Chapter 8: The Approaching Strange Mobile City

In the wilderness, there were a series of resource points: forests, mines, veins of ore, lakes, and even oil fields. Among these, mines were the most common resource points. They yielded iron ore, copper ore, saltpeter, and various other materials essential for a mobile city.

Upon entering the watchtower, Li Ye immediately picked up the binoculars. He quickly spotted the mine the lookout had mentioned. Occupying the mine was a group of serpent men. These creatures were tall and sinister Level 1 monsters, with limbs and a bipedal stance, resembling lizards more than snakes.

There were about forty to fifty serpent men in total. The vast majority were laborers, with the rest being overseers and guards. The laborers were ordinary Level 1 monsters, clad in grimy work vests, vigorously swinging pickaxes to extract ore. The overseers and guards were elite-level, the former armed with whips and blades at their waists, the latter donned in armor and equipped with sword and shield, their physiques far more imposing than the laborers.

Li Ye lowered the binoculars. “We’re going to take this mine. Lao Zhou, gather the men.” As Lao Zhou responded and went to rally the troops, Li Ye began carefully strategizing the assault.

Attacking a resource point was no trivial matter for a mobile city. One had to assess the enemy’s strength, prepare weapons and ammunition, assemble enough personnel, and choose the right moment to strike. Unlike the mindless zombies who chased survivors blindly, serpent men were intelligent monsters—they knew how to wield weapons, dodge bullets and artillery, and even build fortifications.

Fifteen minutes later, Li Ye was ready. He mobilized fifteen people from the Tomorrow, including Lao Zhou. Four would operate heavy machine guns aboard the Tomorrow to provide covering fire, while he would lead the rest in the ground assault. The newly produced Falcon assault rifles were distributed—Li Ye took one for himself, the others went to Lao Zhou and comrades. The rest carried pistols.

The serpent men ceased mining at the sight of approaching enemies and surged out of the mine with fierce aggression. Li Ye narrowed his eyes, took aim, and opened fire.

After a few seconds, he realized his worries had been unfounded. The Level 1 Falcon assault rifle packed a formidable punch. The sturdy laborers were like paper targets, shredded instantly by gunfire. Even the elite overseers and guards could only absorb one or two more shots.

By the end of the first volley, a large swath of serpent men lay fallen. Another round shattered their morale, and many fled.

Li Ye secured the mine without a single casualty. Confirming the area was clear of serpent men, he waved towards the Tomorrow. The new settlers descended the lift with their pickaxes and began mining.

In the following hours, Li Ye searched the serpent men’s corpses. Monsters dropped loot upon death. The laborers yielded only a few crystal coins and scraps of iron ore cloth, while the elite overseers and guards dropped better loot—some yielding thirty coins or ten units of iron ore in one go.

To Li Ye’s surprise, he found a blueprint on one of the serpent guards.

[Item Name: Hair Dryer]
[Item Level: Common]
[Effect: None]
[Crafting Requirements: 2 units of Level 1 iron ore]

“Hair dryer?” Li Ye mused, amused. The Tomorrow’s daily fresh water supply was barely enough for drinking; washing one’s face or brushing teeth was a luxury, let alone shampooing hair. Still, blueprints never went to waste.

Incidentally, zombies that had invaded the Tomorrow dropped pitiful loot—just a handful of crystal coins total. This was why lords dreaded zombie hordes: they were dangerous and utterly worthless.

To boost efficiency, Li Ye had the battle team join the mining effort. The mine wasn’t large, yielding roughly two to three hundred units of iron ore, along with some copper and saltpeter.

As Li Ye returned to the control room to rest and drink water, the radio crackled with urgency from the lookout.

“Bad news! A mobile city is heading our way!”

Li Ye sprang up, spilling his water. Tang Fang, sitting beside him, turned pale instantly.

“Order everyone out of the mine immediately!” Li Ye commanded. “Send people to man the heavy machine guns. Tang Fang, once everyone is back, accelerate the Tomorrow to full speed.”

He sighed inwardly in frustration. Just as they’d secured a resource point, another mobile city appeared.

The Tomorrow was out of artillery shells, and heavy machine guns were ineffective against mobile cities. They had no means to mount an offensive. Reluctantly, retreat was the only option.

Suddenly, the lookout’s voice came again, puzzled.

“Wait... strange. That mobile city stopped a kilometer away.”

Then Li Ye and Tang Fang heard the city’s horn: two long blasts followed by a short one—a signal to communicate.

Mobile cities lacked a public communications channel, so over time they developed a system of horn blasts to convey messages. It was effective—maintaining safe distance while clearly expressing intent.

In the wasteland, mobile cities were often competitors or outright enemies. Upon encountering one another, they maintained a safe distance and entered high alert. After all, the fastest way to grow a mobile city was to hunt down and defeat another. Success meant seizing their resources and population.

Most importantly, one could infiltrate the enemy’s production workshops and, through the lord’s bracelet, plunder all their production projects—a tremendous gain.

Skeptical, Li Ye climbed back to the watchtower and peered through the binoculars at the approaching city. From its scale, it was also a Level 1 city, battered in many places, its water tower even damaged.

Recalling previous intelligence, Li Ye realized this was the Azure, the Level 1 city that had failed to take the Gloss Mine.

The other city repeated the horn signal to show goodwill, then powered down its engines and withdrew its artillery and heavy machine guns.

Next, it sent out an off-road vehicle toward the Tomorrow.

The vehicle stopped three hundred meters away. Two men disembarked, waving their arms to communicate.

Li Ye dispatched Lao Zhou with a few men to meet them.

Ten minutes later, Lao Zhou returned with news.

“This city is the Azure. Their lord wants to trade with us,” he reported. “Those two said their lord will come personally to negotiate, to show sincerity.”