Manual labor burned through energy fast, and by noon, Zhou Yi was starving.
His stomach growled, but unfortunately, there really was no Nutrient Solution left in Zhou Yi's Space Ring.
He still had a few dozen Star Coins left, but underground like this, even if he placed an order through the Star Brain, there was no way it could be delivered.
After all, this was not Earth. There were no miraculous delivery guys.
"I can't go on, I can't go on. Without food, I can't swing this shovel even once more."
In the end, Zhou Yi could not endure the hunger any longer. He carried out two Mining Crystals and exchanged them with the curly-haired guy for two bottles of Nutrient Solution first.
Gulp, gulp, gulp.
After downing both bottles of Nutrient Solution, Zhou Yi finally felt as though he was fully charged again. His back no longer hurt, his legs no longer ached, and his little shovel could once more dance through the air.
"Big Brother Gal, do I just look like such a trustworthy person?"
Zhou Yi had only wanted to try his luck, but the curly-haired guy had actually settled with him in advance.
Could it be that he simply looked honest?
As expected of me. Zhou Yi patted his stomach, thoroughly satisfied.
"You're overthinking it. You've redeemed two blocks now. If you can't complete the task of ten blocks tonight, I can only pay you another five bottles of Nutrient Solution."
Zhou Yi: ...
Sure enough, capitalists were like hairless sheep. Trying to fleece them was simply impossible.
Returning to the mine tunnel, Zhou Yi continued working, and the Mining Crystals in his little cart piled higher and higher.
Repeating the same movement for eight hours was quite boring, but fortunately, Zhou Yi had Xiao Fu to keep him company and chat with.
After all, he and Xiao Fu had only just met, so this was the perfect time to get to know each other better.
"Say, if I only turn in one block tonight, would he still give me five bottles of Nutrient Solution? Wouldn't that mean I'd be making a profit?"
The more you could not get something, the more you wanted it.
Like a capitalist's fleece.
How naive. Crystal Ore has existed for so many years that the hired workers already have their own system. If you cannot mine five blocks, you will be considered to be slacking off deliberately. You will not receive a single Star Coin in payment, meaning you worked the entire day for nothing.
Xiao Fu explained.
Zhou Yi's hands did not stop moving, but the tiny spark of wisdom that had just flared in his eyes went out.
"You know I'm not from here? You even know about Earth?"
Zhou Yi suddenly recalled what Xiao Fu had said outside earlier.
Mm. I only learned you came from Earth after merging into your sea of consciousness. I now share all your memories and thoughts. What could I possibly not know about Earth? Aren't all existing humans descendants of the genes left behind by Earthlings?
Theoretically speaking, you are the ancestor of everyone in the interstellar era.
"I..."
Thinking carefully, there was nothing wrong with what Xiao Fu said, but why did Zhou Yi find it so strange?
"Aren't you curious about how I got here?"
Even Zhou Yi himself did not know how he had arrived. He only remembered waking from a nap and finding himself in another world.
Perhaps a higher intelligence could give him an answer.
There are theoretically three methods of achieving spacetime travel: wormholes, black holes, and traveling at near-light speed. Based on the technological development of the Earth you came from, you should have used the first method. In other words, you accidentally encountered a crack in time, and a wormhole existing within quantum foam brought you here.
After thinking for a moment, Xiao Fu gave Zhou Yi the most likely answer.
The probability of traveling through spacetime this way is very small, but it is not zero.
As Zhou Yi considered what the Intelligent Brain had said, he recalled that he had studied university physics and knew Hawking's wormhole theory. Thinking about it now, if fantasy elements were excluded, this really did seem like the only possibility.
"Then can I go back?" Zhou Yi asked curiously.
Do you still want to go back?
"No, I'm just asking."
That's good. Xiao Fu seemed to let out a sigh of relief.
Even if you are incredibly lucky and encounter another wormhole, or use interstellar high technology to travel through time again, you would still be unable to return to the point in time where you previously existed. Earth's technology was far too underdeveloped then. There were not yet any spacetime stations.
"So current technology can freely return to times that have spacetime stations?"
Technology had already advanced to such a degree? Zhou Yi was somewhat surprised.
In our plane, it can theoretically be achieved, but there are simply too many limitations and side effects, so very few people do it.
As an Intelligent Brain from a higher plane, Xiao Fu knew far too much.
Zhou Yi kept asking Xiao Fu about all sorts of things he was curious about, and Xiao Fu answered patiently without the slightest annoyance.
Perhaps Xiao Fu had wandered alone for too long and also found it nice to have someone to talk to.
Even though, in its view, these were completely idiotic questions.
Still, it was better than nothing.
After learning that, in this world, there was another conscious entity besides himself that knew he was from Earth, Zhou Yi suddenly felt comforted and reassured.
Time passed the quickest during their back-and-forth conversation. Before he knew it, Zhou Yi's little vest began to beep.
"What's that sound? I didn't press anything."
The sudden noise startled Zhou Yi.
Go back. Work is over.
High-tech products really were something else. Gal could remotely signal everyone to get off work from the side.
Zhou Yi stopped shoveling and forcefully pulled out the last Mining Crystal, which was already more than half excavated.
Then he counted all the spoils in his little cart.
After eight hours, he had only mined seventeen blocks in total.
Zhou Yi was a little dissatisfied, but he still took out seven blocks and stored them in his Space Ring.
He had come this time to get some of these crystals for himself. Leaving ten blocks was enough to complete the task.
When Zhou Yi pushed his cart back to the underground yard, his dissatisfaction quickly vanished.
Everyone was pushing little carts and lining up in front of Gal, waiting to settle their accounts.
Zhou Yi looked carefully. Most carts only held eleven or twelve crystals. The older miners had a few more, but only around fifteen or sixteen. Not one of them had more than Zhou Yi.
Mining was not easy. Only now did Zhou Yi understand that it was not because he was inadequate—the mine was simply genuinely hard to dig!
"Hey! Want to buy some stones? Two for three bottles of Nutrient Solution."
A short man asked a plump woman standing in front of Zhou Yi.
Zhou Yi glanced at the plump woman's little cart and immediately understood.
The woman had mined eight stones and had not completed the task, so she could only settle for five bottles of Nutrient Solution.
But if she spent three bottles of Nutrient Solution to buy two Mining Crystals someone else had mined, she would meet the quota and be able to settle for ten bottles of Nutrient Solution.
The plump woman made the trade with the short man without hesitation, and both of them were delighted.
"Sure enough, no matter where you are, the wisdom of working people is astonishing."
Zhou Yi sighed.
Quite a few people were making such trades, weaving through the line as though there was nothing to hide.
Hmph, that was only because Gal was a decent person and turned a blind eye. In other mines, this would be completely impossible.
Zhou Yi felt miserable.
So capitalists were not entirely hairless sheep. It was just that he could not fleece them.
Before you continue