Outside Sand Port City, the Big Buddha sat cross-legged by the coast.

The Buddha's entire body was covered with a layer of halo, making it particularly eye-catching against the night sky.

Together with its square face and kind features, its majestic and robust stature, and the two equally radiant protectors behind it, it seemed to emanate a sort of divinity.

Many new humans gathered around, worshipping and paying their respects to the Big Buddha.

As soon as Zhou Yi arrived, Lord Sha Hai immediately came over to complain.

"Mr. Zhou, this Leshan Buddha has been glowing all over for several days, not moving at all. Its energy intensity is getting higher and higher. Could it be undergoing some kind of mutation? Or is it evolving further? It makes me feel uneasy, mainly because it's too close to Sand Port City…"

Zhou Yi said, "It's not a big problem, I'll go take a look."

Having said that, he flew up to the Buddha's shoulder on the Hunter.

Zhou Yi didn't notice the Alert B-rank unidentified life form.

Up close, he could tell that the source of the Big Buddha's glow was the Light Absorption Monsters.

A large number of these special life forms surrounded the Big Buddha, making it seem as though Buddha's light was shining upon everything.

Zhou Yi activated consciousness synchronization.

"Big Buddha, why are all the Light Absorption Monsters following you?"

"Zhou Yi, here's what happened."

The Buddha's voice was gentle and calm, "After coming from United City, the Light Absorption Monsters from Yalong Bay started to gather around me. I believe it's probably due to my attraction to life."

"The Light Absorption Monsters are very friendly towards me; they're a kind of simple, pure life."

Zhou Yi then asked, "I've heard there's a B-rank life form appearing here; did it come for you?"

"I think so. But it didn't mean any harm."

The Big Buddha paused for a moment.

"I can't describe it; it's very special, coming and going without a trace."

Zhou Yi couldn't help but frown.

A B-rank life form that comes and goes without a trace... This was a source of instability.

Even if it was harmless to the Big Buddha, there were still over 40,000 residents in the Sand Port Region. Any small act from such intense Guangna Species could turn into an unintended disaster for normal people.

Zhou Yi first returned to the ground on the Hunter.

He asked the new humans nearby, "There's a special Guangna Species that has appeared beside the Big Buddha. Has anyone seen it?"

The locals all talked at once, each saying their piece.

The witnesses' descriptions were roughly consistent: this life form was radiant, suddenly appearing and quickly disappearing, its appearance too faint to see clearly.

While Zhou Yi was further questioning the witnesses, a dazzling orb of light suddenly lit up on the left side of the Big Buddha's head without any warning.

From the [Alert] perspective, dangerous red light emerged from the entity.

Zhou Yi recognized it at a glance; it was a Condenser.

He had seen one before in Mei State Prison, where Qin Xie had been very excited, saying it was a rare special life form that had evolved from the Light Absorption Monsters.

The Condenser floated beside the Buddha's head.

It emitted a strong light beam that pierced through the sky above the Dead Sea, stretching far into the distance.

After about three to four minutes, a point of light flew along the light bridge, followed by a second, then a third... They resembled a swarm of fireflies, guided by the Condenser from afar, descending onto the Big Buddha.

They were all Light Absorption Monsters.

The reason for the Leshan Buddha's immersion in Buddha's light was essentially understood.

Zhou Yi thought to himself, "Red Kestrel, provide me with information on the Condenser."

The drone responded, "The Condenser is an Energy State Life that evolved in the environment of the Dead Light. It's intangible, nearly impossible to obstruct, and possesses speeds and penetrating power close to that of light, though its energy consumption is also extremely large.

"They're rare, with limited information available. Mechanical City once attempted to communicate with them using light, but this almost announced failure. It's not clear what their level of intelligence is, only that they have a very high Dead Light Energy conversion rate and are likely to appear where Light Absorption Monsters are prevalent."

Without a ready strategy, this was a bit of a challenge.

Zhou Yi noted that as the Light Absorption Monsters coming from afar became fewer, the light bridge built by the Condenser was also extinguished, as if this migration had come to an end.

The Condenser vanished on the spot.

About half an hour later, it reappeared and erected another light bridge in a different direction, leading another group of Light Absorption Monsters towards the Big Buddha.

A large number of Light Absorption Monsters joined side by side to form a circle of light enveloping the statue.

Zhou Yi tried to approach the Condenser on the Hunter.

But as he was about to get close, the Condenser nearly teleported to another area.

Its high-speed movement made it impossible for the Red Kestrel's electronic eye to keep up.

As long as the Condenser didn't want to be touched, no other life form could come into contact with it.

Zhou Yi called out Drone No. 2, "Do you have a way?"

The Reverse Flow observed the Condenser for a moment. "Energy State Life... can only be interacted with in the form of energy; this type is quite troublesome. However, you could try using the [Radio]; you might receive something."

Zhou Yi suddenly realized.

He had forgotten about this new ability.

He turned on the radio, locking onto the Condenser.

Then, indeed, Zhou Yi picked up a signal.

"Come here."

"Come here."

...

But that was just this continuously repeating message.

The Condenser was calling more Light Absorption Monsters to gather here.

There were no other expressions.

Zhou Yi called upon the mic master with a try-and-see attitude, initiating the BGM domain towards the Condenser.

Then he found that the Condenser's light seemed to freeze, no longer changing slowly as before.

Was it done?

Zhou Yi activated consciousness synchronization.

In an instant, he was in a world enveloped by dense fog.

It resembled the Dead Sea.

But while the fog in the Dead Sea was evenly distributed, here the fog rose in pillars toward the sky, even forming astonishingly tall foggy mountain ranges.

Whether it was the columns reaching to the heavens or the mountains, they all changed slowly, rising and falling as if influenced by some special tide.

A great deal of Dead Light was concentrated on Fog Mountain, causing streaks of white light to appear on its surface, like some bizarre mineral veins.

The sky was dark, illuminated only by arcs of light above the Dead Sea.

Was this... the atmosphere?

It was the Outer Sea.

Zhou Yi was taken aback.

The Condenser came from the Outer Sea?

At that moment, he noticed the Condenser floating above a fog mountain in the Outer Sea.

Zhou Yi instantly moved next to it.

The Condenser couldn't see him, but for some reason, it contracted, shifting into a narrow, cross-shaped light form.

In this consciousness-crafted world, a melodious background music echoed.

"Fly me to the moon

And let me play among the stars

Let me see what Spring is like On Jupiter and Mars

In other words, hold my hand

In other words, darling, kiss me..."

"FLY ME TO THE MOON" – this song's record was sent to the moon through an Apollo spacecraft and was the first human song to be played on the moon.

The cross-shaped Condenser maintained continuous motion, transforming into a straight column of light, passing over a series of rolling Fog Mountains.

In the BGM-filled world, Zhou Yi kept pace with it easily.

The Condenser climbed across the mountains but encountered no other life forms.

Only fog and light were companions.

Just as Zhou Yi thought about going to say hello, suddenly, a Fog Mountain to the left and right split open, and a mass of darkness sucked the Condenser directly in. Its speed, which surpassed the limit of electronic eyes, could not free itself.

The Fog Mountain slowly closed, and the Condenser disappeared completely.

The scenery around them shifted once again.

The Condenser reappeared in the form of a star, fleeing once more. It was unable to ascend beyond the Dead Sea to a higher place, seemingly dragged by some force like gravity to humans, only able to flash swiftly through the Dead Sea.

Before long, an unremarkable mist swallowed the Condenser whole.

The same situation repeated itself.

Until on the sixth escape route, Zhou Yi made an official appearance.

Upon detecting Zhou Yi, the Condenser tried to move in the opposite direction with a blink-and-you'll-miss-it speed, but this time it couldn't evade.

Zhou Yi reached out casually and touched the other with ease.

Energy input.

Consciousness synchronization.

"Don't be afraid, I mean no harm. I know you can communicate and converse."

"..."

The Condenser merely shone brighter, becoming a line of light that continuously traced various trajectories trying to flee.

Zhou Yi followed like a shadow.

After a struggle, it was eaten several times by the monster in the mist.

Finally, the Condenser couldn't help but respond, "You, who?"

"I am Zhou Yi, a human. And you?"

"...Jiong."

Exchanging names was a decent start.

Zhou Yi said, "It looks like you came from the Outer Sea to the Inner Sea, what happened there?"

"Atmospheric creatures, invasion."

Jiong said, "I, leave."

Its way of conveying thoughts was extremely concise with no superfluous descriptions; easy to understand, though lacking much detail. However, these were not an issue at the moment.

The former ruler of United City, "Zhi," as a Skywalker, also perished at the hands of atmospheric creatures.

For a B-rank Condenser, facing such an enemy indeed presented a hellish difficulty.

Zhou Yi asked, "Why come here? Are you interested in Leshan Buddha?"

"Don't understand."

"I mean, the building life form that you have gathered the Light Absorption Monsters around."

"Safe."

The other repeated with rarity, "Safe, it."

"You summoned so many Light Absorption Monsters because they help you?"

"Protect."

Zhou Yi puzzled, "They protect you?"

"Protect, them."

"Big Buddha, safe."

So that was it.

Danger eliminated.

Zhou Yi eased slightly, "Since you mean no harm, we welcome you here. Just please be careful not to hurt ordinary humans and other Guangna Species, this is a peaceful place."

"Not will, I, not strong."

Jiong's vocabulary was limited.

It seemed it had little experience in communication.

"You, strong. I, weak."

The other strained to convey its meaning, "I, eaten, many times, degenerated, cannot, Outer Sea survive."

Zhou Yi was taken aback, "You mean, you've fallen in rank?"

"Degenerate, yes."

So, it was once an A-rank life form?

Having been hunted by atmospheric creatures numerous times, it appeared to have a special way of escaping, albeit only part of its body being consumed.

Zhou Yi's curiosity peaked, "You recover here?"

"Yes."

"Then that's fine."

Zhou Yi warmly entered recruitment mode, "By the way, our Wasteland Development Company does not yet have any employees in the Outer Sea, would you consider joining us?"

"Our company is well-capitalized, with four building life forms alone, and our projects span across cultivation, breeding, mining, and the courier services…"

"If you join our company, then you're one of us. The company will protect and escort you, and help you quickly recover, to return to the Outer Sea!"

"..."

The other seemed not to understand, "Company, what?"

"It's like the relationship you have with these Light Absorption Monsters, we look out for each other; we protect you, and later you can help us too."

"Unity."

"Yes, unity."

"Unity, let us unite!"

The other expressed willingness to join.

Zhou Yi was elated, giving a thumbs up.

Whether or not it could be put to use, this was nearly an A-rank life form.

A scarce high-end talent for the company!

Leshan Buddha truly had a useful recruiter trait.

Zhou Yi gazed at the Buddha statue enveloped in a halo of light, the more he looked, the more amiable it seemed.

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