Chapter 711: All-People Mining System (2)

The original body had an older brother. In his youth, he was innocently caught in a fierce battle between star pirates and the Federation military. Taken hostage by the star pirates, he later drifted to an outer star system. By the time he was rescued, he had become severely socially anxious and nearly reclusive, fearing any place with people.

Usually, she would not leave the house if she didn't have to. If she absolutely had to go out, she would be fully armed and dressed in a "keep away" style, barely interacting with anyone.

The original body saw an advertisement on the Star Net for a new product from a pharmaceutical company. Among them was a medicine that could cure her brother's illness. The price was not exactly expensive, but given her family's current financial situation, they were still unable to afford it.

Just then, the first batch of Star Citizens sent to the Mining Star to mine returned, all of them beaming with joy, claiming they had made a fortune.

Upon hearing this, the original body thought: mining can make money? She quickly logged into her Star Net account, submitted a mining application form, and was luckily drawn for a substitute spot in this term.

Xie Bangde also signed up, but unfortunately, he was not on the list when it came out.

Su Moli was still lamenting, "It seems our family's luck is really a bit bad, destined not to have the fate of getting rich," when in the next second, she saw a name at the end of the list that was exactly the same as their daughter's.

At first, they thought it was just someone with the same name, but when the original body's Light Brain received a Mining Invitation Letter marked with a detailed assembly location and time, and with the assembly imminent, the couple realized this child had signed up behind their backs.

Su Moli broke down in tears immediately, hugging her daughter and wailing:

"You child! How could you sign up behind your mom and dad's back! Three years! Even if you are lucky enough to come back during that time, you have to spend at least three years mining underground. You are a girl, how dangerous that is!"

Xie Bangde, holding his hit-or-miss Light Brain, tried every possible way to contact relatives and friends in various star systems to see if he could transfer his daughter's spot to himself.

But the list had already been uploaded to the Mining System backend and used a real-name system. Unless the person was seriously ill or unable to assemble due to other force majeure factors—which required proof from the Imperial Star's most authoritative medical institution or relevant departments—it would be a violation of the contract spirit and would be subject to severe sanctions under Federation law.

"Sorry, Lao Xie, I really can't help with this."

"Bangde, you're putting us in a difficult spot. Like you, we've never left the Garbage Star in our lives, so how could we help you?"

"Bangde, I asked my boy, and he said that unless you have connections in the Imperial Star's medical institutions or central departments, no one can help."

But if the Xie Family had connections in the Imperial Star, they wouldn't have been holed up on the Garbage Star for so many years. Wouldn't it be better to get an Interstellar Pass and settle on another inhabited planet?

The couple had no choice but to watch with teary eyes as their daughter boarded the Starship to head to the Imperial Star assembly point with the other selected Star Citizens.

"Xie Yang?"

"Xie Yang?"

"W7744 Garbage Star's Xie Yang?"

"Here!"

Xie Yang had roughly sorted through the memories left by the original body. Hearing her name called, she quickly regained her focus and raised her hand to signal.

After the roll call, they, the substitute miners, would be collectively sent to the Mining Star to carry out a mining Task for a period of three years or more.

Hearing from the staff that all electronic products would lose signal upon entering the Mining Star, as if they were useless, Xie Yang quickly pulled up her Light Brain to report her safety to the original body's parents, indicating that she had arrived safely at the assembly point.

At the same time, she thought that if the network were to shut down completely, wouldn't she even lose track of time? So she took out a Mechanical Pocket Watch, calibrated the time, hung it around her neck, and tucked it inside her collar.

She then summoned the Main System panel in her sea of consciousness, and while checking the points obtained from the previous plane, she asked the Main System: How can I recover a Sub-system that has bound to a planet?

Main System: 【The binding target does not affect the recovery process. Once it reaches the maximum level and unbinds from the planet, the Host can capture it.】

In other words, she had to wait.

Wait for the mining system to reach the maximum level and unbind from the small planet, and capture it in time before heading to the next plane.

Xie Yang thought for a moment and asked: Can you contact the Sub-system? Do you know how far it is from the maximum level?

The Main System was silent for a long while: 【Sorry Host, the System is temporarily unable to contact it.】

"..."

What use are you!

Main System: 【...】

*Crying sounds. *

The Host must be bad-mouthing it in her heart again.

"... Everyone whose name was called, come here to collect your supplies. After receiving your supplies, line up to enter the light circle. We are about to head to the Mining Star, please do not leave the team without authorization."

The person in charge of liaising with the Mining Star (or more accurately, with the mining system) directed the Service Robot to begin distributing the Material Gift Package.

These supplies were ordinary daily necessities permitted by the mining system, including tents, sleeping bags, Nutrient Solution, drinking water, toiletries, and so on.

The Federation funded the purchase, and every Star Citizen who won a mining spot received one.

Of course, one could also purchase some additional daily necessities, as they would have to live on the Mining Star for three years.

Although one could come out for a day of vacation every time the monthly quota Task was completed, which could be used for resupply.

But what if one couldn't complete the Task in a month? That meant staying in the mine for three full years before being able to come out. Wouldn't it be better to prepare more daily necessities? After all, if one couldn't even complete the periodic Task, could one still count on having surplus minerals to exchange for daily necessities?

However, only daily necessities were allowed to be brought in.

If one violated the rules by carrying other items such as thermal weapons or Robots, they would be confiscated by the mining system upon entering the Mining Star.

It wasn't as if the first batch of miners hadn't tried; thinking that manual mining couldn't be as efficient as machine mining, they secretly bought a portable mining machine to bring in.

As a result, after entering the Mining Star, they found that the mining machine had disappeared. Not only did it fail to be of any use, but they also lost a mining machine for nothing.

Therefore, the substitute miners selected for this term were all very self-aware, knowing that even if they brought them, they wouldn't be allowed to use them and would instead be confiscated, so it was better to honestly carry only the items permitted by the mining system.

After receiving her supply package, Xie Yang entered the light circle next to her to wait.

During the wait, she silently observed the others.

Some were carrying the Material Gift Package in their hands just like her, while others were empty-handed.

【Space Button.】

The Main System helped her answer.

Xie Yang understood immediately.

In the Interstellar Plane, people could visit between planets, and Starships and Flying Vehicles had long since replaced the planes and cars of the Earth era, so it was no surprise that Space Buttons had been invented.

However, according to her observations, it seemed that not many people possessed Space Buttons.

Or rather, most of the people who signed up for mining were bottom-tier Star Citizens who couldn't afford a Space Button, which started at a price of over a million Star Coins. Otherwise, they wouldn't have flocked to sign up for the Mining Star after learning that mining could make money.

Xie Yang weighed the supply bag in her hand; it wasn't very large in volume, but it was quite heavy. However, she decided to wait until she entered the Mining Star and was separated from the others before taking the Physical Fitness Potion.