"That’s exactly right。"
After evaluating everyone’s suggestions, Li Ye sincerely nodded.
It had to be said, pooling ideas indeed helped him clarify his thoughts a lot.
Taiwan Novel Site → 𝐭𝐰𝐤𝐚𝐧.𝐜𝐨𝐦
Lin Wu thought for a moment and then offered a suggestion.
"These resources are certainly important, but instead of that, we should first check if there are any 3rd Tier items in the Auction House。"
Those words were like waking someone from a dream; everyone froze for a second before quickly nodding.
Li Ye began thinking at high speed.
According to Intelligence, all 22 regions in the Western Wasteland Continent were Tier 1–2, so the chance of encountering Tier 3 items was actually quite low.
But that didn’t mean they didn’t exist.Tier 2 Wild BOSSes could drop them, and Tier 2 Monstrous Caravans and Tier 2 Monstrous Towns also had exchange lists.
Since it was an auction house operating across the continent, it definitely had 3rd Tier items for sale.
With the Tomorrow Alliance’s current financial resources, acquiring a few 3rd Tier items was within reach!
With excitement in his heart, he set the search filter to Tier 3.
As he clicked confirm, the Auction House immediately displayed the search results.
It was a flying vehicle with a rather exaggerated design, even verging on brutalist aesthetics.
It was equipped with an extremely heavy armored cabin, and machine guns, rocket launch pods, howitzers, and missiles were mounted under its wings and fuselage.
【Item Name: Vanguard Armed Gunship】
【Item Tier: Tier 3】
【Additional Effects: 1. Defense +30% 2. Bombardment Area +15% 3. Damage +20%】
【Mounted Weapon List:】
【BK-27 Rotary Heavy Autocannon】
【"Avenger" Rocket Launch Pod】
【"Odin’s Hammer" 105mm Heavy Howitzer】
【AIM-9 Rattler Missiles】
【MK80 Droppable General-Purpose Bombs】
The cockpit fell into complete silence; everyone’s gaze was firmly fixed on it.
"My god," Old Zhou murmured. "This really is a super killer weapon。"
Even the always-rational Lin Wu showed a look of fanaticism in his eyes.
"If this gunship were deployed in combat, it could destroy a city in an instant。"
Li Ye was equally thrilled.
He had already planned to form an Air Combat Forces, and now such a fine machine was right in front of him.
With this, the Tomorrow’s capability in the wild would see a tremendous boost.
That said, its price was far from pretty.
It was listed at a fixed price of 200,000 Crystal Coins.
"This is outright robbery！"
Li Ye shook his head repeatedly.
For reference, a Tier 2 City Radio only fetched 185,000 Crystal Coins at auction, and its utility far surpassed this gunship.
According to his expectations, this gunship should be worth no more than 150,000 Crystal Coins.
"I have a question," Ning Wen spoke. "This Vanguard Armed Gunship is extremely powerful and provides great security in the wild. Why would any Mobile City choose to sell it?"
After closely examining the gunship’s details, everyone understood the reason.
Although this Tier 3 airborne vehicle had formidable firepower, its operating requirements were also exceptionally high.
It required at least Tier 2 Fuel, and the ammunition and shells for its Heavy Autocannon, Rocket Launch Pod, and Howitzer also needed Tier 2 Iron Ore and Gunpowder as crafting materials.
According to its listed specs, fully powering the Vanguard Armed Gunship required 500 units of Tier 2 Fuel, and refilling its ammunition and shells required 1,000 units of Tier 2 Iron Ore and 500 units of Tier 2 Gunpowder.
Upon realizing this, Li Ye couldn’t help but draw in a sharp breath.
"No wonder its owner chose to sell it—turns out they simply couldn’t afford to maintain it！"
Selling it would bring in enough Crystal Coins to give their Mobile City a substantial configuration upgrade.
"Let’s wait and see first," he thought to himself.
A few minutes later, another Tier 3 item appeared.
When they saw what it was, everyone was stunned.
Because it was a mechanical dog.
It was 2.5 meters long, its body boasting elegant metallic streamlines, its mouth lined with layers of steel fangs, and a small flamethrower embedded within its jaws.
Its four paws were extremely slender and sharp enough to tear through steel, while a rotatable small machine gun was mounted on its back.
【Item Name: Mechanical Combat Dog "Iron Remains Tracker"】
【Tier: Tier 3】
【Additional Effects: 1. Damage to Non-Structure, Vehicle Targets +35% 2. Self-Repair (Consumes Tier 2 Iron Ore) 3. Powered by Solar Panels】
Everyone stared at the Mechanical Combat Dog, unable to tear their eyes away for a moment.
"So cool！" Tang Fang exclaimed from the heart.
Li Ye’s eyes were glued to it as well.
High damage against non-structure vehicle targets, self-repair capability, and solar-powered endurance—
This mechanical dog was truly fantastic！
With it guarding by his side in the wild, there would undoubtedly be a strong sense of security！
Right after, he glanced at the price.
Fixed price: 99,999 Crystal Coins.
"No, it’s really not worth it。" He shook his head repeatedly.
This Tier 3 item was best suited for bounty hunters surviving harsh wild conditions.
Secondarily, survivor caravans could barely make use of it.
For a Mobile City of such scale, its utility was actually quite limited.
99,999 Crystal Coins could already build several Tier 2 Convoys.
What surprised Li Ye was that the Iron Remains Tracker was instantly purchased within minutes.
"Who’s that rich?" Tang Fang was shocked.
"No need to guess, definitely a bounty hunter。" Lin Wu replied.
Li Ye agreed with his assessment.
In the Wasteland, bounty hunters were indeed a rather wealthy profession. With no family to support and good luck on your side, if a valuable blueprint dropped from a monster, it was a jackpot.
By the way, the City Auction House wasn’t only used by Mobile Cities.
Bounty Hunters, Convoys, Towns, Communities—these factions would all conduct trades through some Mobile City to procure supplies. As payment, they would offer compensation.
Last time the Wasteland Zone Auction House opened, many had done the same.
A roaring sound came from the deck. Li Ye turned his head and saw a Black Hawk Helicopter returning.
And hanging from it was a Fuel Compartment.
These past days, the Tomorrow Alliance had continued to explore oil fields and extract petroleum.
The Black Hawk Helicopter was responsible for transporting Fuel Compartments.
Inside the Fuel Compartment was a freshly refined batch of Tier 2 Fuel from the Engineer, totaling 452 units.
Li Ye promptly listed this Tier 2 Fuel on the Auction House.
In the time that followed, another hundred thousand-plus Crystal Coins flowed in.
At this moment, Li Ye had more than 180,000 Crystal Coins on hand.
He couldn’t help but glance at the K1 City Communication Channel—he had activated the City Radio to let members conveniently share what they’d bought.
Right now, the city channel was buzzing with excitement.
【Pacifier: Just bought over 1,000 units of Tier 2 Iron Ore, spent it all just replenishing various shells. No way, this bit of Crystal Coins really isn’t enough!】
【Engineer: Don’t worry, this morning’s petroleum dividends are already calculated. A new batch is en route to everyone via Black Hawk Helicopter.】
【Burning Steel: Thanks. Without the Tomorrow Alliance, I really wouldn’t know how to earn money.】
【Twilight: You should be thanking me—I got you a ride on the Tomorrow Alliance express.】
【Gray Hound: Just bought a batch of blueprints and I’m already broke. There are still so many things I want to buy.】
【Twilight: Exactly, the expenses of a Tier 2 Mobile City are much higher. There’s always somewhere draining money.】
Li Ye was just about to say something when he noticed a change in the Auction House.
The fixed price of the Vanguard Armed Gunship dropped from 220,000 to 170,000.
"Buy it now！" Lin Wu suddenly slapped his shoulder hard.
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Li Ye made a snap decision and clicked confirm.
He assigned the Vanguard Armed Gunship to the upper Armor Deck of the Tomorrow—after all, it wouldn’t fit inside the cockpit.
In the next moment, a heavy bomber full of brutalist aesthetics appeared on the deck.
Everyone in the cockpit became thrilled and rushed toward the upper deck in a swarm.
At the same time, the K1 Communication Channel exploded.
【Pacifier: ?】
【Burning Steel: ??????】
【Twilight: ?!!!】
【Gray Hound: My god!】
Everyone’s Mobile Cities were currently gathered near a newly discovered giant oil field, so each Lord could see the Tomorrow’s movements through their cockpit windows.
【Gray Hound: I’ve been watching all Tier 3 items like a hawk—so it was you who insta-bought it?】
【Tomorrow: Mm.】
【Burning Steel: This, this】
After buying the Vanguard Armed Gunship, Li Ye looked at the remaining 10,000+ Crystal Coins and quickly had an idea.
In the time that followed, he searched and purchased two more items.
Tier 2 City Simulation Training Pod Blueprint, price: 5,000 Crystal Coins.
Aerial Heavy Vehicle Driving Manual, price: 3,500 Crystal Coins.
Li Ye had been longing for the Tier 2 City Training Pod for a long time. After all, the Tier 1 City Training Pod could only train 10 people at a time and was structurally very crude.
Constructing the Tier 2 Training Pod required 400 units of Tier 2 Iron Ore, 100 units of Tier 2 Fabric, and 200 units of Copper Ore.
Its simulation was far more realistic, and it could accommodate 50 people simultaneously.
Li Ye briefly checked the price of Tier 2 Iron Ore.
The Western Wasteland Continent’s 22 regions had abundant resources, and Tier 2 Iron Ore was no exception.
Its price was 35 Crystal Coins per unit—much cheaper than the 62 Crystal Coins in the Wasteland Zone Auction House.
The low price was partially due to intense competition among suppliers.
During Li Ye’s searching, his listed Tier 2 Fuel and Petroleum kept selling, and Crystal Coins continued flowing in.
When he glanced at his balance again, he was taken aback.
"How did I get another 30,000 Crystal Coins so quickly?"
So, he purchased all the required materials and successfully built the Tier 2 City Simulation Training Pod, putting various arrangements into place.
First, the City Committee must select the crew members for the Vanguard Armed Gunship. The crew members will receive Tier 4 Level treatment, while the pilot will be at Tier 3 Level.
Second, Lin Wu would be responsible for inputting books into the Simulation Training Pod and urgently training the selected crew members to ensure the vehicle could be put into use within a week.
Third, the City Committee needed to coordinate the purchase of various specialized books, organize them into a list, and hand it over to Li Ye for acquisition via the City Auction House.
During this period, Li Ye kept his eyes fixed on the Auction House, constantly refreshing to search for Tier 3 items.
It had to be said, compared to Tier 2 items, the power and utility of Tier 3 items were on an entirely new level.
Currently, the Tomorrow wasn’t in a rush to purchase Tier 2 resources. The priority was to stay alert and see if one or two more Tier 3 items could be acquired.
At this moment, the cockpit had quieted down significantly, mostly because everyone had gone to see the Vanguard Armed Gunship.
It had to be said, the appearance of this Tier 3 airborne vehicle was incredibly dazzling. With all the weapons it had mounted, it was hard to take one’s eyes off it.
The City Committee promptly began crew member selection.
People showed unprecedented enthusiasm, signing up like crazy.
But they would face a rigorous screening process.
While Li Ye watched, another Tier 3 item appeared in the Auction House.
Seeing it clearly, Tang Fang was stunned.
"Brother Li, this..."
"Buy it. We absolutely must buy it！" Li Ye said gravely.
At this moment, what appeared before them was a Tier 3 Upgrade Blueprint.
【Tier 3 Upgrade Blueprint (Type: City Camouflage)】
While Tier 2 City Camouflage was practical, it still had certain limitations: it could only blend into the environment and was suited for static conditions. If in motion, the camouflage could easily be broken.
But Tier 3 City Camouflage could allow a Mobile City to mimic a building, an island, or even another Mobile City or a giant creature, and it could maintain the disguise perfectly even while moving.
The prerequisite was that it needed to scan the target and collect data.
What puzzled Li Ye was that this Tier 3 Upgrade Blueprint for City Camouflage was very cheap—only 40,000 Crystal Coins.
But he quickly understood why.
The bottom line was that City Camouflage was extremely rare in the Western Wasteland Continent. At most, only two or three pieces had ever appeared.
Looking back, the Tomorrow had indeed been incredibly lucky.
Once the new batch of Crystal Coins was credited, Li Ye immediately purchased the Upgrade Blueprint.
Li Ye looked at the blueprint’s notes. Upgrading the City Camouflage Device to Tier 3 only required 200 units of Tier 3 Iron Ore. It was definitely cost-effective.
The caveat, however, was that your Mobile City must first be upgraded to Tier 3, or else the upgrade couldn’t be completed.
Tang Fang then looked at Li Ye with hopeful eyes.
"Brother Li, when can we reach Tier 3?"
Li Ye smiled and shook his head.
"Although our development has been fast, it’s still a bit early for that。"
He was, in fact, full of anticipation too, eager to test the Tier 3 City Camouflage.
According to the blueprint’s report, Tier 3 City Camouflage came with an additional scanning gun, making it easier for the Lord to scan targets and record data for disguise.
Li Ye casually glanced at the City Communication Channel and saw everyone eagerly chatting about what to buy.
【Pacifier: Money really flies. Just restocked a batch of shells and some Tier 2 Cannons, and now my Crystal Coins are nearly gone.】
【Burning Steel: I plan to purchase some Tier 2 Waterborne Vehicles. Mainly want to explore the ocean.】
【Twilight: I don’t have any big plans. Just surviving on land is enough for me. So I plan to buy more resources and strengthen my convoy.】
Li Ye looked at these Tier 2 Mobile Cities and nodded slightly.
In truth, he thought these Tier 2 Mobile Cities were doing quite well.
These days, they had all been diligently patrolling and guarding the Sedimentary Basin. Getting along with their Lords had also been pleasant.
After all, not all Mobile Cities were Predatory Cities.
In the Wasteland, the theme was mobility and survival.