Zhou Yi asked Ninety-seven, "What happened between you all?"

This Mars Electric Cat replied, "Chairman, it's about some old issues."

"We used to have disagreements over there and, indeed, often quarreled."

"Initially, everyone wanted to control the dust storms by using a large number of electric cats to influence various particles, thereby managing localized dust storms. Then, utilizing wind power and the static electricity effect to extend, enabling the dust storm to permanently cover Mars."

"In this way, the entire Mars would be permanently shrouded in dust storms. All electric cats could move freely on the planet's surface, beneficial for everyone."

"However, this proposal led to years of continuous arguments as everyone had their own ideas."

"Some believed in using global dust storms, with all electric cats providing power in batches to stabilize the long-term continuation of the storms. But after many attempts, they all failed because some of the electric cats would always slack off and not work."

"There were also suggestions to raise the temperature through discharging electricity, causing strong winds and lifting enough dust to create the needed dust storms ourselves."

"But there were also those who were unwilling to change or work so hard... This silent majority of electric cats preferred staying the same."

"After years of arguments, we tried many things, but still ended up stuck, without any progress."

"Slowly, everyone got tired of arguing. There was nothing left to argue about, and everyone returned to their initial silent, isolated existences... until you all arrived."

As the Mars Electric Cat spoke, its entire body of electric arcs dimmed noticeably, appearing somewhat dejected.

Zhou Yi felt curious, "Don't you have a leader or some leading figures?"

"There used to be."

Ninety-seven said, "But they couldn't persist amidst the constant doubts and arguments. Because accomplishing such a task would require hundreds of years of unremitting effort, repeated failures drained everyone's spirit, making them feel it was all futile."

"Now, no Mars electric cat believes we can change anything there."

"Everyone lives along with the dust storms, accepting whatever comes."

Zhou Yi could understand.

Failure can deal a heavy blow to confidence.

If failures always outweigh successes, it becomes hard to persist in anything.

Messed-up attempts often outnumber successful ones by a large margin.

Despite their unique talents, electric cats also find it hard to break through the existing situation on Mars.

"During the fiercest arguments, many electric cats started fighting, and for the first time, everyone heard that sound — though I hadn't been born then, I heard it from the older electric cats."

Ninety-seven continued, "That sound still echoes to this day, sometimes in ice, sometimes in clay ore, sometimes in the regolith and the atmosphere... Only electric cats can hear it. The sound is getting weaker, probably heard once a year, indicating the energy is almost exhausted."

Zhou Yi then asked Pikachu.

"Chairman! That's true."

It crackled as it said, "That sound echoes across Mars, as long as we enter high-energy electric mode, we can hear it through the dust storms."

Zhou Yi looked back at Ninety-seven, "Haven't the Golden Elephant Herdsmen directly contacted you?"

"No."

The electric arc of the electric cat danced from side to side, "However, all Mars electric cats know we are being free-ranged. The hole in the sky is the source of our birth, as electric cats are born from the Transparent Castle within that hole."

"Initially, when you first arrived, I thought you were the ones who free-range us, finally coming back."

Zhou Yi thought, if I were that strong, that would be great.

Golden Elephant Herdsmen are a powerful group who rival the Heavenly People.

If I had that strength, I would directly confront the Heavenly People.

He pondered in his mind, then said aloud, "In the transparent structures within that chasm, there is a white ultra-low temperature solid organism. Do you know what it is?"

"That is the castle prisoner."

Ninety-seven's blue cat ears twitched, "We all call it that. It appears to be locked in the Transparent Castle. Unlike us, it cannot leave after birth and lacks freedom; probably the Golden Elephant Herdsmen locked it there."

"It never communicates with us, just wanders around inside. It doesn't seem very intelligent, and we don't know if it has any wisdom."

Zhou Yi couldn't help but recall the Alchemist Association's emblem — a little person inside a bottle.

It indeed bore some resemblance to the castle prisoner.

Zhou Yi then asked, "Can you enter the Transparent Castle?"

"There are only two stages when we can."

Ninety-seven replied, "The first is at birth, where we can move around in our birth castle, but we can't enter other castles and can't stay there forever. The newborn electric cats are quickly thrown into nearby dust storms by the force inside, forcing us to fend for ourselves."

"The second stage is becoming a Light Core Body. At that time, we can return, and the Transparent Castle is where Light Core Bodies live. They can access most of its areas."

"For this reason, people later stopped thinking about changing the dust storms. As long as one evolves into a Light Core Body, one can avoid the hassle of constantly moving and settle in the castle, where energy is abundant, and life is stable."

"Only Light Core Body electric cats can enter the area where the prisoner is. The elders say our task is to monitor and inspect the prisoner to prevent its escape."

Zhou Yi became thoughtful.

Ninety-seven continued, "The prisoner has several forms. Its white state is insulative, and electricity cannot pass through it, making it hard for us to affect it."

"However, when it turns silver, it becomes highly conductive, though in this state very rarely, as it seems burdensome for it. Every time it turns silver, it can't maintain this form for long before dissipating into gas, and it takes some time to reform into a white solid sheet."

Can it switch to a silver conductor?

Zhou Yi frowned, "Why does it switch forms?"

"Of course, to escape!"

The Mars Electric Cat claimed confidently, "By becoming conductive, it tries to devour those Light Core Body electric cats, relying on them to escape. The prisoner often fights with them. But it can't win, because the Light Core Body electric cat numbers are growing, and it collapses into gas itself before long."

"In simple terms, they periodically beat it up in advance to prevent trouble. After each beating, it loses energy and turns into gas, making it hard to become silver and docile for a while."

Zhou Yi nodded.

This design was indeed ingenious.

By planning the growth path so that electric cats become Light Core Bodies to enter the Transparent Castle, to prevent the prisoner from absorbing and stealing their strength, they would continuously suppress the prisoner.

This way, the monitoring and guarding of the prisoner are long-term and stable, ensuring it stays obediently in prison.

Zhou Yi said to Ninety-seven, "The information you've provided is very useful. Take a break now."

"Yes, Chairman."

It and Pikachu transformed into two electric arcs and shot out.

The Jade City's conductive network facilities had been fully extended, so the electric cats could run wild anywhere.

The golden spherical Ice Pot also handed over the Guangna Box containing 550,000 Light Seeds.

...

The preliminary success of the Mars collaboration project also brought a message from the Old King.

"The efficiency of the Wasteland Company is indeed eye-opening. The cooperation with the Mars native electric cats was mainly driven by the company's electric cat staff. Their job professionalism and work capability are outstanding."

"This time proved that the developmental space on Mars is vast."

Zhou Yi agreed.

Compared to the fragmented Earth, Mars' surface is full of Light Seed ore, easily obtainable through the dust storms, making it a stable hard currency.

"For the second batch, I will send more Working Electric Cats."

"Let's proceed steadily first, focusing on collecting small dust storms. This way, the risks are lower. Once we gain enough experience, we'll consider medium to large ones."

"I agree with that."

The Old King added, "Mars is a special environment. Besides electric cats, there are some other forms of life. However, they can't approach the base below the chasm, ensuring safety."

"Also, the Legal Front contacted me a few hours ago, reaching official collaboration with the Star Axis. They will invest 15 million Light Seeds in the Mars project over five years to gain several Star Core Elector positions, freedom of movement rights, and specific satellites as settlements."

Zhou Yi was greatly surprised.

We just started working together, and they already knew?

They've probably realized the Mars project is profitable…

Could it be that just relying on the data center allowed them to calculate this result?

The Mechanical City's algorithms are terrifying!

Zhou Yi became extremely vigilant.

"The aim of the Legal Front, I can't fathom. Our collaboration was top-secret, not publicly disclosed. Information was also sealed within the Star Axis."

The Old King said, "The Mechanical City is not good at being pioneers, but their data-driven trend analysis and investment are highly accurate. They seem to have deduced from various data that the Mars project is advancing rapidly."

"The high-power usage of the Sky Patrol Telescope can't be hidden from them."

"But on the bright side, more funding is available to speed up progress here."

The conversation ended.

Zhou Yi paced back and forth in the room, feeling indignant.

The Legal Front is really like a huge copycat.

Previously, it copied the company's Floating Heart and Electric Cat System, and now it's even eyeing the Mars project.

Can't they have some original spirit?

They only know how to follow our lead!!

Disgusting!

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