Chapter 418

Chapter 418: The Crust

The words of the Clean-up Team Captain felt like an invisible life-saving certificate, stuck to the entrance of Bazel’s home.

Going to the research institutes tomorrow, what did that mean?

It meant he wouldn’t die today, at least he wouldn’t be taken away.

He and his family were safe.

In that moment, it seemed that Bazel’s years of hard work had finally paid off. He happily closed the door, returned to the bedroom, embraced his family tightly, and then fell asleep.

The next day, January 4th.

Bazel woke up early, put on his coat, and left home.

He didn’t know who that researcher named Ji Yongxing was or whether he had any influence on his situation.

But let’s assume he did, Bazel dressed very formally and headed out early in the direction of the research institutes.

In the past 24 hours, the neighbor on his left had been taken away by the military, while the neighbor on his right had been taken by the Clean-up Team for questioning. In the entire block, only his family of three remained.

As Bazel walked past the neighbor’s door, he couldn’t help but glance toward the entrance, noticing a few scattered, yellowish solids mixed with bloodstains on the ground.

He silently sighed; it seemed that the boastful neighbor would have to speak more carefully from now on…

Bazel continued forward, not knowing why he didn’t want to take a taxi today. It felt like he wanted to see if Hope City had changed at all.

However, no matter how much cleaning was done, those taken were still only a minority, and the flow of people on the street was nearly the same as before. If he had to find something different, it was that many people were sporting heavy dark circles under their eyes while buying food.

An hour later, feeling a bit chilly, Bazel arrived at the lower levels of the research institutes.

After confirming his appointment, the security personnel at the entrance gave him a temporary magnetic card:

“Swipe the card to go to the laboratory on the basement level. Researcher Ji is there.”

This wasn’t his first visit to the research institutes. Before entering the factory system, Bazel’s major had him coming in and out of the institutes frequently during his last year and a half of university, but that was ten years ago.

At that time, he had no idea there was an underground section.

As the elevator doors opened, Bazel saw a research area he had never reached before.

At least a dozen researchers were busy at various laboratory benches and equipment. The facilities looked newly installed, but parts of the ceiling appeared charred, as if there had been a significant fire long ago.

Just as he was about to stop a passerby to ask, a young man jogged toward him.

“Mr. Bazel?”

“That’s me. May I ask who you are?”

“I am Ji Yongxing.”

The young man was very enthusiastic, pulling Bazel into a separate room.

It was a personal area that combined a laboratory and an office. Sitting in a chair, Bazel felt a bit at a loss.

Clearly, Ji Yongxing was not the old man he had imagined; on the contrary, he looked very young, extremely young.

Ji Yongxing picked up a document from his desk and handed it to Bazel:

“Are these data all from your past surveys?”

Bazel took the document, flipped through it, and nodded as he recognized some familiar data along with his signature.

That was a summary of part of his work over the past ten years, starting from the year 43 of the New Era to the just-passed year 52 of the New Era.

After receiving affirmation from the other party, Ji Yongxing’s expression turned slightly serious:

“Can you ensure the authenticity of this data?”

At this question, Bazel first showed a moment of confusion, followed by a resigned silence.

Theoretically, data, especially mapping and exploration data, should not be fabricated, but data processing in the factory is an art. There is no falsification, only vast amounts of “experience formulas” that can make data align with expectations.

It seemed that certain actions of the factory had left a deep stereotype in the research institutes… With this thought, Bazel sighed and said,

“I confirm it is authentic and has not been processed in any way.”

The young man in front of him nodded:

“You should have heard Mr. Speaker’s speech, right?”

“I did.”

“Then you must know that the planet we stand on is not actually our home planet.”

Bazel nodded.

“The distribution of metal veins on this planet is quite peculiar… This is precisely what I am researching now. I believe there must be some underlying rules; otherwise, such distribution wouldn’t occur.”

Ji Yongxing explained seriously:

“During the construction of Hope City over the past few decades, a vast amount of steel and other metals were consumed.

“These materials couldn’t all have been brought by spaceships, and you know that the factories with earlier serial numbers also undertake smelting work.”

Bazel continued to nod.

“So, have you considered that the metal ores on this planet seem a bit too easy to obtain?”

Ji Yongxing looked at Bazel:

“You are a professional in this area. Didn’t you feel during your exploration that the ores on this planet seemed to be given away for free?”

The two locked eyes, and after a long moment, Bazel extended his hands.

Seeing this, Ji Yongxing reached out as well, and their hands grasped firmly in the middle, shaking a few times before letting go.

“I had a similar realization when I graduated.”

Bazel seemed to drift into a memory.

“When I was collecting data, I felt that the ore veins were all concentrated along the edge of the outer city, as if someone had buried them there ahead of time…

“At that time, I thought it was a shallow mine that was specifically found for our graduation… but after working for so long, I’ve begun to realize that Hope City might very well be situated over a massive ore vein.

“It’s just a shame that, because it was unrelated to work, I didn’t investigate thoroughly.”

Ji Yongxing fell into deep thought, and after a while, he said:

“Your hypothesis might be correct, or perhaps it’s a bit too conservative.

“Since this is not humanity’s home planet, we have an obligation to clarify the various values of this planet.

“That is my research direction, which includes not just the surface but also the unknowns underground… Your surveying skills are excellent; I hope you can join my team.”

As Ji Yongxing spoke, he pulled out a photo from another folder and displayed it in front of Bazel.

“What is this?”

Bazel looked at the old, somewhat faded photo, seeing a man-made object occupying half of the frame.

“This is a human colonial spaceship, also known as the spire.”

“I can tell, but why is it leaning?”

Bazel felt confused. Even though his house was not close to the spire, he could see it from afar during work; that magnificent building seemed to grow straight up from the ground, and the angle in the photo differed significantly.

“The photo was taken…”

Ji Yongxing took back the photo, implying,

“Fifty years ago.”