Wasteland Development Diary

The occupancy rate of Buildings 2 and 3 was high, exceeding Zhou Yi's expectations.

There were no instances of littering, graffiti, or public urination/defecation.

Cao Dayuan said, "Chairman, the residents don't have much to throw away. They have so little that they wish they could find more to scavenge and bring home..."

"Graffiti is even rarer. Even if scavengers had charcoal pencils, they would be precious, and each mark would be a loss. Most of them would sell it because very few can read or write. Holding onto it would just be a waste."

"As for urination and defecation, I need to tell you about that."

The newly appointed community manager said, "Previously, the residents from Maogu Town in Building 2 would secretly defecate outside, then bury it to let it dry for collection. Feces are a rare and valuable resource that they produce themselves, and they were unwilling to flush it away in Emerald City. As a result, after a sandstorm, several people fought over whose feces belonged to whom..."

"Now, Building 3 will likely have the same problem. I've told them that they must relieve themselves outside Emerald City in designated areas to avoid affecting the environment here. Rest assured, they wouldn't dare to defecate indoors. Emerald City has a reputation, and they know that this is inside an alien being, and angering the alien could lead to death."

"In the past, whether in Maogu Town or in the wild, people would always go far away from their sleeping areas to defecate. Scavengers have extensive experience in the wild and know what not to do."

Zhou Yi nodded.

His demands were not high.

Surviving the winter safely would be a success.

Emerald City reported, "The high occupancy rate significantly promotes the evolution of the new machine bodies. Buildings 2 and 3 are continuously providing feedback to my main body. After some time, they will be able to operate independently."

Zhou Yi was puzzled, "Independent operation? You won't control them?"

When it came to more complex expressions, Emerald City was still somewhat clumsy.

After much communication, Zhou Yi confirmed, "You mean they will also learn through imitation, thereby activating local independent consciousnesses... But are they still part of you?"

"It can be a collective. We are all Emerald City."

The architectural lifeform said, "We are also different individuals. They are based on my construction foundation, but they possess independent selves, which are the result of environmental factors, including the occupants and deathlight."

"We can transmit internally without barriers, but there are also local differences."

Zhou Yi was stunned.

I just casually said it to make it easier to promote.

This new machine body... is really a second-generation alien?

"Commissioner, I just found out too."

Emerald City said, "I originally thought they were just my new machine bodies, but later I confirmed that they would operate independently. Perhaps this is what you call continuation."

Maintaining a stable high occupancy rate and a sufficient energy supply are also the basis for the emergence of individual consciousness in the new architectural lifeforms.

Emerald City could not determine the specific time. It only knew that the two new buildings were growing rapidly.

Even without the birth of independent self-awareness, Buildings 2 and 3 were rapidly acquiring deathlight energy from the outside world, which could be used as a backup energy reserve or machine body for Emerald City when necessary.

Zhou Yi then thought, "What is the difference between the 11-story low-rise and the 33-story high-rise? Are they different categories?"

"The former grows faster, and the latter grows much slower."

Emerald City replied, "The low-rise only continues my basic functions, including absorbing energy, repairing and modifying itself based on the existing main body, which is to manufacture and replace room bodies."

"The high-rise, which is the same model as me, will inherit all my functions and will also be able to expand its machine body. It can detach from here and independently build a new Emerald City with it as the core."

Zhou Yi's eyes lit up.

Self-replication is possible.

This is equivalent to the reproductive ability of architectural life.

If the Emerald City family can be developed steadily, it would be enough to form a large community with them, and even complete residential coverage for a city!

In this era of light-absorbing species and deathlight, the defensive and offensive Dead Sea alien is the most perfect residential choice.

The future is bright, but for now, we need to proceed step by step.

High-rise residential construction is slow. Zhou Yi decided to focus on low-rises first, to increase the number of faster-growing individuals to a certain scale. The next step is to improve quality.

...

In the afternoon, Gong Zheng reported on the recent inventory of supplies.

As Zhou Yi's assistant, he had gradually adjusted his schedule and basically worked during the day and rested at night, returning to the traditions of prehistoric humans after Ah Jin.

"...The yield of edible mushrooms in the mushroom forest is very high. This winter, without the destruction of the Spine Hunters, coupled with the reclamation of farmland, the insects driven away by the Iron Horses and Copper Bulls have become nutrients for the mushroom forest."

Gong Zheng opened his small notebook and read line by line, "This winter, the company's mushroom reserves are very abundant. Chairman, Lao Cao and I were thinking about mobilizing these new residents and hiring them with mushrooms to make tools out of wood, branches, dry grass, and other materials. Anyway, they can do it indoors, so it's not dangerous."

"Items like drying racks, tables, chairs, woven baskets, and ropes are all useful daily necessities."

Zhou Yi nodded.

He suddenly remembered, "What about Yuan Tong? Is he still drawing flyers?"

"Yuan Tong has been busy with something else recently."

Gong Zheng hesitated for a moment, "Chairman, he wants to go to sea."

"Huh?"

Zhou Yi frowned.

Going to sea in winter is extremely risky.

However, Yuan Tong is an old pirate, so there might be some hidden reason.

"Yuan Tong said that he has observed that the offshore area near Emerald City is very safe because Emerald City's bombing has deterred the surrounding light-absorbing species from approaching, so he has a bold idea."

Gong Zheng explained, "Yuan Tong wants to sail in the shallow coastal areas to collect light soot artificially, which can generate revenue for the company."

Light soot?

Zhou Yi remembered Yuan Tong saying that it was a material used to build ships.

"Go take a look."

The two went down the elevator.

Outside Emerald City, near the Dead Sea area, Yuan Tong was talking to two young men, gesturing constantly.

Zhou Yi remembered those two; they were Yuan Tong's former subordinates.

Yuan Tong was sharp-eyed and immediately came over and asked, "Chairman, you're here."

Zhou Yi nodded, "Tell me about the light soot."

The former pirate leader pulled at his belt and said, "As you know, one of the core materials needed to create light imprints with light printing is light soot. Light soot floats in the air of the Dead Sea, especially on the surface, because they are very small, they will be rushed to the top by the rapids, and then slowly fall down, like a volcanic eruption."

He pointed to the misty Dead Sea in front of him, "In the past, during our slow seasons, we would find a hidden place to dock our ship in the area covered by the Dead Sea Knight Fleet, and then catch the light soot on the surface of the sea."

"When I was at the shipyard, I learned from a worker who used to be a light soot worker, but the light soot port was destroyed by the war, so he was stranded here. The easiest way is to use a double-layered linen cloth to make a net and scoop it in the mist on the surface of the Dead Sea until the linen cloth is covered with a thick layer of impurities, then take it up and soak it in cold water to scrape the light soot sand from the impurities."

"All cities collect light soot sand, and the price is more expensive than copper."

"It's just that people get tired easily on the Dead Sea, even close to it. If you are not a strengthener, your strength and endurance are much weaker than on land. You will be out of breath after running two steps on the deck. So working on a ship is much harder than it looks."

"Although the simplest manual collection method is very slow, I was thinking that it would be difficult to do anything else this winter anyway, so why not just park the ship at sea and collect some light soot sand."

Yuan Tong adjusted the bandage that tied his left eye and said, "In the past, we relied on this extra income to get through many difficult times. I've been thinking about this all winter, since there is the protection of Emerald City here, can we try it?"

Zhou Yi was touched.

This is what it means to have many skills.

He immediately said, "Go ahead and do it! Ask for anything you need."

Yuan Tong immediately smiled, "Okay, Chairman!"