Yuan Tong gathered his subordinates and started to push the two enhanced ships out of the snow.

Seeing that they were struggling with the effort, Zhou Yi called samurai crabs for assistance, and they easily carried the vessels from the residential area to the seaside.

Yuan Tong boarded the ship, telling the others to clear the deck and remove the snow, while he himself climbed down into the ship's hold.

After a while, he climbed out, exhaling white breath and said, "Chairman, the ship is fine. The two Light Imprints on the keel are intact, and there is still an Energy Pack, enough to take us out to sea."

Zhou Yi followed him down the ladder into the hold.

A layer of pitch-like black oil was painted on the keel at the bottom of the ship, which surprisingly had no stickiness when trod upon. On top of this black oil were white lines, whose linear structure covered the entire keel framework, creating a peculiar mathematical visual effect.

Zhou Yi noticed that the white lines were actually in grooves. Narrow channels had first been carved into the keel, then these white lines were filled in, and finally sealed with a layer of glue.

Yuan Tong pointed to the layer of black oil and explained, "Chairman, this is a Light Wall made of Light Soot, mixed with insect repellent, resin, oil, and some stone powder. Although it's the simplest form of a primary Light Wall, it's sufficient for engraving Light Imprints and ensuring stability."

"Look, this Light Spine encased in Light Amber, how neat and beautiful… Although this ship is small, its quality is not poor. The two E-grade Light Imprints 'propulsion' and 'Light Floating' are both connected through the Light Spine, one leading to the rudder and the other covering the bottom."

He pointed to the straight white lines above as he said this.

Zhou Yi, not understanding, asked, "What are Light Amber and Light Spine anyway?"

Yuan Tong looked surprised at the question and elaborated, "Light Amber is a kind of viscous material accumulated at the bottom of the Dead Sea, somewhat like clay, distributed in some special regions of the sea floor. Sea lords and cities are exploring this resource everywhere. If a mine can be found nearby, that's like sitting and earning money."

"After removing impurities, the Light Amber is mixed with a portion of metals like gold, silver, or copper in a certain ratio and then cast. This is done on engraved Light Walls to fill them in. That's called a Light Spine, which signifies the backbone of a Light Imprint."

"The Light Wall made of Light Soot, together with the Light Spine fixed onto it, forms the simplest form of a Light Imprint. The raw materials and processed goods related to Light Imprints are basically not worrisome to sell—they're needed everywhere and are strategic materials."

Zhou Yi remembered indeed seeing similar oily substances on the sea floor.

Those things were pitch-black, oozing out in strands, and sometimes they writhed like life, appearing a bit mentally contaminating. As one approached, they could even feel a buzzing in their ears, very strange.

"Ah! What you described is a high concentration of natural Light Amber vents…"

Yuan Tong widened his single eye and murmured, "High concentration Light Amber indeed causes various discomforts to life; the substance itself is a pasty deposit from Death Light. Special methods are needed to collect it, and it turns white only after purification and impurity removal."

Zhou Yi felt overjoyed inside.

In the future, he could definitely take the samurai crabs to the sea floor to mine Light Amber.

The Dead Sea really is a great place.

He took out his notebook that he carried with him and noted down the information about Light Amber.

Better a poor pen than a keen memory.

More importantly, recording it in the notebook would push him not to be lazy, and after reaching one goal, he should rush to the next progress.

Next, Yuan Tong demonstrated the specific operation of collecting Light Soot.

He used a tool resembling a cloth bag to probe into the mists of the Dead Sea, carefully dragging it and drawing clockwise circles over and over.

After about five minutes of repetitive scooping, Yuan Tong reeled in the long pole, placing the cloth bag into a wooden bucket prepared with snow on the side, and used a wooden plank to scrape the inner layer of the cloth bag.

A few tiny black particles appeared on the layer of snow in the bucket.

"This is Light Soot Sand."

Yuan Tong pointed to the particles, a smile spreading across his face: "Chairman, it may not look like much, but the price of Light Soot Sand is four times that of copper."

"To collect it, you need ships or the construction of special port structures. The requirement itself is not low, as ship operations need to be powered by Energy Packs, another expense, so the threshold is actually quite high."

"Moreover, the Dead Sea itself is very dangerous. You have to ensure that you won't be attacked by nearby Guangna Species to proceed with the collecting operation. Because collecting Light Soot Sand is an activity that requires patience and stability."

He rubbed his hands together: "The company's Jade City deters the shallow sea region of the Dead Sea, and together with the patrols of the samurai crabs, that is why I had this idea."

The prerequisite conditions were all met.

Now there was only one key issue left.

Zhou Yi said in a deep voice, "Let's talk about cost and benefit."

"Yes, Chairman."

Yuan Tong seemed to have detailed calculations ready for this matter and now spoke off the cuff: "The cost includes two parts. One is labor, which is simple. Jade City currently has no shortage of manpower. The second part is the consumption of Energy Packs."

"The Light Imprint-driven enhanced ship consumes one Energy Pack every 12 hours. According to the going rate, 10 Energy Packs are worth one Light Seed, or in other words, 100 gold. The cost is quite high."

He counted on his fingers, "If we keep two ships working in shifts, each one operating for half a day, then for a 30-day month, the cost is 60 Energy Packs, which equates to 6 Light Seeds or 600 gold."

"As for benefits, since we have worked sporadically for a few days before, we can use that as a reference."

Yuan Tong recalled, "At that time, we worked for half a day and rested for half a day. We had to allocate some people to scout the surroundings while others worked. After selling the Light Soot Sand, the daily per capita profit was around 200 mushrooms."

"With round-the-clock operation, and without having to dedicate half the manpower to guard duty, the profit would be at least twice that amount."

Zhou Yi felt this was not bad.

"Let's give it a trial then. Base the wages on your previous income: set it at a monthly salary of 6000 mushrooms."

The farming team from Chicken Head Town was considered a good job in the Sand Port area, and those people earned about 3000 mushrooms a month.

Creating new jobs for the residents of the neighborhood, enabling them to earn compensation and change their lives through labor, would also generate some revenue for the company, which would help in maintaining the long-term stability and peace of Jade City.

"However, Chairman, the most difficult issue is selling the product."

Yuan Tong scratched his head, showing a wry smile: "The collection and work procedures, many people are actually aware of. But to sell the goods, they must be transported all the way to the cities. If you sell them in small quantities, it's easy to get severely lowballed, and there are many risks along the way."

"I'll handle that."

Zhou Yi said, "First, find some residents from Mao Valley Town and teach them how to collect Light Soot. I will have Lie Hai and the samurai crabs patrol to ensure your safety."

"Good, I'll go right now."

Yuan Tong was a man of action. He first sent the ship back to shore with the samurai crab, then hurried to Building No. 2 to recruit people.

...

The sales channel for Light Soot.

The first thing Zhou Yi thought of was Recursive City.

Trading with Electromechanical Life had one advantage: they had a clear pricing standard and there was no fear of exorbitant demands.

However, it was 2000 kilometers away from Recursive City.

Transportation was a problem.

The Red Kestrel suggested, "Why not trade with nearby cities? Chuneng City is closer to this region, just 800 kilometers to the northeast."

"That place focuses on energy as the industrial core, and the prices are fair. As far as I know, they have strong freight capabilities there. Whether it's procuring raw materials or exporting processed goods, they have a well-established transportation logistics system."

Zhou Yi was delighted: "Can we make contact with Chuneng City?"

"There is no Light Stack service there, but I'll make a trip to inquire about the situation. Wait for my message."

"Wait, take some Light Seeds with you and get the service set up."

Zhou Yi transferred a payment of 500 Light Seeds to it.

"I'll be quick."

With that, the drone ascended into the sky.