Liang Peng shook his head and said thoughtfully, "There is indeed a problem with the mineral content in the water, but it isn't enough to support a mineral deposit."
Xia Chujian asked, "What kind of problem?"
Liang Peng said, "Captain Xia, look at these three sets of data."
As he spoke, he displayed the data he had just measured from the upper, middle, and lower reaches.
"Especially the content of this mineral..."
Liang Peng pointed Xia Chujian to a set of readings on the instrument and continued, "This mineral is generally found in higher concentrations deep within the Earth's crust."
"Since Green Radiance Star has an atmospheric environment very similar to the Habitable Planets in the Beichen Galaxy, I infer that its geological structure should be similar as well."
"So under the same conditions, the mineral content deep within the crust should also be roughly the same."
Xia Chujian understood. "So you think that in normal groundwater, the concentration of this mineral should be highest upstream, lower in the middle reaches, and lowest downstream?"
"That's exactly what I mean," Liang Peng said.
"But the current data shows that this mineral is completely absent upstream, highest in the middle reaches, and lower downstream."
"That defies common sense."
Xia Chujian said, "Let's go take a closer look at the specific conditions upstream, in the middle reaches, and downstream."
They took the exploration robot Xiao Fei and made another circuit of the creek's upper, middle, and lower reaches.
This creek truly was very small.
After walking a short distance into the Mountain Hollow where they had been earlier, they reached the upper reaches.
The Mountain Hollow was actually a pool.
The pool was not large, but its water was like black jade, carrying only the faintest hint of green as it reflected the