm as he faced him.

But this attitude undoubtedly increased the pressure on Professor Chris.

He wiped his sweat more and more frequently.

He glanced at Lü Yongchang out of the corner of his eye, while inwardly sighing with a bitter smile.

Before the establishment of the People's Federation, he regarded Lü Yongchang as his nemesis.

The dispute between the United States and China in the field of aerospace was instigated by Lü Yongchang.

But now...

Looking at Lü Yongchang, who was sitting in a seat far away and exuded a strong sense of oppression even with his eyes closed, Professor Chris felt even more bitter.

He couldn't help but mutter a complaint to himself about the three starship pilots.

I have no idea what they're doing...

More than twenty minutes have passed since we arrived at Lingshen Star, and we still haven't been able to utter a single word.

As for inquiring about the progress of the mining... Professor Chris glanced at Lü Yongchang beside him and dismissed the idea.

He didn't want to be labeled as impatient.

After all, this trial of the hummingbird-shaped mining ship was also a ladder for Chris to climb higher.

...

As for Lü Yongchang, at this moment, he was not concerned about Professor Chris and the progress of the Hummingbird-type mining ship's experiment.

While everyone waited, his consciousness returned to the technology tree space.

Against a fluorescent green background, a tree-shaped image shimmering with crystalline white light came into his view.

As time went by, the technology tree of this first-level civilization became increasingly complete.

The technology tree, which originally only had a main trunk, has now extended into countless smaller "branches".

Those are all subsidiary technologies of a first-level civilization.

With the core technologies mastered, completing these minor technological details is only a matter of time.

only……

Lu Yongchang frowned as he looked at the upper left of the technology tree.

There is a relatively large vacancy over there.

This corresponds exactly to the energy weapon technology of a Level 2 civilization.

Lü Yongchang focused his attention on the empty space.

After a brief wait, a sudden realization dawned on him.

...

He slowly opened his eyes, a thoughtful look deep within them.

"Yongchang, is the Hummingbird Starship alright?"

A soft question came from the side.

Lu Yongchang paused for a moment, then looked in the direction of Professor Chris.

He stared at the holographic image in front of him, sweating profusely, like an ant on a hot plate.

"Professor Chris." Lu Yongchang glanced at the time, his brows furrowing slightly as he called out.

"Yes...yes!" Upon hearing Lü Yongchang's voice, Professor Chris's expression changed slightly, and he responded with a hint of panic in his voice.

“Professor, don’t worry.” A gentle smile appeared on Lü Yongchang’s face as he said softly, “Just ask them. They’re probably too busy mining to remember.”

"Okay, okay."

Faced with Lü Yongchang's gentle expression, Professor Chris's anxiety gradually eased.

He cleared his throat and sent an inquiry to Bart and the others, who were far away in the asteroid belt.

At the same time, the councilor turned his head, his brows slightly furrowed, and said, "Yongchang, this Chris, he seems a bit unreliable."

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