The first lunar expedition ended quickly.

It felt like only a few hours had passed here.

But according to the Black Water Ghost's timing, ten days had already passed on Earth.

Only then did Zhou Yi truly understand how perception could be subtly twisted and altered by the environment. Previously, Jiong Hecang had stayed here for two days, which was nearly two months on Earth.

He brought back three local lunar inhabitants, calling them "Moon People."

The Sea People protested against being called the Red Monster; this incident reminded Zhou Yi that it's important to show basic respect to other intelligent races.

The three Moon People were his old friend Haruk, new acquaintance Sonic, and Moke, who, despite having little presence, provided crucial information about Dave.

The latter two were somewhat hesitant at first.

Haruk advised them, "There are Life Cores over there. When I first went, I was just a first-evolution life form, and now I'm at my third evolution, thanks to Zhou Yi's help. Such opportunities don't always come by; don't miss out!"

But bringing the Moon People back wasn't entirely altruistic or free of charge.

Zhou Yi was clear from the start, "The Wasteland Development Company is not a charity. We need to consider expenses and returns, so you will need to become company employees, serve the company for ten years, and accept company management."

"After a ten-year term, you can choose to stay, or seek other opportunities, or move on."

"Those are the terms."

During this part, Haruk played the persuader, "Zhou... the Chairman won't deceive anyone; he genuinely offers Life Cores."

"Even when I was working for the company, my main task was collecting Life Charts in the Dead Sea, over two winters, which is two tidal cycles there."

Upon hearing that it was just collecting Life Charts, Sonic readily agreed.

However, Moke had a question, "Do we need to collect enough Life Charts to regain our freedom?"

Zhou Yi replied, "There will be basic tasks that need to be completed. As long as you meet these basic standards, you'll be fine. We won't have you working non-stop; we operate on a five-day workweek with two days off."

"You may not fully adapt to Earth, so eventually, I will send you to Mars, which is more similar to the Moon. The energy density is about 1/9 of what it is here..."

His patient explanation confused the Night God.

"There's no need to explain so much to them. Just take them over; as soon as they see Life Charts, they'll do whatever it takes for them."

"It's different."

Zhou Yi shook his head, "When the company recruits employees, everything needs to be clear about obligations and responsibilities. We don't engage in deceit. If they don't want to work for the company, they would be a hassle to manage and constrain, which is unnecessary."

Moke was also very serious.

He continued to consult.

"After we go there, will we have to fight the monsters over there? I saw many monsters through the space bubble, and many of them attacked me."

"No. You're not combat personnel; your main roles will be in mining and resource collection."

"Will we get Life Chart supplements? Do all Life Charts have to be turned in to the company? Without Life Charts, we would become weak and fall into slumber."

"That depends on your specific situation. We can determine this only after you get there."

"If we overuse energy, we would quickly enter a weakened state... Could the company provide us Life Cores to initiate the next cycle?"

"Of course. The lifeline of company employees is the top priority of the company."

So, Moke finally made up his mind, saying he was willing to go.

Zhou Yi found it both amusing and frustrating.

He was cautious, indeed asking many detailed questions.

But since Zhou Yi made the promises, he believed without question, showing a kind of innocence. It seemed Moon People society had less deceit.

They arrived at the space bubble.

Zhou Yi instructed Hei Fu to lock down the comatose Crazy Dave, then brought them through the space passage.

Then he summoned the Sea God over.

The Circumference Light Device activated the transformation mode.

They encountered a problem at this point.

Dave, being in a state of lost consciousness, had fragmented self-awareness far worse than semi-open mechanical life. Transforming into Spark life required the consent of the transformee.

"No problem, the Circular Flow Technology System has considered this. Since some life forms have intrinsic value, even in a fragmented conscious state, encountering and preserving them is a significant achievement."

The Reverse Flow provided professional support, "To deal with such cases, it's enough to stimulate their instincts. Once the complete autonomous consciousness is gone, instincts take over as the primary driver. By stimulating these instincts, the process can be stabilized and completed."

"Da Zhou, give him two more Life Cores, triggering his strong feeding instinct. That way, he won't resist the external changes."

Zhou Yi immediately produced grapes and cherry tomatoes, and let cat gods feed them into Dave.

This large stone gyro started glowing with a white light, then began spinning on its own. Wherever you lead, it followed, transforming into a fully automated state, very cooperative.

[Panoramic Reading] displayed.

Dave's body emitted the label [Light Core Body LV1·Unknown].

[This unit lacks intellect; consciousness highly fragmented, currently feeding and digesting.]

Consistent with what Xiao Fu mentioned.

Zhou Yi pulled out a sizable savings, spending 5 million Light Seeds wildly to complete the transformation.

A silver gyroscopic pattern appeared on his shoulder.

The cost was indeed quite substantial.

Xiao Fu said, "His condition differs from the Rock Core Clan. Although his consciousness is fragmented, his body is intact and is in the process of feeding and digestion."

"However, this achieves a novel Light Core form, and we can enhance it for cat gods later, making it a worthwhile investment."

Indeed.

Exchanging 5 million for a Light Core Body was undoubtedly worth it.

Zhou Yi began to inspect Crazy Dave's consciousness.

Fragments of Conscious Key floated everywhere within the Memory Core, a void filled with highly desolate black-and-white debris, resembling a frozen sandstorm, with no trace of Dave's self-awareness.

It was Zhou Yi's first time seeing consciousness shattered so thoroughly.

He tried reading the Consciousness Fragments.

All he saw was a complete mess of flickering imagery.

"It must be Jupiter's mechanisms causing this, not only shattering consciousness but also scrambling and encrypting it."

Xiao Fu said somberly, "I'd hoped to gather some intelligence on Jupiter, but it seems that's impossible now."

Zhou Yi wasn't disappointed.

Dave's three abilities were tangible gains.

The first was "Marking" and the second "Detonate," both of which Haruk also possessed, common among Moon People.

The third one was called "Unlimited Rebound," a name Zhou Yi gave.

It replaced mic master [BGM Domain] in occupying the Fire Chamber Plate slot.

Zhou Yi raised his hand, and cone-shaped light pillars rose in the living room, though smaller in scale than Dave's original deployment.

He willed them to move.

Each light cone began emitting ripples.

The light waves struck the floor, walls, and ceiling, shattering into light balls, which bounced around.

The bouncing light spheres grew smaller but faster, moving into the microscopic domain invisible to the naked eye.

Just like a 3D pinball game, the energy balls bounced and rebounded throughout the world, continuously jumping and flying until Zhou Yi stopped the light cone movement.

The rebounds marked every impact site, ready to detonate at will.

This connected with the first two basic abilities.

It also had a hidden, potent special effect.

Yuan Xiao, watching the bouncing lights, suddenly felt dizzy, "Why do I feel lightheaded and weak... Am I sick again?"

"What's happening... My energy is gone..."

She leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.

A weak voice called from the study, "My energy was stolen... There's a monster in the house."

"Chairman, be careful..."

Still in training, Liang Zi slumped in her chair, extremely weak.

"Sorry, just testing an ability."

Zhou Yi smiled slightly.

He was very satisfied with the result.

Even with low proficiency, its excellent characteristics were evident.

The core mechanism of "Unlimited Rebound" was to encase energy.

Masses of rebound balls would launch within their covered zones, rebounding wildly.

Like invisible atoms, they entered various substances, capturing energy and quickly drawing massive amounts from nature to return to the light cone.

Dave utilized this to harness the endless energy in the Moon Surface Dead Sea, boosting his strength endlessly, using sheer power to counter Hei Fu's energy state teleportation.

He maxed out his Light Core strength beyond his level without self-destructing due to this.

Unfortunately, he had gone mad.

If Dave were sane, even Hei Fu would struggle to predict who would win.

Zhou Yi felt this power was wasted on combat.

It should be used for mining on Mars!

He asked Xiao Fu, "Do all evolved Moon People gain the same abilities after becoming Light Core Bodies?"

"It depends on the factors involved."

The Reverse Flow responded, "However, their factors were easy to identify, namely that Klip Rock, which is their core forming material. According to the standard evolutionary path, the abilities would likely be the same, highly likely evolving into 'Unlimited Rebound.'"

This reassured Zhou Yi.

They must be nurtured well.

Starting with Haruk.

In the future, Moon People will be the main force for mining on Mars!

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