The Abnormal Mine
Most of the orcs' childhood memories have been forgotten.
In long-term memories, the knowledge-based portion is relatively larger.
"It's not good to leave some common sense items if they're tangled up and hard to clean up," Jinxiu instructed everyone.
"But don't leave too much; the total amount of indoctrination we can accept in a short period of time is limited."
"Understood."
The two humans and one demon advanced through the sea of consciousness.
Soon, everyone reached the memory area from around ten years old.
"That's enough." Jinxiu clapped her hands. "The critical period for language learning is over."
She yawned as she spoke, her small body swaying slightly in the dream; clearly, tonight's memory screening had taken a toll on her.
"Can you even fall asleep in your dreams?" Su Ming asked with a smile.
"To slide into a deeper dream," Jinxiu replied, "Like actually falling into a deep sleep."
She raised her hand, and a wreath materialized. The petals transformed into spiraling blades, beginning a sweeping cleanup of the remaining memory areas.
Su Ming conjured a Gatling gun with unlimited ammunition in his hands.
The barrel began to rotate.
He pulled the trigger, and a hail of bullets roared out.
The forest of memories ahead was collapsing and crumbling in large swathes, at a speed not much slower than that of Jinxiu.
Yise then summoned Leoni's Hunter's Longbow and transformed into a sleek archer's outfit.
She raised her hand, pulled the string, and released her fingers—her movements were precise and elegant.
Su Ming glanced at it; even if he was an amateur, he knew this wasn't the level that could be achieved through "careless" practice.
The only drawback is that Yise's bust size has noticeably shrunk.
As Yise's arrows pierced the air, creating ripples, a great deal of memory was shattered.
This efficiency is many times higher than before.
Soon, the group arrived at the final area. This memory area was noticeably different in color, bright and solid, even pulsating.
Countless emotional "dust" swirled around him, and Su Ming once again felt that emotional radiation hitting his body.
"Don't get too close," Jinxiu reminded her.
"These are the orc's recent memories."
"Easily tainted by the emotions involved."
But Su Ming gestured for Jinxiu to wait.
"Is it okay to read a small amount?"
Jinxiu nodded.
"Sure, what would you like to know?"
"We want to know what they're digging for at the bottom of the Blackstone Mine," Su Ming explained.
Jinxiu was in a dilemma.
"I know absolutely nothing about mining." "It's alright, I'll look it up," Su Ming said. "You keep an eye on my status."
"Okay," Jinxiu agreed.
****
Su Ming approached a fragment of memory, and images immediately appeared in his mind.
It was a memory from everyday life; the orc miner had performed exceptionally well today and was treated to a rare, hearty meal.
Su Ming broke free and smashed it with his hand.
After flipping through a few more, he finally found a work scene.
This time, Su Ming allowed the fragments of memory to merge into his body.
The surrounding scenery suddenly darkened.
Darkness pressed in from all directions, and the pungent smell of sweat and stone powder rushed into my nostrils.
It's so hot and stuffy here, like a sauna.
Groundwater seeped down along the cracks in the rock, dripping onto his body and mixing with his sweat, running down his dark skin and leaving muddy trails. Before him was a narrow underground passage, with wooden beams and stone pillars barely supporting the rock strata overhead.
The ceiling was so low that you could only crawl.
The light from the miner's lamp was dim and murky, revealing only a small section of the hewn gray rock face on the working face.
He bent over, gripping a heavy iron pickaxe, and pounded it against the working face again and again.
The firelight flashed briefly before being swallowed by darkness again.
The loose Crushed Stone rolled down to his feet, and he numbly dug them into the wicker basket.
****
Su Ming forcibly broke free.
He shattered that memory, and then switched to another.
This time, they're using blasting to break up rocks.
A roaring sound surged through the narrow alleyway.
The sound had no space to dissipate, repeatedly striking the cave walls, causing a buzzing sensation.
Then came the unpleasant smell of burning, followed by an unavoidable thick layer of dust.
The orcs could only cover their mouths and noses tightly with wet towels as they were driven forward to dig through the Crushed Stone by the overseer's whip.
A strong physical sensation rushed towards me.
Su Ming understood why Jinxiu didn't want him to read any more.
This is not about watching a video.
In the process, one might incorporate other people's feelings and emotions into their own mind.
After reading a few more passages of memory, Su Ming stopped flipping through the pages.
Something's not right.
He has already discovered the problem.
"The orcs have carried out all the stones they've dug out!"
Generally, ores are distributed in clumps and patches, interspersed with a large amount of useless associated minerals, and even ordinary rocks. In short, in most cases, useful ores are only a part of the whole.
In the context of manual mining, it is naturally unnecessary to transport all the stones out of the well.
Some of it even has to be used to backfill the gaps left by mining and to strengthen the support of the underground structure.
Yise inquired briefly about the details.
She understood very quickly.
"So, the orcs are building a huge underground facility?" Yise asked.
Only in this way will it be necessary to pull all the stones out.
"Or they might be digging some kind of tunnel," Su Ming added.
He thought about it for a moment.
"Now let's read through their description of their movement underground and piece together the general tunnel configuration."
But Jinxiu stopped him.
"I don't recommend you continue." Su Ming said, puzzled.
"Is this all I've exceeded the limit?"
Jinxiu shook her head.
"No, there isn't."
"But the harm caused by spiritual pollution is difficult to quantify."
"You can think of this as a nightmare; one or two are fine."
"But if it happens for several nights in a row, the effect on a person will increase dramatically."
"Those fragments projected into your mind can create unconscious interference."
Yise understood the problem.
"Su Ming, you are the decision-maker."
"One must keep one's mind pure."
Su Ming sighed and gave up as instructed. But Yise walked towards that forest of memories.
"I'll read it."
"I'll only be affected for a few days; it's no big deal!"
****
Yise dreamed that he had become a half-dog.
Its ears were drooping, and its tail was covered in mud.
She stood at the bottom of the deep pit, with a distant halo of light above her head.
Orcs were everywhere.
They bent over, carrying baskets on their backs, trudging through Crushed Stone and mud.
Yise, along with everyone else, numbly picked up stones and stuffed them into his basket.
A muffled thud suddenly came from above, and the surrounding orcs all looked up at the same time.
The next moment, the sky split open. First, fine sand and gravel fell, stinging my face.
Then came a huge, muffled thud.
"Run!" someone shouted.
But there was nowhere to escape from the deep pit.
Yise tried to move two steps, and the ground beneath his feet collapsed.
As the body plummeted, the last glimmer of sunlight above was quickly swallowed up by the cascading rocks and earth.
The boulder broke her leg.
She opened her mouth to shout, but instead her mouth was filled with mud and sand.
A heavy object pressed down on my chest, and my breathing gradually became more difficult.
She still tried to struggle.
But after digging a few times in the mud, his fingers could no longer move.
The last thing she heard was someone crying beside her. In her daze, she saw Su Ming arranging firewood for her.
Then came the envelopment of flames--
"Ah!"
Yise suddenly awoke.
She was soaked in sweat, and the little Yugan beside her was watching her nervously.
Yise sat up, Yugan handed him a freshly washed cloth.
This little half-cat has become a bit bolder these past few days, often finding time to help everyone.
Yise took the cloth and wiped his forehead and neck.
Seeing that Yugan seemed hesitant to get closer, she reached out and ruffled his hair.
Its fur is soft.
Looking to the side, his older sister, Yuye, was sleeping, her small body curled up in a ball, her cat ears twitching occasionally.
Seeing Yise like this, the siblings suddenly felt a strong urge to get a cat. "You should rest more," Su Ming said to her, "The side effects will probably last for about three days."
Yise nodded.
****
Su Ming continued operating the tablet and communicating with those behind him.
Yesterday during the day, the enemy near the coast began dismantling some heavy artillery and relocating it to fortified terrain.
But by the end of the day, the enemy hadn't managed to dismantle much of it.
Katharine continued her attack on the artillery positions on both sides, mercilessly destroying the remaining cannons.
The gaps in the orcs' defenses were widened further.
However, a problem arose during the landing operation.
The elite forces of the Star Empire and the Cold Mountain Kingdom led the landing on the island. Numerous unexpected events occurred during the process, causing significant delays.
Although the marines maintained suppression of the enemy throughout the entire operation under the cover of their own superior local firepower.
After several hours of operations on land, only four supply depots were destroyed. "The rocket stockpile on Three Peaks Island is running low."
Katharine reports to the director.
Su Ming checked the data and found that the inventory had dropped to less than three thousand.
For combat safety reasons, a necessary number of contingency supplies must be reserved.
He thought about it for a moment.
"Understood, we'll pause for tonight."
"We need to address our own problems and arrange for troops to take turns conducting island landing combat drills."
"Okay!" Katharine replied.
Su Ming thought about it again.
"Try to put some pressure on them tomorrow night."
Even sporadic shelling is acceptable; we can't let the enemy have peace.
Magelaili said, "We can use the Pansy's electromagnetic cannons to take turns calling roll."
"It can also carry a dragon squad for assault airdrops."
Su Ming nodded, "Okay!"
****
Katharine convened a meeting of officers to implement specific tasks, especially the advancement of amphibious landing training.
Su Ming switched to the support team.
The signal is excellent, and the satellite antenna is working properly.
He immediately initiated a video conference.
"Can the production capacity of rockets in Taya be increased?" Su Ming asked.
"That's possible," Jisu replied, "But currently, the production capacity of each base is largely being squeezed out by the ' Dandelion Plan '."
This was something Su Ming already knew.
"And there's another problem," Fengshou added. "Currently, without your teleportation, our remote engineers are working hard to improve the precision and product coverage of Taya's local production."
"To fill this gap."
"Just managing to proceed according to the previous plan would be a huge undertaking."
"Thank you all for your hard work," Su Ming sighed.
His unexpected departure could not possibly go unnoticed.
"However, I made a special discovery here on Water Chestnut Island."
Su Ming recounted how the Plundering Clock was excavating the Blackstone Volcano.
After hearing this, everyone's expressions turned somber.
"That doesn't sound like good news," Jisu said.
"Not necessarily," the Chihuo said. "Knowing what the enemy is doing is better than never knowing."
This is a new member of the support team, a middle-aged man with a square face.
"That makes sense," Su Ming chuckled. "So my coming to Water Chestnut Island isn't so bad after all."
Jin Rongjia glared at Su Ming.
"Except for you!"
"If it were anyone else in Cloud Fang City, we would have made a killing today!"
****
In the center of the team's meeting room, a map of Ling Island was unfolded.
This is a large island running north to south.
On the map, it looks like a long bone wedged into the sea, with a complex mountain range and volcanic belt rising in the center.
Jisu introduced the technical team's analysis results to everyone.
Water Chestnut Island is located at the junction of the eastern and western Taya Plates.
"It is a large island formed at least a billion years ago during tectonic movements."
"During the five major subsequent geological events, Water Chestnut Island continued to expand, accompanied by cataclysmic magma eruptions." Various densely packed markings popped up on the map.
Mountains, faults, lava plateaus, ancient volcanoes, sedimentary zones...
"Ling Island currently has more than 300 volcanoes of varying sizes."
Jisu continued.
Most of them are extinct volcanoes.
"But about one hundred of them are dormant active volcanoes."
Su Ming asked the following questions:
When was the last major eruption?
Currently, on Earth, almost all the Taya documents that can be copied have been obtained.
Jisu immediately flipped through the pages.
But on Su Ming's side, Yise spoke first.
"The last period of activity dates back 1,200 years." She said, rubbing her forehead.
"The Cangxiao Dynasty, which ruled Ling Island at the time, was thus destroyed."
"What a pity."
"The orcs at that time were a very powerful nation."
Seeing the worry flash in Su Ming's eyes, Yise quickly added:
"Oh, this is historical knowledge I learned, not influenced by the memories of the orcs."
"The Cangxiao Dynasty was very famous, so most educated people in Taya would know something about it."
"That's about 1,200 years ago, roughly a geological cycle," Jisu sighed. "In any case, since it involves volcanoes and large-scale excavation activities with unclear purposes, this needs to be treated with extreme caution!"
No one raised any objections.
The Dodder was even more dissatisfied.
"Have Fang of the Wild's intelligence gathering personnel in Cloud Fang City become incompetent?"
"Such an important matter, how could it not be reported?" Last night's investigation revealed that the Blackstone Mine is an ancient mine with a history of thousands of years.
Three months ago, the Plundering Clock suddenly gathered more than 50,000 orc laborers.
The intensity of "mining" also increased sharply after that.
This was information that Yuye could easily obtain by simply asking around in the slums.
The fact that they remained completely silent despite such a commotion suggests that the members of the Fang of the Wild intelligence liaison point are either incompetent or...
Either something's wrong!
"List them as suspected traitors," Su Ming said.