A4 City Communication Channel

The City Ruins slowly advanced as the Morningstar moved forward.

On the deck, Lin Wu led his men in a busy inspection of the city sections.

In the middle layer, Old Zhou was urgently training the newly enlisted Combat Personnel.

Li Ye stood on the Watchtower, using binoculars to observe the surrounding situation.

Currently, the Morningstar was gradually heading toward the city center, encountering various situations along the way.

Two survivor convoys cautiously keeping their distance.

A few Bounty Hunters riding motorcycles or off-road vehicles, trying their luck in the City Ruins.

A Mobile City that seemed to have just set sail, lacking sufficient personnel, artillery, and Heavy Machine Guns.

Monsters like Boar People, Snake People, and Goblins roaming the streets and alleys.

This City Ruins was exceptionally lively, not only because of its abundant resources but also because it sat at the heart of the Wasteland Zone, a place nearly every faction passed through when traveling.

Although he didn't fully understand the situation in the City Ruins, Li Ye still planned to stay here for a while.

Overall, the City Ruins offered quite a few benefits.

Gas stations scattered throughout the city allowed for fuel collection.

Abandoned vehicles and Steel Rebar from buildings could be gathered and smelted into Iron Ore.

In car dealerships, there was a chance of finding usable motorcycles and cars—after all, vehicles were extremely practical in the wasteland.

Textile factories might yield hundreds or thousands of bolts of Cloth.

"Come to think of it, how many years has the wasteland lasted now?" he wondered. "What was this world like before the Cataclysm? Is its culture and history similar to Blue Star? Is this planet the same size as Blue Star? How many continents are there? What's the ocean coverage?"

All of these were question marks, only to be explored and uncovered slowly in the future.

To gather information about the city, Li Ye sent out his two teams.

The newly formed Team 1 explored the outskirts, while Team 2 investigated the city center.

By around evening, both teams returned, bringing back their respective reports.

Team 1 had discovered a Survivor Community named "Friday," with a population of about 200.

Team 2 brought back the news Li Ye wanted most—from the city center.

"There are a lot of Goblins there, hundreds of them," a member of Team 2 said. "They're building fortresses, digging trenches, setting up machine gun nests and artillery positions—they've almost completely taken over the city center."

"But that's not the craziest part," he continued, a hint of shock in his eyes. "There's also a Level 1 Goblin Fortress there!"

Li Ye was stunned too.

Not only were there monster Mobile Cities, but now a monster fortress as well?

Just how absurd were the Goblins' capabilities?

But thinking it over, the combination of "fortress + Mobile City" wasn't bad.

The fortress could supply the Mobile City with personnel and materials, allowing it to rest and resupply safely. Meanwhile, the Mobile City could gather resources and hunt enemies outside, giving back to the fortress.

As he pondered, Li Ye slowly nodded.

Now, the speculation in his mind had been confirmed.

The rising Monster Civilization mentioned in the intelligence was undoubtedly the Goblin Civilization.

The reason the Goblins occupied the City Ruins was that it was the center of the Wasteland Zone, the best location for expanding their influence.

The Gross Mine that the Three-City Alliance had attacked earlier was clearly an outpost of the Goblin Civilization extending southward.

Wait, from north to south.

Li Ye recalled the map of the Wasteland Zone from earlier intelligence, which showed Serene Lake covering 20% of the area.

"Maybe the Goblin Civilization is there," he thought.

A few minutes later, Li Ye encountered an unexpected situation.

An off-road vehicle drove in from the distance, honking and signaling toward the Morningstar, as if wanting to communicate.

Li Ye thought for a moment, then made a decision.

"Let's stop and talk to him. It won't waste much time, and we might even get some important information."

A sharp-looking young man got out of the off-road vehicle. He nodded to Li Ye and the others, then introduced himself.

"I'm from the Level 1 Mobile City Vanguard, a trusted subordinate of the Lord."

As the crowd murmured among themselves, Li Ye's expression shifted slightly.

No one else knew, but he alone understood.

The Vanguard was the very city mentioned in the intelligence: "defeated two Level 1 Mobile Cities in a pursuit battle, one against two" and "easily crushed a Predator City and seized a Level 2 Item."

Back then, he already felt this Mobile City was extraordinary, even harboring some wariness toward it.

He never expected that now, someone from that city would come to him on their own.

"What business do you have?" Li Ye asked.

The young man gently touched his chest and gave a slight bow.

"This Lord, I have come to invite you to join the Mobile City Communication Channel."

Enter the cockpit, verify your identity through the Lord's Bracelet, and input the verification code "SA535921" on the screen to join the Mobile City Communication Channel numbered A4.

When Li Ye entered the string of verification codes with half-belief, a chatroom-like interface appeared on the screen before him.

[Mobile City Communication Channel: A4]

[Current Number of Mobile Cities: 8]

[Member List]

[Admin - Vanguard]

[Bronze Wanderer]

[Echo]

[Moonshadow]

[Seagull]

[.]

The chatroom was named "Vanguard Alliance," presumably the name of this city alliance.

Through the young man's explanation, Li Ye learned the reason.

The Vanguard had stumbled upon a precious Level 2 Item—the City Radio.

A City Radio was likely the most valuable item on the wasteland.

A Level 1 City Radio could create a Communication Channel accommodating 4 members, while a Level 2 City Radio could create one accommodating 12 members.

With this Level 2 City Radio, the Vanguard was able to create a Communication Channel and become its administrator, inviting other Mobile Cities to join by setting verification codes.

Thus, the Vanguard dispatched several trusted subordinates, sending them by car across the Wasteland Zone to recruit Mobile Cities into the fold.

As Li Ye listened, his hands began to tremble slightly.

For a long time, Mobile Cities had existed like isolated islands in the wild.

Cut off from the world, fighting alone, with limited sources of information, they struggled to grasp real-time external conditions and reacted slowly.

But the existence of this Level 2 City Radio could bring about extraordinary change!

It could break the isolation between Mobile Cities, uniting them and allowing real-time exchange of intelligence from their respective regions, mutual trade of resources, and complementary support.

Even in battle, each Mobile City could communicate the situation in real time, coordinate with one another, and achieve greater results.

It was essentially a Mobile City alliance.

Amid his shock and admiration, Li Ye also furrowed his brow slightly.

The Vanguard was the owner of this Communication Channel and the initiator of this Mobile City alliance.

This gave it an unimaginable advantage.

As the administrator, it could freely recruit and expel members, mobilize them to exchange intelligence and trade resources, and even command actions such as attacking Wild BOSSes or enemy fortresses.

Thinking this over, Li Ye couldn't help but silently remark to himself.

"This Vanguard is already formidable, and now with such a treasure in hand, won't its development skyrocket from here?"