"The Soma Consortium's base is located at the second spine. Drive up the steep slope at the third pair of fins on the left side of Leviathan. You can see it after passing through Pass No. 4. The people at the base will send mining mules at the foot of the mountain. Follow up below." Yui pointed at Leviathan, which was getting closer and closer to the convoy.
The steepest part of the road up the mountain has a slope of nearly 40 degrees, which may not be a problem for tracked armored vehicles and high-horsepower off-road vehicles, but it is almost impossible for armored trucks transporting supplies to climb such a steep slope. To complete the task, this requires the use of a pulling device called a "mine mule".
Mining mules have huge wheels with sharp claws, and mining tongs that are so powerful that they can easily crush power armor. In other mining areas, mining mules are used as the main mining machinery. The working efficiency of a mining mule is comparable to that of thirty human miners wearing powered exoskeletons, and that is only if these thirty human miners work continuously for twenty hours without eating, drinking or resting... …
But in Leviathan's body, the mining mule cannot play its original role - because the strange magnetic field in Leviathan's body will interfere with the mining mule's drive system, causing the mining mule to become paralyzed. Secondly, due to the abnormality of most mines, The diameter is too small, and the huge mining mules cannot enter the working area... The first batch of mining mules transported to Leviathan were left in the warehouse to eat dust for the first two months, until people discovered a Very difficult question:
The crystallized ore mined in Leviathan can only be transported out by aircraft, but this cost is too high, and there are very few places on Leviathan's back that can be used as landing sites.
As for conventional transport trucks, they cannot drive on the back of Leviathan at all. Even crawler vehicles with strong off-road capabilities will have their own engines overwhelmed after loading heavy ores...
At this moment, someone finally remembered the long-forgotten mining mules in the corner of the warehouse. After simple modifications, these mechanical monsters with terrifying horsepower transformed into the most useful equipment in the Leviathan mining area. There is no transport vehicle.
"Back off, back off...More back on, okay, stop!...The K-02 machine opens its pliers and uses laser guidance to dock with the truck."
Under the command of the staff, the mining mule steadily grabbed the truck's cargo compartment with the modified giant mining tongs, and locked the metal locks at the same time. A burst of roar came from the engine of the mining mule, and Then, they began to pull the truck weighing more than 40 tons and its cargo up the mountain.
"Tsk, the engine output of this thing can match that of a small battleship, right?" Old Dog couldn't help but say.
"It's not that they can catch up, but they have surpassed most small battleships." Leighton's voice sounded in the communication channel again, "The battleships currently in service are equipped with anti-gravity devices, and the requirements for engine output are not large... ...As far as I know, the output of a single engine of a small warship like the Hummingbird or Hobbit is really overwhelmed by this mining mule."
"Let's go, it's getting late. I hope I can arrive at the base before lunch." Ke Lan said.
"That's right. I've been eating compressed biscuits and cans every meal these days. Now I have that smell in my throat." The old dog said, shifted the car to a low gear, slowly stepped on the accelerator, and followed by Listening to the low roar of the engine, Junius began to climb up the steep mountain road.
"Pay attention to the surrounding environment. This is the habitat of scale-winged flying insects. Although these insects usually do not actively attack humans, if they happen to hit their breeding period, then these little things will become extremely violent and will Treat everything that moves within your field of vision as your enemy." Ke Lan said in the communication channel that all this information came from the "friendly gift" of the intelligence dealer in the forum.
"Mr. Ke Lan, you seem to know the ecology of Leviathan's skeleton very well." Yui glanced at him and said casually.
"The first thing any hunter should do after receiving a mission is to collect relevant information." Lao Gou took over the words, "We are all professionals, not the kind of rookies who can compare."
The rookies he mentioned naturally refer to the hunters who belong to the Soma Consortium... In Ke Lan's view, even Benson's group is much better than these guys who were almost wiped out.
After a long journey of six hours, the convoy finally arrived at the Soma Consortium base built in the Yangshan Col of Leviathan's second spine. This base covers an area of 6.7 square kilometers. A bowl-shaped protective cover is placed directly above the base. From the flash of light on the protective cover from time to time, it can be known that this thing should have used the technology from Alphamin. Energy shield technology, as long as the energy supplied is sufficient, even a direct strike from a small tactical nuclear bomb will not cause any damage to the base under the protective cover.
"It's really a hard turtle shell." The old dog commented.
Pedestrians had already been waiting at the entrance of the base. The leader was an old white man with a Mediterranean hairstyle. He was wearing a spotless light gray suit, a black tie with gold rims around his neck, and the leather shoes on his feet were more beautiful. It was polished and shiny... However, what protruded from the sleeves of the suit were a pair of mechanical prosthetic hands with a metallic color.
"Manstein, Prussian, fifty-five years old, senior director of the consortium, commander and head of the Leviathan base, authority level L7... Of course, this was before you came, now, the commander of this base The title falls on you." Yu Yi introduced to Ke Lan in a low voice.
When Ke Lan jumped off the Junius, the old man named Manstein greeted him enthusiastically. From his face, Ke Lan could not see the "outsider" who was airborne. There should be that kind of resentment after seizing power... This can only mean two things. Either this guy belongs to the kind of people with deep knowledge in the city, or the other person belongs to Zofia's faction, and he doesn't care about his coming here. The true purpose is clear.
Ke Lan thinks the latter option is more likely.
"Welcome Mr. Ke Lan, special consultant of the consortium, to Leviathan Base." Manstein spoke very well, with almost no accent. He stretched out his hand and shook it with Ke Lan, "Excuse me, Manstein. , is the person in charge of this base. In the coming time, my subordinates and I will fully cooperate with your work and assist you..."
Manstein was still talking politely to Ke Lan, but Yu Yi walked up quickly and winked at him: "Mr. Consultant already knows everything."
"What, do you know everything?" Manstein's expression froze slightly, and he looked at her in astonishment.
"Everything is known." Yui nodded towards her.
"Well, in that case." Manstein put away the smile on his face and said to Ke Lan, "Now that you already know, I won't talk nonsense - the No. 7 mine where the accident occurred is now fully Blockade, two-thirds of the base's armed forces are stationed outside the tunnel at the entrance. This state has been going on for weeks. Although a seal order has been issued, if it continues to be delayed, the possibility of the news leaking will become more and more likely. big."
