The Asteroid Belt Mining Zone near Planet KQ-03 wasn't known for high-grade mineral veins, but even Low-Grade Energy Crystals were more than welcome to Wang Dong.
Especially since, in the early stages, the system actually required larger quantities of Low-Grade Energy Crystals.
Continuing deeper into the belt, thirty minutes later, the Mine Overlord Type II gradually decelerated.
"This should be deep enough."
Wang Dong estimated his current position.
Any further, and even with the piloting skills brought back from his previous life, things would get dicey.
In fact, if not for the Energy Crystals, Wang Dong wouldn't have ventured this far at all.
Valuable minerals like Energy Crystals were far more likely to be found deeper in the Asteroid Belt Mining Zone.
The outer zones had been picked clean too many times. Even if Energy Crystals had once been there, they were likely long gone.
Switching the scanner to mineral detection mode, Wang Dong patiently maneuvered the mining vessel through space.
The scanner's external antenna emitted a particle stream toward each target. Depending on the size and composition of the celestial body, the scanning process would take varying lengths of time before returning a report.
While monitoring the surrounding space for danger, Wang Dong kept the ship stable, ensuring the particle stream stayed locked on each target.
It was a technical task.
And a physically demanding one.
Not every asteroid or fragment contained mineable materials.
And among those that did, the value varied greatly depending on the mineral type.
"Something that big returning results in 32 seconds… probably junk. Yep, iron ore."
"28 seconds… ha, copper ore. Trash."
...
Muttering to oneself—one of the most common habits among interstellar miners.
The complex celestial environment within the Asteroid Belt Mining Zone made long-range communications unreliable.
In such situations, talking to oneself to relieve tension or anxiety became second nature.
Over the next hour or so, Wang Dong meticulously scanned every small celestial body in the nearby area that showed potential for mineral deposits.
The results were disappointing.
Not only were there no Energy Crystals—there weren't even any particularly valuable minerals.
But Wang Dong didn't feel discouraged at all.
That's just life as a miner.
Even in the interstellar age, it was still a tough and thankless job.
Remember that old mining song?
"One, two, three, four, five,
Mining sure is hard to survive,
Dig up nothing but copper all day,
Only five percent purity, hooray."
Not much different for space miners.
In the interstellar era, common minerals like copper and iron were practically worthless.
But they were also the most abundant.
Even if you filled your entire cargo hold with cheap ore every trip, it wouldn't bring much profit.
Mining required investment too.
Spending an hour or two just scanning was hardly a big deal.
After finishing his scan of the current area, Wang Dong nudged the eight-directional stick and shifted to a new zone.
That's when luck hit.
A new area, and the results suddenly improved.
"Eighty-five seconds… well now, that's gas ore."
...
"One hundred twelve seconds… ha! What do we have here—Dark Titanium Ore!"
Forty minutes later, Wang Dong had made some decent discoveries.
Gas ore was a solidified volatile gas and quite valuable—worth thousands of times more than copper or iron.
And Dark Titanium Ore? That was something else entirely.
After refinement, it became a silver-white metal with exceptional strength and durability—ideal for Battleship armor.
It was worth thirty times more than gas ore!
In Wang Dong's experience, aside from Energy Crystals, Dark Titanium Ore was one of the most valuable minerals in this entire Asteroid Belt Mining Zone.
Though his primary goal was still Energy Crystals, regular mineral gains were still necessary.
This Dark Titanium vein arrived at just the right time.
Skilled as ever, Wang Dong adjusted the flight posture of the Mine Overlord Type II, aligning its brunderbelly with the asteroid containing the ore.
The asteroid was over 300 meters in diameter—not particularly large, but near the upper limit of what the ship could handle.
Now came the crucial part.
Wang Dong needed to get within 100 meters of the asteroid for the Magnetic Tether system to lock onto its core.
Even a "small" asteroid had far greater mass than the Mine Overlord Type II.
At such close range, the gravitational pull between them could disrupt the ship's stability.
A collision would be disastrous.
This was, after all, deep within the asteroid belt.
Any impact could alter either body's trajectory and send them spiraling into a gravitational turbulence zone.
But Wang Dong was no amateur. This wasn't the belt's deepest zone, and his skills made this easy.
His fingers danced on the eight-directional controls, micro-adjusting the thrusters as the ship crept steadily closer to the asteroid.
Any gravitational interference affecting the ship's posture was instantly corrected by directional thrusters in real-time.
No need to calculate manually, or even check the flood of data on the Shipboard AI Core's screen—Wang Dong's reflexes handled it all smoothly.
This was instinct, honed into muscle memory.
Once the ship was aligned and in position, the underbelly of the Mine Overlord Type II opened wide.
Four large magnetic tethers launched and latched onto the asteroid, locking the ship and the target together.
This process took five minutes.
When it was done, Wang Dong released his grip on the controls slightly.
The Magnetic Tether had made the two bodies temporarily one—this was the essential first step of the mining operation.
The rest was much simpler.
Several massive Mining Drills extended from the ship's belly, targeting the precise coordinates identified earlier by the scanner.
Destructive excavation began.
There was no concern about the asteroid breaking apart, shifting, or scattering debris randomly.
The magnetic hold eliminated all of that.
The high-strength alloy Mining Drills were the most expensive components on the entire Mine Overlord Type II.
Powered by strong engines, the drills tore through the asteroid's outer shell with brute force, digging deep into its core at impressive speed.
More than five hours later, aided by the Shipboard AI Core, the Mining Drills had completed their task.
Over a hundred tons of Dark Titanium Ore now filled the ship's cargo hold.
The asteroid before him had lost one-eighth of its mass, reduced to a cluster of fragmented rocks.
Though still sizeable, all of its valuable ore had been extracted.
Wang Dong leisurely retracted the Mining Drills and then the magnetic tethers.
Then, with a push of the eight-directional stick, he quickly pulled away from the asteroid.
Minutes later, now free of magnetic restraint, the asteroid began shedding debris in all directions, and its orbit started to drift.
This triggered a few minor chain reactions in the surrounding area.
But Wang Dong was already long gone.
Such was the daily work of an interstellar miner—
Brutal and direct, yet filled with precision and caution.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。