Chapter 5: Level 1 Firearm - Falcon Assault Rifle

Page 1/3

After swiftly reading through the five pieces of intelligence before him, Li Ye couldn’t help but furrow his brow. Compared to the previous batch, this round was clearly inferior, with the most valuable information being only a single rare-level report. Yet, this also confirmed the system’s rules. Rubbing his eyes, he steadied himself and began analyzing the intelligence.

Once again, the information concerned the Azure—a mobile city rallying its forces to capture a monster-held mining site, with the lord arriving in support. There was also an unpolluted freshwater lake situated close to the Tomorrow. To the west, about 100 kilometers away, lay a survivor settlement with a population of 161. The Level 1 mobile city Scarlet Hound had successfully developed Level 1 artillery, along with details on its number of combatants and firepower configuration. Additionally, a goblin merchant caravan was reported to be active in Thunder Canyon.

What caught Li Ye’s attention most were the fourth and fifth pieces of intelligence. Eight standard cannons, fourteen heavy machine guns, four convoys, ninety-six combat personnel, over 120 firearms, and even two Level 1 cannons! The armament scale of the Scarlet Hound was staggering—such firepower was enough to obliterate a town at will.

“Could there really be a mobile city with such formidable strength in the Wasteland?” Li Ye was stunned. At the same time, a question slowly took root in his mind. Why did the Scarlet Hound have as many as ninety-six combatants? Did these fighters engage in labor during peacetime, or were they solely focused on combat? If the latter, how many slaves would be needed to sustain them?

Soon, a theory emerged in his mind. The population aboard the Scarlet Hound might not be as numerous as imagined; the vast majority could be combatants. Their primary lifestyle was to sustain themselves through warfare—by killing monsters, attacking survivor settlements, capturing resource points, or even hunting other mobile cities. This method was far faster than farming or gathering resources. Such mobile cities were often called “predatory cities.”

For now, Li Ye could only silently pray they would avoid encountering the Scarlet Hound.

He then turned his attention to the fifth piece of intelligence: a goblin merchant caravan would be active in Thunder Canyon on the morning after tomorrow.

Countless monsters roamed the wasteland, usually hostile to humans, attacking at the slightest provocation. Killing monsters could yield crystal coins, materials, weapons, or even valuable blueprints. A monster caravan was a rare exception—its members were neutral, allowing free trade and interaction with humans.

The intelligence system clearly stated that exchanging candles with the goblin caravan might bring good rewards. Li Ye nodded thoughtfully. This fifth intelligence was the most valuable of the lot. The Tomorrow’s warehouse happened to have two boxes of candles, and he wondered what treasures they might fetch.

After planning the Tomorrow’s next moves, he slowly headed toward the cockpit. According to Li Ye’s arrangements, the crew took shifts standing guard. Night had fallen, and visibility was poor, so the temporary lookouts on the observation tower had returned to rest, to resume duty at dawn.

Descending the gangway, Li Ye glanced around, seeing only boundless darkness. The only lights were the searchlight piercing ahead and the scattered lights flickering on the Tomorrow.

Page 2/3

Inside the cockpit, Tang Fang was resting with narrowed eyes, and Old Zhou sat nearby. Seeing Li Ye approach, they quickly stood up.

“Xiao Fang, change the Tomorrow’s heading—go northeast for five kilometers,” Li Ye instructed. “Then we’ll head to Thunder Canyon.”

Tang Fang and Old Zhou exchanged a glance, both surprised. From their perspective—and everyone else’s—Li Ye seemed to have awakened some sort of power since that morning, able to foresee certain events. But for those who trusted him, this wasn’t a bad thing.

Before long, under the beam of the searchlight, an unpolluted freshwater lake came into view. With a series of controls, Li Ye opened a hatch on the Tomorrow, extending a massive pipe into the lake. The freshwater level on the instrument panel slowly began to rise.

The extracted freshwater was stored in the Tomorrow’s water tower, which currently held a capacity of three thousand units. This was an ordinary-level water tower; a Level 1 water tower could store far more. Unfortunately, Li Ye did not yet possess a blueprint for a Level 1 water tower.

Watching the steadily increasing freshwater, Tang Fang and Old Zhou visibly relaxed. Li Ye opened the map and carefully marked the lake’s position. The map itself was mostly blank, with many unexplored areas.

While waiting for the water tower to fill, the three chatted casually. Then, their eyes all turned to the instrument panel.

[Mobile City Energy Remaining: 11%]

“Don’t worry,” Li Ye reassured. “We still have plenty of Level 1 iron ore. If things get tight, we can use that as fuel.”

The mobile city’s energy supply was peculiar—coal, ore, oil, wood, cloth, even garbage could replenish energy. Garbage yielded very little energy; coal and oil yielded much more.

Upon hearing this, Tang Fang immediately frowned. “Brother Li, can we please not use iron ore?” he said miserably. “It feels like such a waste.”

Li Ye nodded in agreement. Level 1 iron ore was essential for upgrades and production, so using it as fuel was indeed wasteful.

“We still have 11% energy left—that should last a few days,” he said. “If we really have no choice, then we’ll use the iron ore.”

He patted both their shoulders lightly. “Rest well. We have work to do tomorrow.”

At dawn, the Tomorrow reached Thunder Canyon. From the lookout tower, Li Ye raised his binoculars and soon spotted the goblin merchant caravan mentioned in the intelligence. He immediately used the tower’s loudspeaker to order Tang Fang to steer the Tomorrow closer to the caravan.

As the distance closed, he gained a clear view of the entire caravan.

Page 3/3

The group included a dozen or so goblin merchants, riding small horses and carrying large bundles of packages. To Li Ye’s surprise, a group of goblin cavalry guarded the caravan’s flanks.

“Our luck is incredible, Brother Li! To actually run into a monster caravan!” Tang Fang’s voice came excitedly through the loudspeaker.

Li Ye smiled faintly in response. It wasn’t luck.

As the Tomorrow came to a halt, Li Ye and Old Zhou, carrying two boxes of candles, along with several companions, slowly approached the goblin caravan. The goblin merchants were initially highly wary, but upon seeing half a box of candles displayed by Li Ye, they paused and then eagerly dismounted, rushing toward him.

Li Ye first took out a candle and waved it in front of them experimentally. “How much is this worth?”

One goblin merchant pondered briefly before pulling from his pack a jet-black Level 1 ore.

“Is this... shadow ore?” Li Ye was taken aback.

Shadow ore was a rare resource, only found in rare shadow veins, and could sell for a good price.

After consideration, he handed over half a box of candles. “How about this?”

Another goblin began rummaging through his pack, then seemingly performed a magic trick to pull out an item.

[Item Name: Portable Travel Refrigerator for Caravan]

[Item Level: 1]

[Effect: Reduces energy consumption by 20%]

“Half a box of candles can exchange for a Level 1 item?” Li Ye was surprised. Though the energy-saving refrigerator was quite useful, he didn’t currently need it.

After some thought, he handed over both boxes of candles. “How about this?”

This time, the goblin merchants erupted with excitement, swarming before Li Ye, eagerly pulling out items to trade.

Amid the dazzling array, Li Ye’s eyes caught sight of something.

[Blueprint: Falcon Assault Rifle]

[Item Name: Falcon Assault Rifle]

[Item Level: 1]

[Effect: 1. Accuracy +2% 2. Damage +6%]

[Crafting Requirements: 50 units of Level 1 iron ore]

“This is great!” His eyes immediately lit up.