In the City Ruins, the Tomorrow slowly rolled forward.
On deck, Lin Wu led his people in busily inspecting and repairing various parts of the city.
In the middle section, Old Zhou was urgently training the newly enlisted fighters.
Li Ye stood in the Watchtower, watching the surroundings through binoculars.
The Tomorrow was currently advancing slowly toward the central area of the city, encountering quite a few situations along the way.
Two Survivor Community convoys cautiously kept their distance from each other.
Several bounty hunters had driven motorcycles or Off-road Vehicles into the City Ruins to try their luck.
A Mobile City that seemed to have just set sail, with insufficient personnel, artillery, and Heavy Machine Guns.
Boar People, Snake People, Goblins, and other monsters wandered through the streets and alleys.
The City Ruins were exceptionally lively. Not only were they rich in resources, but they were also located in the central area of the Wasteland Zone, meaning almost every faction passing through the region would come here.
Although he did not yet understand the situation in the City Ruins, Li Ye still planned to stay here for a while longer.
All in all, the City Ruins still offered quite a few benefits.
Gas stations could be found everywhere in the city, allowing them to gather fuel.
Steel Rebar from abandoned vehicles and buildings could be collected and smelted back into Iron Ore.
At vehicle dealerships, they might even find usable motorcycles and cars. After all, vehicles were extremely useful in the wasteland.
Textile factories, for instance, might contain hundreds or even thousands of units of Cloth.
"Come to think of it, how many years has the wasteland lasted so far?" he wondered. "What was this world like before the Great Cataclysm? Is its cultural history similar to Blue Star's? Is this planet the same size as Blue Star? How many continents are there? What proportion is covered by oceans?"
All of these questions remained unanswered. They could only be explored and uncovered gradually in the future.
To investigate the situation in the city, Li Ye sent out the two convoys under his command once again.
The newly established Team 1 explored the outskirts, while Team 2 explored the city center.
By around dusk, both convoys returned one after another, bringing back their respective reports.
Team 1 had discovered a Survivor Community called "Friday," with around two hundred members.
Team 2 had brought back the news Li Ye wanted most: information from the city center.
"There are a lot of Goblins there—hundreds, even thousands," a member of Team 2 reported. "They're building fortresses, digging trenches, and setting up machine-gun posts and artillery positions. They've practically taken complete control of the city center."
"But that's not even the most outrageous part." As he spoke, a trace of astonishment appeared in his eyes. "There's also a Level 1 Goblin Fortress there!"
Li Ye froze as well.
There were Monster Mobile Cities, sure—but there was actually a Monster Fortress too?
The Goblins' strength was absurdly formidable!
But after thinking it over, the combination of a "fortress plus Mobile City" did seem quite effective.
The fortress could provide the Mobile City with personnel and material supplies, allowing it to rest safely. The Mobile City, meanwhile, could gather supplies and hunt enemies outside, repaying the fortress in turn.
As he pondered, Li Ye slowly nodded.
The conjecture in his heart had now been confirmed.
The rising Monster Civilization mentioned in the intelligence was undoubtedly the Goblin Civilization.
The reason the Goblins wanted to occupy the City Ruins was that they were located in the central area of the Wasteland Zone, making them ideal for expanding their territory.
The Gross Mine attacked by the Three-City Alliance earlier was evidently an outpost where the Goblin Civilization's influence extended southward.
Wait—a north-to-south direction.
Li Ye recalled the map of the Wasteland Zone shown in the earlier intelligence: the Serene Lake that occupied twenty percent of its area.
"Maybe the Goblin Civilization is there," he thought.
A few minutes later, Li Ye encountered another unexpected situation.
An Off-road Vehicle was driving over from the distance. Every so often, it honked at the Tomorrow as a signal, seemingly hoping to communicate.
Li Ye thought for a moment, then made a decision.
"Let's stop and talk to him. It won't delay us for long anyway, and we might even learn some important information."
A capable-looking young man got out of the Off-road Vehicle. He nodded at Li Ye and the others, then introduced himself.
"I'm from the Level 1 Mobile City Vanguard. I'm the lord's trusted aide."
As everyone began discussing among themselves, Li Ye's expression changed slightly.
None of them knew anything, but he alone understood the truth perfectly.
The Vanguard was precisely the city mentioned in the intelligence—the one that had "defeated two Level 1 Mobile Cities single-handedly during a pursuit" and "easily defeated a Predator City and seized a Level 2 Item"!
He had sensed back then that this Mobile City was extraordinary, and had even felt faintly wary of it.
He had not expected someone from it to come looking for him this time.
"What do you want?" Li Ye asked.
The young man gently touched his chest and bowed slightly.
"Lord, I've come to invite you to join the Mobile City Communication Channel."
After entering the cab, verifying his identity through the Lord's Bracelet, and entering the verification code "SA535921" on the screen, one could join the Mobile City Communication Channel numbered A4.
When Li Ye entered the code with some hesitation, a chatroom-like interface suddenly appeared on the screen before him.
Mobile City Communication Channel: A4 Current number of Mobile Cities: 8 Member List Administrator—Vanguard Bronze Wanderer Echo Moonshadow Seagull .
The chatroom was named "Vanguard Alliance," which was probably the name of this city alliance.
After hearing the young man's explanation, Li Ye learned the reason behind it.
The Vanguard had accidentally obtained a precious Level 2 Item: the City Radio.
The City Radio was probably the most valuable item in the wasteland.
A Level 1 City Radio could create a Communication Channel that held four members, while a Level 2 City Radio could create one that held twelve.
With this Level 2 City Radio, the Vanguard had created the Communication Channel and become its administrator. By setting a verification code, it could invite other Mobile Cities to join.
Thus, the Vanguard had sent out several trusted aides, having them drive to various parts of the Wasteland Zone and recruit Mobile Cities to join.
As Li Ye listened, his hand began to tremble slightly.
All along, Mobile Cities in the wild had generally existed like isolated islands.
They were cut off from the world, fighting alone, with limited sources of information. It was difficult for them to understand the outside world in real time, and their reactions were often slow.
But the existence of this Level 2 City Radio could bring about an extraordinary transformation!
It could break the isolation between Mobile Cities, bringing them together so they could exchange information about their respective regions in real time, trade resources, and complement each other's strengths.
Even during battles, the various Mobile Cities could communicate the situation in real time, coordinate with one another, and achieve far greater results.
This was essentially a Mobile City alliance.
Amid his shock and amazement, Li Ye's brows also creased slightly.
The Vanguard was the owner of this Communication Channel, as well as the initiator of this Mobile City alliance.
That gave it unimaginable advantages.
As administrator, it could recruit and expel members at will, direct them to exchange intelligence and trade resources, and even command operations such as attacking Wild BOSSes and enemy fortresses.
At this thought, Li Ye could not help silently marveling to himself.
"The Vanguard was already extraordinarily powerful. Now that it has a treasure like this, won't its development accelerate by leaps and bounds in the future?"
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