If one word were to describe the ore before him, it would be:
Ice!
Like ice cubes, transparent, slightly white, and crystal clear!
If not for the cool temperature of the stone's surface against his hand, Jiang Ye might have thought he had dug up underground ice.
For safety's sake, he leaned down and sniffed the surface of the ore.
That was right, a rich pear aroma. He had found the mine!
Based on experience, Jiang Ye thought this stuff was most likely crystal. Diamonds were unlikely, because the visible ore alone was as large as a washbasin! If he had truly dug up a diamond this size, it wouldn't be a matter of luck; it would mean he was dreaming.
As dusk approached, Jiang Ye picked up the pace.
He switched to his pickaxe and struck it fiercely.
Soon, he chipped off three pieces of ore, each about the size of a bar of soap.
Holding them up to the sunset, Jiang Ye marveled again. The stone truly resembled ice, feeling as if it might melt in his hands.
If it were indeed crystal, he would have struck it rich. It certainly wouldn't be cheap!
Holding the three pieces of ore, along with his tools, Jiang Ye jogged back to the base.
He had to stay put at home for the night. Who knew if wild beasts might appear after dark?
Working the night shift was out of the question. Any unfinished work could wait until tomorrow.
Returning to the base, he closed the hatch and locked it.
Jiang Ye couldn't wait. He placed one piece of ore into the trading pod.
He opened the resource selling function, and the ore's information immediately appeared:
[Item: Cryolite]
[Item Description: Look! Good stuff has arrived! A fluoride of sodium and aluminum, usually colorless or white, with a few dark ones. Cryolite's refractive index is very close to that of water; if you throw it into water, you can barely see it. This material can be used in aluminum processing, the glass and enamel industries, metallurgy, and the production of insecticides.]
[Estimated Price: 30 Yuan] Da Feng Novel Network
Jiang Ye let out a surprised sound.
It wasn't crystal after all, but cryolite. It did look quite similar, though.
According to the item description, it was good stuff.
But why was the price so low?
A piece of cryolite the size of a fist was only worth three corn cobs?
Jiang Ye sold the piece of cryolite, earning 30 Yuan, and then placed another, slightly larger piece of cryolite inside.
The item description was the same as before, but the estimated price increased to 40 Yuan.
He promptly sold it.
He placed the last piece of cryolite inside and sold it for another 40 Yuan.
His personal assets increased to 110 Yuan.
Eagerly, Jiang Ye opened the Galaxy Mall and bought a Blood Grenade.
Weapons were his most pressing need right now. Although the Blood Grenade had a peculiar usage method, it was still a grenade and could save his life at a critical moment.
The payment was completed instantly. His personal assets dropped from 110 Yuan to 10 Yuan. He had spent a hundred Yuan.
A small paper box immediately appeared in the trading pod.
It was an extremely cheap, yellow paper box, and it was dented.
Damn it, they used this kind of packaging for a grenade? It looked like a freebie. Jiang Ye couldn't help but complain.
He carefully took out the paper box and opened it.
He poured the contents of the box into his hand.
The Blood Grenade felt heavy, about the size of his fist. Its appearance was peculiar; it was transparent, like a hard plastic product. He could see some metal components inside, and the pin was exquisitely crafted.
At the bottom of the grenade, there was a unique metal needle, with just a tiny bit of the tip exposed. The needle was very thick, five or six times thicker than those seen at hospitals.
It was the real deal! Jiang Ye felt a bit of fear. Such a thick needle, it must be for elephants!
Following the product instructions he had read earlier, Jiang Ye gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, and pressed the grenade against his arm.
The needle instantly pierced his vein.
The stinging sensation made him flinch.
Bright red blood immediately sprayed into the transparent grenade!
The scene was somewhat like donating blood, except that blood was collected into a blood bag, while this was flowing into the transparent grenade.
Jiang Ye then noticed that there were scale lines on the edge of the grenade.
The bottom was 0ml, and above it were 20ml, 40ml, and 50ml. The maximum was 50ml.
Next to each scale, there were small labels:
0ml: No power
20ml: Non-lethal explosion
40ml: Normal explosion
50ml: Violent explosion, please take cover
Jiang Ye rapidly calculated in his mind. He needed this grenade for self-defense, so its power had to be sufficient. Blood was also precious and shouldn't be wasted. 0ml and 20ml were definitely out; a non-lethal explosion, how pathetic was that? Could it even be called a grenade if it couldn't kill anyone? Was it just a firecracker? As for the 50ml violent explosion, it sounded a bit terrifying. According to the label, there was a risk of injury if he couldn't dodge in time. Therefore, the calculation pointed to 40ml of blood being just right.
Jiang Ye looked down and realized he had miscalculated. The entire grenade was already full, with 50ml of fresh blood.
He carefully pulled the needle out of his arm.
Something magical happened. There was no bleeding, only a tiny puncture mark on his vein.
It seemed this grenade was more complex than it looked, with an automatic hemostatic function. Saved on cotton swabs.
The grenade felt even heavier than before.
Jiang Ye held the Blood Grenade and observed it intently.
He had watched many war movies and seen many scenes of gore and bloodshed.
However, facing human blood up close for the first time, Jiang Ye still felt his heart pounding. He realized that movies were just movies.
The color was deeper than he had imagined, not bright red, but a dark, almost black red. Deep, striking, mysterious, and beautiful.
When he usually drank mineral water, a 500ml bottle felt as little as an oral liquid, finished in a short while.
But 50ml of blood looked like an enormous amount, and Jiang Ye felt weak, as if he had lost too much blood.
A Blood Grenade required 40ml to 50ml of blood.
The standard for adult blood donation was 200ml to 400ml per session.
This meant that he could produce at most 8 to 12 grenades per session, which was just enough not to harm his body.
Any more than that would be too much. Xu San Guan's bloodletting was a last resort; one shouldn't blindly imitate it.
Jiang Ye carefully put away the deep red Blood Grenade, handling it with the same caution as an old lady putting away her ancestral jade bracelet.
Perhaps it was due to the blood loss, but a wave of sleepiness suddenly washed over him, and he fell asleep as soon as he lay down.
As soon as dawn broke, Jiang Ye woke up hungry.
He got up, ate his last baguette, drank a few sips of water, and prepared to go to work.
Equipment: Shovel, pickaxe, samurai sword, Blood Grenade, water bottle. From tools to self-defense weapons to supplies, he had everything.
Jiang Ye dared to say that among the more than 90,000 colony commanders on the planet, few were as well-equipped as he was.
The various pleas for help in the chat channel were evidence of this.
A rather awkward problem arose: Jiang Ye was only wearing a pair of briefs, without even a pocket. Carrying so many items was very inconvenient. He had to hold them in his arms.
He walked nearly a kilometer to the spot where he had been mining yesterday.
The pear scent emitted by the cryolite was still strong!
Closing his eyes and smelling this aroma was like being in an orchard full of pear trees!
If nothing unexpected happened, there should be plenty of cryolite here, far more than just one or two pieces. It was likely a large mine, yielding tons of it, requiring a long time to excavate!
Jiang Ye placed all the items he had brought by the edge of the pit, spat on his hands, and gripped his pickaxe tightly.
Today, he was determined to work hard!
His path to riches began now!