Chapter 15 Agricultural Machine Brothers <TOC> Chapter 17 Are You Really Human?
Previous page password is bold portion:
Translator: SumTLMan
Copper Bull remained silent throughout.
Iron Horse and Zhou Yi were actively negotiating.
The Agricultural Machinery Brothers observed the land and climate conditions along the way. They believed that the nearby area was sandy, suitable for planting sweet potatoes and peanuts, followed by legumes for nitrogen fixation. However, if they needed them to provide seeds, it would cost extra.
Iron Horse said: “I suggest using 100 mu of land as a pilot farming area. This way, the risk is controllable, and labor won’t be wasted.”
“According to Recursion City’s market prices, the seeds for the two crops, sweet potatoes and peanuts, for the first planting would be 2 Light Seeds for sweet potatoes and 3 Light Seeds for peanuts. Subsequent replanting can extract seeds and seedlings from the first planting.”
“In addition, since we need some legumes for nitrogen fixation to enrich the soil, that would require an extra 1 Light Seed.”
“Then there’s the issue of water and fertilizer. As for water, there’s a water source not far away. We can divert water by positioning the farming area near the water source. Since the construction distance is short, there will be no additional charge.”
“But fertilizer is indispensable. You need to provide a minimum base amount of fertilizer. Without sufficient fertilizer, the yield will be lower than your worst expectations.”
“Lastly, regarding farmland security, no highly destructive dangerous creatures have been found nearby; it’s within controllable range. We brothers won’t charge extra for this.”
Meanwhile, an electronic spreadsheet popped up on the remote control screen.
—Recursion City Agricultural Service Pricing Standards—
It listed various services in great detail, each with corresponding detailed prices, and the items were numerous.
Zhou Yi did a brief check and found that Iron Horse’s quotation was indeed in accordance with the rules.
“Everything else is fine, but regarding fertilizer, will this manure work?”
Iron Horse drove to the side of the container warehouse. Two spherical cameras on top emitted green light, scanning the raw materials inside.
“Although it’s relatively primitive organic fertilizer, it can be used. Unfortunately, the quantity is far from enough, and the soil here is not fertile.”
After calculation, it gave a quotation: “To reclaim and deeply till 100 mu of land, dividing 50 mu each for sweet potatoes and peanuts, including legumes for nitrogen fixation, this part totals 3 Light Seeds.”
Zhou Yi was more concerned: “What if I buy fertilizer from you?”
“Are you sure?”
Iron Horse replied: “The current price of fertilizer is not cheap. The amount we can source locally is very small; over 95% of the fertilizer needs to be specially purchased and transported. For 100 mu of land, the annual cost of fertilizer is 10 Light Seeds, which is quite high.”
“I’ll take it.”
“Are you sure?”
Zhou Yi nodded: “As long as it helps the farm to take shape better. With standard-equipped fertilizer, you should be able to develop the land better, right?”
“Of course. As long as there are sufficient resources and conditions, the land will give corresponding feedback.”
Iron Horse also said: “If you are sure, I will update the supplemental agreement with Red Falcon for this transaction. You need to pay this additional expense upfront, a total of 13 Light Seeds, so we can purchase the fertilizer.”
Moments later, Red Falcon displayed the supplemental agreement to Zhou Yi via the screen, confirming the fertilizer transaction.
“Wait a moment.”
Zhou Yi entered the Dead Sea and activated hunting mode.
…
In the Dead Sea, light and shadow were still mottled, and the mist was heavy.
However, with Red Falcon’s navigation, these were not obstacles.
Since arriving here, Zhou Yi had been very restrained, only eliminating small monsters that actively attacked him.
Now it was time to make a withdrawal.
Through Red Falcon’s vision, he saw a red dot moving slowly not far away.
The lens zoomed in.
The opponent’s outline gradually became clear, it was a Bone Fish.
Its body was connected and assembled from various bones, shaped like the skeletal specimen of some large aquatic snake.
The Bone Fish was spinning its body at high speed, using its sharp skull to dig into the underground layers, throwing up a large amount of dust.
This was the habit of the Bone Fish race. They excavated underground bones and installed them on themselves to enhance their physiological functions. This way of strengthening themselves was much faster than slow, step-by-step growth.
The larger the body size, they the higher the strength of the Bone Fish. They could freely change their physiological forms, some resembled octopuses, some looked like corals, and some even turned into humanoid forms.
There were many Bone Fish at the bottom of the sea, belonging to low-level Light Absorber species, and they were old acquaintances on Zhou Yi’s hunting list.
The Warrior Crabs quietly surrounded the target and launched a swift assault, stabbing the Bone Fish with spears and harpoons, causing it to twist frantically, mud and sand flying everywhere.
Zhou Yi waited quietly.
The Bone Fish’s body was still trembling continuously, but its movements were becoming increasingly sluggish.
At this moment, Zhou Yi walked over, placed his hand on the snake-shaped fish bones, and a glow gradually emerged, eventually condensing into a small Light Seed.
He took out a small round iron tin can from his pocket. As he approached, the Light Seed was sucked in.
A layer of halo slowly moved across the top of the can, and the number “1” appeared in the ring, indicating that a Light Seed had been stored.
This was the Light Absorption Box that Zhou Yi got from the Red Falcon.
Losing the support of power, the bones also collapsed and scattered all over the place.
However, a hole was drilled in the ground, the Bone Fish had long since separated head from body, and its head had escaped without a trace.
Zhou Yi was not surprised by this.
The goal was sustainable harvesting.
In the early days of hunting Bone Fish, he chose traditional killing methods, which were indeed efficient and fast. However, the “High-Pressure Mutation Phenomenon” led to a large number of mutant Bone Fish appearing, causing him quite a bit of trouble.
After a lot of battles, confrontations, and attempts, Zhou Yi figured out a path.
Harvest, don’t kill.
When facing deadly threats, mature Bone Fish of larger size would choose to survive by severing their tails, abandoning their bodies while the core head tried to escape.
To attract and hold off enemies, the abandoned body still carried a large amount of energy, enough to extract a Light Seed. If the Light Seed was not collected quickly, this high-purity energy would dissipate back into the Dead Sea.
By letting the enemy harvest the Light Seed, the fish head, which retained self-awareness and a wealth of experience, had a chance to escape.
After repeatedly confirming this mechanism, Zhou Yi began to specifically select larger Bone Fish to harvest, allowing their heads to flee, and only obtaining Light Seeds from the bodies they discarded.
He didn’t touch the juvenile Bone Fish.
Unfortunately, Bone Fish were, after all, low-level monsters at the bottom of the Dead Sea’s food chain. Their efficiency in collecting energy was very low, and their growth rate was extremely limited.
Zhou Yi had specifically marked more than a dozen Bone Fish and found that it took at least three months for them to refill their shells after losing their bodies and to condense Light Seeds again.
Even with sustainable harvesting of Bone Fish, at most, they could be harvested four times a year. Considering that Bone Fish would flee to other places after being caught multiple times, actually harvesting twice a year was already good.
But now, in need of money, Zhou Yi acted immediately.
He was quite experienced in harvesting Bone Fish.
Three hours later.
Zhou Yi rode back to the surface and handed over the Light Absorption Box in his hand.
“Here are your salaries for the year and the additional expenses for farming. Any other issues?”
“As long as the pay is sufficient, there are no problems. We’ll handle the rest, brother.”
A mechanical claw flew out from the side of Iron Horse’s vehicle, interfacing with another larger Light Absorption Box. The number on Zhou Yi’s box reset to zero, while the Agricultural Machinery’s box changed to “+13.”
Transaction completed.
“Rest assured, brother, we will absolutely guarantee quality and quantity.”
“Copper Bull, make a trip back to get the fertilizer. I’ll go select the land and do preliminary planning.”
Copper Bull turned its head and headed north along the way it came.
Iron Horse also rumbled as it headed toward the oasis in the west.
Red Falcon lowered its altitude and hovered in front of Zhou Yi.
“Aren’t you going to take a look?”
Zhou Yi shook his head: “Even if I look, I won’t understand. I don’t know agricultural technology; going over would only add confusion. Since you’ve recognized their professionalism, let them perform on their own.”
He looked at the drone: “There’s one thing I don’t understand. With your abilities, like Iron Horse and Copper Bull, hunting low-level Light Absorber species should be easy, right? Just by hunting, you can obtain a large number of Light Seeds, and you wouldn’t need to spend so much time working. Why not just enter the Dead Sea to hunt directly?”
“Two reasons.”
“The first reason concerns instinct; mechanical and electrical lifeforms inherently have a strong order structure.”
Red Falcon replied: “According to their own functions, they do what they specialize in, create value, acquire wealth, and enhance their skills. Labor is the normal way of survival for mechanical and electrical lifeforms.”
“The order structure allows us to trust each other, cooperate mutually, reduce unnecessary internal consumption, and improve the efficiency of survival and evolution, using more ways to respond to challenges and crises. It’s also because of this underlying foundation that signing agreements with mechanical and electrical lifeforms that have city certification is highly reliable.”
“The second reason is that the Dead Sea is equally dangerous for mechanical and electrical lifeforms.”
“Long-term exposure in the Dead Sea, without isolation and protective equipment, mechanical and electrical lifeforms will also be continuously affected by dead light, producing unpredictable aberrations and chaos, ultimately leading to the collapse of order and destruction.”
Zhou Yi hissed: “You’d better not enter the Dead Sea next time.”
“Please don’t worry. My outer shell has certain isolation and protective functions. Although it’s an old model, as long as I don’t enter extremely chaotic areas, it’s still usable. If it exceeds the threshold, I will issue an alarm.”
Red Falcon explained: “I am a rescue aircraft; I need to be in various dangerous environments to search for those who can be rescued. These enhancements are modifications made according to functional needs and are standard equipment for rescue team members.”
Only then did Zhou Yi feel relieved.
Chapter 15 Agricultural Machine Brothers <TOC> Chapter 17 Are You Really Human?