Far North of Yuanxi.
Within the sprawling deep-sea region, one mobile offshore mine after another, excavating Purple Snowstone, slowly carried out their repetitive mechanical motions under the protection of escort warships.
Driven by Purple Snowstone and fuel energy, the enormous metal structures continuously brought up an unbroken stream of raw Purple Snowstone ore from the depths.
As one type of energy ore, Purple Snowstone naturally carried considerable radiation, not to mention that this was where Purple Snowstone veins were most densely concentrated.
"Are those the offshore mines that excavate Purple Snowstone? They're truly spectacular."
On a shipping route in the distance, aboard a passing freighter.
Several merchants hitching a ride stared from afar at the offshore mines flying Seracla's national flag, their faces full of amazement and shock.
One of the merchants had dark yellow skin, while the others were mostly fair-skinned white men, foreigners from Seracla and other nations.
"Mr. Gru, with so many mines here, is there really such a vast amount of raw Purple Snowstone ore? Why had I never heard of this before?"
The yellow-skinned merchant was named Shang Rong. Years ago, he had been a wealthy man long since retired, but his son's gambling had brought the family crashing down. Left with no choice, he had resumed his old trade and taken to sea as a merchant once more.
Though the others were all foreigners, they were connections he had made in his younger years, so their relationship was exceptionally close.
One white man named Gru smiled. "Brother Shang Rong, you haven't traveled as a merchant for many years. Recently, Seracla defeated the Haining Alliance and the Xuanmiao Sect in Yuanxi and began establishing colonial territories. The one who commanded that war was Saff, Grandmaster and Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Fleet."
"Saff is wildly ambitious.