Chapter 10: Life on the Moving City
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Several days later.
High atop the watchtower, Li Ye lowered the binoculars in his hands and narrowed his eyes as he felt the gentle breeze against his face.
The past two days had been unexpectedly peaceful. They had not encountered a single monster.
Yet his heart had not eased in the slightest.
The Wasteland Zone would be completely destroyed in three months.
That knowledge hung over him like the Sword of Damocles, weighing on his mind every moment.
The Tomorrow desperately needed to develop, but they had discovered no resources during the past two days.
Realizing that his thoughts were becoming somewhat troubled, he quickly shook his head.
“Don’t let your mood sink too low. The new day has only just begun.”
He then looked down from the watchtower over the entirety of the Tomorrow.
As a Level One city, the Tomorrow was approximately 125 meters long and 80 meters wide, with a usual speed of ten to thirty kilometers per hour.
It was divided into three levels: upper, middle, and lower.
The upper level was the Noble District, occupying roughly five percent of the entire mobile city. The Noble District enjoyed the best sunlight and air. It also contained a small garden, an observation deck, and several spacious houses. The former lord, along with his family and close confidants, had lived here. As an aside, the watchtower where Li Ye stood was also located on the upper level.
The middle level was the civilian and residential district. It was the largest area, accounting for roughly seventy percent of the mobile city. The residential quarters, farmland, water tower, and warehouses were all located there. The rooms on the middle level were nowhere near as spacious as those above; each measured only nine square meters.
The lower level was the power and slave district, occupying twenty-five percent of the city. It housed the city’s power system, fuel room, cockpit, production workshops, warehouses, and cranes.
Generally speaking, a Level One mobile city had a maximum standard capacity of one thousand people.
In reality, it could accommodate more, provided everyone squeezed in a little tighter.
However, in practice, few Level One cities ever reached the standard population of one thousand. After all, this was a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Every morning began with the pressure of survival. More people meant greater consumption of food and fresh water, while the resources of a mobile city were limited to begin with.
As he descended from the watchtower, Li Ye cast a casual glance over the upper level.
He and Old Zhou’s group were living on the upper level now. Their rooms were spacious and furnished with wardrobes, desks, bedside tables, and other pieces of furniture. Their living conditions had improved dramatically compared with the days when they had been slaves. Li Ye currently occupied the lord’s room, which not only contained a Simmons bed but even had a private bathroom.
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As his gaze passed over the small garden and observation deck, Li Ye frowned slightly.
To him, both places were somewhat superfluous.
Space was already limited aboard a mobile city. With such fine sunlight on the upper level, it would be better to tear down the garden and observation deck and convert the area into farmland for growing food.
Following the gangway, Li Ye slowly made his way toward the middle level.
Along the way, he passed several busy people—the newcomers who were cleaning the Tomorrow.
The Tomorrow was still short-handed. The newcomers were responsible not only for extracting resources but also for tending the fields and handling cleaning duties in their spare time.
Li Ye glanced at the farmland as he passed. It was filled with pale-blue leaves—the blueheart potato seeds he had planted several days earlier. In just a few more days, they would be ready for harvest.
As he wandered, Li Ye took a steamed bun from his pocket and began chewing on it.
Because supplies were limited, the Tomorrow could currently provide only fixed rations. Ordinary residents received one unit of fresh water, one steamed bun, and two potatoes each day.
Combat personnel received two units of fresh water and six steamed buns or potatoes.
Specialists such as combat captains, helmsmen, mechanics, and lookouts received even more.
Of the twelve people who had joined Li Ye in rising up aboard the Tomorrow, Tang Fang was the helmsman. Old Zhou served as his deputy while also acting as combat captain. Li Ye had assigned the rest as combat personnel, responsible for external operations and maintaining order aboard the Tomorrow.
At that moment, Old Zhou was leading several companions on patrol. Li Ye gave them a slight nod, then continued chewing his steamed bun.
In the apocalypse, development was only possible with a trustworthy core group.
Soon, he reached the lower level. He had barely taken a few steps when an excited cry rang out from the cockpit.
“You’re incredible, Brother Lin! Following your method, setting up the autopilot program really is much easier!”
Li Ye entered the cockpit and saw Tang Fang standing excitedly before the control console. Beside him stood Lin Wu, the bespectacled young man he had recently recruited.
The little girl Xiao Yao, whom Lin Wu had brought with him, was there as well.
She stood behind Lin Wu, holding the handles of his wheelchair. When she saw Li Ye, she timidly shrank back. She had happened to hear Li Ye say that day, “If you can’t prove useful, I really will throw both of you overboard.”
Li Ye looked at Lin Wu in surprise.
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During these past few days, Lin Wu had not disappointed him. He had kept the Tomorrow’s maintenance work in perfect order.
Even more surprising, Lin Wu was genuinely capable of serving as a helmsman. He knew the entire series of operating procedures by heart and could even teach Tang Fang how to configure the driving program.
This man... might become an enormous asset to the Tomorrow’s future development. If only his health were better!
As he silently watched Lin Wu, a trace of regret flashed through Li Ye’s eyes. During these past few days, he had seen Lin Wu cough up blood more than once.
Considering that a helmsman needed to remain on duty for long periods and expend tremendous energy, while Lin Wu’s health was far too poor, Li Ye had ultimately decided not to appoint him as helmsman. Instead, he would select someone else from the Tomorrow and train him.
That way, the new helmsman and Tang Fang could take turns piloting the Tomorrow, easing the burden on him.
Although an autopilot program could be configured, Tang Fang had to remain in the cockpit at all times whenever the Tomorrow was operating automatically, in case anything went wrong.
In fact, ever since taking over as helmsman, Tang Fang had never left the cockpit except to use the bathroom. He even ate and slept there.
The new helmsman would naturally be chosen from among his own people. Although the newcomers recruited this time all seemed capable, Li Ye did not dare take the risk.
He called the companion he had selected into the cockpit and had Lin Wu and Tang Fang teach him.
In addition, the companion serving as lookout also shared his thoughts with Li Ye.
Rather than remaining a lookout, he wanted to become combat personnel and charge into battle alongside Old Zhou and the others. That day, while watching Li Ye, Old Zhou, and the others sweep the snake-men with assault rifles, he had burned with envy from atop the watchtower.
Li Ye agreed to his request and said that he would find a way to recruit a new lookout as soon as possible.
After making all these arrangements, Li Ye opened the system interface.
A new round of intelligence had now been refreshed.
This time, it had produced one Common, one Excellent, two Rare, one Outstanding, and one Epic piece of intelligence!
The first five entries had already been clearly listed, while the Epic entry was still refreshing.
Li Ye quickly began reading through the new intelligence.
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