Wasteland Development Diary.

Chapter 617 Are you called Verne?

Beneath the Dead Sea.

Within the thick, cohesive mantle layer, a spiral city crafted from gemstones floats through fluid layers of minerals.

The city of 404 remains orderly.

now.

Jules Verne, the city's master, is in a jeweled prison.

It surveyed the workbench before it. Inside the enclosed glass work area, white sapphires, sapphires, and rubies formed a columnar structure, from which thin, transparent filaments extended, winding around a yellowish shinbone.

In a process similar to spinning thread, the surface of the tibia is coated with a layer of vitreous material.

Verne looked at a large white cabinet next to him.

"Can those things still survive under the gemstone coating?"

“I don’t know much about this, but I just feel that if it’s completely isolated from the outside world, those unseen little things inside are essentially living in a closed environment for a long time… Is that really feasible? Just like this city, it needs to regularly obtain resources from the outside world in order to complete replacement and change.”

The incubator emitted a mechanical voice: "Mr. Verne, please do not underestimate the survival ability of bacteria and viruses. They are the masters and the main body of this planet. They are the origin and beginning of life, and their history is longer than that of any other species."

"This technological improvement essentially transforms the planktonic heart into a semi-open state, filling the skeleton cavity of the skeleton. Planktonic organisms then serve as the skeleton's blood, nerves, and circulatory system."

“Under normal circumstances, they would wear down and damage some of the bones, but with your gem skin technology, which has completed the full skeletal covering of the skeleton, there is no problem at all. Then, a special planktonic net is used to cover the light-colored muscle suit, which can form simple skin fibers, thus preventing most of the planktonic organisms from leaving the body.”

"When needed, it can open up to allow smaller life forms to enter, complete natural metabolism and interaction, thereby achieving biological improvement."

"This new type of crystal skeleton, composed of a gemstone coating and a semi-open floating heart, will have stronger endurance, power, and growth potential."

Verne frowned as he listened, touching the bone chain around his neck: "But the technology you proposed won't help with activities in the mantle. If the planktonic heart is partially opened, the mantle's minimum temperature of over a thousand degrees Celsius would be enough to kill all those planktonic organisms."

"Then you're mistaken."

Shafulin retorted, "You probably forgot that I wrote in my report to you that thermophilic bacteria were found in the bodies of subterranean bone fish."

"These mantle bacteria have extremely small cells, which are nanoscale in size. They are resistant to high-temperature hydrolysis and remain dormant for a long time, similar to spores, only reviving when the environment is briefly improved. The α/β particles or γ rays produced by radioactive decay in the mantle are used by this part of the bacteria for energy conversion. They also have a reverse Fischer-Tropsch synthesis process, similar to methanogenic archaea."

"The presence of mantle bacteria is likely a remnant of life in Earth's early deep hydrothermal systems, rather than a result of circular flow impacts..."

Verne interrupted, "Forget about things I'm not interested in, just get to the conclusion: what does all this have to do with the subterranean bone fish?"

"You really have no patience when it comes to science, and a lack of patience is a huge obstacle to research..."

"If you say another word, I'll put you in solitary confinement and shut down your lab," Verne said impatiently.

"Mantle bacteria live in the body of bony fish for a long time."

Shafulin immediately became honest and said, "Because of the presence of mantle bacteria, the subterranean bone fish can survive in the mantle for a long time. That layer of minerals that forms a fleshy filling structure is the mineral interface that the mantle bacteria rely on, mainly including hydrous minerals such as olivine and pyroxene."

"Because mantle bacteria are nanoscale and have an extremely slow metabolism, relying on inorganic chemical reactions, they are almost like a zombie life form. These characteristics perfectly match the needs of subterranean bone fish."

"Therefore, they coexist with each other."

"The bony fish use them to access more specific mineral interfaces, while these provide the bony fish with radiative energy and inorganic energy for self-sufficiency... to cope with extreme environments such as high temperature, high pressure, lack of oxygen, and poor nutrition in the mantle."

"The more numerous these bacteria are, the more pronounced their effects become, and they can form an independent ecological environment, thus avoiding damage from external pressures."

"Do you remember? In the shallow mantle, the bone fish we caught were all small, the smallest being only about 10 centimeters long. But the bone fish in the deeper areas were much larger. To date, the largest subterranean bone fish we have found is 37 meters long, which is larger than a blue whale in the ocean."

Verne pondered for a moment, then crossed his arms and said, "You mean, when studying subterranean bony fish, the focus should actually be on studying the mantle microbiota?"

"Yes. That's what I mean."

The incubator actively stated, "The microbial community itself poses a very low risk, and there are many of them on the subterranean bony fish. If we use the planktonic heart as a bridge, we can use the crystal bony man to test the ability of various planktonic organisms to adsorb and bind to the mantle microbial community."

"If we can make a breakthrough in mantle bacteria, we can cultivate them to give bone people that layer of mineral skin and flesh, and then dive into the depths of the mantle like a bone fish from the earth, or even touch the earth's core."

"The key to the giant bone fish you're looking for might just be the mantle fungus!"

Verne thought to himself, "This is one possible approach."

Since all other paths are blocked, we might as well try anything.

How much budget do you need?

"Please give me 600 million units of light-based bacteria. That's the minimum. Based on the standard equipment of a large-scale bacteriological laboratory, I need to purchase similar archaea from external laboratories. For example, methanogenic archaea, variant geobacteria... I also need to buy bacterial detection and identification equipment, intelligent PCR instruments, microfluidic chip detection systems, biosensors, automated drug sensitivity testing systems, image analysis platforms... I can't leave out any of these components."

Verne said, "I'll give you 60."

"..."

The incubator's voice abruptly stopped: "This is far too little... How can we do good science with such a low budget? Without money, we can only pile on time..."

"Don't talk nonsense."

Verne warned, "Next time I come, you'd better have results from your archaeology research, otherwise I'll have to consider cutting this project. It's been 40 years, and my patience is running out." "If that doesn't work, switch to skeletal research and shut down your lab."

"No, no. I'll try my best, I'll try my best!"

……

Leave this jewel prison.

Verne then arrived at the office area, which was a magnificent high castle built from a large number of bones.

Every bone on the high fort is a natural storage device and recorder, storing and archiving a wealth of information for easy access at any time.

Wang Ji, the secretary of the skeleton, was already waiting at the entrance of Gaobao.

"grown ups."

"Hmm. How many of our men have returned? What's the situation outside?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency, 25 of the Bone Man's dispatched personnel were supposed to return, but only 22 actually returned. Among them, 2 have been confirmed to have been arrested, and 1 has defected to the enemy. Of the supplies purchased from outside sources, only 24% of the required amount has been achieved. The remainder could not be purchased and brought back because they were detained or obstructed by the sellers or local forces."

Verne grew irritated, his fingers twirling the long bone chain around his neck: "Besides the Wasteland Development Corporation, what other forces are directly targeting us now?"

"Sir, currently only the Wasteland Corporation is directly leading the charge. Other forces, including the Kingdom of Heaven, have not imposed sanctions on 404, but they have also banned the Crystal Bone People from appearing and regard our expatriates as dangerous terrorists."

The secretary said, "Strictly speaking, our only enemy is the company."

"But the enemy is really powerful... There are at least eight Light Core Bodies. If we want to launch a ground attack against them, we may have to mobilize a lot of forces."

Verne shook his head: "The Wasteland Company must know something. That Zhou Yi is no simple man. There have been changes within the agency. Several agents have disappeared and been replaced, but we don't know the specific reasons yet. We can't act rashly."

It grinned: "I actually hope the company calls, so we can see how many light cores they can kill."

The city of 404 itself was forged from celestial gemstones and is located in the mantle, providing it with natural barriers and concealment.

Even if a light core enters here, it will be blasted to death by the gem turrets that come with City 404.

Jules Verne had a deep belief in the power of the divine.

What the Bone Man needs to do is to constantly get closer to the Celestials and become their most recognized and trusted follower.

Then one can inherit this power and live forever, eternally alongside the heavens and humanity.

The secretary left.

Verne began to examine the most recent bones, which contained the work logs of various personnel.

after an hour.

It suddenly sensed that something was wrong.

A tall, thin human boy suddenly appeared in front of them.

There was also a girl in a black and white school uniform next to him.

These two individuals were unable to assess the strength of their life force; they were completely unable to see through it.

The boy asked, "Are you called Jules Verne?"

The girl said, "It must be it. Doesn't it have a bone chain around its neck? I mentioned its features before."

"Yes..."

Verne was deeply shaken at this moment.

How did these two people manage to infiltrate City 404 without my noticing, and why did the Celestial Gem Towers in City 404 not react at all?

The situation was beyond my comprehension and common sense.

Despite the various thoughts that flashed through his mind, Verne calmly said, "Are you looking for Lord Verne? He is in the Jewel Cell in Shafulin... I am a Bone Man envoy, my name is Zhao Si, and I am here to report."

"Then why are you wearing a bone chain?"

"The skeletons have bone chains and bracelets, which are very common decorations... Could you two be messengers sent by the celestial beings?"

The boy simply said, "We've come to find Jules Verne."

“Come with us and take us to find it.”

Verne decided to remain calm and observe the situation first, then cautiously nodded, "Okay."

The girl beside him smiled slightly: "The joke ends here, Verne... Stop pretending, we have a clear understanding of your situation..."

Verne froze on the spot.

(End of this chapter)