The entire process was fluid and incredibly swift.
“So this is an industrial-type Mobile City?”
Jiang Zhixu watched in awe, then asked Qi Honglang beside him, “If we were to dismantle the Howler, how long would it take?”
“Three seconds,” Qi Honglang joked. “Of course, after one round of bombardment, there probably wouldn’t be anything useful left anyway.”
“Hahaha! True enough. Different trades require different skills.”
Not long after, an elevator platform descended from the bottom of the *Elegy*, and two heavy-duty trucks drove out.
Their massive frames and deeply sunken tires clearly indicated the astonishing load they carried.
These two trucks, devoid of any weaponry, headed straight for the *Deep Blue*.
Before they arrived, Zhou Yi had already communicated the tallied resource count to Jiang Zhixu.
“A total of 5,730 units of iron ore, 2,214 units of steel, 1,924 units of coal, and 172 units of titanium alloy.”
Hearing this, Jiang Zhixu nodded with satisfaction.
This was already a massive haul of resources!
“Brother Jiang, our iron ore storage is overflowing.”
Qi Honglang whispered the reminder in Jiang Zhixu’s ear.
Combining what the *Deep Blue* originally had left with this new batch, they now possessed a staggering 8,827 units of iron ore. However, the *Deep Blue*’s material warehouse had a total capacity of only 5,000!
Qi Honglang, originally in charge of logistics, had never seen the *Deep Blue*’s iron ore reserves exceed 500 units. Before today, he had never imagined their city would one day be troubled by having *too many* resources!
“It really is true that the fastest way to riches is through plunder!” he sighed.
“Bring it all aboard first, just pile it up somewhere. I’ll upgrade the warehouse later,” Jiang Zhixu instructed.
Iron ore was the hard currency of this world! Moreover, the *Deep Blue* had numerous uses for it: repairs and upgrades for various components, and the upcoming expansion of weaponry and equipment, all requiring vast amounts of iron ore.
This was a time of rebuilding from the ground up. Jiang Zhixu had no intention of selling any.
…
Once this wave of resource trading was complete, the trust level between the *Deep Blue* and the *Elegy* also rose significantly.
Seizing the lull during the exchange, Jiang Zhixu proactively sought Zhou Yi’s advice regarding Mobile City advancement.
[Prerequisites: Possess twelve Tier-1 modified components, three Tier-2 modified components (all city cannons collectively count as one component).]
After meeting these prerequisites, a promotion mission would activate.
The promotion mission was random; even Zhou Yi wasn’t sure what it entailed.
Regardless, upon completing the promotion mission, you would be rewarded with a one-time-use Tier-2 City Blueprint. Gather the required resources, and you could advance to Tier-2!
“Thank you for the information, Brother Zhou.”
Zhou Yi was indeed a decent person—at least from Jiang Zhixu’s perspective. Jiang Zhixu refrained from commenting on the other’s enthusiasm for keeping slaves. He could only influence himself; persuading others to liberate slaves would be foolish.
After their amicable conversation, both sides prepared to part ways.
Zhou Yi said warmly, “If you need any commissioned manufacturing, feel free to come find me! I usually stay at Rust Town. Four or five Mobile Cities are permanently stationed there; raiders don’t dare approach.
“Oh, and here’s my commission list!”
At the end of the communication, the other party sent over a long list.
Jiang Zhixu glanced at it and was secretly astonished.
*Good grief!*
Apart from daily necessities, there were over a dozen types of Tier-1 weaponry and equipment.
Tier-1 off-road vehicles, Tier-1 infantry fighting vehicles, Tier-1 rifles, Tier-1 rocket launchers…
Being able to commission-manufacture these things, and you say industrial cities aren’t good at fighting?
*Who are you trying to fool?!*
No wonder he dared to seek out the *Deep Blue* alone without even a Tier-1 cannon; he had his own confidence.
Thinking of this, Jiang Zhixu felt a twinge of regret.
—He should have kept those two raider cities!
If they had joined forces, they might have actually succeeded!
*’Forget it, probably not feasible.’*
Jiang Zhixu only dwelled on it briefly.
Because he quickly realized the proof of his combat prowess at the time—the wreck of the *Howler* lying not far away. Yet, the other party chose not to fight, which meant they didn’t want to.
Forcing them into a fight without prior communication might have turned them into enemies afterward.
*’I really let the resources go to my head.’*
Jiang Zhixu reflected. With his Critical Hit talent, he wasn’t actually short on resources. There was no need to take such risks. Steady development could lead to a rapid rise just the same!
…
The *Deep Blue* set off again, heading for the freshwater lake.
In the City Lord’s chamber, Jiang Zhixu stood before the Control Hub.
[Spend 200 Steel to upgrade the Material Warehouse to Tier-1?]
[Spend 200 Steel to upgrade the Food Warehouse to Tier-1?]
[Spend 200 Steel to upgrade the Water Tower to Tier-1?]
[Spend 200 Steel to upgrade the Ammunition Hold to Tier-1?]
“Upgrade!”
Watching the iron ore in the warehouse rapidly deplete, Jiang Zhixu felt a pang of distress.
Who said there was too much iron ore?
In the blink of an eye, 800 Steel—equivalent to 8,000 Iron Ore—was spent!
Fortunately, after this round of upgrades, the capacity of each storage facility increased tenfold, temporarily alleviating the overflow concern.
Even if he critically produced ninety-seven more shells, he wouldn’t worry about storage space. The upgraded Tier-1 Ammunition Hold could store a total of 999 rounds of various shell types.
…
Late at night, 11:30 PM.
The *Deep Blue* journeyed uneventfully and safely arrived at the freshwater lake.
They only encountered a wave of mutated skeletons along the way, which were blasted into bone fragments by five cannon shells.
Jiang Zhixu sent people down to check the spoils, acquiring a Common-grade life blueprint: “Gingerbread Recipe.” After a glance, he tossed it into the workshop.
Midnight was approaching, theoretically the time for his talent cooldown to reset.
Jiang Zhixu’s mind grew active. As he waited, he began pondering where to use today’s Critical Hit opportunity.
His thoughts involuntarily drifted to his currently most powerful weapon—
The Tier-1 cannon, the Thunderbolt Cannon.
*’Should I… try a Quality Critical Hit on it?’*
Perhaps he could produce a Tier-2 cannon in one go!
But he quickly dismissed the idea.
The reason was simple: ammunition!
The Tier-1 cannon already couldn’t fire Common-grade shells. So, could a Tier-2 cannon fire Tier-1 shells?
The answer was obviously no!
If he truly upgraded the Thunderbolt Cannon to Tier-2, he would find himself in a predicament: possessing a powerful weapon but unable to use it.
Of course, performing a separate Quality Critical Hit on shells was also possible.
But this still presented a problem.
The rules of the *Universal Critical Hit* talent clearly stated that each item could only be critically hit once, and products generated by the talent could not undergo another critical hit.
In other words, he could only produce one Tier-2 Thunderbolt Shell per day, and it had to be made from a Tier-1 shell that hadn’t been affected by the talent before!
This condition was quite stringent.
Just crafting one “Tier-1 Thunderbolt Shell” required 100 units of Thunder Ore, 40 units of gunpowder, 20 units of steel, and 20 units of biological gel.
The others were manageable, but the *Deep Blue*’s biological gel reserves weren’t plentiful.
Not to mention it would also consume the day’s only talent usage!
If there was nothing urgently needing a critical hit later, producing a Tier-2 cannon and a few Tier-2 shells as strategic reserves might be feasible.
But today was only the second day of development. Jiang Zhixu had to allocate resources to the most crucial thing.
—Immediate combat power!
Thus.
Only one answer remained.
As the clock hand pointed to 12, Jiang Zhixu, who had been closely monitoring his talent panel, noticed the change immediately.
The cooldown was over!
“Quantity Critical Hit, Thunderbolt Shells!”