Wasteland Development Diary

Zhou Yi observed from a distance for a while.

Black Thorns are a type of biological vehicle with high durability, but they are harmless as long as you don't get too close.

Yuanxiao's mother was only half right.

Black Thorns do switch to a high-energy, second stage when stimulated externally or when objects are thrown at them. However, once you escape the area and enter another zone, they revert to a low-power mode.

Of course, even in that state, they're still A-grade in strength.

Normally, to approach and touch them again would cost hundreds of thousands of light seeds.

But for Zhou Yi, who has mastered the knowledge of the Mud Tree civilization, there's now a simpler and more effective method.

He started digging.

With only his left hand available, digging mud became very laborious.

The seabed ground was extremely solid, requiring him to break through the surface and dig deep. Only at least a meter below the surface was there flowing silt formed by underground water.

He found a large stainless steel soup spoon and used it to dig.

He didn't know how long he dug.

Zhou Yi felt his entire arm go numb, and he was worried that the Black Thorn might wander off on its own—it was theoretically a living creature and would still move around.

He busied himself for a while longer.

Finally, he dug out soft silt from the soil layer.

Zhou Yi clutched the mud in his hand and began to knead it with one hand.

He wasn't used to moving around with only one hand.

However, ten years of experience on the seabed had taught Zhou Yi patience. Focusing on the present made him calm, just like playing with modeling clay as a child.

The difficulty lay in shaping it into a specific form, as the mud kept breaking and collapsing.

After working up a sweat.

Zhou Yi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Done.

He moved his dirty left hand.

In front of him was a small mud platform, built up from soft mud.

This platform was square, hollowed out underneath, large enough for Zhou Yi to sit inside.

It was surrounded by a mud ring, then a square frame, then another ring, forming a ground totem made of mud.

This was the Mud Tree people's method of recovering Black Thorns.

Using mud to build a recovery platform.

It was said that Black Thorns could recognize specific mud structures.

Zhou Yi could only try this method for now.

Next was to wait patiently.

About fifteen minutes later, Zhou Yi saw a faint light in the distance.

A humanoid creature covered in thorns wobbled slowly towards him.

It really worked!

Zhou Yi subconsciously held his breath, afraid of disturbing the process.

The Black Thorn slowly flew closer. It rotated above the recovery platform, and after spinning twice, it descended, its thorns piercing into the mud platform.

The recovery platform, like an ancient altar, now emitted a white light, as if it had been connected to some kind of power.

Success!

Zhou Yi clenched his fist with his one hand.

According to the description in his memory, the Black Thorn was now in a dormant state and could be manually controlled.

He slowly walked over.

One step, two steps.

Getting closer and closer to the platform.

One hundred meters.

He didn't feel any resistance, nor any decrease in health.

Eighty meters.

Everything was normal.

Ten meters.

Five meters.

One meter.

Zhou Yi stood in front of the Black Thorn again, reaching out to touch its hard, spiky shell.

This time, the shell opened again from the middle.

Only the white light had become much dimmer.

Zhou Yi stepped sideways into the interior of the Black Thorn.

To operate this biological vehicle, one had to start from the inside.

The interior of the shell still emitted white light, but it didn't feel oppressive or glaring. The inside was a layer of soft, gelatinous material made of numerous striped segments, reminding Zhou Yi of grapefruit pulp.

He didn't find any traces of the Mud Tree people inside, and his tense mood relaxed a little, but he soon felt a bit disappointed.

Common Sense Banana didn't describe the Mud Tree people themselves in detail. Its description of them was highly generalized and vague. This was probably to reduce the potential danger to the Mud Tree people as a group, in case it was captured by alien life forms, and so this information was hidden.

The inside of the Black Thorn was empty.

Zhou Yi searched around and found only three mud tablets.

One large and two small, all tightly attached to the inner gelatinous layer, very firmly.

Zhou Yi removed them and examined them one by one.

The large mud tablet was about 80 centimeters, with fixed slots inside, containing eight gourd-shaped seeds resembling nuts. Next to it was a simple mud tablet drawing, showing how to plant these seeds.

From the picture, these were the seeds of the Giant Tree.

Zhou Yi's heart stirred with excitement.

This could be said to be the cornerstone of the Mud Tree civilization!

The Mud Tree people fled their homeland, bringing the seeds with them, planning to rebuild their civilization in other worlds.

Being able to plant the Giant Tree in the Dead Sea would be of great significance to the company and the Development Alliance's future.

Zhou Yi calmed his breathing and looked at the other two small mud tablets.

One of the mud tablets depicted a family of four. Two tall, long-armed, long-legged, pointy-headed figures were a couple, and the other two were children.

The Mud Tree people's engraving style was wild, not pursuing realistic sketching, but highlighting features.

The father on the mud tablet was entwined with a plant resembling a vine—this thing even raised its head, like a snake. The mother had a flower blooming on her head.

The two children didn't have plant partners. One held up a wooden stick, while the other had a small mud house on his head, happily holding hands and laughing with wide mouths.

The second mud tablet depicted a young man with a mud house on his head. He had grown tall and was also entwined with vines, but he wasn't smiling.

Zhou Yi pondered.

This Black Thorn probably belonged to this young man. For some reason, he was separated from his family and entered the desolate Earth alone to survive.

But he didn't know where he was now, or why he left this vehicle. Perhaps he was attacked, or perhaps he encountered some unexpected situation...

This person has probably already met with misfortune.

Zhou Yi said silently.

I will inherit your legacy and property, and I will reproduce the Giant Tree of the Mud Tree civilization in the world. I will never waste your gifts!

Rest in peace, brother.

...

Then Zhou Yi began to happily explore this biological vehicle.

The Black Thorn itself was a modified special fruit, which needed to be operated through the fruit core.

Zhou Yi searched repeatedly in the gelatinous material and found the fruit core.

It was a black soft body shaped like a pointy-headed chestnut. As long as you held it, the Black Thorn would recognize you and would not pose any threat to the holder.

There were also certain skills to operating it.

Once the fruit core was removed from the inner layer of the Black Thorn's shell, it would gradually age and become dull, and the sensitivity of use would continue to decline. For more delicate and accurate control, it was necessary to periodically replace the fruit core used.

Old fruit cores were always inferior to new ones and would always be replaced by new individuals. However, the fruit core generation speed was very slow, requiring a large amount of dead light to grow, so it was also necessary to use them sparingly.

Unfortunately, these fruit cores themselves could only be used for control and could not be used to cultivate new Black Thorns. Black Thorns needed to be grafted with the Giant Tree and required a series of complex cultivation methods to be generated.

The Black Thorn's abilities were called [Insecticide] and [Slow Fluctuation] by the Mud Tree people.

[Insecticide] would cause the life of approaching insects to decay, causing them to not dare to invade.

[Slow Fluctuation] was more about reducing external approaches and impacts, in order to maintain the Black Thorn's own stability and prevent the items inside the shell from being bumped and damaged.

Zhou Yi pinched the fruit core, which had a rubber-like texture and felt very special.

If you pinched it hard, it was equivalent to an emergency call, allowing even Black Thorns in remote areas to fly over at high speed to pick up the holder.

Gently squeezing the fruit core would cause the Black Thorn to come at a normal speed—but its speed itself was very amazing, especially in the Dead Sea with external dead light supply.

In addition, there were several other operating methods.

Zhou Yi began to slowly operate it, in order to become proficient as soon as possible.

The sea urchin-shaped Black Thorn immediately began to roll and circle nearby, with speed and flexibility far exceeding any vehicle he currently knew.

The Black Thorn's pulp also provided a full view of the outside world, so there was no visibility problem at all.

The Mud Tree people's vehicle was really awesome to drive!

Zhou Yi gradually became addicted to it.

...

At the same time, in the previous battlefield area.

The ship slowly floated above the place where the Sashimi Person disappeared.

On the deck, the old farmer puppet looked into the distance, not speaking for a long time.

Linqin cautiously said, "Sir, Zhou Yi's fate is unknown. Are we going to directly develop the light amber mine on the seabed now, or wait a little longer?"

"Time waits for no one."

Extinction Duke said softly, "Carry out preliminary exploration and development of the mine first, and prepare it for listing and sale."

"Immediately find Feng Che. Through him, we can go through a fast process, mortgage our overseas islands, and borrow 600,000 light seeds from the Imperial Treasury first. Adding our cash, that will be enough for 1 million."

"Zhou Yi won't die so easily. Just now, when he caught the Sashimi Person, it seemed more like he discovered something. The Angel of Doom has already chased after him, and news will arrive soon."

"Prepare the light seeds first. Since I promised, I won't break my word."

"Yes, sir."

"Let's go back."

The ship slowly rose.

The seabed returned to calm again.

...

After some time.

A pointy-headed man emerged from the ground. He was entwined with vines, which could shield him from the observation and attention of local life forms.

He was in a good mood at this time.

After years of digging and exploration underground, he had finally found mud that met the standards underground. That mud was the key to planting and would allow the Giant Tree to rise again!

As he happily looked around, he suddenly realized something was wrong.

The Black Thorn was gone?

It's okay.

He took out a fruit core from his pocket and gently pinched it.

There was no feedback.

He squeezed it tightly again.

There was still no reaction.

He panicked for a moment and quickly repeatedly squeezed the fruit core, but the fruit core gave no feedback, indicating that the Black Thorn had completely disconnected.

Although this was an old fruit core, it could still be used.

What was going on?

At this moment, the man felt like a bolt from the blue, and the world was spinning.

Where's the Black Thorn?

Where's my Black Thorn?

It's over, it's all over...