novelcrest Chapter 233 233: Collapse
Chapter 233 233: Collapse
However, a few geologists stayed behind, eager to submit their geological reports to Jason.
"Is it something important?" he asked casually, taking the physical report and examining it with patient care.
The geologists had indeed uncovered several highly unusual planetary features.
First, just as William had noted, no viable uranium veins had been found on the surface!
It wasn't that the planet was entirely devoid of uranium, but the deposits they had discovered were of incredibly low quality with minuscule reserves, rendering them practically worthless for large-scale mining.
Over the past few months, automated drones and countless reconnaissance robots had mapped a landmass roughly half the size of Australia, yet they still hadn't found any high-yield uranium deposits.
Perhaps massive veins existed, but they were buried so deep underground that the surface scanners simply couldn't detect them.
"Currently, we've only identified a few minor deposits, each with a maximum capacity of 20,000 to 30,000 metric tons," one of the geologists explained. "It's entirely possible that we just got unlucky and landed in a region naturally scarce in radioactive materials. Much like on Earth, uranium distribution can be highly uneven, some regions are rich, while others are barren. Statistically, this is normal."
After all, Nyx was a massive rogue planet, boasting a radius twice that of Earth and a total surface area four times larger. Furthermore, the vast majority of it was covered by a frozen ocean. The geologists firmly believed that with continued surveying, substantial uranium resources would eventually be found.
Jason shook his head. "If we were truly desperate for energy, we could mine them. But since we now have easily accessible methane hydrate, let's abandon these small, difficult-to-mine uranium deposits for the time being."
He turned to the next page and saw the projected estimates for the combustible ice reserves. A wave of relief washed over him.
According to the geology team's calculations, Nyx possessed 167 times the amount of methane hydrate found on Earth!
The vast majority of it was locked within the arctic and antarctic zones, as well as the deep planetary oceans. Even if they only managed to harvest a tiny fraction of a percent, it would be a practically infinite energy supply for the colony. Uranium scarcity was no longer a pressing issue!
In short, with endless methane, the colony's energy grid was secure.
However, the geological report wasn't finished.
The second major anomaly: eleven massive subterranean cave systems, strikingly similar to the one in Sector B11, had been discovered within a 10,000-square-kilometer radius!
Even more baffling, remote probes had detected similar cavern networks in distant volcanic regions thousands of kilometers away!
That was incredibly strange...
Noticing Jason's deep, thoughtful frown, the lead geologist quickly elaborated. "These sprawling cave networks might just be a unique geological feature of Nyx. We simply don't have subterranean distributions on this scale back on Earth!"
"It's fascinating, but puzzling. This planet lacks solar radiation, the atmospheric pressure is intense, it barely rains, and it only occasionally hails. So how were these massive voids formed? We have to admit, our current models cannot explain their geological origins."
"Furthermore, the ambient nuclear radiation inside these caves is consistently higher than on the surface, which makes no sense. Could all the heavy uranium deposits be hiding deep within these cave systems?"
The geologist was clearly stumped, convinced that this frozen world harbored ancient geological secrets humanity had yet to understand.
Jason's frown deepened. Hearing this analysis, a creeping sense of dread washed over him, though he couldn't quite grasp the fleeting thought trying to surface in his mind.
A cold pit formed in his stomach, and a chilling realization began to set in. He felt an overwhelming, instinctual sense of impending doom!
His mysterious sixth sense was screaming at him...
Danger! Danger!
What was it?!
His brain worked frantically, racking every piece of data to figure out where the crisis was coming from.
...Massive caves have been found all over the region. Why?
What did it mean, and what was the threat?
Could there be massive alien predators lurking inside that their weapons couldn't handle? That seemed highly improbable...
"There is a third point, Commander," the geologist continued, oblivious to Jason's internal panic. "The structural morphology of these caves is very strange. Some look like they were naturally eroded by subterranean water flow, but others don't. They look like they were physically corroded by some kind of hyper-acidic substance!"
The geologist finished his briefing. His report only contained these three anomalies, but due to the strict safety regulations, his team couldn't venture inside to investigate. The entire science division was itching to breach the caves.
Jason's heart hammered violently against his ribs. The sense of crisis amplified, thickening like a black fog suffocating his mind!
And... the danger was immediate!
Suddenly, a terrifying variable flashed through his mind. "How deep have our heavy excavators dug?!" he asked abruptly.
"Over the last two months? Roughly twenty meters," William replied from the side, a bit startled by the sudden question. "Definitely less than thirty meters."
Jason's body trembled violently as the horrifying truth clicked into place...
At that exact moment, a strange, sickening sound of stone cracking reached his ears. It was extremely faint almost imperceptible. The noise was heavily masked by the deafening roar of the heavy excavators and industrial drills, making it nearly impossible to distinguish, but Jason's enhanced senses caught it.
He lunged forward, roaring at the top of his lungs, "Fall back! Everyone, get back inside the ship!"
The crowd froze, completely stunned, unable to comprehend Jason's sudden panic.
But time had run out. There was no time to explain. Jason moved like a blur, grabbing the bewildered scientists and violently hurling them through the spacecraft's airlock like ragdolls!
In an instant, the faint cracking sound amplified into a deafening, catastrophic structural groan. It was the sound of millions of tons of bedrock finally failing to support the weight above it.
Less than a second later, everyone heard an apocalyptic BOOM.
The entire ground collapsed!
The structural failure cascaded rapidly outward. In less than thirty seconds, a massive sinkhole over five kilometers wide ripped open beneath the outpost!
Modular buildings, transport trains, automated robots, mountains of raw ore, and the spacecraft itself plummeted straight down into the abyss, entirely at the mercy of gravity...
In that terrifying instant, Jason felt his entire body lift off the ground, a sickening wave of weightlessness taking over. Fortunately, he had already thrown almost all the civilian personnel into the transport ship.
"Argh!"
He let out a primal roar, his mechanical left hand shooting out to grab Marcus, who had been thrown off balance outside the airlock. With his right hand, he locked his mechanized grip onto the spacecraft's external threshold, dangling in mid-air alongside the falling ship!
Inside the cabin, the personnel were completely paralyzed by the inexplicable disaster, unable to react.
Weren't they just standing on solid ground? Why were they in freefall?!
Gravity vanished inside the hull as the ship plummeted. Some slammed against the bulkheads, while others tumbled wildly in mid-air. With nothing bolted down to grab onto, utter chaos reigned!
None of them had any idea what was happening!
Jason's adrenaline surged, the veins bulging on his forehead as he screamed into his helmet's comms link: "Pilot! Thrusters! Engage reverse thrusters now!"
No one knew how deep this subterranean void was. It could be twenty meters, a few hundred meters, or a bottomless drop of tens of thousands of meters!
Even if it was only a minor drop, a freefall impact at this mass would result in catastrophic casualties!
All around them, millions of tons of shattered rock, soil, and industrial equipment were locked in a chaotic freefall. Due to varying air friction and mass, the debris fell at slightly different speeds, violently colliding in mid-air.
Within seconds, Jason felt his power armor absorb multiple brutal impacts from falling boulders.
Fortunately... because everything was falling at a similar relative velocity, the kinetic impacts weren't immediately lethal.
"Brace for impact!" Jason's pupils dilated to their absolute limit. His heart pounded so hard he thought it would burst through his ribs. Superhuman strength had its limits; even clad in cutting-edge power armor, he couldn't punch his way out of an apocalyptic landslide.
Suddenly, a deafening CRASH echoed from below. To his absolute horror, the cavern floor beneath them was entirely obliterated by the sheer weight of the millions of tons of falling rock and machinery!
The false bottom shattered, revealing an even more massive, impossibly deep second layer to the abyss!
The secondary collapse violently rattled Jason, sending brutal shockwaves through his dangling body. He felt as if his very bones were splintering. Inside the cabin, the crew was tossed around like dice in a cup, violently slamming into the bulkheads.
The power armor was the only thing keeping Jason alive. The mechanical exoskeleton faithfully executed his physical commands, its servo-enhanced grip locking onto the spacecraft's threshold with terrifying force, refusing to let go.
By sheer luck, their outpost spacecraft wasn't the first heavy object to strike the false floor; its momentum was slightly broken by the debris field below it, making the structural impact somewhat manageable. However, as the first sub-level completely gave way, a catastrophic avalanche of debris, with the spacecraft caught right in the middle plummeted straight down into the terrifying depths of the second layer...