Chapter 1 Relaunching the Power Plant

Rumble!

A steel gate collapsed with a deafening crash under the violent pull of two high-powered infantry fighting vehicles. Amidst a cloud of dust, Li Tianran, Xiao Hei, and Tang Su entered the power plant, one of the few remaining buildings on Raging Tides Island.

With the farm's location finalized, the next step was to begin mining in the southern district.

Many large pieces of equipment required electricity to operate, and fortunately, the Raging Tides Island power plant was located near the southern district, which saved Li Tianran a lot of effort.

Although the northern district of Raging Tides Island was a bustling urban area, since it primarily focused on tourism, large buildings like power plants couldn't be built within the city itself due to aesthetic and safety concerns.

The southern mining area, though not heavily developed, housed most of the buildings that supported the island's heavy industry.

During the beast tide attack, the northern district, where people congregated, bore the brunt of the assault, while the southern district remained relatively unscathed. The power plant miraculously survived intact.

After Li Tianran and his group drove their combat vehicles into the power plant, they found it deserted. A large amount of heavy equipment stood idle, and the massive furnaces were silent.

"A war once took place here…" Li Tianran noticed signs of bomb explosions, bullet casings, and bloodstains inside the power plant, indicating a past human conflict.

Some smaller equipment was damaged, but the main electric furnaces, steam turbines, and power grids were still intact, and wouldn't require too much effort to repair.

This was a thermal power plant. Li Tianran used a combat vehicle to pull open a massive warehouse, revealing a mountain of coal fuel.

"Recycling all this coal could yield at least ten million points!" Li Tianran's eyes lit up as he gazed at the towering pile of coal, but he quickly suppressed his excitement.

Directly recycling the coal might provide ten million points, but using it as fuel to power the power plant and mining equipment could generate hundreds of millions, or even billions, of points!

Li Tianran wasn't about to kill the goose that laid the golden eggs.

"Initiate a full-scale repair of the power plant immediately. We need to get Raging Tides Island back online before tonight." Li Tianran glanced at his watch. It was two o'clock in the afternoon, and with five hours until nightfall, he needed to connect the farm to the power grid before dark.

The intelligent work robots quickly sprung into action, and the sounds of clanging and banging filled the power plant.

Li Tianran didn't stay at the power plant for long. After leaving some personnel behind, he boarded a helicopter and flew to the mining area.

It was a range of low-lying mountains that stretched far into the distance. Li Tianran stood on the mountaintop, picked up a piece of gravel, and crushed it with his hand.

The cross-section of the gravel was dark red, indicating it was hematite ore.

"Hematite Ore

Iron Content: 67%

Impurities: Sulfur, phosphorus, arsenic, potassium

Rating: Lv1 Ore"

Li Tianran paused. Lv1 ore fetched a low price in the recycling system, only 1 point per kilogram, less than even radiation-resistant crops, and the same as the most ordinary crops.

But even though Lv1 ore was low quality, it was abundant!

According to the information stored in Song Zhibin's brain, Yan Huang had once surveyed the iron ore reserves on Raging Tides Island, estimating a minimum of one million tons of iron ore within this mine!

One million tons equaled one billion kilograms!

One billion kilograms of ore translated to one billion points!

One billion points was enough to purchase a mecha-class Battle Warrior.

What stood before Li Tianran wasn't just an iron mine, but a twenty-five-meter-tall mecha warrior equipped with high-precision weaponry!

Furthermore, judging by the fact that Li Tianran could randomly pick up a piece of gravel and find that it was iron ore, the iron mine wasn't deeply buried, but rather open-pit!

This would undoubtedly make the mining process much easier.

Most importantly, the mining area didn't require transportation or storage. Li Tianran only needed to recycle the daily output, saving many complex and time-consuming steps.

With the equipment seized from Umbrella Corporation, Li Tianran was confident he could empty this mine in a short period of time.

"Woof! Woof!" Xiao Hei ran wildly on the mountain, while the white cat lazily curled up on a nearby rock, its eyes narrowed as it quietly observed its surroundings.

Suddenly, Xiao Hei and the white cat became alert. They both looked in the same direction, their hackles raised, and let out low growls.

Swish!

Li Tianran's eyes darted sharply.

In the distance, a massive ripple spread across the surface of the ocean, before quickly returning to calm.

"It seems my guess was right… The Beast King hasn't given up on this place." Li Tianran muttered to himself. At the same time, two Cruise-class Radar Sentinels flew out from beside him and quickly plunged into the ocean.

Images from the seabed appeared in Li Tianran's mind.

Snap!

Buzz!

Li Tianran suddenly opened his eyes. The Cruise-class Radar Sentinels had lost contact less than three seconds after entering the water!

The surface of the sea remained eerily calm.

"Something's underwater?" Tang Su walked over, her expression serious.

"I didn't expect them to come so quickly." Li Tianran said softly, "We're being watched."

Tang Su's heart involuntarily tightened.

She hadn't been this nervous even when she and Li Tianran had crossed the border and ventured deep into the warlord's stronghold. But after witnessing the "Human Wind Chime" firsthand, she developed a strange sense of dread towards those bizarre Beast Kings.

"Should we recall all the Battle Warriors?" Tang Su asked.

"The Beast King is very intelligent, it's observing us… It definitely won't launch an attack in the short term! Ignore them and continue with our work. If they dare to crawl ashore, I'll show them the depth of humanity's thousands of years of culinary culture. What's called *duojiao yutou* (chopped pepper fish head), what's called steamed fish, what's called sashimi…" Li Tianran smiled kindly, "Friendly exchanges between human and Beast King civilizations will definitely be very interesting!"

…

Boom! Boom!

Crack!

After several hours of emergency repairs, the power plant finally resumed operation before nightfall.

The massive furnaces were once again filled with high temperatures. Coal powder oxidized in the boilers, rapidly releasing tremendous thermal energy steam, which drove the steam turbines to rotate. The coupling dragged the huge generator to turn, and high-voltage current was sent into the power grid.

Swish, swish, swish!

The farm, now connected to the power grid, quickly lit up with lights. In the mining area, massive mining equipment roared to life, and hundreds of Adult-class Battle Warriors once again changed their roles, becoming diligent miners.

Li Tianran stood in the distance, calmly watching the massive drill slowly break through the rock layers of the mine, as countless crushed stones fell onto the conveyor belt. The smile on his face slowly widened into a broad grin.

He turned to look at Lu Chi, who had followed him for the entire day, and said calmly, "I will fulfill my promise now and immediately make you a super human."

"But after that, I will entrust you with a mission."