193 Grade A Power (1/2)

To prove that he wasn't lying, Hayden went out of his way to invite a few veteran miners to join them. When they instructed Fang Zhao on how to determine mineral quality, they were able to dig out large ores at will, but the spots they pointed out to Fang Zhao never yielded big pieces.

The miners turned beet red. They wanted to explain themselves, but they didn't know how. They finally knew how Hayden had felt.

Standing to his side, Hayden couldn't help but tell Fang Zhao, ”Your luck is... truly terrible.”

Even Kevin Lin, who had been observing the process all along, shook his head in resignation. He was angry and amused at the same time. Fang Zhao's luck was so bad that he didn't know what to say.

Now Hayden and the veteran miners didn't dare suggest spots for Fang Zhao any more. After passing on their knowledge, they shut up and stood to one side.

”Really, as long as you remember what we taught you, you'll definitely be able to dig out a bigger piece of ore than Andre on S3,” Hayden reassured Fang Zhao.

But Fang Zhao wasn't as devastated as the others thought he was. All he did was study the wall in front of him carefully. He was surrounded by other miners who were digging. The ore they dug out and rock debris kept being shipped out via conveyor belt.

Fang Zhao kept inspecting the wall and replaying the excavation strategies Hayden and the old miners had taught him in his head. He also had a very special feeling.

Mines generated strange energy fields. Ordinary people who spent significant amounts of time in mines typically suffered physically. That was why miners wore protective clothing. After all, they spent most of their days inside the mine.

Many types of excavation machinery didn't function properly in the mines, likely due to these invisible energy fields. This phenomenon occured in 90 percent of mines. There were excavation devices resistant to the energy fields, but they were too expensive. Maintenance was also costly. Places that were ranked on the bottom end of the development order drafted by the global alliance, like Baiji, would never deploy those types of machines. Also, the conscription system provided plenty of manual labor. They didn't need the machines.

Fang Zhao had read a few books about power ores. The discovery of power ores had marked a quantum leap in technological development. It had ushered in the era of immigration to foreign planets and the beginning of space exploration.

Every power ore released an energy field. The strength of the energy field depended on the quality and size of the ore.

Despite wearing protective clothing, Fang Zhao could still feel the invisible energy fields that surrounded him. This was something the others couldn't detect.

A normal person shouldn't have been able to feel the energy field so acutely while wearing protective clothing under regular circumstances. That was what the professional manuals said. But a select few were able to feel instinctively what regular people couldn't, even if they were sealed in a room insulated from all energy fields.

Fang Zhao analyzed his own circumstances. He was a bit different from those ”select few” as well. Those folks had a vague sense of the presence of energy fields, but Fang Zhao could feel them clearly—and the more he tuned into them, the more he could distinguish the individual fields and their respective size and strength. The energy fields indicated the size of the power ores and their distance.

Hayden and company watched Fang Zhao pause at a spot, examine the mineral quality, and nod to himself. This minor celebrity seemed a quick learner. The spot he had picked looked like a likely source of large power ores, but given his track record, they decided to shut up until Fang Zhao actually dug out something.

Fang Zhao started chiseling, Hayden and company craned their necks.

As pieces of rock debris dislodged, the wall revealed an edge whose texture stood out.

”Wait!”

”Hang on!”

Hayden and the others cautioned Fang Zhao, worried that he might chisel too hard.

Hayden rushed over to take a closer look. He excitedly declared, ”Indeed, it's an ore! Check out its edge. It's definitely not a small rock. It's gotta be a big one!”

”Really? Let me take a look.” The veteran miners rushed over as well.

The miners were even more excited than Fang Zhao.

”Indeed!”

The miners surrounded Fang Zhao and offered up instructions. ”It's probably a big piece. Dig it out quickly. Use some finesse and take your time. One bit at a time. It's OK if you take more time, but you have to make sure it's intact. If it's broken up, that will affect its pricing.”

Five minutes later, a power ore nearly 20 centimeters long and about as thick as the size of a human wrist was dislodged. It came with useless gangue that obscured the actual ore, but all the excavated ore would be sent to a central location and processed together. The miners didn't have to clean it up.

One of the veteran miners inspected the ore and nodded his head in approval. ”Indeed, it's intact.”

”Hey, we finally dug out a big one!”

Hayden and company finally breathed a sigh of relief now that this minor celebrity had finally landed a big piece of ore.

”Let me take a look.” A curious Kevin Lin picked up the ore and started playing around with it. It was a bit heavy. It took some effort to hold it with one hand. ”Not bad, not bad. It's just a bit smaller than the one Andre dug out. Let's press forward. Who knows, maybe we'll dig out a bigger one that will break his record,” Kevin Lin said as he returned the rock to Fang Zhao.

”Hurry up and mark it. This will count as part of your service record,” Hayden urged.

Every miner marked every ore they excavated with a custom-made spray-paint gun. The number would be automatically scanned when it was stored so a tally could be kept for each miner.

Fang Zhao pulled out a small spray-paint gun from his pocket and branded the rock he had just dislodged. The imprint he left was his army serial number.

Fang Zhao was just about to place the rock on the conveyer belt after marking it when he heard Kevin Lin blurt out, ”Wait! What's the hurry? Let's take a picture. This is the first big piece you have dug out so far. Come on, strike a pose. Don't be serious all the time. Smile.”

After taking the picture, Kevin Lin instructed Fang Zhao to set the rock aside first. He wanted to accumulate a few more rocks so they could take another photo.

Fang Zhao was a different person after digging out the first rock. He followed up with three large ores, each larger than the other. The fourth piece stood out in particular. It was clearly larger than the one featured on S3.

”That's a shame. If only you had excavated such a big piece on your first try during the live broadcast.” Kevin Lin knew that even if Fang Zhao dug out a bigger rock now, it wouldn't make a big splash unless it was a superbig piece.

But if they could shed Fang Zhao's image as the worst miner of the five, another live broadcast was worth a shot.

Seeing that Fang Zhao was on a roll, Kevin Lin and Fang Zhao decided to go live again.

”We'll be fine as long as you keep up your momentum. Hold on. Hayden, can you gather the four pieces that Fang Zhao dug out already? I'll do a close-up.”

Fans scrambled to tune in when they saw that S5 had gone live again.

”Fang Zhao's going live again?”

”Did he finally dig out a big ore?”

”That must be the case. Otherwise they wouldn't go live.”

The first shot after the live broadcast resumed was the four rocks that Fang Zhao had dug out.

”Wow, those are mighty big pieces!”

”They're bigger than the one Andre dug out.”

”So they staged four pieces and said he dug them out, but who knows? Maybe someone else did the work and is letting him take credit.”

”The ores are marked.”

”Just because they are marked doesn't mean that he dug them out.”

As far as the viewers were concerned, ores that weren't dug out live didn't count.

”Look, he's about to dig again.”

”Ha—he actually had the gumption to go live. It must be because someone scouted a prime location for him. I wouldn't be surprised if he digs out a giant rock.”

Meanwhile, Kevin Lin was manning the camera in the mine. He was quite nervous. Finishing with such a meager pile wouldn't fly on the first day of their mining broadcast. Having seen Fang Zhao dig out four ores in a row, he didn't want to give up just yet.

Hayden and the veteran miners were also watching nervously. Their gazes were glued to Fang Zhao as they gauged the mineral quality of the wall where Fang Zhao was digging.

Fang Zhao paced for a bit and stopped.

The veteran miners frowned. They thought Fang Zhao had picked a spot five meters ahead. Judging from the mineral quality, it was a likely source of big ores, but Fang Zhao checked out the spot and came back.

”The mineral quality there... doesn't look like it will yield big ores.”

”It's not too bad. Maybe there will be a few small pieces, definitely not a big piece,” one of the miners mumbled.

Kevin Lin hesitated before deciding not to speak. He heard what the veteran miner had said and knew the comment was intended for him, but considering that the miners were a poorer judge of mineral quality than Fang Zhao, he decided to believe Fang Zhao for now. He didn't end the live broadcast or interrupt Fang Zhao.

The miners exchanged glances and let out an imaginary sigh. Forget it. If they won't accept the favor, there is no point in saying any more. They had said what they could. If Fang Zhao came up empty during the live broadcast again, they had an excuse when they briefed their superiors.

Ding!