Chapter 41: The Scale of the Mobile City

“This cooperation was very pleasant this time.” Li Ye shook hands with the Scar‐faced Man and handed him the lord’s armband of the Crimson Hound. “So, as agreed, this mobile city is now yours.” In the following time, the Scar‐faced Man led his companions in cleaning the Crimson Hound. They manufactured new track tires in the production workshop and used the mechanical arm on the deck to replace them. The people of the Firefly Community also packed their luggage and, dragging along their families, walked toward the Crimson Hound. They rode the lift platform up to the deck, watching their future home with excitement. As for the slaves on the Crimson Hound, the Firefly Community chose to accept them. They also renamed the Crimson Hound to the Firefly. Li Ye fulfilled his promise by contracting the processing of Gale rocket launchers, Peregrine Falcon assault rifles, level‐1 off‐road vehicles, instant cup noodles, and whole‐wheat biscuits for the Scar‐faced Man and his group. Additionally, he handed over a pack of Blueheart potato seeds and Morning Wheat seeds. Watching the Scar‐faced Man and his crew energetically refurbishing the Firefly, he stroked his chin thoughtfully. Compared to himself, the Firefly’s starting condition was quite good; it had eight regular cannons, fourteen heavy machine guns, a level‐1 off‐road vehicle, a Peregrine Falcon assault rifle and Gale rocket launcher, and one level‐1 cannon. It also had two level‐1 crops. Although several cannons and heavy machine guns were damaged in battle, and the mobile city as a whole was battered, it would recover soon with some repairs. The Firefly Community had effectively seized this opportunity; how they would develop afterward was their own concern. “By the way, I have to remind you, the entire Wasteland Zone will be destroyed in just over two months.” He said to the Scar‐faced Man. “You must leave soon—there are mountains to the west, a mobile maze to the east, a large freshwater lake to the north, and canyon swamps to the south...” The Scar‐faced Man hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “Alright, thank you for the warning.” After saying their goodbyes, Li Ye led everyone back to the Tomorrow and departed. He was immediately swamped—organizing the captured spoil, arranging care for the wounded, dispatching Lin Wu to inspect multiple damaged areas on the Tomorrow... During that time he remembered something and slapped his forehead as if awakening from a dream. “I almost forgot that!” He had been so busy battling the Crimson Hound that he’d forgotten to check intelligence. When Li Ye opened the intelligence panel, the hourglass icon had already turned into a ✓, and a line of text appeared. [Cooldown complete.] [Time until next intelligence refresh: 2 days 15 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds] [Intelligence count: 5] “This refresh took longer than usual, so the quality must be better—maybe even epic intelligence.” Li Ye murmured. The Tomorrow couldn’t just wait around for the next two or three days; they needed tasks to do. He also hoped that this round of intelligence would update details about the city ruins. After all, he still hadn’t figured out what was really going on in those ruins. Currently he only knew two bits of information. A Goblin mobile city was roaming the city. People from the Firefly Community had said the city center was very dangerous. And the first thing the Tomorrow had to do was digest this round’s spoils and replenish their combat strength. Since they couldn’t grasp the situation in the city ruins, it was very dangerous—and there might be other Predatory Cities present. ...... [2275 units of iron ore, 549 units of wood, 936 units of coal, 664 units of fuel, 157 units of saltpeter, 70 units of gunpowder] [2152 units of fresh water] [346 units of copper ore, 197 units of silver ore, 90 units of gold ore] [18,537 Crystal Coins] [4 regular cannons, 8 heavy machine guns, 6 pistols, 10 Peregrine Falcon assault rifles, 6 Gale rocket launchers, 2 level‐1 cannons, 2 level‐1 off‐road vehicles] [13 regular shells, over 700 heavy machine gun bullets, 351 Peregrine Falcon assault rifle rounds, 8 rockets, 5 Molten shells] Li Ye looked at the inventory list in front of him and nodded at Old Zhou. “You’ve worked hard, go take a good rest.” In fact, at first glance, he had been surprised by the quantity. Unknowingly, the Tomorrow had become so wealthy. These resources were nearly equivalent to those of a Survivor Town. He couldn’t help but nod with confidence—so long as they had resources, the supplies consumed in battle could be replenished, and the Tomorrow could quickly regain its strength. After some thought, Li Ye decided to first build two level‐1 off‐road vehicles, equip them with personnel, Gale rocket launchers, and Peregrine Falcon assault rifles, in order to rebuild Convoy One. In this battle with the Crimson Hound, the importance of the convoy was self-evident. It served as the Tomorrow’s forward defense line. As long as the convoy existed, it could harass enemy mobile cities and block enemy convoys from charging in. Although they were outnumbered at the start of the battle, the Tomorrow’s convoy, armed with level‐1 off‐road vehicles and level‐1 rocket launchers, actually showed a considerable advantage and destroyed quite a few enemy vehicles. After completing the level‐1 off‐road vehicles, Li Ye added six more combat personnel, equipped with Gale rocket launchers and Peregrine Falcon assault rifles. Since there had already been casualties among the combat personnel, and now six more were reassigned to Convoy One, there were very few combat personnel left on the Tomorrow. Li Ye sighed and drafted fifteen more from among the regular residents as reinforcements. Although this would cause a shortage of manpower for daily tasks on the Tomorrow, there was no other choice. Next, Li Ye spent 200 units of iron ore to produce forty rounds of level‐1 smoke shells. It had to be said, this level‐1 shell was incredibly useful. It could both cover a convoy’s advance and protect a mobile city’s retreat. After that, to further enhance the Tomorrow’s combat strength, Li Ye produced two additional regular cannons. After all, in battles between mobile cities, volleys of regular cannons were considered the primary means of attack. Although level‐1 cannons were powerful, their production requirements were stringent, and a mobile city could only have two or three at most. In combat, a mobile city often expended dozens or even hundreds of shells, not to mention an uncountable number of bullets. Fights between mobile cities weren’t just about personnel quality and coordination, but also about resources. Li Ye then spent another 500 units of iron ore to replenish a round of shells, bullets, and rockets. Looking at the battle supplies now fully stocked in front of him, he felt his mood lighten slightly. Even if a new Predatory City attacked now, the Tomorrow could handle it calmly. After doing a quick calculation, he couldn’t help but gently shake his head. All in all, he had spent a total of 1,600 units of iron ore. And all of it had gone into resupplying combat resources. But it was necessary. After all, in the apocalypse, survival was the most important thing.