Through the perspective of the Cat God, Zhou Yi saw the Big Buddha striding towards the hospital.

The residents of Jade City were already accustomed to this Alien employee and looked up to wave and greet him.

The Big Buddha also waved in return.

He arrived outside the inpatient building and bent down, lowering his head near the window of a room on the third floor.

Inside, on the hospital bed, lay Sha Lang who was connected to tubes.

At this moment, he had already reverted to the small monkey appearance of the Red Monster, wrapped in bandages and wearing an oxygen mask.

Seemingly sensing something, Sha Lang struggled to open his eyes and looked outside the window.

When he saw it was the Big Buddha, he was momentarily stunned.

Words in the Western Continent language appeared on the wall of the hospital room.

——Thank you for risking your life to help.

——Please take care of yourself. I will continue westward and will visit you again later.

Sha Lang weakly raised his finger: "Don't, don't go… don't go…"

——No need to worry. With the Chairman around, I won't have any problems.

The Red Monster seemed at a loss for words and soon fell silent.

Outside the inpatient building, the Big Buddha put his hands together and bowed to his benefactor.

Then he took large strides and reentered the Dead Sea.

The observing Zhou Yi rubbed his face with his hands.

The Big Buddha had this mysterious confidence, as if he could handle any problem that came his way.

This created a lot of pressure for him.

Currently in the company, the three Alien employees had evolved into Light Core Bodies, leading to a significant increase in consumption.

The elevated bridge was a bit better; its inherent characteristics pertained to infrastructure and transportation, requiring more time to extend and perfect its system.

Maria focused on the medical field and also desired more energy blocks to accelerate its improvement.

Due to his abilities, the Big Buddha was high-risk but also high-reward. He battled the natural disasters of the Dead Sea and directly confronted the Dead Sea Master, becoming the first Alien employee to advance to a Level 2 Light Core Body.

The company also had Jade City, Yalong Bay, and Saint George Church waiting for promotion.

Energy blocks were extremely scarce.

Zhou Yi awaited the return of the artificial leg every day.

After waiting a week, there was no news.

This seemed reasonable.

Zhou Yi knew that finding new energy blocks with the artificial leg now would take considerable effort.

The first time was the fastest, the second time was much slower, and the third time even slower... The reason being, the location of the energy blocks was increasingly further from the Space Bubble connecting the two worlds, so the entire search process would be more time-consuming.

Two more days passed, and suddenly someone ran to the door of Jade City, knocking heavily.

"Chairman, Chairman!"

It was Ni Ge's voice.

"Hei Fu, Hei Fu has emerged!!! He has become very strong!"

Zhou Yi was overjoyed upon hearing this.

He thought it would take several years, but after about a year, he had already completed the second stage of development evolution.

Zhou Yi hurried to Yalong Bay with Ni Ge.

On the Pan Tree, the large black sea urchin had disappeared, leaving only a bare branch. The entire Pan Tree looked a bit withered and exhausted, as if it had consumed a lot of vitality.

Zhou Yi was a bit worried: "Is the Pan Tree still alive?"

"It's alive."

Ni Ge pointed to the vine on the tree: "Ye Qing said it supplied all its major nutrients to Hei Fu, applying for a large amount of Light Amber, fertilizer, and water to speed up incubation. So, it only maintained the basic survival needs of the Pan Tree, making it quicker than expected."

"Now the Pan Tree is somewhat malnourished, but the vitality of the tree is strong. After a period of significant supplement, it will recover and produce Dead Sea Fruits."

Zhou Yi was relieved.

The Pan Tree was one of the company's important specialities, and the Dead Sea Fruits were significant in enhancing the physique of company employees.

He didn't see any trace of Hei Fu anywhere.

"Where did it go?"

Ni Ge said: "I don't know either. Earlier, it descended from the Pan Tree and informed Ye Qing that it had completed the evolution process. I immediately came to inform you."

Tree Demon Ye Qing continued: "Chairman, it said it was going to find a good gift for you and will return soon."

Zhou Yi took this opportunity to learn about the Pan Trees' condition.

The Pan Trees were steadily expanding. They required a large amount of water, fertilizer, and Light Amber supplements.

"If we want to further increase their size, the consumption will continue to multiply."

Tree cultivation expert Ye Qing stated: "However, if their size increases further, leading to a qualitative change, the Pan Trees will also produce more advanced fruit."

"Based on previous experiences, the nutrition and quantity of the Dead Sea Fruits are proportional to the size of the Pan Tree."

Zhou Yi smiled and said: "Just tell me, how much will it cost to further advance them?"

"Chairman, each Pan Tree is estimated to require an investment of 3 million Light Seeds, with the main expense being Light Amber, to achieve metamorphosis."

At this quote, Zhou Yi stopped smiling.

Planting trees has become so expensive now.

Currently, he was financially strapped. He had to wait for profits from Mars before considering propelling the metamorphosis of a Pan Tree to see its effects.

He needed to make good use of the fall All Things Expo to attract investments and sell products.

While thinking about various money-making strategies, a dark shadow suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Chairman, your faithful Hei Fu is reporting to you!"

Zhou Yi snapped back to reality, sizing up the Black Thorn in front of him.

Hei Fu's humanoid sea urchin appearance remained mostly the same, but his body was now covered with a layer of black edges, as if an artist had outlined a thick shadow on him.

"Chairman, this is the 'slowing wave'."

Hei Fu said: "I am now attaching it to my body. The affected area is controllable, and any external attacks or consciousness invasions will be confined to the outer layer for slow movement, giving me more time and space to respond."

"However, currently, it can only block those at the same level as me, the weakest type of Light Core Body. Stronger adversaries can break through it with a more powerful burst, at which point it serves only to buffer and reduce damage."

"In addition, my 'Insecticide' intensity has also been elevated to the Light Core level, capable of causing high-energy destruction instantly in the covered area, rapidly reducing the vitality within that range!"

Zhou Yi raised his most pressing concern: "Can the 'Flashing' ability now be used continuously?"

"Of course!"

Hei Fu said proudly: "In the past, 'Flashing' was incomplete because there wasn't enough energy supply, nor a genuine Light Core to harness sufficient energy, limiting its range to within 50 meters. Now, with a complete Light Core, the range has reached 1000 meters!"

"As long as it's within a radius of 1000 meters, I can execute continuous teleportation, making it impossible for enemies to lock onto my position. This is no longer about speed but energy state jumping."

Zhou Yi's face lit up with joy.

This was indeed good news.

Instantly teleporting 1000 meters per second equated to a travel speed of 3600 kilometers per hour.

He finally had a high-speed ride!

Hei Fu, somewhat complacent, said: "Rest assured, Chairman, I will set an exemplary standard, showing other employees the demeanor of the strongest employee. As the company's first Light Core Body employee, I will hold myself to high standards!"

Zhou Yi was taken aback: "No, you are the sixth."

"Sixth…?"

Hei Fu didn't process this immediately. After a moment, he grew anxious: "I'm not the company's strongest employee? How is this possible? What happened? I remember you said there were no Light Core Bodies, and I should be the first!"

"That was a year ago."

Zhou Yi counted on his fingers: "According to the promotion order, the current Light Core Body employees are Ice Pot, Wuhu Elevated Bridge, Cat God, Leshan Buddha, Maria Hospital, and then you."

"Oh wait. There's also Cat Da Li on Mars. You're the seventh."

Hei Fu: "…"

He murmured to himself: "How did this happen? Clearly, I was the first to start the evolution… How did others surpass me…"

"Where did I go wrong? In one year, my progress lagged so far behind?"

Zhou Yi did not know what to say.

A year ago, he indeed had high hopes for Hei Fu, thinking he would be the company's first Light Core Body employee.

However, when he and Xiao Fu went on a treasure hunt and excavated the Mad Traveler, the experiment product of this higher-dimensional civilization began digging into the Mud Tree World, thrusting the company into an unexpected accelerated mode.

Even thinking about it now, Zhou Yi found it incredible.

Before he knew it, the company already had 7 Light Core Body employees.

This was undoubtedly a positive development!

Hei Fu, however, fell into silence.

Zhou Yi could only find a way to comfort him: "Among the Light Core Body employees, you are the only one who achieved evolution through your strength. Other employees, more or less, depended on the company's investments in strategic non-renewable resources or special mechanisms and luck."

"Only you relied on your own efforts and development to achieve the Light Core Body status."

"That's quite remarkable!"

"With minimal resources invested, you achieved this status. The company will continue to invest in you significantly in the future, allowing you to enter a high-growth period. You stand a great chance to become the future leading figure among the company's Light Core Bodies!"

Hei Fu asked: "Really?"

"Really."

Zhou Yi said: "You need to be more confident, believe in your strength and potential!"

"You're right!"

Hei Fu immediately regained his fighting spirit: "Chairman, one day, I will undoubtedly become the strongest employee in the company!"

He was still very spirited.

Zhou Yi smiled and said: "Go for it."

"By the way, Chairman, I found this item for you. I hope you like it."

Hei Fu produced an item from his spiky fruit shell, suspending it in front of Zhou Yi.

It looked like a crumpled piece of seaweed, about the size of a fist.

Zhou Yi took it in his hands; it felt light, its texture was hard yet flexible, somewhat similar to plastic.

"What is this?"

"A Black Thorn cadaver."

Hei Fu said: "After becoming a Light Core Body, I sensed the existence of another one of these creatures in the world. It was beneath some ruins in the West. Including me and the Black Thorn used by Ni Ge, there are only the three of us in this species."

"Although it was dead, its body still contained an unknown seed."

Hei Fu slowly explained: "In that seed, there are various abilities… It's hard to describe accurately, like a huge arsenal. If we can hatch and plant it, we should see its specific effects."

Zhou Yi looked at the tough, seaweed-like Black Thorn in his hand.

A seed with arsenal characteristics?

This was his first time encountering such a thing.

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