Chapter 51: "Why Is It You?"

With each booming explosion, smoke shells landed one after another, and billowing smoke engulfed the entire area. The Predatory Cities watched as the Tomorrow disappeared into the thick smoke. They slowly came to a halt, seemingly communicating via city radio. Then, they all appeared to fall silent simultaneously. Half an hour later, the safely-escaped Tomorrow was slowly driving along the outer perimeter. At that time, Convoy One, Convoy Two, and the Storm Infantry Vehicle had already returned smoothly, reboarding the Tomorrow via the lift platform. On the deck, the newcomers rushed out of their shelter rooms, embracing and cheering excitedly. “Did you see that? This is the strength of the Tomorrow—we’re far stronger than you imagined!” Old Zhou gave a firm pat on the shoulder of a newly recruited combatant. “Alright, now go get some good rest.” Atop the Watchtower, Li Ye let out a long breath. Now, the Tomorrow was finally out of danger. Recalling the recent battle, he couldn’t help but feel a bit surprised. Unknowingly, the Tomorrow had already grown to the point where it could fight off three Predatory Cities at once. He then cast a surprised glance at Lin Xia beside him. From the beginning of the battle to its end, this girl had remained at her post on the Watchtower, not even seeking cover despite multiple rounds of shelling. Perhaps sensing the doubt in Li Ye’s gaze, Lin Xia lowered her binoculars and tilted her head slightly. “If you’re not afraid, why should I be?” she said. ...... “The Tomorrow suffered about 23% damage this time. If it were moving, it’d take at least a week to repair.” Lin Wu reported. Li Ye pondered for a moment, then shook his head. “A week is too long. Get it done within three days. You can pick as many people as you want.” “I was actually waiting for you to say that,” Lin Wu nodded. Li Ye made a quick tally of the losses from this battle. The Tomorrow had used up 45 regular cannon shells, over 3,000 rounds of bullets for heavy machine guns and Peregrine Falcon assault rifles combined, 3 Molten Shells, and 25 rockets. Fifteen combatants on the deck were either wounded or killed. Convoys One and Two had no personnel losses this time, but their vehicles were badly damaged and in need of repairs. Though it was exhilarating to fight against three enemies at once, it had consumed around 600 to 700 units of Iron Ore worth of combat supplies. Li Ye didn’t feel bad about it. After all, resources were meant to be used. Especially when it came to resupplying combat materials—it was not something to skimp on. Otherwise, everything could end up in enemy hands. His original plan hadn’t changed: to head straight across the city ruins and that vast forest to reach Serene Lake. If he chose to avoid the city ruins, it would require a lengthy detour that would waste too much time. Besides, neither the mountain ranges to the west nor the Mobile Maze to the east were easy routes. Next, he headed to the lower parking garage. At the moment, Lin Wu was leading a team of over a dozen people to urgently repair the vehicles. The city ruins were riddled with danger, and battles could break out at any moment. As the mobile city's main combat force and forward shield, the convoy had to be repaired and battle-ready as soon as possible. It even took priority over repairing the Mobile City itself. Nodding to everyone, Li Ye walked straight toward the Storm Infantry Vehicle. In this battle, the level-2 vehicle had played an extraordinary role, suppressing the enemy convoy with its powerful firepower. Li Ye had seen the scene from the Watchtower, and it stirred his blood. The Storm Infantry Vehicle had nearly exhausted all its bullets and missiles and needed to be restocked. Stinger Autocannon and Rattler Machine Gun bullets cost 15 units of Iron Ore per 15 rounds, while light missiles were pricier at 30 units per missile. So Li Ye spent another 300 units of Iron Ore to replenish some machine gun bullets and light missiles. After that, he returned to the deck and selected another batch of combatants from the residents. Once everything was done, he let out a long sigh of relief. With that, the Tomorrow was once again combat-ready. In fact, if it encountered only one Predatory City, the Tomorrow could easily handle it. Only when facing three or more enemies would it feel strained. And with smoke shells and City Camouflage, the chances of a safe retreat had significantly improved. Thinking of this, Li Ye felt more confident. The city ruins were vast. It wasn’t so easy for the Tarot Alliance to find them. There was still a real chance the Tomorrow could safely traverse this area. “With this, things are mostly taken care of... Speaking of which, that Epic Intelligence should have refreshed by now, right?” When Li Ye opened the System Panel, he saw that the Epic Intelligence had indeed been updated. The contents instantly made Li Ye’s eyes widen. 【5. One hour ago, a bounty hunter killed an elite-grade goblin and found a City Structure Blueprint on its corpse. Currently, the bounty hunter is looking for a Mobile City to sell it to. (Intelligence Value: Epic)】 Li Ye’s heart began pounding wildly. He hadn’t expected that the City Structure Blueprint he’d longed for would actually appear in this city ruin. At the same time, he couldn’t help but marvel. “To think someone got a City Structure Blueprint just by killing a single elite... What kind of luck is that...” One had to know, that blueprint had sold for a staggering 57,000 Crystal Coins. There were many Mobile Cities in these ruins—someone would surely want that blueprint. Not to mention the Tarot Alliance. With its scale, it could easily afford the 57,000 Crystal Coins. This Epic Intelligence was undoubtedly valuable, but Li Ye could only sigh at the waves. There were too many bounty hunters in the city ruins. He had no way of knowing who it might be. And this place was huge—finding someone was like looking for a needle in a haystack. A large-scale search would definitely be dangerous, especially since the Tarot Alliance was surely looking for him right now. In the end, Li Ye could only try his luck and sent out four motorcycles to search. Half an hour later, something unexpected appeared on the road ahead. An off-road vehicle drove toward them, riddled with bullet holes, catching fire, and billowing smoke—it looked like it was about to explode. Chasing behind it was a convoy, firing nonstop. When the off-road vehicle saw the Tomorrow in the distance, it immediately honked loudly, as if crying for help. Li Ye thought for a moment, then made a decision. “Let’s help him. Maybe we can get some intel out of him.” With a wave of his hand, the heavy machine guns and cannons on the Tomorrow’s deck turned toward the street. Seeing this, the pursuing convoy immediately backed off, not daring to continue, and retreated. The off-road vehicle wobbled to a stop beside the Tomorrow. When Li Ye saw the person stepping out of the vehicle, he was stunned. “Why is it you?”