Scholar’s Advanced Technological System

“… this is your entry/exit card, please hold it. ”

“Thanks.”

Professor Leonard politely said thank you for accepting the card from the customs officer, who, as if he hadn't heard it, looked at the person behind him with no expression.

“Next. ”

“ …… ”

Atlantis Space Station is a synchronous orbital transfer station affiliated with the North Sea Coalition, with coordinates located in the zero-time zone airspace of the synchronous orbit.

As the seventh orbital transit station built by human civilization, it is primarily responsible for the movement of people and goods on the ground and for the Earth Moon, while at the same time it is the only customs station from the North Sea Coalition to travel outside the Earth.

Tens of thousands of people travel here every day, to colonies on the moon, to distant Mars colonies, or to outposts at LaGrand Day.

Under such intensive work, the customs officer was certainly not in the mood to talk to him, threw his sealed passport and an entry/exit registration card into his hands and proceeded to the next person.

Isn't it possible to replace these jobs with biomimetics? Anyway, they are already occupying the vast majority of service industries, at least give me a smiley face...

Professor Leonard, in a bad mood, thought so, reaching out and docking on the watch and exhaling the holographic interface.

“Where have you been? ”

In the holographic panel, a dark-skinned face occupies the viewing window and smiles at him.

“We have a bit of a problem here… don't worry, does your certificate really work? ”

Looking at that annoying smile, Professor Leonard said impatiently, "This is a certificate from Oxford University that we are a regular scientific expedition team hired by the North Sea Coalition government… Is this really the first time you've done this? I'm beginning to doubt your professionalism. ”

“Cough! Don't doubt it, we're just a little worried. After all, the current situation is clear to you, the security situation on the Mars colony is terrible, the false certificates are very strictly checked... OK! Successfully passed, here we come! ”

Not far away, a big, dark-skinned man waved at him, smiling with two penises and a biomimetic worker, walking towards him.

“Hey, man! Nice to meet you! ”

Leonard lifted his eyelids and glanced at him and the three employees behind him after turning over his business card and reading the video messages inside.

“Mammoth Excavation? ”

“Yes, my name is Jim, and these are my assistants from Hughes in North America and Shinichi Tanigawa in East Asia. The biomimetic in the back doesn't have to worry about it. Although it looks a little old, it's fully functional, especially if you're very good with rigs. ”

Introduced by his boss, the tall North American and the slightly skinny Pan-Asian next to him nodded slightly to greet him.

After introducing his employees, Jim looked at Professor Leonard and grinned.

“As you can see, we are as strong as mammoths, just as good at punching holes. ”

Leonard: "… mammoths don't punch holes. ”

And it's all machines, and he doesn't need how strong these people are.

“Cough! That's not the point," one sentence confused the past, Jim awkwardly raised his big hand full of calluses and patted Professor Leonard on the shoulder, "Come on, let's go to Mars, just to help you find those babies is enough to prove our specialty! ”

As he spoke, Jim waved and walked towards the boarding gate with the two employees behind him and a biomimetic.

The expression looked strangely at the back of the traveler, and for some reason, Professor Leonard suddenly worried about this trip to Mars...

……

It is said that a century ago, about the beginning of the 21st century, it took at least two to three weeks to travel from Earth to Mars, and there are also statements of window and non-window periods.

At the end of the twenty-first century, and growing up in the 22nd century, Leonard could not imagine how anyone could tolerate such a long journey.

You know, the average life expectancy at that time was less than 80 years.

Especially since the journey has no internet, no entertainment in any sense, or even a bath.

Dr Leonard, who landed on the surface of Mars through a lift deck with acidic shoulders and arms, finally stepped on solid ground as the tourists walked down the stairs together.

“… it's finally time to stand. ”

The Sky Shuttle terminal is located on the edge of the city, passing through the customs office that connects the buffer room, and they are inside the city as soon as they leave.

Leonard raised his head and the first thing he saw was a hemispherical film of aerogel that covered the city.

Like the dome of a greenhouse, this layer of aerogel film, several metres thick, circles a large area of circular land in the desert and acts as an atmosphere while blocking high-energy rays from space, leaving clean air in the city and bringing a highly realistic "blue sky” to the inhabitants of the city.

The interior of the city is even more astonishing, as designers seem to have maximized spatialism and squeezed every inch of land out of its final value.

A pipeline of this alloy connects a columnar tower to form the entire city's road network and complex.

Between the cracks of that tower building, you can see the greening landscape designed by genetic engineering, thriving on this exotic land.

It's hard to sum up the magnificence of the city in one sentence.

It's like an oasis in the desert, dispersing the lighthouse of the night.

Indeed, as the largest city on Mars for trans-Asian cooperation, this Mars colony, called the City of Tiangong, is not only the most developed and expensive area on Mars as a whole, but probably the most secure place on Mars as a whole.

As to why particular emphasis should be placed on policing…

This will be mentioned later.

“We are here to rest overnight and leave for the archaeological site as soon as the cargo has been unloaded from the transport ship. ”

“Okay, you're the boss. You're in charge. Let's just dig. ”

The big black guy named Jim squeezed his eyebrows, more than a hole-punching gesture. This vulgar move not only twitched Leonard's eyebrows, but also allowed the Pan-Asian policeman standing next to him to cast a gaze of attention this way.

Leonard lowered his voice and whispered in his ear as he grabbed Jim's shoulder.

“I hope you don't get in trouble, the nearest colony in the North Sea Coalition is 100 kilometres away! If we get deported there, our plans are all soup! ”

The operation was merely reported to the North Sea Coalition and was not approved by Pan-Asian cooperation, and they did not even submit a written application! If the Asians were to know, they would come here not in the name of a mining company, but in the name of archaeology, and would unearth the remnants of Mars civilization, and would never let them go.

“Yes,” Jim quickly lost an apologetic smile, "don't worry, the Asians won't bother us with this little thing. Come on, let's find a hotel first. ”

“The hotel I booked online. ”

Although the network on Mars and the network on Earth are relatively independent local area networks due to delays, the data on both sides are still connected.

Whether you're booking or shopping, it's easy to get it done with just one terminal that connects to the Internet.

Wearing AR glasses, Leonard quickly found the capsule hotel he had booked, as prompted by the signs.

A pedestrian took a night's rest and arrived at the exit gate the following day, after providing proof, wearing a lightweight outdoor space suit passed through a buffer chamber on the edge of the city and onto a cemented open space.

Here, the Mars cars and excavators of the Mammoth Excavation Company are parked.

Just looking at these two pieces of engineering equipment, and the logo on them, what Leonard thinks, it doesn't look like their own equipment, it looks like they're renting it for money.

“… are you sure these devices are yours? ”

“Uh, of course… is there a problem? ”

I stared at the big black guy for a while, and while Leonard wanted to make him tell the truth, I thought it was already here, and even temporarily hiring another construction team would be too late.

Moreover, his subject had been revoked by the Dean, and the archaeological operation was entirely at his own expense, and he could not afford other more expensive and seemingly reliable construction teams.

Sighing, he put his hand on Jim's shoulder and Professor Leonard lowered his voice.

“Okay… I hope you are professionals. We must be very, very careful that what we dig up is a relic left over from billions of years ago, and once something goes wrong it will be an unbearable loss for the whole archaeology! ”

Jim grinned and remained the standard answer.

“Don't worry, boss, I promise you how to bury the artifacts of Mars civilization and dig them up! ”

Even though there are 10,000 worries in my heart, there is no room to look back for this.

A pedestrian boarded the car, following a map Leonard had obtained from the Hiddell Mining Company employee, and drove to the side of a rift valley, where he stopped in front of an abandoned mine.

At the entrance to the mine, you can see the signs and barricades left by Hiddell Mining, but from the wear and dust on the surface, it looks like it's been abandoned for a long time.

“Are you sure this is it? ”

Upon Jim's inquiry, Leonard tapped into the holographic map on the watch, carefully matched the topographical features of the neighborhood below, and finally looked at the suspicious mine.

“This should be it. ”

In fact, according to his agreement with the webmate who calls himself "Dr.Z," the first time they arrive on Mars, they should meet in Tiangong City and then act together.

……

Out of selfishness and confidence in his abilities, he did not keep his promises.

Academic stuff is already full of scams, such as chips and takeaways, he feels he needs to teach him a lesson.

Looking at Professor Leonard, Jim and the two employees looked at each other and exchanged weird expressions on their faces.

Professor Leonard frowned looking at the three men who had not moved.

“What's the matter? ”

“Nothing...” Jim shrugged his shoulders with an unnatural smile on his face, then turned around and saw his two employees clapping their hands, "Guys, let's get to work. ”

Construction on Mars is not quite the same as on Earth, because of the different gravitational environments and air densities, many of the experiences that apply on Earth do not necessarily apply here.

Technically, it's impossible to dig anything with just the little rig that's behind the Mars.

Fortunately, however, the Hiddell Mining Company, which did not know whether it had gone bankrupt or moved, had punched the mine deep into a kilometre underground and even left an improvised magnetic track deep into the tunnel, which could be said to have solved most of their problems.

So what they're going to do is they're going to do something really simple, and that's they're going to do a little bit of widening of this mine in the direction that's marked on the drawing.

The ground vehicle for drilling was removed from the rear of the Mars car and, with the cooperation of the biomimetic driver, the three “professionals” he hired were quickly put into working condition.

These people seem unreliable, but they work unequivocally.

After reaching the deepest point of the abandoned mine, the drill bit in the front section of the drilling vehicle starts to start.

As a car of soil was transported out of the hole, just an hour of kung fu, a spiral-down passage continued to push the abandoned mine down for dozens of meters.

While replacing the drill bit, Jim walked up to Professor Leonard and wiped the dust off his mask and asked.

“Are you sure there's a treasure of Mars civilization there? ”

“Treasure?” Leonard frowned when he heard the word, "I don't remember myself saying there was any treasure there, but there were many precious relics... Be careful when you dig, if you dig up any artificially excavated structures, remember to stop and call me back immediately. ”

“Oh, I get it... don't worry,” the big black guy named Jim laughed hey, “if we dig up the baby, we'll definitely ask you to go check it out. ”

At this point, a surprise call suddenly appeared on the communication channel.

“Boss! We got a tunnel! Unlike Hiddell Mining, which seems to be a relic of Mars civilization? ”

Jim didn't have time to react when he heard voices on the channel, and Leonard jumped off the hood of the Mars car.

“Tunnel? How wide? Wait, stop... I'll see for myself! ”

Speak up, he didn't care for Jim's surprised look on his face, he rushed into the mine by himself and followed the spiral down the tunnel to the bottom of the mine.

Seeing Professor Leonard behind him, the American named Hughes jumped out of the co-pilot's seat and walked towards him.

“Doctor... did we dig somewhere? I'm not sure if I want to move on. ”

Ignoring him, Leonard quickly walked forward and squatted beside the hole, grasping along the edge of the hole for a while, and suddenly an excited look appeared on his face.

“Come on, keep moving! This is it!”

The American named Hughes nodded in a hurry and was about to turn around and order the biomimetic man sitting in the driver's seat to start the rig, but he didn't realize that the rig was running out of control.

Hard rock walls burst into pieces and huge drilling rigs rushed down the slope diameter, with one head stuck on the wall leading to the other. And the old-fashioned imitator sitting in the cockpit also knocked his head on the steering wheel, like it was broken.

“Shet… how did it fail at this time! Fucking second-hand stuff ain't gonna make it! ”

Chasing the uncontrolled drill truck into the cave, he looked at the cockpit door, which had been crushed and couldn't be opened, and the bionic man who pulled on the steering wheel, Hughes scolded, then looked behind him at Professor Leonard, switched channels and muttered a few words.

“Look what you've done!” Looking at the broken rock wall, Professor Leonard, who walked into the hole * *, complained angrily, "Well, this is so big, I just hope you didn't hit any precious relics or specimens! And nobody found out we did it! Otherwise, wait for the indictment! ”

Ignoring Hughes, who stood next to the transfer, and Jim, who had caught up behind him, Professor Leonard hit the torch in his hand and continued to explore the past in a meteorological fashion towards the cave.

The tunnel was deep and he couldn't see the bottom, but he could feel something up ahead.

Soon after he turned over a pile of clutter, he saw a silver-white metal rectangle about two people tall and one step wide, lying next to the wall.

“… that is! ”

Dr. Leonard glanced at the metal artifact in front of him, incredibly.

Tell him directly that this cannot be equipment left behind by Hiddell Mining, let alone other humans.

He bet they're definitely the first ones to get here!

In that case, there is only one possibility…

“The treasure of Mars civilization! ”

On the communication channel, Jim came from an unpleasant sound, and Professor Leonard frowned and corrected the sentence with dissatisfaction.

“It's a relic! You idiot, can you...”

Just halfway through, the second half was swallowed up his throat.

Because by the time he turned around, the gunpoint of a black hole had been pointed at him.

His throat moved up and down, and Professor Leonard's expression on his face suddenly turned from dissatisfaction to nervousness and fear.

He doesn't know why this guy has a gun, let alone what he wants to do.

All he knew was that if that idiot pulled the trigger, even rubbed a layer of skin on his suit, he'd die.

With the look on the face of the old professor, Jim, with the electromagnetic pistol in his hand, smiled with a funny smile.

“Can you do something? ”

“I mean, I'm an idiot, can you... help me see what this is? ”

Professor Leonard replied stubbornly, trembling, his back was already soaked with sweat, and even the temperature-control system of the suit could not calm him down.

This was the first time for him that the feeling of being pointed at by a gun.

However, this explanation does not seem to satisfy Jim.

I just saw this big black guy laugh and keep talking like a joke.

“It sounds like an order. ”

“Please...” On his knees, Professor Leonard held his hands over his head and begged, "It's my fault, I shouldn't have called you...”

“Come on, my dear friend. ”

Getting down in front of Professor Leonard, Jim had a cruel smile on his face and tapped his mask lightly at gunpoint, "Me and my guys have to thank you, it wouldn't have been that easy if it hadn't been for that archaeological work certificate you gave us that we wanted to leave Earth through the customs at Atlanta. ”

The expression on Professor Leonard's face was dusty when he heard it.

The one who can say this is either a fugitive from life on Earth or an air thief traveling between Mars and the Jupiter asteroid belt.

Though he has always heard that Mars is a paradise for criminals, he did not expect and could not believe that such a thing was so coincidentally encountered by scholars from his district...

“We were going to say goodbye in Tiangong City, but we just wanted to use you to escape Interpol hunting and start a new life on Mars. But now that you mention the ruins of Mars civilization, I'm sure there must be some valuable antiques in there, and we just need a start-up fund... to start a new business," he said, Jim hey, smiling, seemingly intoxicated by his intelligence, looking at the metal rectangle lying on the ground, "I didn't think I was betting correctly. ”

“ …… ”

Professor Leonard didn't react, he just drooped his head in ashes.

He knew that he could no longer live, and that the dead had no reason to let themselves go.

Just like watching the prey on the caseboard, Jim looked up at Professor Leonard's face and rubbed his index finger against the trigger of the electromagnetic pistol and said carelessly.

“Now, my dear Professor Leonard, if you could introduce me with your knowledge, what exactly is that metal box that looks like a coffin, and what might it cost to sell it, maybe I could make you walk a little faster. ”

Professor Leonard's lips moved, but eventually did not speak.

Jim sighed and stood up again when he seemed unresponsive.

“Well, it seems you've made a choice. ”

As he spoke, he removed a dagger from his waist to cut the rope.

Professor Leonard closed his eyes in despair and suddenly heard a gunshot while he was ready to die.

The gunshot sounded, as if it had come from a long way, and floated in this cave for a long time.

Then pounded, something fell to the ground.

Slowly he opened his eyes and Professor Leonard saw that it was not himself who fell on the ground, but Jim.

Just as he wondered if this wretched bastard had been hacked by his own men, he saw a bloodstained imitator slowly coming from the end of the cave, like a demon from hell.

The cold, chestnut feeling climbed to the back of his head, Professor Leonard trembled and sat back on the floor, and the expression on his face was like a ghost.

Civilian biomimetic...

Attacking humans?!

He has never heard such a horrible thing.

Whatever the scene in the big sci-fi movie, it's impossible in reality!

Not only is it procedurally locked down, but if an accident occurs in which a bio-person is injured, the company that produces the bio-person will not only be prosecuted for bankruptcy, but the entire production line will be abandoned, and the legal person will face a prison disaster!

“… who are you? ”

It's like he didn't hear his problem, and the creature dumped the blood on his arm.

Walked up to Jim's body, and from there, he had been shot by a pair of worn helmets, picked up the electromagnetic pistol that had fallen there, looked at it, and stopped on his waist.

At the same time, intermittent cold electronic sounds are being heard from within communication channels.

“Danger, eliminated. ”

Unbeknownst, a feeling of fear came to mind.

Thinking of that “Dr.Z” who never showed up, Professor Leonard suddenly felt like a piece of chess, from the time he got on Mars... no, it should be said that from the moment he saw that paper, he fell into someone's trap and kept walking with his nose.

He swallowed his mouth and looked at the walking imitator. He mustered his whole body of courage and asked in a fearless manner.

“Who is your master…? ”

“Is that Dr.Z? ”

He thought the biomimetic had ignored himself, but he didn't expect it to react this time.

Though there is only one short sentence...

“It's none of your business. ”

-

(Thanks to the leader of the book friend "Miss JC" ~ ~ ~ Don't forget to pay attention and vote ~ ~)