Zhou Yi first observed from a distance.

The Black Thorn is a kind of biological vessel, highly durable, but unaffected so long as one does not get close.

Yuan Xiao's mother was only half right.

The Black Thorn indeed switches to a high-energy mode in its second phase when stimulated by the external world or when objects are thrown at it. But as long as one escapes that area and enters another zone, it will revert back to low consumption mode.

Of course, even then, it is of Grade A strength.

Under normal circumstances, to approach and touch it again would require the expenditure of hundreds of thousands of Light Seeds.

However, for Zhou Yi, who has mastered the common sense of the Mud Tree Civilization, there is now a simpler and more effective method.

He began to dig.

Only his left hand was usable, making digging mud very strenuous.

The sea floor was extremely hard; he had to break through the surface to dig deep, only beneath at least one meter underground would there be flowing mud formed by underground water.

He found a large stainless steel soup spoon and used it to dig the earth.

He didn't know how long he had been digging.

Zhou Yi only felt his entire arm go numb, worrying that the Black Thorn might wander off on its own—it theoretically was a biological being and would still move around.

After busy working for a while.

He finally dug out the soft, squishy mud from the soil layer.

Zhou Yi squeezed the mud in his hand and began to knead it with one hand.

A single hand made his actions quite unfamiliar.

But ten years of experience at the sea bottom had made Zhou Yi patient; focusing on the task at hand would calm his mood. It was just like playing with playdough as a child.

The difficult part was to pinch it into a specific shape, as the mud kept breaking down and collapsing.

After a sweaty effort.

Zhou Yi finally took a long breath.

Done.

He flexed his dirty left hand.

In front of him on the ground, there was a small mud platform made from piled and pinched soft mud.

The platform was square and regular, hollowed out in the middle down to the ground, big enough for Zhou Yi to sit inside.

Around it was a circle of mud piled up, followed by a square frame, and then another circle, forming a ground totem made of molded mud.

This was the method of the Mud Tree People for reclaiming Black Thorn.

They made a reclamation platform using mud.

It was said that the Black Thorn could recognize specific mud structures.

For the moment, Zhou Yi had no other choice but to try this method.

What followed was a patient wait.

After about ten minutes, Zhou Yi saw a faint glimmer of light appearing not far away.

A humanoid life form bristling with spines, swaying gently, slowly approached.

It really worked!

Zhou Yi instinctively held his breath, fearing to disturb the whole process.

The Black Thorn slowly flew over, rotating above the reclamation platform, spinning twice before descending in height and plunging its spines into the mud platform.

The reclamation platform, like an ancient altar, emitted a white light as if it were connected to some power.

Success!

Zhou Yi clenched his fist with one hand.

As described in memory, the Black Thorn was now in a dormant state and could be manually controlled.

Only then did he slowly walk over.

One step, two steps.

Getting closer to the platform.

One hundred meters.

No resistance felt, no decline in Life Value.

Eighty meters.

All normal.

Ten meters.

Five meters.

One meter.

Zhou Yi stood once again in front of the Black Thorn, reaching out to touch its hard, sharp outer shell.

And this time, the shell opened from the middle once again.

Only the white light had become much dimmer.

Zhou Yi slipped sideways into the interior of the Black Thorn.

To operate this biological vessel, he had to start from the inside.

Inside the fruit core, the white light still shone, but it felt neither oppressive nor dazzling. The inside was a layer of soft gel-like substance composed of numerous strip-like flaps, reminding Zhou Yi of the flesh of a pomelo.

He found no trace of the Mud Tree People inside and his tense mood relaxed a little, but that was soon followed by some disappointment.

The Common Sense Banana did not detail the situation of the Mud Tree People themselves, describing them in highly generalized and vague terms. Presumably, this was to consider the possibility of being captured by Otherworldly Life, concealing this information to reduce the potential risk to the Mud Tree People as a group.

The interior of the Black Thorn was empty.

After searching around, Zhou Yi found only three Mud Tablets.

The Mud Tablets, one large and two small, were all firmly adhered to the inner gel layer, very stable indeed.

Zhou Yi took them down one by one to observe.

The large Mud Tablet was about 80 centimeters, with some fixed slots inside that contained gourd-shaped seeds resembling nuts, eight in total. Beside it was a simple Mud Tablet Painting, showing how to plant these seeds.

According to the description in the painting, these were the seeds of the Giant Tree.

Zhou Yi felt a surge of excitement.

This could be said to be the cornerstone of the Mud Tree Civilization!

The Mud Tree People, fleeing their homeland, took seeds with them, presumably planning to rebuild their civilization in other worlds.

The Giant Tree that can be planted in the Dead Sea holds significant future significance for the company and the Development Alliance.

Zhou Yi calmed his breathing and turned his attention to the other two smaller Mud Tablets.

On one of the Mud Tablets, a family of four was depicted, with two tall and lanky, pointed-head figures as the parents, and the other two as children.

The etching style of Mud Tree People is wild, not pursuing realistic sketching, but it emphasizes distinctive features.

On the Mud Tablet, the father is wrapped in a vine-like plant that can lift its head like a snake. The mother has a flower blooming on her head.

The two children did not have plant companions; one held a wooden stick, while the other had a small mud sculpture of a house on top of their head and were happily holding hands and laughing.

The second Mud Tablet showed a young man with a mud-sculpted house atop his head. His stature had grown tall, also entwined with vines, but he had no smile.

Zhou Yi pondered in his heart.

This Black Thorn must have belonged to this young man. For some reason, he separated from his family and entered the Wasteland Earth to survive.

But it's unknown where he is now and why he left this vehicle. Perhaps he encountered an attack or ran into some sudden emergency...

The likelihood is that he has already met with an accident.

Zhou Yi silently said.

I will inherit your will and wealth, and I will bring back the Giant Trees of the Mud Tree Civilization to this world, I won't waste your gifts!

Rest in peace, big brother.

...

Then Zhou Yi began to happily fiddle with this biological vehicle.

The Black Thorn itself is a modified special fruit, which requires operation through the fruit core.

After repeated searching in the gelatinous substance, Zhou Yi found the fruit core.

It was a black, pointy, chestnut-shaped, soft body that, once held, would be recognized by the Black Thorn, posing no threat to its holder.

Operating it also requires some skill.

Once the fruit core was removed from the inner layer of the Black Thorn's husk it would gradually age and dull, continually decreasing in sensitivity. To control it more delicately and accurately, it is necessary to periodically replace the core in use.

Old cores are never as good as new ones, always being replaced by new entities. However, the growth rate of cores is very slow, requiring a large amount of Death Light to cultivate, so they must also be used sparingly.

Unfortunately, these fruit cores can only be used for control, but cannot be used to cultivate new Black Thorns. Black Thorns require grafting onto a Giant Tree and a series of complex cultivation methods to produce.

The abilities of Black Thorn are referred to as [Insecticide] and [Slowing Wave] by the Mud Tree People.

[Insecticide] causes the life force of nearby insects to decline, deterring them from infestation.

[Slowing Wave] is more about reducing the approach and impact from the external environment, to maintain the Black Thorn's stability, so that the items inside the shell are not jostled and damaged.

Zhou Yi held the fruit core, which felt like rubber, very unique to the touch.

If you squeeze it hard, it's equivalent to an emergency call, letting Black Thorns even from distant areas to swiftly fly over and pick up the holder.

Gently squeezing the fruit core, the Black Thorn would come at normal speed - yet its speed was astonishing, especially in the Dead Sea supplied with external Death Light.

There were several other methods of operation.

Zhou Yi began to slowly maneuver it, aiming to quickly become adept.

The Black Thorn, shaped like a large sea urchin, immediately began to roll and circle nearby, its speed and agility far surpassing any vehicle he currently knew.

The flesh of the Black Thorn also offered a panoramic view of the external world; there was no issue with visibility.

Riding in the vehicle of the Mud Tree People was truly exhilarating!

Zhou Yi gradually became immersed in it.

...

Meanwhile, the previous battlefield area.

The ship slowly hovered over the spot where the Stinger Man had disappeared.

On deck, the old peasant occasionally looked into the distance, silent for a long time.

Lin Qin cautiously said next to him, "Sir, we don't know Zhou Yi's fate, shall we now directly develop the Light Amber Mine at the sea floor or wait a bit longer?"

"Time waits for no one."

Duke Destructive said softly, "Start preliminary exploration and development of the mine, and prepare to list it for sale."

"Immediately go find Feng Che, and through it, go through the fast process. Mortgage our overseas islands and first borrow 600,000 Light Seeds from the Empire's Treasury. With our cash, we'll have enough for 1 million."

"Zhou Yi won't die so easily. When he caught the Stinger Man, it was more like he had discovered something. Angel of Death has already pursued him; it won't be long before we have news."

"First, prepare the Light Seeds, I have promised, and I will not break my word."

"Yes, sir."

"Let's return."

The vessel slowly surfaced.

The sea floor returned to calm once more.

...

Some time passed.

A pointed-headed man emerged from underground, his body wrapped in vines that shielded him from the gaze and detection of local life.

He was in good spirits at the moment.

After years of digging and exploring underground, he finally found mud that met the standards. That mud was key to cultivation, and would let the Giant Trees rise again!

As he looked around in high spirits, he suddenly noticed something was amiss.

The Black Thorn was gone?

No matter.

He took out a fruit core from his pocket and gently squeezed it.

No response.

He then squeezed it with more force.

Still no reaction.

He began to panic, urgently gripping the fruit core repeatedly, but with no response from the core, it indicated that the Black Thorn had completely lost its reaction.

Although it was an old core, it was still usable.

What's going on?

The man felt as if thunderstruck, his world spinning.

Where's my Black Thorn?

Where is my Black Thorn?

It's all over, everything is ruined…

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