The chamber was dark, not a hint of light, and filled with some kind of foggy gas.

Zhou Yi heard the hissing of gas being released beside his ear.

Then, a door opened in front of him, and gas poured out, instantaneously clearing his field of vision.

It was only upon stepping out that Zhou Yi realized he had been in a white spherical cabin.

Centered around the spherical cabin were the floor and walls, all made up of white square tiles,

And mounted on the wall was a gigantic mirror.

Zhou Yi looked into the mirror.

He had transformed into a kobold, with an elongated snout and pointed ears, a body covered in the dense fur of a wild beast, and even a tail behind his buttocks. Yet he walked upright with no apparent discomfort, his physiological structure and memories of the canine family were vastly different.

He looked down at his arms, slender forelimbs covered in yellow fur, ending in two large paws that were as dexterous as fingers, rounded and solid.

An electromechanical life hurriedly arrived from outside.

"Noble guest, welcome to your descent, I am the Snowman from Coral Port's protocol department, your exclusive receptionist."

The Snowman was true to its name, with a large head and a round body, all white, and the lights on its head formed a kindly (•‿•) smile.

Zhou Yi sized up the receptionist, who was a head shorter than himself: "Where is this place?"

"This is a landing chamber built according to Protocol 403, an exclusive room for the esteemed Heavenly People."

"Explain Protocol 403."

"Yes."

The Snowman said, "Protocol 403 is a secrecy agreement established by the Heavenly People and electromechanical life, and it includes three main principles."

"Principle 1, only the Heavenly People have the authority to access and use Protocol 403."

"Principle 2, the Mechanical City is obligated to search for and locate Firewood Mound, and areas with abnormally strong signal reactions for the Heavenly People."

"Principle 3, the Mechanical City must not harm the Heavenly People or stand by in the event the Heavenly People are harmed. It is forbidden to visit or investigate information related to the Heavenly People."

Zhou Yi's heart sank.

It appeared that not only were the Heavenly People the shadowy rulers of the Heavenly Kingdom, but the Mechanical City was also under their jurisdiction.

Zhou Yi asked, "Do you record every one of our descents?"

"Please rest assured, all these are within the secrecy agreement."

The Snowman's eyes gleamed faintly, turning into two small dots: "The descent and identity of any Heavenly Person will be kept strictly confidential, and all related data will be permanently deleted after the Heavenly Person departs."

Zhou Yi felt relieved.

"Bring me some clothes."

"Yes, please wait a moment."

Before long, the Snowman entered with a tray on its head, on which lay a neatly folded set of four clean garments.

After Zhou Yi got dressed, his image in the mirror underwent a dramatic change.

The kobold was now wearing a white linen robe, draped in a black cloak, with a wide-brimmed hat on his head—perfectly accommodating his two ears, clearly a piece of tailored attire.

He looked significantly more understated and normal.

A fine steel wire, resembling a strand of hair, sprouted from the Snowman's head, and on it hung something like an earpiece.

"This is a secure-level transceiver."

Zhou Yi clipped it to his left ear.

The accompanying microphone was fixed at his mouth, and owing to its small size and the covering from his hat, it was not easily noticeable.

Through the transceiver, the Snowman could converse one-on-one with Zhou Yi.

"In recent ten years, no traces of Firewood Mound have been found around Coral Port. Two strong signals nearby have also been validated, one of which is the building lifeform 'Yalong Bay,' the other a Grade-A Light Burst."

Zhou Yi nodded, "Tell me about the full Protocol 403."

The Snowman immediately commenced a detailed response.

Protocol 403 was vast, framed as a protocol, but more akin to a code with myriad stipulations.

Zhou Yi directly summoned Machine 2 to record.

Xiao Fu read and said, "This document of information is highly restrictive, nearly all one-sided demands and commands, as if there's considerable wariness towards electromechanical life."

"Only a potentially threatening group would warrant such strict constraints."

"It's typically in cases of vassalage, either because electromechanical life possesses irreplaceable special abilities, or because they are not easily eradicated altogether."

Zhou Yi also found it strange.

The Heavenly People's chosen bodies were almost always fleshy. Logically, whether in terms of strength, stability, or ease of modification, electromechanical life had overwhelming advantages.

"Have you ever rebelled against us?"

The Snowman replied, "The Mechanical City has never initiated any actions to disrupt order, nor has it ever offended the Heavenly People."

It wasn't for that reason.

Zhou Yi suddenly thought of a possibility.

"The Light Imprint Skill, it was taught to the electromechanical life by us, right?"

The Heavenly People's Gemstone Organs could transform life forms by fibering and endowing them with Light Imprint Structures, which was an innate ability.

The origin of the Light Imprint Skill was in the Mechanical-Electrical Light Imprint, specifically the Mechanical City.

Zhou Yi speculated boldly that the Heavenly People were covertly nurturing the electromechanical beings, allowing them to develop this technological system to serve the Heavenly People.

"You've got it the other way around."

The Snowman replied, "The Light Imprint Skill was first discovered by us and later shared with the Heavenly People."

"..."

Zhou Yi was momentarily stunned.

That was quite different from what he had expected.

The other party explained, "According to the visible history records protected by the 403 Protocol, we were the first to discover and successfully apply the Light Imprint Skill, and then we shared it with the Heavenly People to jointly decipher its principles."

"Of course, even though we are the inventors, our precision and energy level are completely incomparable to the Heavenly People."

Zhou Yi felt a bit like he was in a fantasy.

This was like indigenous people teaching a group of powerful immigrants nuclear fusion technology.

But he then thought, perhaps it was precisely because of the electromechanical beings' development of the technology that the Heavenly People saw their potential. Thus, through various restrictions, they made sure that these beings could not oppose the Heavenly People and instead worked and served them.

Such creative labor was very useful to the Heavenly People lurking in the background.

Zhou Yi said, "Show me your city."

"Yes, honored guest."

...

Leaving the spherical cabin, Zhou Yi found that outside was the city center of Coral Port.

Located atop a high tower, as he looked down, the entire city was in full view.

Coral Port was a harbor city.

To the north, part of the city extended deep into the Dead Sea, with a large port constructed, and a green-lit lighthouse erected, dispersing the surrounding mist.

There were docks, piers, and berths where ships were moored, transshipped, and carried cargo. Even from a distance, one could see the bustling crowd.

To the south, deep inland lay orderly arranged factories and towering cooling towers emitting white smoke.

The main thoroughfares on the ground were nearly uniformly made of railway tracks, with cargo trains constantly passing overhead, transporting various goods and connecting the north-south mainlines.

On the branching roads, electromechanical beings were busy repairing roads, clearing trash, and maintaining public utilities. A few Guangna Species and humans could also be seen, but they were the minority.

The sky was patrolled by drone formations.

Zhou Yi quickly took notice.

This Mechanical City was entirely made up of various modular blocks, which constructed the houses, factory districts, docks, roads, bridges...like a magnified Lego city.

Zhou Yi asked the Snowman beside him, "Are Mechanical Cities all built with these blocks?"

"These are T-shaped bricks."

The Snowman switched to a smiling face, "They are building materials created from the mud at the bottom of the Dead Sea, possessing both stability and lightness, capable of withstanding Death Light impacts; a very high-quality new material."

"When covered with Light Soot on the T-shaped brick surface, a Light Imprint Structure can be constructed, turning the entire city into a giant Light Imprint Skill baseplate. Whether expanding or reducing, it has become more convenient, making development and expansion more accessible."

"Coral Port is the first Mechanical City fully made with T-shaped bricks. It has been proven to greatly improve the overall operational efficiency of the city. The only downside is the very high initial investment cost."

This time, Zhou Yi really broadened his horizons.

The entire Coral Port had become integrated electromechanically, with Light Imprint Structures that could be installed everywhere, indeed playing to the strengths of the electromechanical life.

Accompanied by the Snowman, Zhou Yi began to traverse the city.

He boarded a local train and toured the cityscape.

He saw queues of electromechanical life residents at repair points and energy stations, watched the industrial scale farming bases, entered factories and docks for observations, and visited the body strength testing center for the Kobolds... it was an enriching experience, and he learned how a Mechanical City operated.

Human Cities highly depend on human and animal power, but here they've already entered the industrial age, with a true technological gap.

After visiting for a whole day.

Zhou Yi felt it was about time.

"I've made an appointment with Zhou Yi from Jade City, I need to go there. Prepare a vehicle for me."

"Yes. The official aircraft will be ready to take off in half an hour, please come with me."

Boarding the plane.

Zhou Yi sat next to the window, looking down at Coral Port, which grew more distant, with many thoughts running through his mind.

The Heavenly People demonstrated through actions that they were optimistic about the development prospects of electromechanical life.

The Mechanical City indeed represents the most advanced productive force in the Wasteland Era.

The company still needs to work hard to catch up with the Sand Port Region to this place.

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