Chapter 13: Mining
1620 Words
The Star Pirates distributed to each person a small stone-cutting machine—about half a person’s height. When it came to Chen Lillian, she straightened her back, her dirty face set in determination. After hesitating for two seconds, the pirate handed her a machine.
When it was Yuan Vincent’s turn, the pirate said directly, “You can’t operate a stone cutter. Since that’s the case—”
He lifted his rifle, but Uncle Zhao quickly leaped forward, shielding Yuan Vincent with his body.
“He can pick up stones,” Chen Lillian interjected, pointing to herself and Uncle Zhao. “The two of us will operate the cutters, and he will gather the stones.”
“Exactly, exactly! I operate the cutter very well—our young master is especially good at picking up stones,” Uncle Zhao babbled incoherently.
The pirate shot Yuan Vincent a look of contempt and mockery, “Then you’re on gathering duty. If I catch you slacking off—”
He cast a look that said, “You all know what to do.”
The stone-cutting machines were rudimentary, hand-controlled devices. Chen Lillian recalled them as reminiscent of the tractors from her former life. But when a machine barely 1.5 meters tall cleaved through a giant boulder in mere seconds—its noise nearly throwing her off balance—she realized she had underestimated these “primitive tools.”
Never underestimate the power of “primitive tools” in this world.
These cutters could not only split stone but also scoop, carry, and transport. With two machines in the hands of Chen Lillian and Uncle Zhao, Yuan Vincent’s job was simply to collect the fallen pieces.
Standing behind them, the pirate watched for several minutes. When he confirmed that the three worked at a pace no slower than anyone else, he strode away confidently with his quantum rifle.
The cutters hummed incessantly for a long while. By dusk, several nearby mountains had been nearly halved by their efforts.
When the whistle sounded again, Chen Lillian, with her left arm aching and numb, trudged over to Yuan Vincent. Just as she was about to help carry him, he shook his head, “I’m fine.”
Chen Lillian followed him, and Yuan Vincent now reminded her of a mighty gorilla she might see at a zoo—long, powerful arms that could even climb or leap if there were vines around.
Despite his disability, as the top marshal of the First Military Academy, Yuan Vincent always excelled at whatever he set his mind to. Even without legs, his speed was not slower than others.
There was no water here; the three of them were coated in thick limestone dust. After a brief dusting off outside, they entered the shelter they had built that day.
Dinner came in the form of a single bottle of nutrient solution. After drinking it, the three were so exhausted that they fell asleep immediately.
Yuan Vincent and Uncle Zhao shared one room, while Chen Lillian had her own small space. The room was only a few square meters in size, without even a proper bed. The floor wasn’t plastic or rubber; Chen Lillian couldn’t tell what it was made of—it wasn’t soft, yet not overly hard. Having slept on many streets in her past, she adapted quickly and soon drifted into a deep sleep.
At morning’s whistle, Chen Lillian felt a strange sense of timelessness. With no water available, she skipped the routine of brushing her teeth or washing up, and simply stepped outside as soon as the door opened.
Outside, Yuan Vincent and Uncle Zhao were already waiting. When Chen Lillian emerged, Yuan Vincent shot her a glance and immediately went to join the others. Uncle Zhao greeted her warmly, “Good morning, young madam.”
Chen Lillian smiled, “Good morning, Uncle Zhao.”
Another day of relentless work began. By the time they had excavated the surface down several tens of meters, they were preparing to begin mining the underground layers the next day.
On the third day, as the stones grew harder to dig, a sudden loud “bang” echoed. Thick smoke billowed up, startling Chen Lillian. She instinctively glanced behind her; not spotting any Star Pirate with a quantum rifle, she exhaled in relief.
“Many stone cutters broke down today—you’re not the first,” Yuan Vincent remarked as he reached her machine.
Chen Lillian and Uncle Zhao had been operating their cutters continuously, working on three machines’ worth of stone; they hadn’t noticed the others. But Yuan Vincent, ever vigilant, had observed that a total of eighteen cutters had failed that morning.
Hearing this, Chen Lillian was astonished, “What’s happening? Are these machines second-hand?”
Yuan Vincent shot her a cold look, “You’re a student of Mecha Design—shouldn’t you be able to tell if a machine is second-hand?”
Chen Lillian choked and gave a self-deprecating smile, “I’m still learning.”
Then, Chen Lillian noticed Yuan Vincent produce a small black box from one of the cutters. She raised an eyebrow—after three days, she hadn’t realized they had such a device here.
“Do you know how to fix this?” she asked.
“It shouldn’t be too difficult,” Yuan Vincent replied without looking up.
To Chen Lillian’s surprise, it turned out to be quite simple. After she scanned the surroundings and then looked back, she heard Yuan Vincent say, “Done.”
“Already? That was fast!” Chen Lillian exclaimed.
Yuan Vincent only gave her a brief look and said nothing. Yet, inexplicably, Chen Lillian felt that his silent glance spoke volumes—perhaps reproaching her for not knowing something so basic, as if to say, “You, a student of Mecha Design, should know this!”
Chen Lillian wasn’t angry. After all, she couldn’t tell him the truth: this body’s mind had been replaced with a new “core.”
Moreover, she wasn’t the only one who couldn’t do it—everyone present couldn’t, except him.
Coincidentally, as Chen Lillian’s cutter had just been fixed, Uncle Zhao’s had broken down. While Yuan Vincent was busy repairing Uncle Zhao’s cutter, a Star Pirate arrived. Seeing Yuan Vincent working on the machine, the pirate stayed silently behind him.
When Yuan Vincent finished the repair, a flash of unexpected respect flickered in the pirate’s eyes. With a hint of admiration, he said, “You won’t need to pick up stones anymore. From now on, you’ll be responsible for repairing these machines.”
He swept his gaze over the assembled workers.
Yuan Vincent thus became the repairman, easing the workload on Chen Lillian and Uncle Zhao—so that the three no longer had to operate three machines’ worth of work. By the end of the workday, Chen Lillian even found time to chat with Uncle Zhao. “The stones are getting harder,” she noted, her cutting blades having been replaced a dozen times already.
Shaking her sore shoulders, her dirty face now covered in thick dust obscuring her original features, Chen Lillian listened as Uncle Zhao’s kindly eyes sparkled. He looked at her—a girl missing an arm yet not delicate in the slightest, whose work pace rivaled even a fully-abled man—and felt an increasing fondness.
“They must be close to the mineral deposit,” Uncle Zhao mused. “Blue Key Stone is extremely hard; the surrounding rock is even harder—much tougher than ordinary metal.”
Chen Lillian considered this, “No wonder the machines keep breaking, and the Star Pirates aren’t angry.”
Yuan Vincent’s eyes flashed with a dark glimmer as he said, “Let’s be extra cautious from now on.”
From his tone, Chen Lillian sensed that a storm was brewing.
Two days later, someone unearthed the first piece of Blue Key Stone.
That night, Chen Lillian heard a series of tremendous explosions. She leapt up from the floor and rushed out of her room.
In another room, both Uncle Zhao and Yuan Vincent had opened their doors.
“Let’s go to the mine area,” Yuan Vincent declared decisively.
The mine area had already been excavated tens of meters below ground; the tunnels branched out like a labyrinth. The rock down there was harder than iron and could easily conceal people. Most importantly, the very reason for the Star Pirates’ internal conflicts was, in all likelihood, the Blue Key Stone. They probably wouldn’t dare to touch the mining area.
Chen Lillian quickly realized the rationale and immediately squatted down, saying to Yuan Vincent, “Quick—get on. I’ll carry you.”
“Madam, allow me to carry young master instead—please lead the way,” Uncle Zhao interjected, seizing Yuan Vincent and flinging him behind him.
Outside, chaos reigned. Flames leapt and explosions roared as Chen Lillian’s concentrated mental energy surged through the tumult.
“Almost there—just ahead,” Chen Lillian urged. Suddenly, she heard a whooshing sound from the left. Before she could decide what to do, her body reacted on its own: she lunged toward Uncle Zhao and Yuan Vincent, lowering herself to shield them.
In the next moment, something soared over their heads. Moments later, a tremendous crash resounded as a heavy metal block—over a meter wide and half a meter deep—struck the ground.
The three looked up; the massive block weighed dozens of kilograms.
Uncle Zhao’s face turned to shock—if it weren’t for Chen Lillian, he and the young master might have been doomed.
Yuan Vincent also looked at Chen Lillian, his eyes flashing with something unspoken.
- Writer
