Zhou Yi gripped the wooden cane on the upper half of his artificial leg, noting that there were two more energy blocks inside.

Together with the first one he acquired, that made three in total.

They were all the same size, shaped like small watermelons, perfectly dodecahedronal, and semi-translucent like ice—a very standard geometric structure.

Zhou Yi pondered that it seemed one needed luck to obtain these energy blocks in the Mud Tree World.

The first time, there must have been some near the space bubble he entered, and this second time, the artificial leg must have traveled quite a bit to find two.

These were Level 4 Light Core Body energy crystals, each capable of triggering an energy burst equivalent to 5 cores; on the controlled Wasteland Earth, they were bona fide strategic nuclear bombs.

Having secured three energy blocks, Zhou Yi felt more confident.

He held the artificial leg, growing fonder of it the more he looked.

The Mad Traveler was essentially a super prosthetic leg, able to replace those who lacked the time, energy, or who feared danger, to travel into other worlds and seek treasures.

The inventor was truly a genius!

An idea sprouted in Zhou Yi's mind.

If he could find energy blocks on a low setting,

wouldn't a high setting be phenomenal?

He prepared to witness what the artificial leg could discover when operating at full capacity.

Zhou Yi summoned Ni Ge and headed to the previous space bubble.

Activating high gear mode.

Full-powered leg, charge!

After entering full load mode, the Mad Traveler suddenly began to shake and tremble, and a strange black pattern appeared on its surface, as if it had been stamped with numerous 2D barcodes.

It disappeared into the black mud of the space bubble.

…

The public opinion effect brought by the Great Monk continued to ferment.

More monks in contact with the Wasteland Company went to Recursive City to closely inspect this Mechanical City that had broken away from the existing system. Some ordinary mechanical beings also went there, seeking employment under the Wasteland Company's system in Mechanical City.

Zhou Yi encouraged this.

There weren't any secret projects in Recursive City; as a bridgehead for exchange between the company and Mechanical City, it was quite suitable.

The two monks, Wu Liao and Hui He, who had appointments, arrived at Sand Port one after the other.

But neither of them wanted to meet with Zhou Yi.

Wu Liao told Red Kestrel, "The subjects I want to discuss and exchange views with are the ordinary people and mechanical staff here; I appreciate Mr. Zhou's kindness, but I do not wish to have any interactions with the authority."

The other monk, Hui He, stated, "Mr. Zhou is busy with numerous affairs, I would not bother him. My main practice is to interact and learn from the semi-awakened mechanical life in Jade City to further deepen our mutual understanding."

Zhou Yi was not bothered.

From the Great Monk, Jue Mingzi, and his disciple, Hui Mao's point of view, mechanical monks are uniformly critical of rulers, regardless of whether the ruler is a life form or a codified system such as general protocols or Law.

But there were necessary restrictions.

Zhou Yi had the Hunter keep an eye on the monks, not interfering with their freedom as long as they did not engage in any dangerous behaviors.

Two days later.

Good news arrived.

Jade City reported, "Commissioner, we've solved the Stone Shedding problem and successfully built a Stone Molt Reactor!"

Zhou Yi traveled to Dragon Bay on behalf of Jade City.

This was also the test site for the Stone Molt Reactor.

The reactor was fixed underground, with only a stone house on the surface serving as the entrance, its roof having a thick chimney, currently emitting a large amount of steam.

Down the entrance path lay an underground chamber built of stone bricks.

Inside, a large boiler was heating up, converting water into steam, which was fed into a steam turbine using the high-pressure steam to rotate a turbine, thereby driving a generator set for electricity production.

The condenser then condensed a large amount of steam back into water for recycling.

The process was quite straightforward.

Mechanical Dog 703, mutant Li Mo, and Heavenly Dog were all present.

"Chairman."

703 said, "Led by Mr. Shi Gandang, the project had its twists and turns and failures, but the end result is good."

"Look."

A red beam emitted from its head, illuminating a device under the boiler that seemed to be a pedestal foundation.

"This is a sealed lead block, inside are 8 Jade City's Stone Sheds and some equipment."

"The heat released by the Stone Sheds boils the boiler's water, then converts the heat into electric energy."

Zhou Yi asked, "What are the conversion rate and power output?"

"The conversion rate is about 33%."

703 happily explained, "The power it supplies is approximately equivalent to 260 Floating Hearts running at full capacity, with an efficacy of 403 float; most importantly, it doesn't require fuel resupply and can function long-term stably. Based on our measurements and Jade City's assessment, such a Stone Shed can continuously emit heat and radiation for 80 years."

Zhou Yi nodded repeatedly in approval.

The Stone Molt Reactor was vital for stability, offering another cost-effective way of power generation, effectively supplementing the Floating Heart power system.

"However, for specific technical details, let Mr. Shi Gandang speak." Mechanical Dog only went as far as this point.

Zhou Yi then inquired further, and Mr. Shi Gandang, who was in charge of the Stone Molt Reactor project, finally spoke up.

"Chairman, our initial idea was to controllably stimulate the energy in the Stone Shedding. The radiation test by Heavenly Dog proved that it is theoretically feasible."

"I asked Heavenly Dog to stimulate the Stone Shedding to release more energy, but this led to an experimental accident, causing the frontline operators Heavenly Dog and Li Mo to fall into a coma, forming a small-scale consciousness shock externally."

"Fortunately, their physical strength was high enough, and they only suffered mild concussions due to the close-range impact, temporarily losing consciousness. They recovered soon after receiving treatment at Maria Hospital."

Shi Gandang said, "After learning from this lesson, I abandoned the aggressive path of energy release and chose a more controllable and stable method."

"The current method of generating electricity through steam turbines, although having a lower conversion rate and not very high electricity output per unit time, is safer and more reliable."

"I believe that this model is suitable for our current practical situation."

Zhou Yi agreed.

Technology must be developed step by step, starting from what is functional, then incrementally trying to upgrade and replace.

He asked, "So, how many Stone Sheddings have we found now?"

"We have found a total of 53 in the deep underground of Sand Port and beneath the Dead Sea."

Shi Gandang continued, "The frequency of shedding by Aliens varies, usually the larger the volume, the higher the rate."

"Jade City currently produces about 1 block per year, the smaller high-rises hardly produce any, while high-rises 5, 6, 7, 8 each produce 1 block per year, plus Building A, totaling 5 blocks per year."

"Yalong Bay, with the largest volume, produces 1 block per month, and its energy level is 53 times that of Jade City's Stone Shedding. The sheddings we have obtained from it have the highest energy level and the largest quantity, almost all buried deep under the Dead Sea."

"Leshan Buddha also produces 1 block per year."

"Maria Hospital produces the least, with only 1 block produced every two years."

"An exception is the Wuhu Elevated Bridge. It is now continuously expanding its volume, it has already completed coverage of the entire Sand Port Region, built a circular route for the suspended layer, and now it has also connected to the Moon Landing Area, showing a strong growth momentum."

"Due to its rapid volume growth, it sheds more frequently, now reaching 1 block per month, with an energy level about 22 times that of the Stone Shedding from Jade City."

"Differences in energy levels exist between different Stone Sheddings, it is best to react the same type together to ensure stable energy release. Therefore, Jade City, Maria Hospital, Yalong Bay, Leshan Buddha, and the Elevated Bridge each collect their sheddings separately, to construct these five types of reactors."

"We planned to build 5 reactors, one for each type, and the total output of electricity is equivalent to that of 16,000 second-generation hearts continuously generating electricity."

"As time progresses, we will collect more sheddings, and the number of reactors will further increase."

Zhou Yi was pleased.

After the Stone Shed Reactor is built, aside from maintaining the power generation equipment, there will be no extra costs, no need for oil and sugar supplements.

The current popularity of Floating Hearts has also caused a significant increase in the demand for oil and sugar in the market, inevitably leading to higher prices for these energy resources.

Floating organisms have a huge appetite; further cultivation and upgrades would consume even more.

With the Stone Shed Reactors as a supplement, it will effectively help control and reduce electricity costs.

Especially in the event of natural disasters or poor crop yields in various regions, there is no need to worry about power outages.

The recruitment of Building Life needs more effort.

Zhou Yi contemplated.

He was unsure if the 7th building and the actions of the electric cat in United City had attracted any wild Building Life.

There was still no response.

This made him think of something else.

"Jade City, since the 8th building, you have not built any new structure for a long time. Why has the 9th building not started construction yet?"

This was also something Zhou Yi had been puzzled about.

Just because he had too many things on his mind, he had forgetten about it.

"Commissioner, I believe that I do not have sufficient capacity to properly guide them."

Jade City responded, "In the past, I relied on instinct to construct high-rises and let them grow wildly. But with continuous learning and increasing awareness of the outside world, I realize that this approach is not proper."

"The company's Mushroom Forest Primary School accepts children of employees for education and guidance."

"However, Building Life cannot participate in this."

"I have been contemplating what obligations a cultivator of Building Life should fulfill, and what should be done to make the new generation better than myself. I still haven't figured it out, so I have temporarily stopped constructing new high-rises."

"If I figure it out, I will start construction immediately."

Zhou Yi was taken aback.

The phenomenon where educational advancement led to reduced birth rates, remarkably, was also happening among Building Life.

To this, Zhou Yi could only express understanding.

...

A day later.

It started to rain heavily.

Zhou Yi sat on the sofa next to the floor-to-ceiling windows.

He looked at the rain curtain outside the window, wondering if a Building Life would descend from the sky guided by the electric cat and then bow down to him.

However, this did not happen.

Instead, the Mad Traveler ran through the wall again.

This time it looked somewhat ragged; there were some bite marks on the wooden pole and some purple-brown stains on the stone pedestal-like base, also smeared with a lot of mud, seemingly having been through a grand battle and a long run.

Zhou Yi grasped the wooden pole.

Then his gaze intensified.

This time, the prosthetic leg brought back a geometric Cave Man Energy Block.

It was only the size of a fist, a regular tetrahedron shape, just an entry-level LV1 Light Core.

Inside it, however, was a solidified seashell.

What was that?

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.