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Chapter 346: The Cicada Shedding Its Carapace

Common items: 426 mining robots, 51 cleaning robots, 25 semi-intelligent service robots, 12 mineral survey robots, 107 multifunctional integrated communication hubs, 2 omni-flavor automated ice cream machines, 1 gourmet food processor unit, 9 semi-intelligent office integration hubs, 1 human multi-resonance scanner, 3 low-capacity spatial rings, 1 routine supply drop, 4 weapons of the Star River rank or below, 3105 miscellaneous items used in the daily life of the ancient civilization.

High-value or rare items: 1 small artificial AI robot, 1 Titan-class super-pulse laser cannon blueprint, 473 tons of Purple Hearts of Spirit.

These were the whole of Xia Fei’s loot. Their total value was naturally uncountable. If Xia Fei wanted, he could trade these for a large number of items which would be useful to him, but the main problem Xia Fei was facing was how to leave with this giant warehouse’s worth of goods.

It clearly was not plausible to wait for reinforcements to arrive. Putting aside how long it would take for the reinforcements to get here, these rather valuable items, if discovered, would undoubtedly draw the desire of others. Xia Fei understood the principle that the rich did not flaunt their wealth. The only other option was to find a path leading to the outside world and then sneak out when no one was watching, pretending that he had never been here before.

Pod helped Xia Fei obtain an architectural floor plan for the mining control center, and Xia Fei quickly looked it over.

“How is it? Did you find a way out?” Phantom asked.

Xia Fei shook his head. “This control center has a few tunnels linking it to the city, but these are all dead-ends now. After all, this place is a semi-militarized closed-off base. None of the passages can directly lead outside.”

“What do we do then? Guard this mountain of gold but unable to move it away? Can we only just worry helplessly?” Phantom asked in frustration.

Xia Fei glanced at those orderly ranks of mining robots and suddenly had an idea.

“Pod, can we still use these mining robots?”

“Yes. Because there’s no work to do, they’ve automatically shut off their power systems. As long as their power systems are reactivated, they can be brought back online.”

Phantom understood. “You plan to reactivate these robots and have them dig a tunnel to the outside world?”

Xia Fei nodded. “From here, we can gain access to a mine shaft where they used to mine Purple Hearts of Spirit a long time ago. These robots excel at mining, and with several hundreds of them working together, they should be able to very quickly open a new path. Plus, with their help, we won’t need to worry about moving these Purple Hearts of Spirit.”

The several hundred mining robots swiftly began moving. Just like humans, they took up various tools and began digging upward along a former mineshaft.

In order to avoid being found out, Xia Fei moved the end of the tunnel to five hundred kilometers away. This would allow him to get away with these treasures without being discovered.

Though the Alliance had a law that the first to discover and enter ruins could obtain a portion of the items found, Xia Fei did not think that this was enough. Since he was going to take some, he would rather take them all; there was no reason to give what he had found to others. Moreover, Xia Fei had no desire to let the entire world know that he had a large amount of Purple Hearts of Spirit. This would only make people envious and attract trouble.

He did not need the tunnel to be very wide, so the mining robots worked very quickly. Xia Fei went into the tunnel to supervise the work of the mining robots.

In truth, this was unnecessary. These robots were top-class miners built by the ancient civilization, and the quality of their tunnels was much better than what humans could create. Every inch of the tunnel was supported by an alloy framework, so stable that not even a magnitude ten earthquake would be able to do anything to it.The survey robots inspected where the crust was the sturdiest, where the excavation would not be too difficult—all of this to the benefit of the mining robots.

Xia Fei was very satisfied with their performance. In the future, once he obtained that ore-rich territory in the Death Tri-region, he could use them as miners that would excavate the crust for precious ore.

Of course, these high-level robots did not need to be used as solely miners. If they were made safety instructors or technical instructors in a mining company, they would be able to exhibit their advantages to an even greater extent.

Several work robots of various types were several hundred of the most responsible foreman, engineers, and safety specialists. Without spending a cent, Xia Fei had essentially hired the cream of the crop of the mining industry. With such extravagant staff, it was completely possible to set up a large mining company. After all, the robots had the right experience, attitude, and technology. It was not even possible to hire such high-level specialists.

“These robots are truly efficient. It’s truly a great loss that the Alliance has placed a complete ban on robot technology,” Phantom sighed.

Xia Fei nodded. “Implanting the experience and technology humanity has accumulated over numerous years into the robots with their metallic shells and ability to work without rest is naturally better than having a human learn everything anew. The Alliance’s decisions aren’t something we can influence. They’re worried that the robots will rebel again, but I’m not frightened.”

“Unfortunately, once the people of the Alliance discover these robots, they’ll definitely take them for dismantling,” Phantom dejectedly said.

Pod almost broke into tears upon hearing this. “Pod isn’t a bad robot. Pod protects humans, loves humans. Don’t dismantle Pod.”

Xia Fei smiled. “Relax. I’m here. No one can even think about harming a hair on your head.”

After thirty-six hours, a tunnel from the underwater mining base to the outside was finally completed.

“How much farther until the seabed?” Xia Fei asked.

“Around fifteen meters,” a survey robot answered.

Once the tunnel was opened, large amounts of sea water would pour in, so Xia Fei had to get ready beforehand.

The power system maintaining the base was still operational. Xia Fei found several military grenades and planted them at critical parts of the power system, and then he installed a remote operation device.

The mining robots dug another tunnel diagonally, making a large room beneath the water. Once Xia Fei had moved all the items into this room, he began his ‘cicada shedding its carapace’ plan.

Sea water rushed inside. Xia Fei had specialized scuba gear, so he did not need to worry about suffocating. Once the water pressure had equalized, Xia Fei rushed out of the tunnel and arrived on the sea surface more than seven hundred kilometers from the ancient ruins.

As it had been necessary to avoid fragile parts of the crust while digging out the tunnel, he emerged from the water more than two hundred kilometers from where he initially planned, but the farther from the ruins he was, the less likely he was to be found out and the safer it was. This could not be considered a bad thing.

The robots and the items did not come with Xia Fei. They hid in that underground room, which had been excavated, to await Xia Fei’s return with the Impaler. After all, boldly emerging out onto shore with a large number of robots was not a wise decision.

The detonation of the energy shield system set off a chain of tectonic shifts after. Even from several hundred kilometers away, Xia Fei could still feel the vibrations.

The signs of activity in the ruins had been wiped out, including the fact that he had secretly made a tunnel which he had used to escape. Xia Fei had furtively delved into the ancient civilization ruins and absconded with its precious treasures unseen.

...

Swallow Island.

Xia Fei found a deserted area to come ashore. After changing into normal training clothes, he boldly returned to the hotel.

It was dusk, and Bean, Hammer, and his pack of brothers were avidly chatting with one another. The moment they saw Xia Fei, they rushed over to his side.

“Big bro Xia Fei, where have you been these last few days?” Something big happened on Thousand Island Planet!” Bean said in a sensationalized tone.

Xia Fei smiled and feigned surprise. “I suddenly had an inspiration, so I went to the mountains to cultivate. What happened?”

“Some ancient ruins were found on Thousand Island Planet!” Hammer said, trying to keep his voice down.

“The Adjudicators, Monastics, and other organizations have gotten into a huge brawl over the ruins. I heard that they had all attacked one another, and the casualties exceeded one hundred!

“Apparently, there was a school of massive eels in the deepsea trench leading to the ruins. Some wretch got the rotten idea of bringing over two cruisers to fire upon the eels, but all this did was cause the sides of the trench to collapse, burying the ruins.”

“Something like that actually happened? Is there any good news?” Xia Fei asked, feigning concern.

The glasses-wearing Mosquito calmly said, “Excavating ancient ruins is no small task, and caution is required. At present, the various large organizations have reached a temporary agreement to use the most advanced underwater equipment to excavate the ruins. It won’t be long until the newly discovered ruins see the light of day once more.”

The crafty Monkey slapped Mosquito on his nape. “Utter nonsense! Big bro Xia Fei, let me tell you the most recent news; while those ruins might be buried, the energy reactor was still working, but around two hours ago, the reactor exploded, blowing the already damaged ruins to bits.

“There’s little worth in excavating ruins like that. After all, the deeper the ruins, the more money has to be put into excavating them. If one finds nothing, they’ll probably go bankrupt, and if they do find something good, they must surrender some of it to the Alliance government. Thus, the large organizations have all lost hearts and withdrawn from the excavation work, leaving the ruins to the Alliance government.”

Xia Fei very dejectedly shook his head. “Ah, such good ruins were done for just like that? What a pity.”

Everyone agreed, cursing at that fellow who had impulsively used weapons and caused the destruction of the ruins.

Xia Fei was secretly delighted. ‘This is great! Nobody knows that everything good in the ruins has already become mine.’

While listening to these brothers speculate on the ruins and after having three rounds of drinks, Xia Fei changed the topic, asking, “I recall that today was the first day of the super auction. I wonder if there’s anything good?”

There was no wrong answer.