Volume Eight: Empty Mine

"How is it?" Long Jiao greeted Officer F who came back alone, she didn't follow because she didn't want to suffer the pain of being separated from her brother, "Is he okay here?"

"Don't worry, he's a space traveler, no one can catch him," Officer F said easily, "We should be ready to go, if we delay for too long, I'm afraid Mr. Wang will get angry again , Xiaofeng took us to this place." Officer F showed the address on the phone to Tuobafeng.So Tuobafeng drove the car towards the destination, while Police Officer F and Long Jiao chatted in the back seat.

"What does the place we are going to look like? How many people are there? What is there for? How long are we going to stay there?" Long Jiao asked several questions in succession.

"Uh," Officer F's head was getting bigger by Long Jiao's question, he even wondered if he should take her with him, "I'm not very clear about this, I was also entrusted by others, I only know that there are A space mine of our own."

"Mine, what's that like? Will we go to the bottomless tunnel?" Long Jiao's question is still more and more, what comes to her mind is the mine tunnel and mine shaft that appeared in the picture in the last century , and those gigantic machines and absenteeism of labor.

"To be honest, the mines here are completely different from those on Earth. Jupiter itself is a gaseous planet. Unlike other planets, there are theories that it will have a hard core inside and a cloud of gas around it. Mining there is very different." Officer F continued to popularize the knowledge of space mines to Long Jiao, "I know Mr. Wang, he makes mining equipment. But this time his equipment has a problem, he suspects that it is man-made. cause."

"Then why did he look for you? Couldn't it be better for him to solve his own equipment?" Long Jiao pouted and asked.

"Because he can't solve it by himself, otherwise why would he come to me?" Officer F felt that Long Jiao had too many problems, "Before, his equipment had never had any problems in other mines, whether it was Earth or Mars. , or the farthest Neptune, even if there is a problem, he can solve it, but this time I am afraid it is not just a problem with the equipment, but someone deliberately sabotaged it, so he needs me to investigate."

"Oh, it looks like this, what kind of equipment is that?" Long Jiao's curiosity was aroused by Officer F.

"Should it be a steel ball?" Tuobafeng asked.

"That's right," Officer F said, "I didn't expect you to know?"

"Well, it's okay, because Mr. Wang is quite well-known in our Chenfeng City, I think there is a problem with his equipment, it must have delayed the use of the buyer, and this may damage the brand. Am I right?" Tuobafeng switched the car to automatic driving mode and joined the discussion.

"Steel balls?" Long Jiao felt inconceivable, "What age is this, do you still use this kind of thing?"

"Haha, yes, things like steel balls are indeed not used anymore, but Mr. Wang Zhijun's family started with steel balls. In the last century, Mr. Wang's grandfather relied on selling this kind of ore for grinding "Tuobafeng seems to know Mr. Wang very well, "Then with the advancement of technology, their business has grown bigger and bigger, and the use of steel balls has also undergone many changes, but because the Wang family Started with steel balls, the name has been preserved."

"I can't see it," Tuobafeng's words surprised Police Officer F, "You know so much detail?"

"Hehe, it's just scratching the surface. I don't know the specifics. Please tell us." This point of Tuobafeng is what people in the bureau like most - humility and eagerness to learn.

"Just like what Xiaofeng said, Mr. Wang Zhijun's enterprise does mainly produce 'steel balls'. There are many types of them. If you talk about it for three days and three nights, you may not be able to finish it, but this time there is a problem. It is a detection type steel ball, its outer diameter ranges from 1 cm to 50 cm, the surface looks smooth, but it is covered with fine teeth, these steel balls are not solid, and have a mechanical device inside, which can The teeth on the surface can be driven at a high speed to crush rocks and move towards specific minerals." Police officer F also saw it from the information Wang Zhijun sent him a few days ago, and he is now learning and selling.

"But, isn't this method a bit outdated?" Tuobafeng was right, after all, it is easy to detect any minerals in the rock with other equipment.

"You are right, it is true on the earth, but in outer space, this kind of delicate 'steel ball' is obviously more advantageous, because the smallest steel ball can be used to detect, if useful minerals are found, this kind of steel ball The balls can also be combined with each other to form a large mining machine, or they can be divided and attacked from different angles.” There is no need for workers to be on site at all, and everything only needs to be programmed.

"Okay." Long Jiao didn't quite understand what she heard, but she felt that it was indeed a good improvement, after all, no one needed to take risks, "Then can these little steel balls be considered as little robots?"

"That's right, you can also say that," Police Officer F took Long Jiao's words and said, "Each steel ball has a certain degree of self-awareness, so as to avoid possible dangers, after all, if it is damaged, it is not a small loss. , the value of each steel ball is not cheap."

"Hehe, so I would like to make one for fun. You have such a good relationship with Mr. Wang, can you let him give me one?" Long Jiao's little girl's temper flared up again.

This question made Officer F seem at a loss, and he didn't know how to answer it for a while.

"I'm afraid it won't work," Tuobafeng said. "Their steel balls are of high technical level and will not be leaked easily. All buyers will sign a non-disclosure agreement. They only have the right to use them and are not allowed to study them privately. So all post-maintenance is carried out by Mr. Wang, who just doesn’t want the technology to be stolen.”

"Oh," Long Jiao sounded disappointed, "I thought I could get a new pet, but it seems like it's gone."

"Uh," Police Officer F said that he couldn't answer Long Jiao's words at all. I really don't know what is going on in this girl's head. She wants to treat it as a pet even though it is a device for mineral exploration. "What do you mean by that?" ah?"

"Didn't you just say that they can move, and they can be separated and combined at will. Wouldn't it be nice to keep them as mechanical pets?" Long Jiao had an innocent look on her face, and she thought of Xinghua City. The kitten who only leads the way, "And it doesn't need to be fed, it won't shed its hair, and it won't defecate anywhere. Do you think it's not good? Why don't you let Mr. Wang develop a mechanical pet? I guarantee that there will be many pets." Big market."

"Ah!" Officer F and Tuo Bafeng were startled by Long Jiao's thoughts. Her brain was a bit too big, and they couldn't react.

"Tch, at first glance, you are all people who don't have much interest in life." Long Jiao shook her head at the two with disdain, which made them very embarrassed.

"The destination has been reached, and the automatic driving is about to end!" The voice prompt on the car issued a voice prompt after arriving at the destination.

"Okay, now that we're here, let's go in quickly!" Officer F, like a child who has done something wrong, used this to defuse the embarrassing atmosphere, he pulled Long Jiao out of the car, and said to Tuobafeng in the car "You have to be careful when you go back, and pay attention to our communication." Tuobafeng didn't speak, just nodded and drove away.

"You guys are one hour and three minutes late." Officer F was still looking at Tuobafeng who was going away, when a magnetic voice sounded behind him.

"Um, Mr. Wang is as strict as the rumors." Officer F turned around and looked at the man in front of him—Wang Zhijun—a man of medium build with a serious expression. His eyes were small but sharp. , he just nodded in response.

"It's really not small." Long Jiao whispered into Officer F's ear, because Wang Zhijun looked much younger than them, and he should be around 30 years old. Treating him politely, Officer F didn't have the slightest temper, which made Long Jiao very aggrieved.

"This is?" It seemed that Wang Zhijun had only noticed Long Jiao now, which made Long Jiao even more angry.

"This is my girlfriend," Police Officer F said very lightly, but Long Jiao at the side was already stunned, and she didn't hear a word of Officer F's words behind him, "It's also our accompanying doctor—Long Jiao, with her Colleagues, my action is more secure this time."

"I see," Wang Zhijun finally showed a little smile on his face, he turned to Long Jiao, "Hello, I have heard of your brother's name, he is a great doctor!" Wang Zhijun praised Long Ao but did not directly Speaking of Long Jiao, it was obvious that he still had some mistrust towards Long Jiao.

"Thank you!" Long Jiao said very bluntly, expressing her dissatisfaction with this big boss Wang.

"Oh, by the way, I almost forgot if I hadn't seen you." Wang Zhijun seemed to suddenly remember something, "My friend also arranged for me a doctor from your place, I think you should know each other?" Wang Zhijun said Wan waved behind him, and a woman in white overalls stepped forward.

"Ha, what a coincidence, Dr. Long, we are traveling together this time." It was Long Jiao's colleague Gao Jian who spoke! (over)