For the time being, the New Alliance’s Ecological Protection Zone was closed to the public.

While nothing here was truly secret, anyone other than shelter residents would be forcibly removed if they entered.

Public suspicion toward Slime Mold still ran high, and if an outsider got hurt, no matter who was at fault, it would be impossible to explain.

Seeing there were only four soldiers, one of Sindison’s younger guards smirked disdainfully and muttered under his breath, “Use force? You and what army?”

The soldier wasn’t angered by the taunt, he just gave the guard a faintly amused look. “Are you serious?”

The survivors in the Rivervalley Province were known for their rough temperaments, and Clearspring City even more so. This kind of loudmouth who thought a gun on his back made him invincible? The soldier had seen plenty.

The guard frowned, just about to spit back something nasty, when his boss yanked him by the arm and shot him a furious glare.

Sindison could’ve slapped the idiot right there.

He had come to make money, not bring disaster on himself!

Plastering on a grin, he turned to the four wary soldiers and spoke in an apologetic tone. “Sorry about that, officers, we’re new around here and didn’t know the rules... We’ll leave right away.”

He reached into his pocket, pulling out a few banknotes to slip the squad leader, but the man shoved them back disdainfully.

“Put your money away and leave. This is your last warning.”

“Yes, yes, of course!” Sindison nodded repeatedly, grabbed the salesman and the still-fuming guard, and hurriedly led them away from the restricted area.

The soldiers of the First Army followed them at a distance until they were completely out of the district.

At the far end of the street, where their trucks were parked, the salesman scowled and muttered bitterly, “Boss... we’re just gonna let it go like this?”

“Let it go?” Sindison narrowed his eyes slightly and let out a dry chuckle. “You think I’ll let it go that easily?”

Another guard, who had been silent until now, hesitated for a moment before lowering his voice.

“Boss... The patrols here are tight. We just got spotted the moment we arrived. Sneaking anything out of there won’t be easy.”

“Sneak?” Sindison shot him a sidelong glance, curling his lip. “Do I look like someone who needs to sneak?”

He had just thought of a brilliant idea, one that might not only force the New Alliance to spit out everything he wanted, but even allow him to bring back a few living samples for research. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Slime Mold entities that could actually perform industrial labor...

Just imagining it made his blood run hot. He could barely stop himself from rushing to put the plan in motion right then and there.

Seeing the confident glint in his boss’s eyes, the salesman immediately leaned closer and whispered eagerly, “Boss... what do you want us to do?”

Sindison smiled faintly and murmured into his ear. “There are other merchants from the Free State here for the same business as us. Find their bosses and send them my invitation. Tell them Sindison wants to buy them a drink, and discuss a matter of mutual interest.” He paused, then beckoned one of the guards over and whispered again, “Take a detour back to where we were just now. Snap a few photos. I’ll have a use for them soon.”

...

Meanwhile, as the merchants from the Bugra Free State plotted their little schemes, Chu Guang happened to be inspecting the Ecological Protection Zone.

After a full day of field testing and learning from mistakes, his players were growing increasingly skilled at commanding Little Feather’s Slime Mold sub-entities.

Especially the Lifestyle Profession players.

Determined to earn back the silver coins they had spent buying sub-entities, they were trying every idea imaginable, logging, hunting, construction work, even taking trash-sorting jobs from the industrial district.

Thanks to their efforts, this patch of forested wasteland once filled with nothing but spores and trees was beginning to show real economic potential.

What surprised Chu Guang the most, however, was the players’ wild creativity; they had started using the Slime Mold entities directly in construction.

Normally, building repairs required scaffolding and cranes before any work could begin.

Now, the Slime Mold mats covering the walls were the scaffolding, and the Creepers climbing up and down them had become the perfect brick carriers.

Not only was the labor cost practically zero, even the building materials were being reimagined.

They were using Slime Mold mats instead of cement to bind the bricks together.

When Chu Guang heard this from Little Seven, he was completely floored.

Wait... that’s a thing?!

“Using Slime Mold instead of cement... Is that even structurally sound?” he asked, staring at the high-rise that was visibly knitting itself back together before his eyes.

A cheerful voice echoed over comms.

“Yiwuu!”

Perched on Chu Guang’s shoulder, Little Seven translated happily, swinging its legs. “Little Feather says it made this binding strain using DNA recovered from the Rotten Knight Evolved Type! When spread into mats and dehydrated, it hardens like cement and is super strong. It can even repair itself!”

Self-repairing concrete?

No, it couldn’t even be considered concrete anymore.

Bio-hybrid building material?

Chu Guang vaguely recalled an ancient technique, when people built bridges, they would raise oysters under the piers to strengthen the base. The oysters grew fast, secreted natural adhesive, and glued the stones together into a solid mass. It was the so-called oyster-bed foundation method.

Inspired by his players’ ingenuity, Little Feather had essentially replicated this principle on the old skyscrapers of the Prosperity Era.

The Slime Mold mats between the bricks not only bonded as firmly as cement, they could also heal themselves when damaged!

It sounded absurdly futuristic... but under the players’ coordination, the results were surprisingly good.

Then another wild thought struck Chu Guang. “These strains... Can they survive in vacuum?”

“Yiwu?” came Little Feather’s confused chirp.

Little Seven translated with a thoughtful hum.

“Mm... Little Feather says she’s never tried. But the Main Mother Body it absorbed did survive in near-vacuum conditions before, so with some tweaks, it should be possible. Why, Master, what do you want to use it for?”

“Starships,” Chu Guang said without hesitation.

Little Feather froze, and Little Seven blinked in disbelief. “Star... ships?”

Hmmmm... Do we have those?! Little Seven doesn’t know about it!

“That’s right!” Chu Guang grinned. “Though starships are still a bit far off for us. Let’s start with the Heart of Steel instead.”

Self-repairing armor plating!

If he could actually make that work, it would be revolutionary.

Thinking of the monstrous Evolved Types once bred by the Hive, he figured his idea wasn’t entirely impossible. The more he thought about it, the more excited he became.

Just as he was about to act on it, Little Seven suddenly spoke up from his shoulder. “Master, a Researcher from the Academy just sent a message. He would like to speak with you in person. Should I schedule a meeting?”

“A Researcher?” Chu Guang turned to her, curiosity piqued. “Which one?”

“Someone named Yang Kai, a B-class researcher,” Little Seven said. “He wants to discuss a possible collaboration on behalf of the Academy.”

At the mention of Yang Kai, Chu Guang raised an eyebrow. Not because of who he was, but because that guy almost always appeared through holographic projection from his research ship, and now he wanted a face-to-face meeting?

Chu Guang could already guess what it was about. A wry smile tugged at his lips. “Schedule it for tomorrow noon. Tell him to meet me in the conference room at Alliance Tower.”

“Roger roger!” Little Seven replied energetically.