Chapter 35: Monster Mobile City

This time, a total of 1 Common, 1 Good, 2 Rare, and 1 Excellent intelligence reports were refreshed. “1. There are a total of sixteen survivor communities in the city; the largest is named ‘Firefly’, with 372 people. (Intelligence value: Common)” “2. On the western edge of the city, there is a train station occupied by monsters. (Intelligence value: Good)” “3. Twenty-five kilometers northwest, on a commercial street, there is an overturned oil tanker containing a total of 543 units of oil. (Intelligence value: Rare)” “4. A monster mobile city is patrolling inside the city – proceed with caution. (Intelligence value: Rare)” “5. A Level 1 Wild BOSS ‘Tranquil Lake Water Monster’ has been tamed by the Conqueror. (Intelligence value: Excellent)” As usual, Li Ye began to analyze the intelligence. First, the first report. Survivor communities. These were typical survivor gatherings found in city ruins. Compared to the wilderness, city ruins were more suitable for human survival. There were three main reasons. First, city ruins offered abundant supplies to scavenge. Second, there were countless high-rise buildings and blocks in the ruins that provided shelter for survivors. When powerful monsters or invading convoys or mobile cities attacked their homes, they could use these buildings and sewers for guerrilla warfare. Third, relatively intact small factories and power stations in the ruins could be used by survivors to improve their living standards. Survivor communities usually demarcated an area, built high walls or fences, and farmed in place, striving for self‐sufficiency. Communities consisted of entire families with young people, older adults, and children. The second intelligence report caught Li Ye’s interest. A train station occupied by monsters. There could be trains parked inside the station; their cars could be dismantled and melted down for iron ore. This was much easier than painstakingly breaking concrete to extract rebar. The third report brought him joy. An oil tanker with over 500 units of oil, and it was not far away. More than 500 units of oil meant more than 500 units of fuel – exactly what his newly built convoy urgently needed. This time, they’d be well supported for a while. The fourth report left him stunned. What the hell was a monster mobile city? Li Ye took a deep breath and rubbed his face, calming himself. As the name suggested, it was a Level 1 mobile city driven by monsters. Like the mobile cities driven by humans, it had city equipment, heavy machine guns, cannons, and its own combat crew and convoy. It might even possess Level 1 cannons and Level 1 heavy machine guns... Li Ye took another deep breath. He already thought goblins capable of piloting helicopters were absurd, but never imagined he’d encounter monsters who could drive mobile cities. The fifth report changed his expression even more. Another Wild BOSS appeared in the Wasteland Zone, but it was tamed by a mobile city named the Conqueror. “Tamed.” This meant the Wild BOSS was now like a servant under the Conqueror’s command? Li Ye’s expression grew solemn. He had witnessed the power of a Wild BOSS himself. Judging by this, the Conqueror must be even more terrifying. His sense of insecurity intensified. After recalling everyone to the deck, Li Ye ordered the Tomorrow to move northwest. That street was remote, narrow, and required taking a sharp turn to see it. At the end of the street lay the overturned oil tanker. Li Ye immediately dispatched people to retrieve the oil. At the same time, he sent out two convoys. Convoy One was tasked with exploring the perimeter of the city ruins, and Convoy Two would explore the central area of the ruins. Li Ye instructed the convoy members to prioritize their safety at all times. Their mission was to gather information and only open fire if absolutely necessary. They had to return by 6:00 AM tomorrow morning at the latest, regardless of success. Soon, both convoys set out. As for the Tomorrow, it remained temporarily stationed nearby for further maintenance. With nothing else to do, Li Ye had the residents sent out again to gather more metal. Although the amount collected was small, even small gains mattered. Unexpectedly, despite being only on the city’s outskirts, a surprising number of forces passed through. Two bounty hunters, three survivor convoys, and one Level 1 mobile city. Neither the bounty hunters nor the survivor convoys dared to mess with the Tomorrow; they kept their distance and hurried away. But that Level 1 mobile city lurked in the distance, stirring. After noticing that the Tomorrow was equipped with Level 1 cannons, it quickly abandoned its plans and fled. Only after it departed did Li Ye order an end to combat readiness. Time passed steadily, and soon it was deep into the night. Li Ye, who had fallen asleep, was awakened by a series of slight tremors. In fact, since arriving in this world, he’d been very sensitive to movement as the lord of the city. After all, he now carried the responsibility of leading everyone in the mobile city to survive – he dared not relax at all. Li Ye dressed quickly, left his room, and climbed the ladder to the watchtower. At that moment, there was absolutely no light on the entire Tomorrow – no searchlights, no deck lights. This was Li Ye’s plan. In the night, a mobile city with lights on easily attracted enemies, whether monster or human. Though the lights were off, a team of combat personnel was still patrolling the deck, and a helmsman remained in the cockpit on standby. When Li Ye reached the watchtower, he was surprised to find Lin Xia still awake. “The sound is coming from the northeast, about one kilometer away. Probably a big one,” she said, handing over binoculars. Li Ye nodded, took the binoculars, and looked northeast. The massive silhouette stood several tens of meters tall, with one large bright spot and dozens of small lights on it. Li Ye froze for a moment, then realized. This was clearly a mobile city! The large light was its searchlight, and the small lights were its lamps. “Should we prepare for battle now? No, the distance is too short...” he muttered. “And even getting all the combat personnel into position would take too long.” He quickly turned toward the megaphone on the watchtower. “Is Tang Fang there?” Over the megaphone came A‐Bai’s voice. “Tang Fang fell asleep. Is something wrong, Brother Li?” “Right now, activate the Tomorrow’s city camouflage,” Li Ye said softly. “...Understood!” With the city camouflage activated, the Tomorrow instantly blended into the surroundings. The next second, the enemy’s searchlight flashed across. But it only illuminated old buildings. “This thing really works well,” Li Ye thought. Once again, the Tomorrow escaped disaster thanks to its city camouflage. Relieved inside, he glanced toward the other. Since nothing was revealed ahead, that mobile city didn’t investigate further and turned down a nearby street. Using the binoculars and the enemy’s deck lights, Li Ye clearly saw the appearance of that mobile city. It was unmistakably a goblin‐driven mobile city!