Wasteland Development Diary.

Chapter 612 Enemy Surrender
"Here's the thing."

Hai Ren leader Hua Li said, "Our Hua Yi group deals in brokerage and asset protection, so we deal with many groups. Before the outbreak, a businessman approached us and purchased a large amount of medical supplies through us, including masks, antiviral drugs, anticoagulants, hormones, and ECMO—that is, artificial lungs..."

"After the large-scale outbreak of the A2 virus, we realized that this businessman must have known the inside story and was getting his hands on special drugs for A2 infected patients. By stockpiling in advance and selling them when they were in short supply, the price could be at least five times higher."

“Under normal circumstances, it is a matter of customer privacy, and we will not inquire about it. The Flower Clothes Group has gained the recognition and cooperation of various groups by not causing trouble and not getting involved in anything.”

"Who knew that even though we weren't looking for it, this person found us."

Hua Li said softly, "This person is a bone-man merchant named Lin Hao, who is not well-known. Lin Hao found us through the introduction and guarantee of another merchant group, and then took out 5 light seeds to stockpile these medical supplies, entrusting us to purchase them from various places."

"Afterwards, it didn't entrust us with the sale. Instead, it contacted us wanting to continue our cooperation. It wanted to visit you and hoped we could introduce it, but I refused at the time. You're not someone you can just meet with anyone, and this person's background is still unknown."

"But now the virus is getting more and more serious... which makes me feel a bit strange. So I used the contact information it left behind to meet it in some ruins."

The sea man paused and said, "Lin Hao is different from the other bone people. He wears airtight clothes and wraps himself up in layers."

"Lin Hao said that it knows who created the virus and is willing to tell you, but it hopes that you can save its life. Because once this matter is leaked, perhaps only you in this world can save it."

"No matter how I asked, it wouldn't reveal a single word."

Zhou Yi fell into deep thought.

An unknown bone-man merchant, having known about the virus outbreak in advance, hoarded goods and refused to sell, and even tried to curry favor with me through the Flower Clothes Group... It seems this person does indeed know something; being able to casually produce 5 Light Seeds is certainly not that of an ordinary person.

Zhou Yi asked, "Can we find it?"

Hua Li nodded: "There is a way to contact it, but it says different things every time we meet, and where to meet."

"Please invite it to Emerald City."

"Yes, Mr. Zhou."

……

That night.

A visitor arrived outside Emerald City 3101.

“Mr. Zhou, it’s great to finally meet you. I’ve been waiting for this opportunity for a long time.”

The visitor spoke very politely.

"Please take a seat."

Zhou Yi sized up the person in front of him.

Just as Hua Li had said, Lin Hao was dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and trousers, covered up completely by a fitted trench coat. He wore a newsboy cap, a black face mask, and large sunglasses.

It emitted a red light and was classified as a B-level animal.

After coming in.

Lin Hao took off his hat and removed his mask, revealing his skull.

Unlike ordinary skeletons, it has many irregular celestial gems embedded between its bones, resembling some kind of peculiar bone hyperplasia disease.

Zhou Yi immediately remembered.

Wu Ye, the former acting head of the third unit, once said that number seven was secretly creating a crystal bone human in City 404.

"Are you one of Verne's men?"

The other party, however, showed no surprise. Instead, he appeared pleased: "As expected of Mr. Zhou, you even know the secrets of City 404. It seems that I was right to come to you; your power has allowed me to survive."

"Sit down and speak slowly."

Zhou Yi waved his hand, indicating, "What would you like to drink?"

"If possible, is there any liquid methane?"

Zhou Yi snapped his fingers.

I went out for a short while during the Lantern Festival and brought back a stainless steel metal can.

This is part of the research on Tianren gemstones. The gemstone body requires liquid methane as a fluid to improve flow lubrication and reduce wear; the company has adopted Tianren's physiological maintenance methods.

Lin Hao took the metal can, unscrewed it, and the liquid inside quickly vaporized, producing a large amount of white mist. He put his head close to the can's opening and inhaled as much of it as possible.

"Hiss—that feels great. The methane is very pure. Thank you."

The skeletal figure exhaled a breath of white air.

It put down the metal can before saying, "As you said, I come from City 404 and am one of the Crystal Bone People cultivated and modified by Lord Verne."

"My mission is to enter the outside world and collect bones." "However, although crystal skeletons like me have a stronger physiological structure than normal skeletons—because our structure has been modified through celestial gems—there is still a limitation."

“That is, within each of us lies a crystal skull created by Lord Verne. It watches our every move and records everything. There is no privacy whatsoever. All our actions will be extracted by the crystal skull after we return to 404, and Lord Verne will know exactly what we did…”

The skeleton pointed to its chest cavity.

Zhou Yi then noticed that there was actually a transparent skull under his ribs.

However, this skull is much smaller than a human skull and looks more like a bird's bone.

"It was made from the skull of a red-eyed vulture."

Lin Hao pointed to the small skull: "Their skulls are small and hard, and they also have excellent recording capabilities. They are fixed inside our bodies and used as monitors to supervise each of us Crystal Bone People."

Zhou Yi carefully examined the bird skull inside its body.

The crystal skull is crystal clear, with more than 60% of it being made of crystal, except for the beak and the back half, which retain the skeletal structure.

"Why doesn't it completely transform you into a gem structure?"

Lin Hao said, "Because if the entire body were completely replaced with gemstones, then it wouldn't be a skeleton person, but a gemstone person. That's probably impossible."

"Lord Verne needs us to act as bone people to enhance the gem's structure, but only to combine us with the gem to a certain extent in order to utilize the gem's energy and strength."

"Therefore, we need to keep more than half of our body as skeleton, and some parts will be modified and replaced with gemstone bodies, and in a form that combines gemstones and skeleton, to avoid us disassembling it ourselves."

Zhou Yi said calmly, "Verne is acting on behalf of the gods. You betrayed him and sided with me. Do you know the consequences?"

"I have no other choice."

The skeleton sighed, "I really don't want to go back to City 404, continue digging underground in the dark, then be modified and constantly monitored, and never be able to leave without orders."

“Actually, it’s not just me; the other Crystal Bone People have the same thought. Who wants to lose their freedom forever? We call ourselves Crystal Bone People, the jailers of City 404, but in reality, we are also imprisoned in that huge prison. We are no different from other prisoners.”

“In the past, we had no choice, because running away was impossible; there was no place for us to stay outside.”

“But I heard about the wasteland development company, and that you have development projects on Mars and the moon. If you’re willing, you can arrange for me to hide there… That’s why I made up my mind to take a gamble and hope to get your protection.”

“I’m willing to do anything as long as the company takes me in. I know that wasteland development companies have great employee benefits, plenty of holidays, and you can even refuse business trips if you don’t want to… These are things I’ve always dreamed of.”

Zhou Yi calmly looked at the skeleton in front of him: "So you deliberately contacted the Flower Clothes Gang and used the Sea People Gang to find me?"

"Yes."

Lin Hao nodded: "I dare not come directly because I only have this one chance. If I come and am rejected, I will have no hope and will definitely be discovered by the investigators from City 404. I can only run away until I am caught by the investigators from City 404."

"So I need to make sure I can see you before I come."

Zhou Yixin said that he was finally getting better.

Even jailers from City 404 came to seek refuge and protection.

This demonstrates that the company's strength is widely recognized by groups across various regions.

In addition, the company's benefits are quite popular, which is one of the reasons why Lin Hao came here.

Zhou Yi said, "Since you're planning to join our company, please introduce your skills and see if you meet our requirements."

"While I personally sympathize with your experience, the company has relevant rules and regulations for hiring. We can't just hire someone casually; we have to follow the procedures."

The skeleton was taken aback, but still answered honestly, "My name is Lin Hao, I am Crystal Skeleton Zero, and the first Crystal Skeleton to be modified. I am skilled in underground excavation and the collection and analysis of various minerals..."

"Previously, I was mainly responsible for excavating the mantle, analyzing various energy components from underground materials, and also conducting some skeletal research and experiments. I have relatively rich gem-making skills."

"I was also a key assistant in the subsequent modification of the Crystal Bone Man, and I have over 100 years of experience in both areas."

"In addition, I was involved in the management of criminals in 404 City in the early days, but the time was very short, only about 10 years, before I was transferred to work full-time in underground excavation."

"By the way, I'm also one of the seven main pilots in City 404..."

Zhou Yi slammed his hand on the table, pointed at the other person, and said, "You're accepted!"

Lin Hao was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed: "You're going to take me in? Thank you, thank you so much!"

It kept bowing, its excitement evident.

Zhou Yi felt a surge of joy.

This guy is a core technical member of City 404!
Make big money!

This is the first case of attracting talent from the enemy, resulting from the company's good reputation and increased influence built up over many years!
(End of this chapter)