Wasteland Development Diary.

Chapter 266 The Herd’s Choice
Zhou Yi led 703 all the way to the hilly area of the former site of Changu Town, where there was a piece of land allocated to the cattle-taming tribe for their living and cattle-raising.

In a circle of mushroom houses, several cows were lying motionless, in a dormant posture.

Two skeletons wearing horned hats are maintaining and inspecting them.

Tribe leader Niu Zhen hurried over to greet them.

"Chairman, you are here."

Zhou Yi got straight to the point: "Are you against restoring the hanging-horn cattle?"

Niu Zhen scratched his hat with his hand: "Chairman, our tribe only knows how to raise cattle. If they all change, then all our hard work in raising them will be in vain..."

"Right now, the horned cattle are being used as taxis everywhere. They are doing a good job and making money. If they are gone, we will have nothing."

"Although they are dumb now, they live long and don't have many needs. If they become electromechanical life forms, repairs, upgrades, and energy will cost money, and we can't afford to support them."

Zhou Yi said coldly: "The Hanging Horn Cow must be repaired and turned into a normal electromechanical life. This is an order."

"We follow orders!"

The Skeleton Clan leader stood up in a hurry: "Listen to the company's instructions! Repair everything, repair it!"

Zhou Yi's tone slowed down a little.

"Old Cow, I know your concerns. The domestication and leasing of horned cattle is an important industry for you and also the livelihood of the tribe."

"But think a little longer term."

"Think about it, even if you work hard now, you can produce a new cow every three months - can you do it now?"

Niu Zhen shook his head: "Not yet. Even though we have the light seeds you gave me, the fastest one is born in five months. In total, the tribe has only produced two cows this year."

"Including the previous ones, that makes a total of 34 cows, right?"

"Correct."

Zhou Yi followed the other party's words and said, "Well, this year the maximum number will be doubled to 68 cows. These 68 cows can be used for local transportation in the Shahe area and for carrying various materials."

"But what's happening now is that the viaduct has opened up a high-speed corridor from Emerald City to Sand Harbor City. Fortified cars are faster than oxcarts, and they're cheaper because running on the viaduct consumes almost no energy."

"In the future, the viaduct will connect to all the towns here, creating a highway around the entire Shagang area. Then, what will happen to the oxcarts?"

The Skeleton Chieftain looked embarrassed.

Finally, it said, "Then we have to sell the newborn cows as we did in the past."

Zhou Yi hummed: "This is indeed the practice of traditional animal husbandry. But you are raising semi-civilized organisms, there is another way to help them repair into electromechanical life."

"Mechatronic life is a born professional. I am not sure of the real name and function of the Horned Bull. But the annual salary of a mechatronic life is calculated in light species. It will not be less than 1 light species per year, which is 1 million mushrooms."

"The one-way fare for renting a bullock cart is 2 irons, or 20 mushrooms. So you have to make 5 trips a year to reach this minimum threshold."

"With your intelligence, this account should not be difficult to calculate."

Niu Zhen remained silent.

The cattle-taming tribe is definitely not stupid, as they are able to master the animal husbandry technology of taming semi-civilized animals, and can repair and control them.

"Chairman, let me tell you the truth."

The Skeleton Chieftain seemed to have made up his mind: "It's because everyone doesn't want to. Everyone knows that this is a good thing for the horned cows, but in fact, every horned cow that is hatched is a part of our tribe."

"Bonemen are infertile, so the horned cattle are new members of our tribe. If they awaken, they will know that we once treated them as livestock and sold them... They will definitely hate and detest us."

“Although it may sound a bit strange and even difficult to understand, the horned cattle are the children of our tribe. It’s just that we can’t protect them, and we have to rely on them to help us earn money to maintain various expenses of the tribe.”

Zhou Yi was slightly surprised.

In addition to issues of interest, there are also emotional appeals.

However, think of the tribal skeleton and the horned cow as a parent and child relationship.

That is indeed easy to understand.

For the tribes that domesticated the horned cattle, this group is their children and an important labor force of the tribe.

If these children have self-awareness, gain independent self, and know what is going on, they are likely to leave the tribe and pursue the life they want.

For the tribe, it is not only a loss of labor, but also an emotional loss.

Zhou Yi sat on a big rock nearby and motioned to the Skeleton Clan leader: "Come, sit down."

Both of them were sitting under a giant mushroom.

Under the sunlight, the cow not far ahead reflected a metallic luster.

"Old Cow, what do you think of your tribe?"

"It's very weak, small in scale, and I don't have any particularly outstanding skills. I only have a stable living environment now after joining the company."

"Yes. The Bull Taming Tribe is strong in stability, but it is also stagnant in this respect."

Zhou Yi told it: "Because you obviously have special animal husbandry technology, but lack the conditions and opportunities to go further. Now the opportunity is in front of you, and it is a huge opportunity for you."

"As the horned cattle evolve into electromechanical life, they have the potential to grow and interact with you in depth. This is how any group grows. It may be better or worse."

"Perhaps some of the horned cattle will distance themselves from you and dislike you, but some of them will understand you and recognize you. This is a matter of probability. Because you are not treating them with malice. You have limited abilities and have tried your best to protect the cattle of the tribe."

“Their growth is the development of the tribe.”

Zhou Yi looked at the mechanical monster in the distance and said, "I think that as long as you take the new generation of hanging horn cattle seriously and take care of them, you should be confident that they will not hate you. The greatest characteristic of electromechanical life is reason and logic. They will make decisions based on the information they know."

"The tribe treats them well!"

Niu Zhen emphasized: "We really treat them as members of the tribe, but we are too weak to help them."

Zhou Yi looked at the Skeleton Clan leader and said, "Then believe in yourselves. The process determines the result."

Niu Zhen lowered his head and said, "I understand what you mean. In fact, when 703 came to me, I knew that the result was already determined, just like it will rain in the sky and it will be windy on land... They just want to delay it for a while. Everyone in the tribe is actually afraid of change."

“We all need to accept and learn to change.”

Zhou Yi said softly, then looked at the silent 703 next to him: "Then let's start with the two newborn horn bulls this year. They have the least data and are the least burdened."

So Niu Zhen took the robot dog to find the two new cows.

After a busy half day, "Chairman, the repair programs are complete. They are all very healthy. The program architecture is more rigorous than expected. I have also transmitted the most basic company information data to them."

703 reported: "They are a complete replica of the core program of the previous generation, so their origins are also very clear."

"The Horned Bull is a military machine, codenamed "Off-Road No. 1", which has the ability to replicate itself. Its biggest advantage is its strong ability to adapt to terrain and large load capacity. It can pass through almost any complex terrain and is particularly suitable for load transportation in mountains and plateaus. Its disadvantage is its slow movement speed."

"Its abilities are [reproduction] and [modification]."

“[Replication] is to assemble the self-program and corresponding materials to create a substitute for oneself.”

"You can install various weapon modules on the modified vehicle, and you can also further modify its movement. For example, if you install wheels, you can switch to vehicle driving, and if you add more wheels, it will be more stable, or if you add a boat bottom plate, it can sail on the water. It has high plasticity."

"They can carry 1.5 tons. So with extensive modifications, they can also handle external armor and heavy equipment without affecting their speed."

Zhou Yi looked at the two four-legged mechanical life forms.

They are actually military units.

The two horned cows just walked slowly, observing the environment.

However, they were standing back to back with each other, and did look like they were fighting.

"Hello."

Zhou Yi went over and took the initiative to say hello: "How do you feel?"

One of the hanging-horned cows said, "Not bad."

The other said, “Very good.”

"What are your names?"

The two electromechanical creatures called themselves "Niu 197" and "Niu 198", which are also their names in the tribe.

“What are your thoughts on the future?”

They looked at each other.

Niu 197 said: "I don't have any ideas. Life in the tribe is good and everyone takes good care of us. I like it here."

"me too."

The nervous Skeleton Chief suddenly relaxed.

Zhou Yi said, "Since you have the ability to modify, why don't you try to modify it into a car? At least this way you can run on the viaduct without wasting energy."

Both cows thought it was feasible.

A few days later, they were equipped with four wheels and started their taxi life on the viaduct.

Unlike other vehicles, they can also switch to a four-legged form. After leaving the high-speed bridge, they can move forward on the rugged mountain road and take the passengers to their doorsteps.

197 and 198 quickly became proficient in taxi work.

The tribe leader Niu Zhen came running over to announce the good news: "Chairman, in addition to their work, they also taught us how to better maintain and repair the cattle, how to quickly detect abnormal conditions of other hanging horn cattle, and taught us a simpler and more effective way to replicate them."

"They don't despise us, they even want to help the tribe make money and grow!"

The Skeleton Man was so excited that his voice was a little stammering: "With their optimization, the replica can be completed in just one month!"

There is just one problem.

"Neither of them wants to replicate, because that would take up their time and energy... According to their internal procedures, they will only start the replication process if they are seriously damaged, in order to make a backup and continue the battle."

Zhou Yi didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Mechanical and electrical life is also unwilling to have children.

In this ignorant semi-civilized state, the fertility rate is actually very high.

703 also made a surprising discovery.

"Chairman, some semi-civilized beings are unwilling to use time anchors and repair themselves into electromechanical life!"

It said solemnly, "I tested 12 horn-hanging cattle before, but only one of them used the time anchor program and is recovering now."

"We used to think that semi-civilized beings were willing to become more advanced electromechanical life forms, but we didn't expect that not all of them were willing to do so."

Zhou Yi was puzzled: "Why?"

"Because the amount of calculations in the semi-civilized form is very small, it is enough to just keep the basic programs running. There is no load, and most of the time you can stay still. But after entering the electromechanical life form, the amount of calculations increases greatly, and there are corresponding updates, upgrades, and maintenance. Survival becomes very troublesome."

"The previous 11 have all chosen to reject the time anchor procedure. They don't want to change and don't want to have new burdens."

"This is a very amazing discovery! Now I even suspect that the semi-civilized bodies are not necessarily caused by the influence of radiation, but are the natural selection of some electromechanical life in the environment. This can greatly reduce consumption and survive longer, or in other words, have stronger survivability!"

703 said excitedly.

This was the first time Zhou Yi heard of this.

He thought for a moment and said, "Then respect their choice."

"Yes, Chairman. The new generation has a stronger desire for change and is more curious. I will focus on the new generation of cattle."

In the end, only four cows in the herd signed the agreement, activated the time anchor, and became electromechanical life.

Together with the previous 197 and 198, the total is 6.

They have different personalities, some have bad tempers, some are slow-tempered, and some are very curious.

A cow left the tribe, crossed the Dead Sea, and no one knew where it went.

There is also one that chooses to live alone in the wild northern forest, which has become a unique landscape.

So there are actually only four mechanical and electrical experts still in the company.

This series of changes also allowed the cattle-taming tribe to accept the changes in the cattle herd and enter a new cattle-raising life.

Just as Zhou Yi was paying attention to this group of mechanical life forms, the skeleton man Wu Yi came over.

"Chairman, I'm ready! I can go find the woman in the ice anytime."

Zhou Yi said: "Okay, let's go now."

(End of this chapter)