Wasteland Development Diary

For safety's sake, Zhou Yi had only left the Red Kestrel to continue monitoring the Mushroom Forest while he returned to the company's base with the others.

Tie Ma had suffered significant damage. Normally, it should have returned to Recursive City for repairs and inspections, but it chose to stay.

"I was hired to come here and cultivate farmland, and up to now, the damage to my body mainly includes the amplifier, energy auxiliary parts, the top and partial side protective layers and fireproof layers... However, as long as it's in a normal environment, it doesn't affect farming."

It said, "With Tong Niu here, the two of us working together are enough to handle most situations. If I go now for inspection and maintenance, just scheduling, observation, repair, and rehabilitation training would consume at least a month... and round trip would take at least a month and a half, which would seriously affect the schedule."

"The fields can't be delayed. If we miss that golden time, it would waste several months."

"As long as you lure that creature away, we can resume work."

Zhou Yi tried to persuade it, pointing out that sharpening the axe does not hinder the chopping of wood. This area was remote and lacked repair workers for emergency repairs.

A small ailment could lead to a major issue, and that would be troublesome.

Tie Ma explained, "Actually, my brother and I haven't had work for a while."

"Due to the cost of farming, many cities have opted for cheaper manual cultivation, tightening the input ratio, causing the industry to become increasingly depressed. Only those big cities with large farms have demand. On larger scales of land, my brother and I lack enough competitiveness, both in efficiency and strength compared to large farming machinery."

"To tell you the truth, buddy, if I go back for repairs now, the work injury insurance I previously bought will be void, and I'll need to repurchase it. Because of the previous injury, the next premium will be at least 10% higher."

"Insurance in Recursive City isn't cheap, and my brother and I still need to save money to update our old farming tools, replace the broken signal components with newer electromechanical parts. We are old models with heavy, complex structures. To solve the problems of high wear rate and high failure rate, we can only switch to larger-scale pure electromechanical assemblies with fewer parts..."

"In short, there are still many places where money needs to be spent. Since there's no issue now, let's save where we can."

So Zhou Yi didn't persuade further.

He now devoted all his energy to dealing with the High-rise Giant.

Luring it away was a plan recognized by all parties.

Generally speaking, this was also the most reliable and effective method to face the Dead Sea Alien.

Tie Ma even provided a detailed tutorial, "Tong Niu said that when it was in service, it also encountered the Dead Sea Alien once."

"Their solution at the time was to use Light Seeds. Once the Light Seeds were activated, the Alien would approach to absorb them. They used the Light Seeds to gradually lead the Alien to some remote areas or into places like the Dead Sea here."

"No matter how those mushrooms blocked it, they couldn't withstand the Alien's strong instinctual drive for the Light Seeds. As long as the Alien was hungry, it would be driven by instinct."

"Entering the Dead Sea is most effective. The Alien would fall into sleep and stasis amidst the Death Light. Unless the Dead Sea they're in recedes for various reasons, they would only then resume movement and go out to search for energy food."

"However, this would be very costly indeed. Tong Niu and the others initially used 1027 Light Seeds to lure the Alien out 10 kilometers; based on that distance, to bring this creature into the Dead Sea on the east side, even if it's a straight line, at least 3000 would be needed."

Zhou Yi fell into thought.

This number of Light Seeds, with effort, could be managed.

But there wasn't much time.

Indiscriminately fishing and hunting Guangna Species to get that number would take ten days to half a month.

Before that, the Black Hand Mushroom controlled giant was an unpredictable bomb.

"Actually, there's a simpler method."

Seeing him silent, Tie Ma gave another suggestion, "Move. Move away from here, start anew near the city. Even if that creature appears, the city will think of solutions, and the costs will be covered by the city. Considering everything, that's the most cost-effective option, buddy. Let's move."

After a fierce battle united against a common enemy, this agricultural machine's attitude had clearly improved, feeling somewhat like one of their own.

Zhou Yi still did not speak.

He completely dismissed this idea.

The Wasteland Development Company had to be located far from the city, close to the Dead Sea. The sea floor nearby harbored numerous artifacts of civilization and was the location specifically chosen by Zhou Yi after a survey.

Though referred to as the Dead Sea Alien, it was still a life form, possessing instinctive desires and certain behavioral patterns. The main issue was the inability to communicate.

Zhou Yi said, "If those Black Hand Mushrooms can enter the giant's body, why can't we?"

Tie Ma was taken aback. "Dude, you want to rush in? Aliens are unpredictable. What if it suddenly goes mad and digests you? Then it's all over. Don't be impulsive, cool down…"

"I want to try."

Zhou Yi looked towards Ye Zhao. "What do you know about Black Hand Mushrooms?"

"The clawed pig tribe has dealt with them," Ye Zhao sneezed sideways. "Master, the Mushroom Forest is the territory of the Black Hand Mushrooms. They seldom come out, but they should not be underestimated."

"These guys can change their form. Sometimes they become a small giant mushroom, sometimes they disguise as human, and sometimes even as our clawed pig clan. They never act alone, always in groups, and are very united internally."

"The Mushroom Forest keeps expanding because they keep planting giant mushrooms. These guys are quite intelligent. Basically, we keep the peace and do not interfere with each other."

Zhou Yi asked, "What about their combat ability?"

"If it's one-on-one, Black Hand Mushrooms are no match for a clawed pig."

Ye Zhao whispered, "But those guys are very good at using the terrain. They plant explosive mushrooms, dig pits, make bayonet traps, and even use human weapons. It's hard to deal with them in the Mushroom Forest. Now that they've burrowed into the giant's body, they've surely made preparations there to prevent others from intruding."

He also believed that entering the giant's body was very dangerous.

Zhou Yi pondered for a moment, "Since the Black Hand Mushrooms are a collective society and there are quite a few of them, how do they maintain order internally?"

"They have a leader, and all Black Hand Mushrooms listen to it."

Ye Zhao continued, "However, no one has ever seen the Mushroom King. It is very cautious and never shows itself."

Zhou Yi's eyes lit up.

If he could capture that leader, then he would have a bargaining chip to negotiate with the Black Hand Mushrooms.

"Red Kestrel, find that Mushroom King for me."

"Yes."

The drone initiated Bird's Eye View and after a while, locked onto the target.

Zhou Yi looked at the image on the remote control, his face full of question marks.

This is the boss of the Black Hand Mushrooms?

Red Kestrel was very assertive, "I have analyzed a vast number of signals released by the Black Hand Mushrooms, confirming that this is their absolute leader and also the highest ruler of the Mushroom Forest."

On the screen, a silhouette stood by a window.

He stood with hands behind his back, wearing a tattered coat, with a bright red scarf fluttering in the wind.

The only issue was.

This Mushroom King was just some unremarkable Skull Man.

Just didn't know what troubling matter he was dealing with, as he paced back and forth inside, looking worried.

Red scarf skull?

An alien race ruling over the Mushroom Forest?

Zhou Yi frowned, realizing this matter was not simple.