604: Chapter 599 Found

One team member developed severe altitude sickness.

His lips turned purple.

He had difficulty breathing.

"Suture Needle" immediately carried him into the medical pod.

To undergo hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Shen Yan looked at the blank space on the screen.

There was no expression on his face.

He opened the shanhe system.

He input all the most authentic geological data just acquired.

A massive stream of data flooded into the cloud server.

Starting a new round of calculations.

"Rest in place."

He issued the command.

The team members returned to the vehicles.

The atmosphere was somewhat oppressive.

Only Shen Yan remained.

He sat before the computer.

Watching the rapidly scrolling code on the screen.

And the geological model that was constantly self-correcting.

The "shanhe system" was learning.

It was evolving.

Twelve hours later.

Early morning.

The sun had just risen.

The shanhe system's calculations concluded.

A new 3D model appeared on the screen.

The core area of the model was marked in deep red.

That was not their current location.

But rather one hundred and twenty kilometers to the northwest.

A massive, circular valley.

A system notification sounded.

"Surface strong magnetic field interference source, excluded."

"Deep-level gravity anomaly model, correction complete."

"Target locked."

"Probability of a super-giant copper deposit: ninety-one percent."

Shen Yan closed the computer.

He stepped out of the snow leopard no. 6.

The morning sun cast his shadow long.

"All personnel, assemble."

His voice wasn't loud.

But it pierced through the cold morning air.

The team members quickly gathered.

Their faces were filled with questions.

Shen Yan pointed to the northwest.

"Our destination is there."

Day fifteen.

The convoy drove into that circular valley.

This place was like a corner forgotten by the world.

Massive rocks took on eerie shapes.

Looking like the skeletons of giants.

Dr. Li's expression grew increasingly solemn.

The vehicle-mounted geological detector emitted a sharp screech.

The needle swung frantically at its maximum value.

"The magnetic field strength here... is fifty times that of the outside."

"This isn't normal."

"There's definitely something down there."

The convoy stopped in the center of the valley.

On a relatively flat patch of open ground.

This time.

They didn't use radar.

Instead, they directly started the core drill.

The massive drill bit began to rotate.

Accompanied by a piercing grinding sound.

Drilling into the hard permafrost and rock layers.

One meter.

Ten meters.

Fifty meters.

Progress was very slow.

The hardness of the rock exceeded expectations.

Every meter drilled consumed a massive amount of energy.

The portable energy core was at full power.

Time passed minute by minute.

Everyone's heart was in their throat.

When the drill bit reached eighty-three meters underground.

Suddenly.

The drill made a 'clack' sound.

And stopped.

"Wrench" immediately checked the data.

"Drill bit overheating, overload protection activated."

"It seems we've hit some kind of metal down there."

Hope and disappointment surged into their hearts simultaneously.

"Detonator."

Shen Yan spoke.

The demolition expert stepped forward.

"Use miniature directional shaped-charge explosives."

"Clear the borehole."

"Detonator" nodded.

He took out a metal cylinder.

Carefully, he lowered it down the borehole.

Everyone, fall back three hundred meters.

Hum—

A dull thud came from underground.

The ground trembled slightly.

Dr. Li was the first to rush back.

He lay prone by the edge of the borehole.

Using a high-intensity flashlight to shine inside.

His breathing stopped instantly.

He saw it.

At the end of the borehole.

Reflecting the light of the flashlight.

Was metal.

A type of metal with a dark red luster.

It was copper.

Extremely high purity, almost natural crystalline copper.

Dr. Li looked up.

He looked at Shen Yan.

His lips were trembling.

He wanted to say something.

But he couldn't utter a single word.

Shen Yan just looked at him calmly.

He took out a satellite phone.

Connected to an encrypted channel.

On the other end of the phone was Elder Zhou's voice.

"Speak."

Shen Yan glanced deep into the borehole.

At that shade of dark red, enough to drive the world mad.

"Elder Zhou."

"We found it."

The other end of the line fell into dead silence.

Shen Yan didn't speak.

He just held the phone.

Waiting quietly.

Three seconds.

Felt like thirty years.

Elder Zhou's voice sounded again.

Carrying a trace of imperceptible trembling.

"Say that again."

"We found it."

Shen Yan's tone didn't change.

Calm.

Objective.

As if stating a simple fact.

A heavy breath came from the other end of the phone.

Then.

Three words.

"Good, good, good."

Each word was heavier than the last.

Like three giant stones falling into the deep pool of history.

"Handle it properly."

"No, mine it properly."

"At all costs."

Elder Zhou hung up the phone.

He sat in his chair.

His body didn't move.

He looked at the map of the Xilikoko no-man's land on his desk.

That white region marked as a "forbidden zone for life."

For decades.

Countless survey teams had gone in.

Not one had ever brought back good news.

His own teacher had fallen on that permafrost.

He thought that secret would have to wait for the next generation, or even the one after that, to be uncovered.

He hadn't expected.

The answer to come so quickly.

So suddenly.

He picked up that red secure phone.

Dialed a number.

"It's me."

"Xilikoko."

"It's been found."

"A young man named Shen Yan."

Zangqing Plateau.

The circular valley.

Shen Yan put down the satellite phone.

He turned to look at his team.

Dr. Li was still lying by the borehole.

He used his hand to gently touch the tiny bit of dark red powder brought up from the hole.

As if treating a rare treasure.

The rest of the team gathered around.

On their faces was shock.

Ecstasy.

Disbelief.

After drifting in the forbidden zone for life for fifteen days.

All the fatigue, all the hardships.

In this moment.

All vanished into thin air.

Shen Yan's voice broke through the excitement.

"The work has only just begun."

Everyone immediately returned to their posts.

Ecstasy was replaced by professional composure.

They weren't here to hunt for treasure.

They were here to complete a mission.

Finding it was only the first step.

The first stage of the mission was a range survey.

Dr. Li stood up.

He wiped the powder from his hands.

"We need to perform a geological matrix scan of the entire valley."

"Traditional radar will be completely shielded by the strong magnetic field here."

"I need to activate the 'Earth Vein Piercer' array."

"Earth Vein Piercer."

Twelve silver metal cylinders.

Each was one meter tall.

It took two people to move one.

This was the bottom-of-the-trunk equipment Dr. Li had brought.

There were only three sets in the entire country.

The cost of each set was an astronomical figure.

The team split into six groups.

Each group was responsible for two 'Earth Vein Piercers.'

They donned their Exoskeleton systems.

Transporting the heavy equipment to different locations in the valley.

According to the optimal points planned by the shanhe system.

Setting up a perfect hexagonal array.

This process was extremely difficult.