Wasteland Development Diary.

Chapter 529 I want it all
Emerald City, Room 3101.

Zhou Yi sized up the two people in front of him.

Song Xian was handsome, looking to be about twenty-three or twenty-four years old, with medium-length hair parted in the middle. He wore a black jacket with shimmering embellishments on the sleeves, over which he wore a fitted white shirt, revealing his excellent broad shoulders like a male model.

"I've actually always had a question."

Zhou Yi asked Song Xian, "Aren't enhanced individuals afraid of the cold in winter?"

Song Xian was taken aback: "Of course not. Enhanced individuals only possess enhanced organs; they are still flesh and blood. Flesh and blood are afraid of both cold and heat."

"Aren't you cold wearing so little?"

"It's cold."

The other person gave a hearty laugh and stretched his shoulders: "But it looks better dressed like this. In winter, everyone is dressed thickly, but I'm dressed lightly, so I get stares wherever I go. I'm a businessman, so this helps me."

Zhou Yi asked, "What is your main job?"

Song Xian introduced himself: "Mr. Zhou, I am a buyer, a type of businessman. Have you heard of buyers?"

Zhou Yi shook his head.

The other party didn't seem surprised: "Buyers are all small business owners. Big shots like you deal with major powers and don't have access to small fry like us. We just buy and sell things to make a little money to support our families."

Zhou Yi asked with interest, "Tell me about your line of work."

"No problem at all."

Song Xian immediately said, "Some people always want to buy things that are not commonly found on the market, while others want to sell goods that are difficult to sell. That's when you need a buyer."

Zhou Yi said, "A private customization agent?"

"That's roughly the idea." The other party nodded: "Our work is divided into two types: mountain transport and water delivery."

"Going to the mountains means finding goods. We usually go to dangerous places and come into contact with high-risk clients, such as sea people, raiding groups, assassins, slave traders, rebels, drug dealers, and heretics... If it's not one of those places, we have no business or profit there."

"Delivering water is about selling goods to those who need them, which requires more connections and channels."

Song Xian explained in detail: "For safety reasons, buyers like us usually have a neutral identity to ensure that both buyers and sellers feel at ease. For example, bounty knights, sorcerers, or citizens of the Heavenly Kingdom. I was fortunate enough to obtain the identity of a Star Nexus elector, which has been of great help in doing this business."

"The advantage of being a buyer is that you have more freedom and can make a considerable profit per transaction. The disadvantage is that it depends a lot on connections and luck."

Xing Shu had already informed Hong Jun of Song Xian's detailed situation.

Song Xian participated in the Star Hub's test and managed to upload the consciousness of a gray whale, helping the Star Hub Matrix obtain gray whale data for the first time.

His abilities are beyond question.

Zhou Yi asked, "Do you know a Star Constellation voter named Ji Chang?"

"I recognize it."

Song Xian nodded: "He is a buyer like me, but his business is bigger than mine. He deals in weapons and equipment, and his transaction volume is large and he has a good reputation."

"But he's no longer a voter..."

Huh?
Zhou Yi was a little surprised: "He's dead?"

"No, he was stripped of his voter status this year and fled to the Forbidden Continent. The specific reason is unclear, but he may have crossed a red line in the Star Pivot, and it looks like he's avoiding trouble."

Song Xian said this.

Zhou Yi immediately inquired about the former king.

“Ji Chang has offended you and can no longer stay in the Star Hub system. This is also for the sake of making our cooperation more stable.”

It was because of himself.

Zhou Yi was both amused and exasperated.

He had almost forgotten about Ji Chang's matter, but it was only today, upon hearing about Song Xian's situation, that he suddenly remembered it.

It's clear that the former king gave him a lot of face and respect.

……

Zhou Yi then turned his gaze to the other person beside him.

He is the main character between the two.

Compared to the dashing and handsome Song Xian, Zhang Zhi was unremarkable in appearance, wearing an old brown leather jacket. He had deep-set eyes, tightly closed lips, and a buzz cut, giving him a taciturn and reserved look.

"Mr. Zhang."

Zhou Yi said softly, "I've long admired your name."

A hint of confusion flashed in the other person's eyes.

"The Deathmatch Arena, the Olympic Sports Center," Zhou Yi mentioned briefly. "I've spoken with them and know about your situation."

Zhang Zhi paused for a moment, then nodded, remaining silent.

"The Olympic Sports Center absorbed most of Wu Gang's fragmented consciousness; in other words, it is now Wu Gang's successor. In United City, the Olympic Sports Center no longer hosts life-or-death battles, but has begun its true function. Ordinary people can also enter and participate in running, high jump, long jump, swimming, shooting, wrestling, playing ball..."

Zhou Yi said with a smile, "Even if we don't win the championship, there is no loss. We can still have fun in the process. Just the sport itself can give the Olympic Sports Center a strong response."

"You can go and take a look when you have time."

Zhang Zhi hummed in agreement.

Zhou Yi said, "If Wu Gang could see that you have now led the mutants to establish the Free Army, he would probably be very pleased."

"..."

The other party didn't respond much. Zhou Yi didn't mind: "I invited you here because I wanted to see what kind of person the rumors are. You should go back to the hospital, get some rest, and recover soon."

Song Xian looked at Zhang Zhi, seemingly waiting for his decision.

Zhang Zhi then looked at Zhou Yi: "Mr. Zhou is very different from the rumors circulating outside."

"What do people outside say about me? They think I'm a sabotager of machinery and electrical systems, an incomprehensible madman?"

Zhou Yi joked.

Zhang Zhi said, "In many circles, people think you are an absolutely rational ruler who prioritizes efficiency and will not waste time on things that do not yield results."

"To build the Electric Cat system and the floating heart, break the monopoly of the light imprinting technology, and thus shake the foundation of the electromechanical city's technological hegemony."

"We will vigorously promote the sale of consumer goods to gain the prestige and trust of ordinary people in various towns and cities, so as to obtain a continuous stream of fresh blood from all over the country and make the towns and cities inseparable from the company system through trade invasion."

"The purpose of supporting the Electromechanical Knights and destroying the Electromechanical City is to incite internal conflicts within the Electromechanical City, thereby using force to suppress the Legal Front and force it to surrender and change in the direction you need."

"..."

Zhou Yi listened and muttered to himself.

Dude, you're not Zhuge Liang, who can plan everything perfectly.

You only see the company's glory, but you don't see the embarrassing setbacks it faces. Forget everything else, the reason I recently fled to the moon for a month was because I was afraid the White King would cause the disappearance of the Transmuters, attracting the attention of the Celestials.

Zhou Yi looked at the other person: "Then what do you think are the differences between me in real life and the rumors?"

"Other uncertainties."

Zhang Zhi spoke slowly: "But you think people are very important."

"of course."

Zhou Yi said, "People are the most important thing."

Zhang Zhi further asked, "Even if these people have no talent, or are even old, weak, sick, or disabled, does it matter?"

"important."

Zhou Yi said, "In fact, I don't think anyone is completely without talent. People can learn and improve, and what our company does is provide such an environment."

"The simplest example is that the Celestials can create mutants and turn ordinary people into enhanced beings. This is the power that a superior environment can provide."

The other party countered, "But mutants also have to pay a price."

"Development and change both come with risks and costs."

Zhou Yi said softly, "We can't be sure whether a change will bring better or worse, but if we don't change, we can't get out of the status quo."

Zhang Zhi frowned, as if he had caught something: "Wasteland development companies also face enormous pressure?"

"Of course."

"But as far as I know, the Kingdom of Heaven has been trying to win over your company, the Legal Front has already surrendered, Star Hub is your core partner, the Forbidden Continent has a representative for Wasteland Company, and the Old King also has connections with you... Governors and territorial sea lords from all sides want to join the Development Alliance. You have at least seven Light Core Bodies in charge, possess wealth that rivals that of a nation, enjoy extremely high public support, and are very strong in technology, finance, military, and industry."

"Who in this world can threaten you?"

Zhou Yi smiled without saying a word, and instead asked, "Who is the Free Army's enemy? Heaven?"

"No."

Zhang Zhi also spoke frankly: "The Heavenly Kingdom's attitude towards us has long since changed. Initially, they were indeed suppressing and annihilating the Free Army everywhere. But as our scale has grown, the Heavenly Kingdom has also changed its approach."

“Detaining mutants is very costly, but releasing or killing them is against existing laws and carries various risks. So they deliberately loosen their control, giving mutants the opportunity to escape, and then symbolically expel and besiege us, which is really just driving us out of the kingdom.”

"The mutants that the Free Army can gather and recruit are mostly E-level. These mutants have been repeatedly proven in experiments to be difficult to improve further. In other words, there are no gifted mutants among them."

Zhou Yi raised an eyebrow upon hearing this: "You've reached an agreement with Heaven?"

"It should be described as tacit understanding."

Zhang Zhi frankly stated, "The Free Army took away the mutants that Heaven didn't need—who were also the most numerous—and put them under their management. As long as they didn't commit crimes on Heaven's soil, they didn't care what they did outside."

"Sometimes, the Free Army will also take on some of the Heavenly Kingdom's missions, since they are quite generous with the money."

"Kingdom of Heaven is not the enemy of the Free Army. We have cooperated and compromised within the space where we can operate. The key is those behind Kingdom of Heaven who are still creating mutants... the agents of Heaven."

Zhang Zhi bluntly stated: "They are the true enemies of the Free Army."

"The ultimate goal of the Freemasons is to defeat the Celestial Beings. Only then can we mutants achieve independence and freedom."

Zhou Yi was a little surprised: "Do you think you have a chance of winning?"

Zhang Zhi said calmly, "My close friend once said that taking the initiative might fail, but the only way for a small ant to defeat a giant elephant is to launch an attack."

“He once led from the front and was targeted by the agent, which led to his death, but he left behind a spark. Many of the core members of the Free Army today are those who stayed behind from that time.”

“We have broken through the Heavenly Kingdom’s blockade. Next, it is up to the Heavenly beings to act on our behalf.”

Zhou Yi smiled slightly upon hearing this: "To be honest, our company and the agency don't get along very well. How about we cooperate?"

Zhang Zhi was taken aback: "You also want to take action against the proxy? Who is it?"

"Not any one of them."

Zhou Yi clenched his fist: "I want all seven of them."

Zhang Zhi and Song Xian were dumbfounded.

(End of this chapter)