The monitoring tag's values were still climbing. Chen Hao stared at the fluctuating numbers as if watching a countdown that would never end. He squatted down beside the cargo container, rubbing his fingers against the black soil he had just touched. The particles were so coarse they felt prickly; it didn't look like something used for farming, but rather like scraps sifted from a slag heap.
"You just said this thing can generate electricity?" he asked, looking up.
Nana stood to the side, her mechanical eyes darting around slightly: "It's not 'can,' it's already been done. Three minutes ago, the sample was extracted and connected to the temperature difference module, outputting a stable current of 0.47 amperes for twelve seconds."
Chen Hao grinned: "Then it's even more diligent than me."
"The efficiency is indeed higher than the cardiovascular load you experience during your morning run," Nana said.
He didn't mind, plopped down on the edge of the control panel, grabbed a half-empty bottle of water, and gulped it down. The water was already cold; it tasted like swallowing a piece of chilled fatty meat. He burped, put the bottle aside, and stared at the crystal structure diagram that had just appeared on the holographic screen.
"Can such a small stone really be worth money?"
“Each gram is valued at the same level as high-purity industrial diamonds.” Nana pulled up historical data from the Interstellar Materials Exchange. “If large-scale purification is achieved, the annual revenue is expected to be 2.3 times that of staple food sales.”
Chen Hao whistled: "I grow wheat to survive, and now this side job is going to make me rich?"
“The logic holds true,” Nana nodded. “The premise is that the market recognizes its stability and replicability.”
“Then we can’t just sell them.” He slapped his thigh and stood up. “We have to do something big—an auction.”
"I advise caution," Nana cautioned. "We do not have mining registration qualifications, and mainstream platforms refuse to accept private mining projects."
"Who said we're going through the main entrance?" Chen Hao rubbed his hands together, his eyes lighting up. "We have a ready-made brand—purple wheat seeds. They were just certified as a 'miracle crop' by the Ecological Alliance, and they're super popular right now. We'll package the minerals as 'growth keys,' include a small trial pack, and sneak in under the guise of agricultural technology."
“The strategy is feasible.” Nana analyzed for a moment. “The registration channel for the interstellar auction closes today. You can submit your information through the compliant interface.”
"Then let's do it now." Chen Hao held out his hand. "Give me the application information."
Instead of handing over the terminal, Nana directly unfolded the holographic interface and entered a set of encrypted commands. A few seconds later, a system notification sounded.
"Booth number A-79 has been confirmed. Exhibit name: 'Rebel' series derivative resource pack, including genetically modified wheat seed m41-001 and symbiotic rare mineral samples."
"You put more effort into choosing a name than I do when writing love letters," Chen Hao laughed. "Okay, that's it."
He leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and watched the slowly rotating preview image of the exhibition booth on the screen. Inside a transparent cube, wheat seeds floated in the center, surrounded by tiny, glowing black crystals, with a background projection showing their purple wheat field swaying in the wind.
"It looks like a health supplement advertisement."
“But it’s effective,” Nana said. “Seventeen organizations have already marked it as relevant, including three large energy groups.”
"Hey, a big fish is here." Chen Hao sat up straight. "Get ready to cast your line."
On the day the auction began, the lights in the G7 Port control room were turned down to their lowest setting. Three main screens on the wall displayed the bidding curve, access traffic, and security logs, respectively. Chen Hao, wearing a wrinkled plaid shirt and old slippers, held an energy bar in his hand, munching on it while watching the first round of bids refresh.
At first, no one made a bid.
"Is it getting awkward?" he asked vaguely, swallowing the last bite of his food.
“The current bidding model is a sealed bid, with the first round of bidding lasting ten minutes,” Nana explained. “Most buyers are still evaluating the sample data.”
"You make it sound like they're doing their homework seriously." Chen Hao rolled his eyes. "By the time they finish, it'll be too late."
As soon as the words were spoken, a notification popped up on the left side of the screen: **The first valid bid has been recorded, amounting to 820 credits per gram.**
"Eight hundred and twenty?" He raised an eyebrow. "Not bad, at least it wasn't thrown away as trash."
In less than two minutes, the price jumped to 1,100.
Next is 1,500.
“Someone’s getting impatient,” Chen Hao laughed. “These guys are usually so stingy, but now they’re being generous.”
Nana suddenly whispered, "An abnormal access pattern was detected. The IP sources are scattered, but the operation rhythm is highly synchronized, which is suspected to be the control of a proxy cluster."
"Does that mean...someone wants to take control?"
"Probability 76%. We recommend initiating a dynamic verification mechanism."
"Whatever you want." Chen Hao waved his hand. "Just make sure they don't kick us out."
Nana's fingertips moved slightly, and a few lines of code scrolled rapidly on the secondary screen. The next second, all bidding accounts were forced to undergo an identity verification process, requiring them to upload their respective organization's biometric identification code in real time.
The bidding process was briefly halted.
Three minutes later, the price climbed again, breaking through two thousand.
"This time, real buyers have entered the market." Chen Hao breathed a sigh of relief. "Was that group just a group of online trolls?"
"More accurately, it's a script that attempts to fabricate a multi-player competition to drive up the floor price." Nana pulled up the reverse tracing diagram of the attack path, "It has been intercepted and blacklisted."
"Well done." He gave a thumbs up. "Our little stall is quite lively."
The real climax comes in the fifteenth minute.
The holographic booth automatically switched between demonstration videos: a black crystal was embedded in a miniature thermoelectric device, connected to a circuit board, successfully lighting up an LED bulb. A caption at the bottom of the screen read: "No external power supply required; continuously powered by ambient waste heat."
Within five seconds of the video finishing playing, the bid surged from 2,300 to 4,100.
"Are you crazy?" Chen Hao exclaimed, his eyes wide. "This is almost the price of armor plating on a space battleship!"
“Market demand reflects true potential,” Nana said calmly. “Currently, the highest bidder is ‘Sky Dome Energy,’ offering 4,180 per gram, with an additional clause requiring exclusive purchasing rights.”
"Exclusive?" he sneered. "Dream on."
Just as he was about to reply to a sarcastic comment, a red alert popped up on his main screen:
High-intensity external intrusion attempt detected.
[Target: Bidding Database]
Attack Type: Distributed Protocol Spoofing + Fake Account Injection
"Again?" Chen Hao frowned. "Are these people just bored?"
“This attack was more organized,” Nana said, her voice quickening. “The attackers attempted to simulate the official auction site’s authentication nodes, intending to tamper with bidding records and implant fake transaction orders.”
"So, they don't want to buy, they just want to cause trouble?"
"The conclusion is valid."
"So what do you plan to do?"
Nana didn't answer, but quickly brought up the defense protocol menu and swiped her finger across a grayed-out option.
"Activate the preset countermeasures?"
"Authorized." She tapped the confirmation button.
The entire system instantly switched to isolation mode. All external connections were severed, leaving only the local cache channel open. Simultaneously, the firewall began reverse-engineering the attack source, releasing spoofed response packets to lure the attacker into revealing the location of the core server.
Thirty seconds later, the attack intensity dropped sharply.
“The first wave of suppression was successful,” Nana said, “but they are still testing the boundaries of the encryption layer.”
Chen Hao stared at the constantly updating security log and suddenly laughed: "You mean these people went through all that trouble just to steal a rock that was dug out of the ground?"
“It’s more likely to be to prevent others from getting it.” Nana turned to him. “Once this technology becomes widespread, it will disrupt the existing energy supply chain.”
"So they're afraid?" He scratched his head. "Afraid that someone like us, with our unorthodox and unconventional methods, will take away their livelihood?"
“Economic losses usually trigger strong reactions.”
"Understood." Chen Hao stood up, walked to the control panel, and placed his hands on the edge. "Then let them see clearly—we're not just farmers, nor are we easy to bully."
He pressed the communication button and connected to the auction live stream channel.
“Dear buyers,” he grinned at the camera, “there was a little mishap just now. The technicians told me that someone was trying to secretly change the report cards. But—” He glanced at Nana, “our teachers are very strict, and everyone who cheated got caught.”
The comment section exploded immediately.
Some people asked if it was really an attack.
Some people have questioned the security of the system.
Supporters also displayed signs that read "Hold on!" and "Don't back down!"
Chen Hao remained calm and said, "I know what you're worried about. It's nothing more than whether this stuff is reliable, whether it will be monopolized, and whether it has any hidden problems. But let me tell you the truth—this mine was dug out of the wasteland shovel by shovel, and this wheat was tested with our lives. If you want to touch it, you'd better ask us if we agree first."
After he finished speaking, he closed the voice channel and turned to look at Nana: "Next step?"
“The frequency of attacks has increased, but the second layer of encryption has not been breached.” Her gaze was calm. “I suggest launching a quantum key distribution protocol to completely block the possibility of remote intervention.”
“Let’s go,” Chen Hao nodded. “Let them remember this day.”
Nana lightly tapped the control panel, and a faint blue light emanated from the system core, instantly covering all data links. The entire auction backend entered a quantum encryption state, and any access requests without physical authentication would be automatically discarded.
The bidding curve on the main screen has started to rise steadily again.
The price was fixed at 4,600 points per gram.
The three energy companies have entered into a tug-of-war.
The cargo ship's loading arms were still sliding on the tracks, and a merchant ship was slowly approaching the port in the distance. The port's public address system was broadcasting flight information on a loop, the sound low and distant.
Chen Hao remained propped up on the control panel, his eyes fixed on the constantly updating data stream.
He asked in a low voice, "Nana, are they still banging their heads against the wall?"
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