Descent

The dim lights slowly began to brighten like the rising sun, signaling the start of a new day.

In the Gatherers' camp, Sandman crouched beside an equipment crate and began checking his gear. Whether the nuclear battery in his pickaxe would last through this mining operation, whether the straps on his helmet were secure—every detail had to be inspected.

Click, click, click. Sandman adjusted the headlamp on his helmet. The bright beam pierced the darkness, cutting a straight line through the dust-filled air.

"Radio check!" Sandman pressed the transmit button.

After a burst of static, his companion replied over the radio, "Received. Your voice is clear."

"Move out." Once the others had finished checking their equipment, Sandman led his team down into the mine.

"Big Brother and the others are heading down into the mine again." Ephrenia secretly hid in a narrow side tunnel, watching the other companions change shifts as an idea immediately came to her.

She wanted to explore the tunnels!!!

They were all mine tunnels controlled by the adults in her family anyway, so it shouldn't be a problem.

Having made up her mind, Ephrenia slipped alone into the pitch-black mine.

Her small figure fearlessly walked into the darkness. The mine was like a terrifying beast with its bloody maw wide open, devouring all the light around it. Only the scattered lamps installed throughout the tunnels gave off faint yellow glimmers, flickering now and then and bringing the miners a little sense of security.

Just as Sandman and his companions officially began mining toward the Adamantite Ore, a patrol of overseers arrived at the tunnel controlled by The Saviors.

Compared to the frail, sallow-faced miners, these overseers were exceptionally muscular. Whips woven from some unknown leather were coiled into two loops and casually hung from their waists.

Dark-red blood had seeped along the grain of the whips, drying into blotchy rust-brown stains that formed vicious patterns like snake scales.

Under the fearful gazes of the miner slaves, these lackeys of Lycaeus's ruling class arrogantly chose a tunnel and entered it.

"Ephrenia, why did you sneak into the mine tunnels?" A tall, lean, sturdy man directing the Drill Tractor immediately spotted the petite figure sneaking around behind a pile of ore.

The raggedly dressed man with an unremarkable face had silently appeared beside the little girl and questioned her.

Unlike the other camps, Sandman disliked seeing children sneaking into the work areas of the mine. Unknown dangers could arise at any time underground, so they usually stayed outside the camp, sorting and crushing the selected rough ore.

"Uncle Alundi, I only sneaked in to take a look. Don't tell Big Brother Sandman and the others." Ephrenia spoke to the middle-aged man.

The children in the camp were already used to this mysterious middle-aged uncle, so Ephrenia was not frightened.

"Ephrenia, once you've had a look around, you should go back. Don't stay here too long." Arendi's rough hands gently rubbed her little head, instantly messing up the golden hair she had just combed.

"Got it!" To save her hair from further torment, Ephrenia quickly fled his clutches.

"Hahaha! Hurry up and start the Drill Tractor! Let's get to work!" Arendi laughed as he watched the small figure run off, calling out to the others.

At Arendi's call, the massive Drill Tractor was like a beast that had lain dormant for ages, opening its bloody maw and continuously devouring every obstacle in its path.

To mine the discovered Adamantite Ore vein, Sandman had specifically deployed this giant machine.

That meant all kinds of precious metals accumulated in the warehouse would be completely used up. Without sufficient returns, the people in the camp would have no choice but to mine on empty stomachs for a long time to come.

The Drill Tractor's roar echoed throughout the mine. Vast amounts of reddish-brown ore were bored apart by the incomparably hard drill, then endlessly carried backward along conveyor belts.

The miners stared fixedly at the ore coming down the conveyor belts. This yield would determine whether they could mine with full stomachs for a long time to come, or mine while starving.

"Gulp..." The miners unconsciously swallowed under the pressure.

Just as the miners in the tunnel anxiously awaited the Raw Adamantium Ore that their boss had predicted, Ephrenia was heading toward another tunnel staffed by women.

On Lycaeus, mining did not distinguish between men, women, young, or old. If you failed to turn in ore, you went hungry. It was that simple.

Ephrenia had just turned to head toward another tunnel when the entire mine suddenly began to shake violently.

The rock layers overhead let out crack after crack like the sound of death approaching. A blinding golden light, accompanied by a deafening roar, burst through the solid stone.

A golden Incubation Pod as tall as two people pierced through the thick rock layers like a golden spear thrown by Zeus, crashing down less than ten steps away from Ephrenia in a shower of rubble and dust.

The wave of ash kicked up by the impact made the entire tunnel tremble. Ephrenia had no choice but to raise an arm to shield her face. Through the gaps between her fingers, she saw the still-scorching pod half-embedded in the ground, the golden patterns flowing across its surface dimming at a visible rate.

The ground around the pod was covered in spiderweb-like cracks, and several scorching metal fragments still gave off wisps of blue smoke.

"Ephrenia!" Arendi's anxious shout came from the other end of the tunnel, accompanied by hurried footsteps. The burly miner threw aside his pickaxe and stumbled through the swirling dust, his helmet lamp carving an unsteady beam through the haze.

"Hurry and inspect and reinforce the tunnel's anchor bolts and supports!" Arendi shouted at his companions.

Fortunately, the miners were not overly panicked. They had experienced far too many similar incidents over their long years of mining.

As long as it was not the kind of sudden collapse that gave them no time to react, they only needed to follow the established procedure.

Inspect what needed inspecting, reinforce what needed reinforcing. As for stopping work for a safety inspection?

Go tell that to your constantly protesting stomach.

Go tell that to your family members crying out to be fed.

The overseers on Lycaeus would not care about any of that. It did not matter if people died; they could just catch another batch. If that did not work, they could simply buy slaves from other planets. In their eyes, ore was everything.