At the invitation of the Mayor, Li Ye and the others arrived at the town’s bar.
This bar was named "Pressure Relief Valve". It was located at the top of the glass-and-copper dome, right next to the Watchtower.
The exterior of the building was covered in crisscrossing brass pipelines, which sprayed out a puff of steam with a faint coal-smoke smell every few minutes.
Hanging at the bar’s entrance was a mechanical sign—a glowing copper gear inlaid with multicolored luminous devices.
The bar’s entrance was a Western-style iron door, fitted with a rusted old-fashioned barometer. Whenever a guest came in or out, the barometer’s needle would tremble slightly and emit a hissing sound.
As he stepped into the bar, Li Ye’s eyes lit up.
The interior space of the bar was circular, with a completely open top, allowing them to see the drifting clouds through the glass-and-copper dome.
The counter was forged from a single slab of polished metal, and behind it stood a giant liquor cabinet. The bar’s selection was fairly simple, with only four types of liquor on display.
The bar was also connected to brass valves—during mixing, the bartender simply needed to pull the corresponding lever and the liquor would flow directly into the glass through the pipes.
All of the bar’s tables and chairs were constructed from various metal components—some tables were made from giant gears laid flat with added glass surfaces, while some chairs were welded together from parts of old machines.There was even a small stage in one corner of the bar, where the in-house band performed every Sunday.
The Mayor led the group to a window-side spot in the bar.
It was the best seat in the house, offering an unobstructed view through the glass-and-copper dome of the Plateau Zone’s scenery, and a sweeping look at the river and valley below Snowcap Town.
"The glass dome here can be opened," the Mayor added, "but I doubt you can endure the Plateau’s biting cold wind and thin air."
At the Mayor’s invitation, Li Ye and the others sampled the specialty dishes of the "Pressure Relief Valve" bar.
High-pressure distilled liquor with a high alcohol content and a hint of antifreeze—just one sip was enough to make the head burn, warming the body from head to toe.
Snow Lizard skewers roasted using the residual heat from steam pipelines—the meat was tough but rich in protein.
"All in all, living here isn’t so bad."
Waving to the others, the Mayor took a sip of his drink. The potency of the high-pressure distilled liquor was too much even for him, a local—just one mouthful left his cheeks flushed.
As everyone nodded in agreement, he seemed to recall something, his brows furrowing slightly.
"Except for those damned bugs."
"Bugs?" Li Ye looked puzzled.
The Mayor then began to explain.
It was about a month ago that bugs began appearing suddenly in the Plateau Zone.
At first, the residents of Snowcap Town only saw ordinary bugs.
They resembled short-bodied earthworms, with entirely pitch-black exteriors.
Clearly unable to withstand the harsh conditions of the Plateau Zone, they soon froze to death in droves.
The townsfolk who had been prepared to take action relaxed.
However, a few days later, the bugs reappeared.
This time, they had evolved into spider-like arthropods, able to nimbly climb among the Snowy Peaks. Their bodies had also evolved into a snowy white hue that blended perfectly with the Snowy Peaks, and even sprouted thick fur.
"These bugs are evolving?" Zhou Xing exclaimed.
The Mayor nodded gravely.
"Yes."
Li Ye’s expression gradually grew serious as well.
Having experienced the Eternal Night Zone and the Cretaceous Zone, he now had a clear understanding of monster evolution—and a growing wariness.
The Mayor took another sip of his drink and continued.
Over the following week, the number of bugs in the Plateau Zone increased rapidly.
And their types became increasingly diverse.
There were the "Burrowers", creatures resembling giant pangolins that tunneled through the snow-covered ground and peaks.
The "Engineer Bugs", agile and tasked with traversing the snowy peaks and icy plains to gather resources.
The "Balloon Bug Beasts", which looked like balloons filled with light gases, floated above the Plateau to scout.
The "Frostblade Beasts", covered in thick carapaces, with sharp teeth and claws and blade-like protruding exoskeletons.
And the most terrifying—the "Windrippers", gliding on strong Plateau winds and attacking targets by spraying high-pressure air streams.
Worst of all was a gigantic bug over a hundred meters long called the "Earth-Eater". It looked like a beetle, capable of devouring ice layers and mountains, secreting a fungal mat as it moved.
Li Ye couldn’t help but shake his head repeatedly as he listened.
"This is already a Monstrous Civilization," he murmured. "And its expansion is alarmingly fast."
The Mayor also shook his head constantly.
Though Snowcap Town was currently safe, it would undoubtedly face attacks from the bugs in the future.
"By the way, where did the names like Burrower and Windripper come from?" Yang Zheng asked.
Upon hearing this, the Mayor put down his glass and began to explain.
Three days ago, a Tier 2 Mobile City arrived in the Plateau Zone and visited Snowcap Town.
This Mobile City was called Warblade M3 and came from the world-class organization "Iron Oath Brotherhood".
Li Ye was somewhat surprised—he hadn’t expected a third world-class organization to appear.
Just like Titan Throne and Apocalypse Sect, the Mobile Cities under Iron Oath Brotherhood were all designated by standardized codes.
At the same time, an uneasy feeling rose in his heart.
The Human Forces possessed three world-class organizations (perhaps more), yet they were still at a disadvantage against the Monster Forces and even had to sign the Silence Agreement.
So what level of strength did the Monster Forces possess?
According to the Mayor, the firepower configuration of Warblade M3 was utterly astonishing. It had enough airships, tanks, cannons, and heavy machine guns to support a full-scale regional war.
When the Mayor anxiously informed them about the bug infestation in the Plateau Zone—
The other party stated
they had come specifically to eliminate the bug swarm.
Li Ye also put down his glass and fell into thought. Yang Zheng, Zhou Xing, and Fang Yong were the same.
As Lords of Mobile Cities, they were far more sensitive to Monstrous Civilizations than other factions.
Especially when exploring new regions, the greatest threat always came from Monstrous Civilizations.
"Everyone, I’m afraid we need to set off early," Li Ye said.
The three nodded in unison.
After confirming the direction of the bug swarm’s activity, the group departed quickly.
The Mayor immediately arranged for residents to pilot an airship to send them back.
Watching the departing backs of the Human Lords, he couldn’t help but exhale a sigh of relief.
This City Alliance was quite formidable. With their involvement, the bug swarm threatening the Plateau Zone would soon be dealt with.
Thinking this, his brows unconsciously relaxed as he took a big gulp of the high-pressure distilled liquor.
Right after, he couldn’t handle the kick and sprayed it out in one spit.
"Why are you back so soon?" Lin Wu looked at Li Ye in surprise.
Li Ye simply waved his hand.
"There’s a bug swarm on the Plateau, very likely a Monstrous Civilization. We’re departing now. Have Tomorrow ready for combat."
Nodding, Lin Wu raised a concern.
That was, Tomorrow’s firepower configuration was not suitable for plateau operations.
In the Plateau environment, firearms, heavy machine guns, and cannons would all be affected by low oxygen, low temperatures, and complex terrain, leading to decreased range, accuracy, and reliability.
Furthermore, the plateau severely restricted the performance of vehicles.
Low oxygen and low pressure would reduce internal combustion engine output, accelerate metal fatigue, and cause insufficient lift and decreased rotor efficiency for aerial vehicles.
Thus, Lin Wu concluded:
"Convoy One and Two can’t deploy naturally on this terrain, but Storm Infantry Vehicle can provide fire support from the deck."
"Black Hawk Helicopter and Vanguard Armed Gunship probably can’t be deployed either, unless in calm weather with higher temperatures."
"The deck-mounted heavy machine guns and cannons, as well as the firearms of combat personnel, are very prone to mechanical failure during firing."
"Therefore, Tomorrow has limited combat capabilities on the Plateau."
"I’m well aware of that," Li Ye nodded, "But don’t forget, our Alliance has Engineer."
Soon, Engineer drove near Tomorrow, and a large number of Mechanics and apprentices boarded the deck, beginning to modify Tomorrow’s weapons and vehicles for plateau conditions.
Installing brass cooling sleeves and condensation firing systems on barrels.
Equipping heavy machine guns with external cold-wind-driven turbines.
Installing heat pipe bases on cannons to prevent metal embrittlement, and filling shells with liquid oxygen and black powder to improve combustion efficiency in the cold.
Adding rotor de-icing devices to Black Hawk Helicopter and upgrading its main engine.
Watching the orderly work of the Mechanics and apprentices, Li Ye nodded repeatedly.
One had to admit, having an engineer-type city in the Alliance made things so much easier.
"So, how long will the modifications take?" he turned to ask Zhou Xing.
"About six or seven hours," Zhou Xing replied.
He told Li Ye that when Engineer was still a Tier 1 full-configured engineer-type city, it had almost all Tier 1 engineering projects. Plateau modifications like this were nothing.
Not only did Tomorrow need modifications for the Plateau, so did Peacemaker.
Its deck was lined with a large number of cannons that all required adaptation for plateau warfare.
As for Iron Whale, it would likely just be a bystander in this operation.
Plateau conditions required climbing-type city modifications.
This meant that this defensive-type city couldn’t accelerate for a charge and could only serve as a frontline tank attracting fire when fighting the bug swarm.
When Li Ye awoke again, it was already the early hours before dawn.
He immediately opened the System Panel.
The latest round of Intelligence had been refreshed.
This time there was one Ordinary, two Excellent, and two Rare items.
【1. In the next three hours, several strong air currents will occur in the Plateau Zone. (Intelligence Value: Ordinary)】
【2. Bishop Heath has received a major assignment from his superiors and is currently accelerating toward the Red Ridge Zone via airship. Meanwhile, the 22 Mobile Cities he formerly led continue migrating through the Plateau Zone. (Intelligence Value: Excellent)】
【3. A massive refugee group led by Nature L3 has reached the Archipelago Zone. With the mediation of Professor Annie, the Tier 2 Monstrous Civilization in that region—Frogmen Civilization—has agreed to unite in resistance. (Intelligence Value: Excellent)】
【4. 35 kilometers to the west, the Iron Oath Brotherhood’s Mobile City, Warblade M3, is currently resting. (Intelligence Value: Rare)】
【5. In light of the Zombie Civilization already threatening the ecosystem of the Western Wasteland Continent, the Human World-class Organizations and Monstrous World-class Organizations have reached an agreement to jointly take action. (Intelligence Value: Rare)】
"The amount of useful intel this time is pretty good!" Li Ye remarked in surprise.
According to usual practice, intel refreshed every 8 hours was usually just scraps, and getting any benefit was already lucky.
He quickly digested the information.
The second and fifth pieces of intel were likely connected.
As a special type of monster, empowered further by the finger of the Wasteland God Lord of Bones, the Zombie Civilization had experienced explosive growth and expansion. Hence the Human Forces and Monster Forces reached an agreement.
They were likely planning a major move.
The Human side’s Apocalypse Sect had probably chosen Bishop Heath, hence his need to reach the Red Ridge Zone in advance to organize forces.
"That’s probably what’s going on," Li Ye mused.
More than that, he was curious about what kind of troops the Monster side would dispatch.
Thinking of this, he looked at the Rare-grade item in the Intelligence and couldn’t help but sigh softly.
Rare-grade Intelligence could only provide this much. If it had been Excellent or Epic-grade, he might have learned just how much force the Human side and the Monster side had mobilized.
He got dressed and headed to the Cockpit, ordering Tang Fang to drive westward.
At that moment, Lin Wu happened to be there too.
In front of him was a plate of buns, a few bowls of porridge, and several sticks of fried dough.
It was breakfast for him, Tang Fang, and A-Bai.
Li Ye simply sat down and casually picked up a bun.
"Hm? It’s actually meat-filled?"
That wasn’t too surprising—after all, the Deputy and Helmsman on Tomorrow were treated extremely well.
Tang Fang and A-Bai each received very generous amounts of Contribution Points every month. As for Lin Wu, who was both the Deputy and head of the City Committee, he couldn’t even spend all of his points.
"The Plateau modifications for the weapons and vehicles on Tomorrow have been completed. They’re ready for combat deployment at any time," Lin Wu reported. "Zhou Xing’s team has already returned."
"Mm."
"Zhou Xing also made a request—Engineer needs iron ore to conduct various engineering operations and produce components. So he wants to apply for more iron ore from you."
"That can certainly be arranged," Li Ye nodded. "It’s just that our iron ore reserves aren’t particularly abundant right now. Speaking of which, have you finished tallying the combat resources for the Vanguard Armed Gunship?"
"About nine percent remains."
Li Ye couldn’t help but be surprised.
Not because there was so little left—but because it was surprising there was still that much.
After all, during the battle in the valley of the Cretaceous Zone, when Tomorrow was covering the retreat alone for over an hour, it had gone all-out with its firepower.
Shells and bullets were fired as if they cost nothing.
Among them, the Vanguard Armed Gunship had fired without restraint, obliterating tens of thousands of the Zombie Swarm.
"In fact, when the Vanguard Armed Gunship was deployed, I specifically reminded the crew to reserve some combat resources," Lin Wu said.
Li Ye lightly patted him on the shoulder.
"You did the right thing."
At the same time, he couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on.
The Vanguard Armed Gunship was powerful, but it was also extremely expensive to maintain.
It required Tier 2 Fuel just to operate, and its combat resources also had to be replenished using Tier 2 Iron Ore.
With the usual reserves of a Tier 2 Mobile City, it really was difficult to afford its upkeep.