The reconciliation between Wasteland Developnt Company and Legal Front, which had been on the brink of war, caused quite a stir in both the East and the West.
Envoys from all directions flocked to Sand Port, trying every possible ans to gather intelligence and uncover the secrets behind the cooperation. The official statent only ntioned that the two sides were deeply cooperating on a significant technological project.
It was a matter of great interest what kind of benefits brought the two warring sides to a sudden handshake.
However, the visitors were only able to contact the Minister of External Trade, Red Kestrel.
The most frequent response from him was: "No comnt."
The Chairman himself refused to see any guests, residing quietly in the High Castle.
Many tried using various advanced surveillance devices to peek at Chairman Zhou's activities, hoping to find so clues from his reclusive lifestyle.
They discovered, however, that besides living with his assistant Yuan Xiao, Liang Zi from the Outer Sea also moved in, and occasionally, glimpses of two Angel of Death figures could be seen.
Rumors quickly spread, claiming Zhou Yi had a peculiar fondness for the Angel of Death, especially a preference for sister pairs, leading to all sorts of gossip.
So even suggested that the young Angel of Death, Sun Hao, was actually Zhou Yi's illegitimate son, but to avoid suspicion, he had him take on Sun Chonglai's surna.
There were tales saying that Zhou Yi had abandoned Yuan Xiao many years ago, but after his success, he sought to make ands...
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yi was furious: "Anyone who spreads more of such slander or gossip will be sent to chanical City for hard labor!"
These peeping individuals were soon arrested and expelled.
One night, Zhou Yi arrived in Sand Port City on Hei Fu, stopping at the rooftop of the sea lord's mansion.
"Mr. Zhou, what brings you here?"
The ever-smiling Lord Sand Sea welcod him warmly.
Zhou Yi said, "I ca to check the progress of the Electric Soul developnt."
The smile on the Lord's face turned bitter.
"Mr. Zhou, this... well..."
It seed the progress was not smooth.
Lord Sand Sea appeared significantly thinner than before. "Please, Mr. Zhou, co with ."
Zhou Yi followed him into the basent, walking a tunnel about seven or eight hundred ters long, and then climbed a set of stairs.
He observed his surroundings: "This is a secret passage connecting to the Dead Sea?"
"Yes, Mr. Zhou. During Duke Baili's threat, I created several such passages in different directions for ergency evacuation."
So saying, Lord Sand Sea led the way to the end of the staircase.
Here, above the Dead Sea, stood a high platform, with a massive circular electric ring, about ten ters in diater, suspended atop.
Zhou Yi sensed a familiar wave of consciousness.
It was Shali Huo.
It had grown significantly stronger than before. Though not yet a Light Core Body, its energy density and intensity far exceeded that of ordinary Skywalkers, creating visible vortices around it.
Lord Sand Sea spoke: "Mr. Zhou, since the discovery of the Electric Soul, I've cultivated a total of 13 Electric Souls. But now, only 3 remain."
"Electric Souls possess a power characteristic stronger than electric cats but have an extre hunger for energy. They have a very strong territorial instinct. If two Electric Souls exist in a large area, they will engage in deep conflicts and rgers. Electrical engineers call it an electromagnetic domain feature..."
He scratched his head with a paw: "It's like forging two molten iron clumps; when close, they rge into one. This rging characteristic ans they must be kept far apart, one per region; otherwise, they approach and rge."
"rged Electric Souls are stronger but also more unstable, with increased energy consumption."
Lord Sand Sea pointed to the quiet Electric Soul beside him: "Shali Huo rged with Shali Jian and Shali He to beco this large. But now, it has beco very silent, nearly motionless, and unwilling to communicate through the Electric Cat Transcoder."
Zhou Yi reached out to touch Shali Huo.
Their consciousnesses synchronized.
"Shali Huo, are you in trouble?"
A sluggish voice ca from the arc: "Chairman, I... I don't know what to say, I'm just very hungry, very hungry, my mind is blank, just hungry."
Zhou Yi took out the Guangna Box and allocated 10,000 Light Seeds.
The Electric Soul absorbed them all.
It was simply too hungry to speak.
Zhou Yi fed it nearly 400,000 Light Seeds before Shali Huo regained vitality.
The once almost static ringlike structure began to change, its arcs spreading out, forming a peculiar silver wreath, revolving around Zhou Yi.
"Thank you, Chairman! I feel much better now!"
Shali Huo's voice beca bright and strong again.
Zhou Yi turned to the sea lord: "Have you been feeding it energy at all?"
"Yes, Mr. Zhou, I swear to the Heavenly People. It just felt like no matter how much I fed, be it electricity or Light Seeds... it always seed to be eating without giving any feedback."
Lord Sand Sea cautiously said: "So I thought, maybe it's not just about the energy."
Zhou Yi chided: "More like you were too stingy."
"... ..." Lord Sand Sea rubbed his paws with a bitter smile: "Mr. Zhou, you know the inco of Sand Port. It used to be just about 7,000 Light Seeds per year. Things only got better after partnering with the company these past two years."
"With the company's consumption boost, Sand Port City's annual revenue reached 30,000 Light Seeds. Though I have so savings and a share of the post-war division, this kind of consumption testing is unsustainable..."
Zhou Yi thought for a mont.
He too had been tight on funds, stretching every dollar.
But Sand Port City's poverty surprised him.
After careful consideration, Zhou Yi said to the sea lord: "Cultivating Electric Souls for the company and the Alliance is a great contribution. I'll subsidize you 100,000 Light Seeds for each Electric Soul."
He handed over the funds on the spot from the Guangna Box.
The sea lord, resembling a giant sea lion, lit up but hesitantly declined: "Working for Mr. Zhou is my honor! I can't take this money; it's mostly due to my personal abilities..."
"Paynts for work are justified."
Zhou Yi insisted: "We don't do empty formalities here."
"Indeed. You are right."
Lord Sand Sea finally accepted.
Zhou Yi asked, "Where are the other Electric Souls?"
"They're in the Cat House."
The sea lord pocketed the Guangna Box: "To prevent issues, I placed them in special cat houses, surrounded by Light Blockers to shield them from sensing each other, keeping them relatively stable and restful."
On the other side, in separate rooms, were large cat houses.
Through the transparent glass, Zhou Yi saw the Electric Souls, like serpentine lightning, almost stationary, seemingly asleep.
These Electric Souls were nad Shali i and Shali Xiao.
Lord Sand Sea explained: "Chairman, Shali i has a good personality, outgoing and cheerful, but loves to play with its arcs, seeking symtrical and perfect forms. So I called it Shali i."
"Shali Xiao is more aggressive, a natural-born warrior, fond of combat. Its desire to rge and grow stronger is the strongest, causing the most headaches."
Lord Sand Sea seed hesitant.
Zhou Yi said, "Out with it. If there's a problem, we'll solve it together."
"Yes, you are right."
Lord Sand Sea took a deep breath: "Originally, there were 4 Electric Souls, including Shali Qing. Shali Qing was the strongest, in the best condition, having rged with 5 others."
"But during a test activity in the Dead Sea, it flew off and went missing."
"It flew away?"
Zhou Yi frowned: "You an, to the Outer Sea?"
"No."
Lord Sand Sea said solemnly: "According to satellite data, Shali Qing not only left the Outer Sea but continued into space... It escaped."
Zhou Yi imdiately contacted the Star Axis for image records.
The footage showed a ring-like Electric Soul breaking through the atmosphere, ascending to space.
Its rings nested within rings, resembling the ring-toss toy from Zhou Yi's childhood.
These rings, like the Electric Soul's tail, extended from its body, forming a more three-dinsional electric cone structure.
The rings absorbed energy, creating a form with a top intake and a tail output, propelling it into space like an electric cot.
Lacking conductive materials in the upper atmosphere, it couldn't maintain high speed or reach orbital velocity, ultimately falling back into the Outer Sea, with no further updates.
Zhou Yi asked Shali Huo: "Do you like space?"
"Chairman, it's the proximity to energy." Shali Huo replied: "Higher energy density attracts us. The higher the energy, the more active and comfortable we are."
"In the sky, we sense more energy, instinctively wanting to fly up, though I can control it."
Zhou Yi pondered.
The mutated Electric Cat form of Electric Souls' characteristics beca clearer.
They possessed stickiness and jet abilities.
Required large amounts of energy.
Had to be kept far apart to avoid rging and consuming each other, forming larger structures.
Instinctively attracted to high-energy areas, like the Circular Flow source, the sun.
With this in mind.
Zhou Yi said to Lord Sand Sea: "One Electric Soul is enough for Sand Port. Shali Huo will be officially listed as a company employee, continuing defense tasks, connected to Heaven and Earth Net, synchronizing information with the company and Sand Port."
"Shali i to support Shuanghe Region. It's far from the Alliance core and needs a high-intensity defense unit. They have enough resources to support an Electric Soul."
"As for Shali Xiao, the bold one, I'll have Hei Fu send it to Mars Base. Mars' energetic and violent environnt will test its adaptability."
"Keep cultivating Electric Souls, Old Sand."
"Understood, Mr. Zhou."
Lord Sand Sea breathed a sigh of relief: "With them gone, my pressure eases. I can start cultivating more without fear of another escape..."
"No worries. Cat God will communicate with them. We'll treat those who stay well and won't force any to stay unwilling," Zhou Yi assured, patting the sea lord's sturdy forearm. "No ntal stress, just stay in touch."
"Yes!"
...
With the Electric Soul issue settled.
Zhou Yi prepared for a long-desired experint.
Hei Fu, now a Light Core Body, safe to traverse space. Ti to explore other worlds.
Zhou Yi decided to start with a lower difficulty.
First, the Moon.
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