Shao Wan and the workers sat on the reef, gazing at the end of the sea.
The fishing boat's silhouette gradually appeared, breaking through the waves as it approached, finally stopping at the shore. Everyone stood up.
Jiang Ye disembarked from the fishing boat and went straight to Shao Wan, his expression serious.
"Are there any individual eggs?"
"Yes, only one hatched. Shao Wan took out a large blue egg from a crack in the rock behind him.
Jiang Ye took it with both hands, cradling it like a baby.
Up close, the large egg felt very strange. Normal eggs are thick at one end and thin at the other, but this egg was perfectly capsule-shaped, equally thick at both ends. Its surface texture wasn't like an eggshell, but more like ceramic, cool to the touch, with no warmth of life.
If this was truly an egg, could it still hatch? Did it get stuck in the meteorite by chance, landing on this planet by coincidence, or was it intentionally placed inside the meteorite and sent over?
"Wait a moment, I'll check on the boat," Jiang Ye said.
Shao Wan nodded, "We'll wait here."
Jiang Ye boarded the boat and gently placed the blue egg into the cargo bay.
"Go to the captain's cabin and look at the screen."
The scan lasted for a full two minutes, which was quite unusual.
Suddenly, the results popped up, and Jiang Ye broke out in a cold sweat:
[Item: Decommissioned Model 200 Mini Nuclear Bomb]
[Item Description: A nuclear bomb that has been deactivated for 200 years, commonly used for long-range bombing or mining and demolition. It contains 1kg of fissile uranium, with a yield equivalent to 15,000 tons of TNT. It is a banned weapon. Its internal structure is unreliable and prone to accidental detonation under many special conditions. Therefore, it has been discontinued within the Galactic Empire and replaced with more advanced configurations.]
[Remarks: This nuclear bomb was produced 200 years ago and is 50 years past its expiration date. However, it is not currently emitting nuclear radiation, and its casing is still intact. It is a high-risk item. The cargo bay cannot handle such items. The Air Force has been notified for disposal.]
Jiang Ye wiped the fine sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.
"Good heavens, it's not an egg at all, it's a damn nuclear weapon!"
He never imagined in his life that he would one day be holding an expired nuclear bomb in his arms. Fortunately, he hadn't let Shao Wan crack it open to see. If it had exploded, this entire sea would have likely evaporated!
Even if it hadn't exploded, if any nuclear radiation leaked out, everyone present would have died.
Jiang Ye mustered his courage, picked up the nuclear bomb from the cargo bay again, disembarked, and placed it on the shore.
"Mayor Jiang, what kind of egg is this?" a miner asked.
Everyone looked at him, their eyes full of curiosity.
"Egg my foot, it's a nuclear weapon!" Jiang Ye waved his hand. "Everyone get on the boat, let's get out of here!"
The crowd was shocked and scrambled onto the boat, carefully avoiding the blue egg as they passed it, as if it were a landmine ready to explode at any moment.
Jiang Ye returned to the captain's cabin and heard a clattering sound. The communication tablet on the table rang.
He picked it up and saw it was a video call from Li Nannan.
He answered, and Li Nannan's face appeared on the screen. She wore a glass dome like a fish tank, which was a spacesuit.
"Where the hell did you get a nuclear bomb!" Li Nannan asked accusingly. "An expired one, too. Were you trying to send yourself to the afterlife? You can buy anything expired, but not an expired nuclear bomb! How are you so wild? Are you a beast?"
"Don't rush to spray me!" Jiang Ye also got agitated. "I dug it out of the ground while mining. Where would I get a nuclear bomb from!"
"Dug out of the ground? That's some bad luck! Did you step in something?" Li Nannan's eyes widened. "Stay put next to the nuclear bomb, I'll be there in ten minutes!"
Before Jiang Ye could reply, Li Nannan hung up the call.
This girl was always so rough and domineering; communicating with her was like fighting a battle.
Jiang Ye had no choice but to wait on the fishing boat and went to the lounge to comfort the frightened workers, telling them that the nuclear bomb hadn't leaked and was fine, and that the Air Force would be there soon to handle it. The workers said that the only way to relieve their worries was to eat, and they all opened meat cans and gorged themselves, as if they wanted to die full.
A dragon-like sound of tearing air echoed!
Jiang Ye came out of the cabin onto the deck. Facing the strong wind, several military spacecraft were descending towards the shore with flames spewing from their engines, kicking up dust everywhere.
Through the dust, he disembarked with difficulty.
A total of three spacecraft had arrived. The large ones were like cruise ships, four stories high, entirely black. The small spacecraft were only the size of a bus, and a large group of mechanical soldiers rushed out, holding long guns and guarding the surroundings.
Jiang Ye took a closer look at the long guns held by the mechanical soldiers. They were silver-white, with barrels as thick as cannons, glowing faintly blue in the seams. They didn't look like bullet-firing weapons at all, perhaps annihilation rays or laser weapons. Indeed, military equipment was superior.
"Jiang Ye!" a familiar childish voice called out, "Milk-fiercely, milk-fiercely!"
Jiang Ye turned his head. Li Nannan, with her sharp short hair, strode over. She was wearing a gray combat suit and had a large silver-white gun on her back, looking heroic and dashing.
"Greetings, Commander!" Jiang Ye bowed respectfully.
"Where's the nuclear bomb?"
"Over here, over here, follow me."
Jiang Ye pointed out the single nuclear bomb on the shore, then pointed to the meteorite that had been split open in the distance, with dozens of small blue nuclear bombs embedded in it.
Li Nannan waved her hand, and the mechanical soldiers lined up in the distance rushed over. They skillfully handled the scene, first spraying a white gel onto the surface of the nuclear bombs with spray guns, then using small drills to break apart the meteorites, extracting the nuclear bombs one by one, and covering them entirely with the white gel.
Metal boxes emitting cold air were ready. Dozens of boxes were opened one after another, the nuclear bombs were placed inside, and immediately sent onto the spacecraft.
The entire process took less than ten minutes, and the procedures were very skillful, indicating that this was not the first time they had dealt with a similar crisis.
Li Nannan took a small gun from her pocket, which looked like a temperature gun, and pulled the trigger several times at Jiang Ye.
"0.25 Sievert, a little high, but it's okay!" a very user-friendly prompt sounded from the gun.
Li Nannan took out a small plastic box from her pocket, like a chewing gum box, took out a small piece, and handed it to Jiang Ye. "Eat."
"What is this?"
"Anti-radiation candy. You got a little exposed. It'll be fine if you eat it, but if you don't, you might get cancer, or lose your sperm and hair," Li Nannan said nonchalantly.
Jiang Ye took the small piece of anti-radiation candy, popped it into his mouth. It had no taste and quickly dissolved.
"Did anyone else come into contact with the nuclear bomb?" Li Nannan asked.
"Some workers, they're all in the lounge."
"Call them out, I'll measure their radiation levels," Li Nannan said.
Jiang Ye ran onto the boat and called out all the workers and Shao Wan, lining them up.
Li Nannan, holding the radiation measuring gun, measured each person, first their forehead, then their limbs, and finally their stomach.
Most of them were fine.
Four workers had slightly higher radiation levels, and each was given a piece of anti-radiation candy.
"Alright, you're lucky. You can all scram now," Li Nannan dismissed them.
Shao Wan led the workers back onto the boat, each with a look of relief on their faces.
Li Nannan watched until the last worker boarded the boat before shifting her gaze back to Jiang Ye, her expression suggesting she had something to discuss.