Wasteland Development Diary.

Chapter 613 404 City Driver
Zhou Yi looked at the crystal skeleton in front of him: "You said you are one of the drivers of City 404?"

"Yes."

Lin Hao nodded: "Mr. Zhou, City 404 was originally a huge cone-shaped gemstone vehicle with its front end constantly rotating and moving deep underground. It is currently moving towards the Earth's core in the mantle."

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

Zhou Yi suddenly realized: "So the reason we need to transform you into a gemstone structure is to facilitate the promotion of City 404."

"You're absolutely right."

The skeleton nodded: "In the beginning, Lord Verne had to operate it himself, but after we came along, these tasks were handed over to us pilots."

Zhou Yi asked curiously, "Why do we need seven drivers?"

"Chairman, it's like this. Driving City 404 is not just about maintaining its stable movement, but more importantly, about observation, including observing the internal and external conditions, and observing the mantle through different gem facets."

Lin Hao gestured with his bony hand: "We will become one with the gemstone, as if we were embedded in a specific gemstone device. Each of the seven drivers has a specific role; some are dedicated to mining minerals, while others control and adjust the speed and trajectory..."

"As far as I know, isn't City 404 using the same tunnel that the giant bone fish drilled out before?"

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

Lin Hao shook his head: "The mantle is frequently in motion. It's different from the ground there. The rocks and soil are in constant motion, like a highly viscous liquid. Once that giant subterranean bone fish emerges from below, the surrounding area will immediately be restored to its original state."

“In the viscous mantle, we can find some skeletal fossils, which are important samples for our research. Lord Verne suspects that the giant fish is a life form created from these fossils after some changes, after they were rejuvenated, and finally adapted to the ecology here, and eventually completed its evolution and metamorphosis.”

Zhou Yi immediately understood: "Is it 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 as long as the corresponding method is found, the bone fish can be cultivated into such a giant bone fish. The underground temperature is above 1000 degrees Celsius, and there is also a strange power that can disrupt time. However, due to the protection of the Celestial Gem, the interior of City 404 is not affected."

"I don't know much more. Because my access to information is very limited."

Zhou Yi then asked, "What else do you know about the giant bone fish? Did Verne tell you anything about it?"

"I don't know much about that... but Lord Verne has collected fragments of the giant bone fish's bones."

The Crystal Bone Man recalled, "The fragment was very small, and there was no useful information inside. According to the bone texture and records, it was originally a piece of cow bone. This greatly excited Lord Verne, so he believed that the giant bone fish was a super-evolutionary state produced by bone fish in a special environment."

"Lord Verne was very happy at the time, and for the first time ever, he talked to me a lot. He wanted to find a way for the giant bone fish to evolve, to transform the entire bone-man race into that form, so that they could travel the universe in their physical bodies and transcend the world. Not just to the level of a light core, but to be truly unbound..."

"It also says that the skeletal form is the highest form of life in the world. It has no other burdens, is simple and advanced, and retains only the necessary physiological structure. It records the most important experiences and memories, and by constantly strengthening itself, it makes its bones tough enough. After entering the light core level, the fragility of the bones themselves will no longer be a disadvantage."

“I believe that Lord Verne truly wants to find the evolution method of the giant bone fish and replicate it on the bone people. The crystal bone people are one of the processes involved. I respect him for that.”

"It has been doing this for many years."

"Lord Verne doesn't trust anyone else, and he never hides it. He believes that no one is worthy of trust or reliance, because in this world, one can only rely on oneself. The only thing one can trust is the ability to survive; survival is the meaning of everything."

Zhou Yi discovered that this generation of Celestial Beings seemed to have some kind of obsessive and extreme aspects.

The old king was fanatically convinced that extraterrestrial development was the only way to survive.

Wang Fengwu's ultimate way of just getting by.

Wu Ye believes that when humans are sick, artificial intervention and modification are necessary.

Jules Verne was a bodily nationalist with his own understanding of survival—no wonder he has managed to survive until now, leaving himself no room to maneuver.

Zhou Yi pulled himself back to reality and looked at the crystal skeleton: "You're saying that the A2 virus outbreak this winter was caused by deliberate poisoning?"

"Yes."

Lin Hao said, "This is Lord Verne's order, and I am the one carrying it out."

Zhou Yi thought to himself, "No wonder."

The person in front of me is the poisoner.

"Tell me more carefully."

"Yes, Chairman."

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

"Its name is Shafulin, an electromechanical monk who is very skilled at creating viruses and bacteria. During the Second Celestial Resistance War, it took the opportunity to conduct a large number of live experiments and spread poison on a large scale in various places under the guise of the war."

Zhou Yi was shocked.

There are terrorist types among the mechanical and electrical monks?
What is its purpose in doing this?

"It's just an experiment."

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

"It says that bacteria are not just passing through Earth; they've always been in the driver's seat, just allowing us to hitch a ride."

"Saffrin believes that whether it is humans or other species, it is not important; they are just different results produced by viruses and bacteria. Just like a house is a result of the combination of sand and soil."

"It selects and releases more viruses and bacteria, specifically targeting densely populated towns and cities, to observe the rapid evolution of these organisms." "Shaflin believes that the true masters of this world are germs."

“They build life networks through material cycling, gene exchange, and energy flow. Humans and light nanobes are just latecomers in this microbial-dominated world—they depend on them for survival, but have not yet fully understood their rules.”

"Shaflin wanted to understand the deep mechanisms of pathogens because they are the ones that are closer to the source of life and represent the true origin of life from the material side."

Zhou Yi was stunned.

That makes sense...

To some extent, the cave dwelling civilization is a real-world example of Shaflin's ideas.

The thoughts and actions of electromechanical life are as cold and rational as ever.

"It was captured by investigators from City 404 a long time ago, but Lord Verne allowed it to continue its research on pathogens."

Lin Hao placed his hands on his knees and continued, "This A2 virus is one of the strains in the Safulin virus database, specifically designed to spread to poultry."

"I left City 404 with five thornbirds infected by the virus. They were all modified, blind, unable to communicate, and unable to fly. They could only hop on the ground. I released them into the wilderness of the Forbidden Continent, where they were quickly killed and disemboweled by the Killer Rat."

"The rotting carcasses of the Lightner attracted Red-eyed Vultures. After the Killer Rats left, they began to feed and then carried the virus around the world, spreading it rapidly just like the Shaflin Project."

"Our main target is light-emitting organisms, or groups with light-emitting organs."

"why?"

Zhou Yi frowned: "What conflict is there between Guangnazhong and City 404?"

"There is no conflict."

Lin Hao said, "We just need to kill a portion of the Light Nano Species and obtain their bones. The bones of the Light Nano Species can be used to create Crystal Bone Humans that are stronger and wear down less, especially when entering the mantle, only Crystal Bone Humans can do it."

Zhou Yi suddenly remembered that since the beginning of the year, bone men had been buying bones everywhere, and the purchase price had further increased.

"Is this also part of the process?"

"Yes."

Lin Hao said, "I'll be in charge of poisoning, and the other crystal skeletons will provide other support. Lord Verne's ability is to incubate and cultivate skeletons, and many high-quality skeletons from outside will enter City 404."

“We often joke internally that the city is made of jewels on the outside and bones on the inside. We say that the adults are building a city of bones, not a giant bone fish.”

Zhou Yi couldn't help but look at Yuanxiao beside him: "I remember, you also have a certain probability of creating a Bone Man."

"Chairman, my 'Regeneration' can place various consciousnesses in the surrounding area into specific bodies. Sometimes it creates low-level skeletons, sometimes other low-level monsters, but it is also very easy to fail."

Yuanxiao said, "The regeneration success rate is low, and even if it succeeds, it can only create an E-level life form. If it fails, the body will be damaged and unusable."

Sun Chonglai's life as a skeleton being restarted is a low-probability event.

However, Zhou Yi still couldn't understand: "The poisoning was just to obtain more Light Naz bones?"

"indeed so."

Lin Hao gestured: "Chairman, it's not easy to get the bones of the Guangna people. Many groups have customs and cultures for burying the dead."

“Only when someone dies from an illness and carries the virus will their relatives and friends abandon the conventional burial method, which would lead to further transmission of the virus. Since they are going to be cremated anyway, selling the ashes becomes acceptable.”

"Lord Verne said that the number and quality of the crystal skeletons in the city should be further increased, and the development of underground facilities should be accelerated. He also stated that he would personally oversee City 404 for 100 years without leaving..."

Zhou Yi's face twitched upon hearing this.

This kid was planning to stay in City 404 for a hundred years, preparing for a protracted war with me.

The release of the virus and the creation of more Crystal Bone People are also subsequent extensions of this.

Zhou Yi then asked, "Did you find anything else in the mantle?"

"The main purpose is to collect various minerals from different layers and areas, and those minerals will be used for analysis..."

Lin Hao suddenly said, "Oh, right, there's one more."

"Underground, we also discovered the existence of subterranean bone fish."

"Although they are nothing like giant bony fish, they can survive for a long time in the high-temperature mantle... However, bony fish themselves have no memory or intelligence, and the friction on their bones cannot be recorded for a long time, so they are a kind of ignorant primitive life."

"However, the subterranean bone fish are also very strange. They gather in some kind of way, and sometimes they burrow into the Earth's core. Their strength is all above level B, but they never leave the mantle... We don't understand what's going on, but we suspect that the giant bone fish were born from this."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yi suddenly had a thought.

The company's bony fish has a memory and its intelligence is at the level of a young child.

Perhaps we could send them underground to scout out opportunities for the company.

However, the mantle strength is too high, and the problem of insufficient strength of the company's bone fish still needs to be solved.

(End of this chapter)