"Master, according to the warship's detection, the celestial debris ahead contains 1200 tons of Planetary Core," a wizard excitedly reported loudly to Leo.
The warships on the starship carrier have multiple functions. In wartime, they are miniaturized combat platforms that can quickly deliver wizards to support the battlefield and provide fire support.
In this context of searching for and collecting resources, these warships are also the best detection tools.
The starships, imbued with various abilities by wizards, can search for over 90% of high-value resources and will detect the distribution, weight, and type of mineral veins in the first instance.
Just like the celestial debris in front of us, once the warship gets close, it can immediately detect and scan the information of the Planetary Core.
While 1200 tons may seem like a lot, the Planetary Core's Planetary Core is actually only about the size of a human head; its density is simply exaggerated.
The wizards were excited mainly because the Planetary Core was the most rewarding location for mining resources.
Looking at the information displayed on the warship, Leo saw that the location and weight of the Planetary Core were clearly marked.
They've even calculated the mining tunnel plan to ensure that the mechanical slaves can open up the ore vein as quickly as possible and reach the Planetary Core.
The mechanical slaves released from the warship have already attached themselves tightly to the asteroid fragments according to the mining route planned by the warship, waiting only for the wizards to take control so that they can quickly dig a tunnel directly to the Planetary Core.
All the wizards' eyes turned to Leo, wondering why this master hadn't yet given the order to start mining.
Leo kept stroking the Godslaying Staff in his hand, as he was trying to find out how Yaoyao had stolen the Planetary Core.
The result was that nothing was detected, and the weight of the Planetary Core displayed on the warship remained unchanged, which suggests that Yaoyao has not yet succeeded.
Leo wanted to buy Yaoyao some time, but feeling the eager gazes surrounding him, Leo pretended to be piloting a warship for the first time, looking around and touching everything with curiosity, but refusing to give any orders.
After delaying for a few more minutes, he finally spoke slowly, "Let's begin."
Two hundred wizards received the order and instantly activated the mechanical slaves, whose locations had already been determined, to dig the tunnel at top speed.
These mechanical slaves are not in human form, but are multi-legged, rotating machines with drill bits, specially manufactured for excavation.
Their offensive capabilities were weak, but they could dig tunnels faster than any slave, reaching the interior of the asteroid fragment in just a few breaths.
Just as Vasily had said, their rescue mission was ultimately to destroy the planet, so they brought a large number of mining mechanical slaves. Now, these mechanical slaves are scattered throughout the broken asteroid belt, carrying all the valuable mineral resources onto the warships like ants carrying food.
Then the warships will transport them back to the mothership, completing the resource integration and packaging service for the entire planet.
The fragment of a star containing the Planetary Core is not a fragment from inside the star. Judging from its density and the distribution of rock types, it should be a fragment of a star near the Earth's surface. Its density is not high, which is why these mechanical slaves can dig so fast.
The Planetary Core is the very center of a celestial body, a special substance formed by high temperature, high pressure, and high concentration of energy.
The Planetary Core is in a liquid state when it is at the center of a star. It will only turn from liquid to solid once the temperature and pressure drop.
Under normal circumstances, the Planetary Core is the most difficult material to mine, after all, the terrifying high temperature and pressure environment inside the Earth is something even Level Four Stigmata Wizard cannot withstand.
Only some of the fifth and sixth levels and above are qualified to mine the Planetary Core's core.
Even with normal mining, too much cannot be mined at once. After all, the entire planet relies on these Planetary Core to maintain its stability. If all the Planetary Core were mined away, the entire planet or plane would be close to collapse.
Furthermore, the Planetary Core only appears on living planets or at the center of planes, and "living" means that life can arise on it.
The universe is mostly made up of cold planets or lifeless planes. These celestial bodies are dead; they have no Planetary Core and are useless except for the few mineral veins they contain.
The Wizard World even regularly cleanses the surrounding dead planets and planes, preventing them from getting close to Wizard World.
The simplest way to understand the Planetary Core is that it's the planet's ballast, its shock absorber, its beating heart.
The difficulty in extraction and the scarcity of the Planetary Core's core keep its price high, even for the wizarding civilization, which uses it sparingly.
If Leo hadn't possessed a wizard's medal, which allowed him to exchange for materials that ordinary wizards couldn't obtain, he wouldn't have been able to acquire the Planetary Core.
To put it bluntly, this thing isn't meant for wizards below the Stigmata level.
Taking the entire Planetary Core of a planet along with it, as in this case, is not very common even in the Wizard World.
After all, this comes at the cost of destroying a planet!
Destroying a planet capable of supporting life for a tiny bit of its Planetary Core seems like throwing away the watermelon for a sesame seed.
Ultimately, the reason the Wizarding Civilization did this was because the World Tree killed the Earth Pulse Stigmata Wizard, damaging the Wizarding Civilization's reputation. The Wizarding Civilization was forced to resort to drastic measures.
Leo estimated that the initial plan to destroy the planet definitely wasn't to have the Indestructible Body Stigmata Great Wizard draw the Sword of Winter.
Although it's unknown how much energy is needed to activate the Sword of Winter, it will definitely exceed the gains from this expedition.
Unfortunately, things don't always go according to plan; too many unexpected events can lead to results that are completely different from what people expect.
The appearance of the World Tree forced the Indestructible Body Stigmata Great Wizard to draw the Sword of Winter. While chopping down the World Tree, he also conveniently cleaved the planet in two, rendering the motherships' destruction plan completely useless.
Thinking about that simple sword strike, Leo felt a surge of longing, wondering when he could reach that level and slice through a planet as easily as slicing a piece of fruit.
This was the power unleashed by a level six Indestructible Body Stigmata Great Wizard; in the hands of Supreme Lord, the power would be even more terrifying!
Could it cleave two planets in two with a single sword strike?
Just as Leo was lost in thought, Yaoyao suddenly appeared on his shoulder.
Leo glanced at the other wizards and found that they were all focused on digging the tunnel and had not noticed Yaoyao's sudden appearance.
The warship's alarm didn't sound, Yaoyao wasn't carrying the Planetary Core, so Leo looked at him with a questioning gaze.
Yaoyao didn't speak, but instead, with an exaggerated smile, she patted her little belly hard, as if to say, 'When I take action, it will be foolproof and a swift success.'
Leo looked at the warship's display screen with a puzzled expression. The weight of the Planetary Core, as indicated on the screen, had not changed; it was still 1200 tons, and the decimal point had not changed either.
When did Yaoyao acquire a way to evade the wizard's detection abilities?
Yaoyao winked at Leo, signaling him to open the Shadow Space so she could take a look.
Leo opened the Shadow Space with disbelief, and was instantly shocked by its Shadow Space.
The volume of the Shadow Space has now expanded to 27,000,000 m³, which is a standard 300*300*300 cube.
Leo glanced at Yaoyao in surprise. The volume of the Shadow Space had increased many times over. How was that possible?
Yaoyao chuckled and remained silent, puffing out his belly. He simply possessed the ability to steal the Planetary Core despite the various detection methods employed by wizards.
Leo raised an eyebrow.
Yaoyao instantly understood what Leo meant and patted her little belly.
Leo smiled and patted Yaoyao's head. What a capable little rascal!
Their exchange of glances was simple. Leo didn't ask how Yaoyao stole the Planetary Core; he just wanted to know if Yaoyao could still use such a stealthy method.
Yaoyao patted his stomach, indicating that there was absolutely no problem and he could continue stealing.
Leo patted Yaoyao's head, praising his ability and encouraging him to keep up the good work and achieve even greater success, reminding him that being a thief is still a career.
Yaoyao proudly stretched out her little paw and pointed.
Leo immediately took out a beach vacation set—a lounge chair, a novel, and a drink—from the Shadow Space and placed it in front of Yaoyao.
Yaoyao wiggled her little bottom and sat on the recliner, giving Leo an approving nod. She's very perceptive!
Leo dared not refute.
Yaoyao is a great contributor now, he must serve her well.
Ten days later, with the combined efforts of hundreds of mechanical slaves, a small piece of the Planetary Core was finally mined.
It's the size of a human head, but weighs a solid 1200 tons.
If such a heavy Planetary Core were placed on a warship, it would severely deplete the warship's energy, reduce its speed, and slow down subsequent missions. Leo directly activated the short-range teleportation array to send this small piece of Planetary Core back to the mothership.
The Planetary Core is normally liquid. After being cleaved in two by the Indestructible Body Stigmata Great Wizard Archmage, the high temperature and pressure at the Earth's core rapidly dissipated, causing the liquid Planetary Core to quickly condense and become solid.
This small piece of the Planetary Core must have dripped onto other debris before it had completely solidified.
The two hundred wizards, perhaps having learned of their achievements, all glared at Leo with intense, provocative eyes.
Don't be fooled by the fact that the Earth's Planetary Core they mined was only the size of a human head; the battle merits they gained were far greater than those earned on the battlefield, far surpassing those of wizards who mined ordinary mineral resources.
Warships are not without blind spots in their reconnaissance capabilities; only at close enough distance can they detect the specific types of mineral veins inside a celestial body.
Therefore, abilities like Yaoyao's, which allow them to perceive the Planetary Core from a distance, undoubtedly give them the upper hand in resource extraction, turning what would otherwise be low-reward mining tasks into high-welfare missions.
As long as Leo can lead them to continue mining the Planetary Core, and as long as they exceed fifteen portions of this weight, their profits will surpass the profits of an expedition.
There was no danger to their lives; it was just a matter of controlling mechanical slaves to dig tunnels. Such a simple task could earn them such high merits. Who wouldn't be excited?