Chapter 1424 Treasure Hunting Across the Century

"...This is your entry and exit card, please take it well."

"Thanks."

After receiving the card from the customs officer, Professor Leonard politely said thank you, but the customs officer looked at the person behind him expressionlessly as if he didn't hear it.

"Next person."

"..."

The Atlantis space station is a synchronous orbit transfer station affiliated to the North Sea Alliance, and its coordinates are located in the zero time zone of the synchronous orbit.

As the seventh orbital transfer station built by human civilization, it is mainly responsible for the transfer of personnel and materials to the ground and to the moon. At the same time, it is also the only customs from the North Sea Alliance to the outside of the earth.

Tens of thousands of people commute here every day, or to colonies on the moon, or to distant Mars colonies, or outposts on Lagrange points.

Under such high-intensity work, the customs officers were of course not in the mood to talk nonsense with him. They threw the stamped passport and an entry-exit registration card into his hands, and began to go through the formalities for the next person.

Can't bionics do these jobs instead? Anyway, they have almost occupied most of the service industry, at least they can give me a smiling face...

Professor Leonard, who was in a bad mood, thought so, reached out and tapped on the watch, and exhaled the holographic interface.

"Where have you been?"

In the holographic panel, a dark-skinned face occupied the window and smiled honestly at him.

"We have encountered a little trouble here... Don't worry, speaking of your certificate, does it really work?"

Looking at that annoying smile, Professor Leonard said impatiently, "This is a certificate issued by Oxford University. We are a formal scientific investigation team hired by the North Sea Alliance government...Really, this is the first time you have done this Live? I'm starting to doubt your professionalism."

"Ahem! Please don't doubt, we are just a little worried. After all, you know the current situation. The security situation in the Mars colony is very bad, and the inspection of fake certificates is very strict... Okay! Passed smoothly, we are here!"

Not far away, a big dark-skinned man waved towards him, walked towards him with a smile on his face, led two younger brothers and a bionic worker.

"Hey, buddy! Nice to meet you!"

After digging out the business card from the bag and reading the image information inside, Leonard raised his eyelids and glanced at him and the three employees behind him.

"Mammoth Digging Company?"

"That's right, my name is Jim, and these two are my assistants Hughes from North America and Shinichi Tanigawa from East Asia. Don't worry about the bionic man in the back. Although it looks a bit old-fashioned, it has complete functions, especially the operation. The rig is very good at it.”

Introduced by his boss, the tall North American and the slightly thinner Pan-Asian man next to him nodded their greetings slightly.

After introducing his employees, Jim looked at Professor Leonard and grinned.

"As you can see, we are as strong and as good at punching holes as mammoths."

Leonard: "...mammoths don't burrow."

And all the work is done by machines, and he doesn't need these people to be strong.

"Ahem! That's not the point," blurted out one sentence, Jim raised his callused hand embarrassingly, and patted Professor Leonard's shoulder, "Let's go, let's go to Mars, as long as we can help you find those Baby, that's enough to prove our expertise!"

As he spoke, Jim waved his hand, and walked towards the boarding gate with two employees and a bionic man behind him.

He glanced at the back of this group of people with a strange expression. For some reason, Professor Leonard suddenly became a little worried about this trip to Mars...

...

It is said that a century ago, that is, at the beginning of the 21st century, it took at least 2 to 3 weeks to travel from the earth to Mars, and there are still window periods and non-window periods.

Born at the end of the 21st century and growing up in the 22nd century, Leonard couldn't imagine how anyone could tolerate such a long journey.

You know, the average life expectancy of people at that time was less than 80 years old.

Especially during this journey, not only is there no internet, there is no entertainment in any sense, and you can't even take a shower.

Dr. Leonard, who landed on the surface of Mars through the elevator, moved his sore shoulders and arms, and walked down the gangway with the tourists, and his feet finally stepped on the solid ground.

"...Finally, we have arrived at the station."

The terminal building of the aerospace plane is located on the edge of the city. After passing through the customs that is connected to the buffer room, they will be inside the city as soon as they leave the customs.

Leonard raised his head, and the first thing he saw was a hemispherical airgel film, covering the sky above the city.

Just like the dome of a greenhouse, this layer of airgel film with a thickness of several meters circles a large circular land on this desert. While blocking high-energy rays from space, it also plays the role of the atmosphere. Keep the clean air in the city, and bring a highly realistic "blue sky" to the residents in the city.

The interior of the city is even more stunning, where the designers seem to have taken spatialism to the extreme, squeezing every inch of land to its last bit of value.

A series of alloy-paved pipelines are connected to column-shaped tower buildings, which together constitute the road network and building complexes of the entire city.

Between the gaps between the tower buildings, you can see the green landscape designed through genetic engineering, thriving on this exotic land.

It is difficult to sum up the grandeur of this city in one sentence.

This place is like an oasis in the desert, a lighthouse to disperse the night.

In fact, it is true. As the largest city of Pan-Asian cooperation on Mars, this Mars colony named Tiangong City is not only the most developed and most expensive area on Mars, but also probably the safest place on Mars. nice place.

As for why the emphasis on law and order is...

This will be mentioned later.

"We rest here for one night, and after the cargo is unloaded from the transport spaceship, we immediately set off for the archaeological site."

"Okay, you are the boss and you have the final say, we just dig."

The big black guy named Jim frowned and made a punching gesture. This vulgar movement not only made Leonard's brows twitch, but also made the Pan-Asian police standing beside him pay attention to him.

With a hook on Jim's shoulder, Leonard lowered his voice and whispered in his ear.

"I hope you don't cause trouble. The nearest colony of the North Sea Alliance is a full 100 kilometers away! If we are repatriated there, all our plans will be ruined!"

This action was only reported to the Beihai Alliance, and was not approved by the Pan-Asian Cooperation. They didn't even submit a written application at all! If those Asians found out that they were not an investigation team from a mining company at all, but came here in the name of archaeology, and what they were excavating were the remains of Martian civilization, they would definitely not be released.

"Yes, yes," Jim quickly gave an apologetic smile, "Don't worry, those Asians won't trouble us for such a trivial matter, let's go, let's find a hotel first."

"I have already booked the hotel online."

Although the network on Mars and the network on Earth are relatively independent local area networks due to delays, the data on both sides is still connected.

Whether booking tickets or shopping, you only need a terminal that can connect to the Internet, and you can easily complete it.

Putting on the AR glasses, Leonard quickly found the capsule hotel he booked according to the road signs.

The group rested for one night, and came to the exit the next day. After providing proof, they put on light spacesuits and passed through the buffer room on the edge of the city, and came to a concrete-filled open space.

Here, the rovers and excavators of the Mammoth Digging Company are parked.

It's just that looking at these two pieces of engineering equipment and the signs on them, Leonard feels that these things don't look like their own equipment, but like they rented with money.

"...Are you sure these devices belong to you?"

"Uh, of course... is there a problem?"

Staring at the big black man for a while, although Leonard wanted to force him to tell the truth, he thought that he had already reached this point, and even if he temporarily hired another construction team, it would be too late.

What's more, his project has been withdrawn by the dean, and this archaeological operation is entirely at his own expense, and he can't afford other more expensive and more reliable construction teams.

Sighing, putting his hand on Jim's shoulder, Professor Leonard said in a low voice.

"Okay... I hope you are professional. What we want to excavate are the ruins left over billions of years ago. We must be very, very careful. If something goes wrong, it will be a difficult time for the entire archeology." Bear the loss!"

Jim grinned, still the standard answer.

"Don't worry, boss, I guarantee that the cultural relics of Martian civilization will be dug out no matter how they were buried!"

Even if there are 10,000 worries in my heart, but for this sake, there is no room for turning back.

The group got into the car, drove to the side of a rift valley according to the map Leonard got from the employee of the Hidel Mining Company, and stopped in front of an abandoned mine.

At the entrance of the mine, you can see the sign and simple roadblocks left by the Hidal Mining Company, but judging from the wear and dust on the surface, it looks like it has been abandoned for a long time.

"Are you sure it's here?"

Hearing Jim's inquiry, Leonard clicked on the holographic map on the watch, carefully compared the nearby landform features, and finally looked at the suspicious mine.

"It should be right here."

In fact, according to the agreement between him and the netizen who called himself "Dr. Z", the first time they came to Mars, the two should meet in Tiangong City first, and then act together.

but……

Out of selfishness and confidence in his abilities, he did not abide by the agreement.

Academics are full of intrigues, and he feels that it is necessary to teach him a lesson for such a fool who tells the whole story of his chips.

Looking at Professor Leonard who was looking at the map, Jim and the two employees looked at each other and exchanged strange expressions on their faces.

Seeing the three people who didn't move, Professor Leonard frowned.

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing..." With an unnatural smile on his face, Jim shrugged his shoulders, then turned to see two of his employees clapping their hands, "Guys, start working."

Construction on Mars is different from that on Earth, because of the difference in gravity environment and air density, many experiences that are applicable on Earth may not necessarily apply here.

Strictly speaking, it is impossible to dig anything with just the small drilling rig carried on the back of the rover.

But fortunately, this Hidel Mining Company, which is unknown whether it went bankrupt or moved, has drilled the mine to a depth of one kilometer underground, and even left a simple magnetic track that goes deep into the mine. It can be said that they have solved more than half of their troubles.

Therefore, what they have to do is actually very simple, and that is to widen the mine to a certain extent according to the orientation marked on the drawing.

The drilling vehicle was removed from the back of the Mars rover, and with the cooperation of the bionic driver, the three "professionals" he hired quickly got into work.

Although these people seem unreliable, they are unambiguous when they work.

After arriving at the deepest part of the abandoned mine, the drill bit at the front of the drill truck started.

As a load of soil was transported out of the cave, in just an hour, a spiral downward passage pushed the abandoned mine down to a depth of tens of meters.

Taking advantage of the time to change the drill bit, Jim walked to Professor Leonard's side, wiped the dust on the mask and asked.

"Are you sure there are treasures of Martian civilization there?"

"Treasure?" Hearing this word, Leonard frowned, "I don't remember saying that there are any treasures there, but there are quite a few precious cultural relics... Be careful when digging, if you dig When you come to some artificially excavated structure, remember to stop immediately and call me over."

"Oh, I see... Don't worry," the big black man named Jim smiled, "If we find a treasure, we will definitely ask you to go and have a look."

At this moment, a surprise cry suddenly came from the communication channel.

"Boss! We dug a tunnel! It doesn't seem to be left by the Sidel Mining Company, it seems to be... a relic of Martian civilization?"

Hearing the voice in the communication channel, before Jim could react, Leonard jumped off the hood of the rover.

"Tunnel? How wide is it? Wait, stop first... I'll come and see for myself!"

After all, he didn't care about the surprised expression on Jim's face, and rushed into the mine alone, and followed the spiral downward passage to the bottom of the mine.

Seeing Professor Leonard appearing behind him, the American named Hughes jumped out of the passenger seat and walked towards him.

"Doctor... have we dug somewhere yet? I'm not sure we should move on."

Ignoring him, Leonard quickly walked forward, walked to the side of the hole and squatted down, groping along the edge of the hole for a while, a look of excitement suddenly appeared on his face.

"Quick, keep going! It's here!"

The American named Hughes nodded quickly, and was about to turn back and order the bionic man sitting in the driver's seat to start the drilling machine, but unexpectedly, the drilling machine moved by itself like out of control.

The hard rock wall shattered, and the huge drilling rig rushed straight down the slope and hit the wall on the opposite side. And the old-fashioned bionic man sitting in the cockpit also slammed his head on the steering wheel, as if broken.

"Xie Te... why is it malfunctioning at this time! Sure enough, the things bought second-hand are not good!"

Chasing the out-of-control drilling truck into the cave, looking at the crushed cockpit door that could no longer be opened, and the bionic man hanging on the steering wheel, Hughes cursed, then glanced behind Professor Leonard switched the communication channel and muttered a few words.

"Look at what you have done!" Looking at the damaged rock wall, Professor Leonard, who walked into the cave, complained angrily, "Okay now, such a big piece of damage, I just I hope you didn't bump into any precious cultural relics or specimens! And no one will find out that we did it! Otherwise, just wait for the lawsuit!"

Ignoring Hughes who was standing next to the transfer car, and Jim who was chasing up from behind, Professor Leonard continued to explore the cave with a flashlight in his hand.

The tunnel was so deep that he couldn't see the end at a glance, but he could feel something ahead.

After turning over a pile of chaotic rocks, he soon saw a silver-white metal cuboid about two people tall and one step wide, lying horizontally by the wall.

"……That is!"

Dr. Leonard's eyes widened, and he looked at the metal artifact in front of him in disbelief.

Tell him directly that this cannot be the equipment left by the Hidal Mining Company, let alone other humans.

He bet they were definitely the first to get here!

In this case, there is only one possibility...

"Treasures of Martian civilization!"

In the communication channel, Jim's familiar and annoying voice came. Professor Leonard frowned and corrected a sentence in dissatisfaction.

"It's a cultural relic! You idiot, can you—"

Just halfway through the words, the second half of the sentence was swallowed in his throat.

Because when he turned his head, a black muzzle was already aimed at him.

The Adam's Apple moved up and down, and the expression on Professor Leonard's face suddenly changed from dissatisfaction to nervousness and fear.

He didn't know why this guy had a gun in his hand, let alone what he wanted to do.

He only knew that if that idiot pulled the trigger, even scratching a layer of skin on his spacesuit, he would die completely.

Looking at the expression on the old professor's face, Jim, holding an electromagnetic pistol in his hand, smiled playfully.

"Can you do something?"

"I mean, I'm an idiot, can you... show me what this is?"

Stuttering his answer, Professor Leonard was trembling all over, his back was soaked in sweat, and even the temperature control system of the space suit couldn't calm him down.

This feeling of being pointed at by a gun was the first time for him.

However, this explanation did not seem to satisfy Jim.

The big black man smiled and continued talking teasingly.

"It sounded like a tone of command."

"Please..." Kneeling on the ground, Professor Leonard put his hands on top of his head and begged, "It's my fault, I shouldn't order you..."

"Don't do that, my dear friend."

Walking up to Professor Leonard and squatting down, Jim with a cruel smile on his face, patted his mask lightly with the muzzle of his gun, "My guys and I have to thank you, if you didn't open the The archaeological work on the paper proves that it is not so easy for us to leave the earth through the customs of the Atlanta space station."

Hearing this sentence, the expression on Professor Leonard's face was ashen.

Those who can say this are either fugitives on Earth, or space pirates wandering between Mars and the asteroid belt of Jupiter.

Although he has always heard that Mars is a paradise for criminals, he never expected and couldn't believe that such a thing happened by such a coincidence that he was met by a mere scholar...

"Originally, we planned to say goodbye to you in Tiangong City. We just wanted to use you to escape the pursuit of Interpol and start a new life on Mars. But since you mentioned the remains of Martian civilization, there must be something valuable inside antiques, and it just so happens that we need a start-up capital to start a new business," Jim said with a smile, as if intoxicated by his own ingenuity, and looked at the metal cuboid lying on the ground , "I didn't expect that my bet was really right."

"..."

Professor Leonard didn't respond at all, just lowered his head with a dead face.

He knew that it was impossible for him to survive, and these desperadoes had no reason to let him go.

As if looking at the prey on the chopping board, Jim admired the expression on Professor Leonard's face up close, rubbed his index finger on the trigger of the electromagnetic pistol, and said casually.

"Now, my dear Professor Leonard, if you can use your knowledge to introduce to me what that coffin-like metal box is and how much it can be sold for, maybe I can let you go happily. a little."

Professor Leonard's lips moved, but he didn't speak in the end.

Seeing that he didn't respond, Jim sighed and stood up again.

"Well, it looks like you've made your choice."

As he spoke, he took out a dagger used to cut the rope from his waist.

Professor Leonard closed his eyes in despair, and just when he was ready to die, he suddenly heard a gunshot.

The gunshot seemed to come from far away, and it lingered in the cave for a long, long time.

Then there was a bang, and something fell to the ground.

Slowly opening his eyes, Professor Leonard saw that it wasn't him who fell on the ground, but that Jim.

Just when he was wondering if this unlucky guy had been blackmailed by his subordinates, he saw a blood-stained bionic man slowly walking from the other end of the cave like a ghost from hell. come over.

A chilling feeling crept up the back of his head, and Professor Leonard sat back on the ground trembling all over, with the expression on his face as if he had seen a ghost.

Civilian bionics...

Attack humans? !

He had never heard of such an unbelievable thing.

Regardless of the plot in the sci-fi blockbuster, it is absolutely impossible in reality!

This is not only a matter of being locked up in the procedure, but also if there is an accident where the bionic person injures someone, the company that produced that bionic person will not only be sued for bankruptcy, the entire production line will be abandoned, and the legal person will even face prison !

"……Who are you?"

As if not hearing his question, the android shook the blood off his arm.

Walking to the side of Jim's body, it picked up the electromagnetic pistol that fell there from the helmet that had been pierced by bullets. After looking at it, it pinned it to its waist.

At the same time, intermittent cold electronic sounds came from the communication channel.

"Danger, eliminate."

Inexplicably, a feeling of fear welled up in my heart.

Thinking of the "Dr.Z" who never showed up, Professor Leonard suddenly felt like a pawn, from the moment he landed on Mars... No, it should be said that he fell into someone's trap since he read that paper. The trap has been being led by the nose.

Swallowing, he looked at the bionic man approaching, summoned all his courage, and asked tremblingly.

"Your master... who is it?"

"Is that Dr. Z?"

He originally thought that the bionic man would ignore him, but he didn't expect that this time it responded.

Although it is only a short sentence...

"Nothing to do with you."

-

(Thanks to the leader of the book friend "Miss JC" for the reward~~~ Don't forget to compare your hearts and vote~~)