Bansaka Ryosuke yanked the control stick hard, and the ornithopter flipped over in mid-air, tilting as it dove towards the returning bears.
Jiang Ye decisively pressed the button to drop bombs. Two aerial bombs fell simultaneously!
With a deafening roar, snow flew into the sky, and the flames blazed as if a volcano had erupted. The ornithopter was almost knocked out of the air by the bomb's blast wave, and a vast cloud of dust immediately engulfed the returning bears.
Bansaka Ryosuke circled the ornithopter in the air. Soon, the dust dissipated. On the bloody, flat ground, many of the returning bears' corpses were still twitching, and small cubs struggled to emerge.
In a short while, dozens more cubs appeared, looking up at the ornithopter.
Bansaka Ryosuke's eyes widened in surprise. This was the first time he had seen creatures that couldn't be killed by bombs, and they could even shed their skins like a cicada?
Without Jiang Ye's command, he knew what to do. He pushed the control stick, and the ornithopter dove towards the cubs covered in blood.
Jiang Ye pressed the firing stick, and the cannons roared continuously, killing cub after cub. Puffs of blood sprayed onto the snowy ground, and from a high-altitude perspective, it looked like plum blossoms blooming in the snow.
The ornithopter dove more than ten times before finally killing all the returning bears. The scene was gruesome.
"Return to base," Jiang Ye ordered.
Bansaka Ryosuke immediately turned the ornithopter and headed back to the military base. Jiang Ye took out his phone and sent a message to Che Zhen.
"I just eliminated a group of returning bears southeast of the mine. Winter is coming, and many creatures will revive. Send troops to guard the vicinity of the gold mine and eliminate them promptly."
Che Zhen: "Understood!"
Jiang Ye returned to the main command office of the military base, turned on the air conditioner to heat the room, and brewed two cups of hot coffee. He waited quietly.
Finally, the news of the gold mine's commencement of operations arrived, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
Although the snow disaster had been fierce, production had been restored to its original state so far.
Life in winter was certainly less convenient than in summer, but all the necessary infrastructure was in place, and the impact of the climate on everyone had been minimized.
He stayed in the office until nine o'clock in the evening, and his passive income was transferred to his account one after another.
Jiang Ye added up his income for the day, 1500-2000 yuan. He was delighted; it hadn't dropped much!
Tian Rao's income had surged by 200%, likely because everyone was rushing to buy warm clothing.
The restaurant's income was zero, and it had even incurred losses, but this was temporary. The restaurant would no longer be free tomorrow and would resume normal operations, still making money.
For the next week, the temperature continued to drop sharply, with the lowest nighttime temperature reaching minus thirty degrees Celsius.
The daily average wind speed was force eight, with howling winds and surging waves. It snowed every night. The snowflakes were very small, like mung beans, but they fell densely. If a traffic police officer stood at an intersection without moving, they would turn into a snowman in half an hour.
No major incidents occurred in the cities, but minor issues were constant. Jiang Ye was bogged down with daily affairs from morning till night. Fortunately, most matters could be handled by remote command, so he spent most of his time at home, enjoying the air conditioning.
Finally, on the night before the deadline, Jiang Ye had accumulated enough money for 300,000 shares and sent it to Xu Yan.
Xu Yan: "Received. I'll buy them for you immediately."
Five minutes later, a flood of messages poured into Jiang Ye's phone, vibrating intensely.
Xu Yan: "The 300,000 shares have been registered under your name. The stock price has dropped slightly recently. The remaining thirty million yuan will be returned to you."
Xu Yan: "According to the evaluation of Termite Real Estate Group, you are eligible to attend the annual shareholders' meeting. You are cordially invited to participate."
Xu Yan: "The annual shareholders' meeting is held once a year at the Termite Real Estate headquarters city on Jiedian Star. The meeting will report the group's performance over the past year and its development plans for the coming year. Shareholders can ask questions to the group representatives and submit proposals."
Xu Yan: "Please fill in your departure location. Termite Real Estate Group will dispatch a spaceship to pick you up."
Jiang Ye provided the coordinates of the hot spring area.
Xu Yan: "The spaceship is scheduled to arrive at your location tomorrow night at precisely 11:00 PM. Please board on time."
Jiang Ye: "Damn, I'm so excited! Can you just send me directly to Basong City? I don't want to go to that damn shareholders' meeting."
Xu Yan: "No, you must check in at the shareholders' meeting first. Otherwise, the police might arrest you on suspicion of suspicious foreign activity, and it could take a week. Once released, you'll have to return."
Jiang Ye: "How do I get to Basong City from the meeting location? How long will it take? I'm really in a hurry!"
Xu Yan was silent for several minutes.
Jiang Ye thought she didn't want to answer the question, as it wasn't part of her job.
Just as he was about to type an apology, another message arrived.
Xu Yan: "I've booked you a ticket for the intercity train directly to Basong City. We should arrive at Jiedian Star around 8:00 AM. The shareholders' meeting starts at 10:00 AM. You can listen for a few minutes, then slip out the back door of the venue. Then, head straight to the train station. The train departs at 10:20 AM, and you'll reach Basong City by 11:30 AM."
Jiang Ye was deeply moved. "Thank you so much, President Xu! How much is the ticket? I'll transfer the money to you."
Xu Yan: "Oh, it's just a ticket, not much money."
Jiang Ye transferred one million yuan to her. Immediately after, she returned nine hundred and ninety thousand yuan. It seemed the ticket was quite expensive at ten thousand yuan.
Xu Yan: "You can bring fifteen kilograms of luggage. No flammable or explosive items, and no weapons. Even nail clippers are not allowed. The checks are very strict. If you are caught with anything, you won't be able to make this trip."
Jiang Ye: "Understood!"
Xu Yan: "Alright, pack your bags, get some rest, I'm going to sleep."
After closing the chat with Xu Yan, Jiang Ye stood up excitedly and jumped up and down.
He didn't understand why he was jumping around like a monkey, but he just had to. He jumped for three minutes before stopping, panting.
His entire face was burning. Jiang Ye rushed to the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face to calm himself down.
He could see Cen Yemeng. What gift should he bring her?
This planet was too poor; there was nothing good. Even the largest coastal city didn't have any proper shops.
Since he couldn't buy her a good gift, perhaps he could bring her some local specialties.
But what specialties did this godforsaken planet have?
Jiang Ye leaned on the sink, looked at himself in the mirror for a moment, then suddenly turned and went downstairs.
He went to the underground garage, got into the base vehicle, and bought a Polaroid camera.
There wasn't much good here, but the colony was a completely unfamiliar place to her, and she might be curious. So, he would take some photos for her to see.
Jiang Ye first took his camera and took many pictures around his house. Over forty photos were printed.
After photographing his house, he drove to various cities to photograph the night scenery on the streets.
Jiang Ye didn't sleep all night, wandering the streets like a ghost, photographing anything he saw. He took two kilograms of photos in one go.
Normally, he would be as tired as a dead pig if he stayed up all night, but this time he was surprisingly not tired, just a little weary. At six in the morning, Jiang Ye quickly ate breakfast at the restaurant and then grabbed his camera to take more photos on the street.
He spent the entire day taking pictures, taking a full five kilograms of photos, and even burning out two cameras.
Snow oil grass grew by the roadside. Jiang Ye dug up two plants by the roots and took them away in glass bottles. This stuff should be considered a specialty.
Finally, night fell.
Seven o'clock, eight o'clock, nine o'clock, ten o'clock...
Jiang Ye craned his neck, waiting for the spaceship to arrive. He shivered in the cold wind, freezing like an idiot, but his smile was brilliant.