Chapter 9 The Secret of the Poisonous Ore

After hearing Bo's analysis, everyone suddenly felt that escaping this awful place seemed quite easy.

But it was precisely because their group was full of elites and resourceful that they could not have escaped.

Firstly, only Bo Yiyan, a master of drug production who has been making drugs for many years, could analyze the cause of the poisonous purple mist.

Secondly, without the storage space inherent in the mechanical prince Mao Li's body, even if they could collect enough toxic byproduct ore, they would have no chance to take it out.

Third, if none of them are the most capable newbies, even if they manage to unlock the suppression ring, they may not be able to escape the encirclement and annihilation of the other overseers in this mining area.

Everyone had complete faith in Bo Yiyan's medical skills. Since he had deduced the cause of the purple mist and devised an escape plan, they decided not to waste any more time.

To ensure everyone's safety, Mao Li took on the task of digging up the purple star stone all by himself. Relying on his infrared scanning eyes, he delineated the approximate area of ​​the purple star stone and began digging along a 30-centimeter-thick layer around it.

Soon, a large, irregularly shaped rock that one person could not hug was dug out.

No purple mist was emitted, which proves that Bo Yiyan's speculation was basically correct.

Mao Li took out the drill bit, carefully controlling the precision, and drilled in millimeter by millimeter.

When he drilled to 253 millimeters, a small amount of purple mist finally overflowed from the tiny borehole, but this amount of purple mist was not enough to be fatal.

He was finally able to determine that the thickness of the toxic associated mineral was approximately 5 centimeters around the periphery of the amethyst.

Another discovery was made: the toxic associated minerals do not only react when exposed to air, but also when exposed to heat.

Miners who survived in the past, based on their experience, probably avoided using electric drills that generate a lot of heat, and instead used tools like pointed picks.

Furthermore, after each piece of poisonous associated mineral was knocked off, they would immediately move far away and wait for the purple mist to evaporate into the air, diluting the concentration of the poisonous gas, before they could escape unscathed and then dig out the complete Purple Star Stone.

But why haven't these experiences been passed down?

Mao Li shared his doubts with everyone, and Bo Yi said, "The first people to discover this were experienced old miners. In order to earn high salaries, they would naturally keep this experience secret."

Later, due to the Wither X virus pandemic, everyone was in danger, and the mining work at the Purple Star Stone Mine was suspended.

They only resumed this work when the slave trade became widespread.

The slave miners who discovered this secret were filled with resentment and naturally would not tell the overseers.

They even worried that if others knew the secret, more slaves would come to mine, and they wouldn't be able to fill their stomachs, so they naturally chose to continue hiding it.

This is the wickedness of human nature; even when everyone is a victim, they are willing to sacrifice others for their own benefit.

Mao Li was somewhat bewildered. The mechanical race had been educated from childhood with mostly positive energy.

Although I witnessed some of the wickedness in human nature during the difficult days I spent with Zuo Shan in his struggle for survival.

But he simply couldn't understand how someone could coldly watch others die just because they were afraid that others would mine too much ore and they might go hungry.

After confirming the approximate extent of the associated ore, Mao Li transformed the robotic arm into a cutting machine, cutting off 25 centimeters of the 30-centimeter-thick layer of waste ore that was wrapped around it.

In his infrared scanning vision, he discovered that the waste ore and the associated ore not only had similar colors, but also similar densities.

If he hadn't precisely controlled the drill bit's advance millimeter by millimeter, it would have been impossible to determine the exact thickness of the associated ore.

In the last 5 centimeters of waste ore, there is still a thin layer of waste ore of 3 to 5 millimeters, but the remaining 40 millimeters or so is all associated ore.

The rest is simple: carefully tap the surface of the associated ore with a pointed pickaxe to create cracks, then wrap it in a vacuum bag and remove the air.

Then, use a hammer to strike the surrounding minerals, separating them one by one from the central amethyst. Once the amethyst is removed, seal the vacuum bag as quickly as possible.

Although a very small amount of air will come into contact with the associated minerals, it will not produce a strong reaction.

The reason people died in the past was because the miners didn't know any better and directly drilled through the associated minerals. The high temperature combined with a large amount of air caused the associated minerals to react violently, spraying out a large amount of purple toxic mist.

With successful experience, mining and collecting toxic by-product ores became easier.

The chip in Chestnut's brain prevents him from killing humans unless his personal safety is threatened.

He is now fitted with a suppression ring that can be detonated at any time, which fulfills this prerequisite, so it is legal for him to kill the foreman, Borg, who is holding the remote control.

Panda directly copied Chestnut's operating method. Although he was just a wild mechanical race member, his brain was also composed of sophisticated computers. He could peel off and collect toxic byproducts with the same precision as Chestnut.

Others wanted to help, but Chestnut wouldn't allow it; they were all his closest relatives, and he didn't want any of them to be in danger.

Only he and Panda, both with bodies made of metal, are immune to the toxins.

Worried that they wouldn't collect enough associated minerals, Chestnut and Panda dug day and night for two whole days and dug up 56 pieces of Purple Star Stone.

Mao Li selected a chestnut about the size of a bowl, along with 17 other chestnuts of varying sizes, and gave them to Matt to take and deliver.

When Borg saw them climbing out of the mine tunnel, he glared at them fiercely and said, "You bunch of good-for-nothings! It's been two whole days, and you've only managed to gather enough for one day?"

"Hurry up and bring it over for me to check. If it's not enough, you can all get back down and keep digging until you have enough to get your daily nutrient solution."

Matt, who was walking at the front, was the first to climb up the mine tunnel. He said with a big smile, "Uncle Boge, we all know the rules. If we didn't have enough men, we certainly wouldn't dare to come up and hand in the task."