Chapter 448: Supervisory Officer

Chapter 448: Chapter 448: Supervisory Officer

"It’s Level 4 Bloodlight Ore!"

Luoxue said, pleasantly surprised.

"Haha, we’ve hit a Level 4 vein! We’re really going to strike it rich this time!"

Jing Chuan exclaimed, his voice filled with excitement.

Just then, however, terrified shouts suddenly echoed from outside.

"Help!"

"Oh no, something happened!" Long Ming and Luoxue were instantly alarmed. They immediately piloted their Mechanical Gods, spun around, and charged out.

When they rushed back into the mining cavern,

they saw a fifteen-meter-long, centipede-like Zakun—a Type III General-class of the Insect Race—pouncing on a mining vehicle. The monster had two pairs of insectoid wings, a pair of sharp blades, and a carapace covered in dense, black markings.

"Shen Hu, look out!"

Luoxue shouted a warning immediately.

Shen Hu immediately stopped mining and maneuvered the vehicle to raise its multi-functional arm in a defensive stance.

The Zakun swung its sharp blade in a wide arc.

CRACK!

The multi-functional arm was instantly severed. The blade also struck the vehicle’s chest, sending sparks flying from the gash.

"Bastard!"

Seeing Shen Hu in danger, a pilot in a nearby mining vehicle charged forward to help.

The Zakun viciously whipped its tail.

BANG!

The entire mining vehicle was sent flying, crashing heavily to the ground with its chest caved in.

Long Ming and Luoxue immediately charged forward.

SCREECH!

The frenzied Zakun swung its massive blade, slashing toward Long Ming.

Long Ming didn’t dodge, meeting the attack head-on. The space was too confined; he had to engage the Zakun directly.

Otherwise, if it unleashed a sweeping Pollock Beam, there was no telling how many people would die or how many mining vehicles would be destroyed.

BANG!

The two collided.

A massive shockwave swept through the cavern.

Long Ming slid backward continuously from the force of the impact.

"Everyone, get out of here, now!"

After shouting the warning, Luoxue closed in on the Zakun from the side, swinging her Metal Blade and slashing its body.

SLICE!

A gash opened on the Zakun’s body, and viscous blood began to flow.

The Zakun savagely swatted Long Ming aside. It twisted its long body, opened its maw to reveal sharp, insectoid teeth, and lunged at Luoxue.

Luoxue quickly leaped back, dodging the attack.

Just then, Long Ming piloted his Gale forward again. He raised his Light Saber and plunged it straight into the Zakun’s body, using the momentum to pin the beast and slam it hard against the rock wall.

BANG!

The enraged Zakun spun around, swinging its sharp blade at Long Ming.

Long Ming decisively pulled out his Light Saber and fell back, activating his Energy Barrier at the same time.

CRACK!

The blade struck the Energy Barrier, sending sparks flying everywhere.

The entire Energy Barrier warped under the force.

Long Ming quickly created more distance.

Just then, the enraged Zakun opened its maw and began to charge a Pollock Beam.

Long Ming’s expression shifted. ’Not good!’

Just then, Luoxue, piloting her mech, the Graylight, aimed its Shoulder Cannon and fired at the Zakun’s head from the side.

BOOM!

The Zakun’s head was snapped to the side.

The charging Pollock Beam was interrupted. The blast cracked open the carapace on its head, revealing the writhing tissue within.

A glint flashed in Long Ming’s eyes. He piloted the Gale forward at top speed, raised his Light Saber, and plunged it deep into the Zakun’s head through the shattered carapace.

SCREECH!

The Zakun let out a final, deathly screech as it began to twitch and struggle violently.

Luoxue immediately charged forward in her Graylight, plunging her Metal Blade into the Zakun’s body to help pin it down.

Seconds ticked by.

Finally, the Zakun stopped struggling. It was dead.

...

Long Ming slowly withdrew his Light Saber and let out a long sigh of relief.

"That’s finally over."

Luoxue turned and shouted to Jing Chuan and the others.

"Hurry and help the injured!"

"Yes!"

Jing Chuan and the others immediately rushed toward the two damaged mining vehicles.

A battered Shen Hu crawled out of his cockpit. The other pilot wasn’t as lucky; though not dead, he was unconscious.

Jing Chuan quickly arranged for him to be carried out.

Long Ming surveyed the wreckage, his brow furrowed.

「After a long while.」

The area was cleaned up, and the remaining mining vehicles resumed their work.

Long Ming, Qian Wei, Luoxue, and Jing Chuan gathered together.

"What’s the situation?"

Luoxue asked.

"Personnel-wise, there were no major casualties, but two mining vehicles were damaged. The repairs will probably cost a fortune, so our profits are going to take a big hit."

Qian Wei said, looking troubled.

"As long as everyone’s okay, that’s what matters. Don’t worry about the losses. We found Level 4 Bloodlight Ore."

Luoxue said to Qian Wei and the others.

"Really?"

Hearing this, Qian Wei and the others were ecstatic.

Seeing how excited they were, Long Ming asked curiously.

"Luoxue, is this Level 4 Bloodlight Ore valuable?"

"Valuable. Extremely valuable! This ore is considered top-grade, even among other Level 4 minerals."

Luoxue said calmly, suppressing her own excitement.

"So how much do you think it’s worth?"

"I’m not sure. It depends on how much we can excavate, but it’s worth at least a hundred million Star Coins, minimum!"

"That much? If that’s the case, it’s a huge loss to hand it over."

Long Ming said in a low voice.

Jing Chuan and the others were startled by Long Ming’s words, then said with resignation.

"It’s a painful loss, for sure. Out of a hundred million Star Coins, we’d only get ten million. And they probably wouldn’t even give us that much; they’d find every excuse to cut our share."

"Handing it over is a huge loss, but hiding it won’t be easy. To prevent us from pocketing the haul, Deputy Legion Commander Bassaf has ordered all excavated cargo to be sent to the *Kunyu*. Our ships can’t leave Guangxiao Planet at will—the moment we try, we’ll be picked up on radar. On top of that, after the mission ends, every one of us and all our ships will be subject to inspection, including our personal safes."

Luoxue said to Long Ming, her expression grave.

"That complicates things,"

Long Ming said, realizing how tricky the situation was.

"But it’s not entirely impossible."

Luoxue said to Long Ming after a moment of thought.

"You have an idea?"

"As the saying goes, ’for every policy from above, there’s a countermeasure from below.’ We can’t take the Level 4 ore with us now, but we can excavate it, find a place to hide it, and come back for it later when we get the chance."

"That could work."

Long Ming nodded.

"That’s a great idea. It’s better than letting Supervisor Dikaya and his lackeys have it for free."

Qian Wei and the others voiced their strong approval.

"Then it’s settled. Everyone needs to keep this under wraps. The consequences will be severe if this gets out."

Luoxue said, looking at everyone present.

"Don’t worry. Everyone here mining is one of us. No one’s going to talk."

Qian Wei said with great confidence.

"Then let’s focus all our efforts on excavating the Level 4 ore. We’ll report the Level 3 ore as required."

With that, Luoxue finalized the plan.

"Right!"

The team immediately got back to work.

...

「The next day.」

On the barren plains.

A small transport ship approached from the distant sky.

Jiang Heng’s expression changed the moment he saw the transport ship. He immediately shouted to Yu Lie beside him.

"Dammit! Yu Lie, hurry and warn Luoxue and the others! The Legion’s inspectors are here!"

Hearing Jiang Heng, Yu Lie immediately broke into a run.

Jiang Heng remained in his mining vehicle, his expression grim as he watched his subordinates at work. ’I can’t believe something happened right under my nose.’

...