Jiang Ye was overjoyed. He slid to the bottom of the pit and dug out a piece of ore.
Isabelle stared blankly. It looked like an ordinary rock, didn't it?
No, it's definitely ore. Jiang Ye brought it to his nose and sniffed. I can smell the ore.
Isabelle pouted, her expression clearly saying, "You're bluffing."
Jiang Ye returned to the base and threw the ore into the trading pod. He needed to know what kind of ore it was and if it was valuable.
After a moment of scanning, the information displayed:
[Item: Acanthite]
[Item Description: Nicknamed "dark ruby silver," its name originates from the Greek words "pyros" and "argent," meaning bright and silver. It often coexists with other silver ores, such as pyrargyrite, galena, sphalerite, tetrahedrite, and calcite. Highly valuable!]
[Estimated Value: 488 credits]
Jiang Ye couldn't help but exclaim.
Silver ore!
It was indeed valuable. A small piece sold for nearly five hundred credits, which was quite tempting!
It really is ore! Isabelle was stunned. She had thought they were just rocks with unusual colors. How did you know there was ore underground?
Smell. Jiang Ye sniffed like an old fox. Every type of ore has its own unique scent. This acanthite smells like ejiao, date paste, and black sesame.
Really? Isabelle was shocked, looking at Jiang Ye with the eyes of an artist and an alien.
Common sense told her it was impossible, but Jiang Ye didn't seem to be lying. Besides, he had indeed found the ore buried underground.
What does gold ore smell like? she asked.
I don't know. I haven't encountered gold ore yet, but it should smell good. Jiang Ye picked up the sack. I'm going to collect ore. Tell me when you're hungry, and I'll make you dinner.
You go collect. I'll handle dinner. Isabelle glanced at the sky. It'll be dark by dinner time, okay?
Okay. Jiang Ye hesitated before agreeing.
He decided to trust Isabelle. After all, she was an employee dispatched by a legitimate courier company.
Identity verification in this era was very strict, especially for personnel registered with the Galactic Empire. There was a rigorous procedure to ensure identity security. So, there shouldn't be any problems. And if they ate together, he wouldn't have to worry about her poisoning him.
Jiang Ye knew very well that the title of "colony commander," while sounding good, actually referred to lower-tier, fringe groups, akin to exiles. Nicely put, they were "frontier dwellers," with statuses similar to laborers, slaves, captives, or pack animals.
No, perhaps worse than pack animals. If a pack animal was beaten to death, its owner would seek redress. Yet, so many colony commanders had died without any commotion.
Isabelle, however, was different. An outstanding employee of a major corporation, she was a top-tier citizen of the Galactic Empire. The massive courier spaceship she piloted might be worth more than the total assets of all colony commanders on the entire planet. If not for the spaceship's crash, Jiang Ye might never have had the chance to have dinner with her.
A vast disparity in status.
He pushed open the base door. The wind was still strong, but the snow had finally stopped.
The giant spaceship in the distance was still burning, its smoke rising into the sky like a dragon.
Jiang Ye, carrying the sack, descended into the mining pit to collect acanthite.
The ore had been blasted into many small pieces, most of them about the size of a ping-pong ball.
They were easy to pick up and toss into the sack with a rustle.
After half an hour, the sack was more than half full of ore.
Jiang Ye climbed out of the pit with effort and returned to the base, dumping the acanthite into the trading pod.
Sell.
He sold it for 182,500 credits!
His personal account balance increased to 1,827,700 credits.
Jiang Ye was thrilled. Silver ore was truly valuable. A single sack could fetch the profit of an entire day's mining before.
At this rate, upgrading the base would only take a few days!
Carrying the sack, he returned to the mining pit.
He started collecting diligently.
He filled another sack, and the scattered ore at the bottom of the pit was almost all gone.
Jiang Ye didn't use any more blood grenades to blast out more ore. Instead, he picked up his pickaxe and began to smash the ore with brute force.
He had used a considerable number of blood grenades to deal with the blood kangaroos earlier.
He had also used a lot of them for mining over the past half month.
Jiang Ye's supply of blood grenades was now less than a hundred.
Therefore, he decided to conserve the grenades.
He wasn't in a hurry anyway, so he'd use the pickaxe!
The pickaxe head continuously struck the ore, sending sparks flying as it shattered pieces of acanthite.
Occasionally, he would switch the pickaxe for a shovel to excavate.
When he dug up reddish-black acanthite, he would switch back to the pickaxe and smash it fiercely.
Although the weather was cold, such intense labor still made Jiang Ye sweat profusely.
His innermost cotton jacket was soaked.
He mined two more sacks of acanthite, and it was exactly dusk.
Jiang Ye carried the two large sacks back to the base.
As soon as he entered, he was stunned by the alluring scene.
Isabelle was wearing a tight white sweater, her ample bosom and slender waist clearly outlined. She had taken off her work pants and was standing by the pot in only pink triangle underwear. Her long legs were as white as mutton-fat jade. The light illuminated her face, making her eyelashes appear long and distinct. It was likely the heat from the stove warming the pot that caused her to sweat. She had probably undressed so much because she was hot.
Jiang Ye swallowed hard.
It would be a lie to say he wasn't affected. Isabelle's figure was absolutely model-worthy.
For a few seconds, he almost lost control, desperately wanting to reach out and touch her.
But he remembered the saying, "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil." Jiang Ye quickly turned his head away, not looking at the beautiful woman. He decided to sell the ore in the sacks first.
He poured the two sacks of acanthite into the trading pod one after another.
As he poured, Jiang Ye was very gentle, afraid that dust would fly up and get into the pot.
His personal account balance quickly rose to 2.14 million credits!
He still needed 1.46 million credits to upgrade his base to level 9, which was still a considerable amount, but it no longer seemed impossible.
After selling the ore, Jiang Ye turned around.
His eyes first glanced at her long legs, then at the pot.
Whoa? What are you cooking? Jiang Ye was amazed by the colorful contents of the pot.
Bear meat stir-fried with tomatoes, plus a little boiled corn kernels and cabbage. Isabelle smiled. You don't have any seasonings here, so I can only make this kind of mixed stir-fry. Tomorrow, I'll make you a stew.
Amazing. It smells good, and it looks beautiful too. Did you study to be a chef? Jiang Ye flattered her.
I actually did. Back in the military, I was the captain's nutritionist. Isabelle expertly tossed the ingredients in the pan. The spatula she used was a cleaned corn stalk. The title "nutritionist" sounded good, but she was essentially a cook.
Wow, you were in the military? Jiang Ye was very curious about her past.
I started out like you, as a colony commander. Once your base reaches a certain level, you'll have an opportunity to choose a profession. You can continue to be a colony commander or leave here to do other work. The best option is to join the military. The military offers good benefits, and after three years of service, you're assigned a job. So, I transferred to the M78 nebula to deliver packages. Isabelle said, It's ready. Do you have any plates here?
No. Jiang Ye suddenly felt very poor. He didn't even have a plate.