In the end of the ice age, I hoarded tens of billions of supplies

Chapter 2581 Death Star 1

Exploration on Mars is far more complicated than they imagined.

The surface appears to be a vast expanse of red sand, but once you drill down, you discover that the geological layers here are extremely inconsistent.

In some places, it is loose sedimentary rock; in others, it is a hard plate like igneous rock; and in still others, it is like glass that has been instantly solidified by high temperature.

This indicates that there was once extreme geological activity here.

As for disregarding everything and directly bringing a large area of ​​mining areas into the alternate dimension, that is obviously impossible.

Because a round trip to Mars takes two months, Zhang Yi must make the most of his extradimensional space.

Therefore, it is essential to accurately locate rich mineral deposits, rather than indiscriminately collecting them.

Moreover, given the suspicion that ancient civilizations exist on Mars, they dare not excavate too recklessly.

Zhang Yi instructed the exploration team to pay attention to any traces of human activity, especially regarding Freeman's team.

Looking at the geological profile, Yang Xinxin couldn't help but exclaim, "This planet definitely once had life, it was once teeming with life, and for a very long time."

Fortunately, the mechanical legion that Zhang Yi brought soon came in handy.

The mechanical lifeforms responsible for engineering construction and combat on Earth were reprogrammed to adapt to the Martian environment. They were also equipped with dust filters and low-pressure resistance systems. One by one, they drove their tracks like a swarm of giant metal beetles into the depths of the canyon.

Their work efficiency is extremely high.

They don't need oxygen, they don't need to sleep, and they don't complain about the strong winds on Mars; they just drill wherever there are mineral veins.

Standing on a makeshift command platform, Zhang Yi looked at the constantly flashing coordinates on the ground and was actually in a pretty good mood.

"The iron ore reserves are unbelievably large."

He tossed a data sheet to Lu Keran, "If we brought this back to Earth, a single refinement would be enough for fifty years of industrial expansion!"

"The key is that it doesn't cost much."

Lu Keran's eyes lit up too, "No need to compete with alien races for resources, and no need to worry about transport lines being intercepted. It's truly a perfect mining planet!"

"pity,"

Zhang Yi then changed the subject, saying, "What I really want is nowhere to be found."

What he wanted was not ordinary iron ore, not silicon, not aluminum, and not titanium.

What he wanted were the rare elements essential for the advanced technologies of the Ehen race—high-density energy-conducting metals, superconducting lattice core materials, and energy memory materials.

Especially the kind of energy-locking metal that can contain the energy of an antimatter bomb and prevent it from leaking prematurely.

There are hardly any of those left on Earth; they're mostly held by ancient civilizations.

Earth's energy structure is very similar to an old movie called "The Platform".

It's about a vertical prison where elevators lower a large table of food down layer by layer.

Therefore, the further along the prisoner went, the worse the food became.

Similarly, the most precious resources on Earth have already been almost completely exploited by the previous five generations.

All that was left for them were the lowest grade of fossil fuels.

Lu Keran lay on the control panel, accessing the mechanical legion's report log, her expression somewhat troubled.

"The shallow outer layers have been scanned, and they are basically iron, nickel, a small amount of cobalt, and some weathered water-bearing minerals."

"That's impossible! There aren't that many signs of mining on Mars. Could our previous assessment have been wrong?"

She looked at Zhang Yi and asked, "How about we drill a little deeper?"

Zhang Yi thought for a moment and nodded: "Dig deeper, especially in places where the energy reaction is unstable."

"If Mars had ancient civilizations like Earth, their artifacts must be buried deep inside."

"The shallow ones have long been eroded by wind and sand."

As a result, more than a dozen heavy mechanical lifeforms simultaneously submerged.

They resemble a group of metallic vines taking root inside Mars, carrying probes and cutters, drilling down into the canyon's strata.

That's the good thing about mechanical lifeforms; they can operate normally even when they're deep underground, at depths of 10,000 meters.

Less than two hours later, the first news that came back was not about the rare metal, but a scene that silenced everyone.

"Abnormal substances detected."

The engineering-type mechanical lifeform provided feedback, and Zhang Yi and the others immediately looked over.

The scene depicts a dark, bluish underground space.

There was no naturally formed cave curvature there, but rather a very neat triangular slope.

It appeared to be some kind of metal, dark purple, smooth and flat.

The metal surface also has regular patterns, resembling an ancient energy channel.

When Zhang Yi saw it, he felt a strange sense of familiarity, as if he had seen it somewhere before.

"Report: We have confirmed that we have unearthed a man-made structure, which is 100% not naturally formed."

The mechanical lifeform's voice was cold, yet it was also lowered slightly.

"The shape is suspected to be a cone structure, and the material is a high-density metal alloy, which does not match the known natural metal materials of Earth."

Zhang Yi's eyes lit up immediately, and he perked up instantly.

However, he didn't rush over. Instead, he cautiously said, "Don't touch it! And immediately conduct a survey within a ten-kilometer radius to check for any signs of life!"

He had to make sure there was no danger around.

"Roger that!"

The engineering machinery quickly began digging and exploring the surrounding area.

It was half an hour later that Zhang Yi received a clear response.

"No traces of life were found in the rock strata."

"Aren't there any microorganisms either?"

“There are no cells that constitute life.”

Zhang Yi breathed a sigh of relief. "It seems this planet is really close to becoming a dead star!"

Because once life forms exist here, even if they deliberately hide, they cannot make all the microorganisms in the soil disappear.

That would be an act that destroys the life of the entire planet; no one would dig their own grave.

Zhang Yi also began to wonder: Could it be that Mars is really dead?

But how did Elon Freeman and his team disappear?

Despite these doubts, Zhang Yi still decided to go and take a look at the man-made metal object.

Zhang Yi left Fatty Xu, Uncle You, and others outside to continue overseeing the exploration team's work.

He then led Lu Keran, Yang Xinxin, and the others, directly down the excavated passage.

Inside the passage, you can still see rock layers cut open by intense heat, with the edges showing a molten, dark brown color, indicating that the mechanical legion used extremely high power to create this opening.

About seven or eight kilometers down, across the distance between two spatial traversals, a huge cavity suddenly appeared before us.

When Zhang Yi finally saw the neat and ornate purple structure clearly, his eyes widened involuntarily.

It was a pyramid, a purple pyramid.