On the way, the Tomorrow Alliance encountered many human forces.
Some were Bounty Hunters driving vehicles.
Some were Survivor Caravans.
Some were Mobile Cities.
Upon seeing this convoy composed of multiple Level 2 Mobile Cities, these forces were all terrified, avoiding them at all costs.
However, once they saw Natural L3 in the convoy, everyone relaxed and tried to approach.
"I must say, the prestige and credibility of a World-class Organization are truly formidable."Li Ye couldn’t help but sigh.
More and more caravans and Mobile Cities joined in, making the convoy increasingly larger.
Many Lords actively lowered their boarding platforms, welcoming Survivor Caravans and Bounty Hunters aboard the deck.
Professor Annie gathered the Lords of the Mobile Cities, the leaders of the Survivor Caravans, and the Bounty Hunters for a meeting on the deck of Natural L3.
After a brief exchange, Li Ye and the others obtained some intelligence.
While the Tomorrow Alliance was extracting oil from the Sedimentary Basin, the situation in the southern part of the Western Wasteland Continent was deteriorating.
The human forces on the three fronts—east, west, and north—of the Eternal Night Zone had already begun emergency evacuation. The Flesh Furnace of the Zombie Civilization had been repaired and resumed production.
The Wasteland Zone, Gobi Zone, Desert Zone, Basin Region, and Field Town had all fallen in succession.
Immediately after, the Zombie Civilization set its sights on the eastern Cretaceous Zone.
The human forces on the eastern front had no time to retreat and were quickly overtaken and annihilated by the Zombies.
A Lord of a Level 2 Mobile City was a survivor from the eastern front.
"It won’t be long before those comrades from the eastern front reunite with me again,"he said forlornly.".As Zombies."
Li Ye then asked the question he most wanted to know.
"By the way, does anyone know what regions are to the north and east of the Cretaceous Zone, as well as the southern area we are currently evacuating from?"
Soon, he received an answer.
The northern and eastern parts of the Cretaceous Zone both belonged to the same Level 2 region, called the "Plateau Zone".
Though called the Plateau Zone, it was in fact a giant mountain range known as "Letun".
The Letun Mountains stretched across the southeastern part of the Western Wasteland Continent, spanning over 2,000 kilometers in length and up to 300 kilometers in width at its broadest point.
It bordered eight or nine different zones.
The Plateau Zone was the second largest region in the Western Wasteland Continent by area.
Thus, Li Ye learned one piece of good news and one piece of bad news.
The good news was that the Letun Mountains cut across the central-southern part of the Western Wasteland Continent, effectively blocking the Zombie Civilization’s invasion toward the northern regions.
The bad news was that the human forces in the south also found it difficult to cross the Letun Mountains, effectively trapping them in the south.
All along, few human forces had been willing to enter the Plateau Zone, and even Mobile Cities were no exception.
The reason was simple.
The terrain of the Plateau Zone was complex and difficult to navigate. Moreover, its harsh climate severely affected travel speed and endangered lives.
Its average altitude exceeded 3,000 meters, with oxygen levels only 60%–70% that of sea level, easily causing altitude sickness.
Furthermore, the relative humidity was extremely low, leading to dehydration and respiratory bleeding.
Coupled with temperature fluctuations between day and night, blizzards, and icy mists, the number of people willing to venture into the Plateau Zone was extremely low.
Listening to all this, Li Ye couldn’t help but shake his head repeatedly.
"Then what region lies south of the Cretaceous Zone?"he asked.
A Bounty Hunter provided the answer.
South of the Cretaceous Zone was the Level 2 region "Archipelago Zone".
It was a massive freshwater lake surrounded by numerous islands.
The Archipelago Zone was occupied by a Level 2 Monstrous Civilization, namely the Frogmen Civilization.
"Unless anything unexpected happens, we shall head to the Archipelago Zone,"Professor Annie concluded.
As of now, the convoy included 42 Bounty Hunters, 31 Survivor Caravans, and 15 Mobile Cities.
If they were to seek refuge in the Archipelago Zone, it would pose no major problem.
After all, Mobile Cities could be refitted for waterborne travel, and the Bounty Hunters and Survivor Caravans could hitch a ride.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Considering that many human forces had not yet evacuated from the Cretaceous Zone and that traveling together was safer, Professor Annie made a decision.
The convoy would slow its pace and send people to all parts of the Cretaceous Zone to gather any encountered caravans and Mobile Cities into the convoy.
This would not only strengthen the convoy but also increase their resistance against the Zombies.
After a few days, Li Ye found himself lost in thought while reviewing a newly refreshed batch of intelligence.
【1. For the next two weeks, the Cretaceous Zone will experience clear weather. (Intelligence Value: Normal)】
【2. The Zombie Civilization has successfully trained the Zombie Dinosaurs from previous battles. These Zombie Dinosaurs will become its main combat force. (Intelligence Value: Excellent)】
【3. So far, the Zombie Civilization has occupied the western, northern, and central regions of the Cretaceous Zone, and its next target is the east. (Intelligence Value: Rare)】
【4. Three hours ago, the remnants of the human forces from the western and northern fronts, along with forces from various zones, successfully converged under the leadership of Bishop Heath. This group consists of 22 Mobile Cities, 314 Survivor Caravans, and 1,042 Bounty Hunters, totaling 768,142 people. They are currently at the edge of the Letun Mountains. To rescue this force, the Apocalypse Sect and the Titan Throne will launch a joint operation. (Intelligence Value: Outstanding)】
【5. Starting from the Plateau Zone in the eastern Cretaceous Zone, travel 1,522 kilometers southeast to reach the Level 1 region "Valley Zone". This region is surrounded on the west, south, and north by the Plateau Zone, and bordered by the ocean on the east. It is the smallest region in the Western Wasteland Continent, extremely remote, untouched by humans, and home to the Level 1 Monstrous Civilization "Molemen Civilization". (Intelligence Value: Outstanding)】
【6. Refreshing... (Intelligence Value: Epic)】
【7. Refreshing... (Intelligence Value: Epic)】
Li Ye’s eyes skipped past the first three entries and quickly locked onto the two Outstanding Intelligence entries.
The situation had already become exceedingly dire.
As the Wasteland Zone, Basin Region, and Field Town in the southern part of the Western Wasteland Continent fell, the human forces completely lost their foothold.
Now, they were being pushed to the edge of the Letun Mountains.
Cross the Plateau Zone?
That was an extremely difficult task.
The Plateau Zone had a very high altitude and its paths were convoluted—or rather, it had no paths at all—making traversal exceptionally difficult.
To migrate across the Plateau Zone, Mobile Cities would need to be equipped with a series of Climbing Treads.
Currently, the City Auction House in the Western Wasteland Continent was still open, so acquiring these climbing accessories wasn’t hard.
From this, it seemed there might be a viable method.
That was for people to abandon their vehicles and migrate onto the 22 Mobile Cities. Once the Mobile Cities completed the assembly of Climbing Treads, they could carry everyone across the Plateau Zone.
The necessary food, fresh water, cold-resistant and warm clothing for the journey could all be purchased through the City Auction House.
Even so, the pressure faced by the Mobile Cities would be immense.
A Level 2 Mobile City could carry about 5,000–10,000 Population, but they needed to transport a total of 760,000 people—on average, that was 34,000 per Mobile City.
In reality, not all of these 22 Mobile Cities were Level 2.
"If only there were more Mobile Cities,"Li Ye sighed.
All regions in the southern Western Wasteland Continent combined must have had at least several hundred Mobile Cities.
But the situation was far more complicated. Since all those zones had fallen, it was likely many Mobile Cities hadn’t made it out.
Thinking of this, he gently nodded.
Without a doubt, this would be a massive evacuation plan.
The fifth piece of Intelligence surprised him quite a bit.
It turned out there were still unexplored zones in the Western Wasteland Continent.
It was the smallest region in terms of area and located in a very remote place. Given that, it made sense that the Apocalypse Sect hadn’t fully investigated the region's condition.
Li Ye began to ponder.
With the current strength of the Tomorrow Alliance, they could indeed control this Level 1 region.
Then the alliance could begin developing this Level 1 region—mining resources, surveying oil fields, and planting crops.
With the newly acquired City Resource Transmission Device on the Tomorrow, the city would receive a constant supply of resources while conducting external Exploration.
More importantly, it bordered the ocean on the east. The Tomorrow Alliance could build a port there, go fishing, extract offshore oil fields, and prepare for future seaborne Exploration!
All these benefits made Li Ye more and more tempted.
Soon, Li Ye made his decision.
The Tomorrow Alliance would no longer travel with the main convoy. Instead, they would head east, migrating over a thousand kilometers through the Plateau Zone to reach the Valley Zone.
"There’s no time left—we have to act fast,"he thought.
After all, the third piece of Intelligence had already stated that the Zombie Civilization had launched an offensive into the eastern Cretaceous Zone. Its fall was just a matter of time.
While the dinosaurs in the east were still entangled with the Zombies, the Tomorrow Alliance could use this opportunity to speed up toward the Plateau Zone.
No sooner thought than done, Li Ye opened the City Radio and informed his three companions of the decision.
Not only the three Lords, but also Professor Annie and others were taken aback.
【Iron Whale: Abandon the plan to go to the Archipelago Zone and head for the Plateau Zone instead? Alliance Leader, are you serious?】
【Gray Hound: Yeah, wouldn’t it be better to travel with everyone to the Archipelago Zone? Why the change?】
【Natural L3: Young man, isn’t this decision a bit rash?】
【Tomorrow: I know this decision seems abrupt, but I have my reasons for doing so.】
【Tomorrow: Zhou Xing, Fang Yong, and our new member Yang Zheng, what are your thoughts?】
The City Communication Channel then fell silent for a moment.
【Engineer: Alliance Leader, I’ll go with you.】
【Iron Whale: Me too.】
【Pacifier: Though I don’t quite understand, I’ll follow you. After all, we’re one alliance—one whole.】
"Good!"Li Ye nodded.
It seemed persuading them was much easier than he had imagined.
Professor Annie and several other Lords tried to persuade him to stay.
Firstly, out of sincerity—they didn’t want to see fellow humans take unnecessary risks.
Secondly, because the Tomorrow Alliance was strong, especially the Tomorrow, which could also provide City Radio communications. Having the Tomorrow Alliance in the convoy would undoubtedly make the journey safer.
【Tomorrow: I appreciate everyone’s kindness, but my mind is made up.】
【Engineer: So when do we leave?】
【Tomorrow: Now.】
From the slow-moving main human convoy, four Mobile Cities turned and began heading east toward the Cretaceous Zone.
Everyone cast surprised glances in their direction.
What surprised Li Ye was that Natural L3 had actually dispatched a helicopter toward the Tomorrow.
He went to the upper deck.
Piloting the helicopter was Nils.
After landing, Nils hugged Li Ye and handed him a box.
Li Ye opened it and found it was the Universal Monster Translator he had been longing for.
Overjoyed, he turned to Nils.
"Isn’t this thing important? Why did you suddenly decide to give it to me?"
Nils smiled.
After conversing with the Lord from the eastern front, he and Professor Annie came to understand—
The Tomorrow was the very Mobile City that had ventured alone deep into the heart of the Eternal Night Zone, destroyed the Flesh Furnace, and won precious time for the human forces to retreat.
Thus, they decided to present Li Ye with a gift.
"I see,"Li Ye sighed."But is it really alright? Won’t your higher-ups hold you accountable?"
Nils shook his head with a smile.
"Like the Apocalypse Sect, the Titan Throne also greatly respects those who contribute to the human forces."
"As long as Professor Annie and I write a report explaining the reason for giving you the translator, the higher-ups will understand."
Li Ye nodded and shook his hand firmly.
After Nils departed in the helicopter, he returned to the Cockpit and typed a line on the screen.
【Tomorrow: Thank you, Professor Annie.】
【Natural L3: It’s us who should be thanking you. The actions of the Tomorrow in the Eternal Night Zone gave countless human compatriots a chance to retreat.】
【Natural L3: Young man, your noble act saved many lives.】
Li Ye nodded slightly.
In fact, when he was in the Eternal Night Zone, he hadn’t thought about it that much.
【Natural L3: Then goodbye, and may you have a safe journey.】
The other Lords also bid farewell to the members of the Tomorrow Alliance in turn and exited the City Communication Channel.
After briefly planning the upcoming journey, Li Ye closed the City Communication Channel.
When he arrived on the deck, he happened to witness the first test flight of the Vanguard Armed Gunship.
That skyborne beast, brimming with firepower, rose from the deck and slowly soared into the sky.
Li Ye turned and noticed Lin Wu had wheeled himself nearby.
"Get everyone ready. We’re bound to have some tough battles ahead,"he waved."Might even be several of them."
Lin Wu nodded.
"I must say, this really is a risky move."
Li Ye smiled.
"Haven’t we always been risking our lives?"