Wasteland Development Diary.

Chapter 643 The Satellite That Grew Bones

Zhou Yi has been a bit restless lately.

Two months have passed since Quickfoot and Bigmouth mysteriously disappeared from satellite orbit, but the whereabouts of these two employees have still not been found.

The electric cat that worked with them said the two bone fish had simply taken a break and were in a stable mood at the time, neither causing an accident nor running away, nor defecting.

In satellite imagery from the other side of the constellation, two bony fish were seen circling the defunct satellite Noah-3 when the image suddenly turned into a static screen. When it returned to normal after two seconds, they had both disappeared.

The old king activated the Star Nexus Matrix to perform in-depth calculations and data reconstruction.

It stated, "What can be confirmed is that the two bony fish suddenly emitted extremely high levels of radiation and energy, causing the surrounding observation equipment and information to be distorted by the energy."

"The radiation bursts are somewhat related to Noah-3. We investigated its outer shell and remaining data records and found traces of the satellite being exposed to high-energy radiation multiple times."

“Our internal observations also revealed bone structures inside Noa-3.”

Zhou Yi was somewhat confused: "You mean, Quickfoot and Big Mouth are using bones to modify this defunct satellite?"

"That was our initial assumption. To better confirm its internal structure, we activated the Sky Survey Telescope to conduct further observations and analysis."

The Old King sent over a perspective view of the interior of Noah-3.

The images clearly show a distinct white skeletal structure inside the defunct satellite. Those bones form a coiled spine, resembling a compressed figure eight.

Rather than saying the bones were installed piece by piece, it would be more accurate to say that they were installed from the inside out before the outer shell was sealed on.

Zhou Yi couldn't help but ask, "Have other satellites ever experienced this?"

"This is the first time in history that bones have been found inside an extraterrestrial satellite."

The old king also attached great importance to this: "Based on the shape and skeletal structure, the closest to the satellite skeleton is that of a snake. This is because the skeleton is highly twisted, yet there are no signs of breakage or damage."

"But through anatomical illustrations and specimen comparison, we found that it does not belong to any known snake species, nor is it the tail of any large creature."

"After collecting the DNA, we found that there was no organism in the gene pool that was similar to it. Isotope testing and microstructure analysis also led to the same conclusion: it is the skeleton of an organism, but we have never encountered such an organism before."

"It can be said that this is the bone of an unknown creature."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yi already felt the situation was becoming somewhat tricky: "A space creature?"

"Uncertain. But creatures with skeletons are usually not small."

The old king said, "Most importantly, based on the final analysis of the survey telescope and the matrix, we believe that the bone was not inserted or drilled in from the outside."

"Their shape fits perfectly with the various equipment casings inside the satellite...it's as if they grew out of the satellite itself."

Bones grew inside a decommissioned satellite?

Zhou Yi was stunned.

Could it be that this satellite has mutated and turned from an electromechanical satellite into a skeletal satellite?

Cat God can have direct consciousness conversations with every employee, including the bone fish who have the intelligence of a 10-year-old child.

However, this can only be done within the range of a certain planet. Beyond the planet where Cat God is located, it is already outside the service area and there is no signal.

It also couldn't contact either of them at all.

The existing clues are limited and strange, and there is no starting point to continue the investigation.

The disappearance of the two Bonefish employees became an unsolved case.

Zhou Yi had no choice but to continue monitoring the satellite's orbit.

He also had to deal with another matter: after arriving in Shagang, bone fish expert Wei Ming showed great interest in rocket bone fish and subterranean bone fish.

Zhou Yi also transferred two subterranean bone fish, which he had captured from the mantle, from City 404 to provide it with some information.

After studying for some time, the Pandaren scholar, accompanied by several assistants, was delighted to find Zhou Yi.

"Mr. Zhou, we have cracked the secret of the rocket bone fish's flight."

It pointed to several rocket bone fish basking in the sun on the shore: "Look, their body structure is very special."

The rocket-bone fish stands on the ground in a cone shape nearly two meters high, resembling a triangular tower assembled from bones.

"When bonefish rest, they usually burrow underground or seek shelter, trying to curl up their bodies to avoid being exposed to the outside world and attracting predators."

The panda-man with black-rimmed glasses said, "But the rocket-bone fish is the complete opposite."

It pointed with its thick claws at the outstretched bodies of the bone fish: "They spread out all their bones as much as possible, with more of their bodies facing outwards."

Zhou Yi noticed it too.

Rocketfish do indeed resemble small white bone pyramids, hollow inside with flat, outstretched bones, maximizing their surface area.

"These bones are arranged neatly. What do they look like to you?"

"pipeline?"

"Yes, it's a pipe!"

Wei Ming nodded, leaning on his cane, and said, "Their bones are like pipes, through which the death ray flows. This structural change allows the death ray to circulate within the bones and accumulate energy. Most importantly, there's something inside that helps them."

“Look at this.” The panda pointed to the side, where there was a vertical device that looked like an old-fashioned pull-cord shutter camera.

There's a large camera lens pointing directly at the rocket-bone fish in front of it.

Zhou Yi leaned closer to take a look.

The camera has a certain perspective effect, and you can see tiny points of light swimming and moving inside the skeleton of the bony fish.

"This is... a Light-Absorbing Monster?"

"Mr. Zhou understood it immediately."

The panda grinned and said, "It's just about absorbing monsters with light."

"Light absorbers are attracted to death rays and will attach themselves to some light nano species. They can quickly absorb the energy of death rays. However, their capacity is limited, and they will spit it out after inhaling it."

"However, the Rocket Bone Fish took advantage of this. They absorbed enough death light into their bodies to attract light suckers, and then the light suckers concentrated and spat out energy in the opposite direction, thus creating the motion of flight. But during the compression process, the light suckers would die and disappear, returning to nature."

It gestured with its wide claws: "Simply put, the light absorbers are the real fuel for the rocket bone fish to fly. That's why they have a short flight time and need to constantly absorb light absorbers from the outside world into their bodies, just like a planktonic heart needs to be filled with sugar and oil."

"Of course, the whole process is much easier in satellite orbit. Because it's closer to the sun there, there are more light-absorbing monsters, which are a pure energy life form."

Zhou Yi nodded in agreement: "I see. But I haven't heard the rocket-bone fish mention this. They all believe that they can fly..."

"That's only natural."

The panda man chuckled and said, "Just like humans can walk and run, it seems like a natural thing. But in reality, it's the result of the combined action of nerves, muscles, bones, and blood. It's normal that you don't even understand the specific mechanisms yourself."

"The longevity of our Pandaren race is something we ourselves don't understand to this day."

Zhou Yi then thought, "In other words, the key to the Rocket Bone Fish's long-distance flight is to attract monsters with light. As long as the number that can be carried is increased, the flight range can be improved."

That's how it is in theory.

Zhou Yi couldn't help but think of a certain device.

He purchased a device called the "Light Monster Collector" from the All Things Exhibition. It came from a burly-looking sorcerer named Ye Si.

This thing is specifically designed to attract light and draw out monsters.

Zhou Yi suggested that such equipment could be installed on the rocket-shaped fish to improve its endurance, so that the rocket-shaped fish could truly swim freely in satellite orbit.

"I think it's worth a try; it's theoretically feasible! It's like installing a super light-absorbing accumulator battery."

Wei Ming eagerly replied, "How about I try to install it later? What do you think?"

"That's hard work."

Having professionals help with the modifications will save you a lot of trouble.

"There's one more thing, about the subterranean bone fish."

At this moment, Wei Ming's smile faded: "The two living samples you provided are both of grade B strength, and they have a thick layer of minerals as filler between their bones."

“Subterranean bony fish are very strong. Their structure is fixed and hard, like stone, and they are only suitable for the flowing, viscous mantle. In the Dead Sea, they would be heavy and clumsy and have difficulty moving.”

"Aside from the differences in physical structure, they also have a special radiation source inside their bodies. We used a special micro-perforation technique to enter the interior and saw with an endoscope that the radiation source carries high temperature and pressure and has an extremely high density. It should be the core of the energy circulation system of the subterranean bone fish."

"But strangely, these two subterranean bone fish have almost no intelligence. They do not use unfamiliar tools, and despite having very strong bodies, they remain motionless for long periods of time."

"This is counterintuitive. We usually think that the higher the strength of life, the higher the level of intelligence."

"The fatal flaw of bony fish is that their skeletal structure wears down continuously, making it impossible for them to remember, accumulate experience, and pass on knowledge. However, subterranean bony fish do not have this physiological weakness, but they still exhibit a primitive lifestyle."

Wei Ming adjusted his black-rimmed glasses and said slowly, "Judging from this fact, the difficulty in developing intelligence in bone fish is not only due to their physical fragility, but also seems to be closely related to their living environment. To date, your company is the only company in the world that has successfully bred a bone fish that has developed intelligence."

“They need someone to guide them, teach them to use tools, and participate in the labor and division of labor in the social order so that they can learn to think. Otherwise, they will be like the subterranean bone fish, which are strong enough that they can survive without thinking.”

"This may be the biggest difference between bone fish and bone people. Bone people are born with sociality and group inertia. Bone fish, on the other hand, lack this, so they can only be modified and cultivated later."

Zhou Yi was both amused and exasperated.

Common bony fish are too fragile. They record how they collect food and avoid danger every day, but then forget these skills as the natural environment wears them down.

Deep-sea bony fish are strong enough, but they can live in the mantle without using their brains, so they have no need for this kind of thing.

So it got stuck there.

……

a few days later.

Zhou Yi, who was half asleep, was suddenly woken up by the cat god.

"Chairman, Quickfoot and Big Mouth are back!"

"They said they saw a giant bony fish, and it was the giant bony fish that took them away!"

Zhou Yi sat up abruptly, immediately becoming alert and energetic.

(End of this chapter)