The office door was knocked.
"Come in," Jiang Ye looked up.
The door opened gently, and Su Yueming brought Wei Hongyang in.
"Sit down and tell me the detailed situation," Jiang Ye's expression was grim.
Wei Hongyang spread the small box he was carrying onto the desk, taking out a large stack of printed photos and reports.
Jiang Ye flipped through the photos.
Grayish-black mountains, clear skies, and many crawler-like small robots appeared on the ridges.
On a small hill stood a cluster of buildings, all grayish-black, blending in with the environment, clearly designed to conceal themselves. The scale of the buildings was considerable, twice that of Camp Mi Lin No. 1, and it was unclear if there were underground structures.
"This is the military base built by the Egg Star forces. Nearby is a large coal mine, special coal, formed from the marine plants of Bi Rong Star hundreds of thousands of years ago. It contains some special substances. Besides burning, it can be used to make perfume, and when purified, it emits a unique fragrance. In the interstellar market, a small box of good quality coal fragrance sells for eight thousand yuan. Because it is rare and pleasant, it can also calm the nerves and occasionally has an aphrodisiac effect," Wei Hongyang said. "The Egg Star forces should be here to mine. There are many prospecting robots nearby, and they will likely deploy mining machines within a week."
"Isn't this just robbing us blind?" Jiang Ye was furious.
"It appears so."
"Have you contacted them?"
"We did. Che Zhen sent a fleet of machines to stop at the entrance of their military base," Wei Hongyang gave an embarrassed smile. "As a result, they kept the doors shut and completely ignored us. We shouted for a long time without any response."
"How did you shout?" Jiang Ye was taken aback.
"We pounded on the door, had our loudest soldiers and mechs shout, 'This is our territory, please come out and talk.' We even connected to their base network and sent messages asking them to come out and talk. They immediately pulled the plug, clearly indicating they wouldn't communicate," Wei Hongyang said.
"Outrageous," Jiang Ye's eyelids twitched.
"We are intensifying our search of the surrounding areas to see if there are other military bases," Wei Hongyang said. "Che Zhen's idea is to build a base opposite the Egg Star base, face-to-face training, and be ready to respond to any issues."
"No," Jiang Ye shook his head.
Wei Hongyang was stunned.
Is the commander… chickening out?
Does he want to handle this peacefully?
"Build four," Jiang Ye held up four fingers.
"Ah?" Wei Hongyang was even more surprised. "You mean… build four military bases?"
"Yes, north, south, east, and west, to surround it," Jiang Ye said. "Build them close, with a distance of no more than fifty meters. Once the four bases are completed, build walls to enclose them completely, leaving no gaps."
Wei Hongyang chuckled. "Catch them in a jar?"
"Exactly. According to the law, neither side can use weapons. If they can't fight, we'll surround them," Jiang Ye smiled. "The ancients said to surround three sides and leave one open; we'll surround all four sides and take over their military base, just like capturing stones in Go."
"Understood!" Wei Hongyang nodded. "I'll send a telegram to Bi Rong Star immediately to convey your verbal order."
"Since the special coal nearby is so valuable, let's also speed up its extraction," Jiang Ye said. "Bi Rong Star needs to enter a mode of 'fighting to sustain fighting' and generate some revenue, otherwise, we won't be able to hold on."
"Mining is a bit stretched right now," Wei Hongyang pursed his lips. "Xue Yan has limited manpower, and the mining machines sent over are also limited. In the past few days, the military's temporary blockades have become more frequent, with multiple blockades a day, each lasting several hours. The skies above Bi Rong Star are crowded with so many ships, like insects under a night lamp. It's uncertain how many mining machines can be transported in a short time."
"The Egg Star base should have mining machines, right?" Jiang Ye's smile grew brighter.
Wei Hongyang was startled. "Robbing their mining machines? Is that appropriate?"
"What's inappropriate about it? As soon as they deploy their mining machinery, we'll immediately send troops to capture them. If we can capture them, we will. If not, we'll disable them. We absolutely cannot let their mining machines fill up with ore and return comfortably to sell it," Jiang Ye said. "I have just signed an order for the next spaceship to transport weapons to deal with machinery, including signal jammers, electromagnetic guns, metal corrosion liquid, and electromagnetic rocket launchers."
Wei Hongyang discussed details in the office for another hour, finally finalizing the plan, and then hurried out.
...
Bi Rong Star.
Coal Mountain Main Peak.
Large numbers of flap-wings were constantly taking off and landing, like huge seabirds busy building nests. Dust was rising from the mountaintop, and hundreds of construction machines were working at full speed, with the sound of exploding rocks echoing continuously.
In just 48 hours, a brand-new military base emerged.
From the windows of the Egg Star base opposite, many soldiers peered through telescopes.
In fact, the telescopes were superfluous. The distance was too short. The walls of the Jiang Ye Star base were built fifty meters from the gate, clearly visible to the naked eye.
"Are they trying to go head-to-head with us?"
"Jiang Ye Star… what kind of insignificant planet is this? We've never even heard of it. What can they do against us?"
"The opposite side is only at the tribal level, mere rookies. We are a major level higher, easily crushing them."
"They can't fight us anyway. What's the point of them confronting us face-to-face? We'll leave after we finish mining, and they'll have worked for nothing."
Suddenly, a broadcast announcement echoed through the corridor:
"All units report to designated locations! Prepare to operate mining machines!"
The soldiers by the windows scattered, quickly heading downstairs.
The Egg Star military base had three underground levels, two of which were remote control centers.
The soldiers filed in, entering control pods according to their numbers.
Inside the pods, they could connect to a mining robot, sharing its vision and synchronizing its movements.
The weight of ore mined by each robot was recorded, and generous bonuses would be deposited into the soldiers' accounts at the end of the month. The entire base's soldiers were here for this money.
A moment later.
With a rumbling sound, the four large gates of the Egg Star base opened, and a large group of mining robots rushed out!
These mining robots were golden yellow all over, with four mechanical legs and a large cargo bay in the middle for storing ore. Each could transport over ten tons of coal at a time.
The entire Coal Mountain immediately became bustling.
Dust billowed, and the sounds of digging coal and rocks merged into one.
In the beginning, all the mining robots were somewhat cautious, not daring to go all out.
They occasionally turned their direction to glance at the Jiang Ye Star camp opposite.
Everyone thought, perhaps the Jiang Ye Star camp would react?
However, after more than ten minutes, the Jiang Ye Star camp remained silent.
Let alone people, not even a ghost could be seen.
The mining robots relaxed, venturing further away and shamelessly loading coal into their cargo bays.
In less than half an hour, some of the faster mining robots had already filled their cargo bays.
Carrying small mountains of dark ore on their backs, they trudged back to the base, not daring to go too fast for fear of dropping the coal.
Just as they reached the base entrance, before they could step inside.
With a deafening roar that echoed through the valley!
An afterimage struck the foremost mining robot, instantly flipping it over!
The cargo bay crashed loudly, and over ten tons of coal spilled out, covering the entrance.
Several robots nearby were startled and instinctively charged forward.
With a series of loud explosions, all the robots at the entrance of the Egg Star base were knocked over. Parts flew everywhere, and coal and mechanical wreckage piled up into a small mountain, completely blocking the gate.