After the welcoming banquet concluded.
The “Red Rock” and “Safe Haven” were the first to take their leave.
They were well aware that the Level 2 Elite Dungeon just discussed was far beyond their capabilities to participate in.
Their cities’ strength wasn’t exactly poor, just mediocre, fitting the standard of most mobile cities in the wasteland.
—Lacking resources, lacking blueprints.
It couldn’t be helped. Most fixed resource points were occupied by powerful mobile cities, while random resource points depended entirely on luck, and they happened to be among the less fortunate.
Being dragged by Jiang Zhixu to attend the banquet felt somewhat like forcing their way into a circle. Though grateful, they felt out of place and couldn’t wait to leave as soon as it ended.
After seeing them off, Jiang Zhixu and Qian Wansan retreated to a small room to discuss the resource list and exchange ratios in greater detail.
Finally, they settled on a price satisfactory to both.
…
By the time Jiang Zhixu returned to the “Singularity,” it was already 11 PM.
Weary, he rubbed his temples, the smell of alcohol clinging to him as he forced himself to stay alert and headed to the workshop.
“The engine silencer is already finished?”
He noticed the prominent “Completed” prompt in the manufacturing list and remembered he had placed an order the previous night.
“Honglang…”
Jiang Zhixu called out instinctively before recalling he had already sent Qi Honglang off to rest.
He patted his head, moved the “Engine Silencer” into the warehouse, planning to have it installed first thing in the morning.
Though this world had become semi-gamified, components couldn’t be installed with a simple click of an “Install” button. Skilled workers were still needed for hands-on installation.
Next, Jiang Zhixu took a look at the long-awaited “Night Camouflage Armor.”
“Good, it can be manufactured tomorrow morning.”
The trade with Qian Wansan was a great success.
Having looted two mobile cities consecutively, the “Singularity” had ample steel reserves.
Additionally, smelting all 8,000 units of iron ore yielded 897 units of steel. Combined with the original 1,418 units, the total reached a staggering 2,315 units!
That much steel would require exhausting seven or eight small iron mines!
Jiang Zhixu couldn’t possibly use all of it himself, so he simply exchanged 1,000 units of steel for 500 units of biological gel.
To his surprise, Qian Wansan showed great interest in Level 1 food items like “Happy Fried Chicken” and “Soda Pop,” placing an order for 1,000 units right away!
For food, 1,000 units was a substantial amount.
After all, the standard for 1 unit of food was: enough for 100 people, three meals a day, for one month.
Of course, since the “Singularity” didn’t have that many raw food materials, they sold it through subcontracting, resulting in much lower profits.
Yet, this still brought them a massive income of 500 units of precision parts, 500 units of electronic components, and 650 units of high-polymer materials!
Looking at the vast resources scheduled to arrive tomorrow, Jiang Zhixu finally returned to his City Lord’s quarters with a hint of a satisfied smile and fell into a deep sleep.
…
The next day!
Jiang Zhixu opened his eyes, washed up, and headed straight out.
As the chief steward of the “Singularity,” Qi Honglang, true to form, was already up early, directing personnel in handling the resource delivery and storage.
“City Lord, the engine silencer has been installed. Also, the urgently needed biological gel has been prioritized for storage. Other resources are still being moved in.”
Jiang Zhixu nodded with satisfaction.
Having a reliable deputy was a blessing.
There was no need for Jiang Zhixu to assign tasks upon waking. Seeing the engine silencer piled in the warehouse, Qi Honglang knew to arrange for its installation himself.
“Good, carry on. I’ll go produce the Night Camouflage Armor.”
Workshop orders required the City Lord’s personal authorization.
Jiang Zhixu turned and went to the workshop, placing an order for one set of “Night Camouflage Armor.”
【Remaining Manufacturing Time: 3 hours】
This large-scale modification covering the entire mobile city’s surface consumed massive amounts of steel and high-polymer materials, each requiring 600 units.
Fortunately, thanks to the resource trade with Qian Wansan of Rust Town, their reserves of basic materials were plentiful, more than enough to manufacture another set if needed.
After placing the order, Jiang Zhixu returned to his room and summoned his two artillery team leaders—Meng Guolong and Lu Yan.
“How is the artillery team expansion progressing?”
Jiang Zhixu asked directly.
Meng Guolong answered dutifully, “Reporting, City Lord. The standard you set is one main gunner, one loader, and one apprentice gunner per cannon. So for eight cannons, we still need 22 members in total.”
Jiang Zhixu nodded. “Correct. Having difficulties?”
Currently, all eight gun ports on the “Singularity” were fully equipped.
Seven standard cannons, plus one Level 1 Thunder Cannon.
But the gunners were still only Meng Guolong and Lu Yan.
Meng Guolong looked troubled. “Indeed, there are difficulties, City Lord. Lu Yan and I screened all applicants for trial positions yesterday and only picked three with slight talent who could be trained as apprentice gunners.”
Loaders didn’t require much skill, relying mainly on proficiency. Their focus was screening for those with “gunner” talent.
But with the “Singularity’s” limited population, if Jiang Zhixu insisted on using only his own people, three was the limit.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhixu pondered for a moment before asking, “If we provided unlimited standard shells for training, could we quickly develop six usable gunners?”
“Difficult.”
Meng Guolong answered without hesitation. “People without gunnery talent are like mud that won’t stick to a wall. Feeding them more shells is useless!”
He knew his City Lord’s talent could work miracles, but this was a fundamental law of this world.
Without talent, even if they ate shells for meals, they wouldn’t gain a single point of experience.
“In that case, activate those gunners from the ‘Silence.’ Ensure the gunner roster is filled by tomorrow.”
Jiang Zhixu said.
He had actually retained some technical personnel from the “Silence.”
The most crucial gunners, helmsmen, lookouts, etc., were among them.
For safety, he had dispersed them all as ordinary civilians.
He didn’t trust newcomers, and he also wanted to prioritize opportunities for the original residents. This was understandable, but he hadn’t expected a major battle to arrive so soon.
As a temporary measure, he could only reactivate them.
However, out of caution, Jiang Zhixu called over a subordinate. “If combat breaks out, arrange a few brothers to keep watch at the left and right artillery positions. Understood?”
“Yes!”
Only then did Jiang Zhixu feel at ease.
The artillery positions were too critical for him not to be cautious.
After handling these matters, Jiang Zhixu began to ponder where to apply his talent for the day.