Watching the sluggish pace of the construction robots, Nissa stood next to William and complained,
"These robots are way too slow. Can't you put a little more effort into upgrading them to walk upright? Otherwise, if you plan to build a large settlement on Mars, you'll have to rely on human labor for a lot of tasks."
"That's a valid point," William replied, pretending to ponder deeply.
In truth, if he wanted to build a settlement, all he needed to do was transport a few hundred robots via portal. Within a month, an entire settlement capable of housing over a thousand people could be constructed with minimal effort.
"What if we let the new type of robots handle the construction? Maybe by the time we return next trip, the base will already be finished," Nissa suggested.
"Nissa!"
Before William could respond, Selina—who was currently unloading a container—quickly interrupted her. "If you think the robots are too slow, come help me unload these crates instead!"
"Ah," Nissa hesitated for a moment, noticing the stern look Selina gave her.
"Come on, hurry up," Selina ordered, frowning.
William chuckled at the scene and had the livestream drone focus on the construction robots before turning to Selina and explaining, "It's alright. Those small one-meter-tall robots you brought along weren't meant to be a secret anyway.
Besides, if all the potatoes here died without anyone to take care of them, I'd get roasted alive by billions of social media users."
Hearing this, Selina relaxed. "Alright, while there's still daylight, I'll head down to the canyon to check on the water resources. Nissa, you can stay and help move the containers."
"I'll come with you," Nissa replied with a smile. "This is Mars, after all. I'd feel better if I were with you. That way, we can watch each other's backs."
Both women turned to William, who was initially going to object. There was no real need to explore the canyon for water since the ship could already generate its own. Plus, who knew what kind of viruses or potential dangers lay down there?
However, after a moment's thought, he changed his mind. "If you want an adventure, we could head to the Golden Canyon instead. Help me pan for gold there."
"Pan for gold?"
Nissa's eyes lit up instantly. She turned eagerly to Selina and said, "Forget exploring for now. Let's go dig for gold instead!"
Gold had a universal allure, and even Selina was tempted by the idea. Seeing that Selina was on board with the plan, Nissa clung to William's arm and pleaded, "You've got nothing to do here, so come with us!"
Amused by her excitement, William smiled and nodded. "Sunday, how much time do we have before sunset?"
"Approximately 37 minutes, sir. However, if you remain inside the Golden Canyon, the effects of any potential storm will be minimal. Otherwise, the sands would've already been blown away."
"Haha," William chuckled, knowing exactly what Sunday meant.
The so-called "Golden Canyon" was part of his elaborate plan. Over the past two months, after leaving Mars, he had ordered robots to transport gold ore from the Olympus Mons mines and bury it beneath the reddish iron sands of the canyon.
"Alright then, let's go dig for gold," William announced.
He summoned a new livestream drone and addressed the audience, "The construction of the settlement is in the capable hands of our robots. In the meantime, we're heading to the Golden Canyon to collect the gold we plan to bring back to London. Interested in watching?"
At that moment, millions of viewers around the world were seething with envy. Damn you, William Devonshire! They cursed inwardly.
Who wouldn't be interested in gold? The only thing frustrating about the situation was that they weren't the ones going on this gold-digging adventure.
The ship's metallic doors opened automatically as they prepared for takeoff. Under Sunday's control, the vessel ascended smoothly, exiting the cavern and making its way to the Golden Canyon several kilometers away.
As word of William's plan to excavate Mars' gold spread across Earth, television viewership skyrocketed. For two months, ever since William first hinted at the existence of Martian gold, it had been a topic of fascination.
Now that the moment of truth had arrived, even those with pressing matters put everything on hold to witness history in the making.
The flight was intentionally prolonged for dramatic effect, and after about ten minutes, the ship hovered over a one-kilometer-long section of the canyon.
When the drone began broadcasting aerial footage, the world collectively gasped in awe.
Under the fading sunlight, the entire canyon shimmered with a dazzling golden glow. The sight was so breathtaking that many viewers felt dizzy, as if they had drunk too much champagne.
Even William hadn't expected the effect to be so mesmerizing. Although only a few hundred tons of gold had been discreetly scattered beneath the iron-rich sands, the scene was utterly surreal.
"My God," Nissa whispered in amazement. She clung tightly to William's arm, her voice trembling with excitement. "How much gold is down there?"
"I... I'm not exactly sure," William admitted truthfully. He had no idea how much gold Sunday had spread across the canyon, but judging by the sight before them, the deposits from the Olympus Mons mines were clearly abundant.
Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the solar system, had likely spewed molten gold from Mars' core during ancient eruptions.
Through Sunday's private report, William learned that in just two months, over 700 tons of gold-bearing sands had been extracted and refined. Approximately 600 tons were now buried within this section of the canyon, with the remainder spread thinly across adjacent areas.
This "discovery" would undoubtedly become one of the most significant events in Earth's history—a legendary find of unprecedented proportions.
Moreover, the gold here was exceptionally easy to mine. Unlike Earth's gold deposits, which required extensive extraction and refinement processes, the Martian gold was already in the form of surface-level sand.
"Land the ship! Hurry up, I want to be the first to stand in that golden river and take a picture," Nissa urged, snapping William out of his thoughts.
Laughing, William took manual control of the ship and descended to the densest part of the golden canyon.
As soon as the ship touched down, Nissa and Selina rushed out eagerly.
To give them a head start and avoid stirring too much jealousy among viewers, William deliberately lingered in the cargo hold for ten minutes, pretending to inspect and organize equipment.
He soon spotted a sturdy metal box, about one meter on each side, containing a portable gold-extraction device.
"Ha! With this, I won't have to lift a finger," he said with a grin.
(End of Chapter)
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