pjbooks Chapter 90: The Australian Mine
Chapter 90: The Australian Mine
The plane landed at noon.
The dry, scorching air spoke volumes about the heat here.
Jason tightened his baseball cap and applied sunscreen directly to his exposed skin.
Unlike other places, the ultraviolet radiation here is strong, and the incidence of skin cancer is quite high every year.
International flights are transferred to smaller planes, and then passengers transfer back and forth.
As a representative of a vast and sparsely populated area, almost every household here owns a car, and driving is the norm for daily travel, with public transportation being extremely scarce.
Highways exist, but they are mostly used by transport trucks. Most people travel long distances by plane.
There are many airlines here. Long-haul flights use large aircraft, while the remaining routes are handled by many smaller airlines.
After several transfers, Jason and his two companions finally arrived back at the small airport near the mine around 3 p.m.
"Jason, long time no see!"
Brent, who had been waiting there long since receiving the notification, immediately gave Jason a bear hug and laughed, "You're finally back!"
Breaking free from Brent's embrace, Jason feigned a blank expression and said, "Brent, I remember Lika was supposed to pick us up. Why are you here? You're skipping work."
"No, Jason, you can't do this to me! I'm your best brother!" Brent clutched his heart and wailed.
You skipped work.
"Jason, I came here to pick you up!"
You skipped work.
"I've been waiting for two hours!"
You skipped work.
Brent "..."
Brent rolled his eyes, utterly speechless, and said, "Jason, can you put it another way? If you keep saying that, I'm going to have a heart attack."
"Stop acting and go home."
He then kicked Brent, ignoring the drama queen, and led Nodolino and the others toward the car.
"Jason, where have you been? Why are you dressed like that?" Brent approached Jason, his face full of curiosity.
Jason was dressed casually in beachwear, which was one thing, but Dolino and Nojes were dressed the same way, so it was clear that they weren't going to the Yukon for an inspection.
"Want to know?" Jason raised an eyebrow.
Brent chuckled, looked at Jason who clearly had ill intentions, and shook his head, saying, "Never mind, I wasn't really that interested anyway."
After saying that, he got into the driver's seat and said, "I'll drive. Let's hurry back to the mine. The gold we panned last time has come out. Jason, you must want to see it too."
His rambling was disjointed and the topic transitions were abrupt, making Jason want to laugh.
"Alright, drive carefully."
After a bumpy journey, Jason finally returned to the long-lost mine.
"Hey, isn't this Jason? Have you had fun in Hawaii?" Albert's teasing followed as soon as they got out of the car.
Jason replied, "It's alright, but the hype was a bit excessive. It wasn't as fun as I imagined."
Brent, who was standing nearby, widened his eyes upon hearing Jason's answer. He had thought Jason had gone out to play, but he hadn't expected Jason to go to Hawaii.
"It's your money anyway, you can do whatever you want." Albert didn't have any objections to Jason's travel plans, after all, he was a fun-loving person when he was young.
Brent, who was standing nearby, looked at Nordes and the others and asked, "You guys went too?"
"Mm," the two nodded.
Brent rushed to Jason's side and said in a fawning tone, "Jason, I want to go to Hawaii too."
"Go if you want, I'm not planning to go, there's nothing fun about it." He wasn't planning to go, and if he were to go, it would be to a place he hadn't been before.
"That's not the same! You're my good brother, it'll be more fun if I go with you." His tone was full of righteous indignation.
Jason's lips curled into a slight smile as he patted Brent on the shoulder, looking touched. "Good brother, just for what you said, I have to go again and make you treat me to a good time."
"Cough cough cough"
"That Jason, I..."
Jason interrupted him directly, "Brent, stop talking about me. I understand. Don't worry, I'll definitely give you face."
Brent's face flushed red as he said, "Well, Jason, I think you're right. Hawaii isn't all that fun, so let's not go."
"It's alright!"
"We can go anywhere, Brent. I can't let you down."
Jason patted his chest, as if he would be letting Brent down if he didn't go.
"Jason, well, I have to go to work. Look, I've been waiting for you for so long and you haven't done any work yet." With that, he turned and walked quickly toward the mine.
Watching Brent's retreating figure, Albert burst out laughing. "Hahaha, Brent is such a character, he's hilarious!"
Even Dolino, who is usually serious, had a smile on his face.
"Boss, we'll head back now. Feel free to contact us if anything comes up," Dolino and Noges said as they left.
As was his habit, Jason lay back in the recliner, put on his sunglasses, and listened to the distant roar of machinery. He instantly relaxed.
"Why are you so lazy, kid? You just lie around as soon as you get back," Albert said irritably, a cigar dangling from his lips.
Jason tilted his head and said helplessly, "Dad, I've been on the plane for so long, can't I even get a proper rest?"
"You're only eighteen, but you act like an old man."
Albert quipped that, in his opinion, Jason had suddenly become rich and was now lost.
Fortunately, it's just a trip, and he doesn't have any other bad habits. He can be lazy, but as long as he doesn't squander money, this mine is enough for Jason to live a wealthy life.
"Alright, you can lie down now. I need to get some sleep; I have to stay up late tonight."
Since Corinna and Eric joined, he and Swail have had a clear division of labor: one is responsible for the daytime and the other for the nighttime. If he didn't know Jason was coming back today, he would still be asleep right now.
After lying on the deck chair for a while, Jason went to the kitchen, grabbed a sandwich from the insulated box, and ate it as he walked toward the mine.
The machines roared, and everyone performed their duties.
Not far from the mining machine, Jason saw Little Hart sitting to the side and walked over.
"Jason, I heard you went to Hawaii?"
Jason knew without even thinking that this was the one Brent, the big mouth, who said it right off the bat.
"Yes, Brent just said he wanted to invite me to Hawaii again," he said with a very serious expression.
"Are you sure it was Brent who said that?" Little Hart looked suspicious. Given Brent's stingy nature, he doubted that he could say such things.
Jason gave him a look that said, "If you don't believe me, go and find out for yourself." "Don't believe me? Ask Brent in a bit; he just said it."
We chatted briefly and gained a preliminary understanding of the situation at the mine after I left.
Overall, it's operating normally and has yielded significant results!
Jason also walked around the area where he was working and used his detection abilities to explore it.
In areas that had already been excavated, Jason directly communicated with Swail to excavate any remaining areas or areas that had not yet been excavated.
Even a mosquito's leg is still meat.
With this detection capability, plus the ability to check for omissions and fill gaps, his goal is to dig this mining area dry!
Where Jason pointed, Swail took the gold pan and began the test.
When tiny gold particles appeared in the gold pan, he had to admit that Jason, the boss, was right.
Although Swell didn't know how Jason could determine which areas hadn't been dug up after just one walk, gold doesn't lie.
After directing the excavator to dig at several locations specified by Jason, Swail also took his gold pan and began fixed-point testing in the already excavated areas.
In his view, leaving gold in places that have already been excavated is unforgivable.
After wandering around for a while, Jason returned to his room.
The gold that had been panned and washed was taken out of the safe and placed on the table.
Jason activated his detection capabilities.
Detection range: 15 meters (upgradeable: 1 meter for every 100 ounces)
[Detection depth: 23 meters (upgradeable to 100 ounces, or 1 meter higher)]
[Estimated weight: 1027.9 ounces]
[Upgradeable gold ounces: 1308.95 ounces]
[Note: Gold does not absorb energy; it is only used for upgrading purposes, and its value remains unaffected.]
[Note: Only gold discovered through exploration using one's own methods is of useful value.]
The first wash yielded 263.7 ounces.
The second wash yielded 451.7 ounces.
The most recent third wash yielded 312.5 ounces.
These three washes yielded a total of 1027.9 ounces of gold. Adding the initial remaining 'upgradeable gold ounces' of 281.05 ounces, the total is now 1308.95 ounces!
Jason pondered for a moment and then added all of it to the depth of the probe.
Detection range: 15 meters (upgradeable: 1 meter for every 100 ounces)
[Detection depth: 36 meters (upgradeable to 100 ounces, or 1 meter higher)]
[Estimated weight: 0 ounces]
[Upgradeable gold ounces: 8.95 ounces]
[Note: Gold does not absorb energy; it is only used for upgrading purposes, and its value remains unaffected.]
[Note: Only gold discovered through exploration using one's own methods is of useful value.]
After adjustment, the detection range remains unchanged, but the detection depth becomes 36 meters, which is suitable for most mines for land-based gold panning, except for large veins.
Some hard rock gold deposits are hundreds or even thousands of meters deep, which is far beyond his current detection capabilities.
Jason locked the gold back in the safe and planned to go back to that strange mining area to take another look.
"Jason, Jason, wait for me!" Cass stopped Jason, who was about to drive off, and jumped into the passenger seat.
"No, Cass, go film the work location." He knows his own situation perfectly well; it's all about eating and playing, there's no explosive content to speak of.
Unlike others, who readily criticize and argue with people, and resort to violence at the slightest disagreement.
"Jason, it's all work, please understand. Besides, you've been traveling for so long, you should film more footage." No matter what Jason said, Cass was determined not to get out of the car!
"Fine, take the pictures if you want." But Jason still kindly reminded him, "I'm going to that gravel area, so don't throw up in my car."
Cass's face darkened at the thought of Jason driving there last time.
"It's okay, I definitely won't throw up in your car," Cass replied through gritted teeth, still thinking about the pressure from his boss.