011 The Efficiency Of The Mining Vehicle

About half an hour later, the onboard smart prompt of the Furious Tiger mining truck sounded again.

"The radiation reaction of 'mithril ore' was detected on the fragment at coordinates xxxxx to the left, with an initial estimate exceeding 'ten tons.'"

Song Chi initially subconsciously disregarded it, then realized its significance.

"Mithril? Over ten tons?"

If his memory served, mithril was a resource more valuable than fine gold. Fine gold averaged around 1 ray of zero-order floating land source per ton, whereas mithril fetched as much as 5 rays per ton. This made fifty strands of zero-order floating land source significant.

Song Chi's initial capital of 1,000 strands of Level 0 Floating Land Origin stemmed from his parents, both Xinhuo captains, akin to the newly awakened Xinhuo spaceship following an exploration trip to foreign star fields. Normally, such trips yielded around 100 strands of zero-order floating land origin, meaning these 50 strands alone covered half of his initial funds.

Without hesitation, he steered the Sky leftward, cautiously approaching the suspected mithril coordinates.

Song Chi proceeded deliberately, checking the radar map constantly as he moved. Having mastered the Daoyin Technique to Level 4, which enhanced both his physical capabilities and mental acuity, multitasking had become second nature. Mastery at higher levels even enabled handling multiple tasks simultaneously.

Although the standard patrol radar lacked the ability to detect life forms, it could identify high-speed movements of high-level Star Sea creatures or approaching battleships from alien civilizations.

However, the probability of encountering such entities during a first release of benefits remained low. No unforeseen incidents arose, and the Sky swiftly reached its target fragment.

The fragment was tens of meters long, dwarfing the Sky. Instead of immediately deploying the mining truck, Song Chi circled the area cautiously. After ensuring no threats lurked, he commanded the shuttle to land on the fragment.

With nothing more to do, the onboard intelligence of the Furious Tiger floating land mining vehicle autonomously guided it out of the Sky's cabin. Upon reaching the highest radiation location, it initiated mining operations.

Inside the Sky, Song Chi waited silently. Though his expression seemed impassive, he was inwardly content. Despite the Furious Tiger mining vehicle being costly, its efficiency was remarkable.

Had other newly awakened Xinhuo captains attempted manual mining, it would have taken at least five hours to extract ten tons of mithril. Yet, leveraging the Furious Tiger mining truck's capabilities, the task would be completed in a maximum of forty minutes.

True to Song Chi's expectations, thirty-five minutes later, the Furious Tiger floating land mining vehicle returned to the Sky's cabin, laden with ten tons of mithril, within forty minutes.

Swiftly entering the market, Song Chi deposited the ten tons of mithril in a vacant area before resuming his exploration.

Two hours elapsed.

The Sky continued its slow traverse through the debris belt. Since mining ten tons of mithril, no further worthwhile opportunities had emerged. Either the value was too low or the quantities were insufficient.

However, the recent detection of over 8 tons of raw fine gold ore by the prospecting instrument piqued his interest. Though raw ore would diminish upon refining, it still commanded 5 to 6 strands of zero-order floating land origin, making it a better alternative to constant movement.

As he deliberated, another alert from the mining vehicle's onboard intelligence sounded.

"Moderate radiation of 'purple copper' detected in an area, conservatively estimated at over 500 tons. Fragment coordinates: xxxxx."

Song Chi's brows lifted, swiftly diverting from his contemplation. Detailed knowledge of copper surged into his mind.

Red copper, a low-grade metal resource, typically fetched around five tons per zero-level floating land source, making it of limited value.

Yet, quantity compensated for quality. A conservative estimate of over 500 tons was substantial, potentially fetching over 100 strands of zero-order floating land origin if fully mined.

While other low-level fire-class ships might dismiss it, even if equipped with an Angry Tiger mining vehicle, the logistics of hauling such vast quantities remained daunting.

But Song Chi was different. With the Heaven's Market and a Furious Tiger floating land mining truck at his disposal, he could acquire these hundreds of tons of copper.

True to his word, he repeated his prior actions. Upon arriving at the target fragment, he inspected the area, assured of its safety, then deployed the mining truck for operations.

Completely extracting hundreds of tons of copper wasn't difficult but certainly time-consuming. To maximize efficiency during downtime, Song Chi again unloaded the special exploration instrument from the mining vehicle.

This allowed him to explore the surrounding area while the Furious Tiger mining truck completed its task. Despite slightly reducing the mining speed, operating both vehicles separately was a more cost-effective approach.

Before departing, Song Chi stationed three Fire Sun terracotta warriors to guard the fragment, preventing any prying eyes or disturbances during the mining process.

Several hours later, hundreds of kilometers from where the Furious Tiger mining truck operated, the Sky's pace slowed as another alert sounded from the prospecting instrument.

Without active prompting from the onboard intelligence, Song Chi manually left the pilot's seat to investigate.

"Ten kilograms of mercury crystal. It holds greater value than mithril, yet the quantity is insufficient for mining."

Just then, the console's aerial patrol radar issued a warning. Song Chi swiftly returned to the bridge, scanning the radar and projection screens.

Soon, he pinpointed the radar alert source. Hundreds of previously stationary debris in the debris belt, kilometers away, had shifted almost simultaneously—an abnormal occurrence that prompted the patrol radar's alert.

Song Chi's eyes narrowed, his expression solemn. Such movement could not be attributed to zero-level energy fluctuations.

Instinctively wary, he decided against investigating further, opting instead to remain on guard.