Someone Got There First

Click! Hiss!

After deciding to end his ambiguous relationship with Aeloria, Ryan stepped into the H3 mining aircraft, number 3377.

TerraCore Group's mining aircraft are specifically designed for extracting metal ores from rock layers. They can perform near-ground orbital flights, easily accessing various deep mining pits. The aircraft's onboard chip boasts powerful analysis and metal ore detection capabilities, featuring obstacle avoidance, signal reception, self-check, and excavation functions.

Most people can adapt to its operation within a few days, conducting exploration and mining tasks. Only someone like Aeloria, who is all talk and no action, dreaming of marrying rich, would struggle for half a month without mastering it.

Hmph!

She's just a pretty face. Such people wouldn't survive three episodes in the star beasts or zergs invasion.

Whirr… Buzz!

The cockpit lit up. It was compact, with just enough space for maneuvering and resting besides the pilot's seat. As Ryan sat down, the front screen lit up, displaying lines of data:

Pilot of No. 3377: Ryan (Status: Good)Age: 24Muscle Strength: 9.7Muscle Reflex Flexibility: 9.3Bioenergy: 100 unitsEquipped Chip: H2 AstraCurrent Full Load Status, Remaining Energy: 1000 units

After completing the pilot's self-check upload, Ryan gave the command without hesitation: "Aircraft, self-check."

"Yes," a measured report sounded in the cabin: "No. 3377 fully charged, 1000 units of energy, hull integrity 100%; circuit efficiency excellent; signal reception good; computation speed normal; multifunction excavator integrity 93%, operational; self-check complete, status good, ready for ignition."

During his rookie period, Ryan maintained the mining aircraft well because he knew it was every miner's lifeline.

Miners working outside have no weapons; the most important thing is energy, which relates to the aircraft's storage and operation. The other is the multifunction excavator, which determines whether they can conduct extraction operations in the rock layers.

"Ignition," Ryan commanded.

The tempered floor-to-ceiling window of the living room slowly opened, cold wind pouring in, rapidly lowering the temperature. The aircraft hovered steadily, silently gliding out of the living room, the process incredibly smooth.

Ascending.

Two white trails of high-speed air cut through the atmosphere behind the aircraft's wings. It was already morning outside. The miners' schedules were entirely up to their preferences. The aircraft lightly glided out of the base, following the flight path Ryan had set, heading towards the G46 area.

The base was bustling inside, but outside it was a mess. Ascending a hundred meters, Ryan saw through the cockpit window numerous pits of varying sizes and depths below, making the planet look like a sieve full of holes.

Ryan frowned slightly, feeling heavy-hearted. These pits, with their loose and unstable structures, claimed many miners' lives each year. According to Earth Alliance statistics, over a million people go missing annually.

Unfortunately, the Earth Alliance's "Outer Planet Protection Act" had not yet been enacted, and the obligation for backfilling and restoration of planets had not been established. All corporate expansions were extremely rough, violently plundering resources without caring about the planets or miners' lives.

This was because, with the rapid expansion of colonial planets, resource development and utilization became even more frenzied. Various technological and genetic products emerged, chip upgrades extended ordinary people's lifespans from around a hundred years to over three hundred, leading to overpopulation. The total human population now…

Ryan paused slightly, casually asking, "Astra, what's the current total population of the Earth Alliance?"

Astra quickly responded, "Approximately 370 billion people."

Wow, and that's just the registered population within the Earth Alliance system. Many people had gone to outer star regions, lost contact with the Earth Alliance, or even planned to form their own countries, with many becoming interstellar pirates. Adding these people, the population had long surpassed 400 billion.

"No. 3377," as Ryan continued to gather current information, a strange voice came through the communicator: "This is the base tower, you have entered the G46 area."

"The G46 area is currently marked by the group as a moderate-risk operation area. There is a risk of collapse, with recent heavy rains increasing the danger of landslides and mudslides. It is not recommended to enter for operations."

This message came from TerraCore Group's base headquarters. The base had real-time assessments of the weather and environment for each operational area on the planet, rating them in five stages: safe, general risk, moderate risk, high risk, and extreme danger.

Safe and general risk areas can be entered directly, but these places usually have no valuable resources.High risk and extreme danger ratings typically occur in environments with magnetic storms, thunderstorms, earthquakes, or volcanic eruptions, making them temporarily inaccessible.Moderate risk areas are the most frequently accessed by miners for daily operations.

"If you insist on entering the G46 area for operations, you need to sign a personal safety commitment."

The base headquarters sent a simple statement, indicating that they had fulfilled their duty of risk assessment and warning. Any actions taken by miners in the G46 area, and any accidents that occur, would not be the responsibility of TerraCore Group. TerraCore Group would not provide additional compensation.

During his six months at TerraCore Group, Ryan had signed at least 170 similar safety commitment forms, with the remaining ten days being rest days. So… it's just nonsense!

After verbally recording and confirming his intention to risk entering the G46 area, the aircraft continued at full speed to the end of the planned route.

The 1,500-meter-diameter pit was quite imposing. Ryan thought of the saying: When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back at you!

"Astra, designate this pit as the extraction operation point, start analysis and detailed safety assessment."

Although Ryan knew that no accidents would occur in this mine at the moment, basic operations had to be professional. After all, analysis and computation wouldn't consume much energy or time.

Astra quickly provided the operation point assessment: "The current rock structure in the G46 area is relatively stable, with no signs of falling rocks or large-scale soil cracking. All support surfaces are intact."

"There are already seventeen operation teams working in the G46 pit, operating normally."

"External weather: north wind level four, with localized rain clouds expected to pass over the G46 area in half an hour, causing water backflow, altering internal pit pressure, affecting aircraft visibility and balance. Risk assessment: moderate."

Moderate risk, as expected.

As Astra reported, Ryan manually operated the aircraft, entering the pit, aiming at the direction of the metal ore vein. The 30 million worth vein was over there.

Unfortunately, three lights were flickering inside. Someone was already excavating.

"Heh~~"

"Someone got there before me? I need to check it out right away!"