Wasteland Development Diary

The secret room was dark, so dark you couldn't see your own hand, and filled with some kind of misty gas.

Zhou Yi heard a hissing sound of air being released near his ears.

Then, a door opened in front of him, and a large amount of gas rushed out, instantly clearing his vision.

Stepping out, Zhou Yi realized he had been inside a white spherical pod.

The area was centered around the spherical pod, with the floor and walls made of white square tiles.

A huge mirror was fixed on one of the walls.

Zhou Yi looked into the mirror.

He had become a gnoll, with a long snout and pointed ears, his body covered in dense animal fur, and a tail behind him. But walking upright seemed perfectly natural, his physiological structure completely different from the canines in his memory.

He looked down at his arms, slender limbs covered in yellow fur, ending in two large paws, the claws as nimble as fingers, rounded and solid.

A mechatronic lifeform quickly rushed in from outside.

"Distinguished guest, welcome to your arrival. I am Snowman from the Coral Mouth Program Department, your exclusive receptionist."

Snowman lived up to his name, with a large head, round body, and snow-white all over, the lights on his head forming a friendly smile.

Zhou Yi sized up the receptionist, who was a head shorter than him, and asked, "What is this place?"

"This is a landing pod built according to Protocol 403, a room exclusively for distinguished Celestials."

"Elaborate on Protocol 403."

"Yes."

Snowman said, "Protocol 403 is a confidentiality agreement built by Celestials and mechatronic lifeforms, mainly including three principles."

"Principle 1: Only Celestials have the right to access and use Protocol 403."

"Principle 2: Mechatronic cities have the obligation to search for and locate Xinqiu and areas with abnormal strong signal reactions for the Celestials."

"Principle 3: Mechatronic cities must not harm Celestials or stand idly by when Celestials are harmed, and are prohibited from accessing and investigating information data related to Celestials."

Zhou Yi's heart sank.

It seemed that the Celestial group was not only the behind-the-scenes rulers of the Celestial Kingdom, but the mechatronic cities were also bound by them.

Zhou Yi asked, "Do you record every time we descend?"

"Please rest assured, these are all within the confidentiality agreement."

Snowman's eyes glowed slightly, turning into two small dots, "The arrival, identity, and image of any Celestial will be kept separately confidential, and all related data will be permanently deleted after the Celestial leaves."

Zhou Yi was relieved.

"Get me some clothes."

"Yes, please wait a moment."

Soon, Snowman entered with a tray on his head, containing a neatly folded set of clean clothes.

After Zhou Yi put them on, his image in the mirror suddenly changed.

The gnoll wore a white linen robe, a black cloak, and a wide-brimmed hat—perfectly accommodating his two ears, clearly custom-made attire.

He looked much more low-key and normal.

A hair-like thin steel wire emerged from Snowman's head, with something like an earphone hanging on it.

"This is a classified transceiver."

Zhou Yi clipped it to his left ear.

The attached microphone was fixed near his mouth, and because of its small size and the hat's cover, it was not easily noticeable.

Snowman could communicate with Zhou Yi one-on-one through the transceiver.

"In the past decade, no signs of Xinqiu have been found around Coral Mouth. The two strong signals nearby have also been confirmed, one being the architectural lifeform 'Yalong Bay,' and the other being a Class A light burst."

Zhou Yi nodded, "Tell me about the complete Protocol 403."

Snowman immediately began a detailed response.

Protocol 403 was very large, more like a code of law with many detailed rules than an agreement.

Zhou Yi directly summoned Machine No. 2 to record it.

After reading it, Xiaofu said, "This information text has many constraints, almost all unilateral requirements and orders, and seems very wary of mechatronic lifeforms."

"Such strict constraints are only placed on groups with potential threats."

"In this kind of vassal situation, either the mechatronic lifeforms have irreplaceable special abilities, or they themselves are difficult to completely eliminate."

Zhou Yi also found it strange.

The bodies chosen by the Celestials were almost all flesh and blood. Logically speaking, whether in terms of strength, stability, or ease of modification, mechatronic lifeforms had a huge advantage.

"Have you ever rebelled against us?"

Snowman replied, "Mechatronic cities have never proactively engaged in any behavior that disrupts order, nor have they ever offended the Celestials."

Not that reason.

Zhou Yi suddenly thought of a possibility.

"The Light Imprint Technique, was it taught to the mechatronic lifeforms by us?"

The Celestial's gem organs could modify lifeforms through fibrosis, endowing them with a light imprint structure, an innate ability.

The source of the Light Imprint Technique was in the mechatronic light imprints, i.e., the mechatronic cities.

Zhou Yi boldly guessed that the Celestials were secretly supporting the mechatronic lifeforms, allowing them to develop this technological system to serve the Celestials.

"You're mistaken."

Snowman answered, "We discovered the Light Imprint Technique first, and then shared it with the Celestials."

"..."

Zhou Yi was stunned for a moment.

It wasn't quite what he had imagined.

The other party explained, "According to the visible historical records protected by Protocol 403, we first discovered and successfully applied the Light Imprint Technique, and then shared it with the Celestials, jointly analyzing its principles."

"Of course, although we are the inventors, we are completely incomparable to the Celestials in terms of precision and energy level."

Zhou Yi felt a little surreal for a moment.

It was like natives teaching a group of powerful immigrants nuclear fusion technology.

But he also thought that perhaps it was because of the mechatronic lifeforms' development of technology that the Celestials saw their potential. Therefore, through layers of constraints, they were made unable to be enemies with the Celestials and to work and serve for the Celestials.

Such creative labor was very useful to the behind-the-scenes boss, the Celestials.

Zhou Yi said, "Take me to see your city."

"Yes, esteemed guest."

…

Leaving the spherical pod, Zhou Yi found that the outside was the city center of Coral Mouth.

It was located on a high tower. Looking down, the entire city was in full view.

Coral Mouth was a port city.

The northern part of the city had a large port built deep into the Dead Sea, with a green lighthouse erected to dispel the surrounding mist.

There were docks, piers, and berths for ships to dock. Many ships were docked there, transferring and transporting goods. Even from a distance, one could see the bustling crowd.

To the south, deep inland, were orderly factories and huge cooling towers emitting white smoke.

The main roads on the ground were almost entirely railways, with freight trains constantly passing by, carrying various goods and connecting the north-south trunk lines.

On the branch roads, mechatronic lifeforms were busy, some repairing roads, some cleaning up garbage, and some maintaining public facilities. One could also see some Lightborn and humans, but they were in the minority.

Drones patrolled in the air.

Zhou Yi quickly noticed.

This mechatronic city was entirely composed of various modular blocks, which formed houses, factory areas, docks, roads, bridges... like an enlarged Lego city.

Zhou Yi asked the Snowman next to him, "Are mechatronic cities all built with this kind of block?"

"This is a T-brick."

Snowman switched to a smiling face, "This is a building material made from silt at the bottom of the Dead Sea, which is both stable and lightweight, and can withstand dead light impacts. It is a very high-quality new material."

"Covering the surface of the T-brick with light soot can construct a light imprint structure, turning the entire city into a huge Light Imprint Technique substrate. Whether it is expansion or deletion, it becomes more convenient, and development and expansion are easier."

"Coral Mouth is the first mechatronic city built entirely with T-bricks. It has been proven that this greatly improves the operating efficiency of the entire city. The only drawback is that the initial investment cost is very high."

Zhou Yi had gained some knowledge this time.

The entire Coral Mouth had become mechatronic integrated, and light imprint structures could be placed everywhere, which indeed brought out the advantages of the mechatronic lifeforms themselves.

Accompanied by Snowman, Zhou Yi began to walk in this city.

He boarded the local train and toured the city's features.

He saw the mechatronic lifeform residents queuing up at the repair points and energy stations, observed the large-scale planting bases, and also entered the factories and docks to observe, and went to the physical testing center to check the strength of the gnoll... This benefited him a lot, and he saw how the mechatronic city operated.

Human cities highly depended on human and animal power, but this place had already entered the industrial age, with a real technological gap.

He visited for a whole day.

Zhou Yi felt that the time was almost up.

"I have an appointment with Zhou Yi of Emerald City and want to go there. Prepare a vehicle for me."

"Yes. In half an hour, the business jet will be able to take off. Please come with me."

Boarding the plane.

Zhou Yi sat by the window, looking at the Coral Mouth getting further and further away below, his mind full of thoughts.

The Celestials showed with their actions that they were optimistic about the development prospects of mechatronic lifeforms.

Mechatronic cities indeed represent the most advanced productivity in the wasteland era.

The company still needs to continue to work hard, bringing the Sandport area to catch up with this place.