Wasteland Development Diary

Zhou Yi sat up from his blanket and stretched.

Wearing slippers, he walked to the living room, grabbed a bottle of coconut juice from the beverage rack, and started his breakfast with a small bread.

Outside the French window, the sun had already risen.

The entire beach area was covered in white snow.

On the warm white misty sea, a fierce battle was already underway.

A large C-level creature, the 'Red-Haired Monster,' was fiercely fighting a group of D-level 'Thorn Birds'.

Zhou Yi was already used to this.

Winter was the season for battles, with free fights to watch every morning, and the variety never repeated.

The Red-Haired Monster was a long-haired giant ape, its crimson body over 5 meters tall. Its eyes were ghastly white, and it roared excitedly from its large mouth with exposed canines. It was a pure melee-type photon lifeform, with thick blood and immense strength, possessing C-level power and vitality.

Its wide and slender arms constantly swung at high speed, trying to catch the flock of birds attacking it, occasionally managing to grab one and stuff it into its mouth, its teeth covered in blood.

Zhou Yi had seen this creature in the seabed.

The Red-Haired Monster's original form was a small monkey, looking silly, with big eyes and a small mouth, liking to perch on various human buildings, always looking around with a blank expression. Most of the time, it spaced out alone.

But once disturbed and entering battle mode, its body would suddenly swell, turning into a large monster covered in red hair.

Zhou Yi was seeing the Thorn Birds it hunted for the first time.

These were photon lifeform birds that flew over the sea, their upper and lower mandibles both detachable.

When encountering a strong enemy, the Thorn Birds would deeply stab their serrated beaks into the enemy's body, keeping the wound bleeding and tearing. However, it would temporarily lose its attack power, needing some time to grow a new beak.

Currently, the Red-Haired Monster was covered in sharp beaks, bleeding continuously, but its skin was thick, and it didn't seem to be greatly affected.

Both sides were going crazy.

But today, Zhou Yi didn't have time to enjoy the morning show.

He drank the last mouthful of beverage: 'Drive them away, don't disturb everyone's sleep.'

The ammunition room bodies piled up like mountains next to Emerald City took off one by one, emitting red light in the air. With just this, the Red-Haired Monster and Thorn Birds, who were fighting fiercely, regained clarity in their eyes, turning their heads and fleeing into the depths of the Dead Sea.

The scene outside the window returned to calm.

Only snowflakes were still slowly falling.

Zhou Yi carried his bag and took the elevator downstairs. When he exited the elevator, he saw people lying haphazardly in the hallway; they were all residents of Mao Gu Town.

Initially, they slept outside, relying on Emerald City, but as the heavy snow continued, the temporary shelters built with branches were frequently crushed by the snow, plus the wind was constantly blowing, making the environment quite harsh.

So, Zhou Yi allowed them to enter Emerald City and temporarily reside in the corridors and stairwells on the first and second floors.

The indoors was warmer and safer, able to provide shelter from the wind and rain.

But now, a problem had arisen.

The problem of Mao Gu Town was solved, but many residents of the town didn't want to go back.

In Emerald City, there was no need to light a fire to keep the indoors warm and dry, there were no bugs or sand rats to disturb them, and there was water to drink without going outside. It was solid and reliable, offering everything they desired. The townspeople expressed their strong desire through Gong Zheng and A Jin, hoping to live here, no matter what.

This was all within Zhou Yi's expectations.

Having lived in modern houses with underfloor heating and running water, it was naturally difficult to return to living in caves.

Having desires and needs was a good thing.

Zhou Yi had also been considering an important question: how to utilize the labor of the residents of Mao Gu Town?

Initially, he thought of farming, but the fact proved that farming in the wasteland era was an advanced skill, and no one here understood it.

Letting them go to the Farm Machinery Brothers was just adding to the chaos.

Now, Zhou Yi's initial plan was to have these people help Nemo with his work, and the Mechanical Rodents could also teach them the craft of digging and repairing pipes.

After the townspeople mastered the basic skills, they could also give back to Nemo. After all, although the Sand Rat group had some intelligence, due to physiological structure and lifespan limitations, it was difficult for them to complete longer-term learning and accumulation.

However, Nemo also stated that there was a language barrier between humans and rats, and collaboration required a process that had to be done gradually.

The idea was good, but it couldn't be achieved in the short term.

A shadow flashed before Zhou Yi's eyes.

"Good morning, Chairman!"

Night Claw squatted on the ground, posture upright.

Zhou Yi asked it: "Where is Gong Zheng?"

"He is resting in the stairwell on the second floor."

Night Claw said: "To ensure that the town residents abide by the rules, he sleeps with the townspeople, and can also better understand their situation."

"Okay, call him over."

Soon, Gong Zheng, leaning on his crutch, hurried over.

"Chairman."

His face was tired, and he looked very sleepy. The new human employees in the company basically maintained the tradition of working at night and sleeping during the day.

"There is an important matter today that requires your opinion."

Zhou Yi handed him a bottle of Red Bull: "Drink this to get you through, go rest after you're done."

"Yes."

Under the forced stimulation of the energy drink, he recovered a little energy, and washed his face with snow, immediately becoming much more awake.

Zhou Yi led him all the way to the back of the building complex made up of ammunition room bodies, which was close to the west side, but surrounded and covered by dangerous buildings piled up from various room bodies.

The dangerous buildings slowly pulled apart to both sides, revealing a brand-new 11-story building inside.

Gong Zheng seemed to have thought of something, his face filled with joy: "Chairman, is this... Emerald City gave birth to a young Alien?"

Zhou Yi's smile froze.

He explained to him: "This is not a young Alien, but a part of Emerald City. Emerald City has not yet entered its true complete form, this is just a part of its body, and this part is currently complete."

Gong Zheng was somewhat surprised: "Emerald City is still in its growth stage, and it already has such power, it's really exciting to see the day it's fully complete."

"Take it slowly."

Zhou Yi said: "The reason I asked you to come with me today is to see Emerald City Building No. 2."

The two walked into the apartment building.

Compared to the repaired and patched-up Emerald City Building No. 1, Building No. 2 had a brighter and cleaner color—although it was the yellowish-brown color of the mud and sand itself, the brand-new building naturally had a characteristic that people liked.

The indoor water, heating, doors, windows, and other infrastructure had been completed.

The only difference was that the elevator here was an escalator, not a lift.

"This... flowing stairs?"

Gong Zheng was somewhat frightened and uncertain, not knowing how to go up.

Zhou Yi gave him a demonstration.

He directly stood on the first step at the entrance of the apartment building, and then the quicksand-like stairs slowly flowed upwards.

This was an improvement of Emerald City, because it lacked the main structure and materials of a lift, and Wuming Community was an old-fashioned community without elevators. So, such a transformation was carried out, dividing into two staircases, one for going up, one for going down, and the stairs would only flow up and down when someone stepped on them.

Gong Zheng also learned from Zhou Yi's appearance to step on the stairs, but he tightly grasped the handrail with both hands, and the slight tension and unease quickly turned into surprise and excitement.

"This is really good, really good."

"Compared to that enclosed elevator, this is more spacious and reassuring."

Zhou Yi looked at him: "Let's talk business, what do you think we should do with this place?"

This made Gong Zheng frown.

"Chairman, in my opinion, this place can be used as a super warehouse, which can store a large number of valuable materials, such as monster materials, diamond stones, and precious metals. Emerald City's access control can make this place very safe, which can greatly expand the company's storage capacity."

Zhou Yi shook his head: "That's a waste. No matter how good the house is, it can only realize its value if someone lives in it."

Gong Zheng looked puzzled.

Zhou Yi asked again: "Do you think anyone would be willing to spend the winter here if the price was very low?"

Gong Zheng's eyes suddenly widened: "Are you going to... open Building No. 2 to the public?"

"If we don't give some people a chance to move in first, then the outside world won't know how good Emerald City's residences are, and what's so good about them."

Zhou Yi said with a serious face: "So, my idea is to let the people of Mao Gu Town move in for the winter first. There are more than enough rooms for a hundred people here."

Building No. 2 has two households on each floor, a total of 22 apartments, each of which is a large 4-bedroom unit of 160 square meters. According to the dormitory-style allocation of two people per room, each household can accommodate 8 people, and a total of 176 people can be accommodated, enough to cover the entire Mao Gu Town.

They are just moving in, not owners.

Most importantly... Emerald City has a new situation, maintaining a high occupancy rate is of great significance to it, and now people must be moved in as soon as possible even if it's free.

Zhou Yi thought so in his heart, and said: "We are going to promote it outside Chicken Head Town and even Sand Port."

Gong Zheng asked: "What are you going to promote?"

"Of course, we are promoting our company's Building No. 3. Although it is only being built now, it will be completed in a week at the latest. I have already thought of the slogan—buy a house with peace of mind, renting a house is even more worry-free. You can move in this winter, first come, first served."

After thinking hard for a while, Gong Zheng finally relaxed his brows: "I understand, through this method, we can make the company's name known in the Sand Port area. As long as it is confirmed that Emerald City's residences can guarantee absolute safety, many people will be willing to come!"

Seeing that he understood, Zhou Yi was relieved: "I haven't figured out how to set the price yet. What do you think?"

"Indeed, a price that is too low is easily considered a scam, and a price that is too high will keep people away."

Gong Zheng thought for a while and said: "How about this? We can say that we are in the trial living stage, and we need a large number of various plant or crop seeds to improve the living environment, and you can use seeds to pay the rent."

Zhou Yi thought this was a good idea.

"Then I'll leave this to you."

"Yes, Chairman."

Gong Zheng suddenly looked embarrassed again: "But there are only a few people in the company, even if we all run out to shout, it's not enough at all, everyone has their own things to do. A Jin has to go around to dig for treasure, A Feng raises armor beetles, Yuan Tong is studying how to make tools with monster materials..."

"It's not for you guys to go."

Zhou Yi said with a smile: "It's for the residents of Mao Gu Town to go. They go around shouting, and you are responsible for training them, teaching them how to hand out flyers, how to shout, and how to explain. I'll tell you the core points, the key is to be simple and easy to understand, catchy, and it's best to put some rhymes together..."

The first job he arranged for the townspeople was something anyone with hands could do.

That was handing out flyers.

How can a building opening not hand out flyers?