Wasteland Development Diary

Under the guidance of Red Kestrel, Zhou Yi rode a samurai crab at top speed across the oasis, leading the team to the rescue site.

Outside the Mushroom Forest.

Tie Ma fought against numerous enemies, caught in a bitter struggle.

A group of Camel Soldiers encircled the area, camel riders armed with handheld crossbows pulled up a warning line to prevent external interference with the battle inside.

The main fighting force consisted of three groups.

The first group pulled a circle of iron chains around Tie Ma, creating a circular light zone. This white light seemed to restrict Tie Ma's movement, making it impossible for it to escape.

Chains extended outwards from both sides of the loop, ending at two small iron cabinets flickering with red light, with two people standing guard beside them.

The second group drove a vehicle resembling a four-wheeled off-road motorcycle. On a raised platform in the rear seat, someone set up a long rifle aimed at Tie Ma, with fire constantly bursting from the muzzle.

The vehicle's long-range shots made Tie Ma's body clang loudly. Many areas showed cracks and dents, with the top machine gun hanging down, thoroughly destroyed.

The third was a fully armored warrior with a covered helmet. He stood atop the nose of Tie Ma, thrusting a glowing spear into the shell of the electromechanical life, causing a significant amount of arcing sparks.

At this time, Tie Ma desperately swiveled its head and spun in place, trying to shake off the enemy, but this only made the spear warrior more frenzied, even letting out strange cries of "wow wow".

The situation was extremely unfavorable.

When Zhou Yi saw this scene, he actually felt relieved.

Years of combat experience allowed him to understand at a glance that these people did not intend to destroy Tie Ma but to capture it alive. So they needed to continuously deplete Tie Ma's energy, lock down its mobility, and dismantle its equipped weapons and defense shell.

There was no immediate danger.

Through the vision of Red Kestrel, Zhou Yi first targeted the enemy's core four enhancers.

First were the two guards controlling the chain formation, who dressed very much like Yang Si, likely Alchemists.

Then, the remote sniper and their driver.

Lastly, the fully armored rifleman.

The Red Kestrel reminded him, "Tie Ma is sending out a strong distress signal, it has been ambushed and trapped, and it's in a perilous situation."

"No rush,"

Zhou Yi observed the surroundings.

In the wild Mushroom Forest, so many enhancers had appeared, and the ambush had been pre-planned... it must be Yang Si's gang.

Ensuring no one else was overlooked.

Zhou Yi issued an order.

"Black Samurai, leave none behind."

...

Luan Zou looked down at his prey with pleasure, unable to resist throwing his head back in a howl of joy.

What an unexpected windfall.

A Level-D Guangna Species, and an exceptionally capable photonic-electric life, was now firmly in his grasp.

Originally assigned here to lead the excavation, he was quite dissatisfied.

As a seasoned Level-D Bounty Knight, Luan Zou had left the Bounty Knight Order to follow the merchant Ji Zhang and switched to the Dead Sea Knights, downgraded to a knight guard, serving as the head of Ji Zhang's guard, in pursuit of better prospects.

In fact, his wishes had been fulfilled.

Following Ji Zhang, Luan Zou met many important people and saw sights he had never seen before. Over these eight years, he profited immensely.

But no matter how high his salary or how many people he led, it could not change the fact that he was merely one of Ji Zhang's subordinates.

Luan Zou had left the Bounty Knight Order with plans to use Ji Zhang as a stepping stone to eventually go independent, pull together a group, and become a person of note.

In the past two years, Ji Zhang had been sending him on various assignments and fostering several young people as confidants, the golden period of cooperation had passed.

His own position could be taken over at any time.

This time Luan Zou was assigned to the outskirts of Mao Valley Town, to the Mushroom Forest, to participate in the excavation and revival of a suspected Dead Sea Alien. It was an incredibly dangerous task.

Dead Sea Aliens were grotesque evolutions from the Divine Era Relics, born from death under the influence of Death Light, turning into an unpredictable, incomprehensible, bizarre form of life.

While Guangna Species hunted each other to seize more power, the killing by Dead Sea Aliens made no sense at all.

Some wake up and immediately go on a killing spree, while others seem extremely gentle and quiet, but they could launch into a violent rampage at any moment, indiscriminately attacking everything around them.

Some Aliens specifically prey on various vehicles, attaching these devices to their bodies as a sort of decoration.

Some Aliens consume children, and people nearby must supply a sufficient number of children to them, otherwise, it will break the city open itself and stuff children into its mouth.

Some Aliens toy with lives, tossing various beings into the air as if they were toys, trying to catch them. However, they often end up crushing them to pieces after catching them.

...

Grotesque madness, incomprehensible, and filled with terrifying power that made people fearful. This was the essence of Dead Sea Aliens.

They were natural weapons of slaughter, and by sending them to the right place, they could generate considerable strategic and trading value.

Dispatched here, Luan Zou had been doing everything possible to delay the construction schedule.

Reviving an Alien required the sacrifice of lives.

Some could die for it.

But that person could not be him.

So he was very cautious, continuously sending people to investigate and explore, and hiring hunting groups to scout the Mushroom Forest. He also absorbed locals from Mao Valley Town and learned about the ancient legends of giants in the Mushroom Forest.

As a result, 12 people died before Luan Zou confirmed that the alien was parasitized and attached by the mushrooms in the Mushroom Forest, causing its energy to be nearly depleted and falling into a deep, immobile slumber.

It wasn't difficult to activate it either, all that was needed was to chop down some of the key giant mushrooms and those that were attached to it.

After months of gradual clearing, the giant had begun to show slight reactions.

The next step was to input a certain amount of energy to awaken it and completely take it out.

In principle, this step wasn't complicated. It only required controlling the number of Light Seeds input to maintain its dazed state. It was then possible to lead it to the designated location to board the ship for containment, just like leading a camel with a carrot.

To facilitate the cover-up operation, Luan Zou deliberately waited for stormy weather before taking action. He had the Alchemists use special consumables to change the direction of the storm, creating a sandstorm barrier to cover this area and further shield from outside prying eyes.

However, a small incident occurred at this point.

There was an electromechanical life next door.

This electromechanical Guangna Species named Iron Horse was tilling and loosening the soil in the Oasis Area, seemingly preparing for cultivation. Even in the midst of the sandstorm, it continued to work.

Luan Zou was delighted at the sight.

He hadn't expected an extra harvest.

As long as he captured this fellow, whether he subdued it to redeem its freedom or sold it directly, either option represented a considerable income.

It was an unspoken understanding that any windfall outside of the mission was for personal keep.

This was especially true for merchant teams.

Everything acquired as a raider belonged to oneself.

He immediately took the other three enhancers, the archer Wu Hai, the Alchemist Wu Sheng, and Jiao Zifu, along with a group of experienced Caravan Guards, to design and set an ambush.

Before Luan Zou could act, Iron Horse charged over directly, protesting loudly in a huff.

"Stop your destructive actions! Do not interfere with and impact my farmland!"

"You have allowed the storm to damage my cultivated land!"

Merely provoking it slightly made the creature fall into the trap, like a turtle caught in a jar.

Thinking of this, Luan Zou could not help but laugh.

Holding the Spear of Chaos in his hand, he looked down at the ironclad figure: "Submit to me, Iron Horse. As long as you submit, I will help you recover. Otherwise, you will become a slave."

The subdued electromechanical life responded: "Dream on! You despicable wimp!"

Just as Luan Zou was about to dismantle it to teach it a lesson, he suddenly felt something was off.

Why was it so quiet around him?

He noticed that the Camel Soldiers running around had all extinguished their glow sticks.

The four-wheeled chariot that was supposed to carry the shooter was nowhere to be seen.

The light circle that trapped Iron Horse had dimmed. What were the Alchemists who maintained the Light Blockers doing?

No, something wasn't right!

Luan Zou looked down, feeling a cold sensation along with pain crawling up from his scalp, a warm liquid seeping down from his hair.

His helmet had been sliced open.

The attacker was a large crab. It was entirely black, its two vertical eyes changing from black to a merciless silver. Its pincers were honed to an unmatched sharpness, like two black double-edged broadswords.

A Black Samurai Crab wielding its pincers as swords... How could a Samurai Crab possess such strength?

This was on land—and not an area where this group was known to be active.

Luan Zou was horrified in his heart.

The leader of the Samurai Crabs?

His hand was faster than his mind as he drew the Spear of Chaos to stab at the Black Samurai Crab, but the adversary vanished into the darkness. Luan Zou felt a chill at his waist followed by a heart-wrenching tearing pain.

It was too fast.

Was this really a Samurai Crab?

No, that wasn't right.

Luan Zou saw pairs of silver eyes lighting up in the darkness.

He felt his hair stand on end and his back break out in a cold sweat.

Just how many of them were there?

What in the world was happening?

He swung the Spear of Chaos frantically, but the wounds on his body multiplied, his body growing colder.

As his consciousness dissolved, Luan Zou finally had a hazy thought.

It was the outsider; he had been watching and preparing to act covertly all along... That bastard had been aiming for the alien here from the start!

Ji Zhang, that damn bastard, must have known some insider information.

He had deliberately sent him to his death!

Damn it, he'd been tricked!

If Laozi dies, you won't benefit either!

If I can't have it, no one can.

Let the alien keep you good company, heh heh...

Ji Zhang, you old dog, I'll be waiting for you down below! Waiting for the day you die without a grave to rest in!