“How much food is left in the warehouse?” Jiang Zhixu asked.
Qi Honglang, who had been in charge of logistics, knew the inventory data like the back of his hand and answered immediately, “Only enough for three hundred people for one month.”
Jiang Zhixu took a deep breath.
No wonder the old City Lord wanted to starve a portion of the population—food reserves were already critically low!
“What an utter fool!”
In the Wasteland, food was hard to come by. Many ordinary survivors would turn against their own kin for a scrap to eat.
But for a Mobile City, food should never, ever become a shackle limiting its population. Population was the most precious resource!
Because with farmland, investing resources could guarantee a stable food output, easily enough to sustain a full city.
“That old bastard was already sick and dying,” Qi Honglang revealed the inside story. “So he completely gave up on the city’s development. He just wanted to scrape every last bit of profit and enjoy his final days.”
“Right, I understand.” Jiang Zhixu nodded. “You go ahead and stabilize the city’s order. Also, have the brothers who know how to operate the city take over the Control Hub. We’ve been stopped here too long.”
“Yes, sir!”
Qi Honglang turned and hurried away.
Jiang Zhixu watched him leave, then began pondering where to use today’s critical strike opportunity.
Food was an urgent problem, but he had tried before. His critical strike talent couldn’t be applied to a “unit”—it could only target a single item, not even a bundled package.
It seemed the only way was to figure out how to reprocess all the grain into one massive, single entity…
It was troublesome, but at least it could solve the immediate crisis!
Just as he was deep in thought, the door to the City Lord’s chamber was knocked on urgently. The voice of Qi Honglang, who had just left moments ago, came from outside, filled with anxiety:
“City Lord, City Lord, urgent matter!!”
Jiang Zhixu looked up toward the door and called out clearly, “Enter.”
Qi Honglang practically crashed inside, panting heavily as he rushed to report, “City Lord, the watchtower reports a Mobile City about five km away is charging toward us at high speed!”
Jiang Zhixu was taken aback, instinctively standing up. “Just passing by?”
“No!” Qi Honglang shook his head vigorously. “They’re flying the Dragon-Hunter Banner. Their target is clearly us!”
Jiang Zhixu’s heart sank like a stone.
The Dragon-Hunter Banner—the exclusive flag of raider Mobile Cities. While flown, it provided a 5% bonus to plundered Resources.
Any city flying that banner was, without exception, a pack of hyenas that made their living by hunting other Mobile Cities!
“Don’t panic. Let’s go take a look.”
Jiang Zhixu said with a composed expression.
Truthfully, he was a bit nervous too. But as the City Lord now, he had to steady his subordinates’ confidence.
Seeing his calm demeanor, Qi Honglang indeed seemed to find his anchor, his anxious mood settling somewhat.
“I’ll lead the way!” He immediately walked ahead.
Along the way, Jiang Zhixu encountered many comrades from the uprising, some still bearing wounds. He acknowledged them with calm, reassuring smiles and nods.
Another portion were ordinary residents with uneasy eyes, unsure of the new City Lord’s temperament and not daring to approach.
Still, Jiang Zhixu greeted them and offered a few quick words of reassurance.
Arriving at the watchtower, the person on duty had already been replaced by a brother who had followed Jiang Zhixu in the uprising.
The young man saw Jiang Zhixu and called out excitedly, “Brother Jiang!”
Qi Honglang hurriedly corrected him, “Address him properly during duty!”
The young man obediently amended, “City Lord!”
Then he remembered something, his face paling. “City Lord, a few km out—”
“I already know. Don’t be afraid. Nothing will happen.”
Jiang Zhixu walked to the telescope and looked into the distance.
At the horizon’s edge, dust and smoke billowed.
A massive black shadow loomed within the dust, like a ferocious beast about to break through the sky.
For a fleeting moment, its outline sharpened. At its very peak, a blood-red Dragon-Hunter banner fluttered arrogantly, pointed directly at them.
The young man nervously explained beside him, “The other side is also a Tier-1 city, but… but it has six gun ports! One of them is glowing white—it must be equipped with a Tier-1 cannon!”
In comparison, the “Deep Blue” had only four standard cannons. Their combat power wasn’t even in the same league.
“I know!”
Qi Honglang suddenly spoke up.
Seeing Jiang Zhixu look over, he said viciously, “It’s that old bastard Chen Liang! Before he died, he must have broadcast the Deep Blue’s location!”
Chen Liang was the previous City Lord of the Deep Blue.
Jiang Zhixu wasn’t the least bit surprised. If it were him, he’d definitely try to drag someone down with him before dying too.
Then, another piece of bad news came from the young man’s mouth: “City Lord, some brothers just checked the ammunition hold. We only have two cannon shells left!”
Before his death, Chen Liang had been drowning in debauchery, never even thinking about scavenging for Resources. The entire Deep Blue was a complete mess.
Qi Honglang’s expression turned grim. “I’m afraid we can only run.”
He looked at Jiang Zhixu, awaiting his orders.
Jiang Zhixu pondered for two seconds, then asked Qi Honglang, “Do we have any proficient-level gunners?”
Qi Honglang answered immediately, “One. The other is just an apprentice. With his talent, he’d need to fire at least fifty or sixty more shells to reach proficient level.”
He instinctively assumed Jiang Zhixu was thinking of using the remaining two shells to repel the enemy.
If both shells hit, it might indeed force the enemy back.
But the problem was, even if both were proficient gunners, hitting the enemy city while both sides were moving at forty km/h was extremely difficult!
The muzzle flash from firing was highly conspicuous. The enemy helmsman only needed to perform tactical evasions in advance, making the chance of both shells hitting exceedingly low!
Jiang Zhixu peered through the telescope at the approaching city, narrowed his eyes, then put the telescope down and said:
“Two gunners should be enough. We might just be able to play a little game with them.
“Take me to the ammunition hold!”