Northeastern Pacific Ocean, 15°15'N, 135°00'W.
A sleek silver-white train raced five meters above the ocean surface, wrapped in a source energy force field that parted the rolling waves and threw up white spray dozens of meters high on either side.
Produced by Universal Heavy Industries, the third-generation anti-gravity sea train—the Northern Lights—was 850 meters long, weighed 12,000 tons at full load, and could cruise at up to 900 kilometers per hour. It was an undisputed industrial behemoth of the modern age!
Inside one of the carriages, Xia Hai leaned against the window with his eyes closed, resting.
Wearing glasses, hugging a copy of An Overview of Contemporary Magitech Industry, and listening to music through his earphones, he looked every bit like an ordinary student.
"Attention, passengers. We will soon arrive at the East Pacific offshore mining site..."
The carriage filled with the gentle female voice of the AI announcement. Xia Hai instinctively looked up toward the distant horizon.
A steel fortress resembling some colossal beast from myth rose from the sea. Built by Universal Heavy Industries, it was the largest offshore mining site in the world, known to the public as the Pacific Fortress.
Countless thick metal pipelines plunged deep into the waters of the East Pacific No. 3 Deposit like the veins of a gigantic beast, resembling the skeleton of some heaven-supporting creature from myth as they reached toward the abyssal depths.
"It truly is unbelievable. No matter how many times I see it, I'm still shocked."
A middle-aged man in the seat ahead, wearing rimless glasses, spoke slowly. "This is Universal Heavy Industries' handiwork—a miracle of magitech! I heard that the high-purity source energy crystals refined by that one drilling tower every day are enough to power Moon City's entire lighting system for a year!"
"Moon City..."
Another