A Strange Mobile City Attacks

The wilderness contained a variety of resource sites.

Lumber yards, mines, mineral veins, lakes, and even oil fields.

Mines were among the most common resource sites.

They could yield iron ore, copper ore, saltpeter, and various other resources required by mobile cities.

After entering the watchtower, Li Ye immediately picked up a pair of binoculars.

He quickly spotted the mine the lookout had mentioned.

A group of Snake People occupied the mine. Snake People were large, cunning Level 1 Monsters. They had limbs and usually walked upright, looking more like lizards.

There were roughly forty or fifty Snake People, most of them Snake Workers. The rest were Snake Overseers and Snake Guards.

Snake Workers were ordinary Level 1 Monsters. Dressed in filthy work vests, they were currently swinging mining picks with all their strength.

Snake Overseers and Snake Guards, on the other hand, were elite-class monsters. The former carried whips and blades at their waists, while the latter wore armor and wielded swords and shields. They were also far larger than the Snake Workers.

Li Ye lowered his binoculars.

"We're taking this mine. Old Zhou, go gather the men."

As Old Zhou acknowledged the order and left, Li Ye began seriously considering how to fight this battle.

For a mobile city, attacking a resource site was no trivial matter.

They needed to compare both sides' strength beforehand, prepare weapons and ammunition, gather manpower, and choose the right time to attack.

Unlike zombies, which mindlessly chased survivors, Snake People were intelligent monsters. They knew how to use weapons, evade bullets and artillery fire, and even construct defensive fortifications.

Fifteen minutes later, Li Ye had made his preparations.

He had deployed fifteen people from Tomorrow, including Old Zhou. Four would operate the heavy machine guns aboard Tomorrow to provide fire support, while he would lead the rest in an assault on the mine.

Li Ye took one of the newly produced Falcon Assault Rifles for himself and distributed the rest among Old Zhou and his companions. The others carried pistols.

Seeing enemies approaching, the Snake People stopped working and immediately charged out of the mine with fierce momentum.

Li Ye narrowed his eyes, took aim, and opened fire.

Only a few seconds later did he realize that he might have worried too much.

As Level 1 Firearms, Falcon Assault Rifles were remarkably powerful. The sturdy bodies of the Snake Workers were like paper before them, torn apart by bullets in an instant.

Even the elite Snake Overseers and Snake Guards could only withstand one or two additional bullets.

After the first round of fire, a large number of Snake People had already fallen.

After another round, the Snake People's morale collapsed, and many of them turned to flee.

Li Ye captured the mine with ease, without suffering a single casualty.

After confirming that the mine was safe and no Snake People had survived, he waved toward Tomorrow.

The new residents then descended on the Lifting Platform with mining picks in hand and entered the mine to begin digging.

Over the next while, Li Ye began searching the Snake People's corpses.

After all, killing monsters came with drops.

The Snake Workers only dropped some Crystal Coins, along with scattered iron ore and cloth. The elite Snake Overseers and Snake Guards had better drops. Some dropped thirty Crystal Coins at once, while others dropped ten units of iron ore.

To Li Ye's surprise, he also found a blueprint on a Snake Guard.

Item Name: Hair Dryer

Item Grade: Ordinary

Additional Effect: None

Crafting Requirement: 2 units of iron ore (Level 1)

"Hair dryer?"

Though surprised, Li Ye also found it somewhat ridiculous.

Tomorrow's daily freshwater supply was only enough for drinking. Brushing teeth and washing faces were already luxuries, let alone washing one's hair.

Still, he certainly did not mind having more blueprints.

Incidentally, the zombies that had previously invaded Tomorrow had dropped items too, but pitifully few—only a handful of Crystal Coins in total.

That was why lords avoided zombie hordes whenever they encountered them.

They were not only dangerous, but poor.

To increase efficiency, Li Ye simply had the combatants from the earlier battle join the mining effort as well.

This mine was not large. By his estimate, it could produce roughly two or three hundred units of iron ore, along with a small amount of copper ore and saltpeter.

Just as he returned to Tomorrow's cockpit to drink some water and rest, the lookout's extremely nervous voice suddenly came through the speaking tube.

"Bad news! A mobile city is heading toward us!"

Li Ye sprang to his feet, spilling all the water in his hand. Tang Fang, seated beside him, instantly turned pale as well.

"Have everyone in the mine withdraw immediately!" Li Ye ordered at once. "Send people to man the heavy machine guns. Tang Fang, once everyone is back, bring Tomorrow up to maximum speed."

After giving the orders, he let out an immensely helpless sigh in his heart.

He really was unlucky. He had just taken a resource site when he ran into a mobile city.

Tomorrow's shells had already run out, and heavy machine guns could hardly damage a mobile city. He had no means of attacking at all.

Though he was extremely reluctant to give up what he had just acquired, retreating was the only option now.

At that moment, the lookout's surprised voice came through the speaking tube.

"Wait. Strange, why did that mobile city stop a kilometer away from us?"

Immediately afterward, Li Ye and Tang Fang heard the other mobile city sound its horn.

Two long blasts and one short blast meant it wished to communicate.

Mobile cities had no public communication channel. Over time, they had developed a method of communicating through the lengths of horn signals.

This method was quite useful. It allowed them to maintain a safe distance while clearly conveying their intentions.

In the wasteland, mobile cities were often competitors, if not outright enemies.

Whenever two mobile cities encountered each other, they would immediately keep a safe distance and enter a state of high alert.

After all, the fastest way for a mobile city to grow was to hunt another mobile city.

As long as you succeeded, all of the other side's resources and population would become yours.

Most importantly, you could enter the other side's production workshop and use the Lord's Bracelet to plunder all of its production projects—this was the greatest possible boost for a mobile city!

Half doubtful, Li Ye climbed the watchtower and raised his binoculars toward the mobile city.

Judging from its size, it was also a Level 1 City. It had been damaged in many places, and even its water tower had been destroyed.

Recalling the information he had seen earlier, Li Ye realized that this Level 1 City was Azure, the one that had failed to attack Gross Mine.

The other side repeated the two-long, one-short horn signal. To show its sincerity, it took the initiative to shut down its engines and withdraw its artillery and heavy machine guns.

Then, it sent an off-road vehicle toward Tomorrow.

The off-road vehicle stopped three hundred meters from Tomorrow. Two people got out and began waving their hands at Li Ye's side, seemingly hoping to communicate.

Li Ye immediately sent Old Zhou over with several people.

Ten minutes later, Old Zhou returned to his side with news from the other party.

"This city is Azure. Their lord wants to make a deal with us," he said. "Those two also said that, to show his sincerity, their lord would personally come out to meet with you."