Chapter 486 - Coal Mine Thief! The Pivot Point To Pry Open Old Era Technology (Two in One)
Chapter 486 Coal Mine Thief! The Pivot Point To Pry Open Old Era Technology (Two in One)
“Traces of human activity?” Upon hearing Chen Shen’s report, Su Mo’s response was an immediate frown, unlike everyone else’s excitement. Before transferring territories, based on the distribution map provided by the game, Su Mo had thoroughly surveyed the basin’s surroundings.
At that time, 7 large camps were in proximity to the basin, and the nearest was 300 kilometers away.
Could it be that…
As they were heading for the basin, someone had coincidentally occupied this middle area as their territory?
Could something be that coincidental?
“Shelter Leader, the traces of activity that I mentioned aren’t what you’re thinking. No, that’s not exactly the case. Do you want to come with us and take a look?”
Su Mo nodded. “Yes.”
Having lost the 500% movement speed bonus they were given to set out for their territory, they still maintained the Rapid March buff because they had taken no damage. However, their travel speed was halved and ultimately slower.
130 kilometers.
After traveling at a hurried pace for nearly two hours, the group finally arrived at the borders of the territory. “Shelter Leader, Village Chief!”
The scouting team was cautiously carrying out observation on some high ground at the territory border.
However, as the group arrived, the man leading the team let out a visible sigh of relief and quickly stood up to greet them. Chen Shen stepped forward. “Liu Peiqiang, how’s the situation!” “Village Chief, there’s a big problem. When Xiao Sun went back to report earlier, we only saw what seemed to be silhouettes of humans because they were too far away.
“However, half an hour ago, a group of more than 30 individuals set out in that direction. This time we were able to see them clearly. They aren’t humans!
“Ah, no, that’s not entirely correct. They’re not Earth humans like us!”
After the basin was transferred, a lot of minor resources had been subtracted, so the overall topography had been disfigured into a somewhat irregular quadrilateral shape.
Even though the shelter level restricted their exploration radius to 150 kilometers, outside these 150 kilometers was another 80 kilometers that also belonged to the area that Su Mo had transferred.
It was also barren, with not even a single blade of grass. “It’s surprising that a foreign race wants to build their territory here; are they out of their minds?” Puzzled, Su Mo headed for higher ground. He did not even need to use the telescope that someone had passed to him. Just by relying on his sharp eyesight alone, Su Mo could catch a glimpse of this unfamiliar territory, which was around 20 kilometers or so away. However, just that glimpse caused his blood pressure to rise. A large village that looked similar to the kobolds’ saltpeter camp from his previous encounter stretched as far as his eyes could see.
The difference was that the kobolds had only fortified their camps with a single surrounding wall made of wood. There were observation towers everywhere within their camp, and their defenses were extremely weak.
This camp, however, used visibly sturdy stones to surround itself with two walls!
Like a fortified city, the two surrounding walls were of different heights. If enemies broke through the outer layer, they could easily be disposed of by their opponents in the inner layer using long-range killing methods. Just based on its defenses alone, any attempts to attack this place without modern weapons and 10 times more troops would be nothing short of wishful thinking. “What are they mining? It seems to be something really familiar!” While Su Mo was busy observing the camp, Chen Shen surreptitiously sized up their surroundings, then passed Su Mo the telescope with a touch of uncertainty.
The next second, they had an answer. “It’s a coal mine!
“They’ve occupied the coal mine that we transferred over. It’s only been a few days; they truly are a group of animals!”
Fixing his gaze on the view he saw in the telescope, Su Mo observed that a stream of figures scurried to and fro within the fortified city like ants. Against his body, his left fist… Clenched!
In the middle of the fortified city was an opening that spanned more than 10 meters.
With the aid of the telescope and his own sharp eyes, Su Mo could vaguely make out a stream of silhouettes that continuously went in and out of this opening. He could not see these creatures’ appearances clearly.
However, the containers as tall as themselves that they carried on their backs were filled with black objects that Su Mo was extremely familiar with
It was…
Coal!
This was different from open-pit coal mines. Back then, when Chen Shen had reported that there were underground coal mines around the basin, Su Mo had been extremely excited. Based on the degree of coalification, coal could be ranked from weak to strong in the following order.
Peat, lignite or brown coal, bituminous coal, and anthracite or black coal.
There were too many impurities in peat, so strictly speaking, it could not be considered
coal.
Lignite had a low degree of coalification, was low in carbon content, and high in ash content. It also had a low heat output and was highly volatile. It could only be used as thermal coal to generate power. Next on the list was bituminous coal, which was the most common and also the best type of coal overall. Bituminous coal only had to be mined and broken into small pieces, then it could be directly burned to obtain heat. Coincidentally, the coal that had been transferred into their territory was bituminous coal! “Heavens, it really is our coal mine. How is this possible? Our mine is underground, and the degree of mining difficulty is also extremely high, yet they… “This is unbelievable!”
Now that he had an answer, Chen Shen took another telescope and continued watching. After careful observation, he froze.
In Huaxia during the last century when black coal mines were everywhere, people already had an in-depth understanding of coal mines due to all the publicity. In general, there were two types of coal mines: open-pit and underground. Since open-pit mines required a continuously stable coal seam, these were rarer. For the time being, they were not mentioned.
On the other hand, the coal in underground mines was in the earth’s crust and extremely solid, just like rocks. Usually, these would take more than a single person to mine. This was why it was necessary to have professionals first use a method akin to blasting to crack the tightly compressed coal seam and loosen it up before the coal miners could start work.
Only then could the miners enter through the opening and venture deep into the mine. The coal would then be manually brought out on their backs.
The mining tunnels had no lights. The miners could only rely on illumination from the miner’s headlamps they wore as they worked both night and day. Once they reached the very deep sections of the mines, there was even the possibility of the mine caving in. To survive, the miners had to be extremely skilled and of extremely high standards. Right now, even Hope Village did not possess the ability to mine coal on a large scale. “Don’t look down on these foreign races. Their technology might not be as advanced as ours.
“However, it’s possible that they have their own miraculous ways of extracting and mining natural resources that we can’t achieve ourselves.”
The distance between the two areas was more than 20 kilometers.
Despite Su Mo’s eagle eyes and the high slope they were standing on, it was very difficult to see any concrete details inside the fortified city.
The others were even more at a loss.
After pondering for a while, Su Mo squatted down and asked, “Liu Peiqiang, are you brave enough to go over there?” Liu Peiqiang was still lying on the ground. When he heard Su Mo’s question, he was startled at first.
Immediately after, his expression became resolute, and he nodded his head firmly!
“Shelter Leader, never mind asking me to go over there—even if you asked me to capture one of those thieving cubs and bring them back, I’m confident I could do it!
“Previously when they appeared, I could only vaguely make out their figures. They’re not very tall, and they look very skinny and frail. “If they don’t have any special abilities, even if our own capabilities have been weakened, I’m still confident I can do it!”
This time, it was Su Mo’s turn to be shocked. “They weren’t very tall? Are you sure?” “I’m absolutely certain. Even though they were riding some kind of very peculiar animal, they still weren’t as tall as us. It feels to me as if…”
Shen Ke chimed in. “You mean they’re dwarves?!”
Liu Peiqiang nodded in delight. “Yes, dwarves. Their faces are exactly the same as us humans except that they all sported large, thick beards. They’re all exceptionally short as well, around the height of my calf. I am very sure they are dwarves!”
Wow!
The moment they heard that those really were dwarves, the 30 or more people standing on the crop of high ground immediately lost all fear. They began to crack their knuckles and rub their palms. Even Su Mo’s face revealed a trace of delight.
Truly, one could search high and low for something, only to find it very easily.
As a result of that standard dwarf’s dagger, before coming to the New World, Su Mo had set a few important goals. One of them was to find a dwarf.
In fact, his goal of finding a dwarf was even more important than finding the Blazeland ruins!
Unlike the cautious Su Deben, Lu Kuan, and the others, Su Mo had the system’s protection. As for the technology trees that could be derived from Old Era Technology, he had developed a strong interest in them. If they could master this extraordinary technology that had a conversion efficiency of more than 500%, they could exponentially expedite the territory’s development. When one thought about it, one liter of diesel originally could only be converted to 10 kWh of power. After this upgrade, however, one liter could now be converted to 50 kWh of power! Based on the current output of the motor-pumped well, 4000 kWh of power could be generated in a single day! Even though it was still far from being able to satisfy the requirements for research, sustaining power for the entire Hope Village was no problem at all! As for vehicles like Earth Tiger and King Kong, when the time came, they would only need to be filled up for 5 minutes to travel 10 thousand miles! Even if the vehicles had their armor enhanced and their load increased, there was absolutely no need to worry about power output. “If that’s the case, Liu Peiqiang, bring along the 13 men from your group and head out together. “Chen Shen, Li Hu, Qi Qin, Wu Feiguang, the four of you will accompany them. Capture the dwarves in this city and bring them to me.
“Don’t worry about what the repercussions will bring. As long as you can capture even just one of the dwarves alive, we can make up for the loss of this coal mine.”
After he finished issuing his orders, Su Mo paused for a moment, then reached into thin air. With a tug, 17 rifles flew out. After that, 1,000 bullets gradually floated out as well. As they hurried to the New World, they had no raw materials so they could not craft anything at all, even with the medium-sized machine tool.
Currently, Hope Village was left with a mere 3,000 rounds in their rifle ammunition reserves.
Until they manufactured a proper bullet machine tool, these reserves would be the last of their combat power. “Shelter Leader, we won’t fail!
“Yes, we won’t fail!”
Chen Shen was also aware of their meager ammunition reserves. When he saw a trace of distress flicker over Su Mo’s face as he issued the ammunition rounds, he immediately stood up and made a solemn declaration.
As for the others, once they picked up the rifles on the ground, the benevolence on their faces instantly dissipated, gradually replaced with the “madness” that only occurred in the Doomsday wasteland. Before picking up the weapons, they were merely ordinary scouts who were only responsible for reporting intelligence. However, once they were armed with weapons, they now had to fight for their lives and face cruelty that had never been part of peacetime.
“I wish you a successful return! I’ll be here waiting for you all!” “Rest assured Shelter Leader!”
Su Mo patted each of the soldiers on their shoulders, looking straight at their impassioned faces.
He then shifted aside from the road that led down the slope.
The 17 men did not waste time in idle chatter. Once they had fallen into line, they swiftly dispersed. “Shelter Leader, should I go back and fetch more people? Just in case there’s any major conflict when the time comes, we’ll at least be prepared with a response.”
“Very well. When you go back, ask Moore to come along with you as well. He might be of great help!” Within Hope Village, apart from Su Mo, who was constrained by the shelter and thus could not freely enter or exit the territory, the other villagers were all free and unconstrained. Since they had never put down their shelter cores before, naturally, they did not have to deal with something unexpected like this.
Su Mo agreed with Shen Ke’s suggestions and watched as she hurried off along with two men.
Su Mo lay down on the ground. With the telescope, he began to scrutinize and assess the enemy in detail.
Since it was already ascertained that the foreign race was a tribe of dwarves, his plan for observation became clear.
This time, he picked up on multiple details that he had missed out on before. “The outer defense layer doesn’t seem to be actual gigantic stones. It even wobbles when the wind blows over it. But how does it support those observation towers then? From the looks of things, it’s some sort of highly polymerized reactant, maybe? “What’s that red circle on the wall? Could it be a different way of utilizing the camera? Using it to survey the outside world? “Judging from proportions, the miners inside the mine and the dwarves outside don’t seem to have consistent silhouettes. Does that mean that the workforce in the mines aren’t dwarves?” The more Su Mo observed in detail, the more questions and speculations he had.
In front, the assault squad was advancing; they moved extremely rapidly with the 500% movement bonus.
Even though they were very cautious, in two minutes they had breached the territory’s line of defense and entered the area beyond it.
Boom!
It was like being hit over the head with a heavy hammer. The moment they stepped out of the territory boundaries, everyone felt that the world was spinning around. They felt like a patient who had just set foot out of bed after recovering from a grave illness. Three of them instantly collapsed onto their knees as their legs gave way. “Take cover and rest first. We’ll decide after we recover!” Li Hu, who was the temporary leader of the assault squad, immediately gestured. The rest immediately dropped down onto the ground and took deep breaths. After a while, when Qi Qin had caught his breath, he slowly crawled to Li Hu’s side. “Big Brother Hu, after we exited the territory, I don’t know why but I feel as if I’ve put on a layer of sandbags. It’s like weighted training; it feels terrible!”
Li Hu nodded. “Indeed. It looks like this is the punishment for exiting the territory!”
From body to spirit, it felt as if they had a heavy layer of invisible sandbags tied onto them.
Between body and spirit, the pressure on their physical body was still alright. It merely felt as if their thighs were strapped with 2.5 kg weights. However, when it came to the pressure on their spirits, even Li Hu frowned, his face revealing his utter discomfort. “Can everyone still walk? Those who can’t will wait here for us as backup. Those who can, follow me ahead! “We can…”
“Charge!”
All 16 answered his call; none of them backed down.
Seeing that everyone was eager to try, Li Hu nodded, and the entire line dashed out once more.
They had advanced for another 500 meters before a familiar pressure descended on them again.
This time, the pressure on their bodies increased to 3 kg. Fortunately, the pressure on their spirits did not change, which caused everyone to breathe a sigh of relief.
“If this is the case, everyone, calculate in your hearts. Every 500 meters, we need to approach with caution!”
There was an approximate rule now.
This meant that their advance now would be much easier.
The distance between the borders of the territory to the center of the fortified city was 25 kilometers.
As they hurriedly came to the last 5 kilometers, Li Hu retreated. His expression was dreadful. Everyone gradually stopped as well.
“The pressure on the body increases once every half a kilometer. We’re now 20 kilometers from where we started, and the pressure on our bodies is 15 kg.
“Every 20 kilometers, the pressure on our spirits will increase once as well. After the next increment, the pressure will be… three times what it was before !”
Wow!
The moment they heard “three times”, the entire assault squad was stunned.
Surprisingly, none of them wanted to retreat. Instead, they began to forge ahead cautiously, sensing the pressure. After a while, the 17-person squad was fully differentiated. A total of 11 could endure the pressure; the remaining 6 immediately felt symptoms of nausea and vomiting when they advanced. They could only wait outside the range boundary as backup.
“Qi Qin, stay here and bring the others along to be our backup. I’ll leave… 300 rounds of bullets for you!”
Li Hu swiftly made a decision. Seeing that the city gates showed signs of opening, the assault squad parted ways. This time, Li Hu and his smaller team of 10 advanced until they were one kilometer away from the front of the city. Here, they found a low-lying area and slowly lay down.
Unlike Su Mo’s vague observations, they could observe clearly from close proximity. After studying the bunker, which appeared to be made out of all kinds of random materials, everyone including Li Hu was immediately bewildered.
The body of this wall was not some sort of high polymer material at all, stirred by the wind.
This was clearly a living creature that was constantly twisting its body. The red circle was not a camera either. It was a giant eyeball with a diameter of two meters. The sight of it gave them chills.
However, before they could start making comments about this appalling sight, with a rumble, the gates of the fortified city… opened!