Wasteland Development Diary

Treading through the twilight, Emerald City No. 1 Building headed north.

The architectural lifeform maintained a slow speed. In this mode, the interior lighting was unaffected, and the bumps were barely noticeable.

Zhou Yi sat on the sofa in front of the floor-to-ceiling window and said to the two people beside him, "Don't be reserved. Although this trip is for official business, eat, drink, and be merry. Make yourselves at home."

On the table next to them were drinks such as cola, orange juice, milk tea, and sparkling water. On the other side were bagged snacks such as potato chips, melon seeds, almonds, dried tofu, spicy sticks, and beef jerky.

Qian Su was the least restrained. She had already started munching on almonds and macadamia nuts.

"These two are delicious! There aren't many opportunities to eat Dead Sea delicacies to your heart's content... Mr. Zhou is really generous."

Zheng Tao, on the other hand, was observing the opened bag of melon seeds: "They look similar to the seeds of red cantaloupe. Cantaloupe seeds should also be good if they are stir-fried at high temperatures. There are very few types of nuts on the market, mainly peanuts, beans, and dried fruits."

He sniffed again: "This smell is from fried spices. Using a little spice can add a lot of flavor, which can increase the price and taste of food. We can do this in the future. Then, after cooking the cantaloupe seeds, we can sell them on the market."

While they chatted, Emerald City crossed the oasis belt and arrived at the territory of the northern Claw Hogs.

Faced with the huge alien, even the Claw Hogs, which had a strong sense of territory, wisely made way one by one, carrying their cubs and hiding far away.

After landing, Zhou Yi's range of activity was actually very narrow.

After confirming that Emerald City had good mobility, coupled with his own second body and new combat species, he conducted an on-the-spot investigation of the surrounding area.

For this outing, Zhou Yi had Sea God No. 1 accompany him in the Dead Sea and invited Zheng Tao and Qian Su to join him.

Zheng Tao was the company's agricultural advisor. On-the-spot observation of the wild was beneficial for him to make agricultural plans.

Qian Su was a businesswoman. The ultimate goal of this trip was to visit the Sea Lord of Sandport City, and bringing her along could allow him to inquire about the situation of several towns along the way.

The northern end was a forest area of considerable size, where two types of light-absorbing creatures, forest sheep and red-eyed vultures, lived.

Forest sheep were small, black-brown creatures that looked like mutated sheep.

They could climb and jump to the treetops and then move between the trees, so it was not easy for the Claw Hogs to catch them. They usually jumped to the treetops to absorb dead light, and only came down at night—which was also when they were vulnerable to attack.

Red-eyed vultures were a common carrion-eating creature. Wherever there were corpses, there they were.

"This is a very intelligent species."

Red Falcon emphasized this: "Red-eyed vultures are widely present in various environments. They have strong endurance, and the special structure of their light-absorbing organs allows them to digest and absorb various rotten flesh, extracting residual energy from it. They have a natural survival advantage. However, they only like to eat the corpses of light-absorbing species."

"Living in this forest is also to be able to eat the corpses of forest sheep."

Zhou Yi remembered that when he first met A Jin, he killed two Claw Hogs, and the red-eyed vultures were watching from afar, wanting to get a share of the pie. However, in the end, they were very rational and did not approach. After he left, they pounced on the leftovers on the ground.

They had a lot of survival wisdom.

In addition to them, there were also many small birds living here. Many of the birds that had previously harassed the farmland came from here.

Further north was the Dead Sea again.

The trees on the south side of the forest were normal, but the trees on the north side had become strange. They were like plastic that had been twisted by high temperatures. The closer they were to the Dead Sea, the drier and more curled the trees became.

After observing, Zheng Tao said, "This place is not suitable for agricultural planting, but it can be used for animal husbandry."

Zhou Yi was puzzled: "Animal husbandry?"

"Yes."

Zheng Tao pointed to the forest below through the glass: "Chairman, the company needs Claw Hogs, so why not increase the number of forest sheep so that they have food to hunt in the winter? The number of forest sheep is closely related to the size of the forest, so as long as we further expand the forest area, it will help them further reproduce and grow. Although there is the Dead Sea blocking them vertically, there is no problem with horizontal extension."

"It's just that this cycle will be relatively long. It will take at least several years for the trees to grow to a certain size." He thought for a while: "From a cost-benefit perspective, there is a lot of uncertainty."

But Zhou Yi thought it was a good idea.

Mainly because it didn't require too much effort. Just plant trees, and don't worry about anything else. It was most suitable for the sand rats, who were experts in planting trees, to do this.

Then, Zhou Yi controlled Emerald City to turn and head west across the sand.

Along the way, there was a large amount of barren land and some gently sloping hills, which were extensions of the hilly area of Mao Valley Town.

After crossing the Death Sand Dune, it was already dawn.

Zhou Yi saw the second new human settlement.

Chicken Head Town was much larger than Mao Valley Town. It was also built against the mountain, but it had open-air fences, stone drying platforms, and some leafy vegetables were planted in the surrounding soil.

There were several stone huts and a tall stone building, which seemed to be the symbol of this place.

The base of the building was an oval sphere, with a circle carved on the left and right sides, and parallel lines like cat whiskers chiseled below.

Qian Su said, "That is the statue of the Sand Sea Lord. The Sea Lords will erect statues to represent their respective territories. This can deter outsiders and make the ownership of this place clear at a glance. However, I don't know what the Sand Sea Lord looks like. I haven't had the opportunity to visit him in person."

Originally, the people of Chicken Head Town rested in the cave during the day and only came out at night.

However, Emerald City's stay still immediately attracted attention. Many people emerged from the cave. They looked scared and panicked, and were at a loss.

One of them plucked up the courage to raise his hands and carefully approached Emerald City No. 1 Building, shouting something.

Red Falcon lowered its flight altitude and picked up his voice.

"Respected Emerald City Lord! I am Tan Kai, the mayor of Chicken Head Town. I don't know how the town has offended you. Please calm your anger! As long as we can appease your anger, we will do our best to meet your requirements!"

The other party knelt on the ground and apologized in a very skilled posture.

"I'm just passing by, don't be nervous."

Zhou Yi comforted him through Red Falcon and then asked the drone to guide the mayor upstairs.

Qian Su echoed beside him, "Although these towns are protected by the Sea Lord, they usually don't have garrisons. The defense forces are almost all in the city, so everyone wants to live in the city."

"When encountering external threats, the town must first spend money to ensure safety and then report it to the Sea Lord to handle the follow-up."

"It's not as simple as spending money."

Zheng Tao said softly beside him, "If light-absorbing species come to this town, can't get light seeds or energy packs, and don't want to take away people for trafficking, then they will basically massacre."

"This can't be helped."

Qian Su said in a calm tone, "Who told us humans to be weak? If you're weak, you have to abide by the rules of the weak, and pay any price to survive. Live first, then consider other things."

Zhou Yi was more concerned about: "Do light-absorbing species dare to loot the Sea Lord's towns?"

"There are still some."

Qian Su looked at the simple and primitive town below: "As far as I know, in the early winter of this year, two berserk red-haired monsters broke in here. If the Tianjin Knights from Sandport City hadn't come to support them, many people would have been killed or injured."

"In some ways, Mao Valley Town is safe because it doesn't have any resources, so the light-absorbing species don't go there."

At this time, Red Falcon had already brought Tan Kai to the top floor.

Zheng Tao opened the door and led him all the way in.

Tan Kai was probably in his early thirties, with a bitter face, as if too many worries had formed muscle memory on his face.

He bowed his head and didn't dare to look directly at Zhou Yi: "Um, I didn't know Emerald City was coming. What does Chicken Head Town need to do?"

Zhou Yi raised his hand to signal: "Please sit down."

The other party was a little apprehensive and sat on the edge of the chair.

"Our company is closest to Chicken Head Town, and we had planned to come and take a look early on, but various things piled up, so we were only able to make it now."

Zhou Yi said, "Relax, Mayor Tan."

"Yes, yes."

"I heard that Chicken Head Town raises chickens?"

"Yes, our specialty here is white-feathered chickens. These chickens can be raised in caves and grow by feeding on mushroom stalks and Mao Valley insects. Sometimes we also bring them to the ground to run around, so the meat is better."

Speaking of familiar things, Tan Kai felt a little more at ease: "Would you like to try some?"

"Maybe next time."

Zhou Yi asked, "But why can't I buy chicken meat here? I see you only sell chicken heads, chicken head soup, and chicken skeletons."

"Because the chicken meat is uniformly sent to Sandport City and then sold to other cities through the port."

Tan Kai said, "Very few people in the town can afford chicken meat. We uniformly send it to the city because people in the city have money. In the town, we cook chicken bones and mushrooms together. Chicken head soup is what ordinary people can afford."

Zhou Yi asked in detail again.

Unfortunately, he didn't find an opportunity to pick up a bargain.

Stewed soft chicken feet are very popular in the city, while chicken wings are sold with the whole chicken—a chicken without chicken wings and drumsticks is not accepted. Chicken offal is washed and then grilled or stewed, which is also a popular dish.

After letting Tan Kai down, Emerald City continued on its way.

South of Chicken Head Town is another town called "Scallion Town," famous for growing scallions. It is said that many animals hate the taste of scallions, making it relatively safe.

To the north is "Oasis Town," located in the upper reaches of the oasis river. It is also the area with the largest mushroom production in the Sandport area and also grows many cattails. The tender leaves and rhizomes of cattails can be eaten and have a refreshing taste. Its pollen is also a natural medicine that can stop bleeding and relieve pain.

Further west is the core of this area and the only city here, Sandport City.

Learning that the difference between the other towns and Chicken Head Town was mainly in scale and industry, Zhou Yi controlled Emerald City to head straight to Sandport City.

From afar, he saw a city on the ground.

Although it was not large, it had square walls and high towers, orderly rows of wooden and stone houses, streets paved with stone slabs, and pedestrians moving about in the city during the day.

Finally seeing a decent city, Zhou Yi inexplicably felt a trace of emotion.

However, he immediately discovered that the people coming and going in the city were all combat personnel, holding shields, bows and arrows, and flintlock guns, running up the city walls in a panic.

They looked like they were facing a formidable enemy.

But Emerald City didn't approach there, just observed from afar through Red Falcon No. 1.

Zhou Yi zoomed in.

Outside the city, there was a slow-moving light-absorbing creature, somewhat like a short-legged version of a kangaroo without ears. Its tubular long mouth was spewing dead light outwards.

In addition, Zhou Yi also saw seven or eight car-shaped mecha-lifeforms speeding around outside the city. They had high-speed cannons installed on top and were firing while speeding along.

The position they were concentrating their attacks on was slowly rising a large monster over ten meters tall.

The monster was dark brown, with a large inverted triangular head, two silver vertical pupils, and a wide mouth with sharp teeth. Its two thick claws were almost as big as its head. The numerous dead light attacks made it reveal a grin, as if it was even more excited.

Under the [Alert] perspective, its whole body was a dangerous red.

Its strength was B-level.

Zhou Yi became excited instead.

He actually encountered a monster he could practice with as soon as he arrived.

Then he had to try the strength of his current complete combat form.

It could also be considered a greeting gift to the Sand Sea Lord.

Emerald City, accelerate!

The high-rise giant slid into the center of the battlefield at a speed of 100 kilometers per hour. While the flying house bombing was activated, Zhou Yi jumped down from the high-rise, instantly activating Berserk and transforming into a six-meter-tall ethereal black giant.

Amidst the smoke and dust of the explosion, Zhou Yi pounced on the unprepared monster.

In a flash.

The black fist punched through the opponent's body with a bang!

A large amount of blue blood splashed and gushed out.

The monster slowly fell backward in a daze, stirring up a lot of smoke and dust.

The previous attackers were also frightened and fled in all directions.

Zhou Yi squeezed his fist with satisfaction.

A one-hit kill caused by the consumption of 40,000 life points.

This was the charm of Life Strike.

The monster lying on the ground gradually shrank in size, obviously losing its previous near-gigantic combat state. Its main body was white, looking like some kind of large seal.

He suddenly heard Red Falcon's voice in his head.

"Zhou, things are a bit troublesome."

"What? Is it very important? Anyway, the Sand Sea Lord will handle the follow-up," Zhou Yi said easily.

The invaders had already attacked Sandport City, so the Sand Sea Lord wouldn't pretend nothing happened.

"It is the Sand Sea Lord."

"..."