Chapter 254: The Airborne Behemoth That Devoured Islands |
“It’s fine, I’ll replenish them for you right away,” Li Ye replied.
The high-pressure acid used by the Corrosion Throat Single-soldier Mechs was primarily replenished using Level 4 Nuclear Waste.
For Li Ye, this was essentially killing two birds with one stone.
The Level 4 Nuclear Power Plant aboard the Tomorrow continuously produced large amounts of nuclear waste, and now it could all be perfectly disposed of by replenishing the mechs’ combat resources.
While arranging for people to transport the Level 4 resources dropped by the Mutant Creatures onto the transport aircraft, Li Ye began examining the Level 4 Blueprints.
This time, the number of Level 4 Blueprints dropped was not large—only four in total.
One Tier 4 Land Combat Vehicle Upgrade Blueprint.
One Tier 4 City Structure Upgrade Blueprint.
One Level 4 Firearm Accessory Blueprint.
“Good, very good!” A trace of excitement appeared in Li Ye’s eyes.
The value of Blueprint drops did not lie in quantity, but in quality.
Even if he obtained many Level 4 Blueprints related to food, clothing, housing, and daily necessities, their practical usefulness would still be limited.
The Level 4 Firearm Accessory Blueprint especially delighted him.
【Item Name: “Tracker” Intelligent Fire-control Core】
【Level: 4】
【Additional Effect: Automatic Targeting】
【Crafting Requirement: 10 units of Iron Ore (Level 4)】
As a Level 4 firearm accessory, although it possessed only one additional effect, its usefulness was unbelievably powerful.
Automatic targeting!
The crafting cost of only 10 units of Level 4 Iron Ore meant Li Ye could mass-produce and equip firearms for battlefield deployment.
Judging from the Blueprint, the Tracker Intelligent Fire-control Core was a miniature AI core embedded into a firearm’s receiver. Once activated, it automatically calibrated the gun’s sights and fired.
It was also a universal firearm accessory.
Pistols, assault rifles, sniper rifles, and submachine guns could all equip it.
The first thing Li Ye thought of was installing this firearm accessory onto the newly obtained Silent Reapers.
Powerful destructive force combined with automatic targeting—
It was practically world-destroying!
Aside from that, the current Level 3 firearms used by the Tomorrow’s land combat forces could also equip this accessory. Li Ye additionally planned to gather several Tier 4 Firearm Upgrade Blueprints in the future to upgrade them to Level 4.
He then looked toward the second Blueprint.
【Item Name: “Swiftblade” Amphibious Single-soldier Combat Mech】
【Level: 4】
【Additional Effects: 1. Transformation Speed +70% 2. Flight/Land Movement Speed +30%】
【Crafting Requirement: 175 units of Iron Ore (Level 4), 50 units of Precision Vehicle Components (Level 4)】
Judging from the Blueprint, the “Swiftblade” Amphibious Single-soldier Combat Mech utilized streamlined composite armor, with the primary coloration consisting of matte black and tactical gray, while dark-blue fluorescent patterns decorated the joints, balancing stealth and futuristic aesthetics.
Its size was roughly equivalent to a conventional fighter jet and possessed a cockpit.
As an amphibious single-soldier combat mech, the Swiftblade possessed two forms.
The first form was an aerial fighter form specifically responsible for high-speed assault and reconnaissance.
Its forward-swept wings and vector-thrust nozzle design allowed the Swiftblade to take off and land within short distances.
In fighter form, its weapons consisted of belly-mounted miniature ground-attack missiles and a fixed 12.7mm machine gun mounted in the nose.
The second form was a lightweight land mech form equipped with retractable combat blades, a 40mm grenade launcher, and a light autocannon.
After carefully reading the description, Li Ye fell into thought.
This Level 4 vehicle was clearly designed for guerrilla warfare, specifically intended for harassment attacks against enemy strongholds and camps.
The additional effect of +70% transformation speed allowed the Swiftblade to rapidly switch between fighter and land mech forms.
It was not suitable for large-scale battlefields involving countless troops.
Because it lacked damage bonuses and was comparatively fragile.
Next, Li Ye began considering how to use the two Tier 4 Upgrade Blueprints.
The Tier 4 City Structure Upgrade Blueprint would unquestionably be used on the Steel Mill, allowing it to produce Level 4 steel.
However, the Tomorrow still possessed a huge number of city structures requiring upgrades.
Shipyard, Textile Factory, Repair Factory, Waterworks...
As for the Tier 4 Land Vehicle Upgrade Blueprint, Li Ye mentally listed several targets.
Leopard 2A7V Main Battle Tank, Rapid-fire Assault Bike, Bullfrog Mech, Prometheus, Torrent Heavy Tank.
To be fair, all these Level 3 land combat vehicles were excellent.
Li Ye initially considered upgrading Prometheus first, but after careful thought, he gave up on the idea.
Level 4 Mobile Cities could already produce Mobile Warriors, whose combat role overlapped with Prometheus.
However, the former was far stronger than the latter.
That made Prometheus’ position somewhat awkward.
After pondering for a long time, Li Ye decided to first upgrade the Torrent Heavy Tank.
Just as he boarded the transport aircraft loaded with spoils, he suddenly heard a distant cry.
After listening carefully for a moment, confusion appeared in his eyes.
“Is that... whale song?”
Following the sound, he instantly froze.
Deep within the pale-gray cloud sea in the distance, a shadow larger than a mountain range was slowly rising upward.
What shocked Li Ye was that judging from the shadow, this behemoth had already reached several thousand meters in size!
The first thing to pierce through the clouds was its jagged spine.
Every protruding vertebra resembled towering mountain peaks, covered in thick armor plating. As the giant beast swam forward, the entire cloud sea resembled a snowfield being plowed apart, with rolling mist forming whirlpools stretching tens of thousands of kilometers behind it.
Each of the beast’s scales was as large as a city, their edges sharp as cliffs and covered in ancient patterns.
Next emerged the beast’s twin fins.
When fully spread, they were large enough to blot out half the sky, and every movement generated raging winds.
As the beast completely emerged, Li Ye and the others finally saw its true form.
It was clearly a giant whale.
“Honestly don’t know whether our luck is good or bad. To actually encounter a Level 4 Wild BOSS at a time like this...” Fang Yong muttered.
Li Ye quickly shook his head.
“I’m afraid this isn’t some Wild BOSS. This should be an Emperor Beast!”
The reason he made this judgment was because of the invisible pressure emitted by the giant whale.
And in truth, Li Ye’s judgment was correct.
This giant whale truly was an Emperor Beast. Titan Throne referred to it as “Skyvault” Omegasa.
What made Li Ye feel uneasy was that the giant whale was clearly heading toward their direction.
He immediately ordered the military to retreat.
The Iron Whale, land combat forces, aerial forces, and warships successively moved into the Atmospheric Ocean, gradually distancing themselves from the region.
Omegasa appeared entirely indifferent toward the movements of these tiny creatures before it.
It merely rolled one eye toward Li Ye and the others before continuing to swim forward.
Its destination was Lava Island.
Li Ye seemed to realize something, and his expression slightly changed.
“Hey, don’t tell me this thing is planning to—”
Just as he predicted, Omegasa slowly opened its gigantic mouth toward Lava Island.
The mouth of this Emperor Beast resembled an enormous tunnel leading into the void itself. The whale whiskers around its jaws intertwined like towering ancient trees, each one wrapped in storms and auroras, while pale whirlpools surged within its throat.
The flames burning across Lava Island suddenly extinguished—
Not because they cooled, but because all heat was instantly extracted and transformed into a crimson torrent flowing into Omegasa’s mouth.
There was no explosion. No roar.
The entire Lava Island resembled a reflection sinking into invisible water, gradually disappearing into Omegasa’s gigantic mouth.
When the final burning boulder was swallowed, Omegasa closed its mouth. Brief flashes of lava-like radiance burst from the gaps between its scales, making it appear deeply satisfied.
Immediately afterward, the giant beast’s eyes rolled slightly as it looked toward another location.
That location was precisely Mirror Forest Island, where the Tomorrow Alliance’s forces had established their encampment.
Upon the Iron Whale’s deck, a drop of sweat instantly slid down Li Ye’s face.
“Hey, don’t.......”
The next moment, something unbelievable occurred.
Omegasa’s enormous body suddenly paused, and its eyes turned toward Li Ye.
Li Ye immediately froze.
From the moment Omegasa appeared until now, the Tomorrow’s forces had continuously retreated and were already several kilometers away.
Li Ye himself had only been observing through binoculars from the deck.
“This definitely is an Emperor Beast!” he thought.
Only Emperor Beasts possessed such terrifying hearing, even capable of understanding human language.
Sure enough, under Li Ye’s gaze, a trace of a smile appeared at the corner of the giant whale’s mouth.
It even carried a hint of teasing.
After releasing another whale cry, Omegasa leisurely swam toward Mirror Forest Island.
This Emperor Beast not only devoured the entire large island, but also casually consumed all nearby islands as well.
After “eating its fill,” Omegasa lazily swayed its tail and slowly swam away, leaving everyone utterly dumbfounded.
Li Ye could not help sighing.
Now the Tomorrow Alliance’s forces would have to find a new encampment yet again.
Before that, however, Li Ye needed to return to the Tomorrow aboard the transport aircraft and input these four Blueprints into the Production Workshop.
After returning to the Tomorrow, he busied himself once more.
Several hundred Mutant Creatures had dropped over 1,100 units of Level 4 Iron Ore. Combined with the remaining reserves, it was enough for another round of production.
Li Ye first upgraded the Steel Mill to Level 4, then produced four additional Corrosion Throat Single-soldier Mechs and two Swiftblade Single-soldier Mechs.
After completing all production, only scraps of Level 4 Iron Ore remained.
Li Ye used the remaining materials to produce a batch of Tracker Intelligent Fire-control Cores.
He was not worried about shortages of Level 4 Iron Ore.
The Tomorrow Alliance currently possessed sufficient metal resources, mainly obtained from salvaging sunken Mobile Cities and vehicle wreckage from the sea.
Li Ye immediately assigned production tasks to the Steel Mill, ordering them to prioritize Level 4 Iron Ore production.
After settling all current matters, he began thinking about another issue.
The Intelligence concerning the Demon Civilization ruler possessing a Level 3 City Crystal.
Originally, Li Ye had intended for the Tomorrow Alliance to directly invade the Capital and seize the Level 3 City Crystal through force.
However, the Demon Civilization was ultimately still a Level 3 Super Monstrous Civilization. The risks of doing so were simply too great.
Thus, he chose the safer alternative—
Purchasing the City Crystal through trade.
Now, this method clearly appeared feasible, and far safer and more efficient than the former plan.
What Li Ye was currently considering was whether he should sell this Intelligence to the Apocalypse Sect for profit.
There were two primary reasons.
First, the Tomorrow had only recently advanced to Level 4 and urgently required further development.
Second, this was a Level 3 City Crystal. Selling the Intelligence regarding it would certainly bring in a massive amount of Crystal Coins. More importantly, advancing the Tomorrow to Level 4 had already consumed enormous manpower and resources. Even if Li Ye somehow successfully seized the Level 3 City Crystal, the Tomorrow Alliance would still not be capable of preparing the advancement of a second Mobile City anytime soon.
Ultimately, he made his decision.
“I should sell it.”
Li Ye picked up the Level 4 satellite phone and contacted Albert, informing him that he wished to sell Intelligence regarding the Level 3 City Crystal.
“Really?” Albert’s tone carried clear disbelief.
He informed Li Ye that Intelligence regarding a Level 3 City Crystal was worth 2 million Crystal Coins.
A trace of surprise appeared in Li Ye’s eyes.
He originally thought selling the Intelligence for 1 million Crystal Coins would already be impressive.
But he never expected it to be far more valuable than imagined.
After all, the Level 3 City Crystal he purchased previously had cost 3.2 million Crystal Coins. The difference between the two values was only 1.2 million.
Thinking of this, Li Ye immediately felt much more balanced.
From this perspective, city trade with the three major human organizations truly was excellent, allowing him to quickly acquire necessary resources in short periods of time.
Moreover, he also possessed the Intelligence System, allowing him to obtain resource information more conveniently and efficiently.
After reaching an agreement, Albert immediately asked:
“So where exactly is that Level 3 City Crystal?”
“It’s in the possession of the ruler of the Demon Civilization,” Li Ye answered.
Only when trading with world-class organizations did he feel completely at ease. If it were any other force, he would never have sold this Intelligence.
“Understood,” Albert slowly nodded.
He stated that the Apocalypse Sect would immediately dispatch high-level forces to attack the Demon Civilization.
If everything proceeded smoothly, Li Ye would receive the payment within a few hours.
After deducting the previously owed debt of 200,000 Crystal Coins, Li Ye would receive 1.8 million.
“I imagine you’re planning to use those 1.8 million Crystal Coins to purchase Level 4 Blueprints?” Albert said. “During this time, hurry and think carefully about what you want to buy. Make a list.”
“Mhm.” Li Ye nodded.
He silently calculated in his mind.
At present, the Tomorrow already possessed Blueprints for generic Level 4 Mobile Warriors.
However, it still required a series of sea, land, and air retrofit accessories.
Li Ye’s plan was to prioritize creating aerial combat-type Mobile Warriors.
Albert then helped him list the accessory requirements for aerial combat-type Mobile Warriors.
Level 4 High-energy Capacitor Battery Blueprint.
Level 4 Giant Attitude Vector Thruster Blueprint.
Level 4 Plasma Fluid Control System Blueprint.
Level 4 Variable Wing Blueprint.
Level 4 High-energy Pulse Sniper Cannon Blueprint.
Level 4 Multi-launch Missile Bay Blueprint.
Level 4 Electronic Warfare Pod Blueprint.
Level 4 High-frequency Vibration Blade Blueprint.
Level 4 Wrist-mounted Rapid-fire Autocannon Blueprint.
Looking at the extensive list of items, Li Ye could not help feeling somewhat shocked.
“With this many Blueprints, can 1.8 million Crystal Coins really buy everything?”
“Of course not!” Albert answered. “Even if we give you a discounted package price, you’d still end up owing us over another million Crystal Coins.”
“Ah?”