Jiang Zhixu nodded, looking down at the man from his superior position. “I hear you want to join us?”
The middle-aged man nodded vigorously. “Yes! Yes! I was the head of the logistics department before. I’m very skilled in resource planning and—”
“I don’t care what your previous position was.”
Jiang Zhixu cut him off. “After joining the Deep Blue, you start from the bottom. If you’re not willing, you can leave now.”
Starting from the bottom meant beginning as a civilian.
This was hard for the middle-aged man, accustomed to high status and a life of luxury, to accept.
He opened his mouth, his face flashing with unwillingness, as if he still wanted to say something.
But seeing his expression, Jiang Zhixu directly had someone escort him out.
He had no time to waste on people like that!
As for whether the man lived or died, he didn’t care… or rather, there was only one outcome for him.
When two Mobile Cities clash, after one is defeated, the civilians and slaves can be absorbed.
But never the leadership.
It was only because Jiang Zhixu wasn’t that bloodthirsty that he was willing to let him go. If the man couldn’t seize this chance, that wasn’t his fault.
After handling that minor episode, Jiang Zhixu continued processing the gains from the *Silent Whisper*.
“Need to manufacture the ‘Night Camouflage Armor’ and ‘Engine Silencer’—these two Tier-1 components.”
Although he called the *Silent Whisper* a sneaky bastard, he had to admit these two things could increase a Mobile City’s survival rate.
If you encounter someone you can’t beat, find a spot to hunker down, and you might just escape alive.
Jiang Zhixu headed to the workshop and opened the manufacturing menu.
He selected the two components, and two detailed material lists popped up.
——————
【「Night Camouflage Armor」Material List】
Steel*600 units
Polymer*600 units
Electronic Components*200 units
Bio-Gel*100 units
【「Engine Silencer」Material List】
Steel*100 units
Precision Parts*100 units
Titanium Alloy Ore*50 units
Bio-Gel*30 units
——————
Seeing these two lists, Jiang Zhixu immediately felt a headache coming on.
He quickly cross-referenced the lists with the *Deep Blue*’s inventory.
“Feels like we seized a lot of resources, yet we can’t even manufacture one decent upgrade component!”
Steel wasn’t the issue.
After devouring the *Roar*, they still had 1518 units left, and the iron ore could be smelted for nearly 900 more units. Reserves were ample.
Precision Parts and Titanium Alloy Ore were also sufficient, with 219 and 179 units respectively.
The problem lay with the other three materials—Polymer, Electronic Components, and Bio-Gel!
These three materials could only be scavenged from city ruins; they couldn’t be produced independently.
The shortfall wouldn’t be easy to make up quickly.
No wonder so many Mobile Cities turned to the path of掠夺者. The system restricted resources so tightly while massively increasing demand.
How many Mobile Cities could fully meet upgrade conditions on their own?
“Wait… there’s still the *Silent Whisper*!”
Jiang Zhixu suddenly remembered. That city was planning to settle near the freshwater lake, so it must have stockpiled大量资源!
He immediately contacted Qi Honglang via the communicator, instructing him to compile a list of the other city’s物资, prioritizing sending it over.
In less than ten minutes, a list appeared on Jiang Zhixu’s Control Hub.
He quickly opened it, his eyes scanning the long string of numbers. A look of delight spread across his face.
“Electronic Components and Polymer are sufficient! And then some!”
The *Silent Whisper*’s inventory was enough for them to replenish these two materials.
But his joy didn’t last long; his brow soon furrowed again.
“Strange, why do they only have 12 units of Bio-Gel?”
That was too little!
After some inquiry, he learned that the *Silent Whisper* had constructed大量工业净水器, planning to make a living by selling cheap purified water in the future.
And building净水器 required大量 Bio-Gel.
Though, admittedly, there was a market for this.
Tier-1 Mobile Cities needed to regularly replenish freshwater, each time forced to stay anchored beside a freshwater lake for several hours.
This was their most vulnerable moment.
If they encountered掠夺者 cities, they needed to sever the water pipes and fire up the动力炉 to flee in an extremely short time—and might still not escape!
If they could directly trade for cheap, ready-to-use纯净水, many City Lords would likely be willing to pay for that convenience.
But holding a freshwater lake required strength.
Jiang Zhixu seriously doubted whether the *Silent Whisper* had that capability.
“Never mind, let’s manufacture the Engine Silencer first.”
The materials for that part were sufficient.
After personnel优先 transported the missing materials for the 【Engine Silencer】 from the *Silent Whisper*,
he immediately placed a new order in the workshop. Steel, Precision Parts, Titanium Alloy Ore, and 30 units of Bio-Gel were deducted directly from inventory.
【Production Time: 1 hour】
“Looks like we need to make a trip to Rust Town.”
City Lord Zhou Yi of the *Elegy* had said Rust Town was a sort of gathering point, with several Mobile Cities permanently stationed there.
Where there were people, there was bound to be a market.
Their *Deep Blue*正好 could sell some surplus resources to exchange for the four most scarce basic resources: Electronic Components, Polymer, Precision Parts, and Bio-Gel!
Most importantly, Jiang Zhixu wanted to upgrade the *Deep Blue* as soon as possible, which required大量 Tier-1 and Tier-2 components.
The blueprints for these components came from野外聚落, elite bosses, etc.
But the *Deep Blue* had been roaming the荒野 for a day without encountering any such things, indicating they were much rarer than Jiang Zhixu imagined.
With many cities at the gathering point, there might be information!
Having made up his mind, Jiang Zhixu decided to set off for Rust Town immediately after all materials and personnel from the *Silent Whisper* were transferred over!
…
The next day.
11:00 AM.
Freshwater Lake Shore.
The slumbering behemoth rose slowly from the ground with a rumble.
After a night of unlimited freshwater supply, the *Deep Blue* had been scrubbed exceptionally clean. Following the evening gathering, the city’s inhabitants also enjoyed a long-awaited bath.
Now they were waking up full of energy to work.
Everyone felt as if reborn, including the *Deep Blue* itself.
The thick water intake pipe, like an elephant’s trunk, slowly withdrew from the water and retracted into the storage tank.
In the驾驶室.
Jiang Zhixu, holding binoculars, saw the forest used as target practice last night… and the field of wreckage.
He couldn’t help but click his tongue in awe.
“Whoa!”
The ones shocked by the威力 of the Tier-1 Thunder Cannon weren’t just Jiang Zhixu, but also the two helmsmen in the驾驶室, Wei Ran and Sun Cheng.
That forest was large; three shots were far from enough to cover it completely.
But at the very center, an area of at least several dozen meters in radius had been completely flattened by the artillery fire, the ground left scorched black!
With Jiang Zhixu’s tacit approval, Wei Ran steered the Mobile City past the “firing range,” allowing the entire city’s populace to get a close look at the威力 of the Tier-1 cannon.
This action果然 caused widespread沸腾. People crowded against the railings, wide-eyed, staring at the焦黑 area.
Their exclamations faintly penetrated the walls into the驾驶室, making Wei Ran swell with pride, feeling utterly gratified!
Qi Honglang在一旁默默说道: “City Lord, the *Deep Blue* has completely stabilized now.”
Jiang Zhixu didn’t speak, but nodded in agreement, his expression认同.
Qi Honglang glanced at his expression and added, “We’re heading to Rust Town soon. There are many Mobile Cities there.
“Under your leadership, I believe we will很快 make a name for ourselves, become renowned!”
Jiang Zhixu looked at him疑惑ly. “What, buttering me up first thing in the morning? What exactly are you trying to say?”
“I think Brother Qi is right,” Wei Ran said理所当然ly. “How can that be considered buttering up? Brother Jiang, you have no idea how high your声望 is among the people right now!”
Jiang Zhixu ignored him, still looking at Qi Honglang.
Qi Honglang took a deep breath and said with utmost seriousness, “The *Deep Blue* should have been buried long ago! City Lord, we need a real name of our own now.”