Can My Battleship Be Upgraded?

The mineral veins contained in this asteroid belt mining area in the airspace near KQ-03 are not of high quality, but Wang Dong does not dislike even low-level energy crystals.

What's more, in the early stages, the system's demand for low-level energy crystals is even higher.

Continuing deeper into the mining area, after thirty minutes, the Mine Master II slowly slowed down.

"It should be almost done."

Wang Dong assessed the depth.

Going further in, even with the driving skills he brought back after his rebirth, it would be a bit reluctant.

In fact, Wang Dong would not have gone deep into the mining area to this extent if it were not for energy crystallization.

For valuable minerals like energy crystals, the chances are obviously higher in the depths than in the periphery of the asteroid belt mining area.

The periphery of the mining area is visited more often, so even if there are energy crystals, the chance of being mined is very high.

Switching the detector's mode to mineral exploration, Wang Dong patiently controlled the airship to cruise around.

Keep the particle stream emitted by the detector's external antenna aimed at the target, and wait for a period of varying lengths of time based on the size and texture of the celestial body being detected, and a detection report will be generated.

While Wang Dong carefully paid attention to the surrounding airspace environment, he controlled the spacecraft and maintained a relatively stable flight attitude to ensure that the detected particle flow did not break away from the target celestial body.

This is a technical job.

Of course, it is also physical work.

Not every asteroid or asteroid fragment will contain minerals.

Moreover, minerals have different values ​​depending on their types.

"With such a large volume, the results are available in 32 seconds. It is most likely garbage. Sure enough, it's iron ore."

"28 seconds, ha, copper mine, garbage."

…

Talking to oneself is one of the common habits of interstellar miners.

The complex celestial environment in the asteroid belt mining area makes long-distance communication very difficult.

In this case, using self-talk to relieve emotions such as tension or anxiety has become a natural choice.

For more than an hour, Wang Dong carefully investigated small celestial bodies that may contain minerals in the nearby airspace one by one.

The results are not optimistic.

Not to mention the energy crystals he hoped for, even relatively high-value mineral types have not been discovered.

But Wang Dong was not discouraged at all.

A miner.

Even interstellar miners are still miserable.

Don't you see that miner's song?

"One, two, three, four, five. Mining is really hard. All you dig is copper, and the purity is five."

The same goes for interstellar miners.

In the interstellar age, conventional minerals like copper and iron are really worthless.

However, it is often these minerals that are most abundant.

Relying on this cheap mineral alone, even if the cargo hold is filled every time, there is no profit.

Mining also requires capital.

Just spending a few hours on screening is nothing.

After exploring the nearby area, Wang Dong pushed the eight-way rudder and began to shift positions.

Luck has come.

Just change an area and the results will be much better.

"85 seconds, good guy, gas mine."

…

"112 seconds, haha, look what I found, titanium ore!"

After more than forty minutes, Wang Dong made a good discovery.

Gas is a solidified gas ore that is expensive, thousands of times more expensive than copper or iron ore.

And titanium ore is even more unusual. This refined silver-white metal has extremely high toughness and hardness, and is a high-quality material for battleship armor.

Its price is thirty times that of gas mine!

Judging from Wang Dong's experience, apart from energy crystals, titanium ore is one of the most valuable mineral types in this asteroid belt mining area.

Although Wang Dong's main goal is energy crystallization, there are also some normal gains.

This piece of titanium ore came at just the right time.

Skillfully adjusting its flight attitude, the Mine Master II aimed its broad abdomen at the asteroid where the minerals were located.

This is a thing with a diameter of more than 300 meters. It is not too big, but it is close to the processing limit of the Mine Master II.

Next comes the key.

Wang Dong wants the Mine Master II to get within a hundred meters, so that the magnetic lasso can capture the core of the asteroid.

No matter how small an asteroid is, its mass is still huge compared to the Mineral Master II.

At such a close distance, the gravitational relationship between the two is enough to affect the flight attitude of the Mine Master II.

If it accidentally hits an asteroid, it will be in big trouble.

This is inside the asteroid belt.

After an impact, both the Minemaster Type 2 and this asteroid may be affected, change their trajectory, and fall into a certain gravitational turbulence.

Wang Dong is not a novice, and this place has not yet reached the true depths of the asteroid belt. With his skills, he can handle it with ease.

With the eight-directional rudder in his hand, he constantly micro-manipulated the eight directions of the engine to adjust the engine. The Mine Master Type 2 steadily and firmly moved closer to the asteroid.

The disturbance caused by gravity to the flight attitude is often offset immediately by the micro-operation of the azimuth adjustment engine.

There was no need to deliberately calculate or read the data prompts on the ship's optical computer. Relying on subconscious reactions, Wang Dong completed the entire approach process perfectly.

The instinct of the interstellar miner has long been familiar to the body.

After aligning and approaching the asteroid, the belly of the Minemaster II was wide open.

First, four large magnetic lassoes were used to capture the asteroid and magnetically bind it as a whole.

This process takes five minutes.

After finishing, Wang Dong slightly released the eight-way rudder in his hand.

Magnetic binding allows the Mine Master II and the target asteroid to temporarily become a whole, which is a prerequisite for the entire mining operation process.

The next process is much simpler.

From the belly of the Mine Master II, multiple large mining drills protruded and began to destructively mine the asteroid in front of them along the mineral distribution detected by the previous detector.

There is no need to worry that during this process, the asteroid will deform or shift abnormally, or the fragments will scatter randomly.

With the help of magnetic binding, these are not problems.

The mining drill bit made of high-strength alloy is the most expensive component on the entire Mine Master II.

Driven by a powerful engine, the mining drill peeled off the outer layer of rock from the asteroid like a machete, and penetrated deeply into the interior of the asteroid at a very fast speed.

More than five hours later, with the assistance of the shipboard optical brain, the mining drill completed the operation of the entire asteroid.

In the cargo hold of the Mine Master II, there are more than a hundred tons of titanium ore.

One-eighth of the asteroid in front of us has turned into an aggregate of scattered rocks.

Although there is still a large volume left, the titanium ore contained in it has been completely mined.

Wang Dong operated the Mine Master II leisurely and contentedly, first putting away the mining drill bit, and then retracting the magnetic lasso.

Then push the eight-axis rudder and quickly leave the asteroid.

A few minutes later, the asteroid, whose magnetically constrained inertia disappeared, scattered a large number of scattered rocks around, and at the same time, its own orbit began to deviate.

This sets off some chain reactions nearby.

Wang Dong has already left.

This is the daily operation of interstellar miners.

Savage and direct, yet delicate and discreet.