Chapter 825: Fengqi Fleet Heads to Silent Valley (1)

Silent Valley, "Prism" main mining star—Deep-Layer Ore Vein, Operation Zone C-9.

The air was filled with the smell of ore dust containing faint radioactive particles, as well as the distinct, slightly cloying chemical scent of coolant from large drilling rigs.

The dim blue Spirit Element ore embedded in the tunnel walls emitted a hazy glow, barely illuminating the massive mining machinery below and the figures laboring amidst it.

The old miner Dangmu pushed hard on a mine cart filled with freshly fractured, deep-blue ore.

The mine cart wheels emitted a grinding sound against the tracks.

There was no expression on his face, which was covered in wrinkles and sweat stains, only the habitual squint formed by long-term work in dim light.

Sweat soaked through his gray work uniform, which was printed with the words "Fengqi Mining," and clung to his hunched back.

"Move faster! Output in Zone C-9 is falling behind!"

A urging voice rang out through the loudspeakers at the top of the mine tunnel, carrying the distinct accent of the Canaan Star Alliance.

The sound echoed in the mine tunnel, appearing exceptionally harsh.

Dangmu did not look up, but silently quickened his pace pushing the cart.

He knew that behind the cameras connected to the loudspeakers, there were certainly at least a pair of eyes in emerald-green uniforms watching every movement of theirs through surveillance screens.

Those Canaan "security personnel"—they didn't call themselves foremen; they were called "Order Coordinators."

They wore crisp uniforms, with non-lethal Pulse Oscillators and Capture Net Launchers hanging at their waists, and that condescending gaze made people feel uncomfortable.

"Damn it... they really think they're the masters..."

On the adjacent track, a younger miner, Nandeng, couldn't help but curse in a low voice; he intentionally used too much force while pushing his cart, making the cart emit an even louder noise.

His arm was still wrapped in bandages; he had been injured while helping a companion who had been trampled in the chaos when that companion tried to reason with the Canaanites during their "takeover" and was struck down by a pulse shock.

"Shut up! Nandeng!"

Dangmu growled in a low voice, his murky eyes quickly scanning the several surveillance probes with blinking red dots at the top of the mine tunnel.

"Do you want to go to the 'No-Return Tunnel'?!"

Nandeng gritted his teeth, the muscles in his face twitching, but in the end, he suppressed his overflowing rage and just pushed the cart even harder.

The "No-Return Tunnel" he spoke of was the name miners privately used for an abandoned, supposedly heavily radiation-contaminated old ore vein deep in the mining area.

A few days ago, a stubborn old miner had refused to wear the new "Safety Collar" issued by Canaan—which featured positioning and health monitoring functions—and loudly scolded them as robbers; the next day, he was "invited away" by several expressionless Canaan security personnel, who claimed he was being "transferred to perform a special safety maintenance task."

No one knew where he had gone, but everyone knew perfectly well.

At the end of the tracks was the initial ore screening platform.

Several Fengqi workers, also wearing gray work uniforms, were busy beside several Canaan-standard automated sorting machines.

They needed to manually move the ore of varying sizes unloaded from the mine carts onto the conveyor belt to be sent into the sorter.

The sorter emitted a low hum, screening out the ore rich in Spirit Element and transporting it to the other side into huge sealed cargo containers stamped with the Canaan Star Alliance emblem, waiting for shipment.

A Canaan security personnel member wearing an emerald-green "Vine" combat uniform, with a small gear emblem on his armband, stood with his hands behind his back beside the sorting platform's Control Console.

He would occasionally look down at the real-time output data on the Data Pad in his hand or report a few words in a low voice into his Communication Device.

"Pay attention to safety regulations! Wear your protective gloves properly! Ore is piling up at sorting port 3! Clear it out!"

He shouted at the workers on the platform, his tone being standard work instructions; one could hear neither joy nor anger, nor any pity for the enslaved.

Dangmu and Nandeng laboriously dumped the ore from their mine cart into the designated storage area.

The heavy ore hit the ground, making a dull thud.

Dangmu wiped the sweat and dust from his face, and in the gap while bending over, he said quickly in a voice only Nandeng could hear.

"...'Crusher'... next supply day... same old place..."

Nandeng's body jolted, and a glimmer of light flashed in his eyes.

He nodded imperceptibly.

"Crusher" was the code name for Luoke's smuggling ship.

Under the Canaanites' tight blockade and surveillance, these Star Interstellar Merchants were the only secret channel they had to obtain news from the outside world or even pass on information.

"Move! No whispering!"

The two immediately separated and continued to labor.

The deep-blue Spirit Element ore flowed on the conveyor belt, emitting a faint energy glow, reflecting the hunched figures and numb faces of the miners, and also reflecting the emblems on those emerald-green uniforms.

Days repeated numbly in the heavy, day-to-day grind.

The old miner Dangmu pushed the mine cart; the bandages on Nandeng's arm had already been removed, but his movements still carried a bit of unnatural stiffness.

The supply day finally arrived.

This was originally a rare day when the miners could catch their breath, receive their rationed food and basic necessities, and even briefly gather in the relatively open unloading platform area.

But after the Canaanites "took over," even this brief respite was under tight surveillance.

The "Order Coordinators" in emerald-green uniforms had doubled in number, scanning every Fengqi person receiving rations, while the loudspeakers continuously repeated the instructions: "Maintain order, collect quickly, no talking."

Dangmu and Nandeng kept their heads down, crawling forward with the slowly moving line.

The corners of their eyes quickly scanned the edge of the unloading platform.

Several medium-sized transport ships stamped with the "Stardust Logistics" logo were docked there, and some people wearing ordinary work clothes—but clearly not miners—were unloading cargo under the supervision of Canaan security personnel.

Luoke's "Crusher" certainly wouldn't appear blatantly; it would only complete "transactions" through specific channels during the times or areas with the loosest supervision.

Just as Dangmu was about to reach the ration point, a porter wearing greasy overalls and a fully enclosed helmet dragged a crate of energy bars past him; the crate seemed to tilt accidentally, and several energy bars scattered on the ground.

"Oops, sorry!"

The porter's voice was hoarse, and he hurriedly bent down to pick them up, his movements appearing somewhat clumsy.

Dangmu bent down almost instinctively to help pick them up as well.

The two's hands touched on the metal floor and immediately parted.

Dangmu felt a hard, tiny object being pressed into his palm.

A fingernail-sized micro data chip disguised as an ordinary piece of ore fragment.

The porter quickly picked up the remaining energy bars, mumbled a thank you, and pushed the crate away at a brisk pace, as if nothing had happened.

The entire process took less than three seconds and was completely unremarkable in the chaotic distribution area.

Dangmu's heart almost stopped beating for that instant, then began to pound frantically!

He suppressed the excitement that was about to burst forth, quickly gripped the chip in his palm, stuffed it into the deepest pocket of his work uniform, and then continued to wait in line with an expressionless face.

It was not until late at night that he returned to the narrow, crude, and equally monitored collective dormitory.

After confirming that the miners sharing the room were all fast asleep from exhaustion, Dangmu took out an old personal terminal with a cracked screen—which the Canaanites considered only good for playing simple games—in the corner of his bunk, using his body to block any potential camera angles.

He carefully inserted the chip into an extremely concealed expansion slot, which he had secretly modified back when he was a technician at the mine.

The screen flickered a few times; there was no sound, only lines of scrolling, encrypted text information.

The message was extremely brief.

…General Sailin has dispatched a Capital Ship fleet… already assembled… Target: Silent Valley! … Expel the Canaanites! … Recovery is imminent! … Hold fast! …

Dangmu covered his mouth, terrified that he might lose control and make a sound, his cloudy, aged eyes brimming with scalding tears.

Fengqi's fleet has come! They have come to take back the land that belongs to Fengqi!