Chapter 208: Legendary Miner

After 118 finished listening to Yunxiao's experience, the Logic Core suddenly felt a strange sensation.

118 didn't know what emotion this was, but one thing was clear: 118 now felt that Yunxiao was very similar to himself.

Going by this unlucky feeling, they really are alike.

At the same time, he also gained considerable understanding of this newly established Federation.

Previously, the Federation was a unified whole; after the Alliance split, four forces carved up the original Federation's territory.

The New Federation, which is where Yunxiao currently stays, is a force composed of Federal Remnants, occupying several planets around the former capital.

And their system, rules, and even upper leadership are hardly different from before.

In other words, the New Federation is a rebirth of the Federation, with the same corrupt policies, infighting among departments, and an army rotten to the core.

Staying here is certainly not a good choice.

How long can we keep hiding things like today's incident?

The other three forces are the planets occupied by Crazy AI and the Insect Disaster, as well as 'Chronos', formed by another group of humans.

As for why 118 can obtain so much information, it's because his core has the ability to retrieve network information.

Fortunately, although the core has been idle for so long, it's still fairly well preserved, and most of its functions remain usable.

His core is still a military Iron Guard-type core; although it's a cannon-fodder mecha, it's at least military-grade.

With 118's arrival, Yunxiao seemed to have found her backbone; she stopped doing part‑time work and setting up stalls, and fell into a state of suspended animation.

These past years she had been exhausted; the sense of security 118 gave her was unmatched, and when he returned, Yunxiao completely let go of her toughness, just wanting to curl up beside him like a little cat and rest.

However, although Yunxiao relies on 118, the deep‑seated feeling of helplessness from these years makes it impossible for her to forget, and after only a few days of rest she starts trying to grow stronger again.

"Miss, I suggest we leave the New Federation; according to my analysis, the other human force, Chronos, is far better than the New Federation."

"Although its location is near the territories of the Insect Disaster and Crazy AI, I believe the opportunities there will be greater."

Yunxiao was wearing goggles, leaning over her small desk amidst sparks and lightning, listening to 118's words as she lifted her head and thought for a moment.

"Although that's indeed the case... I have no money..."

Yunxiao looked dejectedly at the pile of scattered parts on the desk before her, feeling utterly helpless.

She is so poor she can't even afford a bag of her favorite chips; where could she get transportation to fly to another planet?

"Or should I take on more part‑time jobs?"

"Miss, part‑time work will never make you rich."

Yunxiao vexedly scratched her head; those words hit too close to home.

As a mechanic, without access to various high‑tech weapon schematics, she could only rely on her own research, and she had no way to pursue profitable avenues.

Nowadays, she can only make a living by taking custom orders for mechanical parts—work that only a mechanic can do.

To earn big money, a mechanic either must go to the front lines and fight desperately with combat skills, or create and sell popular mechanical designs.

Yunxiao can do neither of those.

Besides, there are illegal little trades forbidden by criminal law, but Yunxiao is too dim to manage even those.

"Don't rush, Miss; I'm still here."

118 spoke, pointing to his own head.

"In this era where any machine with computing power is controlled, I, as an AI, am the most useful."

"You mean...."

"I can go 'mining'."

Yunxiao froze for a moment, not yet grasping what 'mining' meant, and after her brain crashed for a full ten seconds, she let out a furious roar.

"You want to go mining?!"

"No way! I don't agree!"

The 'mining' 118 spoke of does not refer to physical mining, but a kind of online mining that burns computing power to obtain 'tokens' in the virtual world.

When some mechanics need to carry out large‑scale calculations but lack sufficient mental capacity to compute parameters quickly, or to verify answers, they post something similar to a 'commission' online.

Some official agencies and research institutions also post such requests; these commissions requiring computing power are a livelihood for many mechanics.

Usually, this requires mechanics skilled in 'brain volume' to expend mental power to derive data, then upload the answer.

Mechanics who engage in mining have two evaluation criteria—accuracy rate and reputation level; the higher these figures, the greater the chance of landing large‑value mining contracts.

Furthermore, when reputation and success rate are low, they must still complete commissions together with other miners to receive payment.

A single mistake incurs a ten‑fold penalty, deterring many mechanics with insufficient mental capacity.

"No, no way! Absolutely not!"

Yunxiao shouted in objection, fearing that 118 would burn out the crystal core inside his core over this, and that she still hadn't managed to decipher the technology of military mechas, so she couldn't replace his parts.

If 118's crystal core were to burn out, wouldn't that be tantamount to killing him outright?

"Miss, you seem to be underestimating me a bit."

"If we calculate by your human years, I am already 104 years old, and during this time I have done countless jobs requiring computing power."

"Please trust me."

This is the second time Yunxiao has heard those words; looking back now, it even feels like a lifetime apart.

After much thought, and with 118's repeated assurances, Yunxiao finally decided to let 118 go 'mining'.

"'The Logic Core ought to warm up.' Thinking that, you logged onto the mining platform, registered an account, and the Legendary Miner was about to be born."

"Your computing power is immensely strong—compared to a human brain it's a dimensional‑reduction strike; in just one day you completed over a thousand commissions, your rise shocking everyone, a 100% accuracy rate making people suspect you were cheating, and within a month you became the 'Legendary Miner' everyone talked about."

"Little did you know, at that moment you and Yunxiao had already saved enough to buy an interstellar warship, setting out on the road to another star sector, and the 'Legendary Miner' vanished just like that."

"Yunxiao is delighted, full of anticipation for a new life, yet on this seemingly smooth journey there is something that will surely make things difficult for you two...."

"The ancient computer is still running...."

(I tried setting up a stall to sell stuff today, came back late, already made up for it! Thanks to all my god‑parents for the gifts!)