Jade City, Room 3101.

Zhou Yi closely examined the plastic box in his hand. The stress source inside had been sealed with a gel by Da Vinci to prevent corrosion or failure due to contact with the external environment.

[Radio] Always on.

But as the day wore on, no further sounds were heard.

Zhou Yi connected to Duke Baili, "How much do you know about the Heavenly People?"

"I only know that there are very few Heavenly People, and they always seem to be searching for something after their arrival... Only the Black Emperor may know the details."

Duke Baili said, "They seem to favor the vulnerable groups, and there have long been records of Heavenly People helping humans. The name 'Heavenly People' was also coined by humans."

Zhou Yi thought about this.

One of the things the Heavenly People were searching for was the Firewood Mound, and then the Reverse Flow.

The reason they favored humans was unclear.

Red Kestrel piloted the Sea God to Recursive City. For ease of communication, its drone body also traveled there. Now only remote contact was possible.

Zhou Yi could only say to the remote controller, "Search for 'Heavenly People'."

Two seconds later.

Text appeared on the screen.

——According to relevant procedures and protocols, some search results are not displayed.

Red Kestrel also gave an explanation.

——This is sensitive information that has been classified and is not made public.

Zhou Yi immediately realized that the power of the Heavenly People was even stronger than he had anticipated.

Their influence not only stood behind the shadows of the Heavenly Kingdom but also permeated various Mechanical Cities, turning the subject into sensitive information.

Since he couldn't find any information, he decided to do what he could now.

He activated his consciousness synchronization and sensed the Scavenger Team resting outside Jade City.

The summoned Weapon Master sprinted over.

"Leader, Xie Xun reporting to you."

Zhou Yi took it through the Dead Sea to the closest uninhabited district by the shore. Although many materials had been moved and many houses dismantled there, there were still many mobile phones left uncollected.

Along the way, he asked about the recent conditions of the Scavenger Team.

Xie Xun said, "Leader, the team is operating well. We've been moving southward. About a half-day's journey towards the south, we found many Dead Sea houses clustered together."

"We collected a lot of gold, silver, gems… all stored in glass cabinets inside the houses. We've handed them over to Mr. Gong Zheng."

"Inside glass cabinets?"

"Yes, a lot of glass."

Zhou Yi understood.

They had found a jewelry store.

With a jewelry store and many houses, it was likely a street.

Zhou Yi noticed that Xie Xun was dressed in a stiff, black outer armor resembling a straw coat, woven horizontally and vertically from numerous black strips.

He pinched the straw armor, feeling almost like hard plastic.

"Is this armor made of Insect Armor?"

"Yes, Chairman."

Xie Xun poked the layer of armor with his claw, "The Sea Horse Shooter can't penetrate it, and the long-necked crocodile dares not mess with us now; it has greatly aided our work."

"There are just not enough Insect Armors right now; we can barely equip the Scavenger Team with it. Ajin finds it too heavy, he doesn't wear it. Lord A Feng has started to mass-breed Insect Armors to increase their numbers."

Zhou Yi found that Xie Xun's ability to express himself had improved a lot since before.

It seems communication really relies on experience and proficiency.

"Have you encountered any difficulties?"

"We haven't run into much trouble; most of it we can handle ourselves, but there is one thing…"

He hesitated slightly.

"Speak up, anything I can help you with, I will."

"It's… the beer, the taste is good."

Xie Xun said gingerly, "Everyone enjoyed it the last time they drank it… they have been missing it ever since."

"That amazing, light, floating feeling, so comfortable and relaxing, it was almost like their shells had flown off, making them feel as if they could do anything."

Zhou Yi paused.

The Weapon Master had a fondness for alcohol.

He thought for a moment, "If you all enjoy it, then each month, every member of the Scavenger Team can go to Gong Zheng and get a can of beer. But that's only if it's in stock."

"That's great, Chairman is great! Thank you, Chairman!"

Xie Xun excitedly waved his claws.

Zhou Yi continued chatting with Xie Xun as they walked back to the uninhabited district.

There were two relatively intact residential buildings here. Zhou Yi entered a house on the left side of the first floor, where a touchscreen smartphone was lying on the coffee table.

He picked it up and saw that it was completely unable to start.

[Radio] Collect it.

Then, Zhou Yi searched the entire house and found another old cell phone in one of the three rooms.

I didn't know if this old model would work.

He tried feeding it to the combat species.

Surprisingly, it could be collected.

Zhou Yi began searching door-to-door.

After feeding 16 cellphones total, the "radio" changed to (3/3).

Another channel was added.

Zhou Yi switched to channel 3, but it was all static. He listened for over ten minutes, only to get a headache.

However, when he narrowed the receiving area and focused on the plastic box in his hand containing the stress source,

the static suddenly stopped.

Then Zhou Yi heard a strange voice, clear and crisp.

"45, 44, 43..."

I didn't know who was counting down.

"1."

The voice said, "Regression commences."

Then it became silent again.

Regression of the Heavenly People?

It seemed to be about discarding bodies, returning to their origin.

This time there was no dialogue, more like a unilateral notification.

The new channel collected content unheard before.

Zhou Yi continued collecting cellphones.

He checked house by house, eventually finding a total of 141 cellphones throughout the neighborhood, all fed to the combat species.

Yet the "radio" did not generate any new channels.

Zhou Yi had no choice but to put the matter on hold temporarily and return to Jade City with Xie Xun.

...

Two days passed like this.

The radio did not pick up any new sounds.

There was also a delay from Red Kestrel, who reported a little problem with programming that required further negotiation with Recursive City.

"Bone Fish deliveries have no precedent. Although the company possesses a B-grade credit rating, they need biologists from electromechanical life to make formal identification to confirm if our Bone Fish are capable of basic work behaviors."

"We are currently undergoing remote authentication. However, the first three rounds of testing reports indicate that the company's four Bone Fish performed exceptionally well, scoring above the qualification threshold."

"The procedure still needs 3-5 days, requiring at least three biologists for cross-validation and completing several 200-kilometer round trip transport tests on-site."

This was more smooth than Zhou Yi had anticipated.

Mechanical City operates with proceduralism as its core system; new small cities like Recursive City simplify everything and handle special cases individually. A large city like Chuneng City would only have a more lengthy and cumbersome process.

With nothing much to do, Zhou Yi started spending his days in the melon field.

Merchants from Sand Port came one by one with camels, purchasing melons on-site. This is where Zheng Tao's retired farming team came into play.

These veteran farmers not only knew how to farm but were also keen on pricing. Zheng Tao had promoted an assistant named Old Chen, a white-haired old man specially in charge of handling money and managing sales accounts.

As summer grew hotter, the melon field became busier than ever.

It was then when Ye Zhao suddenly came looking for Zhou Yi.

"Chairman, I have good news."

This long-unseen old employee could hardly contain his excitement, "Three small Clawed Pig Tribes from the north, after my persuasion, hope to join the company!"

Ye Zhao had been working on this since last winter.

He figured since the company needed Clawed Pig dung, why not naturalize some Clawed Pig Tribes to ensure stable output.

Backed by the Wasteland Development Company, the Clawed Pigs' safety could be greatly secured, at least they wouldn't worry about food and drink on this land.

The persuasion was not smooth.

Being a somewhat haughty Guangna Species and controlled by various leaders, the chiefs were the least willing to join since it meant losing their power and prestige.

So Ye Zhao shifted his target to the smaller tribes threatened by annexation.

When Zhou Yi returned, Big Buddha, accompanied by the protector Heavenly King, stepped into the north, leaving the struggling small tribes even more anxious, and three of them finally agreed to submit.

Thus, Ye Zhao came to report the good news.

Zhou Yi patted this quietly working old employee, "You've done a great job, no one knows the Clawed Pig Group better than you. The joining Clawed Pigs will maintain tribal autonomy, how to settle them and utilize their abilities is up to you."

"The company will guarantee their safety issues. During resource-scarce winters, we will also provide them with Light Seed, ensuring they can survive. However, to gain more inclined resources, they need to show their capabilities."

"Yes, Chairman."

Ye Zhao grinned, showing his teeth, and licked his tongue, "In a show of loyalty, they also provided a clue about something. They said there's a buried war machine in the Northern Forest near the Dead Sea's edge, armed with a powerful cannon."

"Apparently, the war machine sometimes vibrates, as if it hasn't completely died, deep within the forest, near the Dead Sea."

Zhou Yi was stunned.

He immediately thought of that unmanned drone killer who had taken down Red Kestrel.

According to Red Kestrel's description, it had been located approximately 40 kilometers north from the Mushroom Forest, precisely in the Clawed Pigs' territory in the Northern Forest.

No.

Was it still there?

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