Chapter 25: A New Round of Intelligence Refresh

Old Zhou, who had been tending the shop, had just returned, bringing with him twenty new people. When opening the shop, Li Ye had posted a recruitment notice at the same time. Naturally, the interview process was entrusted to Old Zhou. The Level‐1 items sold in the shop indirectly showcased the current strength of the Tomorrow. Plus, while the Tomorrow was docked for repairs, quite a few residents had seen the frost cannon installed on the deck, so many people signed up for interviews. Very soon, the first task for these twenty newcomers was to assist Mechanic Lin Wu with the repairs on the Tomorrow. To Li Ye’s surprise, Li Jin and Lei Jian also showed up. Upon asking, he learned that they had also set up stalls in the market and had even purchased one of his Level‐1 rocket launchers. Li Ye then handed them two packs of Blueheart Potato Seeds, which he had promised earlier. When Lei Jian and Li Jin prepared to pay, he waved them off, indicating no payment was needed. To him, producing a pack of Blueheart Potato Seeds cost no more than a single potato. Rather than taking money, he preferred to do someone a favor. After thanking him and stowing the seeds, Li Jin and Lei Jian didn’t rush off but stayed around, chatting casually with Li Ye. During that time, their eyes flickered, as if they had something on their minds but were hesitant to speak. “What’s up? Is there something else?” Li Ye asked in confusion. After probing a bit, he was suddenly caught between amusement and exasperation. It turned out those two were interested in his fruit‐tree and cotton seeds. As lords, they naturally understood the value of Level‐1 crops. These meant one more fruit to eat on their future Mobile Cities. And cotton needed not to be mentioned. Li Ye thought it over, then nodded. He had thirty Sunshine Apple Seeds in total; giving away a few wasn’t a big deal. He had even more cotton seeds—hundreds, in fact. After some negotiation, he sold both types of seeds to them for 2,000 Crystal Coins each. That price had Li Jin and Lei Jian grinning sheepishly. The price was enough to buy three or four bags of Level‐1 crop seeds. But to be fair, Level‐1 fruit‐tree seeds were indeed rare. Once they matured and bore fruit, they’d produce seeds to replant or sell. And cotton seeds were also high‐value crops. Overall, it was acceptable. ... With twenty extra newcomers helping out, the repair of the Tomorrow sped up significantly, finishing within three days. Li Ye then did a quick tally of the shop’s earnings over those three days. Over sixteen thousand Crystal Coins and more than nineteen hundred units of Iron Ore. On the shop’s first day, earnings reached more than half of the total; customer flow dropped sharply during the next two days. During that time, Li Ye spent 600 units of Iron Ore crafting Spore Armor, then spent another combined 500 units upgrading the propulsion treads and power wheelsets. The installation and replacement work was naturally entrusted to Lin Wu. With more hands, it proceeded rapidly and is now complete. Li Ye also crafted six Gale‐wind Rocket Launchers and thirty rockets. Then he realized his once‐ample Iron Ore stock was suddenly depleted. “This is just the beginning!” he exclaimed in surprise. According to Li Ye’s plan, he still intended to craft ten Peregrine Falcon Assault Rifles and four off‐road vehicles. He also needed to stock enough bullets, shells, and rockets. Plus, keep some Iron Ore in reserve for emergencies. Roughly calculated, he still needed at least 2,500 units of Iron Ore. At the market in Roland Fortress, at current prices, that would cost 20,000 Crystal Coins. Li Ye shook his head as he thought. At current prices, buying large amounts of Iron Ore was impractical. After all, he had the Intelligence System—it was easy to find Iron Ore and mines in the wasteland. So he only bought 500 units of Iron Ore for emergencies. What disappointed Li Ye was that the Roland Fortress market didn’t sell any Frost Ore. He had originally planned to make more frost shells, and if he could get frost crystal, even build another frost cannon. After all, he had already experienced the power of a Level‐1 cannon. In the following days, Li Ye purchased a large amount of coal and filled it into the Tomorrow, bringing its energy back up to a safe 60%. Next, as usual, he bought some fruits and vegetables and procured daily necessities and furniture for the new residents moving onto the Tomorrow. Seeing the Tomorrow before him, he felt a surge of pride. There were already four or fifty people aboard the Tomorrow, equipped with Peregrine Falcon Assault Rifles, Gale‐wind Rocket Launchers, four kinds of Level‐1 crops, Level‐1 off‐road vehicles, three upgraded Level‐1 City Accessories, and a Level‐1 cannon. And it now even had a Level‐2 item – City Camouflage! To think all this had developed in just about half a month. After reflecting, Li Ye began assigning roles to the newcomers. He gave them two options. Either become ordinary residents—helping repair the Tomorrow, tending fields or fruit trees and cotton, working in the lower‐deck power room, or cleaning the Tomorrow. Or, become combat personnel—receiving better treatment than ordinary residents, responsible for dangerous external fights and maintaining daily order. The newcomers made their choices. The vast majority chose to become ordinary residents—no danger and lighter work, though with lower pay. After finishing the assignments, Li Ye furrowed his brow slightly. The growth in strength and increased personnel on the Tomorrow was good, but its supply of materials remained at prior levels. Although the warehouse stored fruits and vegetables, they became scarce once divided among four or fifty people. And their shelf life was short—usually needing consumption within a week. Li Ye wanted the Tomorrow to be self‐sufficient in vegetables, fruits, meat, and eggs. Ideally using Level‐1 crops. But gathering Level‐1 crops wasn’t as easy as imagined; he had to take it step by step. As for supplying meat and eggs via ordinary livestock, Roland Fortress did sell them, but at extremely high prices. Li Ye had purchased before. Ordinary livestock takes a long time to raise, needs fresh water and feed, and occupies space. “Alright, this is fine for now. Let’s check the intelligence and plan the next route.” After repairs and troubleshooting were complete, the Tomorrow needed to set sail again. After all, there were less than three months remaining. Now, the new intelligence had been refreshed. This time, there was one Common, one Excellent, two Rare, two Outstanding, and one Epic‐level intelligence. As always, he carefully read through the set of reports. [1. Twenty kilometers southwest of Roland Fortress, a pack of Steelblade Hyenas is wandering in search of food. (Intelligence Value: Common)] [2. On the northeastern edge of the Rotting Lands, an undiscovered small oil field has been located. (Intelligence Value: Excellent)] [3. Last night, the Vanguard easily crushed a Predatory City and obtained its population, resources, and projects from production workshops; among the spoils was even a Level‐2 item. (Intelligence Value: Rare)] [4. In the Wasteland Zone, a Monster Civilization has gradually arisen and is becoming a huge threat to humanity. (Intelligence Value: Rare)] [5. Deep in Thunder Canyon, a bounty hunter unexpectedly obtained a piece of loot—a Level‐1 flying vehicle. At this moment, he is troubled because he can’t bring it out. (Intelligence Value: Outstanding)] [6. In three days, the Wild BOSS (Level‐1) “Foreman Jeremy” will descend upon Glos Mine. This BOSS will drop a key to the mine’s storage room, and inside will be a set of Level‐1 Mobile City promotion blueprints. Collecting the materials required by that blueprint will allow promotion of a Mobile City to Level‐2. (Intelligence Value: Outstanding)] [7. Currently being refreshed... (Intelligence Value: Epic)] Li Ye rubbed his chin and began analyzing. First was the first piece of intelligence: Twenty kilometers southwest of Roland Fortress, a pack of Steelblade Hyenas is prowling. Steelblade Hyenas are Level‐1 elite monsters, with incredibly tough bodies and several long, twisted steel blades sprouting from them. These monsters like to charge at targets in packs, slicing them with their steel blades, and their charge speed is extremely fast—they are a nightmare in the wasteland. Even a Mobile City fears these things, because their jumping power is extraordinary. If the cannon and machine guns can’t deal with them, they’ll leap onto the deck, and then... “Although it’s Common, it still has some value,” Li Ye nodded softly. When the Tomorrow leaves the fortress, it must avoid heading southwest.