The largest mining star in human history, Ross 128b, is 10.89 light-years away from the solar system and located on the dark side of the Beta spiral arm of Virgo.
The planet belt at night is beautiful.
One after another, the open-pit yridium mines shine with mysterious colors under the dim light.
Rose Star still hasn't fallen asleep.
Eridium ore - this lavender metal deposit, as an upgraded product of uranium 235, allowed mankind to start the era of interstellar colonization ahead of schedule.
But it also distorted order and made plutocrats rampant.
Capital controls everything.
The unequal distribution of energy has caused the city to split into an upper city and a lower city.
The same is true for Cote City.
In terms of administrative division, Cote City has nine administrative districts.
But for most people, Cote has only two districts - Upper Town and Lower Gorey.
The energy supply in the upper city is sufficient, the towering urban protective shield can almost isolate natural disasters, and the living standard is comparable to that of the home planet.
The lower city is short of energy, poorly protected, and full of crime and squalor.
Alleys full of sewage, scrapped bionic prosthetics, girls selling meat...
As for the wilderness outside the city - the organized corps left and returned seven times out of ten, worrying about ordinary people.
Only the transport workers, who are forced to make a living, have to ride floating boats to and from the mines and the city over and over again.
AD 2291.
September 16th.
The end of the twenty-third century.
In the past half month, four Cote transport ships going to and from the mine have disappeared.
This is a major case for an energy city that relies on ydium ore for its livelihood.
For this reason, the Lord of Cote City specially sent a convoy to escort the transportation.
The result was no different from before, the boat and the people all disappeared into the vast yellow sand.
For a moment, people in Cote City were panicked.
The Cote City Law Enforcement Administration was ordered to take over the case.
Four hundred and thirty kilometers northwest of Cote City...
The yellow sand is vast…
A tall man stood on the bow of a Liebherr L-shaped floating transport ship, wearing dust-proof goggles, holding a spectrometer, and holding a half-burned cigarette in his mouth.
"The sandstorm is still 14 kilometers away from the northwest. Prepare to land. Received reply, over."
"copy that, start landing, over."
The Liebherr transport ship has a dead weight of 500 tons, and its total weight when fully loaded with ore exceeds 2,000 tons.
Due to the special mineral vein structure of Ross Star, it is extremely difficult to open a road outside the city, and the cost and energy supply also prevent the possibility of fossil fuel transport.
As a result, this magnetic levitation spacecraft has become the first choice for transporting mineral veins.
There are no major shortcomings except that it moves slowly, is not high above the ground, and is easily affected by magnetic fields.
When a sandstorm comes, huge amounts of heavy gold dust will affect power output, and suspended ships can temporarily avoid the edge.
The hull landed slowly, the captain went to the storage room to check the ore situation, and the crew members gradually came from the cockpit to the living cabin to enjoy a short leisure time.
A bearded middle-aged man handed a bottle of cold beer to the observer who came in from outside the cabin.
"Mr. Chen Mo, what did you find?"
Chen Mo took the beer and shook his head.
Big Beard is the first mate of the transport ship and the liaison with Chen Mo this time.
No one but him knew the true identity of the new observer.
Seeing Chen Mo shaking his head, the first mate breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's nothing better than anything..."
"boom!!"
Before he finished speaking, the port side of the transport ship was hit, and the hull of more than 2,000 tons was forcibly tilted at an angle of 45 degrees.
During the impact, everyone in the living cabin was thrown to the side of the cabin.
After the explosion, the hull rocked back, and the crew members who had just climbed up fell back again.
Everyone was confused, but Chen Mo grabbed the railing and stood up steadily.
The sky is filled with dust outside the boat.
Fires were everywhere.
After two gunshots, shrill screams came from the warehouse.
Then the transport ship fell into silence again.
When everyone stood up, Chen Mo had already sat in the captain's seat and turned on the warehouse surveillance.
In the middle of the screen, a ferocious creature covered in black bone armor was eating the captain's body on the ground. Sensing prying eyes, he slapped the camera to pieces with his backhand.
Facing the screen filled with snowflakes, the muffled sound of human bones being chewed came to my ears, and everyone in the cabin turned pale.
"The levitator of the main engine has been displaced, and now the spacecraft cannot move a step."
Chen Mo called out the damage to the hull and faced everyone.
"If no one checks it, it will be our turn once the Root [Note 1] finishes eating the captain's body... By the way, the Root below seems to be a mutant, and it can't be killed without heavy armor-piercing bullets.
"
The faces of everyone in the living cabin became increasingly ugly.
"The highest-ranking person in the world right now is the first mate." Chen Mo looked at the bearded man and asked, "What should we do next?"
The bearded man thought for a moment and took down the daily lucky box from the wall.
"According to the old rules, if you draw a red card, you will come out automatically."
Everyone looked at each other.
"No one objects, so that's the acquiescence." The first mate put the lucky box on the operating table: "According to probability... it should be that the earlier you draw, the smaller the chance of encountering red, right? Who comes first?"
No one answered for a long while.
"Let me do it."
Chen Mo took two steps forward and took out a paper card from the box.
blue.
The first mate nodded and motioned for the next person.
One person drew cards after another, and after three blue cards in a row, the one he met was a big man with rosacea and a bumpy face.
Chen Mo recognized him. This big man was the leader of the ship's transport workers and had some prestige.
The big man's expression changed slightly when he got the red card. He squinted at Chen Mo, then glanced around at everyone around him, then turned to the first mate and said, "I think... we have elected a new captain."
"What?" The first mate didn't respond for a moment.
"I got the red card, I'm the new captain, right?" The big man flashed the dagger on his waist, and several transport workers also gathered around him.
No one said that after getting the red card, you should repair the engine. The big man took advantage of the opportunity and played a word game.
The first mate looked at Chen Mo as if asking for help and found that Chen Mo ignored him at all and was busy studying the operating panel of the suspended ship.
The first mate had no choice but to bite the bullet and reply: "Yes, you are the new captain."
"Then please invite the observer to take a walk around the engine room." The big man smiled at Chen Mo, who was sitting firmly in the captain's seat.
Chen Mo, who had just finished browsing the hull structure diagram, closed the operation interface. Without saying a word, he stood up and smashed the fire emergency box next to him with his elbow, then took out the cold fire ax and carried it on his shoulder.
The big man took a step back.
"The 45*45 ventilation duct is too narrow and I can't get in. I need someone to climb from the ventilation duct to the power cabin to repair the engine. I will be responsible for attracting Root's attention." Chen Mo observed the ventilation duct above his head.
The big man took a look at Chen Mo's looming muscles under his coat, and involuntarily pushed the rickety stationed mechanic out: "Let this old guy help you."
Chen Mo glanced at the old mechanic.
"Can you repair the engine?"
"able."
"How long will it take to fix it?"
"I don't know... As long as the core is not damaged, it can be repaired in two hours."
"The engine is just displaced and can be easily repaired. The main problem is that the electrical board of the secondary thruster is burned out. How long will it take to repair it?"
The mechanic looked up at Chen Mo and pondered for a long time.
"One hour."
"In this case, I'll go to the storage room to check the situation first, and then you can go up the ventilation duct after making sure it's safe."
The old mechanic nodded gratefully.
Chen Mo said no more, unscrewed the isolation door leading to the storage room, and walked down the spiral staircase with a fire ax.
Several transporters hurriedly locked the door of the warehouse.
Listening to the sound of the latch being seated, Chen Mo's face turned cold.
He held the fire ax and walked down the spiral staircase, but did not find Root.
Many circuits were broken, and the lights flickered dimly.
The remains of the limbs minced by Root's mouthparts were mixed with plasma and fat, and the ground was covered with minced meat.
Chen Mo suppressed his nausea, covered his mouth and nose and continued to move forward.
The storage room soon reached the end, and behind the hatch was the power room.
A shadow slowly emerged behind him.
The shadow was stretched extremely long by the light, giving Chen Mo enough time to react.
Twisting his waist and hips, he slashed the fire ax backwards with all his strength. Taking advantage of Root's block, Chen Mo slipped out from under Root with a shovel, took out his bowie knife and slashed at Root's carapace.
"throat!"
The tempered carbon steel boy lost its kinetic energy less than half a centimeter into the shell. Root, who had trouble turning, also swept Chen Mo's chest with his tail.
As if he had hit a high-speed train, Chen Mo flew five or six meters upside down, and his back hit the warehouse wall with a muffled sound.
A normal person would have lost half of his life even if he did not die. Chen Mo did not pause at all after landing. He rolled on the spot, avoided the sharp claws swung by Root, and retreated towards the living cabin.
Through the dim light, he could clearly see the whole picture of the Root.
The shoulder height is more than two meters, the body is three meters long, the head is oval and slender, and the eight compound eyes shine with a faint green light.
There are two rows of vertical exhaust vents on the back, the limbs are slender and slender, and the entire outside of the body is attached to a ferocious black exoskeleton. The tail is not hooked, but rather like a bird's beak, with a faint purple light flashing.
The most eye-catching thing is its round belly.
Chen Mo held the bowie knife and licked his lips.
This beast is absolutely invincible to humans. We must find a way to lure it to the power room and find an opportunity to detonate the circuit to see if we can kill it.
Lute did not continue to pursue Chen Mo. Its green compound eyes flashed for a few times, and it picked up a corpse from the ground that had only the upper body left. It pierced the head of the corpse with a swing of its tail.
Plasma four escapes.
Then the tip of the tail flashed with purple light, stimulating the corpse like an electric current.
After a period of twitching, the corpse trembled and slowly raised its head, opening its cloudy and lifeless eyes.
The mouth opened and closed crookedly like a stroke.
“Co…Cote…City.”
"What?" Chen Mo retreated.
"Take...me to Ko...Techeng."
Chen Mo raised his eyes.
"I...need...meat." Root controlled the corpse and chattered to Chen Mo: "I...need, meat, meat...meat..."
Chen Mo only felt his scalp numb. The scene of a huge monster holding half a human corpse in its hands and talking to people should only be seen in nightmares.
"Can you understand human language?"
"Take me to...Kote...City...I...need...more meat..."
"If you can understand me, take two steps back."
Lute paused for a moment, held the body tightly, and stepped back, keeping a safe enough distance from Chen Mo.
Chen Mo breathed a sigh of relief and put the bowie knife back to his waist.
"Now, only I can drive this hover ship, so you can't eat me, do you understand?"
Root nodded his oval and slender head as if he understood something.
"Very good...in order to activate the hovercraft, I need something." Chen Mo glanced at the surrounding environment: "That thing is probably in your stomach."
Lute stared at Chen Mo in confusion.
"The stomach is the digestive organ."
Root thought for a moment, his chest squirmed, and then he vomited out the remains of a human body mixed with a large amount of yellow-green digestive juice from his mouthparts.
The rotten and fishy smell made Chen Mo unable to open his eyes.
Under Root's gaze, Chen Mo put his hand into the rotten meat and started searching.
It lasted about two or three minutes.
He finally found the black plug-in that looked like a USB flash drive - it had full ship authority under the former captain.
Can be used to start the self-destruct program.
As long as the secondary thruster electrical panel of the power cabin is repaired, the self-destruction device can be activated.
By the way…
He also took the captain's gun.
[Explanation 1] A native creature of the planet Ross, one of the top predators. The English name - looter, translated as predator/snatcher, has large individual differences, ranging from 160cm to 270cm in length, and has a silicon-based exoskeleton.
Carbon-silicon double-based creatures are difficult to destroy without heavy firepower. The appearance of ordinary Roots is similar to the aliens in the movie. Due to unknown factors, a very small number of Roots will mutate into alien Roots and gain all kinds of strange abilities.
