After skimming through the information quickly, Li Ye slightly raised his eyebrows.
"This time there's actually a Level 2 Wild BOSS?"
A total of six pieces of intelligence were refreshed this time—one normal, one excellent, two rare, one outstanding, and one epic.
【1. In the coming week, the Eternal Night Zone will experience continuous rainfall. (Intelligence Value: Normal)】
【2. As of now, 92% of the creatures in the Forest of Death have been infected. The surviving creatures have formed resistance squads and are engaging in guerrilla warfare against the zombies. (Intelligence Value: Excellent)】
【3. In twelve hours, the Eternal Night Zone Communication Channel will be launched. (Intelligence Value: Rare)】
【4. 324 kilometers due north, there is a Decayed Bone Bastion constructed by the zombies. Breaking through the Decayed Bone Bastion will allow deep entry into the Eternal Night Zone. (Intelligence Value: Rare)】
【5. 125 kilometers southeast, the Level 2 Wild BOSS "Hunter Clayton" is currently roaming. (Intelligence Value: Outstanding)】
【6. Refreshing...
(Intelligence Value: Epic)】Li Ye’s gaze locked directly onto the third, fourth, and fifth pieces of intelligence.
What caught his interest first was the Eternal Night Zone Communication Channel.
As the name implied, this was likely a zone-wide City Communication Channel, allowing all Mobile Cities in the Eternal Night Zone to connect.
"Not bad at all." Li Ye nodded repeatedly.
Currently, the Tomorrow Alliance was essentially blind in the Eternal Night Zone. They had no idea how many Mobile Cities were here, the scale of the zombie civilization, or how to exchange resources and supplies... This City Communication Channel would be an enormous help.
Next, the intelligence clearly pointed out the direction of the Decayed Bone Bastion.
However, Li Ye wasn’t sure how many zombies were stationed at the Decayed Bone Bastion, whether there were Level 2 Cannons and Heavy Machine Guns, or if there was a Zombie Mobile City present.
Lastly, and most exciting of all, the intelligence had revealed the location of a Level 2 Wild BOSS.
Level 2 Wild BOSS!
The resources it could provide were immense.
Besides the highly coveted Level 2 Iron Ore, Level 2 Coal, and Level 2 Fuel, it would also drop a fixed Level 3 item!
For the just-starting Tomorrow Alliance, this was an incredible windfall!
"We must take down this Level 2 Wild BOSS!" Li Ye silently made up his mind.
That said, he still had some concerns.
He had already witnessed the combat power of a Level 1 Wild BOSS, and a Level 2 Wild BOSS would be a whole tier above.
After a quick assessment of the Tomorrow Alliance's current strength, Li Ye believed they still had a fighting chance.
Thus, under the lead of the Tomorrow, three Mobile Cities set off at full speed toward the southeast.
Li Ye then ordered the entire crew of the Tomorrow to prepare for battle.
A few hours later, the group arrived at their destination.
The Engineer then fired several Level 1 flares to illuminate the area.
Li Ye then saw the silhouette of the Level 2 Wild BOSS "Hunter Clayton."
It was a giant kobold leading a hound.
It stood over a hundred meters tall, dressed in hunter attire, wielding a Heavy Steam Crossbow and carrying a giant bone spear on its back.
The hound it led was no less ferocious. Roughly fifty meters in size, its entire body was blood red, with bulging muscles, grotesquely thick bones, claws like scimitars, and menacing fangs. Judging from the aura it emitted, its combat strength was clearly on par with Hunter Clayton.
"That presence and pressure... Truly worthy of a Level 2 BOSS." Li Ye marveled.
What surprised him was that this Wild BOSS and its hound had also been infected by the zombies.
Hunter Clayton’s body was horribly decayed, with rotting eyes and a stench wafting from him, wandering like a walking corpse. The giant blood hound was equally rotted, with oversized, dense fangs sprouting all over its body.
Sensing the approach of three Mobile Cities, Hunter Clayton let out a muffled roar.
As it pointed forward, the massive blood hound howled and charged straight ahead.
"Battle start—make it quick!" Li Ye shouted sharply.
The Eternal Night Zone was like a dark forest. Once exposed or stirred up, zombies would quickly take notice.
Now that the Tomorrow Alliance had launched flares to illuminate the area, the battle would inevitably cause a huge commotion, exposing their location in the "forest."
If they didn’t end this fight quickly, they could attract other Mobile Cities, or even a zombie horde or a Zombie Mobile City.
Things would get very ugly by then.
With a loud boom, the Iron Whale suddenly accelerated and charged forward.
This Level 2 City had deployed its City Armor, entering full defense mode, now barreling toward the giant blood hound like a cannon shell.
But the blood hound displayed shocking agility, suddenly accelerating during its run and leaping straight over the Iron Whale.
The Tomorrow opened fire.
Heavy Machine Guns and Cannons on the deck wove a dense net of firepower, instantly engulfing the giant blood hound.
The Storm Infantry Vehicles and Convoy One and Two had already launched via the lifting platforms, coordinating with the Iron Whale to contain Hunter Clayton.
Even under such intense bombardment, the giant blood hound suffered minimal damage. Instead, it was driven into a frenzy, charging at the Tomorrow with ferocity.
Li Ye waved his hand decisively.
"Time to serve it the real stuff!"
A figure appeared in the sky—it was the newly built Black Hawk Helicopter from the Tomorrow.
Piloted by Lin Wu and another trained pilot, it was also manned by a squad of Combat Personnel, equipped with multiple Gale Rocket Launchers and one Bloodtear Ripper.
As Lin Wu pulled the trigger, the Black Hawk Helicopter unleashed a storm of machine gun fire on the giant blood hound, simultaneously launching two Rattler Missiles. The Combat Personnel on board also opened fire with Heavy Machine Guns and Rocket Launchers.
"Such firepower!" Li Ye couldn’t help but nod.
This Black Hawk Helicopter’s firepower was enough to obliterate an entire Monstrous Town.
The giant blood hound was driven back repeatedly, furious yet helpless.
The Black Hawk Helicopter was hovering at an altitude over 400 meters, far beyond its leaping ability.
The beast shifted its strategy, darting and weaving as it ran to evade the incoming barrage.
After dodging a round of cannon fire from the Tomorrow, it suddenly leapt forward and lunged at the Tomorrow.
At the critical moment, three Bloodtear Rippers on the deck of the Tomorrow opened fire, forcibly halting its advance.
At the same time, two Level 2 Frost Cannons fired at close range.
The two frost shells struck the giant blood hound, freezing the majority of its body and causing it to crash uncontrollably to the ground.
A closer look revealed pale blue frost spreading across its body, slowing its movement and rendering it extremely fragile.
"Perfect timing!" Li Ye immediately ordered a concentrated attack.
Under the dense firepower, the body of the giant blood hound was shattered, large chunks of frozen flesh falling off.
But Li Ye showed no joy at this result, as he saw the gaping wounds on the blood hound already beginning to heal, regenerating flesh and bone.
Clearly, this was an added effect from the zombie infection.
He gave a new order.
"Ning Wen, don’t hold back the frost shells—keep up the suppression!"
Meanwhile, the Iron Whale was locked in fierce combat with Hunter Clayton.
As a Level 2 Wild BOSS, Hunter Clayton possessed exceptional defense and combat power. It could hurl massive nets and set off landmine traps that exploded violently upon contact, all while unleashing a storm of bolts with its Heavy Steam Crossbow.
This Heavy Steam Crossbow had terrifying penetrative power, even punching through the Iron Whale’s Level 2 City Armor!
At this point, dozens of steam bolts were lodged in the Iron Whale, making it look like a porcupine.
As a defense-oriented city, its primary role was to pin down this Wild BOSS and keep it from attacking the Tomorrow.
Seeing the Iron Whale struggling, Li Ye dispatched the Black Hawk Helicopter to assist.
Under sustained bombardment from the Frost Cannons, the giant blood hound grew weaker and was eventually reduced to a pile of frozen meat chunks.
"Is it finally dead?" Li Ye let out a sigh of relief.
Once confirmed dead, the Tomorrow moved to support the Iron Whale.
Now surrounded by two Level 2 Cities and harried by the Black Hawk Helicopter and convoy units, Hunter Clayton found himself overwhelmed.
He was soon struck and slowed by frost shells, then rammed head-on by the accelerating Iron Whale.
This blow caused severe injuries, making it even harder for him to keep fighting.
In the end, the Level 2 Wild BOSS let out a final wail and collapsed to the ground.
"Finally brought it down!" Li Ye exhaled in relief.
The flares in the sky had already burned out, plunging the area back into darkness.
The Engineer, observing from afar, drove over to begin repairs on the Iron Whale, while the Tomorrow maintained vigilance nearby.
Li Ye descended via the lift platform and hurried toward Hunter Clayton’s corpse.
It was time for the loot draw.
Accompanying him were Zhou Xing and Fang Yong, both filled with anticipation.
As a Wild BOSS, Hunter Clayton and the blood hound shared a combined loot pool.
【15,874 Crystal Coins.】
【1,256 units of Level 2 Iron Ore, 994 units of Level 2 Coal, 712 units of Level 2 Fuel.】
【Level 2 City Armor "Watcher"】
【Level 2 City Accessory – Steam Heavy Crossbow】
【Level 2 City Accessory Upgrade Blueprint (Type: Tread)】
【Level 2 Firearm "Remington 870" Shotgun Blueprint】
【Level 3 City Building "Hurricane Tamer" Energy Wind Turbine Series – Blueprint】
"Not bad at all!" the three exclaimed.
As expected of a Level 2 Wild BOSS—the drops were a whole tier above those from Level 1 BOSSes.
But in general, this Level 2 BOSS’s combat strength was terrifyingly high.
Judging from the previous battle, the giant blood hound displayed combat power on par with its master, and its difficulty and threat level even exceeded that of its master.
It was practically like fighting two BOSSes at once!
Had it not been for the Level 2 City alliance, victory might not have been possible.
Li Ye proceeded to distribute the spoils.
After discussions, the Iron Whale received the Steam Heavy Crossbow and the Level 2 City Accessory Upgrade Blueprint, while the Engineer received the Level 2 City Armor. The Tomorrow was granted the Level 2 Shotgun Blueprint.
As for the Level 2 resources and Crystal Coins—the Iron Whale took all of the Level 2 Coal. The Level 2 Fuel was divided evenly among the three cities.
The Tomorrow received 856 units of Level 2 Iron Ore, while the remaining 400 units were allocated to the Iron Whale for crafting upgraded city treads.
Regarding the 15,874 Crystal Coins, Zhou Xing had a proposal.
He suggested that Li Ye establish a City Fund and deposit the coins into it.
In the future, whenever members of the Tomorrow Alliance needed to acquire resources through external trade, they could withdraw from this fund.
Li Ye gladly agreed.
This was the advantage of a City Alliance—it allowed for smoother resource circulation among members and significantly boosted everyone's strength.
Currently, neither the Tomorrow nor the Engineer had Level 2 City Armor.
But considering the Tomorrow’s powerful combat ability and its Energy Shield, and the fact that the Production Workshop already had a Level 2 City Armor project in place...
And since the Engineer had weaker defense, Li Ye decided to allocate the Level 2 City Armor to it first.
Zhou Xing was naturally overjoyed.
After all, the Engineer had only been part of the alliance for a few days and had already received a piece of Level 2 City Armor. For a Level 1 engineer-type city, this was almost beyond imagination.
Now it could rely on the Tomorrow Alliance to develop within the Eternal Night Zone, and upgrading to a Level 2 City in the future was within reach.
As for that Level 3 blueprint, it required 500 units of Level 3 Iron Ore to construct and its effect was to provide 20% of the city's energy daily.
That blueprint was temporarily entrusted to Li Ye for safekeeping.
In truth, it made no difference who kept it, since they were all members of the same City Alliance. As long as the conditions were met, each Mobile City could build one.
The three Mobile Cities began repairs on the spot.
"What do we do next?" Fang Yong asked.
Li Ye rubbed his chin and started to ponder.
"We’ll head north next, it’s about a day or two’s journey." he answered. "What’s ahead is going to be a tough fight, so get ready."
A tough fight?
Fang Yong and Zhou Xing exchanged a look, their eyes filled with surprise.
Looking at Li Ye, they couldn’t help but feel a sense of disbelief.
This young Lord seemed to be blessed by fortune, always encountering good things.
Still, as companions, that wasn’t a bad thing.
Once the repairs were complete, the three Mobile Cities set off northward.
Li Ye returned to his room and lay down to rest.
When he woke again, he saw a prompt displayed on the screen of his Lord’s Wristband.
"Eternal Night Zone full-region City Channel Y3 will open in 13 minutes. Enter invitation code S19821 to log in."
"It’s here!"
Li Ye’s eyelid twitched instinctively.
He got up at once, quickly took care of his meal, and rushed to the cockpit in a flash.
When the others learned that the full-region City Channel for the Eternal Night Zone was about to open, the place instantly erupted.
"Full-region City Channel? Brother Li, does that mean we can gather tons of intel now?" Tang Fang said excitedly.
"Maybe we can even figure out the terrain of this Level 2 Zone and the scale of the zombies." Ning Wen added.
Lin Wu thought for a moment, then lightly shook his head.
"Actually, we shouldn’t be too optimistic. The wild is complex and unpredictable, and people are even more so. Even in a full-region City Channel, every Lord will deliberately hide their strength and intelligence, and won’t easily open up to others."