Wasteland Development Diary

On Emerald Avenue, Sun Chonglai drove towards Building 5.

Zhou Yi sat in the back seat.

Next to him were two White Smoke Mushrooms huddled together, afraid to get too close.

They seemed uneasy, their bodies stiff.

If the Black Hand Mushrooms were still in their childhood, the White Smoke Mushrooms were entering adolescence. They had a strong sense of self, were rebellious, liked to challenge, and even came with a smoker's temperament.

Zhou Yi proactively communicated with them: "You're right, I lean towards humans. Because I am human, I understand humans, and I know humans can achieve many outstanding things. The prehistoric human civilization buried by the Dead Sea is proof of that."

"If you believe you are stronger, then let the facts speak for themselves. As long as you demonstrate sufficient talent, the company will provide corresponding resource support, just like the Bone Labs and the Courier Center."

White One and White Two remained silent.

Sun Chonglai, who was driving, said sternly: "The Chairman is talking to you, do you understand the rules?"

Then White One spoke: "We don't really think humans are bad or anything... we just want to be able to do other jobs. The breeding platform and growing mushrooms are boring."

This seemed to be their real demand.

Zhou Yi said: "What kind of work do you want to do?"

"Scavenging Team!"

The two White Smoke Mushrooms said in unison.

Zhou Yi thought for a moment: "I can grant you this request. However, you must listen to the captain in the Scavenging Team because it's a team effort that requires mutual trust and support. Can you do that?"

"Yes!"

Zhou Yi said: "Then you will follow A'Jin. A'Jin is in charge of the Scavenging Team branch in Building 7. But you must listen to orders and not act without authorization. If you are kicked out for violating the rules, don't complain. Got it?"

"Got it!"

The two White Smoke Mushrooms were immediately happy: "Thank you, Chairman! Long live the Chairman!"

The car quickly arrived near Building 5.

This building was patrolling next to the port of Sandport City.

After getting out of the car, Zhou Yi took the Bone Man into the building and went up to the top floor via the stone elevator.

Sun Chonglai walked to room 3306, and the door opened inward.

Inside were wooden boxes filled with soil, each planted with a type of mushroom.

In the center was a long table with various glass bottles containing soil, liquids, and powders, as well as some metal box-like energy packs. Under the table were burlap sacks of fertilizer and various shovels and hoe tools.

It looked like a plant laboratory.

Zhou Yi looked around: "So you're doing mushroom experiments in Building 5?"

The Bone Man grinned: "Chairman, the Mushroom Forest is easily affected by the natural environment. For example, wind and insects, and the Black Hand Mushroom children will curiously come and touch them."

"Here it's quiet and stable, and Building 5 is closed off, so you don't have to worry about others breaking in."

"After consulting with Mr. Beecher and Dr. Da Vinci, I modified this place according to their suggestions. White One and White Two are my assistants. Originally, I hoped they could also take on the mushroom experiments here, but unfortunately, they don't like this kind of indoor work."

"Currently, there are 34 types of mushrooms being further researched and developed in this Mushroom Forest laboratory. As usual, most are useless for various reasons. But as long as one is useful, it's worth it."

"Before becoming a Bone Man, in my flesh and blood life stage, I studied mushrooms, and there are related parchment records. Now it feels like everything is familiar, and it's easy to know what to do."

Zhou Yi felt comforted.

The Mushroom Forest was also actively engaged in independent research and development.

Mushrooms are one of the company's core competencies.

Sun Chonglai walked to the innermost room. On the floor was an incredibly large Stone Sac Mushroom, with nothing else around it.

"This is it, Chairman."

Zhou Yi observed it.

This Stone Sac Mushroom was about 1.6 meters tall, with layers of spiderweb-like white fibrous structures on the surface, and some slight cracks.

Under the [Alert] perspective, the Stone Sac Mushroom appeared green overall.

It was about a C-level life form.

It was indeed nurturing life inside.

Sun Chonglai said: "Chairman, it has grown larger than any Stone Sac Mushroom I've ever seen, and there is life moving inside."

"Initially, I just wanted to study Stone Sac Mushrooms because they can evolve into Explosion Mushrooms in the sedimentary environment. I wanted to change the environment to see if new variants could be produced."

"After being transplanted to Building 5, it continued to grow, eventually maintaining a height of 160 centimeters, so I call it 160. Although the size has not increased, the energy density is still increasing."

"Its strength has now exceeded expectations, so I am preparing to report to you to avoid losses due to my personal misjudgment."

Zhou Yi looked at the large Stone Sac Mushroom: "Did it grow rapidly after coming here?"

"Yes, Chairman."

The Bone Man said: "The largest Stone Sac Mushroom in the Mushroom Forest can grow to 70 centimeters in diameter, less than half its size."

"After moving here, it broke through the existing limit and grew from 36 centimeters tall to this size in two months."

"I fed it more than 500 Light Seeds. Normal Stone Sac Mushrooms cannot absorb Light Seeds, but it can, and it slowly became full."

"Now 160 still needs Light Seeds, but it is not as urgent as before. Now I feed it 1 Light Seed each morning and evening."

Sun Chonglai described his mushroom-raising policy: "One day I came over and found that it had broken away from the previous wooden box and stuck to the floor of Building 5. I couldn't move it no matter what. It was like it had merged with the floor."

"I suspect it is absorbing the energy of Building 5. However, because it is too small, Building 5 may not have noticed."

Zhou Yi listened with a focused gaze.

He remembered something.

"Red Falcon, bring Nemo here."

"Yes."

Taking advantage of this time, Zhou Yi inquired about Emerald City.

Emerald City reported: "Commissioner, it is indeed absorbing energy, just like the parasitic mushrooms in the Mushroom Forest in the past."

"It is very special and can connect to part of the consciousness of Building 5, similar to the public area."

"The specific reasons and results are still uncertain."

"It's just that because its size is small, it currently appears to have little impact, so Building 5 does not care."

Various thoughts flashed through Zhou Yi's mind.

The latest novels are first published on Liu Jiu Shu Ba!

Soon, the drone flew the Mechanical Mouse all the way here.

"Chairman, you're looking for me."

"Nemo, I remember you said before that the Harbinger of Doom was born from a large stone that grew out of the Alien's surface."

"Yes, Chairman, the Sand Rats at the time all saw it. Only I have survived to this day."

"Then take a look, is the stone from which the Harbinger of Doom was born similar to this?"

The Mechanical Mouse walked around the large Stone Sac Mushroom twice, its eyes flashing red light continuously.

"This is it, exactly the same."

"The same stone shell, covered with white mycelium."

"However. I remember that in the structure of the stone at the time, these white mycelium were a very regular large-scale diffusion pattern. Now there is too little mycelium and it needs to grow further."

Zhou Yi's eyes lit up.

The conditions for the birth of the Harbinger of Doom are not only the Mushroom Forest as an incubation site.

The core is the building life.

They are dependent on parasitizing building life to evolve and be born.

Therefore, the departing Harbinger of Doom believed that new comrades would definitely appear here again, but did not tell Sun Chonglai the real secret.

However, Emerald City sank underground with geological changes, coupled with insufficient energy. The Stone Sac Mushroom growing on the surface lost its normal parasitic host, and it was always unable to complete the most critical step of transformation.

Zhou Yi told several employees this inference.

The Bone Man, Sun Chonglai, looked stunned: "So that's what happened... No wonder the Stone Sac Mushroom always seems to be missing something, and in the end, it will only crack open, and cannot complete the reshaping and evolution of life."

Zhou Yi said: "However, it is still in the gestation period, so spend more time observing and recording. If there are any abnormalities, tell me as soon as possible."

"Yes!"

"Old Sun, the incubation of the Harbinger of Doom is up to you. If you need Light Seeds, come to me. The consumption of this experiment itself should be considerable, and the company will fully reimburse the expenses."

"Chairman, I will definitely complete the mission!"

The Bone Man's interest suddenly increased.

...

The ignition of war is an instant thing, but the end of the war has a delayed effect.

Although Zhou Yi had announced to the entire company through Red Falcon that the war was over.

However, due to the confidentiality of the agreement, the specific content was not announced.

The Shahe area, especially Sandport City and several market towns, still maintained a sense of tension.

The New Humans would scatter and flee at the slightest breeze, suspecting that they were being attacked from the air, and would hide far away at the slightest sound in the snowy wilderness, fearing that the Explosion Puppets would appear again.

This was still the lightly damaged rear. Beike City and Steel Refining City, which had experienced the war firsthand on the front lines, were even more severely affected.

Residents generally suffered from post-war sequelae, were very sensitive to any sound in the air, would be nervous when they saw small toys or similar puppets, and normal luminescence in the Dead Sea would also make them panic.

The Overlord of Destruction had deep attainments in the field of war, and he knew how to instill fear into people's hearts.

Zhou Yi realized his power only after the war.

Sha Haigong said: "This situation is already very good."

"In the past, many people would run away after a major war. War would set a place back at least ten years... But as long as the city returns to order and continues the previous rapid development, allowing citizens to make money, these are all things that can be solved."

Her judgment was very accurate.

Half a month later, as the Mechanical Cities released the news of the ceasefire between the Shuanghe region and the Development Alliance, the riots decreased.

As Sha Haigong began expanding the port, officially building the city's first dock, and expanding the agricultural group, a large number of job opportunities immediately gave residents a sense of direction for the future, and they quickly threw themselves into new infrastructure labor.

On a quiet night, two transport ships without flags arrived at the trestle bridge of Yalong Bay.

Red Falcon confirmed: "Zhou, the Cattle Taming Tribe has been sent over."

Zhou Yi rubbed his hands.

"Let's go, let's go see the cattle."