"I just had the same thought." Li Wenxi nodded and then raised her own doubt, "But if thatâs the case, how do we explain the polluted soil?"
Could the transmission device in the dome still pollute the soil below?
In what way?
Could it be...
"The waste from the transmission device is liquid, if it drips down from above, it could indeed pollute this soil." Xu Ying offered an explanation, "In any case, it is certainly possible."
The air in the underground world base is almost windless, the air flows slowly, so liquid falling from high above wouldnât be scattered by the wind, itâs quite possible for it to drip directly below.
"I understand." Wei Shishi looked a bit serious, "It seems the extraction above must start immediately. Itâs just... I canât help much."
"Why?" Xu Ying looked at her.
"Our Wei Family is not responsible for ore extraction, the ones responsible for resource extraction are the Yuan Family."
The Yuan Family, one of the other three families, mainly responsible for various resource extraction, storage, and utilization, and manage the economy of the entire human settlement.
Simply put, they are the family that controls resources and economy.
Also passed down for a thousand years.
Though it has been reshuffled several times by Xu Xin.
"The Yuan Family huh..." Xu Ying hesitated a bit, "Should I try to find them?"
"Grandpa is probably talking with the Patriarch of the Yuan Family now." Wei Shishi looked towards the city, at those three tallest buildings.
"Unlike the Wei Family, we think that tall buildings are too conspicuous and easily destroyed, if any accidents happen, we would be in crisis. So our building is mostly used as a special lookout tower, after all, its height is there."
"But most of the Yuan Family directly lives in their tall building, and their Patriarch lives in the top three floors, where he can overlook the whole city at any moment. Grandpa, he might be in their tall building now."
Li Wenxi was slightly worried and said, "If there is any problem with the Yuan Family, wonât your family elder be in danger?"
"You can rest assured in this regard." Wei Shishi shook her head, "The three families wonât strike against each other. With my grandpa personally handling it, the work should be able to start today if all goes well. By then, you all..."
At this moment, Wei Shishiâs expression changed slightly, and she tapped the earbud she was wearing.
The same model she had given to Li Wenxi earlier.
"Grandpa, howâs it over there... What? They disagree? Why?"
"Okay, I understand."
Wei Shishi tapped the earbud once again and then her brows furrowed, "The negotiation... failed."
Xu Ying looked off towards the distant building, "No extraction?"
"Yes." Wei Shishi nodded, "They said extracting the dome might cause a large-scale collapse, and their technology is not yet sufficient for safe extraction, which might endanger the cityâs safety, so they rejected grandpaâs proposition."
"Such reasoning really is... unrefutable." Xu Ying felt a bit helpless.
Indeed, if the sky really collapsed, many people might die.
Li Wenxi looked up at the dome again, "Thereâs something, I donât know if itâs just my imagination."
"What?" Both women turned to her.
"Well... The first time I saw that mining area above, I had a feeling, it always seemed as though itâs a mining area thatâs already halfway extracted."
Li Wenxiâs words surprised both women.
"...If itâs not aliens themselves extracting, then the only ones capable of extracting underground would be the Yuan Family." Wei Shishi said gravely.
"They say they donât have the ability to extract, not enough technology." Xu Ying said softly, pondering aloud, "Could it be, they want to conceal something?"
Li Wenxi stopped looking up and dropped her gaze, rubbing her neck as she speculated, "For instance, that transmission device, did they place it up there?"
"If thatâs really the case..." Xu Ying looked towards the buildings in the city, sighing, "Then the Yuan Family is quite something."
"Letâs not jump to conclusions." Wei Shishiâs expression also turned somewhat grim, but she reasoned, "We need to investigate."