Wasteland Development Diary

Tie Ma and Tong Niu brothers returned to the Oasis to resume farming.

Under Zhou Yi's command, the High-rise Giant stretched out its steel skeleton structure made of interwoven rebars—these also served as its adept limbs for external action.

One by one, containers were grabbed by the iron hands of Jade City and fixed onto the 31st floor's gap. With the strength of architectural life and mechanical connections, these box rooms were firmly secured by rebar, integrating seamlessly with the building.

Ajin and Gong Zheng were both busy moving house and getting their new dwellings in order.

Zhou Yi, accompanied by the samurai crabs, did a simple renovation of his bare concrete room.

Beds and bedding, various cabinets, sofas, tables, and chairs were not a problem.

The floor was initially left as cement, because laying a new floor required too much detailed work, which the samurai crabs weren't skilled in, and he couldn't manage it either. A clean concrete floor was just fine.

However, windows were an issue.

The dark, gaping window allowed a continuous draft that brought in the cold, not to mention the loud whistling of high-altitude winds.

Zhou Yi pondered and concluded that it seemed he could only first seal them up with wooden boards.

Unexpectedly, Jade City proactively offered, "Do you need the windows to be refitted?"

"We can use local materials from the ground level to make sturdy glass windows that fit the dimensions. The cost would only need to be deducted from the maintenance fund; less than 1/10th of a Light Seed is expected to complete the construction of all the windows for the house."

Zhou Yi said, "Then let's try fitting one window first and see how it goes. Just do the one in the living room."

Then he saw the once bare window frame covered in a layer of green light. A layer of steaming clear liquid grew from the bottom up, quickly sealing the entire square void and then becoming flat and smooth.

The installation of a floor-to-ceiling window was complete.

At Zhou Yi's request, Jade City also cut out a ventilation window that could open and close on the fully sealed floor-to-ceiling window, using the wood stored within the container room as the window frame material.

Once the style and specifications were confirmed, the windows throughout the entire room began to grow rapidly.

If that was the case.

Zhou Yi thus thought, "You can make wooden floors too, right? Just use the wood we already have."

Jade City confirmed it was possible.

Moments later, the dusty ground sprouted planks with a wooden grain texture. However, these wooden planks were much smaller, resembling pieces of wood rulers pieced together.

This was because the material mainly consisted of branches, and there was a scarcity of large pieces of lumber.

Zhou Yi felt extremely satisfied.

"What about underfloor heating and air conditioning? Is that available?"

The place was a sandy environment; the day was scorched by direct sunlight, and the temperature dropped very low at night.

Although Zhou Yi's body was that of a White Suanni, it didn't mean he couldn't feel cold or heat, only that he could endure it.

Naturally, if conditions permitted, he wanted to have them installed.

"No problem at all."

Jade City continued the transformation.

The entire house began to feel warm and cozy.

Zhou Yi then asked to treat the container office area with the same regard.

After busying himself with all these tasks, he lay on the sofa and flipped through "Tales Magazine," thinking that it would be lovely if he could also watch television.

Journey to the West TV bro... If only you were still here.

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"Chairman, Chairman, something terrible has happened!"

It was Ajin's voice.

Zhou Yi walked to the door.

After opening it, he saw the young man's face filled with panic: "It's terrible, Chairman, the house is on fire! It's getting hot! Gong Zheng is trying to locate the source of the issue, but we haven't found it yet, you should leave here first! Safety first!"

"…"

Zhou Yi had no choice but to tell him that this was the company's standard air conditioning setup, warm in winter and cool in summer.

Ajin was dumbfounded as he listened, "Are you saying there's a furnace here that can blow wind during the day and light fires at night?"

"It can be understood that way."

"How powerful!"

Not long after Ajin left, Red Kestrel sent another message, "Bone Man Sun Chonglai is outside asking to visit."

"Let him come up."

Before long, Ye Zhao led Sun Chonglai up to the rooftop.

Under the indoor lighting, the red scarf around the Bone Man's neck was especially conspicuous. He carried a square leather case on his back, his ragged clothes nearly hanging from his skeletal frame, making him look more like a refugee fleeing disaster.

He seemed somewhat restrained, "I am very grateful for your audience."

"We truly regret not heeding the advice you gave before, for we were too self-assured and blindly confident…"

Zhou Yi didn't mind.

"Sit."

"Thank you."

The Bone Man took a seat and placed the case at his feet.

"When I arrived, I noticed that the two electromechanical life forms you employed had resumed land development. In fact, our Mushroom Forest has many years of mushroom cultivation expertise and we wish to join you in developing the surrounding land, to grow a wider variety of crops."

"Please have a look."

The Bone Man opened the case.

Zhou Yi knew in his heart that it was the influence of Jade City extending here.

Showing one's capabilities was the best introduction.

Inside the Bone Man's case lay three mushrooms.

His bony finger pointed to the largest white, elliptical ball, "This is the spore of the giant mushroom. We cultivated it using part of a giant mushroom. Once planted, it grows quickly. But once it nears three meters in height, growth slows, and then it requires a long time to wait."

"Giant mushrooms help stabilize the land; they emit a gas that can put many creatures to sleep, which we call sleep gas. However, it has no effect on Bone Men like myself, nor on the Black Hand Mushrooms."

"It's also a vital support for our Mushroom Forest. It prevents external creatures from damaging and intruding upon the forest and steadily increases the expanse of our Mushroom Forest."

Zhou Yi hummed in acknowledgment.

"Then, this one is the Carpet Fungus."

The Bone Man then pointed to the next one, which looked like a piece of bark with a bit of brown-yellow moss or peeling tree bark on the soil.

"If you look closely, you'll find the Mushroom Forest teeming with Carpet Fungus. They occupy the ground space without competing with the giant mushrooms for the 'Death Light' from above. Instead, they absorb the debris from the giant mushrooms, rotting matter on the ground, and such, requiring very little to survive quite tenaciously."

The Bone Man held up the inconspicuous flat fungus, "You see, it's thin and easily damaged. But as long as it's not utterly crushed, it can gradually recover. It's a humble mushroom that goes unnoticed. It's inedible and not very useful, resembling a mix of soil, rotting leaves, and a bit of acid."

"But it has a peculiar ability to connect to each other."

"Masses of Carpet Fungus on the ground interlink; you are in me, and I am in you. If the giant mushrooms form the skeleton of the Mushroom Forest, then they are its flesh and skin."

The Bone Man's hollow eye sockets gazed at the rotten-carpet-like fungus, gently caressing this simple life form.

"The Black Hand Mushrooms can listen to various sounds within the Mushroom Forest through it—every footstep, every conversation is transmitted and amplified before reaching our ears."

Zhou Yi expressed his interest, "Indeed, it's a magical species, and the Mushroom Forest is quite fascinating."

"Thank you for the praise."

The Bone Man nodded slightly, "Yet, if we're talking about wonder, this is the most magical of the Mushroom Forest."

He carefully picked up the last mushroom and placed it in his dry, yellowing bone palm.

"This mushroom's strangeness cannot be summarized in a few words. The explosive mushroom is just one of its variations, or to be precise, it's the juvenile stage of an explosive mushroom."

Zhou Yi looked surprised.

Because the mushroom in the Bone Man's hand looked like a mud ball.

It was the same mud-ball mushroom he had been paying attention to.

So, this thing is actually an explosive mushroom?