Everyone hesitated upon hearing this, but ultimately nodded in agreement.
Lin Wu’s words were not without reason. In the wild, survival was the top priority. It was hard for Mobile Cities to truly trust one another. Who could place complete trust in a stranger through the City Communication Channel?
Li Ye also gradually calmed his earlier excitement.
“Lin Wu is right. We shouldn’t place too much hope in this full-area channel,” he thought. “As long as we can gather some intelligence, it’ll be enough.”
The remaining few minutes felt exceptionally long. As the final second of the countdown ticked away, Li Ye entered the invitation code and logged into Channel Y3.
The moment he logged in, he immediately glanced at the number of channel members.
【9/23】
23 represented the total number of Mobile Cities in the Eternal Night Zone, and 9 indicated the number of cities currently online.
At this very moment, the number of online cities continued to rise rapidly, eventually reaching 17.
Li Ye couldn’t help but feel a bit surprised.He hadn’t expected there to be as many as 23 Mobile Cities in the Eternal Night Zone.
Though significantly fewer than the 119 in the Wasteland Zone, the number still exceeded his expectations.
This didn’t necessarily mean that all 23 were Level 2 Cities. Some Level 1 Cities might venture into the Eternal Night Zone, hoping for a stroke of luck.
The reason was simple—Level 2 Zones yielded rich resources. Even after receiving the evacuation notice from the Apocalypse Sect, many Lords chose to take the risk.
All users in the channel were named after their cities, and there was no display of their levels. Thus, Li Ye couldn’t discern how many of the 23 Mobile Cities were Level 1 or Level 2.
There might even be... a Level 3 City.
In addition to public text communication, members could privately message each other one-on-one, which offered some convenience for trading resources and information.
Li Ye quickly scanned through the member list to see if any familiar names were present.
To his surprise, he actually found two old acquaintances.
They were none other than the Vanguard and the Industry, both currently online.
Li Ye originally intended to message Vanguard privately, but the public screen had already begun displaying a flurry of messages.
He paused for now and focused on reading them carefully.
【Fortress: Zombies! They’re everywhere! I’m about to go crazy dealing with them! Does anyone know the actual situation in this Level 2 Zone?】
【Fierce Shark: So I’m not the only one. Even after receiving the evacuation notice, I still risked staying behind.】
【Fortress: Of course. This is a Level 2 Zone, after all. The resources here are abundant, and even with added risk, it’s worth it. How could a Level 1 Zone ever feed us enough?】
【Iron Remains: Selling Level 2 Cannon – Kaguya Cannon Blueprint. Will part with it if the price is right. DM me if interested.】
【Scorched Walker: I finally managed to take down a Level 2 Zombie Mobile City. Thought I could rake in a good haul from its Production Workshop, but everything there needs bones and flesh to manufacture. Disgusting! Absolutely disgusting! I wasted so many combat resources and manpower for nothing!】
【Fierce Shark: Zombie Mobile Cities fire Living Shells. They’re impossible to defend against. Any experts out there with advice?】
【Scorched Walker: There’s no known countermeasure for now. You’ll just have to use Mobile Evasion to dodge the hordes.】
【Fierce Shark: Mobile Evasion? That was fine in the past, but now it’s much harder!】
【Fortress: So you’re already a Level 2 Mobile City?】
Fierce Shark then fell silent. No further messages appeared from them on the public screen.
Li Ye nodded slightly.
Clearly, no one was willing to trust others easily. Everyone was still avoiding revealing their strength.
He pondered for a moment, then typed a line into the public screen.
【Tomorrow: Does anyone know the actual situation in the Eternal Night Zone? Can you share some intelligence?】
However, no one responded to his message.
“Really cautious, huh.” Li Ye sighed and then typed another line.
【Tomorrow: Anyone willing to share information about the Eternal Night Zone with me, I will share what I know in return.】
This time, a private message notification lit up.
【Pacifier: I’m currently in the western part of the Eternal Night Zone. There’s a sizeable lake here named ‘Silent Lake.’ Patrol boats full of zombies roam its surface. There’s even Mobile Cities.】
【Tomorrow: Thanks for the intel. Then I shall tell you what I know. I’m currently in the southern part of the Eternal Night Zone, the Forest of Death. The only Safe Harbor has already fallen, and I plan to delve deeper into the Eternal Night Zone.】
【Pacifier: I actually plan to go deeper into the Eternal Night Zone too. Perhaps we can rendezvous in the central area.】
“The western part of the Eternal Night Zone is a lake? That’s quite useful information.” Lin Wu spoke. “What’s west of the Eternal Night Zone then? Is it a Level 1 Zone? Lord, want to ask?”
When Li Ye asked, Pacifier readily answered.
It hailed from the Level 1 Zone west of the Eternal Night Zone.
This Level 1 Zone was called the Gobi Zone. It was vast in size and rich in resources.
However, its geography and climate were harsh. Rain was rare, and fresh water in the wild was extremely scarce.
There, 1 unit of fresh water sold for as much as 10 Crystal Coins.
The scarcity of fresh water limited the population of Level 1 Mobile Cities. It was common for cities to wage war over a single lake.
In that region, Mobile Cities raced to accelerate their development and escape the Gobi Zone in pursuit of better prospects.
The closest zone to the Gobi Zone was the Eternal Night Zone, and the area bordering it was Silent Lake.
This lake offered a continuous supply of fresh water, prompting many Mobile Cities to flock to the Eternal Night Zone.
After digesting Pacifier’s information, Li Ye nodded gently.
The veil of mystery over the Eternal Night Zone had just been slightly lifted before him.
Its west was Silent Lake, its south the Forest of Death.
And to the west lay the Level 1 Zone—Gobi Zone.
“That aside, there sure are a lot of Level 1 Zones here,” he couldn’t help but think.
Desert Zone, Wasteland Zone, Gobi Zone, Basin Region... Just the already discovered Level 1 Zones numbered four.
Up until now, Li Ye still had no clear idea of the specifics of this planet.
How large was it, how many continents did it have, what was the total oceanic area... All of it remained unknown.
“I can only explore slowly over time,” he thought.
As a token of exchange, Li Ye also shared information about the Wasteland Zone with Pacifier.
Pacifier then told him something unexpected.
【Pacifier: There’s actually one more thing that really surprised me.】
【Tomorrow: What is it?】
【Pacifier: Zombies have deployed a large number of forces around Silent Lake, including over a dozen Mobile Cities. It looks like something big is about to happen.】
“Something big?”
Just as Li Ye was pondering, a realization struck him.
The zombies in the Forest of Death had concentrated their forces to breach that Level 2 Fortress.
“Expansion!” he instantly grasped it. “These zombies are trying to expand into the surrounding zones!”
To the zombies, that Level 2 Fortress in the Forest of Death was a thorn in their side. Letting it continue to exist was tantamount to leaving a massive threat behind.
The greatest threat posed by that Level 2 Fortress was its potential to become a Safe Harbor for human forces wandering the Forest of Death.
Bounty Hunters, Caravans, Mobile Cities... Various human factions would continuously gather at the Level 2 Fortress. It could even become the main force against the zombies.
Thus, the zombies had to destroy it.
As Li Ye thought about this, a few beads of sweat slowly trickled down his forehead.
In the Wastelands, zombies were the most unusual type of monsters.
The primary reason was their ability to infect targets through biting, turning them into one of their own.
It was precisely this trait that allowed their expansion speed to be unimaginably fast.
Both the Basin Region and Wasteland Zone were Level 1 Zones. Their fall was likely inevitable.
And the other regions bordering the Eternal Night Zone probably wouldn’t fare much better.
In a few years, this entire continent might become a paradise for zombies.
The thought filled Li Ye with deep doubt.
Since arriving here, he hadn’t learned how many regions this continent contained, or what level they were.
As for how many continents existed on this planet, or their overall size—he had no idea.
“I can only explore all of that slowly,” he thought.
Both sides were quite satisfied with the exchange of information. After exchanging farewells, the conversation ended.
“Li-ge, that Pacifier is probably a Level 2 City as well,” Tang Fang mused, rubbing his chin.
“Not just that, it might even be an assault-type city like ours,” Ning Wen added.
Li Ye was just about to respond when he noticed another private message notification.
He opened it and saw that it was from Vanguard.
【Vanguard: Long time no see. I didn’t expect to run into you in the Eternal Night Zone. How have you been lately?】
Though Tomorrow had been progressing rapidly, Li Ye chose to remain low-key and typed only two words.
【Tomorrow: Not bad.】
【Tomorrow: And you?】
【Vanguard: I’ve been alright. I was just about to start scalping between the Wasteland Zone and the Eternal Night Zone. I hadn’t really paid attention to the evacuation notice from the Apocalypse Sect, but I didn’t expect things to be this serious.】
Li Ye smiled silently.
All in all, being a scalper in a Level 2 Zone was a rather unique profession for Level 1 Cities.
With the Vanguard’s Lord’s capabilities, even as a scalper, he was among the best.
Upon learning that Tomorrow had been promoted to a Level 2 City, the other party was quite shocked.
【Vanguard: Your development speed is like riding a rocket. If this keeps up, I’ll be left in your dust in no time.】
Li Ye then shared what he knew with Vanguard, and after some thought, the latter made a decision.
He would lead his team to retreat to the Wasteland Zone, cross the Mountain Region, and head to the Level 1 Zone, the Basin Region.
“Safe travels.”
Both parties exchanged blessings before ending the private chat.
Li Ye’s gaze returned to the public screen.
Messages were flowing nonstop across the screen, densely packed.
But the moment one particular member spoke, the entire public screen fell silent.
【Saint: Everyone, I am a High-ranking Deacon of the Apocalypse Sect, Heath. The continent we are currently on is facing an unprecedented crisis. Please suspend your discussions for now and listen patiently.】
【Saint: At present, the zombie civilization in the Eternal Night Zone has developed beyond our imagination. Human forces have completely lost their foothold in the Eternal Night Zone.】
No one continued speaking. All listened quietly.
Li Ye found himself quite surprised by this.
The authority and reputation of the Apocalypse Sect was even greater than he had imagined.
【Saint: In truth, the situation is far worse than we imagined. The zombies have already completed internal consolidation. They are now a fully mature Level 2 civilization. And what they now intend to do is...】
【Saint: Expand.】
“As expected.” Li Ye nodded slightly.
At this moment, everyone gathered around him looked equally grim.
【Saint: The zombie civilization in the Eternal Night Zone will expand indiscriminately into surrounding regions, and may even spread farther. All human factions in neighboring zones must evacuate immediately.】
【Saint: Therefore, the Apocalypse Sect has decided to launch a region-level war. We plan to open four fronts—east, west, south, and north—in the Eternal Night Zone, to forcibly resist the expansion of the zombie civilization and buy time for the human factions in each region to evacuate.】
【Saint: For this battle, our sect has specially deployed 25 Level 2 Mobile Cities.】
【Tomorrow: Resist? Can’t we defeat the zombies?】
【Saint: According to our calculations, the chances of defeating the zombie civilization are extremely slim.】
【Saint: The main reason is... such expansions by Monstrous Civilizations have happened many times across the Wasteland over the years. Other continents are currently dealing with high-level Monstrous Civilizations expanding, and most of the Apocalypse Sect’s combat resources have been redirected there.】
【Saint: As a result, the forces I can allocate to deal with the zombie civilization are greatly reduced and are mostly at Level 2 capacity.】
【Saint: In fact, the zombie civilization hasn’t yet attracted enough attention from the Apocalypse Sect or other world-class organizations. On other continents... in short, we’ll mostly have to rely on ourselves.】
“Twenty-five Level 2 Mobile Cities?” Li Ye was astonished.
The power of the Apocalypse Sect clearly far exceeded his imagination.
“No wonder they’re a world-class organization...” he muttered.
Although Bishop Heath stated that participation in this operation was voluntary, nearly everyone in the channel responded without hesitation.
More than half of the 23 Mobile Cities were willing to join.
【Saint: Thank you all for your support.】
【Saint: Additionally, I must emphasize—during the war, no Predatory Cities are permitted to hunt other cities. Any act that obstructs our operations will not be tolerated.】
【Saint: Any violators will be utterly exterminated.】
In the following time, Saint began to deploy the battle plan.
Among the four fronts—east, west, south, and north—the northern front had the strongest human forces. The Apocalypse Sect had concentrated most of its Mobile Cities and troops there.
The weakest was the southern front, with only three Mobile Cities—the same three Li Ye had seen in the Level 2 Fortress.
Bishop Heath reiterated the battle plan once more.
The four fronts—east, south, west, and north—would do their utmost to hold back the zombie army for as long as possible, buying time for human factions in each region to escape.
Zombies were a very unique kind of monster. Their most troublesome trait was their ability to infect and convert targets into their kind.
This meant they had a virtually endless supply of reinforcements.
He also lamented that whether humanity could one day counterattack and annihilate the zombie civilization remained an unknown.
One of the Level 2 Cities had already spoken up.
【Holy Sword U2: I am Wilson, the leader of the southern front. Anyone interested in joining the southern front, please contact me privately.】
Li Ye proceeded to message him privately.
“Speaking of which, why do the names of Apocalypse Sect cities sound so strange?” he wondered.
Lin Wu seemed to pick up on his confusion and patiently explained.
Mobile Cities under the Apocalypse Sect were either named after apostles, bishops, or followers, or were systematically categorized.
Those starting with Holy Sword represented assault-type cities.
Those starting with Holy Shield represented defense-type cities.
Those starting with Holy Lance represented fire-support-type cities.
Those starting with Holy Mechanism represented engineering-type cities.
And so on...
“I see. That really is straightforward,” Li Ye nodded.