Chapter 34: Killing Wilds Yielded Good Stuff!

At noon. Li Ye stood on the watchtower and gazed into the distance. “I didn’t expect to reach the central zone so quickly,” he murmured. As they drew nearer, Li Ye gradually made out the ruined city before him. It was a true post‐apocalyptic scene. Buildings had collapsed, and weeds and vines clung to the decaying walls. Here and there on the streets lay rusted, abandoned vehicles; in the distance, skyscraper skeletons still stood, but their outer shells were heavily worn away—steel rebar frames stabbed skyward from the concrete rubble like the ribs of a fallen beast. The expanse of this city ruin was immense, stretching from left to right until the eye could no longer see its end. By Li Ye’s estimation, the city once had a population on the order of a million people. He rubbed his hands together in excitement. Within the ruins of the city, he could send people to extract steel rebar from the concrete, collect pots, pans, discarded appliances—metal of all kinds—and feed it into the Conqueror’s furnace aboard the Tomorrow, smelting it anew into iron ore. However, the Tomorrow’s current mechanical arms were only of ordinary grade, with low efficiency in breaking concrete; relying solely on manual dismantling would be even more cumbersome. Furniture inside the city buildings could also be disassembled and repurposed as timber. “Better to salvage as much as possible,” he thought. Compared to steel rebar, the city was least short of concrete. But once concrete had hardened, it couldn’t be dismantled for reuse. Li Ye planned to stay in the city ruins for about a week, collecting as many resources as possible. More important than that, though, was understanding the situation here. This was the heart of the Wasteland Zone, a crossing point for survivors, caravans, mobile cities, and more. Because it was a ruined city with abundant resources to scavenge, many factions were bound to swarm here. How many survivors? How many caravans? How many mobile cities? Were there zombie swarms? Monsters—or even powerful Wild BOSSes? Li Ye asked himself huge question marks in his mind. As a Level 1 city, Tomorrow could drive along a main urban road—but it would occupy all lanes, and would inevitably scrape nearby buildings from time to time. The outskirts of the city were relatively manageable—fewer buildings, wider roads. But the city center would be trouble. With several hours left before new intelligence refresh, Li Ye had no intention of idling. He selected a fairly decent spot on the outskirts and parked Tomorrow there. He proceeded to issue a series of orders. Helmsmen Tang Fang and A‐Bai took their posts in the cockpit, lookout Lin Xia was assigned to the watchtower, and gunner Ning Wen stood by next to the Frost Cannon. These days, Ning Wen had been very busy. Mainly because he had to train the combat crew to operate the cannons—after all, he was only one person and couldn’t man all the artillery himself. Though he was called the gunner, he really functioned more like a gunner captain. Old Zhou led the combat personnel in two teams: one stood by at regular artillery and heavy machine guns, the other patrolled ground-side. Fifteen residents responsible for external resource gathering rode the lift platform to the street and began their work. Over the next few hours, they would collect steel rebar from concrete, abandoned vehicles, and search interiors for discarded appliances and various metal items. Mechanic Lin Wu, with his deputy and four logistics personnel, continued repairs on the Tomorrow. After the battle at Glos Mine, many sections of the Tomorrow had been damaged. And without the Roland Fortress as a safe port, the Tomorrow could only undergo repairs while on the move. Team after team took their positions and tasks. With a clang, the mechanical arm on Tomorrow chiselled into a building, then struck again, shattering most of the concrete and revealing the steel rebar inside. Two nearby residents stepped forward, using their mining picks to chip away the remaining concrete, gathering the rebar and loading it onto the lift platform. Across the street, three or four residents cautiously entered a building and began scavenging usable metal. Two combat personnel escorted them, armed with Peregrine Falcon Assault Rifles. On the street, a patrol team of combatants passed by, one of whom carried a Gale‐wind Rocket Launcher. Onboard the Tomorrow, regular cannons, heavy machine guns, and the Frost Cannon were already in position to provide immediate fire support if anything happened. Among all the things present, the most valuable were the abandoned vehicles on the street, as their bodies contained a good amount of metal. However, there was only one abandoned vehicle on the entire street. This wasn’t surprising—over the years, who knew how many mobile cities had passed through this city? Naturally, they would prioritize collecting abandoned vehicles, understanding their high value. The rebar, abandoned cars, and metal items scavenged from rooms could all be melted down in the mobile city’s furnace to become iron ore once more. Ten minutes later, a disturbance was heard from the distance. It was a series of loud explosions. Everyone working on the street paused and instinctively looked in the direction of the sound. That was the central area of the city. “That sounds like cannon fire,” Li Ye thought. “It might be a mobile city bombarding a monster stronghold—or maybe a battle between two mobile cities.” Since the full situation in this city ruin remained unclear, he still felt uneasy. “No, I have to find a way to figure out what’s going on in this city,” he muttered, shaking his head. “If nothing else works, I’ll send out a convoy to scout.” Currently, the Tomorrow had already manufactured four Level 1 off-road vehicles. These off-road vehicles were parked in the lower level of the Tomorrow, in a dedicated garage that could hold up to twelve such vehicles. The convoy reached the ground via a lift platform for deployment, and when not on duty, they remained in the garage, undergoing maintenance by mechanics onboard the mobile city. Thinking of this, Li Ye couldn’t help but feel the sting—it had cost 1,000 units of iron ore to produce those four vehicles. But it was necessary. For a mobile city, a convoy was like its left and right hand. Convoys could scout ahead, collect materials, and in battles between mobile cities, they could be outfitted with heavy machine guns and rocket launchers to attack the enemy mobile city. Li Ye divided the four off-road vehicles into two teams. Each team had two drivers and four combatants. The convoys were armed with Peregrine Falcon Assault Rifles and Gale‐wind Rocket Launchers. Additionally, Li Ye had produced four regular heavy machine guns in the Production Workshop and equipped the convoys with them. With this setup, the convoys now had decent combat strength. While waiting for the Intelligence Refresh, Li Ye opened a cup of instant noodles and began eating. This Level 1 instant noodle cup only required 0.2 units of flour to produce. The taste was decent and provided a +10% satiety bonus, making it a solid food option. When the convoy went on multi-day field missions, they could be supplied with this food—it was easy to eat and convenient to carry. As he ate, Li Ye opened the System. There were still a few hours until the next round of Intelligence Refresh. Watching the patrolling combatants on the deck, an idea suddenly came to him. “We’re just sitting around anyway—might as well go grind the wilds nearby!” “Grinding the wilds” was a common term among mobile cities. It referred to sending convoys and combatants to sweep through monsters and their strongholds along the way. After all, in the wasteland, monsters were also a kind of resource. Killing them could yield crystal coins, iron ore, coal, and some humanoid monsters even dropped cloth. Mutant creatures like Molten Spiders and Steelblade Hyenas could drop special materials such as Molten Spider Silk and Hyena Steel Fangs. Monsters also dropped finished products. These ranged from daily necessities and books to weapons and tools—some could even be Level 1 items. But what everyone hoped for the most were blueprints. So Li Ye dispatched Convoy 1 and 2, plus Lin Wu piloting the Goblin Helicopter, to go wild hunting. In truth, plenty of monsters still roamed the city ruins. Boarmen, Goblins, Serpentfolk, Antfolk, Gnolls... Some of these monsters patrolled in squads, some huddled around bonfires, and others entrenched themselves in lairs. But they were no pushovers—most wielded blades, swords, clubs, and some even carried firearms or rocket launchers. Even worse, some had mounted heavy machine guns and cannons at their bases. These monsters knew how to use cover, adopted proper postures to evade cannon fire, and even executed coordinated tactics. Li Ye lowered his binoculars and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He didn’t understand why the monsters in the wasteland had grown this hardcore. Now that Convoy 1 and 2 were newly formed, and with an expanded combat crew, Li Ye felt it necessary to train them ahead of time. In the next few hours, everyone gradually returned with their wild-hunting loot. Crystal coins, iron ore, coal, cloth... Also among the haul were everyday items like flashlights, axes, mining picks, and professional books—all of ordinary grade. Various supplies piled up before Li Ye like small hills. What surprised him most was that Convoy 1, after taking down an elite captain-grade gnoll, unexpectedly obtained a Level 1 city building blueprint. 【Level 1 Blueprint – City Simulation Training Pod】 【Item Name: City Simulation Training Pod】 【Item Level: Level 1】 【Attached Effect: Allows personnel inside the pod to undergo various simulation trainings】 【Required to Build: 200 units of Iron Ore (Level 1), 50 units of Wood (Level 1), 100 units of Copper Ore (Level 1)】 “What the heck is this thing?” Li Ye frowned in confusion. But after reading the blueprint description carefully, his eyes widened. This City Simulation Training Pod could construct training scenarios tailored to everything—from piloting vehicles and repairing mobile cities to engaging in external combat. Training scenarios needed to be constructed by inputting a series of specialized books or corresponding accurate data. If one wanted to engage in combat with the enemy, it required the input of basic data about one’s own weapons and the target enemy—whether it be monsters, enemy land, sea, or air vehicles, or even Mobile Cities! The training pod came with a handheld scanner, which could input data by simply scanning the target. "So that’s how it works!" He rubbed his hands together excitedly. "This is a real treasure!" With this city simulation training pod, he would be able to train combat personnel, as well as professionals such as mechanics, helmsmen, and gunners. He could even simulate battles against enemy Mobile Cities. It could also be used to train chefs, craftsmen, and maintenance personnel—essential talents for any Mobile City. The premise was that one needed to input the corresponding specialized books or provide accurate data. Li Ye quickly input the blueprint in the Production Workshop and used up resources to construct the City Simulation Training Pod on the middle level. The City Simulation Training Pod occupied about sixty square meters and had an exterior resembling a square-shaped house. Inside were ten enclosed pods, each equipped with a seat and a consciousness-link helmet. However, when he saw the finished product, Li Ye's excitement was immediately halved. Mainly because the building was extremely rough—the training pod looked like a big iron box, and everything from the seats, scanner, and parameter-setting machine to the consciousness-link helmets looked crude, as if hand-assembled. "Forget it, with this little amount of resources spent, what more can you expect?" he consoled himself. With a testing mindset, Li Ye input a recently acquired book on automotive driving into the training pod, then lay on a seat and put on the connection helmet. His consciousness immediately entered a square-shaped data space, where a crudely modeled car appeared in front of him. Li Ye promptly got into the vehicle and began a series of driving operations. Although the configuration of the training pod was very basic, it still worked for actual training. "If I can upgrade it to Level 2, maybe the experience will be much better," he thought. In the time that followed, Li Ye used the scanner to input data from his Level 1 weapons—heavy machine guns and frost cannons—and had Convoy No.1 and No.2 search for some monster corpses to scan them as well. Immediately afterward, he entered the specific data into the training pod screen. 【Number of Trainees: 1】 【Equipped Weapon: Peregrine Falcon Assault Rifle】 【Target Location: Jungle】 【Enemy Type: Goblins, Gnolls, Boarmen】 【Number of Enemies: 15】 【Combat Difficulty: Normal】 As he completed the setup and put on the connection helmet, a scene immediately appeared before his eyes. However, whether it was the jungle, the monsters, the weapons, or even himself, everything was very crudely modeled. Li Ye tried moving and shooting, and found that the tactile feedback was decent. "Whatever, if it’s crudely modeled, then so be it. As long as it can train people, I don’t need a luxury ride," he muttered to himself. In the time that followed, he had Old Zhou and the others take turns entering the training pod for practice. Even though the experience was rough, everyone still appeared very excited. They deliberately increased the number and difficulty of monsters and constructed combat scenarios like swamps, plains, and urban settings. Li Ye fell into deep thought. It seemed that, in order to cultivate more talent, he now needed to collect as many specialized books as possible. Books on vehicle driving, mechanical repair, cooking, first aid, and cleaning, for example. If used properly, this training simulation pod could supply Tomorrow with a steady stream of technical personnel. Once replaced with higher-level training pods and a full collection of specialized books, it might even be possible to train pilots, submarine operators, and more. According to Li Ye’s plan, the City Simulation Training Pod's resources would be prioritized for the following projects: First, simulating field combat for combat personnel. Second, routine maintenance and upkeep of the Mobile City. Third, off-road driving, firearms operation, cannon, and heavy machine gun handling. As for constructing the relevant training scenarios and detailed training programs, he left that to Lin Wu. With it, the overall quality of Tomorrow’s personnel would greatly improve. After assigning the tasks, Li Ye opened the System Panel. At this moment, new intelligence had already been refreshed.