"Finally here."
On top of the Watchtower, Li Ye let out a breath of relief.
At this very moment, what appeared within his line of sight was the Level 1 Zone “Valley Zone”.
Its ridges on both sides resembled the spines of a giant beast, with jagged mountain walls etched with patterns eroded by wind and rain. The valley held winding streams both large and small.
The damp mist accumulated in the lowlands, occasionally stirred by the wind passing through the pass, churning this milky-white sea.
Four Mobile Cities had thus exited the Plateau Zone and arrived at the edge of the Valley Zone.
Now back on land, their Climbing Modifications were no longer applicable and needed to be reconfigured into Land-driving Mode.
Upon seeing this new zone ahead, the people of the four Mobile Cities instantly erupted with excitement.
No one had expected that after such a long and arduous journey, they would be met with such a promising sight.
As for what level this zone was, the status of the regional forces, or whether there existed any Monstrous Civilizations — all of this was only known to Li Ye.He put down his binoculars and began contemplating the next steps for the Tomorrow Alliance.
First, eliminate all monsters within the Valley Zone, including that Molemen Civilization.
This would be an easy task. A single Level 2 Mobile City was more than enough to dominate a Level 1 Zone, and the Tomorrow Alliance had as many as four Level 2 Cities.
Second, resource extraction.
Generally speaking, a Level 1 Zone held little appeal for a Level 2 City.
But if one could monopolize an entire Level 1 Zone, the profits would be quite substantial.
Wilderness mines, logging fields, oil fields, freshwater resources.
Occasionally discovered rare ore veins.
Level 1 Wild BOSS.
Abundant fish stocks in the nearby sea areas, along with hidden oil fields and natural gas beneath the ocean.
The entire resources of the Level 1 Zone would be monopolized by the Tomorrow Alliance.
At this thought, Li Ye couldn’t help but rub his hands in excitement.
This was simply too satisfying!
Third, to begin exploration of the shallow sea areas in the southern part of the Western Wasteland Continent, starting from the Valley Zone.
For future development, the Tomorrow Alliance needed to determine the directional locations of other continents and establish safe and suitable maritime routes between the two continents.
Perhaps, they could even develop maritime trade.
In fact, the task of exploring the ocean had already been entrusted to the Tomorrow.
After confirming all of this in his heart, Li Ye nodded and casually picked up the Walkie-Talkie hanging from his waist.
"Zhou Xing, Yang Zheng, and Fang Yong. Please come to the Tomorrow. Let’s discuss the next steps together."
A few minutes later, the Black Hawk Helicopter carrying the three Lords landed on the deck of the Tomorrow.
Joy was evident in the eyes of Zhou Xing and the others.
They had never imagined that during the long migration, the Tomorrow Alliance would discover a new zone.
Judging by the scattered Level 1 monsters and Level 1 Iron Ore nearby, this was clearly a Level 1 Zone.
Most importantly, the location of this zone was extremely remote, and it seemed few had taken notice of it.
"Perhaps the Tomorrow Alliance could monopolize this Level 1 Zone."
The three of them couldn’t help but think.
Li Ye then laid out his entire plan.
According to his plan, the Tomorrow Alliance would first begin exploration from three directions — north, center, and south — while clearing any monsters encountered along the way.
Eventually, everyone would regroup at the coastline.
The Iron Whale would be responsible for beginning exploration from the north.
The Peacemaker would start from the south.
The Tomorrow would handle exploration of the vast central region.
As for the Engineer, which had little combat capability, it followed the Tomorrow.
For a Level 2 City, a Level 1 Zone posed no real danger—progress was essentially a smooth sweep.
After confirming the plan, the four Mobile Cities departed.
The deployment platform of the Tomorrow slowly descended, dispatching Convoy One, Convoy Two, and the Storm Infantry Vehicle externally.
On the upper deck, six Black Hawk Helicopters lifted off one after another, flying off in different directions.
"Brother Li, we currently know absolutely nothing about the conditions in this Level 1 Zone. There might be Predatory Cities Alliance or even Level 2 Cities here. So should we also deploy the Vanguard Armed Gunship just in case?"
Inside the Cockpit, Tang Fang asked.
Li Ye simply shook his head.
The situation in the Valley Zone was something only he truly knew.
There were no Human Mobile Cities here—only one Level 1 Monstrous Civilization.
Ending the conversation, he casually brought up the System.
A few days ago, the System’s cooldown had already completed.
【Next Intelligence Refresh in 6 days 21 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds】
【Number of Intelligence: 7】
"This Intelligence Refresh is taking a full 10 days. Its value must be extremely high,"Li Ye thought.
Based on his expectations, he hoped this round of Intelligence would reveal the following:
The general situation of the Western Wasteland Continent.
Oceanic conditions.
Status of World-class Monstrous Organizations.
Thus, the Tomorrow Alliance officially began exploring the Valley Zone.
The Tomorrow was responsible for clearing the way in the central region, with the Engineer closely following behind.
In the skies, the Black Hawk Helicopter formations roared past; on the ground, Convoy One, Convoy Two, and the Storm Infantry Vehicle sped forward rapidly.
During this period, Li Ye discovered the Molemen inhabiting the area.
They were humanoid monsters about 1.5 meters tall, covered in grayish-brown fur, with wide, flat heads, large noses, and stout limbs.
These creatures typically wore crude garments, carried Mining Pickaxes and Blades, and wandered across the wilderness.
Upon discovering the approach of two Human Mobile Cities, the Molemen screeched out high-pitched squeals and swarmed forward with raised weapons.
After just one volley from Convoy One, they were nearly wiped out.
To the Tomorrow, it was no pressure at all.
The mines occupied by the Molemen, their Towns, and even their Level 1 Fortress—
Every resource point and monster stronghold along the way was crushed flat by the Tomorrow.
"Keep moving forward!"Li Ye waved and ordered.
The current primary task of the Tomorrow was map exploration; the resources dropped from these points could be collected in bulk after the full map had been revealed.
The Engineer wasn’t idle either. It dispatched several Goblin Petroleum Survey Vehicles along the way, beginning nearby surveys.
Several hours later, a group of enemies attacked.
Three Level 1 Molemen Mobile Cities, along with twelve Convoys.
"That’s it?"Li Ye was surprised.
This wasn’t even enough to be worth fighting.
From the level of force the Molemen had displayed, this seemed to be the full extent of their deployable armed strength.
"This Monstrous Civilization really is poor,"Li Ye couldn’t help but sigh.
After all, the Goblin Civilization in the Wasteland Zone had boasted 19 Level 1 Cities, 1 Level 2 City, 4 BOSSes, and a population in the millions.
At the time, the Goblins had battled the Human Forces from Serene Lake to the bitter end.
This time, the battle ended in under 10 minutes.
With its suite of Level 2 armaments and several Level 3 Items, the Tomorrow delivered a complete crushing blow to the Molemen.
The Tomorrow, with the Engineer in tow, continued advancing.
Li Ye’s assessment had been correct—those three Level 1 Cities were indeed the Molemen’s strongest armed force.
What followed was an utterly smooth journey, completely unobstructed.
During this time, Li Ye used the Radio to contact the Iron Whale and the Peacemaker.
Their advance had been even smoother than the Tomorrow's.
Faced with the Molemen's outposts and towns along the way, these two Mobile Cities had simply used their enormous size to steamroll straight through.
The four Mobile Cities advanced day and night.
Two days later, they regrouped at the coastline.
A trace of surprise appeared in Li Ye’s eyes.
As a Level 1 Zone, the Valley Zone was far smaller than he had imagined.
It was only about 400,000 to 500,000 square kilometers—far inferior compared to the Wasteland Zone.
But Li Ye didn’t mind.
The Tomorrow Alliance monopolizing this Level 1 Zone was already a huge gain.
If anything, the smaller area would be easier to control.
The most critical aspect was that the Valley Zone’s geographical position was simply perfect!
It was located in the southeasternmost part of the Western Wasteland Continent, surrounded on three sides by the Plateau Zone, forming a natural barrier, and facing the sea to the east.
As a temporary base for the Tomorrow Alliance, it was clearly ideal.
As he nodded, he couldn’t help but look ahead.
"It’s the sea."
The vast azure expanse before him made all the hardship of their long journey seem utterly insignificant.
Near the shore, the seawater was so clear that the mottled shells on the white sand could be seen. Sunlight penetrated the water's surface, casting shimmering golden light on the bottom.
In the distance, the skyline and the sea horizon met, forming a faint, elusive arc.
Li Ye stood staring blankly at the ocean, his thoughts drifting far away.
Back on Blue Star, he had already been to the seaside, back then with his parents and younger sister.
At the time, it hadn’t felt like much. But now, it stirred countless emotions.
Ever since crossing over, he had led his Mobile City and companions through hardships and a long journey—and finally, they had seen the sea.
Staring at the ocean, he gave a gentle nod.
The seaside was not the end, but the beginning.
The Tomorrow Alliance would begin their ocean exploration starting from the Valley Zone.
According to Li Ye’s conjecture—
The oceans in this world likely made up more than half of the total area.
The number and variety of monsters in the ocean surely exceeded those on land.
Including Monstrous Civilizations, Emperor Beasts, and even Wasteland God.
The Tomorrow Alliance would also need to follow the sea route to reach new Continents for further exploration.
Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but take a deep breath.
Clearly, there was still much, much more to do in the future.
At that moment, people from the four Mobile Cities had rushed to the edge of the deck, excitedly grabbing the railings to look out at the sea.
They pointed excitedly, turning back to each other and chatting animatedly.
Just then, the Walkie-Talkie at Li Ye’s waist rang.
"Leader, how about we take a day off today and let everyone have a proper rest at the seaside?"Zhou Xing suggested.
"Yeah, we’ve been on this long journey for quite a while. Plus, with the map exploration underway, everyone’s physically and mentally exhausted,"Yang Zheng chimed in.
"I fully agree,"Fang Yong also expressed support, a bit of anticipation in his voice."You know, I’ve never seen the sea in my whole life!"
Li Ye was somewhat surprised by the request from his three companions.
Snapping out of it, he realized that he had indeed been overly focused on exploration and progress.
Moving forward was important—but sometimes, one needed to pause and enjoy the scenery along the way.
"Alright, we’ll take a day off,"he nodded.
As the news spread, loud cheers erupted from all four Mobile Cities.
People rushed eagerly onto the deployment platforms, descending to the ground and swarming toward the beach.
Li Ye was among the last group to descend from the deck.
Along with him were Lin Wu, Ning Wen, Tang Fang, and Old Zhou.
"Didn’t expect we’d ever see the sea again,"Old Zhou sighed.
"By the way, Lord, does the Tomorrow have a Fishing Rod Production Item?"Ning Wen asked curiously."I want to try fishing at the seaside."
"Brother Li, make me a Diving Suit! I want to try diving!"Tang Fang said enthusiastically.
"Just a Diving Suit won’t be enough. You’ll also need diving equipment and an oxygen tank,"Lin Wu reminded."I think the Engineer probably has those Production Items."
At that moment, the Engineer slowly began moving toward the sea.
Using a Crane, it carefully placed something just crafted in the Production Workshop into the water.
It was a Fishing Boat.
"Wanna join us for some offshore fishing?"Zhou Xing waved to everyone from the deck.
Tang Fang and the others immediately let out a round of cheers.
Li Ye watched as the crowd swarmed onto the Fishing Boat and sailed out into the ocean.
Before leaving, they promised him they’d only fish within a few kilometers of the coast.
As for himself, he slowly strolled along the beach.
Along the way, many people recognized him, quickly making way and nodding respectfully, expressions full of awe.
Li Ye simply waved his hand, urging everyone to continue enjoying the sand.
He didn’t carry much air of superiority himself.
As he walked and thought, Li Ye unexpectedly noticed a silhouette by the beach.
It was Lin Xia.
At the moment, she was cautiously holding her shoes and walking barefoot along the shallows. Each step left behind a faint imprint.
Today, the young girl was wearing a simple white dress. The sea breeze occasionally lifted her hem and hair.
When the waves surged, she would suddenly laugh and retreat, watching the foam burst at her feet. Occasionally, a larger wave would splash up, wetting the edge of her skirt and clinging to her fair calves with sparkling droplets.
When she turned and saw Li Ye approaching, she was momentarily stunned, then waved both hands outward.
"It’s the sea, it’s the sea!"
Li Ye smiled faintly and nodded to her.
"Your hair’s gotten long."
When they first met, Lin Xia’s hair barely reached her shoulders.
Now, it had already grown to her waist.
Paired with her white dress and the bright smile blooming on her delicate face, she looked particularly beautiful.
Whenever the wind blew, her long hair danced behind her like wings, each strand chasing the wind.
She laughed as she brushed away the strands covering her face. Her fingertips played with the silk-like strands as they slid down. When she turned, her long hair fell neatly to her waist again, like a bird returning to its nest, folding its wings.
"Unknowingly, we’ve come such a long way,"she said softly.
Li Ye walked up beside her, the two now standing shoulder to shoulder.
"It’s only just beginning,"he whispered.
Lin Xia suddenly turned to Li Ye, her eyes flickering.
"Don’t you think this place is small, safe, and perfect for a home?"she said softly."Have you ever considered settling down here with everyone?"
Seeing the faintly helpless expression on his face, she understood.
"I knew it. You would never stop moving forward."
Li Ye only smiled.
No matter what, he would not stop.
Or rather—only when the world had become so stable that every place could be a safe home for humans, would he stop walking.