The scanner hadn't found metal. It had found the "Aquifer Prime"—a legendary underground river rumored to have dried up a century ago. Each "resource" was a natural filtration vent, a place where the earth was still breathing, still sweating, still holding onto the one thing more valuable than credits.
"Twenty-one... twenty-two..." he whispered, his heart hammering against his ribs. We found 233 resources for you..
The list didn’t show scrap. It showed coordinates. 233 individual markers bloomed across his holographic map, glowing a deep, impossible blue. The scanner hadn't found metal