Chapter 83: 7 Level 2 Production Projects (3.1K)

With the attack landing successfully, Li Ye had yet to feel any joy when the thick smoke covering the Silence’s deck was blown away. On closer inspection, enormous mechanical fan blades were clearly installed on the opponent’s deck. At this moment, those mechanical devices were rapidly activating, dispersing the smoke on the deck. Seeing this, Li Ye’s gaze subtly changed. One had to admit, as a Level 2 Predatory City, the Silence had even taken this into account. With a wave of his hand, the Tomorrow once again disappeared into the smoke. ...... On the water’s surface, the two Level 2 cities unleashed firepower at one another once more. The Lone Sail failed its mobile evasion and fell into a barrage of overwhelming explosions. Adding to that, a Level 2 cannon shell had already struck the Lone Sail earlier, and a black mist had corroded part of its City Armor like a virus, making it exceptionally fragile. Meanwhile, the Silence once again absorbed all the damage thanks to its Shadow Shield. The Lone Sail seemed highly unwilling to accept this. As all Level 1 cannons were being reloaded, it chose to fire several Regular Cannons instead. This time, the Silence did not activate its Shadow Shield. After all, while the Shadow Shield’s device was powerful, each activation consumed a staggering amount of Level 2 Shadow Ore. Regular Cannons had limited firepower and posed no real threat to a Level 2 city like the Silence. Using the Shadow Shield for that would be entirely uneconomical. However, the Silence quickly realized something was wrong. Because when those shells landed and exploded, a powerful current instantly surged through the entire city, forcing it into a shutdown. At the same time, the Lord of the Lone Sail laughed wildly without restraint. "Hahahaha, you’ve fallen for it!" That previous round of simultaneous Level 1 cannon fire had merely been a feint. The Lone Sail’s real killing move was this round of Regular Cannon volleys. Though they were Regular Cannons, three of them had been loaded with Level 2 Shells – Electromagnetic Pulse Shells. These were something the Lone Sail had stumbled upon while hunting a Wild BOSS in the Wasteland Zone. There were only three rounds in total, hence they were used with extreme caution. They could disable the enemy city’s circuitry, though only for a short time—roughly 30 seconds. Even if the entire city was temporarily paralyzed, the Silence could still mount an offensive. After all, cannons and torpedoes could be manually fired. Although the Lone Sail had succeeded, the result seemed minimal. Just as the Lord of the Silence figured all of this out, a mocking curve appeared at the corner of his lips...... A cold sneer also formed at the corner of the Lone Sail Lord’s mouth. "If you think I aimed to destroy your offensive capabilities, then you’re gravely mistaken...... It’s now! Do it!" At this moment, the Tomorrow had already appeared behind the Silence. Receiving the report through the voice tube, the Lord of the Silence froze, his face drastically changing. "Damn it!" The next second, the Tomorrow opened fire. Two Frost Shells struck the underside of the Silence’s hull, instantly freezing it and making it exceptionally brittle. Immediately after, four Molten Cannons fired in unison. The rear hull of the Silence, along with its propellers, were blasted apart, and water began flooding in. This Level 2 Predatory City instantly lost its mobility! The Lone Sail Lord’s true intent in launching the Electromagnetic Pulse Shells wasn’t to disable the Silence’s offensive capabilities, but to paralyze its circuits so it couldn’t activate the Shadow Shield device, giving the Tomorrow a chance to strike. Li Ye now understood his intent. In that moment, the former hunter and prey reached an unspoken agreement. Having landed its strike, the Tomorrow did not linger. It quickly launched Smoke Shells to cover its retreat. The Lone Sail finished reloading its cannons and began firing wildly at the Silence. And when the Silence returned fire, the Lone Sail did not attempt to perform mobile evasion either. Because the Silence had already ordered the Tranquil Lake Water Monster to wrap several of its tentacles around the Lone Sail’s propellers and thrusters, stripping it of its mobility as well. The two Level 2 Predatory Cities thus began their final, frenzied duel. Dozens of cannon muzzles spewed flames, shells collided midair, explosions lit up in a continuous blaze, one after another. Torpedoes launched by both cities advanced beneath the surface, hitting the opposing hulls directly. The Lone Sail gradually became riddled with wounds, while the Silence, having depleted its Shadow Ore, could no longer activate the Shadow Shield for defense. The Tomorrow seized the opportunity to launch another attack, striking the damaged, leaking hull and expanding the destruction. During this time, the Lone Sail’s Level 2 Cannons kept firing. The shells expanded midair, transforming into massive adhesive slime that entangled the Silence, gradually stripping it of any ability to resist. In the end, completely ensnared by the giant slime, the hull of the Silence took on heavy water, slowly sinking into the lake. The Lone Sail didn’t fare much better—its entire structure was riddled with gaping holes, many parts ablaze and exploding. As they watched the Silence finally sink, the crew of the Lone Sail could no longer contain their excitement and let out deafening cheers. The deputy’s eyes welled with tears as he firmly gripped their Lord’s shoulders. "We did it, Lord!" To his surprise, the Lord of the Lone Sail lit a cigarette and revealed a melancholy smile. "No, we’re not the winners." The next second, their cockpit was engulfed by the Tomorrow’s cannon fire. After the Silence had sunk, the Tomorrow turned back to send the Lone Sail on its way. Both Level 2 cities were annihilated at the same time—this was the outcome Li Ye had wanted most. At this moment, the Lone Sail was already on the verge of collapse, barely a single intact part could be found. Surviving residents and combatants quickly lowered speedboats to escape. Some even jumped straight off the deck into the water. Li Ye looked at his Lord’s Wristband, and couldn’t help but feel an itch to act. Right now, he wanted to head over to the Lone Sail’s Production Workshop and seize all its production projects. This was a Level 2 city—who knew how many valuable items were in its Production Workshop! Moreover, the explosion hadn’t yet reached the Fuel Compartment; there was still some time before it would trigger a chain detonation. The survivors on the Lone Sail were now solely focused on escaping for their lives; they had no time to guard the Production Workshop. He made his decision swiftly. "Lin Wu, call over that pilot you just trained—have him fly a helicopter and take me to the Lone Sail!" In response, Lin Wu adjusted his glasses. "Let me take you there myself." A few minutes later, the Goblin Helicopter on the upper deck of the Tomorrow slowly started up and flew toward the Lone Sail. Upon reaching the airspace above the Lone Sail, Li Ye could clearly feel the waves of heat rising from below. As there was no longer any intact deck on the Lone Sail, he had no choice but to descend via rope. The moment he landed, Li Ye was met with an intense heatwave. The Lone Sail was already engulfed in raging flames, and the explosions were growing increasingly violent. Li Ye didn’t have time to think—he sprinted straight ahead. Production Workshops were typically located on the lower level of a Mobile City. But since the Lone Sail was a Level 2 city, it was significantly larger than the Tomorrow. Its lower level was several times bigger, and with the fire spreading and explosions sweeping through, navigating it became even harder. As Li Ye ran, a tingling sensation crept up his scalp. Along the way, he passed the Fuel Compartment, which was already catching fire. "If I can’t make it soon, the whole place is going to blow!" Sweat instantly poured down his forehead. Fortunately, thirty seconds later, he finally located the Lone Sail’s Production Workshop. At this moment, the workshop was already ablaze, burning ferociously. Li Ye rushed to the machine and verified his Lord’s Wristband. Seeing the machine activate, a wave of wild joy surged in his heart. A list of the Lone Sail’s production projects appeared on the screen. Li Ye selected the best Level 2 production projects as quickly as possible. During this time, the entire ceiling of the Production Workshop had already begun to collapse, and the fire was growing more intense. As for the Level 1 projects and ordinary items, he didn’t bother looking—they were just whatever he could tap in passing. Seconds later, the entire machine exploded with a loud boom. Li Ye quickly stowed his Lord’s Wristband and dashed out of the Production Workshop. Looking back at the path he came from, he found it had completely collapsed in explosions; there was no way to return to the helicopter using the rope. By now, the fire had already reached the Fuel Compartment, and a chain detonation was imminent. Li Ye made a split-second decision and bolted toward the edge of the deck, diving headfirst into the water. After searching the surrounding waters with a spotlight for a while, Lin Wu successfully found him and used a rope to pull Li Ye back up onto the Tomorrow’s deck. "You greedy bastard!" Old Zhou punched him with lingering fear in his voice. "What would we have done if something happened to you?" Li Ye scratched his head with a smile. He couldn’t be blamed for being so greedy—it was simply that the Lone Sail’s Production Workshop was far too tempting. He didn’t even bother changing his soaked clothes and walked straight into the Production Workshop, inputting the newly acquired Lone Sail production projects via his Lord’s Wristband. When he saw the contents clearly, his eyes instantly widened with delight. This time, he had obtained a full 7 Level 2 production projects from the Lone Sail! 【Viper Speedboat】 【Bloodtear Ripper Heavy Machine Gun】 【Iron Dome City Armor】 【Hunter Cannon】 【Azure Ripple Water Tower】 【Wave-Chasing Hull】 【Comet City Circuit】 Li Ye was overcome with joy—after all, each of these Level 2 items was a treasure. What surprised him most was that among them was actually the Bloodtear Ripper, a Level 2 Heavy Machine Gun. So it turned out the Lone Sail was the one who had won it at the City Auction House. Old Zhou and the others were also ecstatic when they saw it. As for the remaining items, they were all Level 1 equipment—propellers, hulls, firearms, and such. The Tomorrow already had these and didn’t really need more. Several days later, the Tomorrow finally crossed the Tranquil Lake and reached the shore. During this time, the system refreshed a round of intelligence, but due to the short cycle, it was all minor scraps. Because the battle had consumed too much energy, the Tomorrow attacked a few small islands over the past few days, gathering a decent amount of resources. Before advancing to a Level 2 city, the Tomorrow needed to return to land-travel mode. Once he confirmed the surrounding area was safe, Li Ye gave the order to begin the city transformation. Amid loud mechanical roars, the mechanical arms and cranes on the Tomorrow’s deck activated. The hull components were dismantled one by one. The anchors, thrusters, and propellers were disassembled and retrieved, and the sails on the deck were removed. The containment bay opened, releasing the stored city treaded wheels and tires. A few hours later, the Tomorrow had resumed land-travel mode. Iron Ore, Coal, Wood, Saltpeter, City Alloy, City Structure Blueprint, City Crystal... after submitting these resources in sequence, Li Ye pressed the confirm button in the Production Workshop. "Begin upgrade!"