Chapter 40: An Unprecedented Harvest

When Li Ye opened his eyes again, it was already early the next morning. He quickly got dressed and walked out of the room. After a night of emergency repairs by Lin Wu and the others, the tracks and tires of the Tomorrow were finally fixed. Last night, Li Ye also reallocated another batch of ordinary residents to become combat personnel. A new batch of bullets and shells had also been replenished. With Li Ye's command, the team quickly assembled. He nodded and then waved his hand. “Move out, we’re going to hunt the Crimson Hound!” ...... When the lookout of the Crimson Hound saw the Tomorrow appear in sight, he could hardly believe his eyes. After taking another look and confirming he wasn’t mistaken, he quickly shouted into the speaking tube. “Target Mobile City spotted, it’s three kilometers northwest!” Two minutes later, the Crimson Hound’s convoy descended to the ground one by one via lift platforms and swiftly set off. The Crimson Hound also began accelerating slowly. “Target is 2000 meters away, 1900 meters, 1800 meters...” From the watchtower, Lin Xia reported urgently. Li Ye was standing beside her, using binoculars to look at the distant Crimson Hound. “It’s about to enter the ambush zone. I suppose the people from Firefly are ready too?” he said softly. At that moment, three hundred meters ahead of the Crimson Hound. The scar-faced man from Firefly Community was leading his companions, currently lying in ambush within buildings and alley corners on both sides of the street. In their hands were Gale Rocket Launchers and Peregrine Falcon Assault Rifles provided by the Tomorrow. “Everyone listen carefully,” the scar-faced man said slowly, “When the target approaches, those with rocket launchers will bomb the tires and tracks. Those with assault rifles will shoot the gunners and artillery operators.” “This is a golden opportunity for us to capture a Mobile City.” He spat on the ground and said viciously, “No one is allowed to mess this up!” The moment the Crimson Hound stepped into the ambush zone, the scar-faced man and his companions poked their heads out from windows, doorways, and street corners, pulling the triggers on their weapons. In an instant, overwhelming firepower engulfed the Crimson Hound. Several combatants, gunners, and artillery operators on the deck were shot before they could react. Explosions occurred along multiple points of the Crimson Hound’s tires and tracks, gradually slowing it down. “This tactic really works!” Li Ye was overjoyed at the sight. Unlike the open wilderness, here in the urban ruins, armed personnel familiar with the terrain could conduct guerrilla warfare against an enemy Mobile City. This tactic was indeed feasible. After the initial shock, the Crimson Hound quickly reacted, deploying new combatants to take over the heavy machine guns and cannons, firing wildly at the buildings on both sides. The scar-faced man and his team were well prepared, retreating from their original positions after the first successful strike. The buildings made of concrete and steel provided them with cover, and the heavy machine gun bullets couldn’t penetrate. But it was a different story with the cannons—shells exploded one after another within the buildings, and a few members, unable to retreat in time, were buried in the blasts. Taking advantage of the Crimson Hound being pinned down, the cannons on the Tomorrow opened fire repeatedly. The enemy convoy was firmly held in check by Convoy Two, and with fire support from surrounding Firefly members, they found it even harder to escape. From the beginning, the battle had tilted heavily against the Crimson Hound. The Crimson Hound tried to turn the tide, but it felt like being stuck in a quagmire. On one hand, the distant Tomorrow was bombarding it relentlessly. On the other hand, the nearby enemies used buildings for cover and fired at it from all directions. The tires and tracks were severely damaged, and the combatants on the deck were being shot down one after another. These guerrilla-fighting survivors were far more troublesome than those on the Tomorrow. With another rocket explosion, the tracks and tires of the Crimson Hound were completely destroyed, bringing it to a halt in the middle of the street. Immediately after, a volley from the Tomorrow directly hit it from the front. Under the overwhelming fire from all directions, the enemies aboard the Crimson Hound fell one after another, while the survivors retreated from the deck into the cabins, continuing to resist stubbornly. The battle finally ended over an hour later. Under the assault of the Tomorrow and the Firefly Community, the Lord of the Crimson Hound, along with his trusted aides and combat personnel, were all shot dead. In addition, there were about twenty to thirty survivors aboard the Crimson Hound. They were all slaves, each emaciated and haggard. According to them, they had all been abducted by the Crimson Hound from other Mobile Cities and towns. As slaves, they received very little fresh water and food each day, yet had to work tirelessly without rest. For these slaves, Li Ye and the Firefly Community chose to spare their lives. Immediately after, Li Ye eagerly began tallying up the spoils from the Crimson Hound. 15,674 Crystal Coins. 2,452 units of Iron Ore, 1,623 units of Coal, 782 units of Fuel, 1,052 units of Timber, and 534 units of Gunpowder. Two Level 1 Cannons—Molten Cannons. What surprised him even more was that he found a Level 2 Item Blueprint. 【Black Hawk Helicopter - Blueprint】 【Item Name: Black Hawk Helicopter】 【Item Level: Level 2】 【Attached Effects: 1. Increases flight speed by 15% 2. Reduces fuel consumption by 20%】 【Required for crafting: 200 units of Level 2 Iron Ore, 50 units of Level 2 Precision Flying Vehicle Components】 “Who would have thought that capturing a Mobile City would bring such a huge harvest,” he couldn't help but sigh. “No wonder there are so many Predatory Cities. This kind of loot really makes people envious!” Immediately after, he eagerly entered the Production Workshop of the Crimson Hound. As a Predatory City, the Level 1 projects and regular items aboard the Crimson Hound were quite decent. After carefully selecting, he took away more than half of the projects from its Production Workshop. Among them, the most valuable were: Level 1 City Building - Water Tower, upgrade cost: 300 Iron Ore, storage capacity: 6,000 units of fresh water. Level 1 Item - Smoke Shells, crafting cost: 5 Iron Ore, creates large amounts of smoke in the target area. Level 1 Bulletproof Vest, crafting cost: 20 units of Fabric, effectively defends against Level 1 and lower bullets. Level 1 Whole Grain Biscuit, crafting cost: 0.5 units of Flour, attached effect: “Provides 10% extra nutrition.” Level 1 City Accessory - Mining Mechanical Arm, crafting cost: 300 Iron Ore, greatly increases mining efficiency. Level 1 Cannon - Molten Cannon, crafting cost: 300 units of Molten Iron Ore, 1 Molten Crystal, extremely powerful. Among the regular items, there were also many good things, like iced tea, refrigerators, electric fans... As for the remaining items that the Tomorrow already had, he didn’t take them but instead left them for the Firefly Community. Additionally, the Crimson Hound originally had two Molten Cannons, one of which was destroyed in the battle, and the other remained intact, with 5 Molten Shells left in the warehouse. This was an unexpected surprise for Li Ye. Moreover, the Tomorrow had already unlocked the Molten Cannon project, so as long as they could find Molten Ore, they could manufacture more in the future. As for the remaining Crystal Coins, Iron Ore, and other resources, both sides agreed to divide them equally.