Among the four Tier 2 Mobile Cities, Tomorrow had become the one with the most revenue.
The items it displayed were all favored by the three Lords.
First, the three of them purchased all the Level 1 crop seeds in one go.
Next, they bought several pairs of Chickens and Ducks and had Tomorrow conduct Outsourced Processing to produce a batch of Green Source Poultry Feed.
Immediately after, they began frenziedly buying Cola.
Each of the three Tier 2 Mobile Cities housed several hundred people, and just like that, hundreds or even a thousand units of Cola were bought in one swoop. They also picked up some Orange Juice and Iced Black Tea.
As Tomorrow was right next to a Freshwater Lake, for Li Ye, this was essentially a windfall.
While selling drinks, he also crafted twenty thousand bottles to store in the warehouse.
Following that came the Outsourced Processing of Tier 2 weapons and the Black Hawk Helicopter. Among them, the Bloodletter Military Dagger was quite popular with the three.
Finally, the three also commissioned the Outsourced Processing of the Rolls-Royce.Since the three Lords didn't have many Crystal Coins on hand, they used Tier 2 Iron Ore and other resources to settle their debts.
Li Ye naturally welcomed this.
After the trades, he took inventory of his gains.
1,523 units of Tier 2 Iron Ore, 1,023 units of Level 1 Iron Ore.
Three pairs of meat pigs and three pairs of cattle and sheep, along with Level 1 crop seeds "Field Grass".
200 units of Tier 2 Fertilizer.
325 units of Tier 2 Frost Ore.
Fifty rounds of various Tier 2 Shells, twenty blocks of C4 Explosives, and two Tier 2 Sniper Rifles.
12,520 Crystal Coins.
"This territorial trade between Tier 2 Mobile Cities is truly satisfying," he sighed with genuine emotion.
The meat pigs and cattle and sheep were particularly expensive, each costing a hefty 1,500–2,000 Crystal Coins.
Li Ye immediately sent people to bring these pigs, cattle, and sheep back to Tomorrow and designated a special breeding area on the mid-level deck.
Additionally, he allocated some farmland to sow the Field Grass, planning to feed it to the livestock once it matured.
After some time, as the livestock gradually bred, Tomorrow would have a steady meat supply.
All four were satisfied with this transaction.
Thus the territorial trade ended, and Li Ye returned to Tomorrow.
Given that another batch of Level 1 Iron Ore had just been acquired, he used the Production Workshop to create the City One-card System, producing 500 Resident Cards and 20 Card Readers, then summoned the City Committee to implement the cards and system on Tomorrow.
Next, he began forging Tier 2 City Armor.
As a Tier 2 City Armor, the Iron Dome City Armor astonishingly required a full 700 units of Tier 2 Iron Ore to craft.
When he had obtained Iron Ore in the Eternal Night Zone previously, Li Ye had wanted to forge it but held back.
Against the Zombies in the Eternal Night Zone, Tier 2 City Armor didn’t offer as much defensive value as expected.
This was mainly because they would launch Flesh Cannon attacks, allowing Zombies to breach the deck and launch assaults. Precisely because of this, Li Ye had prioritized crafting Tier 2 Heavy Machine Guns, Tier 2 Military Daggers, Black Hawk Helicopters, Tier 2 Flamethrowers, and Tier 2 Shotguns.
Under Li Ye’s direction, production and installation of the Iron Dome City Armor officially began.
In the Production Workshop, Tier 2 Iron Ore moved along the conveyor belts, where forging hammers struck the red-hot steel plates at a frequency of 200 times per minute, and white mist rose from the quenching pool.
On the deck, Mechanical Arms and the Built-in Crane were activated in sequence, beginning the dismantling of the old Spore Armor.
After the recent battles, the Level 1 City Armor already bore scars of various sizes.
To expedite the process, Li Ye mobilized everyone aboard Tomorrow.
Except for the injured, all several hundred people joined in dismantling the Spore Armor and installing the Iron Dome City Armor.
The dismantled Spore Armor would be sent to the Furnace to be refined back into Level 1 Iron Ore.
The City Committee was responsible for coordinating personnel tasks.
Several hours later, Tomorrow completed the installation of the Iron Dome City Armor, and the City One-card System had also been implemented.
As a Tier 2 City Armor, the Iron Dome City Armor’s effects were nothing short of brutal.
"Reduces damage taken by 35%."
Its appearance was also extremely robust, as if a full set of heavy armor had been equipped on the entire Mobile City.
Li Ye couldn’t help but nod in satisfaction.
With this, Tomorrow's defense had reached a new level.
To his surprise, upon seeing Tomorrow’s residents receive their Resident Cards, Yang Zheng and the others came rushing over again.
"You actually have something this good?" Yang Zheng said in surprise. "Is this a finished product or a Production Workshop item?"
Upon learning it was a Production Workshop item, the three immediately grew excited.
Li Ye snapped back to his senses.
In the Wastelands, Level 1 Cities were basically makeshift setups—everyone barely got by day to day.
But Tier 2 Cities had gradually improved, often with several hundred to over a thousand people, essentially forming a self-sustaining internal ecosystem.
To maintain internal stability, the city needed to implement appropriate incentive systems.
The City One-card System was the best tool to support such a reward structure.
Given the three had brought him considerable business, Li Ye decided to offer them Outsourced Processing for free this time.
As the scheduled time arrived, the group assembled once more and set off again, grandly heading toward the Rift Valley.
Along the way, more Bounty Hunters, Survivor Caravans, and Mobile Cities joined the convoy.
Eventually, it grew to 21 Mobile Cities, 24 Survivor Caravans, and over 100 Bounty Hunters.
Professor Annie then sent people to gather all the Lords and Caravan Leaders for a meeting.
After some discussion, Li Ye learned a surprising piece of information.
Everyone had come from different regions of the Western Wasteland Continent, and each region had opened a Wormhole to the Cretaceous Zone, prompting their arrival.
He was quite surprised by this.
He hadn’t expected so many regions to simultaneously open Wormholes leading to the Cretaceous Zone.
Upon closer thought, the number of Human Forces arriving in the Cretaceous Zone would likely continue to increase.
The competition for Wild Resources would also become significantly more intense.
However, this also had its benefits—namely, that as Human Forces grew in number, everyone could share the pressure brought by the Dinosaurs.
Most were newcomers to the Cretaceous Zone, and the only one in the convoy that had fought Dinosaurs before was Tomorrow.
"Dinosaurs are ferocious! You must be careful with Dinosaurs!" he solemnly warned. "Always travel in groups in the Wild, never go alone! If you notice a Dinosaur quietly tailing you, it means you've been marked!"
Everyone was quite surprised by Li Ye's words.
Li Ye simply shrugged—he had done his part to warn them.
If they didn’t take it seriously now, they’d remember it well after suffering losses to Dinosaurs.
Over ten hours later, the convoy reached its destination.
What appeared before them was a Giant Rift Valley.
It spanned several kilometers wide, vast and spectacular.
The cliff walls of the Rift Valley were sharply chiseled, with surfaces covered in wind-eroded grooves and clinging ferns and lichens.
Numerous rivers gushed freely, the sound of rushing water echoing dully, and the riverbanks were piled with pebbles washed over for years.
The ground was filled with countless cliffs and stone pillars of varying size, flanked by towering mountain ranges.
Led by Nature L3, the convoy grandly drove into the Rift Valley.
At that time, the meeting had ended, and Li Ye had returned to Tomorrow.
He picked up his Binoculars and spotted numerous Dinosaurs lurking in the corners of the Rift Valley.
They hid themselves in shadows, watching the Human Forces convoy with wary, hostile, and cautious gazes.
Li Ye frowned instinctively, deeply disturbed.
Those gazes were uncannily human.
There were many Dinosaurs in the Rift Valley, but they clearly wouldn't initiate an attack now.
They were clever—they understood this convoy had powerful firepower, and a reckless charge wouldn’t end well.
"When our convoy reaches its destination and disperses, the Dinosaurs will have their chance," Lin Wu said, rolling over in his wheelchair.
This Rift Valley was very long—nearly 200 to 300 kilometers.
Six or seven hours later, Tomorrow successfully rendezvoused with Iron Whale and Engineer.
When Zhou Xing and Fang Yong saw such a grand Human convoy arriving, they were dumbfounded.
[Iron Whale: You mobilized this much strength just to rescue us?]
[Engineer: Indeed, Alliance Leader, this is quite the spectacle.]
[Tomorrow: Don’t overthink it, this is the Titan Throne organization's convoy. I don't have that much clout.]
[Tomorrow: Zhou Xing, I’ve brought you the City Crystal and Structure Blueprint. Once we cross the Rift Valley, we can begin your upgrade arrangements.]
[Engineer: Thank you so much, Alliance Leader!]
After regrouping, Engineer and Iron Whale brought out the batch of Tier 2 Resources they had collected earlier from the plains of the Eternal Night Zone.
After some discussion, Li Ye took all the Tier 2 Iron Ore, Tier 2 Saltpeter, as well as Tier 2 Frost and Molten Ore.
The remaining Coal was left for Iron Whale.
The leftover Tier 2 Rare Ore would be used to forge Tier 2 City Alloy.
Once the exchange was complete, Li Ye closed the City Communication Channel.
Next, he opened the System Panel.
At that moment, the Epic Intelligence had refreshed.
[6. In the northern part of the Cretaceous Zone, there are vast oilfields. (Intelligence Value: Epic)]
"This—"
Li Ye was stunned.
This was the first time an Epic-level Resource Intelligence had appeared.
The northern part of the Cretaceous Zone contained multiple oilfields!
On the Wasteland, Fuel was one of the most valuable resources.
Bounty Hunters, Survivor Caravans, Mobile Cities—everyone needed it.
After all, in this world, "Mobile Survival" was the theme.
Among all ordinary resources, Fuel fetched the highest price.
In his elation, Li Ye suddenly furrowed his brows.
Judging from their travel, the Cretaceous Zone was roughly the size of a nation. But the Intelligence didn’t specify a precise direction or distance.
Just knowing it was in the north—how exactly was he supposed to find the oil?
Pondering hard, a sudden thought struck him.
As a fully equipped Level 1 Engineer-type Mobile City, Engineer should have the means to survey oilfield locations.
Li Ye then piloted the Goblin Helicopter and landed directly on Engineer’s deck.
Upon learning it was Li Ye in person, Zhou Xing hurried out with a welcome party.
When he saw the Level 1 City Crystal and Structure Blueprint that Li Ye handed over, Zhou Xing’s hands trembled with nervous excitement.
Since joining the Tomorrow Alliance, Engineer's development had skyrocketed like riding a rocket.
In truth, only Engineer-type Mobile Cities could draw such dedicated attention from Li Ye.
After all, Engineer-type Mobile Cities played a massive role in the City Alliance!
If it were an ordinary member, he wouldn’t go through this much trouble and resource expenditure.
Looking at Zhou Xing, he asked his most pressing question.
"Does your Engineer have a way to survey oilfield locations?"
Zhou Xing froze for a moment at the question.
"I do."
「Really?」Li Ye asked excitedly.「What exactly is the method?」
Zhou Xing then led Li Ye toward Engineer’s parking lot.
Along the way, many residents cast curious glances at Li Ye.
After all, it was the first time they had seen their own Lord so respectful while leading someone in.
Upon learning that this was the Lord of Tomorrow, everyone was shocked.
Li Ye soon arrived at Engineer’s parking lot.
What surprised him was that Engineer had actually converted an entire mid-level area into a parking lot.
It should be known that space in a Level 1 City was quite limited and should be prioritized for resident housing and Farmland.
As the parking lot of an Engineer-type Mobile City, this place housed a large number of Engineering Vehicles.
Caterpillar Excavators designed for complex terrain, digging, crushing, and lifting.
Bulldozers for leveling grounds and pushing operations.
Bulldozers suited for flattening terrain.
Freight Trucks responsible for transporting large quantities of resources.
There was even a Paving Machine specifically for laying road surfaces.
「.」Li Ye was momentarily stunned.
All of these Engineering Vehicles were of Level 1 standard.
The level of sophistication of this fully-equipped Level 1 Engineer-type City was far higher than he had imagined!
He couldn’t help but marvel.
In truth, Lords of Mobile Cities often had their own unique preferences.
Many would project these preferences onto their Mobile Cities.
For example, through City Paint Scheme, flags, or even the City’s future development type.
Some Lords dreamed of the skies, so at Level 1 they would invest resources to gather Aerial Vehicle Driving Manual and designs.
Some Lords loved massive ships and cannons, so they concentrated resources on crafting as many Cannons as possible and collecting a variety of Shells.
Some Lords favored waterborne navigation and therefore collected Waterborne Mobile City Accessories.
Zhou Xing, however, had a passion for civil engineering.
A Mobile City’s construction capacity was incredibly powerful—within days, it could build an entire town.
It was precisely this passion that led Zhou Xing to develop Engineer into an Engineer-type City.
Seeing Li Ye’s astonished expression, Zhou Xing couldn’t help but feel a bit proud.
He then led Li Ye to one of the Engineering Vehicles.
【Item Name: Goblin Petroleum Survey Vehicle】
【Level: Level 1】
【Function: Can survey oilfields within 10 kilometers】
【Crafting Requirement: 150 units of Iron Ore (Level 1)】
As a Level 1 Vehicle, the Goblin Petroleum Survey Vehicle resembled a Heavy Truck in appearance.
It was equipped with all-terrain tires, a searchlight, dust filters, a crash bar, and other accessories, with a large instrument cabin mounted on the chassis.
According to Zhou Xing, he spent 5,800 Crystal Coins to purchase the Blueprint for the Goblin Petroleum Survey Vehicle.
「Not bad,」Li Ye nodded repeatedly.
「So, Alliance Leader, why did you suddenly ask about this?」Zhou Xing asked, puzzled.
「I think there may be oilfields in the Cretaceous Zone,」Li Ye replied.「Once we cross the Rift Valley, let’s head north.」