The Daily Necessities of the Mobile City

Li Ye was still in a daze even after returning to the Tomorrow.

"Stop being so sentimental, Lord. You have work to do," Lin Wu teased.

"Ah, I know," Li Ye sighed. "I finally get to immerse myself in the atmosphere, don't interrupt me so suddenly. It's rare."

He then briefly reviewed the spoils from his trip to the Rotting Lands.

Level 1 Cannon - Frost Cannon.

Level 1 City Component - Spore Armor Blueprint.

Level 1 Fruit Tree Seed - Sunshine Apple.

Level 1 Rocket Launcher Blueprint.

The Level 1 Light Armor project that came with the Production Workshop was basic and not very defensive. The Spore Armor, however, required 600 units of Iron Ore to craft, double that amount. In return, the Spore Armor's defense was far superior.

Judging by the appearance shown in the blueprint, the Spore Armor resembled a mushroom cap and was a pale yellow color. It came with the effect of "Absorbing 15% of bullet and cannon impact," which could reduce the chance of the armor being damaged.

The Level 1 Fruit Tree Seed was also far superior to ordinary apple trees.

Ordinary apple trees took 3-6 years from sowing to fruiting, while Sunshine Apple Trees only took one month. After that, they could be harvested every two weeks.

Li Ye had a bag with 30 seeds, and he planned to sow them in the garden in the upper district, as that area received the best sunlight. Besides that, he also needed to arrange personnel to take care of the apple trees.

Finally, and most surprisingly to him.

[Item Name: Individual Combat Rocket Launcher "Gale"]

[Item Level: Level 1]

[Attached Effects: 1. Damage to buildings and vehicles +10% 2. Range +100 meters]

[Crafting Requirement: 80 units of Iron Ore (Level 1)]

The Level 1 Rocket Launcher's power was second only to the Level 1 Cannon, making it a formidable weapon for the mobile city.

Its attached effects were also quite good, making it useful not only for attacking fortified positions but also for dealing with mobile cities. The 100-meter range bonus was the icing on the cake.

The only drawback was that crafting a single Gale Rocket Launcher required a hefty 80 units of Iron Ore, making it much more expensive than the Falcon Assault Rifle!

The rocket ammunition for it required 10 units of Iron Ore and 2 units of Gunpowder.

Li Ye couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

While the Level 1 Rocket Launcher was excellent, how could ordinary people afford it? Just crafting a few and producing some rockets would consume hundreds of Iron Ore in the blink of an eye.

"It seems I need to find a way to get more Iron Ore."

Third, were the spoils of war dropped by the Ant People over the past three days.

Over 6300 Crystal Coins, 235 units of Iron Ore, 158 units of Coal, and 432 units of Fabric.

There were 35 ordinary-grade weapons like daggers, cleavers, and repeating crossbows, along with 5 ordinary blueprints.

One elite Ant Person even dropped a pack of Level 1 Crop Seeds.

[Item Name: Cloud Dream Cotton Seeds]

[Item Level: Level 1]

[Attached Effects: 1. Grows into a plant after two weeks of planting 2. Yield +3%]

When Li Ye picked up this pack of Level 1 Crop Seeds, he found it hard to believe.

"This is truly a good thing!"

After all, cotton was incredibly useful!

It was a natural fiber crop that could be processed into gauze and fabric for making clothes, towels, bedsheets, and other household items.

It could also be made into canvas, ropes, gauze bandages, and so on.

This was, of course, assuming one could obtain the blueprints for these items.

More importantly, cotton seeds could be pressed for oil, and the remaining cottonseed meal could be used as feed or fertilizer.

Although it was not as good as lard or vegetable oil, having it was better than nothing.

Considering that cotton required ample sunlight and water to grow, Li Ye decided to plant the cotton seeds along with the apple tree seeds in the upper district.

Besides the cotton seeds, the most valuable item in this batch of spoils was likely the ordinary Cola blueprint.

After inventorying the spoils, Li Ye began to make arrangements.

First, he had to repair the Tomorrow.

This task naturally fell to the Mechanic, Lin Wu.

The Tomorrow was heavily damaged from the battles of the past few days. Its hull, armor, and tracks were covered in arrows and bullet holes from the Ant People – yes, some of the Ant People carried firearms.

The Tomorrow had even taken cannon fire from the Ant People.

Lin Wu stated his requirements.

This time, he needed Li Ye to assign him 10 people and give him 2000 Crystal Coins to purchase repair parts from the market.

Li Ye nodded in agreement without hesitation.

"How long will repairs take?"

"Cleaning the tires and tracks, dismantling and replacing damaged components on the city shell, plus routine troubleshooting," Lin Wu pondered for a moment, stroking his chin, and replied, "About a week."

Li Ye thought about it, then shook his head.

"No, that's too long," he said. "Try to finish it within three days. We need to set off quickly."

This wasn't Li Ye's fault for being too impatient, as the Epic Intelligence Report mentioned that the Wasteland Zone would be destroyed in three months.

Under such circumstances, taking a week for repairs and troubleshooting was simply too extravagant.

Li Ye immediately assigned personnel to Lin Wu.

In fact, the battles of the past few days had been quite intense. The crew of the Tomorrow had been divided into three shifts, working around the clock to find the Ant People and attack their strongholds.

After the battle, everyone was physically and mentally exhausted, with half of them injured, including three seriously wounded.

The first thing Li Ye did upon returning to Roland Fortress was to rush to the market to buy emergency medicine and bandages.

In the wasteland, medical supplies were far more expensive than imagined. Li Ye ended up spending over 1500 Crystal Coins.

Li Ye assigned one person to take care of the wounded and handed over the rest of the crew to Lin Wu's command.

Even the Helmsman Tang Fang and the Combat Captain Old Zhou were assigned to the task.

While everyone on the Tomorrow was busy, Li Ye slowly walked towards the market, preparing to open a shop and do business to earn more money.

He originally had over 6000 Crystal Coins.

But after spending over 1500 on medicine and giving 2000 to Lin Wu for the Tomorrow's repairs, he had spent half of his money.

The remaining funds were far from enough to purchase supplies.

As he passed the market's notice board, he noticed that everything had increased in price.

Fresh Water had gone from 3 Crystal Coins to 5, and Iron Ore from 5 to 8. Resources like Coal and Fuel had also seen small price increases.

He quickly understood the reason.

The intelligence report had mentioned that the mining areas exploited by Roland Fortress were nearing depletion, and the nearby Freshwater Lake was also running low.

Looking around at the Roland Fortress before him, he couldn't help but shake his head slightly.

No one expected that this fortress, standing tall in the wasteland, was not a monolithic entity; it was actually riddled with internal conflicts.

Li Ye had originally planned to sell some Fresh Water to subsidize his expenses. The Tomorrow still had a large supply of Fresh Water, over 2300 units.

However, after looking around, he discovered that ordinary shops were not allowed to sell it; only the Roland Fortress authority could. Upon inquiring, he learned that the ownership of the Freshwater Lake belonged to Roland Fortress.

Li Ye wasn't surprised by this.

After all, managing a fortress of over 2000 people was very costly.

Supporting the combat personnel who guarded the fortress, hiring staff to maintain its operations, investing money to care for the unsupported elderly and children within the fortress, and crafting the cannons and firearms needed to protect the fortress – all these expenses added up.

The monopoly on Fresh Water was a good way to generate revenue.

The residents of Roland Fortress had no complaints about this and even voluntarily maintained it.

After all, Roland Fortress provided them with a safe living environment, as well as supplies of vegetables, food, and fruits, which was already quite good in the wasteland.

Although he couldn't sell Fresh Water, Li Ye could sell Cola.

Items like Blue Heart Potato Seeds, the Falcon Assault Rifle, the Gale Rocket Launcher, and the Level 1 Off-road Vehicle could also be sold.

In the market of Roland Fortress, if you were a lone wolf or a bounty hunter selling small quantities, there were no requirements.

However, if you intended to sell goods in large quantities, you would need to apply for a shop within the market.

Furthermore, both individuals and shopkeepers were required to pay a 10% tax. This was normal, as Roland Fortress provided the market, a safe environment for trading goods.

Opening a shop required a deposit of 2000 Crystal Coins, with a minimum lease of three months at 500 Crystal Coins per month.

As Li Ye hesitated, Lin Xia, who was leading a patrol of the market, happened to walk by.

After understanding the situation, she arranged the best available shop location in the market for Li Ye and waived his deposit and rent.

"Thank you, you've been a great help this time," Li Ye said gratefully.

Lin Xia waved her hand gently and smiled.

"It's nothing."

After preparing the shop, Li Ye returned to the Tomorrow and used the Production Workshop to produce 100 bottles of Cola.

He drove the Cola to the shop and also listed the main business operations of his territory.

Cola: 8 Crystal Coins per bottle.

Falcon Assault Rifle: 500 Crystal Coins per rifle, or 60 Iron Ore for processing.

Gale Rocket Launcher: 700 Crystal Coins per launcher, or 100 Iron Ore for processing.

Blue Heart Potato Seeds: 500 Crystal Coins per bag.

Level 1 Off-road Vehicle: 2000 Crystal Coins per vehicle.

After finishing these tasks, he inadvertently glanced at the Tomorrow in the distance and saw everyone busily engaged in repairs.

As Li Ye watched, a thought suddenly crossed his mind.

"Why don't I let Old Zhou watch the shop, and I go experience the repair work?"