The vast, gray-yellow sandy plains stretched to the horizon.
Long rows of spider mechs advanced in unison, leaving shallow pits in the ground, each about four to five meters apart, the distance of a single step for a spider's leg.
Jiang Ye's spider led the way, his eyes scanning in all directions, occasionally issuing commands over the comms channel:
"Everyone, activate the scan and mark function in the lower right corner. Once this function is enabled, the terrain and rock strata of the areas the spiders traverse will be scanned and recorded. When we return to the military base, the data will be exported uniformly, allowing us to analyze the complete surrounding environment."
All the spiders activated their scanning functions. Black cylindrical scanners extended from the tops of the spiders, rotating rapidly as massive amounts of data were recorded.
Jiang Ye also stared at his screen, where new scanned information popped up continuously, refreshing every few seconds:
[Oxygen Content: 21%, Nitrogen: 78%]
[Wind Speed: Level 4]
[No Signs of Life]
[Sandy Loam, trace amounts of Gneiss, no mining value]
They advanced fifty kilometers in one go, all of it unchanged wasteland.
Jiang Ye glanced at his spider's energy levels, with 80% remaining. It seemed a full charge could sustain high-speed movement for two hundred and fifty kilometers. The endurance was quite good.
Now, with wilderness in all directions, continuing forward in a single file line would be inefficient.
Jiang Ye made a deployment on his screen, splitting off two-thirds of the spiders to the left and right. The main force divided into three smaller units, each proceeding separately.
Before long, the other two units were no longer visible to the naked eye, but their distances from each other could still be seen on the combat sequence screen, and communication remained normal. After all, the signal was provided by satellites. If Jiang Ye hadn't purchased that small satellite, they would have quickly lost contact after splitting up.
After advancing another thirty kilometers, the left flank unit suddenly reported.
"We've encountered Water Ghosts, two of them."
Jiang Ye was startled by the first half of the sentence, thinking, "The Water Ghost crisis was resolved, why are they back?" He relaxed upon hearing the latter half, "Only two of them, perhaps they are sentinels stranded on shore."
"Eliminate them," Jiang Ye ordered simply.
"Report, they've been blown to bits. This cannon's power is incredible," exclaimed a captain from the left flank unit, surprised. "The blast radius is about ten meters, and the shrapnel kill radius is at least sixty meters. We need to stay a good distance away when firing."
Jiang Ye spoke over the channel:
"All units, pay attention. There might be scattered Water Ghosts on shore. If you encounter them, just blast them. The shells have great power, so keep your distance."
The squad captains acknowledged the order.
Jiang Ye's screen suddenly turned red, with an alert message popping up:
[Detected biological Water Ghosts, total 3]
[Detected biological Water Ghosts, total 6]
The numbers kept rising, finally settling at twenty-five.
They could now see with the naked eye, about two hundred meters ahead, some thin black figures moving slowly and stiffly, like Eskimos walking against the wind on an ice field.
The Water Ghosts Jiang Ye had seen before ran faster than rabbits, but these ones were like zombies. After the main force retreated, these stragglers were clearly weakened.
"All squad captains, focus on the Water Ghosts. Fire a volley, open fire!" Jiang Ye commanded via voice.
He clicked the fire button. A deafening roar filled the cabin, and the smell of gunpowder immediately permeated the interior.
Several shells arced in smooth trajectories, landing precisely in the midst of the Water Ghost swarm. Large clouds of dust erupted, engulfing the targets.
"Continue advancing," Jiang Ye ordered decisively, not waiting for the dust to settle.
The spiders advanced rapidly, soon reaching the impact points. The dust had only partially dissipated, revealing shattered remains on the ground. Not a single one was alive; they were all blown into the ground, like flies splattered on a wall.
Jiang Ye smiled, looking at the live video. The captains' expressions were all excited, and the atmosphere was jubilant. Previously, fighting Water Ghosts required sustained gunfire for a long time; these creatures were incredibly resilient, and a few shots wouldn't bring them down, making them very difficult to deal with. Now, equipped with spider mechs, a few shells leveled them all. It was incredibly satisfying.
The terrain ahead was no longer a plain. Rust-colored red hills rose high, with extremely steep slopes, at least sixty degrees, practically cliffs. Moreover, this mountain range was extensive, blocking their path like a wall.
The left and right flank units reported almost simultaneously that they had also encountered red mountains with slopes too steep to climb.
Jiang Ye glanced at the scan results. The soil content of this mountain was very low, mostly hard rock. It was a very troublesome rocky mountain.
"I think the spider can climb it. Commander, let me try," the captain of the Fourth Squad suddenly spoke up. "This mountain is extensive, and going around would take a lot of wasted time. If we can climb over it, it would be much more convenient."
"Alright, be careful. Look for climbing points. If it's not possible, come back down. Safety first." Jiang Ye had been looking for someone to test it.
All the spiders stopped. The Fourth Squad's spider moved forward alone, circling at the foot of the mountain for a while before extending its mechanical legs and attempting to climb upwards.
This mountain face was at least thirty meters high, with sheer rock walls. Only occasionally were there protrusions in the rock face, almost invisible to the naked eye.
The Fourth Captain was clearly cautious, manipulating the spider one leg at a time, gradually increasing its altitude.
Ten meters, thirteen meters, fifteen meters...
Suddenly, a rock detached entirely, and the Fourth Squad's spider flipped backward from mid-air!
Screams erupted. Before others could react, a spider mech leaped forward violently, nudging the falling spider and emitting a loud clang of colliding steel.
It was Jiang Ye who leaped out at the critical moment. He didn't know why his reaction was so fast; perhaps it was instinct.
"Are you alright?" Jiang Ye asked.
"I'm fine, I'm fine! Thank you, Commander!" The Fourth Captain gasped, still shaken. "The rocks have weathered and can't support the weight of the spider mech. It's impossible to climb. My spider's integrity is still at 92%."
"Mine is at 95%." Jiang Ye glanced at his screen, then frowned slightly and sniffed.
He smelled a faint, sweet scent.
"Similar to the smell of braised beef tripe?"
Jiang Ye was confused at first. "I haven't eaten braised beef tripe for two days."
Suddenly, his eyes lit up as he thought of something.
Many rocks had fallen from the spot where the Fourth Captain had fallen. Large and small, from the size of a refrigerator to a fist, they were scattered everywhere.
Jiang Ye maneuvered his spider closer, and indeed, the smell of braised beef tripe grew stronger.
At the same time, the scan results came in:
[Detected Shale]
[Analyzing data]
[Analysis complete. Shale content in the rock strata ahead is approximately 41%. Reserves unknown. Trial mining can commence.]
Jiang Ye raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected the Fourth Captain's climb to dislodge the outer rock layer and expose the shale within.
Shale is a common ore, often used to produce shale gas, a very important natural gas. It usually accumulates in large deposits, and mining it can yield gas for many years.
Jiang Ye looked at the towering red mountain ahead, and a thought suddenly struck him:
"Could it be that this entire mountain is filled with shale, and the loose outer rock shell is just a result of gradual weathering over time?"
If that were the case, then this entire mountain would be a veritable gold mine!