Jade City would continue to expand, with new residences gradually rising by the seaside until a total of twelve tall buildings were fully inhabited.

Zhou Yi had first thought of using these houses to attract talent.

In his era, many cities had employed this strategy, creating talent apartments to provide free housing for the talent brought in, or even gifting them the entire house after they completed a certain period of service.

Jade City had water and heating, spacious and bright rooms, and even came with C-level strength door security, which would have been considered high-end housing in the Wasteland Era.

The only disadvantage was the lack of surrounding amenities.

The residential area was adjacent to the Dead Sea, with the nearest Chicken Head Town almost 30 kilometers away, and there were no shops or restaurants nearby, so residents would have to bring everything they needed.

However, a statement from Jade City completely changed this policy.

"Commissioner, Building 2 is a brand-new structure, urgently in need of occupants. The higher the occupancy rate, the better."

"Now I have realized that the occupants are of tremendous significance to myself. My body structure is closed, and it's difficult to grow through recognition and judgment of the external environment. I only get updates when interacting with you, and mostly I need occupants to help me further improve."

"All dialogue and actions within me provide vital support for my improvement, even breaking through existing structures to reach a higher level of physical existence."

That was when Zhou Yi understood that after the formation of architectural life consciousness, it could continue to grow and evolve through coexistence with human inhabitants.

Just like the reason for their birth, the residents within the architectural life were like the red blood cells in metabolism, motivating their otherwise plant-cell-like fixed consciousness to move, to build up and increase capacity.

The activities of the residents—especially continuous movement—were the nourishment that promoted the growth of Jade City.

Jade City said, "This original body cannot easily modify its existing functions, this is the consciousness structure left by the earliest residents, and whether it's pricing or occupants, it has to be based on the original rules."

"Building 2 is different, it is a brand-new structure expanded based on resources provided by you, the commissioner, and all rules are yet to be defined. Whether it's security access, the identity of the residents, or the price of housing, amenities required, new standards can be established…"

Although Jade City's expression was still awkward and stiff, Zhou Yi grasped the key points.

Building A's admin privileges were locked.

Building 2, however, was a brand-new program, and as an administrator, he could even open it up to the public with no limits, giving him a vast amount of operational flexibility.

So, Zhou Yi decisively changed the "Talent Attraction Plan" to a "Jade City Trial Living Promotion."

All residents would be the catalyst for Jade City's evolution!

Therefore, he first let inhabitants of Mao Valley Town move into Building 2 and then had them promote the under-construction Building 3.

The Light Blockers and the accompanying anti-freeze oil purchased from Qian Su played a significant role—one medium-sized and five small Light Blockers operated simultaneously, enabling Jade City to work at full capacity to build Building 3—it was also an eleven-story high-rise.

Jade City conveyed, "The daily energy recharge rate is 8%, and it can be built within 33 days."

The advantage of a high-rise is the speed of construction.

Potential residents' hesitation and deliberation also took time, and during the long winter, one month was not long.

Zhou Yi took a page from the book of real estate developers, drawing a small pie first.

Announcing that one could move in within a week.

…

A kaleidoscope of thoughts flashed through his mind, and Zhou Yi called for Mouse King Nemo to inquire about the situation, "How is the communication with the sand rats?"

"Chairman, they are actually quite familiar with humans, just guiding the routes and giving warnings of dangers; a few simple actions are sufficient."

"As long as humans do not catch and eat them, a single sand rat can safely lead a person to Chicken Head Town and back in at most one day. To send to the farther Sand Port and return also only takes three days."

Red Kestrel repeated with its mechanical synthesized voice.

This was for Gong Zheng, who was listening nearby.

Nemo lacked a voice module, and could currently only communicate with Zhou Yi on the same mental frequency.

The drone acted as a temporary repeating device.

Zhou Yi turned his face, "How is the progress on your side?"

Gong Zheng smiled as well, "Chairman, everyone's enthusiastic to sign up for this task. I've led the residents of Mao Valley through Death Dune, letting them feel that it has become safe."

"It's not new to work together with sand rats. Scavengers used to keep sand rats to find good stuff in hidden places."

"What matters most is that moving into Building 2 is very appealing to them. The chance to live in such luxurious housing has them willing to do just about anything."

He took out a stack of papers from his bag.

"Chairman, these are a few sample drawings I made."

Zhou Yi picked one and flicked the paper in his hand.

"This one."

The paper had a simple sketch style and depicted Jade City bombarding sea monsters in the Dead Sea, driving them to scatter and flee. Below Jade City, several little figures were building a Snowman.

Two slogans were written on the side.

"Buy with confidence, renting even more cost-effective."

"Live in Jade City, unafraid day or night."

The drawing was simple and understandable; even those who couldn't read could get the message.

"Well, I'll go ask Brother Yuan Tong to draw up some more flyers with me."

The entire plan had been in preparation for nearly half a month and was finally set in motion.

That day, Zhou Yi saw residents from Mao Valley Town, with worn-out bags on their backs and faces covered in dirt, forming a line as they exited Building B in Jade City.

Inside each of their bags were dried mushrooms and flyers, accompanied by a sand rat helper. These sand rats had been painted with specific numbers for easy pairing with the residents bearing the same number.

They were divided into ten groups, with each group consisting of 12 to 20 people, all setting out together.

The Hunters patrolled, keeping the monsters of the Dead Sea at bay.

The clawed pigs retracted, the antlions were eradicated, making the journey to Chicken Head Town from here smooth and unobstructed.

Relying on the vast underground intelligence network of the locals, the sand rats could secure assistance and warnings from sand rats in other regions. This was mainly to guard against raiders, adding an extra layer of safety.

This was the first time the residents of Mao Valley Town ventured out to work as a group during the day. They needed to reach Chicken Head Town before nightfall since that's when the town's residents were most active—a prime time for propaganda distribution.

The residents of Mao Valley Town, somewhat unaccustomed, some were light-sensitive, some anxious, and some looking around vigilantly. But soon, they relaxed through conversations and dreams of a new life as they hurried towards Chicken Head Town.

Meanwhile, the Red Kestrel, along with Mouse King Nemo, rushed off to Recursive City for an upgrade and renovation.

...

Sitting on the sofa, Zhou Yi suddenly felt a sense of emptiness.

Being busy meant working around the clock, yet when idle, he was at a loss of what to do.

Go out for a ride on a snowmobile?

Or hunt in the Dead Sea?

In the end, Zhou Yi decided to surf the internet.

He picked up the drone remote control and tapped his way into Recursive City's network platform, finding the "Entertainment" section amid various categories.

Not even knowing what form of entertainment electromechanical life enjoyed.

Upon opening it, a bunch of news popped up:

"S17 Winter Rally officially kicks off, our city's checkpoints running smoothly"

"MR. Beanrod releases his latest music album, debuting in the top three of the digital music bestseller list"

"Countdown to the Electromechanical Masters Tournament: 29"

...

Zhou Yi scrolled down and clicked each item.

The winter rally was divided into sea, land, and air categories, covering more than 31,100 kilometers. Participants were grouped by the weight and size of the electromechanical beings, seeming to be an evergreen sporting event.

The second item, Mr. Beanrod, reminded Zhou Yi of a pea shooter, but with a hairdo resembling beanrod braids—an apparently hot musician.

The Electromechanical Masters Tournament was what particularly intrigued Zhou Yi.

This was a combat contest for electromechanical life, including both 1v1 duels and team events, with considerable popularity.

There was also a 15-second promotional video for the event.

The video featured a robust mechanical boxer in a clash against a slender cyber samurai, exchanging rapid blows that sent sparks flying from their metallic armors.

Eventually, they broke apart with the mechanical boxer's fists engulfed in flames and the cyber samurai ascending into the air surrounded by ripples. The scene froze just as their ultimate moves were about to clash, stamped with the Electromechanical Masters Tournament logo.

One month to go until the start of the event.

Zhou Yi thought to himself.

Recursive City didn't seem so different from the cities of the past, inhabited by humans. Only now, the flesh and blood of prehistoric humans had become the electromechanical citizens of the Wasteland Era.

Compared to new humans, electromechanical beings seemed more like the successors of human civilization.

By chance, he noticed an inconspicuous little panel.

"Fundraising Help Wanted"

Below that, "Every life longs for continuation."

GoFundMe?

Zhou Yi clicked to find out more.

Indeed, there were numerous electromechanical lives that, for various reasons, had suffered damage or were on the brink of collapse. They were all citizens of Recursive City, hoping for rescue through the city's platform.

However, these residents also offered various forms of compensation, mainly by selling their labor. They were willing to sign labor service agreements for decades or even a century, with the agreements notarized and bound through city procedures.

Their fundraising goals were substantial, the least being 1,000 Light Seeds and some even reaching tens of thousands.

This led Zhou Yi to consider.

It seemed to be a way to acquire highly cost-effective employees.

With over 10,000 Light Seeds in his account, hiring a special employee shouldn't be a problem.

He immediately began to look into it.