Captain Gisele had started to regret it.
He had underestimated the difficulty of this mission.
Fang Heng was very powerful in the game, but now they were outside the game.
Facing this complex and harsh environment, Fang Heng probably wouldn’t be able to do much either.
"Don’t worry, the reconnaissance around the perimeter can be handled by the summoned creatures. I’ll try to find a weak spot in the sandstorm and park the ship there to reduce energy consumption..."
Fang Heng paused, a hint of a smile on his face.
"Wait, I think I’ve found something interesting."
Captain Gisele, who had been preparing to return to the ship with his team, stopped when he heard Fang Heng. He looked up and followed Fang Heng’s gaze toward the vast sandstorm in the distance.
Soon, several shadows leapt out of the sandstorm.
They were mutant worms!
Three Lickers leapt out from the sandstorm and approached Fang Heng. They opened their mouths, extended their curled and elongated tongues, revealing dark golden ores wrapped within.
The researchers nearby quickly noticed the ores, their expressions changing suddenly.
Were they mixed ores?
"Mr. Fang Heng, may I examine these ores?"
After receiving Fang Heng’s nod, the researcher carefully approached, using tweezers to place the small pieces of metal into sealed bags.
Captain Gisele asked, "Are these rare ores?"
"Yes, from the appearance, they are likely rare mutated tungsten ores. The exact composition of the alloy metal will require further testing, but it seems to have a high content."
Upon hearing this, the surrounding players couldn’t hide their excitement.
Mutated tungsten ore was a material used to create metal with self-healing properties and enhanced defensive characteristics.
Whether used for research and development or submitted to the spawns for contribution points, it was extremely valuable.
If they could collect enough of this ore in this world, the rewards would be enormous.
"Alright, take them back for full testing."
Fang Heng checked the game records.
The Lickers had found the ore in an exposed open mining area within the sandstorm.
Other than the sandstorm, no abnormal life forms were detected, posing no threat.
It would be much simpler from here on.
He could directly summon zombie clones to start mining.
This time, Fang Heng was well-prepared, as the ship had boxes of combat shovels, more than enough for the zombie clones to use.
Additionally, the ship had auxiliary sections for initial sorting of the ores, which could then be processed through alchemy, smelting technology, and spawn ore refining instruments to produce final mutated steel, which could be submitted to the spawns for contribution points.
More than ten experts sent by the president’s office also showed signs of excitement and whispered among themselves.
Captain Gisele asked, "Mr. Fang, can the ore collection be handled by the summoned creatures?"
"Yes, no problem. Distribute the tasks, and I’ll find a way to send the materials to the ship."
"Good, we’ll receive the ores on the ship and arrange for subsequent sorting, refining, and so on, including the construction of the base area..."
About ten minutes later, the Lickers began returning to the ship from the sandstorm, spitting out the collected metal pieces.
The ship’s research team immediately began sorting and screening the ores.
The experts, watching the situation from inside the ship, suggested, "Captain Gisele, the transportation efficiency of using summoned creatures is too slow. Could we use some carts to carry the ores?"
"We can’t. The sandstorm in this world contains corrosive gases. Even alloy metal boxes will be damaged by the sandstorm’s erosion. Right now, we can only rely on Mr. Fang Heng’s summoned creatures to collect the ores."
Fang Heng glanced at the chattering experts and felt a sudden sense of annoyance.
Throughout the journey, the experts wasted time asking questions, most of which were trivial matters.
He was definitely not interested in dealing with them.
Fang Heng truly admired Captain Gisele’s patience for handling these experts for so long.
The current ore collection efficiency was low because the number of Lickers was still insufficient.
Fang Heng planned to summon enough Lickers to handle the ore collection and transportation while leaving the subsequent sorting, refining, and other tasks to the Federation.
This way, both sides could collaborate to maximize efficiency.
The expert team showed no signs of stopping and continued, "Captain Gisele, could you send a team to accompany us and check the collection site of the summoned creatures?"
Captain Gisele rubbed his temples, his patience wearing thin.
Were these people out of their minds?
Staying on the ship was the safest option right now.
Going outside and looking for trouble?
Unfortunately, these experts were directly sent by the president’s office, so Gisele didn’t dare to offend them. He could only refuse, "Currently, it’s difficult. Our protective suits can’t last long in the harsh environment."
The expert team glanced at Fang Heng and said, "Captain, please find a way to cooperate. The summoned creatures aren’t under any Federation supervision, which is unfair to the Federation."
They then looked at Fang Heng. "Mr. Fang, what do you think?"
"What’s unfair? What kind of supervision do you need?" Fang Heng coldly swept his gaze over them and said, "Would you prefer I hand over control of the summoned creatures to you? You can operate them."
The experts pondered for a moment and said, "That works."
Fang Heng was speechless.
These experts actually wanted to dictate control over his Licker swarm?
He decided not to waste time with them.
Wayne and the others couldn’t help but laugh at the scene.
Were these experts out of their minds?
Teaching the boss how to do things?
The boss was working with the Federation on the mission as a favor to them, and they were actually getting cocky!
Captain Gisele noticed the awkwardness in the air and rubbed his temples again.
He was already used to handling these ’experts’ from the president’s office, so he patiently explained, "Gentlemen, let’s not bring up ’supervision’ anymore. The foundation of our collaboration is trust. The military department is willing to trust Mr. Fang Heng. We can’t help with optimizing efficiency, so we’ll leave it to Mr. Fang Heng. If there’s anything we can assist with, Mr. Fang Heng, please feel free to ask."
The experts, hearing Captain Gisele give in, showed dissatisfaction on their faces and started whispering again.
"Captain Gisele, you’re too polite. I’ll go outside and check on the transportation situation," Fang Heng said, waving his hand. "Wayne, let’s go. Let’s check the situation outside."