The Fallen Roland Fortress

Li Ye held his breath, his gaze fixed on the map before him.

The southern region where he was located was of average size, accounting for only 19% of the Wasteland Zone's total area.

The Mobile Maze to the east was 17%, the mountains to the west were 21%, and the combined scale of the central city ruins and giant forest was 23%.

As for the large freshwater lake in the north, it occupied a full 20%, which was quite substantial for a lake.

He had to admit, this epic-grade intel was valuable, essentially giving Li Ye an all-map cheat.

Before this, he had been like a blind man feeling an elephant, with no idea of the Wasteland Zone's scale.

"Now that I know the situation of the Wasteland Zone, I need to consider where the Tomorrow should go next," he thought.

Currently, it was known that the western part of the Wasteland Zone was a Level 1 area, the "Basin Area."

However, to reach the Basin Area, one had to traverse continuous mountain ranges, which was clearly very difficult.

But for the Conqueror, which possessed Lava Treads, this was not a problem.

As for the mobile city on the northern freshwater lake, it could actually navigate on water.

The production workshop already had a series of ordinary city components, such as propellers, sails, thrusters, hulls, and so on.

In fact, if a mobile city had enough water navigation components, it could sail out to sea.

The mountain ranges to the west and the mobile maze to the east were not within Li Ye's options. He was now considering whether to go north or south.

Going north, he would first have to cross the city ruins and giant forest in the central region, then traverse the entire freshwater lake, effectively crossing half the Wasteland Zone.

Going south would be much easier, quickly reaching a new area.

Li Ye stroked his chin, lost in thought.

While recuperating at Roland Fortress, he had tried to gather intelligence from bounty hunters, lone wolves, and traveling convoys.

The vast majority of them said that the Eternal Night Zone was located in the northern part of the Wasteland Zone.

Furthermore, the monsters that appeared there were terrifying.

In fact, after looking at the map, Li Ye also wanted to go north.

He was extremely curious about the freshwater lake and wanted to see it with his own eyes.

"I'll rest at Roland Fortress for a day or two, sell some more goods at the market, gather enough resources, and then head north!" he thought to himself.

However, what Li Ye never expected was that when he arrived at his destination, he saw the entire Roland Fortress engulfed in flames.

The city walls were destroyed, Zombie Hordes ran rampant, and the cries and screams of survivors were endless.

Last night, the lord of Roland Fortress had died.

The conflict between the two factions within the fortress had completely erupted, with the radical faction taking control of Lin Xia, the lord's daughter, and intending to forcibly implement their nomadic city plan under her name as the successor.

However, the conservative faction's methods were even more extreme; they directly chose to go to war.

And as the entire Roland Fortress descended into chaos, the Crimson Hound arrived.

This Predator City blasted open the city gates with Level 1 artillery and used its convoy as bait to lure the Zombie Horde into the fortress.

Li Ye learned what happened from a survivor he had just rescued.

At that moment, a roar sounded from a distance. He turned his head and saw that it was indeed the Crimson Hound.

Taking advantage of Roland Fortress's complete collapse, this Predator City looted the fortress's resources and then made its escape.

Gritting his teeth, Li Ye slowly calmed down and focused his gaze in the direction it had left.

With the combined efforts of Tomorrow, Conqueror, and Azure, the chaos at Roland Fortress finally ended.

At this moment, the once prosperous fortress was now a ruin, littered with corpses.

The fortress, which once housed over 2,000 people, now had only a little over 100 survivors.

Lin Xia was among them. When the city gates were breached and the Zombie Horde poured in, she seized the opportunity to kill the radical faction members guarding her and escape. After escaping, her first thought was not to flee, but to gather people and rescue as many residents as possible.

One-third of these hundred-plus people were saved by her.

After they were safe again, the young girl finally relaxed, silently covering her face.

"I'm sorry, Father," she said, her voice choked with emotion, tears streaming down her face. "I couldn't protect our home."

Li Ye's eyes flickered.

Although he knew the ruthlessness of the apocalypse, seeing a home for survivors destroyed before his eyes, he couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.

Having lost their homes, Lin Xia and the other survivors had only two choices.

Either they would wander out, or they would join mobile cities like Tomorrow.

Almost everyone chose the latter.

In this wasteland filled with monsters, the difficulty of surviving in the wild was imaginable. Mobile cities, on the other hand, provided stable food and fresh water daily, as well as sufficient safety guarantees.

And among the three mobile cities, everyone wanted to go to Tomorrow the most.

Falcon Assault Rifle, Gale Rocket Launcher, Frost Cannon, City Camouflage, Sun Apples, Instant Noodles, even Cola...

Among the three mobile cities, Tomorrow had the best resources.

Li Ye found himself in a difficult situation.

The Tomorrow currently had an urgent need for personnel, but it couldn't take in so many people all at once.

After some thought, he decided to recruit only forty people this time, selecting the best among them.

Independent survivors, young people, and those in their prime were prioritized. Specialists like Artillerymen and Mechanics would receive better treatment and could even bring others along.

The remaining sixty or so people would have to join either the Azure or the Conqueror.

Li Jin had no objections. His Azure had just made a comeback, so recruiting more people was fine.

Lei Jian, however, solemnly warned those who wished to join the Conqueror that newcomers would start as slaves. They would need to complete a certain amount of work before becoming ordinary residents.

These sixty or so people each made their choices.

After burying bodies, clearing ruins, searching for supplies, and packing their belongings, Lin Xia boarded the Tomorrow with 39 survivors.

The vast majority of them breathed a sigh of relief upon stepping onto the deck, their eyes showing immense gratitude.

The moment the fortress gates were breached and the Zombie Horde poured in, they all thought they were doomed. Even if they miraculously survived, they had no idea how to survive in the wilderness.

Now, they had joined the Tomorrow, a Mobile City with considerable strength, and their future lives and safety had some guarantee.

The survivors who boarded the other two Mobile Cities had similar thoughts.

The leaders of the three Mobile Cities did not board their vessels but remained on the ground to discuss matters.

"Where will you head from here?" Li Ye asked.

With their cooperation concluded, the three Mobile Cities had to make their own choices.

Traveling together was ultimately impossible. The resources in the wilderness were limited and simply couldn't sustain two Mobile Cities simultaneously – exceptions like Wild BOSSes or the Gross Mine were rare.