The person in charge of bringing Fang Zhao and the others to the service grounds was Colonel Edmund. He was middle-aged and looked a little stern. He was a direct descendant of planet Baiji's highest commander, Shanta.
Edmund was already 80 this year. In the New Era, he was considered middle-aged, but deep down, Edmund knew that it would be difficult for him to advance any further. Even if the base expanded in the future and developed even better, he might not be able to make a breakthrough.
There was a saying in the military that if one did not make a breakthrough after 80, they basically had no more chances. Furthermore, Edmund did not have much of a background. If he had not followed Shanta closely, he would not even have the position he had today.
Knowing that he had reached the age limit and that he could not advance any further, Edmund thought that after this year, he would transfer to civilian work and return to his hometown like many of his comrades. He would spend the rest of his life in a local government office. Perhaps when the time came, he might still have a chance to advance.
Shanta also knew what Edmund was thinking. Knowing that this capable subordinate was leaving, Shanta had given him this opportunity. Showing his face more in front of the camera might be beneficial for his future career transfer.
Thus, Edmund valued this opportunity. Even though he had looked down on small-time celebrities in the past, when he faced Fang Zhao and Kevin Lin, his stern face had a rare smile, and the pressure he put on others lessened considerably.
A motorcade set off from the base. In a car in the middle of the motorcade, Edmund explained the mining area to Fang Zhao and Kevin Lin.
"At present, there are three mining areas. Two are basic mining areas and one is power mining area. The ore produced in the basic mining area is mainly used for construction, while the ore produced in the power mining area is used for energy. The basic mining area uses an automated transportation system, so it does not require many people. However, not every construction site can use an automated transportation system. The power mining area does not work. Instruments will be interfered with, and excavating machinery can cause huge losses. Thus, when there are mining areas where machinery and equipment cannot be used, we have to rely on manpower to mine. This is how military service usually works. Now, we are heading to the power mining area. "
In front of the camera, Edmund did not appear nervous, but Fang Zhao felt that it was not that Edmund was not nervous. It was just that he did not show it. Fang Zhao could guess what Edmund was thinking. Great-Grandfather Fang and Great-Grandmother Fang had told him about military matters, and with Fang Zhao's past experiences, it wasn't hard to guess what Edmund was thinking.
This was also the reason Fang Zhao was willing to cooperate with them and put on this show. He wanted to give Edmund more opportunities to perform and let the value of planet Baiji's mineral resources be known to more people. This would attract more investors to come over and share the burden. Baiji's leadership would be happy, and it would also make things more convenient for these military personnel who were still carrying out missions.
Edmund told them that the mine caravan could transport thousands of tons of raw ores in the basic mining area. Those were all used to build the base.
Transporting thousands of tons of raw materials in one trip sounded like a lot, but compared to those bases that had plenty of manpower and resources, it was pitifully small. Those bases sent out mining carts every day, and each trip carried tens of thousands of tons of raw materials.
The amount of transportation was low, and the manpower could not keep up either. The expansion of the base and the outposts scattered all over the place was becoming slower and slower.
The road that the convoy traveled on was a road that they usually took. They did not encounter any other aggressive creatures, so the journey was very smooth. After about 40 minutes, they arrived at the energy mine.
The mining area was guarded by garrisons to ensure the safety of the area.
Kevin Lin turned on the video camera once again. He wanted to fly the camera up and take a comprehensive shot of the mining area from the sky, but he was stopped. The layout of the mining area was a military secret, so he could only film the surroundings.
Edmund brought them into a mining cave. Today's mining work had already begun. Fang Zhao could hear the clanking sounds coming from inside. Two mechanical conveyor belts were transporting rocks out. One was transporting waste rock, and the other was transporting power ore.
Edmund casually picked up a piece of raw ore from the conveyor belt and showed it to Fang Zhao and Kevin Lin. The dark brown stone body was wrapped in a piece of stone that was relatively transparent.
"A-grade rich ore. Strictly speaking, it is A- grade." When it came to grading ores, A-grade ores were also divided into three levels: A +, normal A, and A-. For a power ore of the same size, an A + grade ore would provide more energy than an A- grade ore.
However, being able to reach A-grade, this type of power ore was already pretty good. Planet Baiji had been able to establish a base not only because it had life and could be inhabited, but also because of its mineral resources. Solar power alone could not sustain the huge energy requirements of the base's development, so the most important thing was power ore. Planet Baiji had an A-grade power ore, and preliminary surveys showed that it contained quite a lot, enough to sustain the base's development and subsequent expansion.
"What a pity," Edmund sighed. "They were too careless when digging and broke it. An ore of this size will surely have a lower grade, but this bunch of youngsters have only been mining for half a year. Maintaining this standard is already pretty good. "
Edmund would say some nice things about the young men who were undergoing military service during the live broadcast. There were many viewers watching the live broadcast, and criticizing too much in front of these viewers would incur disgust.
A whole power ore was definitely better than a power ore that had been broken into smaller pieces, and its commercial value was also higher. But if the miners lacked experience, or if they were distracted while mining, or if they were too careless, they might break off a large piece of power ore and break it into smaller pieces, causing the grade of the ore to drop. This was what many people called "ore dilution."
If the military service system was still a two-year one, perhaps this phenomenon would be better. After a year of mining experience, one had to retire and be replaced with new people. It would be a wonder if the ore dilution phenomenon would improve.
"Ore dilution cannot be avoided. Even if machines can be used to mine, it will still happen." What Edmund said was the truth, but it also seemed to absolve those young men who did not have much experience. He knew that many of the viewers watching the live broadcast were parents, and they would definitely not be willing to hear base officers badmouth their children.
For Edmund to have made it to where he was today, his EQ was not too bad. Even if he could not make everyone in the audience like him, he could at least reduce the number of people who hated him.
"Mining is a technical job. Unless it is a veteran miner with many years of experience, no one can avoid this kind of situation."
As Edmund spoke, a man fully armed from head to toe in overalls ran out of the mine. He took off his helmet and revealed a young face.
"You're here!" The young man had an excited look on his face. His gaze turned to Fang Zhao and Kevin Lin beside Edmund, then swept over the camera floating in the air. His smile widened, and he became more restrained. He raised his hand to brush his hair, which was covered by his helmet, to make it look better.
Edmund knew what the other party was thinking, so he did not say anything. He turned to Fang Zhao and introduced, "Haydn. He came over last October and is the leader of this small mining team." He then turned to Haydn and pointed at Fang Zhao. "This is..."
"I know, I know. Fang Zhao, it's an honor to meet you! I really like your style! "
Haydn had wanted to say a few more words, but when he caught a glimpse of Edmund's expression, he swallowed the rest of his words and put on his helmet reluctantly. "Shall I bring you into the mine?"
Two soldiers brought over two sets of uniform for conscripts and helped Fang Zhao and Kevin Lin put them on.
"Let's go in." Edmund raised his chin at Haydn, indicating for him to lead the way. His eyes met Haydn's for a brief moment.
"Oh, alright!" Haydn said happily. His gaze passed through the transparent visor and gave Edmund a look that said, "Don't worry." Everything had been arranged. There would definitely not be any awkward situations.
Edmund felt a little more at ease. Haydn still had the ability. Among the miners in this team, Haydn had the best evaluation and had experience in mining. Otherwise, he would not have become the leader of this team.
There were lights inside the mine, so it was not very dark. As they continued walking, they saw some conscripts using tools to mine.
When they saw Fang Zhao's live broadcast indicator light, they hurriedly struck a pose and fought to greet him. They tried their best to make their voices appear on the live broadcast or show their faces. Although half their faces were covered by the visor, who knew if their family and friends could recognize them just by looking at their eyes and hearing their voices?
Haydn led Fang Zhao to a stop. There was a box filled with tools. Most of them looked like pickaxes.
Haydn picked one out and handed it to Fang Zhao. "Try it out?"
Fang Zhao accepted the tool. The moment he touched it, he realized that these digging tools were not as simple as they looked. There were some sophisticated power components inside, and the materials were also specially made. These were not tools specially prepared for Fang Zhao. All the conscripts in the mine used these kinds of tools. They did not need to use much strength to chisel out a piece of rock from a hard rock wall.
However, to dig out ore of a higher grade and reduce the chances of the rock breaking, it still depended on experience.
Haydn casually pointed to a spot on the wall. "Our mine has a lot of ore. There's no need to pick a spot. Let's dig here."
Kevin Lin, who was standing to the side, found it funny. Such clumsy methods could not even fool him. How could they fool those shrewd businessmen?
The leaders of planet Baiji wanted to attract more investors, so they wanted to use Fang Zhao as a shill.
Then they would tell the audience: Look, this little celebrity. This is his first time mining. He randomly picked a spot and dug out ore with one pick. We have a lot of ore here. Although the grade of the ore is not particularly high, we have a lot of it! Interested investors, hurry up and come!
Kevin Lin held back his laughter and asked Fang Zhao, who was staring at the wall, "How does it feel?"
"Feel? It feels like there's something behind here, "Fang Zhao replied.
Edmund's eyebrows twitched, and the smile on his face deepened. It's right that there's something! Hurry up and dig. Let the online audience know how densely packed the ore in planet Baiji's mine is!
Kevin Lin gestured to Fang Zhao, indicating that the camera angle had been adjusted and they could start digging.
Fang Zhao weighed the power pickaxe in his hand and swung it toward the wall.
Bam!
A piece of the wall was pried loose. Fang Zhao moved the handle, and the loose piece fell off. He had used a little too much strength, and the piece that had been pried off was a little bigger.
Haydn looked at the piece of rock that had been knocked off, and the smile on his face became forced. It was obviously a place rich in ores, and he had even looked for a few experienced miners in the base to take a look. Why were there only a few scattered energy stones in the stones that had been knocked down?
However, what attracted his attention was not the piece of rock that had fallen to the ground, but the creature that had appeared on the wall after the piece of rock had fallen off.
It was a bug that lived in the ore vein area. It was about the size of two palms. Bugs that could move around in such a place looked sinister, and the one in front of them was even more fiendish. But people familiar with this mine knew that this bug looked scary and had strong defenses, but it was actually very stupid.
Colonel Edmund had a wooden expression on his face as he told a soldier beside him, "Drag it out and roast it."
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