Through the camera feed, Bart could clearly see a pile of objects with a silvery-white metallic sheen slowly taking shape in the Starship's cargo hold, thanks to the efforts of countless mining Nano-Robots.
Specks of golden light also glimmered on the surfaces of the silvery-white objects!
These were pure heavy metals from deep within Psyche.
Bart watched the scene before him with excitement surging through his chest.
Suddenly, Professor Chris's clear voice came over the Starship's radio.
"Calling Hummingbird One, calling Hummingbird One. Please respond!"
Bart instantly snapped out of his fascination with the mining operation.
An embarrassed smile crossed his face.
Damn, I got so caught up watching that I forgot to report in.
He hurriedly pressed the radio switch and replied, "Hummingbird One receiving!"
"Professor Chris, the mining Nano-Robots are all operating normally."
Mars City Two, command center.
Professor Chris stood anxiously at the command console, reaching up to wipe the beads of sweat from his forehead.
Although Zero kept the command center at the most comfortable temperature, he still felt unbearably hot.
The reason was simple.
A group of bigwigs sat nearby, staring fixedly at him.
Professor Lü Yongchang, the Head Councillor...
The Hummingbird-Type Mining Ship's trial run had drawn the attention of almost all of Mars City's senior leadership.
It had a bearing on a whole series of plans for humanity's future.
Leaving the Solar System, colonizing Proxima Centauri-without sufficient mineral resources, all of it would be empty talk.
After all, without resources, they could never build the enormous Starships capable of traveling between star systems.
As the former head of NASA's Mars Pathfinder Program, Professor Chris was a researcher who had shouldered major responsibilities before.
But this time, the burden was simply too heavy.
He watched the three Hummingbird Starships on the holographic display,