Collapse Iron: The Five Heroes of the Clouds Won't Let Me Go

Each fortified city in Belloborg has a lower district.

It was originally built as an underground settlement to cope with the ice and permafrost, but after the discovery of the underground core, the lower layer was basically tied to the mineral veins.

Bronya led Danheng and his group to the lower level via a special cable car.

During this time, on March 7th, they were once again surprised by Bronya's identity; she was actually the commander of the Silvermane Guard.

March 7th felt flattered and overwhelmed that the future Great Guardian would come to help.

"Seele!"

The first thing Bronya did upon arriving in the lower district was to find the deputy overseer of the mine.

The straightforward girl with long blue-purple hair is Seele, who comes from the same orphanage as Bronya.

However, Bronya was chosen by Cocolia as her stepdaughter, while Seele grew up being fed by many families.

But no matter what, the two never lost contact and remained best friends.

"These must be the pioneers from interstellar space, right? Welcome! The conditions underground are a bit basic, but our hospitality is by no means lacking. We'll treat you to big chunks of roasted meat later!"

Xing: "I want to eat...food!"

Danheng toured the underground mining area. [Earth Marrow] is a yellow crystalline mineral that can be felt with heat even when you are just close to it.

"Seele, why are there so many intelligent robots in the underground mine? But they don't look like the company's models."

Seele introduced:

"These are excavating robots that we modified ourselves, all made by Mr. Schwarz."

"Swarovski?"

"Yes. Oh dear, I'm not well-educated and don't know how to explain it, Bronya~"

Bronya, acting as a mouth double, said:

"Mr. Schwarz is a robot created during the time of the first Great Guardians, and he is very special. He has human emotions. According to interstellar terminology, Mr. Schwarz is an acquired android."

Dan Heng exclaimed in surprise:

"Acquired?! That's extremely rare."

"Yes, so Mr. Schwarz was harassed by the company quite a few times."

Xing couldn't understand any of this, and the general picked up the baseball bat and was about to act on his instincts.

March 7th asked in confusion:

Where are you going next?

"Looking for minerals."

"How are you going to find it?"

"The power of pioneering, little sister."

March 7th: "So there's nothing I can do about it."

Bronya suddenly said:

"Gentlemen, please hear me out. Dan Heng has just explained your purpose. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, you will stay here for a maximum of three days, resupply, and then leave, right?"

Xing: "That was the original plan."

"Then please forget my mother's request and leave as soon as possible."

Now it was the trio's turn to be puzzled.

March 7th: "Why is that?"

Star: "Bronya, you're trying to frame me, Batman, for something unjust!"

Danheng: "...Why don't you let Bronya tell you the reason?"

Seele spoke:

"According to Natasha's experimental research, this fuel, Earth Essence, is a natural nemesis of our permafrost. If we want to restore the planet, Earth Essence is simply a natural helper!"

"But now we are supplying large amounts of geospatial material to companies, which has actually led to a decrease in ground heat and made the damage to permafrost more and more serious."

"As for the company equipment they received in exchange, apart from the ice-breaking drill, the other high-tech equipment was completely useless. Instead, it led to a life of extravagance and debauchery."

Seele then showed everyone a lot of information about the miners.

"Some of these people went to the upper district. Why? Because they felt that life in the lower district was too hard. Although they could eat their fill as long as they worked, there was no future for miners."

Seele said with a mixture of disappointment and frustration:

"If it were just for a more respectable job, that would be one thing, but many men in their thirties are actually abandoning their wives and children!"

"Every job is for the development of Belleberg. The miners' wages are never low. It's just that the conditions in the lower zone are limited. But you can take your family to the upper zone to spend money. I really don't understand."

Seele is holding a hoe:

"As an assistant supervisor, I used to be a member of the mining team myself. Uncle Oleg put me in charge of safety matters in the mine because he saw that I performed well."

Danheng commented:

"I also despise this kind of person."

Seele said again:

"That's right, and look, some people in the upper district also settle down in the lower district. To be honest, the two districts just have different responsibilities, there's no difference in status or wealth! Some people think that the drinking and socializing in the upper district is high-class, but little do they know that those in power have devoured them completely!"

"Ahem, I wasn't targeting Bronya."

Seele added.

Bronya gave her a reproachful look; only Seele would dare to say that to her face.

After all, her family is the one in charge.

No matter how the entire Belloberg Alliance develops, the greatest power will always remain in the hands of the Grand Guardians.

The lineage of the Great Guardian is passed down through a single heir, and naturally, some people have tried to replace him.

But as the Great Guardian, he possesses the friendship bestowed upon him by the Celestials who saved Beloborg in history, as well as the protection of the Celestial Ship.

Furthermore, the Great Guardian possesses the power of [Preservation], and the "come alive" creation engine only obeys the Great Guardian's commands.

Who dares to disobey absolute power?

Even if the Great Guardian is weak-willed, the powerful ministers below him dare not rebel.

The most famous one is the previous generation's Great Guardian, a cowardly homebody who spends all her time cooped up in her room reading whatever she doesn't know, except for basic tasks.

He entrusted most of the affairs and power to his confidants, who became arrogant and wanted to seize power. On the same day, the Creation Engine razed his entire family to the ground with a single punch.

After explaining everything, Bronya finally said:

"Providing Earth Marrow to the company in limited quantities is fine for mutual benefit, but Earth Marrow is the root of the planet Yalilo. We should use Earth Marrow mainly to alleviate the freezing disaster, rather than exchanging it all for interstellar bargaining chips."

"The great hero Igor once bought weapons from the company on credit, and now he has paid it off with the mineral marrow. There is no need for us to argue with the company anymore."

Bronya said dejectedly:

"My mother wasn't like this before. She also advocated developing the land using local resources, without relying on the company."

"But ever since her conversation with the previous Great Guardian in the secret chamber before her death, she has changed completely. She started paying attention to interstellar news and frantically exchanging Earth Essence for resources. It seems that my mother doesn't care about the planet Yalilo, but wants to develop towards interstellar travel, using Yalilo as a bargaining chip to enter the interstellar world."

Seele snorted coldly:

"This is my home, I don't care about anything else, and nobody can sacrifice Ariello!"

Bronya:

"So please don't help Mother find mineral veins. I will help you. Then you can say that even the power of exploration cannot find new mineral veins."

Dan Heng remained silent; she really needed to ask what the connection was between Xian Zhou and Ya Li Luo.