Chapter 10: Life on the Mobile City

A few days later. On the Watchtower, Li Ye put down the binoculars in his hand and squinted to feel the breeze blowing against his face. It had been unexpectedly calm these past two days, with no encounters with any monsters. But his heart hadn't eased much because of it. The Wasteland Zone would be completely destroyed in three months. This matter was like a Damocles' sword, hanging over his heart at every moment. The Tomorrow urgently needed to develop, but no resources had been found in the past two days. Realizing that his thoughts had grown somewhat anxious, he quickly shook his head. “Don't feel too bad—this new day has only just begun.” Then, he looked down from the Watchtower to view the entire Tomorrow. As a level-1 city, the Tomorrow was about 125 meters long and 80 meters wide, with a usual speed of 10–30 kilometers per hour. It was divided into three layers: upper, middle, and lower. The upper layer was the Noble District, taking up about 5% of the entire Mobile City's space. The Noble District enjoyed the best sunlight and air, along with a small garden, observation deck, and several spacious houses. The original Lord and his family and close associates lived here on regular days. Incidentally, the Watchtower where Li Ye stood was also located on the upper layer. The middle layer was the Residential and Living District, the largest in area, occupying about 70% of the Mobile City. Residential quarters, fields, the Water Tower, and warehouses were located here. The rooms in the middle layer were not as spacious as those on the upper layer; each room was only 9 square meters in size. The lower layer was the Power and Slave District, occupying 25% of the space. This was where the city's power systems, fuel room, cockpit, Production Workshop, warehouses, and cranes were located. Generally speaking, a level-1 Mobile City had a standard maximum capacity of 1,000 people. In fact, it could accommodate more, if people squeezed in a bit. However, in practical terms, very few level-1 cities could reach a population of 1,000. After all, this was a post-apocalyptic wasteland, where each day brought survival pressure. More people meant greater consumption of food and fresh water, and the resources of a Mobile City were inherently limited. As he walked down the Watchtower, Li Ye casually glanced over the upper layer. Now, he and Old Zhou lived on the upper layer. The rooms were spacious, and even had wardrobes, desks, nightstands, and other furniture—much improved compared to when they were slaves. Li Ye currently lived in the Lord’s room. Not only did it have a Simmons bed, but it even had a private bathroom. When his gaze swept past the small garden and the observation deck, Li Ye slightly furrowed his brows. To him, those two places were honestly a bit redundant. Space on a Mobile City was already limited, and such a sunlit area on the upper layer would be better used for farmland to grow food than as a garden or observation deck. Following the gangway, Li Ye slowly walked toward the middle layer. Along the way, he passed a few busy people—newcomers who were cleaning the Tomorrow. Currently, manpower on the Tomorrow was still insufficient. The newcomers not only had to mine resources, but also had to tend the fields and perform cleaning tasks during their downtime. Li Ye glanced at the fields, which were now filled with pale blue leaves—those were the Blueheart Potato Seeds planted a few days ago. In just a few more days, he would be able to harvest them. While wandering around, Li Ye casually pulled a steamed bun from his pocket and started munching. Due to limited supplies, the Tomorrow had to enforce a supply distribution system. Ordinary residents received 1 unit of fresh water, 1 steamed bun, and 2 potatoes per day. Combat personnel received 2 units of fresh water, and 6 buns or potatoes. Professionals such as Combat Captains, Helmsmen, Mechanics, and Lookouts received even more. Among the twelve people who had risen with Li Ye, Tang Fang was the Helmsman, Old Zhou was not only his deputy but also served as Combat Captain, and the remaining members were assigned by Li Ye as combat personnel, responsible for external combat and maintaining order aboard the Tomorrow. At that moment, Old Zhou was patrolling with a few companions. Li Ye nodded to them lightly, then continued chewing his bun. In the apocalypse, having a trusted core team was essential for development. Soon, he arrived at the lower layer. He hadn’t walked far when he heard Tang Fang’s excited shout from the cockpit. “You’re amazing, Brother Lin! Using your method, setting up the autopilot program became so much easier!” Li Ye walked into the cockpit. Tang Fang was standing excitedly at the control panel, and beside him stood Lin Wu—the bespectacled young man he had just recruited. The little girl, Xiao Yao, brought by Lin Wu, was also there. She stood behind Lin Wu, holding the wheelchair. When she saw Li Ye, she timidly shrank back—she had overheard him saying, “If you can’t prove useful, I really will throw you both off.” Li Ye looked at Lin Wu with a surprised gaze. These past days, Lin Wu had not disappointed him and had handled the Tomorrow’s maintenance in an orderly manner. What surprised him even more was that Lin Wu could actually handle the duties of a Helmsman. He was thoroughly familiar with a series of operational procedures and could even teach Tang Fang how to set the navigation program. This man... might become a great help in the Tomorrow’s future development. If only his health weren’t so poor! As he silently observed Lin Wu, a hint of regret flashed in Li Ye’s eyes. Over the past few days, he had seen Lin Wu cough up blood more than once. Considering that the Helmsman’s role required long-term focus and high energy consumption—and Lin Wu’s body was so frail—Li Ye ultimately decided not to appoint him as Helmsman. Instead, he planned to select someone else from the Tomorrow to train for the role. That way, they could alternate shifts with Tang Fang, relieving some of his burden. Although an autopilot program could be set up, to avoid mishaps, Tang Fang still needed to stay in the cockpit during autopilot. In fact, since taking on the Helmsman’s role, Tang Fang had never left the cockpit except to use the bathroom—he even ate and slept there. Naturally, the new Helmsman would be chosen from within their own team. Although the newly recruited newcomers seemed capable, Li Ye didn’t dare take that risk. He then summoned the teammate he had chosen into the cockpit and asked Lin Wu and Tang Fang to teach him. Additionally, the teammate assigned as Lookout also approached Li Ye with a request. He preferred to be a combatant instead of a Lookout, and wanted to fight alongside Old Zhou and the others. That day, watching Li Ye and Old Zhou sweeping through the Serpentfolk with assault rifles had left him itching to join the action from the Watchtower. Li Ye agreed to his request and said he would soon find a new Lookout. After completing a series of arrangements, Li Ye opened the Intelligence Panel. A new round of Intelligence had just been refreshed. This time, it included 1 common, 1 excellent, 2 rare, 1 superior, and 1 epic-grade intelligence! The first five pieces were clearly listed, while the epic-grade intelligence was still being refreshed. Li Ye quickly began reading the new intelligence.