Shopping Spree

The first thing that caught Lin Wu's eye was a small sign hanging at the entrance to the market.

This Week's Supply Prices

Wood: 2 Crystal Coins/unit

Freshwater: 3 Crystal Coins/unit

Iron Ore: 5 Crystal Coins/unit

Coal: 8 Crystal Coins/unit

Fuel: 12 Crystal Coins/unit

Rare Ore Vein Ore: 15–35 Crystal Coins/unit

Rare Ore Vein Crystal: 3,000–5,000 Crystal Coins/crystal

"Rare Ore Vein Ore is actually worth this much?" Li Ye was somewhat surprised.

Lin Xia nodded.

When she learned that Li Ye had 483 units of Thunder Ore on hand, she instantly covered her small mouth in surprise.

"That much? Are you really that lucky?"

At that moment, perhaps because there were too many people, the entire market had become somewhat chaotic. Lin Xia immediately stepped forward and began directing the market's order in an organized manner.

Li Ye could not help but glance at Lin Xia a few more times.

This young woman in her early twenties was generous and capable. She lacked the spoiled, haughty manner common among the children of lords, which made him rather fond of her.

About half an hour later, Li Ye finally sold all the Thunder Ore he had for 25 Crystal Coins per unit.

It had taken so long because no one in the market could swallow up all his ore in one go. Everyone only bought a few units at a time, with the largest purchase being thirty units.

12,075 Crystal Coins.

Li Ye counted the money with satisfaction.

Mixed among the Crystal Coins were many Crystal Cards. Crystal Cards were also a common currency in this world. One Crystal Card was worth 100 Crystal Coins, and only elite-level monsters or above had a chance of dropping them.

Seeing that sum of money, Old Zhou and the others relaxed considerably as well.

"Come on, let's buy supplies." Li Ye waved his hand.

First, he bought 600 units of coal in one go.

As the coal was slowly loaded in, Tomorrow's energy rose to 61%.

Li Ye let out a quiet sigh of relief at the sight. No matter what, the energy level had finally returned to the safe range. During these days out in the wilderness, he had constantly worried that Tomorrow would run out of energy and shut down.

Next, he began looking through the Level 1 Items in the market.

Roland Fortress's market did sell Level 1 Items, but there were not many of them. Shop owners with Level 1 Items would display them in the most conspicuous spots.

Level 1 Bed, Level 1 Table and Chair Blueprint, Level 1 Machete.

Li Ye moved through the market, his gaze quickly sweeping over the Level 1 Items and Level 1 Blueprints in various shops.

As the lord of a Mobile City, he would rather make than buy. Therefore, compared with buying Level 1 Items, he wanted to purchase Level 1 Blueprints so he could input them into the Production Workshop and unlock them for production.

After carefully selecting, he finally settled on two items.

One was Level 1 Crop Seed—Morning Light Wheat, priced at 1,500 Crystal Coins. The other was a Level 1 Off-road Vehicle Blueprint, priced at 1,000 Crystal Coins.

Morning Light Wheat was a Level 1 Crop possessed by Roland Fortress. It matured within a month and came with a "10% Yield Bonus." It was sold in Roland Fortress's official shop, with its main customers being residents from other towns, visiting survival convoys, and the lords of Mobile Cities.

As for the Level 1 Off-road Vehicle Blueprint, it was being sold by a Bounty Hunter who lived in Roland Fortress's Upper District. According to him, it had dropped after he killed an elite Goblin.

Building a Level 1 Off-road Vehicle required 200 units of Iron Ore and 10 units of Automotive Parts. Automotive Parts could also be made in the Production Workshop, consuming 5 units of metal each. Altogether, building one Off-road Vehicle required 250 units of Iron Ore.

The Level 1 Off-road Vehicle's added effect was "Fuel Consumption Reduced by 10%," which was an extremely practical function.

Li Ye bought it without the slightest hesitation.

Mobile Cities generally had vehicle convoys. Their purpose was to scout for supplies and make it easier to assault resource points occupied by monsters.

Although Tomorrow's current resources and manpower were still insufficient to form a convoy, it was necessary to secure this blueprint in advance.

The Bounty Hunter happily counted the ten Crystal Cards he had received and left.

Li Ye quietly counted the money in his pouch.

He had spent 4,800 Crystal Coins on coal, plus another 2,500 just now. He had a little over 4,700 Crystal Coins left in total.

Then he spent 2,500 Crystal Coins to buy 500 units of Iron Ore.

It had to be said that Level 1 Iron Ore was an incredibly useful resource. It was needed to make bullets and shells, upgrade City Components, and produce items. It could even be loaded in as emergency fuel when a Mobile City was low on energy.

At first, he had wanted to spend all his Crystal Coins on Iron Ore in one go, but after thinking it over, he decided it was unnecessary.

The main reason was that he had the Intelligence System. Finding Iron Ore or Mines in the wilderness would be relatively easy, so 500 units would be enough.

With the remaining 2,200 or so Crystal Coins, Li Ye bought easily stored vegetables and fruits, dried meat, dry rations, flour, and some ordinary furniture for Tomorrow.

That ordinary furniture was not for himself. Li Ye's lord's room was already fully furnished. He had bought it for the newly joined residents.

In addition, Li Ye bought several chickens and ducks, setting aside a patch of land in the middle level to raise them. In the post-apocalyptic wasteland, these poultry were far more expensive than usual.

Before he knew it, he had spent almost all his Crystal Coins.

After purchasing the supplies, Li Ye tried to recruit new residents in the fortress.

However, this time, no one showed any interest.

Compared with a Mobile City, living conditions in the fortress were better. It was safe and spacious, and there was no need to wander through the wilderness or live in fear every day.

After all, people always sought comfortable lives.

While carrying the purchased supplies, Old Zhou casually asked Li Ye a question.

"Li, when are we heading out into the wilderness?"

Li Ye stroked his chin and thought for a moment.

"We've more or less finished what we came here to do. We'll rest here tonight and set out at dawn tomorrow."

After that, Li Ye left the market and arrived at the Factory District.

Since there were quite a few repair shops here, he searched for a while.

In the end, he spotted a young man squatting outside the entrance of a repair shop.

The young man looked to be around twenty-three or twenty-four. He wore glasses and had a somewhat scholarly appearance.

At that moment, he was resting his chin in both hands, looking miserable.

Li Ye's thoughts stirred. This was probably the person mentioned in the intelligence—the one who had been fired.

After talking for a while, Li Ye learned that the man's name was Ning Wen. He had originally been an apprentice at this repair shop, but had been dismissed after less than two months.

Ning Wen was somewhat surprised upon learning that Li Ye was the lord of a Mobile City.

When he learned why Li Ye had come, he was stunned.

"I wouldn't really count as a gunner," he said, scratching his head awkwardly.

In fact, Ning Wen had once served as an apprentice gunner at Roland Fortress several years ago, but he had lost the job after only a few months.