The asteroid with the extremely high aluminum content was soon pulled to the left side of the spacecraft within the range of the mining laser under the control of the ship's computer.
The mining laser shattered the minerals, and the tractor beam captured the fragmented ore, transporting it into the smelting furnace.
The ore inside was separated based on the different melting temperatures of the materials.
Finally, it was poured into molds and cooled into standard metal blocks.
The whole process went as smoothly as it did yesterday.
And the amount of aluminum provided by this specially found asteroid was almost one-tenth of what is needed to repair the landing module.
It was even more than what was mined overnight yesterday.
This efficiency made Chen Ming a bit excited, prompting him to have the scanner continue to scan the next asteroid.
However, after restarting the scan, there were no nearby asteroids with such a high aluminum content.
But this is normal, and while Chen Ming felt a bit unfortunate, he didn't dwell on it.
He continued piloting the spacecraft towards the next asteroid containing important metal minerals.
Today would be a busy day.
Scanning, analyzing, mining, smelting, transporting.
Although most of the work could be done by the computer, overall Chen Ming had to oversee it, and he was the only one who could handle the transportation.
Moreover, Chen Ming needed to stay fully focused to watch for meteors that might suddenly appear from behind any asteroid.
After a day, not only was he mentally and visually exhausted, but even his limbs were a bit unresponsive.
However, the gains were considerable.
Mining in asteroid-dense areas is incredibly efficient, as not only does each asteroid have a high mineral content, but also the time spent moving between different targets is much less than it would be near the space station.
Even excluding the first high-aluminum-content asteroid collected, today's yield was almost equivalent to the amount mined over three consecutive nights.
Today's daytime plus last night's harvest completed half of the materials needed to repair the landing module.
At this rate, Chen Ming would be able to find a landing site on the Rimu Star by the day after tomorrow at the latest.
Chen Ming casually closed the panel displaying the materials inside the storage chambers in front of him.
Today is almost over, his body and mind have reached their limit, and he must rest.
He will continue tomorrow, and tomorrow, he plans to attempt entering the more densely packed asteroid regions.
The mining efficiency might be even higher.
After making his plans, Chen Ming prepared to withdraw from this area and return to near the space station.
However, at that moment, Chen Ming suddenly noticed that the scanner seemed to have detected an asteroid surrounded by many densely packed asteroids, making its internal composition unscannable.
Chen Ming's expression suddenly became serious.
There are many potential reasons why the interior of this asteroid cannot be scanned by the scanner.
But the biggest possibilities are only two.
One is that its interior contains some rare mineral that the basic model of the Iron Ore No. asteroid scanner cannot detect.
The second is that its interior contains the same things as the unscannable asteroid collected by the mining space station, which appear to be named Thorn Insect Race.
Of course, Chen Ming actually knew that the probability of the latter was not significant compared to the former.
But having witnessed the devastation of the space station not long ago, he couldn't help but harbor such suspicions.
After some consideration, Chen Ming decided not to pass up this opportunity.
Since he had already decided to abandon his company identity and head to the Pirate Space Station.
His personal terminal couldn't be used casually, and the wages on his pay card were the same.
But Chen Ming had always understood the necessity of having funds, so he needed some capital to start with.
Making use of the rare minerals was the ideal way for Chen Ming to get his initial fund.
Chen Ming also understood the risks involved.
So, Chen Ming's plan was to first use the mining laser to hit it from a distance.
Zapping the rocky outer layer of the asteroid to see what was inside.
If it was normal minerals, he would pull it near the spacecraft for regular mining; if it was something else, the distance would be enough for him to escape.
The spacecraft gradually moved closer to the unscannable asteroid.
Under Chen Ming's control, the machine guns on both sides of the spacecraft opened fire, knocking apart the surrounding asteroids tightly enveloping it.
Then he slowly adjusted the craft, aiming the type II mining laser's emitter at the mysterious asteroid, and fired the mining laser.
After traveling a distance, the laser's power somewhat diminished, merely chipping away a small part of the asteroid's shell, but there was no reaction from its interior.
Seeing this, Chen Ming stopped the mining laser and noticed in the lasered area a deep-blue metallic ore.
The spacecraft's mining laser was completely unable to shatter these deep-blue ores from this distance.
And the asteroid seemed to be losing momentum from the broken-off part, being pushed further away.
Chen Ming immediately used the tractor beam to fix this asteroid in place.
While the asteroid rotated, he used the laser to clear away the rock layer encasing the internal minerals.
Soon, a whole mass of deep-blue minerals appeared in Chen Ming's sights.
It seemed there were no issues.
The asteroid wasn't large, so after cutting away the outer rock, it couldn't even hold a complete insect.
Even the half-human-sized eggs Chen Ming had seen before could barely fit, likely with some parts exposed.
This truly was an asteroid containing rare minerals.
After triple-checking, Chen Ming eased his concern, using the tractor device to pull the mineral back and fixed it beside the spacecraft.
He was somewhat eager to see what it would be like after smelting this deep-blue metallic ore.
But...
Looking at the mining laser almost hugging the deep-blue ore and not even leaving a mark on it, Chen Ming was at a loss for words.
The mining laser's intensity on his spacecraft seemed insufficient.
Staring at the unscathed deep-blue ore, Chen Ming opened the panel of the type II mining laser.
[Type II Mining Laser]
[Manufacturer: Sinda Rockwell Mining Company]
[Intensity: Level 2]
[Suitable Environment: Basic Metal Ore]
[Durability: 89%]
[Executable Operations: Replace/Repair/Transformation]
The mining laser was also a product from this sub-company called Sinda.
The panel's level 2 intensity allowed it to mine most basic minerals but clearly was ineffective on the deep-blue ore in front of him.
"Wait, what is Transformation?"
Chen Ming suddenly noticed a previously unseen option under executable operations—Transformation.
Subconsciously, Chen Ming wondered if it appeared because he had read some modification books.
Somewhat uncertain, Chen Ming pondered and then directly reached out to click on it.
[Transformation Options: Type II Mining Laser]
[Advanced Lens][Energy Gathering Ring][Wave Oscillation]
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