The excavator had been in operation for almost the entire day.
As night fell, all the fluorite on the beach had been dug up.
Another mine had been depleted.
Jiang Ye spent ten minutes using the excavator to build an earthen ramp on the shore, connecting directly to the ship. He then drove the excavator onto the ship and parked it on the deck.
The excavator's tracks were covered in sticky mud, and its surface was marked with numerous scratches.
Jiang Ye entered the captain's cabin to check his account balance.
30,115,000 yuan.
He was less than ten million yuan away from accumulating the forty million needed to expand the town.
If there were still fluorite mines, earning this money wouldn't be an issue.
But now that the veins were depleted and he couldn't mine for money, the next two days would be more challenging.
Jiang Ye decided not to return directly to the shipyard.
He would sail along this continent for a while to see if he could find any opportunities to earn money, such as gathering spots for alien creatures or new mineral veins.
He tapped the screen and set the autopilot.
He selected a route that followed the coastline.
The engine room rumbled, and the fishing boat moved forward automatically, heading north.
Jiang Ye stood at the bow, taking deep breaths and sniffing the air.
There were no strange smells, only the scent of the sea.
In the deep night, everything around was pitch black. The fishing boat's lights could only illuminate a small area. The wind was still strong, and the ink-black sea water slapped against the hull, breaking into white foam.
It was now half-past eight. He decided to search for an hour.
If he hadn't found anything by half-past nine, he would return home and search again tomorrow.
Ten minutes, twenty minutes, thirty minutes...
Nothing. Only a barren coastline and the sound of rushing water.
Forty minutes, fifty minutes, an hour!
This area was incredibly desolate. There were hardly any fish, and the shore was just rocks, rocks, and more rocks. It was a place where birds wouldn't even shit.
It was already half-past nine. According to his original plan, he should turn back.
But Jiang Ye had a peculiar premonition that he was just a short distance away from finding something!
This premonition came from nowhere, a so-called mysterious sixth sense.
Jiang Ye decided to trust this feeling. He didn't immediately turn back but continued forward.
The fishing boat cut through the water, forging ahead into the dark night, leaving a long white wake behind.
Five minutes later, a new scent wafted in the sea breeze!
As the fishing boat moved forward, the smell grew stronger!
Jiang Ye closed his eyes and could discern the specific aroma: the smell of fish oil, a hint of wine, and a faint scent of white grapes.
He opened his eyes and stared intently at the shore.
The shore was still made of ordinary gray-black rocks, desolate and monotonous, with no sign of any mineral deposits.
Judging by the intensity of the smell, the mineral veins should be in this area, even if not exposed on the surface, they should be buried not too deep underground.
Jiang Ye returned to the captain's cabin and tapped the screen to stop the boat.
Then, he froze.
On the sonar screen, the surrounding waters were filled with red dots!
The red dots were small, but their sheer number, forming a vast expanse, covered almost half the screen!
From the depth readings, the area filled with red was at an average depth of about thirty meters.
Jiang Ye decisively tapped the screen and cast the net!
The fishing net plunged into the sea and was soon hauled up.
But to his surprise, the net was limp, as if it were torn, not bulging at all.
He dragged it into the cargo hold, scanned it, and found only a dozen small fish, which sold for a mere thousand yuan.
Jiang Ye was perplexed. The sonar clearly showed life below, so why couldn't he catch anything?
Had the net broken?
He quickly went to inspect the fishing net. It was intact, not torn at all.
Back in the captain's cabin, he tapped the screen and cast the net again in another direction.
The net was hauled up, again containing only a dozen small fish, the largest of which was not even as long as his foot.
On the sonar screen, there were still large patches of red near the fishing boat.
This was uncanny, too uncanny.
The hairs on Jiang Ye's back stood on end. After much hesitation, he decided to go into the sea to investigate.
He changed into his diving suit and tied the rope to the railing on the side of the ship.
Splash!
Jiang Ye dove in with a backflip and immediately began to swim down.
The seawater was completely dark, like diving in ink. He turned on the small light on his diving suit, which could only illuminate a small area. Looking up, down, left, and right, it was an endless, chaotic expanse.
The feeling was one of profound loneliness. He couldn't see or touch anything. Anything could be lurking in the darkness a few meters away, but he couldn't see it. Only those who had dived alone in the deep night could truly understand this feeling.
Jiang Ye felt a pang of panic at first, but he quickly calmed down and continued to descend.
As he swam, his eyes lit up.
The smell of mineral deposits was growing stronger!
This meant the mineral veins were not on the shore but in the sea!
It was likely some kind of edible mineral, which was why so many small fish were gathered in this area.
As Jiang Ye descended, his mind raced, trying to figure out what kind of mineral could be edible.
Ten meters.
Twenty meters.
Thirty meters!
His light illuminated some blurry shapes; he was nearing the seabed.
Jiang Ye cautiously moved downwards, increasing the brightness of his diving suit's light.
Finally, the scene on the seabed was illuminated by the light.
It wasn't gray-brown rocks or pale white sand, but strangely shaped, colorful branches, growing in clusters on the seabed. The nearest cluster of branches was a rose-like red. As the light shone further, he could faintly see some orange, pink, and blue branches.
Coral!
It was a coral reef!
Jiang Ye was so excited his legs almost cramped. The strong mineral smell filled his nostrils. It turned out these coral reefs were classified as minerals, and their main component was indeed calcium carbonate, which was why his mineral-sensing ability could detect them.
Coral reefs, in reality, were covered with tiny coral polyps, actual marine organisms. That's why they could be detected by sonar. The substances secreted by the coral polyps accumulated year after year, forming coral exoskeletons of various shapes.
If his assumptions were correct, these corals should be extremely valuable!
Jiang Ye cautiously approached the coral, observing its surface.
The nearest red corals were generally half a meter tall, resembling branches in shape.
Bringing his mask closer, he could see some wriggling small creatures. The details were unclear, but he could tell that the bodies of the coral polyps were round and had tentacles.
The coral polyps, which had been quietly resting, began to wriggle as soon as Jiang Ye's diving suit light shone on them, as if trying to escape the light.
Jiang Ye bent down and grabbed the base of a coral branch.
He strained!
The coral branch remained unmoved.
He kicked it a couple of times.
Still unmoved.
It was too hard and too solid to break off.
Jiang Ye had to pull on the rope to surface, return to the ship, find a shovel, and then dive down again.
Ten minutes later, he finally boarded the fishing boat, holding a coral branch.
It was truly beautiful, resembling a branch, or perhaps deer antlers. Its surface was a bright red, and under the light, it was covered in sparkling flashes like crushed diamonds. Anyone who saw it would feel an overwhelming sense of nobility!
He carefully entered the cargo hold and gently placed the coral branch into the trading bay.
Jiang Ye's movements were incredibly delicate, as if he were placing a detonator.
After a brief scan, information appeared: