"Level up to Level 2?"
Qi Honglang was momentarily stunned, then shook his head, "I don't know. I was just in charge of logistics before."
He felt it was a bit too early to think about these things now.
Although he didn't know the conditions for upgrading, the fact that so many mobile cities had been in this area for ten years without upgrading showed that the conditions were definitely not simple!
Jiang Zhixu nodded and didn't ask further.
In the driver's cabin, Wei Ran and his team were preparing to awaken the power furnace and start the mobile city.
They had been delayed here for too long.
From the start of the uprising to its success, it took three hours.
Integrating the resources of the "Deep Blue" and making personnel appointments took another hour.
Then they tangled with the raider city "Roar" for an hour.
A total of five hours.
Especially since their position had been broadcasted in this area, mobile cities could come looking for them at any moment.
Jiang Zhixu planned to find a safe place to replenish their supply of potable water and then wait for the talents to refresh after midnight.
In this semi-gamified world, resource points are divided into two types.
One is a fixed resource point, and the other is a refreshing resource point.
The former, like mountains, rivers, lakes, and city ruins, would exist permanently without external interference.
The latter, however, includes various minerals, alien territories, and wild monsters, with their own life cycles ranging from a day to a month.
Of course, the two are actually intersecting circles, with some resources overlapping.
Whether a resource point is fixed or refreshing mainly depends on whether it will eventually disappear.
"Sun Cheng," Jiang Zhixu called the deputy helmsman.
Sun Cheng was once the chief helmsman of the Deep Blue, so he must know many routes to fixed resource points.
"Brother Jiang, at your service!"
Sun Cheng hurried over to Jiang Zhixu, eagerly adopting Wei Ran's way of addressing him.
Jiang Zhixu pondered for a moment, "Is there a fixed water source more than a hundred kilometers away?"
The reason for requiring more than a hundred kilometers was mainly to temporarily distance themselves from this conflict-ridden area.
Upon hearing this, Sun Cheng frowned and recalled for a while, his eyes lighting up, "Yes!"
Jiang Zhixu gestured for him to continue.
Jiang Zhixu nodded, "Let's head there."
At the speed of the "Deep Blue," it would take about four hours to cover 130 kilometers.
It's now six in the evening, so they should arrive by eleven. Collecting freshwater reserves would take an hour, and by the time the talents refresh, they could immediately set off again.
Perfect!
But surprises always come quickly.
Wei Ran, holding a telescope, spoke urgently, "Brother Jiang, there's a situation! A new mobile city!"
Jiang Zhixu instinctively frowned, but fortunately, Wei Ran continued, "It's not flying the Dragonhunter Flag, so it shouldn't be a raider."
"Not necessarily."
Sun Cheng refuted with a grave expression, "I encountered a raider city once that wasn't flying the Dragonhunter Flag. They used this method to approach us.
"When we let our guard down, they suddenly launched an attack and destroyed our city."
Jiang Zhixu nodded slightly, "It was probably attracted by the broadcast."
Seeing this, Qi Honglang didn't wait for Jiang Zhixu to give an order and went to notify the two group leaders in the artillery room.
He was increasingly adapting to his new role—Jiang Zhixu's assistant.
Jiang Zhixu watched the unfamiliar mobile city sweeping in with dust on the horizon, a cold glint flashing in his eyes, "Hopefully, it's not here to cause trouble."
He didn't want to fight a second battle now.
Because that would mean continuous depletion, and the raider's allies might still be on their way.
They're like a pack of hyenas; whoever finds the prey will call their friends and swarm, ultimately unable to escape being devoured!
Fortunately, the Level 1 Cannon "Thunder Cannon" was already successfully installed.
With 73 ordinary shells and two Thunder Shells left, Jiang Zhixu wasn't afraid if it came to a fight!
.
While the "Deep Blue" was on high alert against the unfamiliar mobile city.
The other side voluntarily slowed down 1.5 kilometers away.
What followed was a long whistle.
"Woo—"
The whistle lasted for ten seconds.
The distance between the two sides was now only one kilometer.
If the "Deep Blue" fired, the other side would have no chance to restart their mobile city and evade in a few seconds; they would have to take the hit!
This was obviously an extremely dangerous act.
Therefore, in the communication between mobile cities, "whistling, slowing down, stopping" is also seen as a way of saying "I mean no harm, requesting communication."
"..."
Jiang Zhixu had no experience with this situation. He turned and asked, "What should we do now?"
Mobile cities seemed to have no means of external communication... except for whistles and searchlights.
These two things should have a systematic common "language," but Jiang Zhixu knew nothing about it.
"If you don't want to communicate with them, we can just leave. Otherwise—"
The speaker was Sun Cheng, who, as the former chief helmsman, knew more than others, "There are two ways to communicate with them.
"The first is to use the city broadcast system, set the coverage range to 'close range,' so mobile cities within ten kilometers can receive your message, like an open mic."
Jiang Zhixu nodded, "What's the second way?"
At this moment, the mobile city a kilometer away seemed to know the "Deep Blue" was inexperienced and was patiently waiting without urging.
"The second way is 'private chat,' where each side sends a convoy towards the other, then meets at a midpoint to exchange communicators. This way, we can communicate within a one-kilometer range."
The communicators produced by Level 1 Mobile Cities are the most basic, generally used for internal city communication.
But actually, its communication range is also one kilometer.
So, the other side stopping at a one-kilometer distance without first sending a broadcast clearly wanted to exchange communicators with them.
"In that case, let's communicate."
After some thought, Jiang Zhixu decided to seize his first opportunity for communication.
But just as both sides lowered their lift platforms and prepared to dispatch their convoys!
A message came through the communicator from the watchtower.
"Brother Jiang, two mobile cities are approaching from three kilometers away, flying the Dragonhunter Flag!"
"Is everyone coming here for a gathering?!"
Jiang Zhixu couldn't help but curse.