Wasteland Development Diary

"The outside of the submersible has been tampered with! The abdominal joint has been directly cut, and the light imprint structure has been modified!"

"No wonder it was such a coincidence... I strongly opposed and demanded a re-examination, and then my submersible suddenly went out of control. Not only was the emergency contact function unusable, but I also couldn't contact the research vessel."

Bichi was red with anger.

"A safety inspection of the vessel is done before boarding, and that's when the artisans can get on the research vessel. Those guys took advantage of that time to tamper with my submersible!"

"Aiya, aiya, aiya, aiya! These vermin! So despicable and shameless! I'm going to report them!"

It cursed indignantly.

Zhou Yi softly comforted, "Do you have concrete evidence?"

"Yes, my submersible was clearly maliciously modified. Entering the pressure zone at the bottom of the Dead Sea, this modification will directly prevent the light imprint structure from functioning."

"So, can you prove that it was done by the Light Imprint School you mentioned?"

"..."

It was momentarily speechless.

Bichi climbed into the water in the bucket to calm down.

When it climbed out again, it had returned to its normal green skin.

Bichi said, "You're right, I can't prove it. But I will never let this matter rest. This is murder!"

Zhou Yi reminded it, "Don't rush this. You need to protect yourself first. What is this Light Imprint School?"

"They started as a social group, worshipping and studying dead light, pursuing ultimate power, and specializing in creating various dangerous devices. That's why they are favored by various parties."

"The Light Imprint School believes that prehistoric humans were merely servants of the gods, and legends about prehistoric humans moving mountains and filling seas, or flying into the sky and遁地 (dùn dì: escaping underground), are pure fabrications. The records and history in the Dead Sea Scrolls are just the fantasies and self-glorification of prehistoric humans."

After cooling down, Bichi also regained its senses. "The opposite of the Light Imprint School is the Restoration Society."

"The Restoration Society firmly believes that prehistoric humans did create civilizations far surpassing those of today. The evidence is some neutral, ancient mechanical lifeforms that retain some data records from the Age of Gods."

"Both the Light Imprint School and the Restoration Society are academic communities composed of supporters of specific theories, and they both have significant influence. However, the Light Imprint School is much larger because the Restoration Society has poorer applications and is weaker in creating profitable value."

Zhou Yi couldn't help but be curious, "It seems that most of the Light Imprint School should be Light Na species, and the Restoration Society should be mostly humans."

"No, you're wrong."

Octopus Bro corrected, "The Light Imprint School and the Restoration Society are both groups whose members are Light Na scholars, and they don't accept humans."

"Then humans aren't involved at all? But I remember there are also human Fangshi in the Alchemist Society, right?"

Zhou Yi felt strange.

This was equivalent to two people arguing about 'a white horse is not a horse,' while the horse next to them couldn't participate in its own defense.

A bit tragic.

"Humans are in another field."

Bichi said, "They have the Night Church."

"The Night Church worships the night and the unknown, studying mysticism and worshipping a god called the Night God, who is said to have existed since the Age of Gods. However, most cities do not recognize this church and prohibit the public promotion of the Night God, so they usually worship in secret."

Ah?

Light Na scholars are studying dead light technology and archaeological history, while New Human scholars are worshipping gods.

Zhou Yi clenched his fists.

How can humanity be revived if you unpromising Wastelanders act like this!

Don't get angry, don't get angry...

He calmed himself down.

Bichi continued, "After the submersible went out of control, I tried various methods to save myself. Since I had already entered the underground seabed, I couldn't force the hatch open."

"We Water Octopi are not known for our physical strength. If exposed to the bottom of the Dead Sea, even encountering a Samurai Crab would be extremely dangerous. So, I contracted into a dehydrated state and went to sleep, waiting for rescue."

"Now that I think about it, if I had forced my way out then and floated to the surface of the Dead Sea, it would have been a dead end. Those guys would never have allowed me to return alive."

It thought for a moment, "The surging torrents would cause a certain degree of movement in the underground seabed silt, so the submersible was pushed all the way to this distant place."

Zhou Yi roughly understood the situation, "What do you plan to do now?"

"Originally, I wanted to go to the Alchemist Society headquarters in Heaven..."

Bichi sighed, "But that might not be a good choice. According to the procedures, if the Silver Badge Alchemists in each city of the Alchemist Society don't submit a report for a year, their funding will be stopped. If they don't submit a report for three years, their qualifications will be completely revoked."

"The direction of my research is difficult to generate direct profits, so it's always been an area where funding is being cut. That's why I often dive into the soil layers at the bottom of the Dead Sea, hoping to find some new results to stabilize funding."

"Now, if I go to the headquarters, I don't have enough evidence, and I have to explain my situation. The Light Imprint School can easily suppress it... and I will definitely become a thorn in their side. Alas, it's so difficult just to do some research."

Zhou Yi asked, "Do you specialize in studying the Age of Gods civilization?"

If it was archeology, it would indeed be easy to have funding cut.

Mainly because it can't directly generate profits.

Productivity in the Wasteland Age is not high, and land is scarce, so resource allocation to archaeologists would only be more difficult.

According to Octopus Bro, the Light Imprint School has the power because it has higher productivity and can bring considerable benefits.

Bichi corrected, "To be precise, I study the prehistoric human social forms of the Age of Gods civilization based on fossilized bones. This is actually a large field. What I'm currently doing is mainly using fossilized bones as an entry point to compare the differences between ancient humans and modern humans."

Zhou Yi immediately grasped the key point, "You also know a lot about bones?"

"Yes. Although I don't have bones myself, bones are the basic framework of many flesh and blood creatures, which has always been my main observation sample."

Zhou Yi looked at it, "Are you sure that what you saw before were prehistoric human bones?"

In his personal experience, he had never seen complete human bones. The buildings were empty, and occasionally he could see some bones, but he couldn't determine their source.

"Absolutely sure. Complete skeletons are rare."

Bichi said decisively, "The earliest Bone Fish were born from the skeletal remains left after prehistoric humans were decomposed. So, if a Bone Fish is born in an Age of Gods ruin, it will take away all the bones. A long time has passed since the Age of Gods, and it is difficult to find well-preserved prehistoric human tombs."

"I finally found one, but unfortunately, I don't know where it is anymore..."

Zhou Yi thought, so that's how it is.

He often saw Bone Fish searching for bones at the bottom of the sea, and some of them might be remnants of the old era.

Bichi gesticulated with its eight tentacles, saying endlessly, "Bone Fish are natural bone collectors. They absorb dead light to grow bones, and they also install and fuse the bones of other creatures onto themselves. The Bone Fish next to the Age of Gods ruins are my main research target. Maybe they have traces of ancient creatures on them."

"Unfortunately, the Bone Fish recombine after fusing bones, so it is very difficult to find well-preserved traces."

Zhou Yi immediately made a decision.

"Bichi, are you willing to continue your bone research here?"

"Are you talking about the Wasteland Development Company?"

Bichi seemed hesitant, "But I don't know much about you. Although you saved my life, if my abilities can't be used in a specific direction..."

Red Falcon flew next to it, projecting on the giant crab's back, displaying the company's credit rating and various industries, introducing the Wasteland Development Company's situation to it through images.

Octopus Bro's eyes widened as it watched, "So it's actually a B-level organization. It seems I'm ignorant. But are you really willing to recruit an alchemist like me who can't create direct value? I just naturally have a [Multi-Brain] structure, which allows me to use multiple brains better than other lifeforms. In other aspects, I'm even weaker than an E-level creature."

Zhou Yi also made a request, "We need you to study the growth of Bone Fish through bones."

"To be honest, I haven't been involved in this very deeply... but I will do my best."

At the same time, Zhou Yi also obtained Red Falcon's market quotation data.

"The average salary of a Silver Badge Alchemist is currently 120 light seeds per year. I will hire you according to this standard and give you 100 light seeds for research start-up funds. Is that acceptable?"

Octopus Bro was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly said, "Yes, yes, acceptable!!"

It then tentatively asked, "But in addition to Bone Fish... I would also like to continue my research on the Age of Gods civilization."

Zhou Yi agreed.

"As long as it doesn't affect the progress here, you can do it at the same time, and I will also provide corresponding resource support. But please remember, the Bone Fish project is more important, and research on the Age of Gods civilization cannot be done overnight, right?"

Octopus Bro seemed relieved.

Now that the express delivery center has gradually spread out, the cultivation of Bone Fish couriers must be a long-term strategy.

But currently, they only know what is happening, but not why.

Bone Fish raised from fish fry, fed with specific feed, and grown up in Zhanjiang Bay No. 1 will become docile and peaceful, and easily tamed.

But their skeletal changes and development cannot be explained by Da Vinci, the doctor.

The mechanical and electrical doctor said, "I have never treated Bone Fish, nor have I had Bone Fish patients."

For this very basic Dead Sea creature, the general public's perception is that they are background plates in various scenes. They are either food for middle and high-level Light Na species, or a reference object used to observe the environment at the bottom of the Dead Sea. Their status is similar to that of sand rats on land.

Having Octopus Bro study the bone growth of Bone Fish is also a research support for the express delivery center.

...

Bichi's identity was quickly confirmed.

Because Silver Badge Alchemists themselves have registered identities in mechanical and electrical cities, and they are also frequent visitors there.

To Zhou Yi's surprise, Octopus Bro was not that old. He was only 27 years old, which is considered a young scientist in this era.

Bichi said, "My talent is relatively average, because as long as 9 brains develop normally for the Water Octopi, they can basically enter the Alchemist Society at the age of 5 and become Bronze Badge Alchemists. All our growth is in our brains, and our bodies are only flexible, and their strength is not high."

"Then, developing further, they are sufficient to become Silver Badge Alchemists at the age of 12, but I was 14 years old before I passed. But it is very difficult to obtain a Gold Badge because it requires groundbreaking achievements."

This is the racial talent of the Water Octopi, born with a 9-core CPU.

Five days later, the first research department of the Wasteland Development Company, the [Bone Laboratory], was officially established. Emerald City specially built a two-story small building for it.

The director of the laboratory, Bichi, is temporarily the only member of the laboratory.

It immediately spent all the funds it received and even pre-paid half of its salary, purchasing a series of devices including a phonator through Recursive City. Its style of never letting money stay overnight was surprisingly consistent with Red Falcon.

Residents of Emerald City had two impressions of this strange department.

One is that various bones are regularly delivered here, and the other is the majestic mechanical crab standing at the door.

Many Samurai Crabs would come over to pay their respects when they passed by - in their unenlightened minds, they believed this was a sleeping big senior.

With the initial effectiveness of a series of supporting facilities for the express delivery center, the company's express delivery industry entered a period of rapid development.

Zhou Yi was finally able to relax and return to the Dead Sea to open up new resource areas.