The little star from the Gobi Desert, handed over to the state, is hailed as a national treasure.

"Don't rush, I'll try!"

At the critical moment, Zheng Hong stepped forward. He picked up the geological hammer, lay down on the ground and started tapping and drilling. As expected of a senior expert, he soon took out his chalk and drew a circle in one of the spots.

"This is the weakest point in the structure. We'll use an iron wedge to wedge a small hole here, then strike it with a sledgehammer, using the stress to break the stone slab."

Without further ado, the soldiers brought tools from the vehicle and started tapping the chalk rings. Liang Zhe considerately covered his daughter's ears to avoid startling her with the loud noise.

A dozen minutes later, several muffled thuds came from the stone slab. Spiderweb-like cracks first appeared at the blockage, and then the cracks spread rapidly. Finally, with a "crash," a large piece collapsed.

"It's done!"

"There's hope!"

"Everyone be careful!"

The soldiers were greatly encouraged. With a cheer, they swung their hammers even faster. In no time, the entire blockage had been smashed through, revealing a dark hole.

A fresh, earthy scent wafted out, like a breath from the depths of the earth.

As expected, what lay behind was not a secret room, but a bottomless abyss.

"I'll go down first!" Song Dazhuang turned on his high-powered flashlight, pulled out his pistol with his right hand, and was about to rush inside.

"Come back!" Brigade Commander Bai pulled him back abruptly. "The air quality hasn't been tested yet, what's the rush!"

"Hehe, sorry, sir, I was in a hurry." Song Dazhuang scratched his head sheepishly.

A soldier took out a makeshift gas detector and inserted it into the passage. A few minutes later, the instrument showed: oxygen levels were normal, and no common toxic gases were detected.

"We can go in, but be careful," Commander Liu ordered. "Comrade Song Dazhuang, you lead a squad to scout ahead. The rest of you follow behind, keeping a safe distance."

"Yes!" Song Dazhuang accepted the order and led the soldiers into the tunnel. The road beneath their feet was flat and several meters wide. The beams of their flashlights shone forward, revealing only darkness and an unfathomable depth.

"Report: Lighting wiring slots were found on both walls."

A soldier pointed out with a flashlight that the walls on both sides were not natural rock or soil, but were made of concrete.

"Mr. Qian, this is a huge project!" Even the well-informed Chief Designer Wang couldn't help but marvel.

"Continue to observe."

Song Dazhuang gave the order.

The group continued downwards, the passage becoming deeper and deeper. "Daddy, there are little cars!" Tian Tian pointed ahead, and sure enough, not far away, there were narrow-gauge mine car tracks laid out under their feet, with several mining carts lying askew to one side.

"This is a transport vehicle for ore mining," Zheng Hong said excitedly as he strode forward. "There really is a mine shaft down here!"

These words instantly ignited a wave of elation among everyone, and the same thought simultaneously popped into their minds: Who would have thought that a hidden mineral vein truly lay buried deep within this desert!

The group quickened their pace, rounded a gentle bend, and suddenly the view opened up before them!

A huge, man-made underground space appeared before everyone's eyes, with a height of more than ten meters and a length of nearly one hundred meters.

What is most striking is not the scale of the project, but the exposed rock face on one side of the cave.

Illuminated by several flashlight beams, the rock face refracted dazzling metallic luster: dark silver, deep blue, purplish-red, and jet black...

A multitude of colors intertwine, resembling a vibrant painting!

But this is not all.

In the open area in the center of the cave, a large number of mechanical equipment were neatly parked, including several large diesel generators. The mining tracks we had just seen extended all the way to this point.

Surprisingly, despite being over twenty years old, the wheelbarrows and ventilation fans were not rusted and appeared to be well-preserved. Japanese signs were nailed to the wall, and there were many blueprints and documents stacked on the table.

silence!

Everyone was so shocked by what they saw that they were speechless, and all that could be heard was each other's heavy breathing and the pounding of their hearts.

It’s incredible!

"So... this is what the Japanese devils really wanted to achieve by building the road..." Chief Designer Wang murmured.

They don't actually want to build a road; they clearly want to secretly mine this mountain and seize these precious metal resources for themselves!

Zheng Hong could no longer contain his excitement. He staggered to the mine wall, took out his geological hammer, carefully removed a mineral sample from the wall, and examined it closely in his hands.

"Rutile...it can't be wrong, it's exactly the same as the rough stone in the box above!" His hands trembled slightly.

Professor Qian stepped forward, picked up a relatively complete drawing, and examined it under the light of his flashlight. It was a mining plan map annotated in Japanese. The cross-section, mining schedule, equipment list, and other professional details were clearly visible.

"The plan is truly comprehensive." Chief Designer Wang inspected the mining equipment. "From exploration to mining, the whole solution is there. If we hadn't surrendered after the defeat, this place could probably have been enough for them to mine for several years."

Commander Liu walked up to a generator and tried to turn the control valve. To his surprise, the valve turned.

"It's well-maintained; with some repairs, it might still be usable."

"They didn't have time to destroy it," Chief Designer Wang said thoughtfully. "They thought they could come back. The jewelry left on top was just a smokescreen. Once it was discovered, they would only care about the treasure and wouldn't consider that there were mineral veins underground."

Zheng Hong no longer cared about the equipment. He walked dozens of meters along the outcrop of the ore vein, taking seven samples from different locations, carefully numbering and recording the location of each sample. His movements became faster and faster, and his breathing became more and more rapid.

"Old Zheng, slow down," Professor Qian reminded him.

"We can't delay!" Zheng Hong excitedly returned with the ore samples. "Commander, esteemed leaders! If these samples are representative of the entire ore body... then we may have discovered a world-class titanium deposit!"

He held up one of the specimens, and when the flashlight shone from behind, it appeared translucent deep red with fine golden veins inside.

"Look at this rutile content! And the accompanying vanadium and zirconium... this is an excellent raw material for aerospace-grade titanium alloys!"

These words instantly lifted everyone's spirits.

"How many problems can it solve?" Commander Liu asked directly.

Zheng Hong took a deep breath. "Qian Lao's missile project has solved at least 60% of the material problems. No, 70%!"

Professor Qian stepped forward, took the specimen from Zheng Hong, and examined it carefully against the light. After a long while, he slowly nodded: "If the smelting process can keep up... Professor Zheng's estimate may be conservative."

"That's right!" Chief Designer Wang exclaimed excitedly. "Previously, due to insufficient material strength, the projectile wall thickness was 15% greater than the theoretical optimal value. If we switch to a high-performance alloy, the wall thickness can be reduced, solving more than half of the 8% weight overload problem!"

Professor Qian nodded. "The weight saved, combined with optimized aerodynamics, reduces transonic drag by 2.5%. The combined effect of these two factors can significantly increase the range."

"Do you have paper and pen? I need to calculate, let's calculate now!" Chief Designer Wang couldn't contain himself any longer.

"Old Wang, don't rush." ​​Professor Qian pressed his hand down. "We need to wait for Comrade Zheng Hong to test the exact mineral content before we can make a scientific prediction."

"Alright! Let's not delay!" Commander Liu lightly slammed his fist on the table. "Get to work immediately and complete the ore assessment as soon as possible. We need to..." He suddenly paused, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes.

This doubt is precisely why Professor Qian has remained relatively calm throughout.

"Commander, although we have discovered mineral deposits, the biggest challenge ahead is how to smelt and process them."

Yes, everyone was so caught up in the excitement that they forgot about such a crucial issue.

Even if the base's current conditions allow it to mine using tools left behind by the enemy, the subsequent smelting and processing are simply impossible. These tasks require specialized smelters.

At present, let alone producing alloy steel, even simple rough processing is not possible.

While mature metallurgical plants in China are mainly concentrated in Northeast and North China, the refining technology for titanium alloys is highly demanding and beyond the capabilities of most factories. If this batch of ore were transported thousands of miles away, and current lathes couldn't process it, wouldn't all the previous efforts be wasted?

More importantly, if enemy agents find out about this mine's secret, they will definitely intensify their sabotage efforts!

The excitement from before was like being doused with cold water, forcing everyone to calm down.