10: The value of scrap iron

"Clink... clink... clang..."

A crude pickaxe struck the hard rock wall, sending up a few insignificant sparks.

Chen Feng's movements appeared steady, but only he knew that every swing of his arm triggered a faint, needle-like pain lingering in his nerve endings.

He looked at his "results" for the afternoon—a small pile of low-grade ore of meager value—and his brow furrowed imperceptibly.

"At this rate, let alone accumulating resources," he calculated coldly in his mind, "I'll barely be able to deal with Bachm, and there's no way I'll have a chance to get to the C-13 Mining Area."

Bachm, that greedy hyena, needed the excess output brought by a "rich vein," not a Mine Slave with efficiency only slightly higher than an average person. He had to demonstrate a higher, extraordinary value—a type of strength that could be "understood."

A bold plan flashed through his mind.

Repair a robot.

This would perfectly explain any explosive mining efficiency that might appear in the future, while also packaging himself as a "technical talent" rather than just a "lucky Mine Slave."

Technical talents always need special "working environments," don't they? For example, going to the scrap yard to find parts, or... going to an abandoned mine for "prospecting."

The risk lay in the fact that this would turn him from a hidden "variable" into a focal point under the spotlight.

"But right now, I need that spotlight," Chen Feng made his decision... "Lord Overseer."

In Bachm's office, Chen Feng stood respectfully, his face wearing a perfectly measured expression of anxiety and urgency.

"What is it?" Bachm leaned back in his wide chair, not even bothering to lift his eyelids, his tone dripping with impatience.

"My Lord, regarding that... ore vein." Chen Feng's voice was very low, as if he were speaking of some monumental secret. "I tried digging nearby today, but the efficiency is too low. The rock layers there are much harder than I imagined; relying on manpower alone, I'm afraid it won't be excavated even in a year."

"So?" Bachm finally opened his eyes, a hint of mockery appearing on his fat face. "Do you want me to send an engineering team for you?"

"No, I wouldn't dare!" Chen Feng immediately shook his head. "I just feel that if there were a mining robot, the efficiency would be much higher. Moreover... I suspect the main vein is buried, and stronger tools for geological prospecting are needed to find its exact location."

He paused for a moment, observing Bachm's expression.

"Lord Overseer, I... before I was sent here, I was an apprentice at a machinery factory in my hometown." Chen Feng cautiously threw out the explanation he had prepared long ago. "If... if you could allow me to enter the scrap yard, I might be able to try and repair an old robot."

Bachm narrowed his small eyes and did not answer immediately.

Chen Feng immediately added, "I don't dare ask for any reward! As long as it can be fixed, it will be your private property! Every piece of ore it digs out will also belong entirely to you! I just... want to find that gold mountain for you faster!"

Every word of this speech struck precisely at Bachm's greed.

A slave who understood technology, repairing a powerful tool for him for free, with all the tool's future output belonging to him. Was there any better deal in the world?

"The scrap yard..." Bachm rubbed his several chins and smiled. "Fine. I'll have a Guard 'accompany' you. Take whatever you need from there."

"Thank you, Lord Overseer!" Chen Feng bowed deeply, his eyes flashing with "gratitude" and "fanaticism"... The scrap yard of Mining Area No. 7 was a massive mechanical graveyard.

Rusty tracks, broken mechanical arms, transport vehicles stripped down to their skeletons... countless piles of scrap metal rose like mountains, and the air was thick with the pungent smell of engine oil, rust, and despair.

Chen Feng walked through this steel jungle, "accompanied" by two Guards.

"Kid, do you really think this junk can still move?" one Guard sneered.

"There's no harm in trying, sir," Chen Feng replied flawlessly.

He didn't immediately seek help from the system, as that would consume his already meager credit limit. Instead, he relied on the basic mechanical engineering knowledge he had accumulated through his vast learning as a business genius to conduct a preliminary screening.

His gaze swept over the wrecks while his mind worked at high speed.

"This one, the hydraulic system is completely trashed... no good."

"That one, the main control chip was violently removed... beyond saving."

While putting on a show of tapping and checking things, he thought silently: "System, scan the nearby mechanical wreckage and filter for models with an intact core engine and power interface damage of less than 30%."

[Task received... Scanning...]

[Filtering complete. Eligible targets have been highlighted in your field of vision.]

Chen Feng's gaze "accidentally" fell upon a massive object in the distance, buried under a pile of parts with only a section of track exposed.

"This is the one."

He walked over and began clearing the scrap metal pressing down on it with his bare hands.

"Hey, what are you doing?" the Guard asked impatiently.

"Sir, I think there's something good under here."

Just as Chen Feng moved a twisted steel plate, a palm-sized, rusty-red mutant cockroach suddenly scurried out of the gap and lunged at the nearest Guard.

"Ah—!"

The burly Guard let out a scream, stumbling back in fright. His shout seemed to have stirred a hornet's nest, as more rust cockroaches swarmed out from the darkness.

"Damn it! Let's go!" The other Guard panicked as well.

Chen Feng, however, remained exceptionally calm. He quickly grabbed a thick iron plate nearby, aimed at the hole where the cockroaches were swarming, and slammed it down, sealing the opening tight.

The screeching sounds were cut off behind the iron plate.

The two Guards stared at him, dumbfounded. This thin Mine Slave hadn't even blinked in the face of these mutated creatures that even they found disgusting.

Involuntarily, a hint of awe appeared in their eyes.

Ignoring them, Chen Feng continued clearing the debris. Soon, a mining robot half-buried in the trash was fully revealed.

It was an old model—a pioneer-3 model. One mechanical arm was broken, but the other was relatively intact. Most importantly, its core engine bay was protected by heavy armor and didn't appear to have sustained fatal damage.

"This is it!" Chen Feng announced.

Under the skeptical gazes of the Guards, Chen Feng was permitted to drag this crippled giant back to the open space in front of his dormitory.

During the day, under everyone's watchful eyes, he hammered away, removing damaged parts and installing things he found in the scrap yard that looked usable, appearing entirely like he was performing crude, amateur repairs.

When night fell and he closed his door, the entire mining area sank into silence.

Chen Feng commanded the system in his mind: "Exchange for the 'Universal Welding Tool,' use the credit limit."

[Exchange successful. Remaining credit limit: 0.5.]

A uniquely shaped tool appeared in his hand. He stepped outside and, under the cover of night, performed precise molecular-level repairs and modifications on the robot's damaged power interface.

The following afternoon.

Under the curious, jealous, or mocking gazes of the Mine Slaves throughout the mining area, Chen Feng opened the robot's power bay.

He took a deep breath and solemnly placed one of his last two high-purity Energy Blocks inside.

"Hummm—"

A low hum of electrical current sounded.

The robot showed no reaction.

"Hahaha, I told you, scrap metal is just scrap metal!"

"A waste of effort!"

Irrepressible laughter broke out in the surroundings.

Chen Feng ignored them. His fingers tapped rapidly on the control panel, inputting a long-forgotten startup sequence he had obtained from the system.

"Vroom—"

Accompanied by a violent roar and a blast of air, a cloud of white steam erupted from the heat vents on the chest of the steel beast that everyone had dismissed as junk.

Its heavy metal head slowly lifted, and the long-dormant red optical sensors flickered back to life after being silent for who knows how many years.

The laughter throughout the mining area came to an abrupt halt.

Everyone stopped their work, watching in shock and disbelief as that steel creation slowly... stood up under the glow of the setting sun.