Wasteland Development Diary

After waiting nearly half an hour in the water plant area, Bai Biao suddenly looked up at the sky: "Lord Arms Master has arrived."

A figure appeared in the air.

The visitor was wearing a brown robe, with long hair tied behind his head.

The Arms Master looked to be in his early thirties, with heavy dark circles under his eyes and a shifty gaze, giving off a feeling of chronic sleep deprivation or kidney deficiency.

"Yo, nice to meet you."

After landing, he was unpretentious, his voice friendly: "Zhou Yi, hello."

"Greetings, Senior Arms Master."

Zhou Yi nodded politely.

"Senior? That's a rather classic term."

The Arms Master laughed: "I thought you might have some trouble dealing with the Golden Elephant, but it seems the problem has already been resolved."

He glanced around.

"The Golden Elephant is dead... the Golden Elephant Banner is born... can you collect this thing?"

The Arms Master looked at the golden pen on Zhou Yi's chest, saying with interest, "The fusion of an atmospheric lifeform and the Golden Elephant Banner? I've never heard of such a situation... no, it's not that simple."

His gaze focused.

Zhou Yi felt as if his whole body had been scanned by some kind of ray.

"So that's how it is. The Golden Elephant passed its genetic seed to your atmospheric lifeform; it's truly a once-in-a-century situation. With alchemy, are you going to evolve your atmospheric lifeform into a light-core entity?"

The Arms Master said casually.

"Senior, I heard that the material plane has been sealed off by the Celestials."

Zhou Yi also took the opportunity to ask, "If a new light-core entity is born, I'm afraid it will be noticed by the Celestials immediately, right?"

"That was the case many years ago. But now the situation has stabilized for many years, and they no longer care about these small matters, so it's fine. The ones who pay attention to light-core entities are mostly the Heavenly Kingdom and the Mechanical City."

The Arms Master looked at Zhou Yi: "You want to keep the Golden Elephant Banner for a long time?"

"That's the plan."

"That's fine too. What you get is yours."

The Arms Master warned: "But you must remember, if one day the Golden Elephant Banner evolves into a Golden Branch, if you can't control it, let it go. Don't be greedy for power and become the King of Gold; the King of Gold only faces madness and destruction."

"Understood."

Zhou Yi said solemnly: "Thank you for the reminder."

These were all experiences from the older generation.

Zhou Yi raised another question: "Senior Arms Master, I would like to ask, the Golden Branch at this stage will grow into a Golden Tree, so what will it eventually evolve into?"

"You're very curious; young people are indeed energetic."

The Arms Master yawned: "After the Golden Branch becomes a Golden Tree, it will seize all the gold in this world, then similar metals, and eventually gradually transform the entire world into a Golden Kingdom, which is a material world entirely composed of gold."

"Theoretically, that's how it is, but due to the Current—that is, the Dead Sea—it's actually impossible. Its power level is higher than the Golden Tree, making it impossible for the Golden Tree to complete the transformation. This monster has to be dealt with by natural disasters."

"So you don't have to worry about it destroying the world; this world is not as fragile as it seems. Only we living beings are fragile."

Zhou Yi felt more confident.

The Arms Master was more concerned about the Xin Du Water Plant.

After listening to the specific situation of the water plant, he said: "Wait for me for a moment."

The Arms Master's figure kept appearing and disappearing.

Each time he appeared, he was carrying huge pieces of equipment, which he installed and connected to various areas of the Xin Du Water Plant.

The ground also inexplicably sank, forming two brand new, long, narrow clear water pools.

The entire renovation and repair took less than 3 minutes.

The equipment hummed to life.

Ten minutes later, the sound of rushing water came from the water plant, and the pipes leading in all directions were finally no longer dry.

Bai Biao clapped happily and said: "Great, there's water! There's water!"

The Arms Master nodded: "Everyone has their specialty. Fortunately, I confirmed these repairs and equipment, otherwise the water plant would probably have been unable to operate."

"Here, water is a very crucial resource. Without water, many things cannot be done."

He turned his gaze to Zhou Yi: "Take off your prosthetic limb; let me take a look."

Zhou Yi did as he was told.

The Arms Master examined the cross-section of the severed arm: "It is indeed material denaturation caused by a light-core entity."

"The characteristic of light-core entities is the ability to convert matter into energy."

"Their power can change the properties of matter, modifying and converging it to their own elements on a microscopic level."

"This elemental blockade caused by material denaturation can only be unlocked by the power of a light-core entity."

He said it simply and understandably.

Zhou Yi immediately understood: "But the light-core entity element you mentioned… is it the same thing as the elements fused with the Lord of the Territorial Waters and the Sky Walker?"

"Of course."

The Arms Master said: "The only substance that a light-core entity can directly convert into energy is the element."

"Like Golden Elephants, their element is gold; the more gold they have, the stronger they are."

He smiled and said: "It's just that there are gifted lives like Golden Elephants that are born with fused elements, which can be found in nature, and will naturally grow into light-core entities. But for us humans, we have to rely on hard work and great luck."

Zhou Yi was a little overwhelmed.

His element is a mobile phone... how is he supposed to handle that?

Does he really have to recreate the information industry and society needed for mobile phones?

That's a bit too difficult.

"The key to a light-core entity is to create a core with the element."

The Arms Master opened his left palm.

Grains of sand appeared in his palm.

These sands were adsorbed from all directions, eventually condensing into a crystal clear, multifaceted crystal.

"This is the light core."

The more Zhou Yi looked at it, the more familiar it seemed.

This… isn't it the gem in the Celestial's body?

Are Celestials composed of individual light-core entities?

Recalling the massive machine composed of countless gems, Zhou Yi finally had a direct understanding of the Celestials' strength.

A light core is just an ordinary cell in the Celestial's body.

"Having a light core means being a light-core entity."

The Arms Master raised his finger, and the light core rotated around his finger: "Light cores all have such crystal faces, which act on the element to transform power into various forms."

"For example."

He pointed a finger.

Instantly, a huge lens was constructed in front, and the light emitted from the light core passed through the lens and shot into the sky, stretching out a clear, straight black light track in the air.

The light spot exploded in the clouds high in the sky, blasting out shockwaves that spread in all directions.

"Another example."

The Arms Master shook his finger.

The light core rotated again, aiming another crystal face at the front, this time completely absorbing the external light, causing the visibility around to drop sharply.

Zhou Yi understood: "This is… using the power of the crystal core to refract and change the movement of matter."

"Smart."

The Arms Master praised: "I think you're most interested in how to form a light core."

"Just do what you did before, continue to expand your consciousness capacity, and collect the element you choose."

"To turn the consciousness body into an extension of the element, matter and consciousness are two sides of the same coin. Allocate a portion of the consciousness key to the element in the memory core; you need to operate this process yourself to understand it."

"Different elements have different conditions for forming a light core. Some elements are strong, making it difficult to convert into energy, but their intensity is high; some elements are numerous, making conversion easy, but they require more quantity to accumulate…"

"In specific situations, you will know what to do when you embark on this path."

Zhou Yi summarized.

To create a light core, two things are needed.

The first is to deeply integrate the element and the consciousness key.

The second is to learn how to convert elemental matter into energy.

In this process, the light core will condense.

"Unfortunately, I can't cure your hand."

"I can remove its current elemental blockade, but it will merge with my element, which doesn't solve the fundamental problem."

The Arms Master suddenly laughed: "When you step into the light-core entity, this problem will be easily solved."

"On the bright side, your old injury is actually a sample of a light-core entity; you can use it to verify your path to becoming a light-core entity."

"When you can eliminate the material denaturation at the severed arm, it means you are already a light-core entity."

Zhou Yi nodded: "Thank you for your guidance; I understand."

"You repaired the water plant; let me pay you with something else."

The Arms Master raised his right hand, and a silver double-barreled shotgun appeared in his hand.

"This is the 【Demon Hunter】, grade A. Although its absolute strength is not high, its functionality is good. The stronger the wielder, the stronger it becomes."

The Arms Master rotated the shotgun with one hand, making a click, and ejected a shell.

"Its effective range is 100 meters, not far, but it comes with aiming, so you don't have to worry about not being able to hit."

"The equipped 【Sealing Bullet】 is a unique bullet that can remotely deploy the 【Forbidden Altar】 of the Demon Hunter, which can even be effective against light-core entities, but the duration is relatively short."

"This gun has run away from home several times before. Although I created it, it has always been rebellious and doesn't seem to like me very much."

"I'm giving it to you."

The Arms Master threw the shotgun over.

Zhou Yi caught it steadily.

The Demon Hunter was not light and felt cold to the touch. It actually moved on its own, hovering directly beside Zhou Yi and aiming its muzzle around.

"She's really a daughter who doesn't stay home... she likes you and has already taken on the responsibility of being your weapon."

The Arms Master shook his head and laughed: "It seems that your break-in period should be easy. Take good care of it."

"I will."

Zhou Yi said: "That... the ammunition?"

"I'll give you a hundred rounds of ammunition, but you'll have to buy more; you understand, right?" The Arms Master said.

"Understood, it should be."

Zhou Yi thought for a moment: "How much does the 【Sealing Bullet】 cost?"

"I'll give you a discount: 1 Light Seed per bullet."

Zhou Yi felt relieved.

The price was okay.

"Then I'll take 4,000 rounds."

"That's easy to say. Bai Biao, you take Zhou Yi to get the ammunition box later."

"Yes, sir."

Zhou Yi added: "That, Senior Arms Master... will the Demon Hunter still run away from home?"

"There's a possibility; if one day she doesn't like you anymore, she might run away."

The Arms Master covered his mouth and yawned: "What, are you worried?"

Zhou Yi said: "I was thinking, is there anything she likes, so we can maintain our relationship and make her more fond of me."

"Let me think."

The Arms Master stroked his chin: "She likes shooting, which is a daily activity for weapons. I really don't know anything else. She doesn't pay much attention to me; you have to figure that out yourself."

"Okay."

"Oh? Another Golden Elephant has died over there; deaths have been a bit frequent recently... I have to go collect the Golden Elephant Banner."

He disappeared from the spot.

Zhou Yi reached out and grasped the Demon Hunter.

Energy input, consciousness synchronization activated.

"Demon Hunter, can you hear my voice?"

"I hear you."

A female voice in her twenties came from his mind.

"Finally rid of that old geezer."

"…"

Zhou Yi found it strange: "Do you hate the Arms Master that much?"

"If someone always thinks he's always right and you're always wrong, and then always corrects you, saying this isn't right and that isn't right, would you like such an old geezer?"

"Speaking of which, indeed…"

According to the Demon Hunter, the Arms Master was extremely demanding in the field of weapons.

He stipulated that the Demon Hunter could only use Sealing Bullets, and after firing, she had to wait 1 second before firing the next one, and each shot had to hit the position of the previous one.

If there was any mistake, the Demon Hunter would lose her qualification to fight and be placed in the armory for cold storage, euphemistically called being in the reserves, but in reality, she was being banished.

In the field of weapons, he was a true cold and strict father.

The Demon Hunter asked: "You wouldn't be like that too, would you?"

Zhou Yi said: "No, I'm not so particular. You can do whatever you want; just remember to shoot when you need to."

"Rest assured, you can trust my professionalism."

After saying that, the silver shotgun suddenly stretched and expanded, turning into a slender woman.

She was about 1.7 meters tall, with short silver hair, wearing tight black clothes, and looked at Zhou Yi with a defiant look: "As long as you provide enough bullets, I will fire unlimitedly at your enemies."

Zhou Yi was shocked: "You are... a Weapon Girl?"

"What's so strange about that."

The Demon Hunter said matter-of-factly: "I'm not the first Weapon Girl to serve abroad. In short, you are my master now, and I will fulfill all the responsibilities of a weapon, attacking all the targets you designate and protecting your safety."

She stared hard at Zhou Yi: "However, you must promise me to be your primary weapon and never put me in cold storage or idle me; that's my bottom line."

This was a request for the starting position.

Zhou Yi nodded immediately: "No problem."

The Arms Master said earlier that daughters don't stay home.

I thought it was a figure of speech, but I didn't expect it to be the real deal.