The machine brought to Mars for extracting gold sand was essentially a large industrial vacuum cleaner, with an extraction accuracy of only 92%. The remaining 8% of gold particles, still mixed with the reddish Martian iron sand, was something William didn't bother recovering.
After all, this so-called "Golden Canyon" was just a showpiece for the public. If William truly wanted gold, he didn't need to mine it here. Not only was there gold on Mars, but Sunday had also established several bases on X17, where the warehouse already contained over 400 metric tons of refined gold.
And that was just incidental. William hadn't even actively searched for gold mines—the metal had simply been extracted from rocks dug up while constructing bases. These rocks contained an average 9.1 grams of gold per ton, and Sunday had refined them as a side project.
For William, mining here was a waste of time and effort. Instead, it would be far more efficient to send 100 additional engineering robots to the Olympus Mons gold mine on Mars.
The current extraction machine wasn't perfect, but it was incredibly efficient. In under three minutes, the device's one-ton storage compartment was already full.
Turning to the two small robots, William ordered them to remove the 40cm³ metal storage cube filled with gold sand. Smiling at the livestream drone, he said:
"One ton of pure gold forms a 37.2 cm³ cube. Since this metal box is completely filled, it should weigh significantly more than one ton.
Gold sand isn't pure gold, but once we refine it in London, each of these boxes should yield at least one metric ton of solid gold."
Having demonstrated the process, William quickly lost interest in handling the extraction himself. He directed the livestream drone's camera toward the two robots sealing the gold boxes and walked over to where Nissa and Selina were already digging gold sand with shovels.
Sneaking up behind Selina, William wrapped his arms around her and whispered mischievously, "Forget digging, my love. Maybe we should consider getting some exercise instead? I bet it would feel different on Mars."
Hearing this, Selina and Nissa immediately knew what he meant.
Selina rolled her eyes dramatically, while William simply grinned shamelessly.
Grabbing one woman in each hand, he led them back into the spaceship.
Two hours later, William emerged from the ship, looking refreshed and satisfied.
The first thing he noticed was the growing pile of gold boxes neatly stacked by the two small robots.
After a quick scan, his mind instinctively calculated the numbers—at least 40 full containers were on the ground.
Damn.
It suddenly dawned on William where the problem lay.
At 20 gold boxes per hour, that meant they were collecting over 20 metric tons of gold sand every hour.
In one day, they'd extract 480 metric tons—and this entire canyon only contained 600 metric tons.
At this rate, in less than two days, the entire stockpile would be depleted.
Meanwhile, the Olympus Mons mine was producing only 350 metric tons per month—and even that was already more than what most countries mined in an entire year.
Selina, now fully dressed in her spacesuit and noticing William frozen in thought, raised an eyebrow.
"What's wrong?" she asked. Following his gaze to the stacked gold boxes, she added, "Is there a problem?"
William shook his head and quickly changed the topic.
"Don't worry, it's nothing major. Since we'll be heading back to the base soon, why don't you and Nissa take some gold sand as souvenirs?"
Selina's curiosity instantly shifted.
"That's a great idea," she admitted, but then shot William a glare. "If you weren't such a damn pervert, we'd already be finished with everything."
With a mocking push, she shoved William aside and climbed down the spaceship ramp.
Rather than feeling offended, William simply laughed, reminiscing about their "exercise session."
To be honest, the location made all the difference.
The unique setting added excitement, and all three of them had been fully invested in the experience—to the point where Nissa was now too exhausted to leave the ship.
After filling a small bag with gold sand, Selina suddenly thought about bringing extra for the others back home.
Looking up, she saw William still standing by the spaceship ramp, smirking like a smug bastard.
Annoyed, she yelled, "Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to help me?!"
Wanting to avoid showing himself or Selina on camera, William instructed Sunday to adjust the livestream angles, then jumped down to join her.
"You already have a full bag. What, are you planning to sculpt a life-size statue of yourself out of gold?" he teased.
Selina shot him a glare. "I'm bringing some for Abby and the others—so they don't think Nissa and I are inconsiderate."
William chuckled, not bothering to argue.
Raising his right hand, he gestured toward the ground.
Immediately, the gold sand and reddish iron sand separated.
A torrent of pure gold sand swirled into the air like a liquid stream, gathering mid-air above his palm.
Then, without warning, a roaring flameengulfed the golden mass, melting it into a glowing, molten sphere.
Selina's heart pounded.
That flame was easily over 1,000 degrees Celsius—yet William controlled it effortlessly.
A moment later, a second metal appeared, floating beside the molten gold.
This one gleamed even brighter than gold itself—its radiant glow so intense, it almost looked like liquid light.
Selina immediately recognized it.
This was the same exotic gold alloy William used to create the legendary "Devonshire Coins."
However, this time, he was mixing a much larger amount into the molten gold, making the resulting metal far more dazzling.
Slowly, under William's mental control, the molten metal began shifting, stretching into a recognizable shape—a woman's silhouette.
Selina held her breath, stealing a glance at William's face.
He was smiling warmly as the statue took form.
A few seconds later, the details became clearer—a flowing coat, elegantly sculpted features…
Selina suddenly squeezed William's left hand, gripping it tightly.
Her heart was racing—a sensation she hadn't felt since absorbing the blood of Alexander Corvinus.
Feeling her intense grip, William glanced at her flushed face and smirked.
A single thought refined the statue's face, bringing it to life.
In an instant, Selina saw her own reflection in the sculpture.
Her jaw dropped.
William laughed. "I don't even need to ask—you love it, don't you?"
Selina snapped out of her daze, nodding frantically. "Of course I do! Of course I love it!"
If not for the statue's scorching temperature, she would have grabbed it immediately.
"You like it? Good," William said, but paused dramatically.
"But it's not complete yet."
He gestured again, and a series of glowing letters began etching themselves into the statue's base.
Selina watched eagerly, reading the words aloud as they appeared:
"Dedicated to my beloved Selina—William Devonshire."
"By the Blood God…"
Selina lost all restraint.
Throwing her arms around William, she pressed herself tightly against him.
Had they not been wearing spacesuits, things would have escalated even further.
Still clinging to him, she gazed dreamily at her golden statue and murmured:
"Let's go back to the base now, my love."
(End of Chapter)
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