Chapter 710: The Universal Mining System (1)

【…The current batch of replacement miners has been assembled, the list is as follows—】

【Flori, G7109 Habitable Star second-class Star Citizen.】

【Qianade, K0811 Guardian Star second-class Star Citizen.】

【Aiwei, W0981 Exploration Star second-class Star Citizen.】

【Fukena, F9003 Agricultural Reclamation Star third-class Star Citizen.】

【Jieluowa, L0950 Barren Star third-class Star Citizen.】

【Suheng, H0706 Fringe Star third-class Star Citizen.】

【Xie Yang, W7744 Garbage Star lowest-class Star Citizen.】

【Babala, …】

【The above list was drawn by lottery by the Federal Star Council Bureau, the rules are the same as the previous period: miners will randomly enter Mining Star sectors to mine. The minerals mined must be turned over to this system according to a periodic quota; any excess may be exchanged by the miners for daily necessities.】

【The mining rules for this period have been changed: the mining duration for replacement miners is at least three years. However, within these three years, miners who complete their monthly quota tasks may carry surplus ore back to their home planets for a three-day vacation. After three years, miners who have not completed their tasks must remain to continue mining until all quota tasks are completed.】

【Attention, attention: If you die on a Mining Star, your body will perish and your soul will vanish; this system assumes no responsibility.】

"..."

Xie Yang's consciousness returned, and she heard the arrogant remarks of the "Mining System"—a bug sub-system that this plane needed to reclaim.

It was different from any previous experience—

This time, the sub-system was not bound to an Air of Fortune of this plane, but to a small planet.

Before being bound by the Mining System, this small planet was unknown, because in the vast, boundless Interstellar Era, there were countless small planets like this one.

A small planet with no distinguishing features and rarely noticed by Star Citizens, it was like a drop in the ocean, submerged in the vast sea of stars, very difficult for the world to remember.

Until one day, the small planet was bound by the Mining System, and from then on, it leaped to become the nightmare of every interstellar person.

After all, no one is willing to be forced to go to a completely unfamiliar place, where one must stay for at least three years upon arrival.

Although adjustments were made this time—allowing miners to go home to rest for three days every month—the prerequisite was the completion of that month's quota task.

If one cannot finish, one must mine endlessly in the dark, sunless mine tunnels; if one cannot mine the quantity required by the Mining System, one cannot go home, and may even die in the mine tunnels due to overwork or illness.

In a game, one can be resurrected after death, but dying on a Mining Star is the same as in the real world—it is a real death.

Therefore, when the Mining System bound the small planet and first released the mining rules to the inhabited stars belonging to the Federal Star System, no one paid it any mind.

But unexpectedly, this so-called system launched an electromagnetic wave attack on the Imperial Star, where the Council Bureau is located, causing the Star Net systems of the Imperial Star and all the small planets belonging to it to be completely paralyzed.

With technology developed to the Interstellar Era, the network had long become an indispensable part of people's lives. Whether day or night, whether living, studying, or working, one could not do without the assistance of the network.

Once the Star Net is paralyzed, it means people's lives fall into chaos, and the entire planet faces a collapse of order.

The Federation authorities had no choice but to bow to the Mining System, and after negotiating with it, indicated they would regularly transport mining talent to the Mining Star to cooperate with it in completing tasks.

But mining has risks, and if things go wrong, one could die on the Mining Star; the Federation authorities were unwilling under any circumstances to let the elite talent of the Imperial Star suffer this hardship.

Besides, even without life-threatening danger, going away for three years is too much of a waste of time. How much wealth could the elites create in three years if they stayed on the Imperial Star!

Thus, the Council Bureau held a symbolic meeting, where it was voted that the lowest-class Star Citizens from the most unimportant planets would enter the Mining Star to mine.

But unexpectedly, the first batch of Star Citizens to enter the Mining Star reaped the dividends of mining—aside from some casualties, most Star Citizens returned to their respective planets with the surplus minerals left over after completing their tasks.

These minerals could be sold for a lot of money in reality.

These lowest-class Star Citizens, who were originally struggling at the bottom of the Garbage Star, transformed into wealthy people capable of buying an independent small planet.

At this, the Star Citizens of other inhabited stars grew jealous.

Mining certainly has risks, but wealth is sought amidst danger; how could the Council Bureau deprive them of the opportunity to get rich?

The Federation authorities had no choice but to re-formulate the lottery rules—

Except for the Imperial Star, any adult Star Citizen on an inhabited star could sign up to participate in the mining lottery.

And so, the "lucky ones" of this period were no longer just the lowest-class Star Citizens from the Garbage Star, but came from different inhabited stars.

The original body that Xie Yang inhabited was also drawn.

The original body's family lived on a Garbage Star that Star Citizens of habitable stars would curl their lips in disdain at the mention of, and they were even rare natives of the Garbage Star.

In the past, the Garbage Star also had a beautiful name called Weilan Star; at that time, it was also a scenic, habitable planet. Only because of over-exploitation and environmental pollution, the terrible climate and environment seriously affected people's normal lives. Generation after generation of Weilan Star people could no longer endure the harsh living environment, and when the time was ripe, they grouped together and fled this scarred planet.

For the hundred years that followed, the uninhabited Weilan Star became the place where the Federal Star System dumped its garbage.

However, with technology developed to the present, most garbage can be recycled and processed; only garbage that truly cannot be processed is transported to the Garbage Star at the cost of time and energy.

Although it is called a Garbage Star, the entire planet is not all garbage; there are also living areas where lowest-class Star Citizens reside.

And after a hundred years of recuperation, this blue planet has regained its vitality.

It is just that, unlike other inhabited planets with high-rise buildings and high-tech flying vehicles shuttling between them, this planet still maintains the desolation from when they fled in groups a hundred years ago, with a bit more original, wild charm.

The original body's family are among the few natives of the Garbage Star.

About a hundred years ago, the ancestors of the original body migrated here from Haiman Star, which had encountered a terrifying tsunami.

The original body's parents are both Star Citizens born and raised on the Garbage Star.

Her father, Xie Bangde, works at the Garbage Recycling and Maintenance Station, with a low salary of three thousand Star Coins per month.

Her mother, Su Moli, has no stable job. A few years ago, she could still compete with Nanny Robots for a few hourly jobs at a cheap wage, but as the maintenance costs for robots have dropped again and again, she has not received any work for a long time.

As for farming—the soil on the Garbage Star is severely compacted, and seeds are also very expensive; whether seeds bought at a high price can actually grow after being sown is a problem.

Fortunately, Xie Ba works at the Garbage Recycling and Maintenance Station and can pick up usable household garbage one step ahead of others—for example, mechas or flying vehicles that can barely be used after repairs, or perhaps some nutrient solution that has not been expired for long; life could barely be sustained.

But ever since the Imperial Star promulgated the new "Garbage Recycling and Processing Act," such barely usable garbage has not been easy to find. It can be said that the Garbage Recycling and Maintenance Station can no longer produce any practical garbage.

The Xie Family's life began to look stretched thin...