Wasteland Development Diary

Haruke was eager for thorn grass.

Zhou Yi pondered in his heart that he couldn't ask for too outrageous a price, lest he scare off others. It might not be easy to find another agreeable Boundary Breaker willing to compromise, so he had to take a long-term approach.

So he said, "We've become acquainted through a fight, so I'll sell this to you cheaply. 100,000 will do."

"Okay, okay."

Haruke readily agreed, but also explained, "This boundary gate is of very poor quality, and the number of monsters around it is very small. Even if I devote all my energy to absorbing Huan Flow and synthesizing them into Fates within my body, I can only produce 80,000 by the next tide. I need the second tide to come before I can give you enough Fates."

"Tide?"

Zhou Yi asked what he meant.

Haruke explained it, roughly describing their time calculation method.

On their side, the Dead Sea would experience periodic tides, which served as their reference for timekeeping. When the tide appeared, the entire Dead Sea would be turbulent. However, the tide itself also had high and low periods. During the high tide, the boundary gate would open, and during the low tide, it would close.

It was during this high tide that Haruke crossed the boundary and discovered a black monster floating on the surface of the Dead Sea.

After killing it, it obtained some Fates, but no Fate Core.

Haruke then blasted another similar monster, but with the same result: nothing.

The two that were taken down were the Chu'neng City freighters 'Mingji' and exploration ship 'Dingmao'.

One tide over there was equivalent to one winter here, which was the single-time limit for a Boundary Breaker's interdimensional journey.

Calculating winter as 6 months, being able to obtain 80,000 Light Seeds meant Haruke's production capacity was equivalent to two mushroom forests.

Zhou Yi was already very satisfied.

Haruke's method of obtaining Fate Cores was also simple. It scanned the thorn grass through Zhou Yi's body at close range for about half an hour, and it was completely read.

"I will periodically send Red Kites to collect Light Seeds. I actually have a stock of things like Fate Cores. We will have a long time to cooperate in the future. We will clearly mark the price, like this type, 100,000 for one."

"St-still have them? Good, good!"

"One more question, can you come over again if you die?"

"Yes. With this Fate Core, I can exchange it for a large amount of resources to open the interface again! I will live here for a long time!"

Seeing hope, Haruke visibly became more active.

It unfolded its body, like ink spreading into water, extending its shrunken body in all directions, forming a huge trumpet shape, and some sparkling lights began to appear on its body surface. It was already absorbing energy from the Dead Sea.

Zhou Yi didn't care what Haruke would do with the Fate Core or how many resources it could exchange for.

As long as this Boundary Breaker could create the profits he needed and ensure the stability of the nearby sea area, that was enough.

......

After settling things here, Zhou Yi returned to his camp.

He first told the Linchi, "The Boundary Breaker has already negotiated peace with me through action and compensated me with a sum of Light Seeds. Chu'neng City can do whatever it wants next."

Boundary Breakers were immortal; what came here were just projections.

Letting it die once as compensation was considered giving justice.

The damaged detective machine's lights flickered.

"I have reported the relevant information to the Detective Team."

"The Program Department ordered me to return immediately. Regarding the sea disaster caused by the Boundary Breaker, the compensation procedure has already been initiated. If it is confirmed that it was caused by the Boundary Breaker, it is considered an irresistible factor according to relevant regulations..."

In short, there was no follow-up.

Just like deaths in hurricanes, earthquakes, or light bursts, there was no way to hold these irresistible factors accountable.

Logically, Zhou Yi could understand that even if armed forces were mobilized to kill the Boundary Breaker once, it would only be a waste of a lot of manpower and resources.

But emotionally, he didn't agree. If it were him, he would have to fight, and if he couldn't be completely killed, he would try to kill him several more times to vent his anger for the victims.

Maybe that's the difference between mechanical life and humans.

The Linchi said again, "In addition, the Program Department expresses its sincere gratitude to your company. The important information shared by the Wasteland Development Company has reduced many unnecessary losses and calculations for Chu'neng City. Confirming the cause of the previous major maritime accident has also allowed Chu'neng City to make the right choices for the interests of the entire city."

"To express gratitude, Chu'neng City has raised your company's credit rating to B, and this standard will be synchronized and authorized externally."

This was good news.

The Linchi returned and left.

Zhou Yi then looked at the Red Kite next to him, "I always feel that the mechanical life itself is quite contradictory. Clearly, there are individuals like you and the Linchi who are willing to risk for low-probability success, but most are very conservative."

The drone said, "Mechanical life also has different perceptions of risk due to different occupations, which in turn leads to different judgment results."

"But if a large number of mechanical life gather and need to complete decisions based on unified standards, they need to rely on assessing the risk rate to minimize the losses and risks to each individual, then conservatism is an inevitable trend."

"Large cities like Chu'neng City act conservatively because they need to maintain stability."

Zhou Yi asked, "Then how can conservative styles innovate in technology and ideology?"

"Rely on small cities and some special institutions."

The Red Kite said, "They are the main force of innovation. Even if they fail, the losses are small. Once they succeed, their calculation models will be purchased by other cities, which can generate huge profits."

Zhou Yi asked, "Which type does Recursive City belong to?"

"Recursive City is a small city, mainly providing external service labor output. The rescue team is one of the services."

Zhou Yi thought that, in this way, the Linchi had jumped from a small city to a big city for employment.

If he wanted to carry out more innovative cooperation with mechanical cities in the future, Recursive City would be the first choice.

Although it was a bit far, they had a lot of dealings.

......

After settling the Boundary Breaker turmoil, Zhou Yi returned home in triumph.

Arriving outside Emerald City, he suddenly discovered that there were some tents made of branches and straw mats nearby. These tents formed a small shantytown, right next to the Emerald City's gate wall.

What was going on?

Cao Dayuan, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, ran all the way over, "Chairman, you're back."

"These are scavengers from Qingcong Town, south of Jitou Town. Most of the wood and fuel they obtain have to be transported to Shagang, leaving only a small portion for themselves. The town residents themselves don't have enough, so the scavengers are even more miserable. This time, they heard that our company was promoting trial living and opened up the Death Dunes, so they followed our propaganda team all the way here."

Scavengers are in a state of feast or famine for a long time, and they are particularly sensitive to the environment. If a town's economy deteriorates, it will be difficult for the scavengers to sell their things, and they will not hesitate to turn to the next place.

Like in winter, the warmest place in the past was of course Shagang, but the management there was strict, and scavengers were strictly restricted from entering the city, and they were often driven out.

The next best wintering place was Jitou Town. Because this place raised chickens, and for the convenience of transportation, slaughtering, cleaning, and pickling would be carried out. This process required boiling water for plucking and singeing hair. Although the slaughterhouse was filled with stench, it was also considered warm.

In the rainy season, they would go to Oasis Town north of Shagang, where various mushrooms and berries would grow, and it was also a good season for catching birds and mice.

Scavenging is a flexible profession that needs to change according to the environment.

"Because I didn't get your permission and recognition, I let them wait outside. There are a total of 61 people in this batch. What do you think should be done?" Cao Dayuan wiped his face with his hand.

Zhou Yi first checked the latest situation of Emerald City.

The main body and lighting of Building 4 have been completed, and only the infrastructure such as water supply and heating has not yet been completed.

Zhou Yi immediately said, "Then register them for occupancy, one by one. But remember, every resident must be registered on paper, and Gong Zheng must do a good job of the resident census."

"Okay, I'll do it now."

Cao Dayuan asked again, "Chairman, also, they heard about the treatment of the Light Clinker workers in the company, and they all want to come to work."

Zhou Yi looked towards the dam, "Is there enough space?"

"Enough! There are still many empty places in the Light Clinker Dam, and because it is two shifts, only less than a hundred people work at the same time, which is a bit vacant and wastes the company's built site."

"Then let them come too."

Cao Dayuan said excitedly, "Chairman, Yuan Ge has counted the situation of 100 workers."

"Currently, each worker can salvage an average of 22g of Light Clinker sand per day. According to this calculation, one person can produce more than 8000g of Light Clinker sand per year. Their salary only accounts for 5% of it, and the company still earns the big head."

"Based on the current 200 people, the annual output of Light Clinker Dam is at least 1600 kilograms, which means it can earn 160 Light Seeds!"

Zhou Yi calmly gave an "um" sound.

Now he has a mushroom forest on his left hand with a monthly production capacity of 5000 Light Seeds, and a Boundary Breaker Haruke on his right hand with a winter production of 80,000 Light Seeds. This little bit of Light Clinker is just a drizzle.

The core of creating the Light Clinker industry is to create employment so that new humans can gradually gather here, on the one hand to upgrade Emerald City, and on the other hand, they also need them to experiment with their various ideas.

Even if he gave the absolute high salary on the market, he didn't expect the net profit to be so large.

It's not that he's so good, it's just that the Light Clinker bosses are squeezing too hard.

It all depends on the peers.

After being busy, Zhou Yi went back and fell asleep.

However, in a daze, an alarm woke him up.

The five cameras of the Red Kite emitted red light and made a piercing whistle.

"Dr. Da Vinci requests urgent support."

"Snake Island encountered an accident, resulting in a large number of Victory Snakes being injured and disabled. Now he is rescuing them and urgently needs a large number of anesthetic sedatives."

Zhou Yi yawned.

This sleep is impossible.

Then start working.