Chapter 13: Mass Procurement

The first thing that caught Lin Wu's eye was a small sign hanging at the entrance of the market. 【This Week’s Material Prices】 【Wood: 2 Crystal Coins/unit】 【Freshwater: 3 Crystal Coins/unit】 【Iron Ore: 5 Crystal Coins/unit】 【Coal: 8 Crystal Coins/unit】 【Fuel: 12 Crystal Coins/unit】 【Rare Vein Ore: 15–35 Crystal Coins/unit】 【Rare Vein Crystal: 3000–5000 Crystal Coins/piece】 "Are rare vein ores really this valuable?" Li Ye was a bit surprised. Lin Xia nodded. Upon learning that Li Ye had 483 units of Thunder Ore on hand, she was so shocked that she instinctively covered her mouth. "So many? Are you really that lucky?" At this moment, perhaps because of the large crowd, the entire market had become somewhat chaotic. Lin Xia immediately stepped forward and began to organize the market order in an orderly fashion. Li Ye couldn't help but glance at Lin Xia a few more times. This girl in her early twenties was generous and efficient, lacking the pampered airs typical of other lords’ children, which gave him a favorable impression. About half an hour later, Li Ye finally sold all of his Thunder Ore at the price of 25 Crystal Coins per unit. The reason it took so long was that there was no one in the market who could buy all his ore in one go. People only bought a few at a time, with the largest purchase being just thirty units. 12,075 Crystal Coins. Li Ye counted the money with satisfaction. Among the Crystal Coins were also many Crystal Cards. These were also a form of currency in this world, with one Crystal Card equivalent to 100 Crystal Coins. Only elite-level monsters had a chance to drop them. Seeing the money in front of them, Old Zhou and the others also felt much more at ease. "Let’s go buy supplies," Li Ye waved his hand. He first bought 600 units of coal in one go. As the coal was gradually added in, Tomorrow’s energy level rose to 61%. Seeing this, Li Ye let out a light sigh of relief. One way or another, the energy had finally returned to the safe line. These past days out in the wild, he constantly had to worry about Tomorrow running out of power and stalling. Next, he began picking out Level 1 items in the market. The market in Roland Fortress did have Level 1 items for sale, but the quantity was limited. Stores that had Level 1 items would place them in the most prominent positions. Level 1 bed, Level 1 table and chair blueprint, Level 1 machete... Li Ye weaved through the market, his gaze quickly scanning the Level 1 items and blueprints in various shops. As a Mobile City lord, it was better for him to build than to buy. So instead of purchasing Level 1 items, he preferred to buy Level 1 blueprints in order to input them into the Production Workshop and unlock manufacturing projects. After a round of careful selection, he finally settled on two items. One was a Level 1 crop seed—Morning Wheat—priced at 1500 Crystal Coins, and the other was a Level 1 off-road vehicle blueprint priced at 1000 Crystal Coins. Morning Wheat was a Level 1 crop available in Roland Fortress. It matured within a month and had a "10% Yield Bonus" effect. It was sold at the official store of Roland Fortress, primarily targeted at residents from other towns, visiting survival convoys, and lords of other Mobile Cities. As for the Level 1 off-road vehicle blueprint, it was being sold by a bounty hunter living in the upper district of Roland Fortress. According to him, it dropped after he killed an elite goblin. Building a Level 1 off-road vehicle required 200 units of Iron Ore and 10 units of auto parts. Auto parts could also be manufactured in the Production Workshop, consuming 5 units of metal each. All combined, building one off-road vehicle required 250 units of Iron Ore. The Level 1 off-road vehicle came with the added effect of "Fuel Consumption Reduced by 10%," which was a very practical function. Li Ye did not hesitate in purchasing it. Mobile Cities generally had convoys. These convoys were used for reconnaissance, scouting for supplies, and launching raids on monster-held resource points. Although with Tomorrow’s current resources and manpower, it wasn’t yet ready to form a convoy, acquiring this blueprint in advance was necessary. The bounty hunter counted the ten Crystal Cards in his hand and left with a grin. Li Ye quietly counted the money in his pouch. He had spent 4800 Crystal Coins on coal, and with the current 2500 spent, he now had a bit over 4700 Crystal Coins left. Next, he spent 2500 Crystal Coins to buy 500 units of Iron Ore. There was no denying that Level 1 Iron Ore was extremely useful—it was needed to make bullets and shells, upgrade city components, manufacture items, and even serve as emergency fuel if a Mobile City ran low on energy. At first, he wanted to spend all his Crystal Coins to buy Iron Ore, but after some thought, he felt it wasn’t necessary. Mainly because he had the Intelligence System, which made it relatively easy to find Iron Ore or mines in the wild. So 500 units would suffice. With the remaining 2200-plus Crystal Coins, Li Ye purchased easily storable vegetables, dried meats, flour, and some basic furniture for Tomorrow. These basic furniture items weren’t for his own use. The furniture in the lord’s room where Li Ye lived was already complete. He bought these for the new residents who had just joined. Additionally, Li Ye also bought several chickens and ducks and designated a small area in the middle tier for raising them. In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, the prices of poultry were far higher than normal. After a few back-and-forth trips, the Crystal Coins were nearly spent. After finishing the material purchases, Li Ye began trying to recruit new residents in the fortress. However, this time, there were no takers. Because compared to a Mobile City, life in the fortress was better. It was safer, more spacious, and didn’t require wandering through the wilderness in fear every day. After all, people always sought a comfortable life. While transporting the purchased supplies, Old Zhou casually asked Li Ye a question. "Ah Li, when are we heading out into the wild?" Li Ye rubbed his chin and thought for a moment. "We’ve pretty much wrapped things up here. Let’s rest for the night and head out at dawn tomorrow." In the time that followed, Li Ye left the market and went to the factory district. Since there were quite a few repair shops there, he looked around for a while. Eventually, he saw a young man squatting at the door of a repair shop. This young man looked about twenty-three or twenty-four years old, wore glasses, and had a somewhat scholarly appearance. At the moment, he was resting his chin on his hands, frowning in distress. A thought crossed Li Ye’s mind—this was probably the person mentioned in the Intelligence as having been fired. After a brief conversation, Li Ye learned the young man’s name was Ning Wen. He had originally been an apprentice at the repair shop but was fired after less than two months. Upon learning that Li Ye was a Mobile City lord, Ning Wen was somewhat surprised. When he found out why Li Ye had come, he was momentarily stunned. "I can’t really call myself a Gunner..." He scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed. In truth, Ning Wen had worked as a trainee Gunner in Roland Fortress a few years ago, but had been laid off after only a few months.