Mobile City Farming Guide

Chapter 33: Level 0.5 Mobile Cities and the "Captain's Club" (4.2K)

When Liye opened his eyes again, a new day had already begun.

He remained lying on his side, squinting as he felt the slight tremors in the room.

The tremor originated from the movement of the Tomorrow as it sailed, its engines running steadily. The tremor traveled along the brass pipes that carried steam and water, spreading throughout the city along the veins of the steel behemoth.

I've grown accustomed to this tremor even after leaving the wilderness. It means the city is moving steadily in the wild, which gives me a sense of security.

Get dressed, fold blankets, and do a quick wash.

As Li Ye stepped out of his room, he saw the wilderness awakening in the pale gray light of the sky.

The last lone star in the sky was still on the horizon, and the night dew that condensed on the tips of the green grass was like its reluctant tears. The whole field looked like it had been sprinkled with a handful of fine shards of glass.

A hazy red glow began to seep into the sky, flowing across the river and spreading over the land, gradually awakening the entire wilderness.

Birds peeked out of their nests among the branches, and gerbils emerged from their burrows with rustling sounds, their whiskers still covered in fresh mud.

Soon after, the sun finally rose above the horizon, its golden rays gently bathing the gears and pipes of the moving city, making it as warm and bright as the entire field.

At this very moment, the people aboard the Tomorrow have already begun their daily work.

In the lower power engine area, mechanic Lin Wu pressed his ear against a hydraulic pipe, listening intently with his eyes closed. He hadn't changed out of the leather apron he wore the night before while repairing things; it was covered in oil and soot.

On the newly reclaimed fields, residents are carefully tending to the newly planted Sunshine Fruit Trees and Cloud Dream Cotton.

On the edge of the middle layer of the city's outer shell, several residents were suspended by ropes and began aerial cleaning operations.

Occasionally, residents can be seen leaning against the railings on the deck and in the corridors, gazing at the scenery. They are often residents responsible for mining resources or combat personnel taking turns to rest.

After finishing breakfast, Li Ye walked into the upper watchtower as usual.

Lookout Lin Xia is currently on duty, and the young girl is clearly still reeling from the pain of losing her father and home.

When Li Ye walked over, she glanced at him in surprise, then realized something and handed him the binoculars.

Li Ye nodded to her, then picked up his binoculars and gazed at the distant scenery.

The morning light swept over the copper railings of the watchtower, gently lifting the hems of their clothes before letting them fall again. The entire moving city slowly turned beneath their feet, the muffled creaking of gears like the heartbeat of some enormous creature.

Lin Xia leaned on the railing, tapping it lightly with her fingertips, intentionally or unintentionally.

"How do you feel when you miss home?" she asked softly.

"Ok?"

Li Ye turned to look at her in surprise.

Out of consideration for the other person's feelings, he did not speak, and was even very careful when connecting the binoculars, but he did not expect the other person to take the initiative to speak.

Do you miss home?
He savored the word, his thoughts like a small box that had been accidentally opened in a corner, and memories began to flood in.

He is 25 years old and an ordinary white-collar worker in a big city, living a nine-to-five life like most office workers.

Living in a small apartment in the suburbs of the city, my daily commute to and from get off work is a long one.

My family members are all ordinary people. My father works for a state-owned enterprise, my mother is a middle school teacher, and my younger sister is in college.

His life trajectory was originally long and predictable.

Work hard for a few years, save some money, find a suitable blind date, buy a car, a house, get married, and have children.
But the sudden time travel disrupted all his plans.

More than the melancholy and regret of never being able to go home, Li Ye felt a surge of ambition.

This is a wonderful world.

The surviving humans relied on mobile cities as their means of transportation, moving, managing, and fighting with this nomadic home.

You'll meet many, many people and see many, many beautiful sights along the way.

He gazed at the distant scenery, his brow gradually relaxing.

"Dad, Mom, and my sister. If you knew I had come into such a wonderful world, you would surely be happy for me."

"This place is both mysterious and beautiful, with many wonderful things that people yearn for."

"I will live a wonderful life here and leave behind many stories."

When Li Ye came to his senses, he found that Lin Xia was still looking at him, waiting for his answer.

"It's probably a mix of melancholy, sadness, and a sense of relief," he replied slowly.

Lin Xia nodded gently and brushed her short hair behind her ear.

"Is that so?"

The two leaned against the railing, admiring the scenery and chatting idly from time to time.

Half an hour later, a scene suddenly caught their attention.

Several kilometers away, a dozen or so mobile cities with distinct styles appeared from all directions, clustering together.

Surprisingly, these mobile cities are all very small, only a few dozen square meters in size.

They are often several small houses pieced together, equipped with mini robotic arms and cranes, as well as a series of facilities such as rain shelters, viewing platforms, gardens, warehouses, and small water towers.

As the whistle of one of the mobile cities sounded, the mobile cities began to connect.

Telescopic bridges of all sizes with articulated joints meander out from under the armor plates, their rivets old yet reliable.

At the very center of the mobile city, a device splits open and automatically assembles into several suspended platforms as it rises, with the serrated interfaces on the edges precisely engaging with the telescopic bridge.

People in the mobile city stepped onto the walkways formed by the retractable bridges and met on the suspended platform.

They shared the snacks, drinks, and food they had brought, chatting happily. They were all elderly people with gray hair, and seemed to have known each other for many years.

Mobile cities have also taken action.

First, a mobile city surrounded by flowers and plants came to life, spraying fragrant steam through its steam pipes, creating an atmosphere of old friends reuniting.

A mobile city, with several enormous wine barrels on its perimeter, provided the wine.

A mobile city, half of which is farmland, provides fresh vegetables and fruits.

The last mobile city provided the music; its appearance was the most unique, with dozens of metal pipes cascading down its sides like organ stops. The city's ruler was an elderly woman with gray hair, wearing a pale yellow dress, who was currently seated at a piano.

As she struck the piano keys, an elegant and melodious tune began to play, the sound gradually extending through the metal pipes and finally being played through the large loudspeakers installed on the city's rooftops.

"That's really great," Li Ye exclaimed sincerely.

Even without a massive body, the yearning for a free life can make the smallest gears turn.

“These are level 0.5 mobile cities, you know.” Lin Xia turned to look at him.

From the daughter of this fortress lord, Li Ye learned what a level 0.5 mobile city was all about.

Not all mobile cities start at level 1.

Some lords start very poorly, initially possessing only a steam engine, boiler room, production workshop, a few small huts, and tracked tires, which is level 0.5.

Only through diligent collection of resources in the wild and gradual development can a level 1 scale be gradually achieved.

However, there are some level 0.5 city lords who are exceptions.

Unlike most people who focus on upgrading their city's level and space, these lords focus on their immediate lives, patiently honing and building their own level 0.5 cities.

They built viewing platforms, small gardens, small fields, and fruit and vegetable sheds according to their own preferences, and planted flowers and plants in the gaps between cities.

A level 0.5 city has limited space and can often only accommodate a dozen or so people.

Those living in level 0.5 cities are often families.

The father was in charge of driving in the city, the mother was in charge of maintenance and troubleshooting, and the younger children were in charge of tending the fields and small garden.

There's no need to worry about their safety. Because of their small size, level 0.5 cities can move very fast, even reaching speeds of over 200 kilometers per hour in the wild. Some level 0.5 cities even cover their outer shells with vegetation as camouflage.

Level 0.5 cities are small in size and have a limited population, so their daily needs for coal fuel, food and fresh water are very low.

Since they rarely collect resources such as blueprints and level 1 items, predatory cities don't bother to target them, making it easier for them to survive in the wild.

"I see?" Li Ye nodded slowly. "Then what is the purpose of their gathering?"

Lin Xia rested her chin on her hand and tilted her head to smile.

“These level 0.5 cities located in the wasteland have an organization called the Captains’ Club. Every so often, they meet at a pre-arranged location.”

Captain's Club?

Li Ye was initially surprised, then nodded slightly.

Upon closer examination, these level 0.5 cities do indeed resemble small boats in size, making this designation quite reasonable.

At this moment, more and more people on the deck noticed these level 0.5 moving cities.

Everyone gathered around the edge of the deck, holding onto the railing and excitedly discussing the situation.

Li Ye thought for a moment, then spoke to Lin Xia.

"Should we go over there and take a look?"

Lin Xia shook her head sadly.

“In a Tier 1 city like ours, captains’ clubs don’t welcome people. As you can see, their lords are all elderly men and women, so don’t upset them.”

Even so, Li Ye still didn't want to give up.

He then instructed Tang Fang to sound two long and one short whistles.

After a long silence from those cities with a 0.5 rating, one city finally sounded the same siren.

"They agreed!" Li Ye exclaimed excitedly.

Although Lin Xia was also surprised by this, she still looked at him with concern.

"Aren't we heading towards the central area right now? Is this delay really okay?"

Li Ye smiled and gently shook his head.

"Being on the road every day can be tiring. It's nice to stop occasionally and enjoy the scenery."

As he spoke, he extended his hand to Lin Xia.

I bet you'd love to see it too, right?

Lin Xia nodded, a rare smile appearing on her face.

"Ah."

The two rode in an off-road vehicle and slowly drove towards a city with a level of 0.5.

Upon arriving nearby and disembarking, Li Ye noticed that all the level 0.5 city lords were staring at them.

They were all elderly men and women, the youngest being over fifty and the oldest nearly eighty.

The floating platform seemed to be a private tea party for these lords, while their families were busy in their respective mobile cities.

"Damn it, Old Li! You can never park your own city properly. This time, your big wine barrels on the outside have knocked over my rose bushes again!" an elderly man dressed in a refined manner shouted angrily.

Meanwhile, the old man he was referring to, Lao Li, a white tank top with a big beard and a beer belly, laughed heartily.

"If you ask me, fine wine is far better than your elaborate flower arrangement."

"Where's the music? Why did it stop playing?" another elderly man who was baking cookies asked in confusion.

The lord of the music city, a well-dressed old lady, leisurely sipped her tea.

"I only play one piece each time. If you don't listen carefully, you'll have to wait until next time."

As they spoke, the old lords all looked at the two people from Liye.

"What a young lord!" the well-dressed old man exclaimed. "You haven't been in charge of this city for very long, have you? Look how well it has developed."

“I hate these Tier 1 cities the most.” The old man baking cookies didn’t even turn his head. “They swarm around in the wild like locusts, mining resources and causing trouble everywhere.”

"Don't always be prejudiced!" The old man in the white vest laughed heartily, patting his belly. "Seeing young people always makes me feel good, just like seeing everyone when they were young."

"How long have you known each other?" Li Ye asked curiously.

“It has been almost forty years,” one of the old lords replied.

He waved to the two people in Liye as he spoke.

"Come on, young man, have some tea and a chat with us old folks."

The early morning in the wilderness was exceptionally tranquil. The level 0.5 cities clustered together, while the Tomorrow ship was on patrol in the distance.

Li Ye chatted and drank tea with the old lords, and his mood gradually relaxed.

“As you can see, this is our life,” the well-dressed old man said. “No hunting, no fighting, just migrating with our families every day, and occasionally getting together with old friends.”

As he spoke, he put down the teapot, looked around at the mobile cities of his old friends, and sighed with heartfelt emotion.

“We believe that true freedom is not about how much living space you have, but about filling your whole world into these few dozen square meters of romance.”

Li Ye nodded sincerely, feeling that this kind of life was quite good.

He quickly realized something and hurriedly put down the teapot in his hand to remind him.

"By the way, the wasteland will be destroyed in less than three months, so you need to leave as soon as possible."

The elderly people exchanged glances and smiled.

"In fact, we are preparing a competition to see who can reach the western basin area first."

"But aren't there mountains stretching out to the west?" Li Ye asked in surprise.

The old man baking cookies gently waved his hand.

"It's alright, Lao Li is an excellent mechanic, he can help everyone modify the climbing tracks."

The old man in the white vest stood angrily with his hands on his hips.

"Looks like you guys want to work this old man to death."

The lords exchanged glances and burst into laughter.

The tea party ended quickly, and the old lords returned to their respective level 0.5 cities, retrieving the linked floating platforms and retractable bridges.

At this moment, Li Ye and Lin Xia had returned to the deck of the Tomorrow, gazing at the scene in the distance.

These level 0.5 mobile cities were lined up one after another on the open field, facing west, with steam billowing from their chimneys, seemingly poised to launch.

With a whistle, they rushed out together like competitors, heading west.

"That's wonderful." Lin Xia's eyes lit up as she looked at them. "These grandpas and grandmas seem to have never aged."

Li Ye nodded and sighed.

He quickly waved his hand.

"Let's set off and continue our journey."

Extra chapters are usually added around 6 or 7 pm.



(End of this chapter)