Zhou Yi looked at the Crystal Bone Man in front of him: "You say you're one of the pilots of 404 City?"

"Yes."

Lin Hao nodded: "Mr. Zhou, 404 City is essentially a giant conical gemstone vehicle, with its front constantly rotating, moving continuously in the deep underground, currently advancing towards the Earth's core within the mantle."

"Because of this special structure, there are seven places inside 404 City similar to engines and control rooms, operated collectively by 7 Crystal Bone People."

Zhou Yi realized: "So, transforming you into a gemstone structure was to facilitate propelling 404 City."

"You are absolutely correct."

The Bone Man nodded: "Initially, Lord Verne had to control it himself. Later, with us, these tasks were handed over to us pilots."

Zhou Yi asked curiously: "Why are 7 pilots needed?"

"Chairman, it's like this. Piloting 404 City not only involves maintaining its stable movement but more importantly, observation, including monitoring both internal and external conditions, by observing the mantle through different gemstone surfaces."

Lin Hao gestured with his skeletal hands: "We integrate with the gemstone, as if embedded in a specific gemstone device. Each of the 7 pilots has their duties, some specialize in mineral collection, others in adjusting speed and movement trajectory..."

"From what I know, isn't 404 City using the passageway previously drilled by the Giant Bone Fish?"

Zhou Yi asked: "Haven't you found its source yet?"

Lin Hao shook his head: "The mantle is in constant motion, unlike the Earth's surface, where rocks and soil flow like a highly viscous liquid. When that giant underground Bone Fish drills through, the surroundings immediately restore to their original state."

"In the viscous mantle, you can find some fossilized bones, which are important samples for our research. Lord Verne suspects that Giant Bone Fish is life formed by certain changes in these fossils, after rejuvenation, adapting and evolving to suit this ecology."

Zhou Yi immediately understood: "It's looking for the Giant Bone Fish?"

"Yes. Lord Verne wants to find the Giant Bone Fish and then replicate it."

Lin Hao said: "It believes that once the corresponding method is found, Bone Fish can be cultivated into such Giant Bone Fish. The underground temperature exceeds 1000 degrees Celsius, and there is a peculiar force that can disrupt time. However, 404 City is unaffected internally due to the protection of the Heavenly People Gem."

"I don't know much more. Because what I can access is also very limited."

Zhou Yi asked again: "Regarding the Giant Bone Fish, do you know anything else? Did Verne ever tell you?"

"I don't know much about that... but Lord Verne collected bone fragments of the Giant Bone Fish."

The Crystal Bone Man recalled: "The fragments are small and lack effective information. According to the bone texture and records, it was originally a piece of cattle bone. This excites Lord Verne greatly, leading it to believe that the Giant Bone Fish is a result of the Bone Fish's super evolution in a special environment."

"At that time, Lord Verne was very happy and unusually talked a lot with me. It wants to find the super evolution method of the Giant Bone Fish and transform the Bone People tribe into that state. By then, they could travel the universe in their flesh, transcending the world. Not just at the level of the Light Core Body, but truly unfettered..."

"It also said that Bone People are the highest form of life in this world, without other encumbrances, simple yet advanced, retaining only essential physiological structures. Recording the most important experiences and memories, and by continually strengthening themselves, making the bones resilient enough. Once reaching the Light Core Level, the inherent fragility of the bones will no longer be a disadvantage."

"I believe in Lord Verne, truly wanting to find the evolutionary method of the Giant Bone Fish and replicate it on the Bone People. The Crystal Bone People are just part of this process. In this regard, I respect it a lot."

"For many years, it has been dedicated to this endeavor."

"Lord Verne trusts no one else and never hides it. It believes no one is worth trusting or relying on, because everything in this world can only rely on oneself. What can be believed in is survival capability; survival is the meaning of everything."

Zhou Yi noticed that this generation of Heavenly People's representatives seems to have some kind of obsessive extremism.

The old king fervently believed that extraterrestrial development was the only way.

Wang Fengwu's extreme idleness.

Wu Ye thinks humans are sick and need artificial intervention and transformation.

Verne is a nationalist of the Bone People, with its own understanding of survival—no wonder it has managed to survive until now, leaving no space for others to intervene.

Zhou Yi brought back his thoughts and looked at the Crystal Bone Man: "You say the A2 virus this winter was intentionally released?"

"Yes."

Lin Hao said: "That was Lord Verne's order, and I was the one who executed it."

Zhou Yi thought to himself, no wonder.

The person in front of him is the one who released the virus.

"Explain it carefully."

"Yes, Chairman."

Lin Hao paused for a moment: "The order I received was to release a special virus on the Forbidden Continent. This virus was created by a prisoner in 404 City."

"Its name is Shafulin, a Mechanical Monk, highly skilled in creating viruses and bacteria. During the Second Heavenly People Resistance War, it took advantage of the situation to conduct extensive live experiments, using the war to carry out large-scale poisonings across various places."

Zhou Yi was shocked.

Could it be that there's a terrorist type among the Mechanical Monks?

"What's its purpose for doing this?"

"Simply experimentation."

Lin Hao said: "According to Shafulin's understanding, the world belongs to viruses and bacteria—they are not only the oldest, most numerous, and widely distributed life forms on Earth but are also key forces shaping ecology, climate, and even human evolution."

"It says bacteria are not visitors on Earth; they have always been in the driver's seat, merely allowing us to hitch a ride."

"Shafulin believes that neither humans nor Guangna Species are important; they are just different results ultimately produced by viruses and bacteria. It's like a house is a product of the combination of sand and dirt."

"It selectively deploys more viruses and bacteria specifically into densely populated towns and cities to observe the rapid evolution of these organisms."

"Shafulin believes that the true masters of this world are the pathogens."

"They construct life networks through material circulation, genetic exchange, and energy flow. Humans and Guangna Species are merely latecomers in this microorganism-led world—dependent on them for survival, yet still lacking full understanding of their rules."

"Shafulin wants to understand the deeper mechanisms of bacteria, because they are closer to the source of life, representing the true origin of life on the material side."

Zhou Yi listened in bewilderment.

Thinking about it like this, it does make sense...

In a way, Cave People's civilization is a real-case example of Shafulin's thoughts.

The considerations and actions of Mechanical Life remain consistently cold and rational.

"It was captured by the investigators of 404 City long ago, but Lord Verne allowed it to continue researching bacteria."

Lin Hao, with both hands on his knees, continued: "This time, the A2 virus is one from Shafulin's virus library, specifically spread among avian species."

"I left 404 City with five thorny birds infected by the virus; they have all been modified, blind, unable to communicate or fly, only able to hop on the ground. I released them into the wilds of Forbidden Continent, where they were soon killed and dissected by Killer Rats."

"The rotting Guangna Species corpses attracted the Red-eyed Vultures. After the Killer Rats left, they began to feed, subsequently spreading the virus worldwide, just as Shafulin planned."

"Our primary targets are Guangna Species, or the groups with Guangna Organ."

"Why?"

Zhou Yi frowned, "Is there any conflict between Guangna Species and 404 City?"

"No conflict."

Lin Hao said, "It's just necessary to kill some Guangna Species to acquire their bones. The bones of Guangna Species make stronger, less worn Crystal Bone People, especially when entering the mantle, only Crystal Bone People can do it."

Zhou Yi suddenly remembered that since the beginning of the year there have been Bone People everywhere buying bones, and the purchase price has further increased.

"Is this also part of it?"

"Yes."

Lin Hao said, "I handle the poisoning, other Crystal Bone People will assist in other aspects. Lord Verne's ability is to hatch and culture Bone People, and many quality bones from outside enter 404 City."

"Internally, we often joke that the outside of the city is gemstone, while the inside is bones. They say the lord wants to create a city of bones, not Giant Bone Fish."

Zhou Yi couldn't help but look at Yuan Xiao next to him, "I remember you also have a certain probability of creating Bone People."

"Chairman, my 'Regeneration' can place various consciousnesses in the surroundings into specific shells, sometimes creating low-level Bone People, other times other low-level monsters, but it's very prone to failure."

Yuan Xiao said, "The success rate of regeneration is quite low, and even if successful, it can only create E-level life. If it fails, the shell will be damaged and unusable."

The restart of Sun Chonglai's Bone People life is a rare event.

However, Zhou Yi still found it hard to understand: "Is poisoning just to get more bones of Guangna Species?"

"Indeed it is."

Lin Hao gestured with his hand, "Chairman, obtaining the bones of Guangna Species isn't easy. Many groups have customs and cultures of burying their dead."

"If they die of disease, carrying the virus, only then would friends and family abandon the conventional burial, which will lead to further spread of the virus. Anyway, if they would be burned to ashes, selling them becomes acceptable."

"Lord Verne says to continue increasing the quantity and quality of Crystal Bone People in the city while pushing further the development underground. It also states it will personally oversee 404 City for 100 years without leaving..."

Zhou Yi listens with a twitching face.

This guy is preparing to hole up in 404 City for a century, ready to engage in a protracted war with me.

Virus deployment and creating more Crystal Bone People are subsequent extensions of this.

Zhou Yi asked again, "In the mantle, have you found anything else?"

"Primarily collecting various minerals, different heights, and regions, those minerals are used for analysis..."

Lin Hao suddenly said oh, "Right, there's more."

"Underground, we also discovered the existence of Underground Bone Fish."

"Although they don't compare to Giant Bone Fish at all, they can survive long-term in the high-temperature mantle... But Bone Fish themselves lack memory and intelligence, and their bones can't record for long, so they're a sort of dim-witted primitive life."

"Yet Underground Bone Fish are quite strange, they hold some gatherings, sometimes diving into the Earth Core, always within B-level strength, but never leaving the mantle... We haven't figured out what it is, just suspect that Giant Bone Fish were born from them."

Zhou Yi, upon hearing this, suddenly felt a stirring inside.

The company's Bone Fish can have memory and intelligence comparable to a child of a few years.

Perhaps they can be sent to infiltrate underground to scout for the company.

However, the mantle's strength is too high, so the issue of the company's Bone Fish lacking strength needs to be solved.

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