Chapter 53: The Storm Is Brewing

[Tomorrow: I had a brief exchange of fire with members of the Tarot Alliance not long ago and managed to escape successfully.]
[Moon Shadow: As long as you're safe, that's what matters. That place is too dangerous; you'd better hurry over to the Giant Forest and rendezvous with me.]
[Tomorrow: I'll do my best.]

During this time, Li Ye learned that the Vanguard Alliance had clashed with the Tarot Alliance on multiple occasions in the past, though both sides had only engaged in small-scale skirmishes.

Vanguard had voiced his own puzzle.
Whenever he and his members went out on operations, the Tarot Alliance always seemed to discover them "conveniently" and launch attacks.
Everyone suspected that the Tarot Alliance might possess a Level 2 item capable of detecting mobile cities.

Hearing this, Li Ye could not help but shake his head.
If that were the case, Tomorrow being out in the wilderness alone was truly too dangerous; staying within the Vanguard Alliance was considerably safer.

Seemingly recalling something, he reached into his tunic and drew out the city structure blueprint.
Tomorrow certainly wasn't the only one aiming to advance to Level 2; there were bound to be numerous mobile cities doing the same.
Predator cities within the Tarot Alliance were undoubtedly preparing for it, and within the alliance he currently belonged to, members might be plotting the same thing.

An innocent man gets into trouble because of his wealth.
This was the exact thought running through Li Ye's mind at the moment.

Equipped with city camouflage, a Level 2 vehicle, two Level 1 cannons, and this city structure blueprint on top of it all,
Tomorrow was an existence that would make countless people green with envy out in the wilderness.
For the sake of safety, Tomorrow had to conceal itself thoroughly so that no one would ever discover it.

At this very moment, the members on the A4 communication channel were still exchanging intelligence.

[Vanguard: Pay attention, everyone. I need to share two pieces of crucial news with you.]
[Bronze Wanderer: Indeed, everyone listen closely. Go ahead, boss.]
[Vanguard: A few hours ago, Bronze Wanderer and I bumped into a battered, scarred mobile city that had just escaped from that Giant Forest. After paying 300 units of iron ore and 150 units of fuel, I learned two things from it.]
[Vanguard: First, a Level 2 mobile city has been spotted roaming the Giant Forest. It is also a predator city, specifically hunting Level 1 mobile cities like ours. Second, the Tarot Alliance is also prowling around the Giant Forest, with two more members having arrived recently.]
[Moon Shadow: There's actually a Level 2 mobile city in that forest?]
[Echo: The Tarot Alliance? Don't tell me all of them are heading to the Giant Forest?]
[Vanguard: The Giant Forest is a central region just like the city ruins, and plenty of mobile cities pass through it. It's completely normal for the Tarot Alliance to gather there for hunting.]
[Tomorrow: Perhaps this predator city alliance also intends to head toward the Serene Lake.]
[Vanguard: That's a possibility. I suggest everyone prepare for the worst—we might end up going to war with the Tarot Alliance.]

Li Ye furrowed his brow tightly.
The first piece of intelligence did not actually catch him by surprise, as the system information had previously mentioned that the Wasteland Zone contained a total of three Level 2 mobile cities. The appearance of one in the Giant Forest was a perfectly normal occurrence.

Compared to that, he was far more concerned about whether there was actually a Level 2 mobile city near the Serene Lake.
When compared to a Level 1 mobile city, a Level 2 city was like a big fish eating a small fish. The combat power of the former vastly exceeded the latter.
In fact, out in the wilderness, you could recognize a Level 2 city at a glance. After all, its size far surpassed that of a Level 1 mobile city, making it roughly comparable to a small mountain.

The second piece of intelligence, however, gave him a bit of a headache.
Although the intelligence system had already informed him that five members of the Tarot Alliance were in the Giant Forest, the movements of these two recent arrivals clearly indicated that this predator alliance intended to begin hunting within the Giant Forest.

"Once they're done hunting in the forest, they'll probably head straight for the Serene Lake," he pondered.
For all he knew, the two city alliances might ignite a cataclysmic battle right inside the Giant Forest.
And Tomorrow, as one of the participants, would inevitably be dragged into it.

At this thought, Li Ye could not help releasing a sigh.
"A storm is truly brewing..."

...

A few days later.

Gazing at the city ruins receding into the distance behind him, Li Ye finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"We've finally made it out."

Tomorrow's luck had been fairly decent these past few days; they had not encountered any members of the Tarot Alliance.
Yet the sounds of gunfire and explosions within the city ruins had never ceased for a single day.

Li Ye subsequently made his way to the mid-level farmland.
The morning-light wheat in the fields had ripened and been harvested, yielding a full 2,312 units.
After hulling and drying, it would be ground into flour to produce steamed buns, instant cup noodles, whole-wheat crackers, and ordinary pasta.

Li Ye's lunch today consisted of a few steamed buns and a plate of stir-fried potato slices.
The cooking oil and salt used for the dish had been purchased from a town previously.

Li Ye ate leisurely. Over these past few days, he had hardly had any appetite for food; his concentration had been entirely focused on commanding Tomorrow.
Along the way, he had bypassed numerous resource points, including even an industrial district.
Yet considering that the longer one lingered in the city ruins, the more perilous it became, he simply couldn't be bothered to scavenge for resources, ordering Tomorrow to dash straight through the city ruins at full speed.

Only now did his mood ease up considerably.
The rest of the residents felt the same way.

At this moment, Tomorrow was traveling across an endless expanse of wilderness, where rolling waves of green radiated vitality.
It was not journeying alone; accompanying it were quite a few bounty hunters, convoys, and even other mobile cities.
After traversing the city ruins, it wouldn't be long before they reached the Giant Forest, followed closely by the Serene Lake.

Everyone maintained a tacit understanding, keeping their distance while moving forward together.
This expanse of wilderness was far from as peaceful as one might imagine; it was teeming with wandering monsters along with their outposts and strongholds.
Two mobile cities had already halted their journey and begun clearing out wild monsters.

Li Ye stood atop the watchtower, scanning the surrounding scenery through a pair of binoculars.
Then, he turned his gaze to the intelligence panel before him.
The cooldown on the intelligence panel had finished two days ago.

[Time until next intelligence refresh: 7 days 13 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds]
[Quantity of intelligence: 7]

"It's going to take a full 10 days for a refresh this time. It looks like the value of this intelligence will definitely be exceptionally high," Li Ye nodded. "With seven pieces, there might even be legendary-grade intelligence."

Following that, his brows knitted together once more.
Regarding the advancement to a Level 2 city, Tomorrow had currently only gathered the city structure blueprint and over a hundred Level 1 city alloys.
As for the remaining Level 1 resources—such as iron ore, coal, and fuel—over 800 more alloys, and a city crystal, he would have no choice but to find a way to scavenge them within the Serene Lake.
Otherwise, Tomorrow would have to venture into the Eternal Night Zone merely as a Level 1 mobile city.

To cope with this, Li Ye comforted himself inwardly, telling himself not to be overly anxious.
After all, the Serene Lake occupied one-fifth of the Wasteland Zone's total area; resources there were bound to be abundant.

However, what gave him a minor headache was that he currently hadn't managed to collect many Level 1 aquatic navigation city components.
When the time came, Tomorrow might well have to forge a bunch of ordinary marine parts just to cross the Serene Lake.

A soft yawn echoed beside him. Li Ye turned his head and spotted Lin Xia dozing off.
Pulling his thoughts back, a faint sense of apology welled up in his heart.

Throughout these past few days, to maintain constant vigilance, Lin Xia had spent nearly 24 hours a day stationed on the watchtower as a lookout, only resting her eyes for a brief moment when exhaustion truly overwhelmed her.
Even when Li Ye had urged her to take a break, the young girl had stubbornly chosen to remain at her post.

"I need to find another lookout to rotate shifts with Lin Xia," he thought to herself. "Otherwise, she's going to push herself past the limit."

After careful selection, Li Ye picked a young girl from among the ordinary residents and entrusted her to Lin Xia to be trained as a new lookout, enabling them to take turns standing watch.

Directly afterward, he began to ponder another issue.
As time progressed, Tomorrow would undoubtedly evolve into an even higher-tier mobile city, at which point it would possess its own naval and aerial armaments.
Operating these vehicles would require experienced pilots and drivers.

"I can't just wait until I actually acquire water and aerial vehicles before I start looking for pilots," he thought. "I might as well start planning and training them right now."