A Guide to Farming in a Mobile City-Chapter 196 : Underground City Construction

Chapter 196: Underground City Construction
“Pa.”
With a flick of the switch by Li Ye, the room was immediately lit up.
Not long ago, a light bulb and wiring had been installed in his room.
These two items were part of the ordinary-level production projects—spoils obtained by the Tomorrow Alliance during their defeat of the Naga Civilization over the Taranis Ocean.
For improving the lives of city residents, these ordinary-level production projects were still fairly practical.
As the Lord, Li Ye’s room was the first to be connected to electricity.
Now, the City Power Station had already been built. The City Committee had screened and deployed the corresponding staff.
Li Ye felt that if the Tomorrow Alliance could eliminate a few more Level 1 or Level 2 Monstrous Civilizations and acquire a heap of production projects and monster drop blueprints, it might be possible to fully resolve the residents’ basic needs.
Aside from the light bulb, his room also held a fan, air conditioner, refrigerator, and other household appliances.
There was even a Level 1 Television.
Naturally, there was no internet on the Tomorrow, let alone any kind of TV programs or films.
The reason the City Committee had installed it in Li Ye’s room was mainly because they felt the Lord’s quarters should be the best—Li Ye didn’t decline their good intentions either.
Although he didn’t usually act high and mighty, and treated his subordinates kindly...
As the administrator and ruler of a Mobile City, a necessary distance still had to be maintained.
Ever since his arrival here, Li Ye had been striving to become a competent manager.
Turning off the light, the rare moment of leisure prompted Li Ye to lie down on his bed.
Winter was drawing closer, and the weather was getting colder.
At the thought, he instinctively touched the mattress beneath him.
Next time they encountered a marketplace, he’d have to ask the City Committee to purchase electric blankets and hot water bottles.
He had barely lain down for a few minutes when a voice came through the walkie-talkie.
It was Lin Wu.
He informed Li Ye that Bishop Albert from the A9 Checkpoint was here to visit.
Upon hearing this, Li Ye immediately sprang to his feet.
“Understood. I’ll go see him right away.”
Albert had arrived by helicopter and observed the Basin Region on his way to the Tomorrow.
“Looks like you’ve got this area under control,” he chuckled.
Then, the bishop quickly got to the point.
The three major human organizations intended to construct a residential underground city system in the Southern Continent.
The Basin Region was one of the designated areas.
The purpose behind this plan was primarily to properly resettle the two to three million survivors from the Wasteland Zone.
Previously, due to the external expansion of the Giants, the buildings in the Wasteland Zone were abandoned. The people who once lived in those towers had been forced to take shelter in underground spaces excavated by Underground-digging Mobile Cities.
The Apocalypse Sect had allocated large amounts of food, freshwater, and essential supplies to support them.
But ultimately, the conditions underground were simply too harsh.
And due to the special period they were in, it was extremely difficult for these millions of people to safely return to the surface.
Hence, after discussions, the three world-class human organizations decided to build underground cities directly in the Southern Continent.
According to the plan, 100 underground cities would be built, each capable of accommodating 20,000 to 30,000 people.
The underground cities would be interconnected via subway tunnels.
“That’s quite the grand endeavor!” Li Ye couldn’t help but exclaim.
To declare the construction of a hundred underground cities just like that—only world-class organizations were capable of such things.
“So does this mean the human side plans to deploy a large number of Level 3 Engineering-type Cities?” he casually asked.
At this, Albert looked slightly awkward.
“The three major human organizations don’t actually have that many forces stationed in the Southern Continent,” he replied. “As for Level 3 Engineering-type Cities, they are few and far between.”
That said, the human side could still dispatch one Level 3 Engineering-type Mobile City to the Basin Region.
Considering they were technically in wartime, the three organizations requested the Tomorrow Alliance to hold and protect the Basin Region and safeguard the Level 3 Engineering-type City.
“The Basin Region is remote, and it’s only a Level 1 area—enemies are unlikely to take note of it. The construction of the underground city should go smoothly,” Albert summarized. “Oh right, doesn’t your alliance also have an Engineering-type City? It could help too!”
According to the higher-ups, one Engineering-type City per underground city would significantly accelerate construction speed.
“Only Level 3 Engineering-type Cities can handle underground city-scale construction, right? Our Engineer is just a Level 2 City,” Li Ye reminded.
Albert waved dismissively.
“Just give it a set of Level 3 engineering equipment and a set of Level 3 engineering vehicles—then it’s basically a Level 3 City!”
Li Ye was pleasantly surprised to hear this.
“You mean they’ll be gifting a full set to the Engineer this time?”
Albert shook his head repeatedly.
“Just a loan.”
“Oh.”
Though a bit disappointed, Li Ye still agreed.
First, participating in the construction would help the Engineer accumulate experience.
Second, the Engineer really didn’t have much to do right now. In the Basin Region, it mostly collected metal resources daily—so lending a hand to the human side was no big deal.
“Don’t worry, I won’t make you work for free,” Albert said, patting him hard on the shoulder. Then he pulled out a blueprint from his pocket. “Consider this missile launcher blueprint your reward.”
Li Ye happily accepted the blueprint.
【Item Name: “Scorpion Stinger” Missile Launcher】
【Level: Level 3】
【Bonus Effects: 1. Launch Speed +15% 2. Target Lock Speed +10% 3. Reload Time -20%】
【Crafting Requirement: 225 units of Level 3 Iron Ore】
【Missile Types: Anti-air Missiles, Anti-ship Missiles, Anti-armor Missiles】
As a city structure, the missile launcher’s cost of 225 units of Level 3 Iron Ore wasn’t too steep.
But all three types of missiles required Level 3 resources to replenish.
One Anti-armor Missile required 20 units of iron ore, 8 units of fuel, and 5 units of gunpowder.
One Anti-air Missile needed 40 units of iron ore, 15 units of fuel, and 10 units of gunpowder.
One Anti-ship Missile demanded 60 units of iron ore, 25 units of fuel, and 20 units of gunpowder.
“This thing’s pretty high-maintenance, huh?” Li Ye said, surprised. “Gunships and destroyers also have missiles, but they only require Level 2 resources to reload.”
Still, you get what you pay for. According to the blueprint, the missiles crafted with Level 3 resources packed more power.
Li Ye figured there wasn’t much need to install a missile launcher on the Tomorrow for now.
As a Level 3 Assault-type City, it relied more on its land, sea, and air combat forces.
Moreover, with over ten thousand residents onboard, the Tomorrow wasn’t suitable for frontline combat anymore.
“Better to install them on the Peacemaker and Stellar,” he thought.
Carefully storing the blueprint away, Li Ye looked at Albert.
“So when is the human side planning to start construction of the underground cities in the Basin Region, Bishop Albert?”
The latter smiled slightly.
“Right now.”
As it turned out, the Apocalypse Sect’s Underground-digging City had already arrived beneath the Basin Region and had even dug out several underground spaces to temporarily house the survivors.
This was also why Albert had proposed the Tomorrow Alliance be stationed in the Basin Region.
Upon learning that the Engineer would be participating in the construction of the underground city, Zhou Xing instantly became excited.
Likewise, Yang Zheng, who had just received the blueprint from Li Ye, was overjoyed.
A few hours later, the Apocalypse Sect’s Level 3 Engineering-type City, Holy Mechanism C21, arrived in the Basin Region.
Li Ye and Zhou Xing couldn’t help but examine it closely—this was their first time seeing a Level 3 Engineering-type City.
On the deck of the Level 3 City, engineering equipment was densely packed, yet orderly.
Mechanical arms, work claws, cranes—
a rough count showed more than a hundred units.
However, not all of them were Level 3.
Holy Mechanism C21 also carried countless Level 1 and Level 2 engineering devices.
For an Engineering-type City, its older engineering devices weren’t obsolete after upgrading.
They could still serve engineering purposes.
Lower-level devices could even coordinate with higher-level ones to jointly carry out construction.
Considering that the Engineer was only Level 2, Holy Mechanism C21 provided it with three Level 3 mechanical arms, three Level 3 work claws, and one Level 3 crane.
And an entire set of Level 3 engineering vehicles.
A seismic detector vehicle capable of analyzing geological stability and mapping underground strata.
A super-heavy drilling vehicle equipped with a composite drill head.
A plasma tunneling vehicle with a high-temperature plasma cutting arm that could melt through dense rock to form smooth tunnel walls.
A hydraulic hammer engineering vehicle for breaking massive rocks or demolishing old building debris.
A tower crane truck for precisely lifting large engineering components.
A pipeline-laying engineering vehicle that could dig trenches, lay and backfill water, electricity, and ventilation pipelines.
An engineering energy vehicle to provide temporary power and electricity to the construction site.
Lined up, these engineering vehicles came in over a dozen different types.
Li Ye was left dumbfounded.
“There are more kinds of engineering vehicles than land combat units!”
Like Albert, the lord of Holy Mechanism C21 also said the same old thing—
that even the landlord’s house had no surplus grain.
This whole set of Level 3 engineering vehicles was only on loan and would be taken back after the Engineer completed its work.
As for the three Level 3 engineering devices, the Engineer could keep one of each.
According to the human faction’s plan, they intended to construct six underground cities in the Basin Region.
Given the tight schedule and heavy tasks, Holy Mechanism C21 didn’t linger after helping—it departed quickly.
Before leaving, it left the Engineer with a large pile of underground city construction materials and a construction blueprint.
The lord also specifically reminded Zhou Xing that the site selection had to be especially careful.
Li Ye appeared somewhat puzzled.
“Isn’t there already a bunch of underground spaces below the Basin Region? Can’t we just convert them into underground cities?” he asked.
Standing nearby, Albert patiently explained.
Those underground spaces were only temporary excavations by Underground-digging Mobile Cities and were fundamentally unstable.
The site selection for underground cities was strict. It needed to comprehensively consider geological stability, resource access, climate adaptability, and safety.
One had to prioritize hard, stable rock layers while avoiding soft sedimentary rock, seismically active zones, or karst terrains that could dissolve and form voids. It was also necessary to steer clear of high water table areas and tectonic boundaries.
If conditions allowed, it was best to be near geothermal resources and low-water-level underground rivers.
With the help of the seismic detector vehicle, the Engineer quickly finalized the underground city site.
Albert helped contact an Underground-digging Mobile City hidden beneath the Basin Region, which assisted in excavating a space.
Zhou Xing gave the order for the Engineer to lead its engineering vehicles into the underground space and commence construction.
On the Engineer’s deck, multiple work claws precisely grasped, rotated, and locked prefabricated alloy skeleton materials into a supporting dome structure for the underground city. The cranes were responsible for hoisting modular building segments weighing dozens of tons into position.
At the same time, the three Level 3 mechanical arms equipped with composite drills and high-temperature plasma cutters roared to life. Like surgical scalpels, they sliced through the rock, and the molten stone cooled to form smooth, arched tunnel walls.
All the engineering vehicles began to operate in unison.
The super-heavy drilling machine resembled a steel behemoth—its composite drill head spun rapidly, serrated alloy blades gnawed through rock, flinging debris.
The plasma tunneling machine followed closely behind, carving precise cut lines into the rock walls. Melted rock was vacuumed away by side-mounted suction cups, leaving behind a tunnel with a standardized cross-section measuring several dozen meters in diameter.
These two engineering vehicles would jointly excavate the subway tunnels connecting multiple underground cities.
The hydraulic hammer engineering vehicle also began its task. It targeted giant boulders in the underground space and shattered them into rubble with high-frequency hammer strikes, then used a scoop to load the debris onto a rear conveyor belt.
The pipeline-laying engineering vehicle cut precise trenches several dozen centimeters wide into the ground, embedded composite pipelines, backfilled them with engineering foam, and compacted the trenches.
Watching the well-ordered operations unfold before him, Li Ye couldn’t help but sigh.
“It really does look legit.”
At this moment, he was standing on the Engineer’s deck, with Zhou Xing directing operations by his side.
Li Ye casually took the blueprint from his hand to examine it.
According to the plan, each underground city would span 12 square kilometers and be divided into three layers, each with its own function.
The first layer would be for public facilities and administrative management, including squares, temporary hospitals, warehouses, and so on.
The second layer would house the residential zone, farmlands, and livestock areas, deploying modular apartments, fields, aquaculture, and poultry-livestock farms.
The third layer would be for heavy industry, resource recycling, and emergency shelters, featuring geothermal stations, water and air recycling plants, smelting zones, and refuges.
The blueprint even made a special note.
Considering resident safety, once the underground city was completed and internal air and water circulation was operational, its entrance would be permanently sealed.
Normally, the underground cities would only communicate with each other via subway tunnels—they wouldn’t open access to the surface.
The reason for this design was simple—the surface was just too dangerous.
If an exit were left open, there was no telling when a monster force might break in.
In the future, the Southern Continent’s underground would thus form a living ecosystem composed entirely of underground cities.