Looking at the text displayed on the helmet's AR screen, Andrew quickly reached out and operated the drilling machine.

The next moment, driven by the motor, the drill rod gradually withdrew from the ground composed of thick gravel.

With the help of the two, the drill rod was laid down on the yellow sand.

Then, Andrew carefully pressed a button.

The sample from the drill rod poured out, forming a one-meter-long, clearly layered "color band" on the ground.

This is exactly in line with Andrew's prediction.

The first 60cm of the sample consists of countless fine sand and a small amount of soil.

Under the influence of 1.9g of gravity, a large amount of sand and gravel combined with a small amount of soil, adhering tightly together.

The color of the sand and gravel ranges from light to dark, gradually transitioning from yellow to reddish-brown.

The reddish-brown part is naturally the hematite they discovered earlier.

However, strangely enough, the reddish-brown color only occupies a portion of the area.

As the depth increased, the color of the sand and gravel returned to its original yellow.

Upon discovering this phenomenon, Hong Fan quickly squatted down, took out measuring tools from his backpack, and conducted a simple measurement.

By visual inspection alone, the yellow area is composed of ordinary sand and gravel, mainly distributed at depths of 0-11cm and 44-61cm.

The reddish-brown area contains a large amount of hematite, mainly distributed at a depth of 11-44cm underground.

Furthermore, within this range, the content of hematite gradually increases with depth.

Once the depth exceeds 44cm, the hematite content drops sharply, disappearing rapidly within 2cm, leaving only ordinary sand and gravel.

After exceeding 61 centimeters, the drill rod contained no more soil or fine gravel, only hard yellow rock.

The depth continues to increase.

More than 80 centimeters.

Some silvery-white substances with a metallic luster appeared in the stone.

As the depth increases, the content of the silvery-white substance increases significantly.

After a simple test, Hong Fan determined the composition of the silvery-white substance.

Iron in its elemental form.

Without any hesitation, Hong Fan sent all the collected information directly to the Earth.

"We're going to use a two-meter drill rod."

Hong Fan called out to Andrew, then reached out and grabbed the drill rod from the ground, preparing to begin the assembly work.

Suddenly, a faint electrical hum came from the communication device.

"Hello? Can you hear me?"

"Hong Fan, can you hear me?"

It was Fang Xu's voice.

A hint of surprise flashed in Hong Fan's eyes. He stopped what he was doing and quickly switched the communication channel.

"Academician Fang, I can hear you."

“Hong Fan, we’ve already looked at the uploaded drilling results. Now…” Fang Xu paused, “Let Academician Feng Yuanliang tell you.”

"Hello, Comrade Hong Fan, this is Feng Yuanliang." An unfamiliar voice came from the communication channel. "My main research area is cosmic mineral resources."

Hong Fan was stunned for a moment, then quickly greeted him respectfully: "Hello, Academician Feng."

Feng Yuanliang said bluntly, "At this crucial moment, I won't bother with formalities."

"Next, you will need to move to a different area and conduct drilling and sampling again."

"The drilling depth remains at one meter."

Hong Fan nodded, asked no further questions, picked up the drilling rod from the ground, waved to Andrew, and walked toward the next sampling point.

...

[Earth], inside the biological laboratory.

"Next, we need to recompile the relevant genes of Magna."

Lu Yongchang's voice revealed a hint of fatigue: "This kind of work is relatively simple, but it's a bit tedious."

“An academician with experience in longevity enzyme research and development, please indicate that this task will be entrusted to you.”

"I need to rest for a bit."

Mao Zhengzhi nodded slightly to show his understanding: "Professor, I'll call you after I finish this work."

After briefly explaining the precautions for gene compilation, Lü Yongchang prepared to turn and leave.

"Professor Lü!" A burst of excited cheers suddenly rang out from afar. A researcher, his face beaming, ran excitedly to Lü Yongchang and said in an urgent tone, "Professor, we succeeded! We succeeded!"

"What?" Lu Yongchang was still in a daze from what he had just been doing and asked in a daze, "What did you do successfully?"

"We have successfully inserted the first gene into E. coli!"

The researcher excitedly explained, "According to data from the Proxima Centauri civilization, the main function of this gene is to strengthen Magna's heart muscle."

The weariness in Lü Yongchang's eyes vanished instantly. He reached out and rubbed his stiff face vigorously, then asked with renewed energy, "Has any hormone production been detected?"

The researchers nodded repeatedly: "We've discovered it."

"However, it hasn't been purified yet, nor has any biological experiment been conducted, so it's currently unclear whether its effects meet our needs."

Lu Yongchang turned his head and glanced at Mao Zhengzhi, giving him a wink.

Then, he raised his hand and waved to Mao Zhengzhi: "Let's go take a look."

"If possible, let's do the first set of experiments now."

Upon hearing this, Mao Zhengzhi's bitter smile deepened: "Professor..."

Didn't you say you wanted to rest?

Lü Yongchang shrugged: "Rest?"

"Isn't this a break?"

Mao Zhengzhi: "..."

...

Dawn Star.

The distance between sampling point No. 2 and sampling point No. 1 is fifty meters.

With their first drilling experience, Andrew and Hong Fan became increasingly skilled at their work.

With their combined efforts, the second sample tube was quickly presented to everyone.

Looking at the sample, which was almost identical to the first tube, Feng Yuanliang's excited voice came through the communication device: "Hong Fan, measure the corresponding data!"

Hong Fan quickly squatted down and took out his tools to take measurements.

"The yellow areas are 0-9cm and 39-57cm respectively."

"Red area, 9-39cm".

As he took measurements, he reported the data over a public communication channel: "57-79cm, mostly ordinary rock; beyond 79cm, the content of elemental iron increases rapidly."

There was a moment of silence on the communication channel.

"call……"

Feng Yuanliang took a few deep breaths to suppress his excitement and said in a deep voice, "The current sample size is insufficient. Let's continue to explore other locations."

"Next, we need to observe the sampling results from other ore prospectors."

"You can just upload the relevant data."

Hong Fan nodded, subconsciously stood up, and placed his hand on the rock wall beside him.

Swoosh swoosh swoosh...

A fine dust fell from the rock face.

This scene was completely recorded by the camera carried by Hong Fan.