Chapter 91
The orange-red glow at the edge of the vein had spread into a warm sea of light.
The surface of the iron ore vein was sparkling with tiny sparks, and each piece of ore seemed to be wrapped in a layer of warm red light. When you brought your fingertips close, you could feel a gentle warmth, which was much more comfortable than the extreme cold outside in the apocalypse.
Su Jing walked forward on the gleaming rock, followed by 10 robots in two rows. Five of the robots, in "digging mode," were working on a rock in front of her where gold and silver crystals intertwined, their diamond-coated drill bits humming as they spun.
The mined ore gleamed with bright yellow and pale blue light. As soon as it left the rocky ground, it was simultaneously absorbed into the space by consciousness. The total amount displayed on the panel for the "Ore Zone" had already exceeded five digits and was climbing towards an even higher number.
"Ding—" A pale gold global channel notification suddenly popped up on the system panel. Emily, with the EU logo, spoke with obvious envy and helplessness, standing out on the screen: "Our team dug for half a day and only found 20 kilograms of hematite, and the purity is less than 60%! How did 'I'm the God of Wealth' manage to dig? Her resource quantity in the ranking interface is like she's cheating. The difference is too huge!"
Immediately following this was a string of echoing messages: an anonymous user from the US team complained, "After digging for 3 hours, I only saw a few manganese crystals," while a user from Russia complained, "There are too many guards; it's impossible to dig in peace."
Several small countries even tagged Su Jing directly, asking for her digging tips. The channel was bustling with activity, but Su Jing's "I am the God of Wealth" tag remained silent.
Su Jing swiped her finger across the panel and turned off the channel notifications—to her, these discussions were meaningless. There were only 24 hours left in the dungeon, so instead of wasting time in the channel, she might as well mine more high-value ores.
She looked up into the depths of the mine tunnel in the distance, where the bright yellow light was more intense than before, clearly indicating a denser cluster of gold crystals. The robot's detector also simultaneously sent a notification: [High-density gold crystal vein detected 50 meters ahead, ore distribution density ≥80%, no guard energy fluctuations, safe to mine].
"All personnel adjust direction, target the gold crystal mine 50 meters ahead, switch the mining mode to 'high-efficiency mining', no need to deliberately control the speed, prioritize mining gold crystals."
Su Jing issued commands through her mind, and the 10 robots responded instantly. The five robots that were originally digging for silver crystals immediately turned around and joined the other five, forming a fan-shaped digging array, and the drill bit speed was increased to its peak.
The buzzing sound echoed through the mine tunnels, but did not exceed 40 decibels, so it would not attract the attention of the guards in the distance.
The outermost robot was the first to touch the gold crystal mine. As soon as the drill bit penetrated the rock, large chunks of bright yellow ore rolled off, their surface veins flowing in the light like a living golden stream. When it was collected into the space...
The notification for the "Core Ore Area" refreshed instantly: [Gold Crystal Ore Storage +1.2 kg, current total 3250 kg, purity stable at 95%] .
Su Jing sat down on a flat iron ore rock and her fingertips sank into her spatial storage to check the supplies. The ores in the space were piled up into small mountains according to their type: the gold crystal ore was piled on the innermost side, gleaming with a warm, bright yellow.
Silver crystals and manganese crystals were piled in the middle, their pale blue and deep purple intertwined, like two solidified nebulae; while the iron ore was piled near the space exit, its orange-red light spilling out through the cracks in the ore, making the surroundings feel warm and cozy.
There was also the low-purity hematite she had picked up from Jack's team's loot, placed separately in the "Refining Area" in a corner, emitting a faint red glow. She brought up the system statistics panel, where the light blue numbers clearly displayed: [A total of 102,450 kilograms of ore obtained from the dungeon, including 3,250 kilograms of gold crystals, 8,500 kilograms of silver crystals, 6,800 kilograms of manganese crystals, 24,500 kilograms of flammable iron ore, and 59,400 kilograms of hematite (including 10 kilograms of low-purity ore), far exceeding the dungeon's basic mission requirement (100 kilograms of hematite)].
"We can mine some more iron ore, after all, we can't do without heating in the apocalypse." Su Jing muttered to herself, her gaze falling on a piece of iron ore next to her—this piece of ore was bigger than a fist, with an unusually dense array of sparks on its surface, and a faint smell of burnt minerals could be smelled when you got close. The system notification read: [Iron ore combustion efficiency = 3 × smokeless coal, burning time 4 hours/kg, no harmful gases, suitable for long-term heating].
She directed two robots to the iron ore vein with her mind. The drill bit fell, and soon red-glowing ore was mined and stored in the "energy zone" of her space. It was piled up with the iron ore she had previously stockpiled, forming a warm "mountain of ore".
At that moment, a faint sound of footsteps suddenly came from the mine tunnel. It wasn't the sound of a robot's metal joints, but more like the sound of a human walking in heavy protective clothing.
Su Jing immediately raised her hand to signal the robots to stop digging. The five robots that were working instantly stopped drilling, their bodies pressed against the rocks, and their displays went dark.
The other five quietly moved around Su Jing, their shoulder-mounted laser cannons popping out slightly, indicating they were on alert. She held her breath and looked in the direction of the footsteps—several figures flashed by at the corner of the mine tunnel, moving very fast, seemingly trying to conceal their movements, yet their protective suits made a faint sound as they rubbed against the rocks.
"They must be mission takers from other teams." Su Jing understood. Instead of choosing a direct confrontation, she used her consciousness to adjust the robots' positions, creating a concealed barrier. She then crouched down against the iron ore rocks, using the warm light of the ore to cover her body.
The figures lingered at the corner for a few seconds, seemingly observing the mine tunnel, before hurrying away. Their footsteps faded into the distance, clearly indicating they hadn't discovered any trace of Su Jing and the robot.
Once the footsteps had completely disappeared, Su Jing allowed the robot to resume digging—the drill bit buzzed again, the light of the ore shimmered in the mine tunnel, and the ore pile in the space began to slowly grow again.
She glanced at the time on the panel: 23 hours and 50 minutes remaining in the instance, and there was still some distance to the target ore refinery. She had to speed things up.
Su Jing stood up, dusted off the mineral dust on her clothes, and marked the route to the refinery on the panel with her fingertips. This route avoided the previously detected gathering area of mission participants and bypassed the area where guards frequently appeared. It was expected to arrive within 1 hour.
She glanced back at the busy robots; their energy bars were at 60%, and the iron ore reserves nearby were enough to support multiple recharges, so there was no need to worry about energy issues.
"Speed up the excavation. We'll meet up in 30 minutes and head to the next area."
Su Jing gave the robot a new command, then walked to the gold crystal mine, bent down and picked up a piece of gold crystal ore that she had just mined. The ore was cool to the touch, and the gold patterns on its surface shimmered with a fine luster under the light. The system prompted: [Gold crystal ore can strengthen the core of cultivation items. The current storage is enough to strengthen the laser gun 3 times and the spiritual energy protection layer 2 times.]
She put the ore back into her spatial storage and turned her gaze to the bright yellow light deep within the mine tunnel.
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