Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!-Chapter 940 - 661: Mine Star Dilemma (Part 2)

"Finally, there's the matter of technology... this isn't something that can be rushed. I'm already trying to contact some of the old scientists in the country, whether they can come is up to fate."

Only when they truly began to develop did Catherine realize how unbelievably poor their foundation was.

But if the foundation wasn't so poor, they probably wouldn't have the chance to take over this Mine Star.

For instance, when the Bauhinia Republic announced its surrender and dissolution, most of the core areas and industries of their Colony Star and Mother Planet were instantly taken over by personnel arranged by the Peak Alliance.

Perhaps the policies hadn't changed significantly yet, that was to give the people who originally belonged to Bauhinia a reasonable psychological transition time, preventing too much backlash... but the core had already been replaced.

Only Mine Star, due to its truly limited development and the relatively homogeneous miner population, had not yet been formally controlled by people sent by the Sword Edge Alliance.

Before the alliance genuinely values this Mine Star enough to send teams for an actual takeover, it depends on whether Bai E and his people can produce "results" and have a say with those from the alliance.

After reporting the general situation, Catherine shielded her eyes with her hand, peering into the distance, "Let's go, Victor and the others are already waiting for us in the mining district. Let's go see your future subjects."

The periphery of the basic mining district.

Victor had been waiting for some time, the young Mech Pilot's face carried less of the usual excitement and more of a heavy sense of helplessness.

"Captain, Brother Bai E, you finally came." Victor approached, his voice somewhat muffled by the wind and sand.

"How's the situation?" Catherine asked directly.

Victor shook his head, leading the two toward the entrance of the mining district.

The so-called entrance was merely a large pit descending into the ground, with crude metal braces supporting the tunnel walls, and sand occasionally falling with a rustle.

The tunnel was dim, with only a few old lamps providing faint light, the air filled with a mixture of dust, sweat, and some metallic rust scent.

They descended the tunnel, passing by some miners clad in worn protective gear silently operating outdated mining machinery or pushing carts loaded with ore.

No one looked up at them as if they were just insignificant background.

"I tried communicating with them," Victor lowered his voice, sounding defeated, "to understand their needs and see if there's anything we can do. But... no one pays attention to me. If I get one response out of ten questions, I'm lucky. The most common thing they say is, 'You didn't treat us as humans before, so what are you doing here now?'"

Catherine's brows knitted tightly.

Bai E silently observed his surroundings.

The living conditions of the miners were even worse than he imagined.

The protective gear was battered, with many of their masks cracked, leaving them directly exposed to the dust-laden air.

The living quarters were simple caverns dug out beside the tunnels, with a few dirty blankets serving as beds, and food consisting of monotonous nutrient paste and murky recycled water.

They lacked basic medical facilities, many bore obvious marks of injury or illness, and coughing echoed throughout the tunnel.

"They believe that as long as they meet the output quota set from above each month, they can maintain the status quo, and all other communication is superfluous," Victor continued, "They said that back when Bauhinia was around, no big shot truly cared about whether they miners lived or died. Taxes, conscription, resource allocation, which part didn't squeeze them dry? Now, with the country gone, they feel at least a bit of peace. The current district heads only concern themselves with ore and don't interfere in how they live."

The three of them arrived at a relatively spacious tunnel junction, which seemed to be a place for miners to rest and change shifts.

A few miners squatted in a corner, silently eating, seemingly indifferent to Bai E and the others' arrival.

No matter how difficult things get, they have to start somewhere.

Catherine took a deep breath, stepped forward, and attempted to speak in a gentle tone, "Everyone, we're people of the Bauhinia Republic. We've come back, hoping we can make this place better together."

An older miner looked up, his face etched with weathered lines, his eyes apathetic.

The rest didn't even glance her way, continuing to eat.

Catherine stepped closer, looking with sympathy at the sores on these people, "If you have any trouble, please tell us. We might be able to help you."

Seeing Catherine's persistence, the older miner finally responded hoarsely.

He hung his head, not daring to meet Catherine's eyes, his voice filled with a sort of lament, "Better? How? With what?! Can you provide us with clean air purification systems? Can you fix those constantly malfunctioning water processors? Can you bring us enough medicine and medical equipment? Or can you improve our provisions so the children can eat more nutritious food?!"

His tone grew increasingly agitated, almost reckless by the end.

Perhaps these thoughts had been simmering inside him for years, and today, even if he lost everything, he didn't care anymore.

This barrage of questions left Catherine momentarily speechless.

She clenched her teeth, took out a small data tablet from her satchel, and pulled up some information to show them.

"I've contacted some of the old comrades and managed to gather some supplies, which are on their way. We can also try to improve mining equipment, increase efficiency, and reduce your workload..."

"Save it, Officer," another, younger miner suddenly interjected, his tone filled with resentment, "We've heard enough pretty words. All those officials who came down for inspections before, which of them didn't paint a rosy picture? In the end? Everything stayed the same.

You don't even have a country now. Can you bring in enough resources to change even this one mining district? And if you do, what about other districts? There are dozens of places like this on this planet, at the very least."

His words resonated with some nearby miners, who murmured their own thoughts, their eyes filled with distrust and aloofness.

In recent days a team had come to the mining district, claiming to want to reestablish Bauhinia to their benefit, something they were all aware of.

After the country disbanded, someone remembered them, wasn't that ironic?

Victor was beside himself, rubbing his hands together anxiously. He had tasted enough of this cold shoulder treatment.

He looked at Bai E, hoping this strong elder brother could come up with a solution.

Bai E had remained silent, his gaze sweeping over the miners' worn protective gear, their simple dwellings, the faces marked by illness, and the fatigue and despair deeply embedded in their eyes.

He walked over to the old miner, crouched down, and looked him in the eye.

"He's right." Bai E's voice was calm, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly, "Empty promises won't change your reality. We truly don't have the resources to immediately transform this entire Mine Star."

The miners looked at this unfamiliar young man with some surprise, not expecting him to admit it so frankly.

Bai E continued, "But we did bring some items, not much, but it was everything Captain Catherine and Victor could muster by selling all their possessions."

He gestured to Catherine and Victor, "They left no escape route for themselves."

Catherine then presented another data tablet, showing a list of supplies:

A batch of basic air filter cartridges, some portable water purification equipment, some common medicines and medical kits, some durable high-energy food, and several versatile parts for repairing old machinery.

The list wasn't long, and the variety was limited, but for this mining district, each item was urgently needed.

"It's not much," Bai E admitted, "maybe enough to resolve one or two of your most urgent issues. To improve your whole life? Far from it. It's unrealistic to expect that these supplies alone will prove to you that we're not like those who just spout pretty words."

His candor piqued some interest among the miners, the apathy in their eyes replaced with a glimmer of scrutiny.

"We're not aiming to buy your allegiance with these supplies." Bai E stood up, his gaze sweeping over the miners present, "We're just here to work. The supplies are here, and you decide how to use them. We'll stay and use our skills: fix whatever we can and improve whatever processes we can. Do what we can."

He paused, his voice steady and powerful, "As for whether you'll trust or support us, that's a matter for the future. Once you've seen for yourselves, whether we're just like those who only knew how to make empty promises."

Finishing his statement, Bai E didn't speak further and indicated to Catherine and Victor to unload the first batch of goods from the transport robot — several heavy boxes of filters and medical kits.