Wasteland Development Diary

Zhou Yi's happiness didn't last long before he was back to scratching his head and sighing.

Even knowing it was a submarine base, he still couldn't figure out a way to get in.

The base's alien lifeforms didn't accept commercialization and seemed to be sticking to a military-style discipline.

No matter what Zhou Yi said, the basic response was always one sentence:

"No comment."

Red Falcon couldn't offer any effective advice either.

However, while the base aliens refused private commercialization and kept their situation a secret, they didn't expel the newcomers.

It wasn't a complete lockdown; the three sea caves and eleven ground entrances served as boundaries. The interior was a restricted area, while the exterior was a public natural area.

Zhou Yi tried to enter the interior, but he was blocked by an invisible wall. To be safe, he didn't force his way in, to avoid worsening relations with the base.

At this point, the Spine Hunter couldn't help but say, "Chairman, these aliens don't know what's good for them. Why don't we dig through it and show them what's what? I saw plants in the cave; it should be stone, and stone is afraid of digging."

Zhou Yi was taken aback: "You said there are plants?"

"Yes."

Sea Hunter flew him to one of the entrances. A layer of shallow moss grew on the walls of the tunnel-like cave, which was indeed within the restricted area that humans couldn't enter.

Zhou Yi pulled up a tuft of grass from the ground and threw it inside.

It landed on the ground inside the tunnel without any obstruction.

It seemed ordinary plants were allowed, but lifeforms with death ray energy were not.

Red Falcon suggested, "We could remove my camera and send it inside; maybe we can see something."

Following the instructions, Zhou Yi removed one of Red Falcon's electronic eyes, tied a rope to it, and threw it inside.

But the air wall immediately bounced it back, indicating it was preventing external spying.

Zhou Yi had to think of another way.

An insect inside the tunnel caught his attention.

The little bug was as thin as a hair, with long legs so delicate it looked like it would break itself after a couple of steps. Yet, this little bug could walk back and forth on the mossy inner wall, seemingly enjoying the humid and cold environment inside.

Red Falcon scanned it and reported, "It's a moss louse, just a common insect that lives in moss and aquatic environments."

In other words,

There were no restrictions on ordinary creatures.

Zhou Yi ordered Red Falcon and Spine Hunter to return to Emerald City immediately.

After nightfall, the entire base's coastline was lit up by light-attracting monsters, outlining glowing boardwalks and a crescent-shaped coast, creating a strange sense of peace and serenity.

Zhou Yi sat by the Serpent Castle.

He tried to chat with the base, but most of the time it didn't respond or said 'no comment'.

But as long as personal privacy wasn't involved, the base alien didn't refuse to communicate.

So, Zhou Yi told it about the definition and understanding of architectural life by the Light Nascents, how he encountered Emerald City, how he learned about Maria Hospital, and how he met the Victory Serpents.

"Why can't architectural lifeforms communicate directly?"

The other side was silent for a while, then said, "Different functions and mechanisms lead to differences in closed structures. Open structures can connect with other architectural lifeforms, but that may also cause the complete disappearance of life characteristics."

Zhou Yi expressed his understanding: "Such risks are unacceptable to anyone. Self-existence and continuation are the most important things; communication is for better survival."

Architectural lifeforms are born with long lifespans, while ordinary creatures need to stick together to help each other and deal with dangers that individuals cannot handle.

The submarine base suddenly said, "I think it's possible to talk, but it takes a long time."

Zhou Yi was a little surprised: "Can you be more specific?"

On the topic of discussing non-restricted areas, the other party showed an open-minded spirit of sharing: "I have seen quite a few of my kind, because I am very old. Based on the differences in behavior, I simply divide our type of life into autonomous and instinctual."

"Instinctual types rely on instinct, which accounts for the majority. Their needs are clear: some capture active vehicles, some specialize in capturing lifeforms like humans, and some constantly extend themselves, wanting to cover a wider area..."

"Unlike instinctual types, autonomous types restrain their instinctive impulses, and their numbers are much smaller. In addition to their instinctive behaviors, they also have autonomous behaviors that represent their own will."

It said: "For example, autonomous types will take actions to release information to the outside world. The most common is to build specific road signs, which represent its traces. If you want to find it, you can follow the road signs and travel with it."

Zhou Yi was hearing this for the first time and immediately asked for advice: "According to you, autonomous types are actually trying to exchange information with the outside world to some extent, right?"

"That's right."

The base explained: "If it is not possible to express and exchange information clearly and accurately, then use the simplest way to mark oneself. Creating special road signs is to leave one's own mark."

"On this basis, there is further expansion."

"I know a fellow that is not large, has a sharp body and multi-angular structure. It is an autonomous type and an ancient pioneer. Many places have its road signs, some in the Dead Sea, some on land."

A mark slowly emerged on the ground of the coast.

Zhou Yi was stunned.

He had seen this symbol before.

卍.

According to the appearance description, this pioneer is a temple or pagoda.

The base continued: "The pioneer has traveled to many places, and finally it made a behavior that violated its instincts. It completely opened its original closed structure to the outside world, exposing everything on the ground, allowing any fellow to touch it and connect to its body."

"This attracted other fellows, who connected to the pioneer and absorbed energy."

"I was one of them."

"While the energy was being absorbed, the bodies of both sides would be briefly connected, allowing us to have true communication. Through the pioneer, I gained many experiences I never had before, and I also understood why it did this."

"The pioneer tried to break the closure within our group. It observed and thought, seeing that other lifeforms have a lot of communication, and that the accumulation of group experience continues to evolve, but we have been standing still and becoming relatively more and more backward."

"This is an attempt made by the pioneer, which is completely against instinct. It chose to first believe in a non-existent future, and then lead the way to open up such a path."

The newest novels are first published at 69shu.com!

The base asked: "You have a similar structural method to it, are you my kind?"

Zhou Yi said: "No, I am a human."

He described the characteristics of humans.

After listening, the base sighed: "There are individuals like you among humans as well. It seems that every lifeform has its own secrets."

Zhou Yi thought.

Both himself and this pioneer were using energy output as a medium to exchange information. However, the other party was much more thorough, directly turning itself into a public router that anyone could connect to.

Zhou Yi asked: "What happened to it later?"

"The life characteristics of the pioneer have disappeared."

The base said calmly: "This attempt, for autonomous types like me, is of course a huge boost to rapid exchange and promotion. But for instinctual types, they do not care whether others die or whether they will be damaged."

"The pioneer was eaten by them."

Zhou Yi's mind conjured up the image of a group of beast-like architectural bodies gnawing on a temple, a scene that was both bizarre and a little sad.

The two sides chatted further and further afield.

The base's knowledge far exceeded that of Emerald City and Maria Hospital. It had experienced many wars, witnessed the destruction and rise of many cities, and had also been attacked by Light Nascents and Enhancers... These were all valuable first-hand historical materials for Zhou Yi to understand the wasteland era.

Zhou Yi also told it about the Mao Valley Town, how people lived by fishing for light cinder sand, and how living in Emerald City was beneficial to Emerald City's growth.

This surprised the other party.

"So there is such a way... In addition to internal exchanges, it can also promote growth through human methods... Unbelievable, this is truly a major discovery."

The base immediately became highly interested.

While Zhou Yi was chatting with it, he was also paying attention to another important matter.

Just now, Red Falcon and Sea Hunter had successfully returned.

Also coming with them were Nemo and the 120 sand rats he led.

"Zhou, they have arrived at the mountain top entrance."

"The first batch of sand rats are heading towards the tunnel."

"Entry successful!"

...

Zhou Yi's heart lifted.

His prediction was correct.

The submarine base would not block the entry and exit of ordinary natural creatures, and the sand rat group itself was a wild animal.

Zhou Yi patiently waited for the follow-up.

Half an hour later, Red Falcon's voice sounded in his mind.

"The first batch of sand rats has completed a local exploration and returned the way they came. They are using soil to recreate the internal structure. Nemo is making a live model, summarizing what they saw and heard..."

"Shindai characters were found inside, translated as 'Deep Sea Sword, People's Guard', 'Build a Strong Navy, Defend the Motherland's Territorial Waters'..."

Zhou Yi felt a little dazed.

It really was a genuine naval base.

Red Falcon said: "Based on the restoration of the text, patterns, and carvings, Nemo and I have screened out the high-frequency words that appear frequently, confirming that the real name here is 'Yalong Bay'."