Chapter 4: New Intelligence

When Li Ye walked into the cockpit, he found that Tang Fang was no longer operating the helm but had retracted his hands and was resting in his seat. Tomorrow was already cruising steadily. He paused for a moment, then immediately realized something and spoke in surprise. “You’ve already managed to activate Tomorrow’s autopilot?” Mobile cities had an autopilot mode, but its command input wasn’t as simple as pressing a button—it required entering a string of codes at the console. The direction the mobile city should travel, the speed, the distance at which to avoid obstacles—these all had to be configured. Tang Fang had only taken over as helmsman for less than half a day, yet he had already learned how to activate autopilot mode. “Looks like you really have a talent for piloting.” Li Ye patted Tang Fang’s shoulder with heartfelt approval. The latter, however, waved his hand with a distressed expression. “No, Brother Li. I only picked this up halfway through. I’m really afraid I’ll mess it up. It’s best to find another helmsman.” Li Ye’s expression grew melancholic. In the wasteland apocalypse, talents like helmsmen were rare and hard to come by—one might not encounter one in years. Even if he was lucky enough to find a helmsman, he wouldn’t dare to grant them control over Tomorrow so easily. Only by training one from scratch could he feel at ease. Looking at the sweat-soaked and exhausted Tang Fang, Li Ye realized something and a hint of emotion showed on his face. Ever since they overthrew the former lord’s rule last night and took over Tomorrow, this frail and sickly child had been tirelessly piloting the city, desperately learning how to operate it and doing his best not to make mistakes. By now, he hadn’t even touched a piece of dry food, only drinking a few sips of water. “You’ve worked hard.” He patted Tang Fang’s shoulder again and handed him some food. “Eat quickly, then get some rest.” Tang Fang took the food casually, but froze the moment he saw what it was. It was a canned meat. Tomorrow had only three cans of meat, and they were formerly reserved for the lord and his closest confidants. After taking over Tomorrow, in order to conserve food, Li Ye and the others only allowed themselves a single steamed bun or a boiled potato each day. Tang Fang looked at Li Ye and absentmindedly opened the can and began eating. After a few bites, he lowered his head, wiped the corner of his eye, and muttered. “Brother Li, this stuff doesn’t taste good.” Li Ye froze, then laughed and rubbed his head, both exasperated and amused. “Don’t pull that on me. Piloting Tomorrow is hard work—you deserve something better.” Saying this, he thoughtfully glanced at the can. The canned meat’s packaging looked very new, clearly produced not long ago. Probably manufactured by some mobile city. “To still have resources to produce canned goods in the apocalypse... this mobile city must be quite powerful...” he thought to himself. At this moment, Old Zhou and the others walked into the cockpit. “Li, the Blueheart Potatoes have been planted, and the zombie remains have been cleared,” Old Zhou reported. Seeing Tang Fang eating canned meat beside Li Ye, none of them showed any strange expression. Instead, it was Tang Fang who felt a little embarrassed and set the can aside. Li Ye nodded to everyone and cleared his throat. “Since you’re all here, I have something to tell you... We need to advance to a Level 2 city within three months and leave the Wasteland Zone.” Everyone was stunned. “Why the rush?” Old Zhou’s expression changed, and everyone looked puzzled, chattering among themselves. When they saw Li Ye nod solemnly, the murmurs in the cockpit gradually died down. Although they didn’t know the reason, they trusted Li Ye. Li Ye’s expression grew serious. Although the Wasteland Zone was a Level 1 area, its size was comparable to that of a country—absurdly vast. The nearest region to it was the Eternal Night Zone, a Level 2 area. It was far more dangerous, with even more terrifying monsters. Few people in the Wasteland knew the route to the Eternal Night Zone—only that it was a long journey. This meant that Tomorrow needed to have a fully equipped crew, enough supplies, and upgraded city components—preferably even become a Level 2 city. After all, for a Level 1 city to venture into a Level 2 zone recklessly was tantamount to suicide. But upgrading a Level 1 city to Level 2 was far more difficult than imagined. It required consuming a vast amount of Level 1 resources and preparing various rare materials. Even an ordinary Level 1 city might not be able to level up in three years. Li Ye made a decision on the spot. “In three months, we need to prepare the resources, find the route to the Eternal Night Zone, and find a way to upgrade Tomorrow to a Level 2 city!” ...... After eating a steamed bun, Li Ye slowly lay down on a small bed. He pulled up the system panel and silently stared at that line of epic-tier intelligence, occasionally closing his eyes in contemplation. That piece of intelligence continued to leave him uneasy. Tomorrow had just set off, yet it already faced such a daunting challenge. At the same time, he glanced at another section of the system panel. 【Intelligence is currently being compiled, please wait patiently...】 Next to that line was a constantly flickering hourglass icon. It seemed that after each round of intelligence was refreshed, the system would enter a cooldown period. About half an hour later, the hourglass icon turned into a ✓ and displayed a new line. 【Cooldown complete.】 【Next intelligence refresh in 7 hours 59 minutes and 59 seconds】 【Number of intelligence entries: 5】 “The refresh is this fast this time?” Li Ye was surprised. From the system description, he learned one thing. The number and timing of intelligence refreshes were random. But there was one consistent rule. The longer it took for the intelligence to refresh, the more entries it would include, and the higher their value. If it took several days or even a week, there was a chance of receiving intelligence of legendary value—above even epic. Sleepiness gradually overtook him. Li Ye yawned and closed his eyes. He hadn’t rested properly since last night and was now very tired. “Hope this time the system gives me some good intel.” With that thought, he drifted into a deep sleep. When Li Ye woke up again, he found that it was already dark outside. “It’s night already? How long was I asleep?” Without thinking too much, he opened the Intelligence System with excitement. The system interface displayed five new pieces of intelligence. 【1. This afternoon, the Level 1 mobile city Azure rallied and seized a monster-occupied mine. With treatment from Azure’s medical personnel, the city lord recovered consciousness, but his left arm had been amputated. (Intelligence Value: Common)】 【2. 5 kilometers to the northeast lies an unpolluted freshwater lake. (Intelligence Value: Common)】 【3. 100 kilometers due west is a survivor town called “Field Town,” with a population of 161. The town lacks cannons and heavy machine guns, and its defensive barriers are standard. (Intelligence Value: Excellent)】 【4. Five minutes ago, the Level 1 mobile city Crimson Hound successfully manufactured a Level 1 cannon. The city's combat forces now include 96 fighters, 4 convoys, 2 Level 1 cannons, 8 standard cannons, 14 standard heavy machine guns, and over 120 various firearms. (Intelligence Value: Excellent)】 【5. At dawn the day after tomorrow, a kobold merchant caravan will appear in Thunder Canyon. The kobolds are neutral. If candles are collected and offered to them, there might be an opportunity to trade for something good. (Intelligence Value: Rare)】