Chapter 135: Discovery of a Medium-Sized City

As for the concern of exposing his skills, Lin Mu was not worried at all. With the Restraint Collar in his possession, what was there to fear? The only issue was whether he could share this skill with Shu Yi; if he could, he would definitely have her test it out.

...

The next day, Jiang Han, Zhao Jin, and Zhang Qian set off with their respective squads, acting according to Lin Mu’s instructions. Shu Yi’s squad was tasked with guard duty. Lin Mu sat in his chair, attempting to find an option to share his modification skill with Shu Yi, but the option simply did not exist.

"Sigh, so I’m the one who has to use it—the jinx of the group." He knew himself well enough; his streak of bad luck had followed him for a long time. "Why can every other function be shared, but not this one?" It was incredibly frustrating that such a useful tool couldn't be distributed. Resigned, Lin Mu abandoned the idea.

He opened the map function, where he could track the movement of various vehicles. However, he could not see anything beyond the range of his known map. At this moment, only Zhang Qian’s squad was visible, and they were currently stationary. He assumed they had stumbled upon some village. After watching for a while, Lin Mu felt it was pointless, closed the panel, and stepped outside the vehicle. The small town remained in its original state; Lin Mu hadn’t done anything to it yet, as they hadn't departed. He looked toward the east, figuring Shu Yi and the others were likely still there clearing out the Crocodile Men. With that in mind, he headed east.

Upon arriving, he indeed found them outside. "Brother Mu, why are you out here?" Shu Yi asked, holding a sharp long blade, her body stained with blood. Lin Mu twitched his mouth—quite the "Bloody Queen" she was. "I just came to see how things were going. Have you made any clothing out of these materials yet?"

"We made one piece to test the defense. Armor made purely from the scales only provides enough protection to withstand shots that aren't at maximum power," Shu Yi shrugged. "It’s a far cry from when they were alive; I wonder if the material loses its potency after they die."

Lin Mu looked at the many corpses on the ground. "Then keep trying. Add some other materials and see what happens." Armor, sometimes, just requires a lot of experimentation; otherwise, it’s impossible to gauge its effectiveness.

...

Lin Mu stayed there for a full month and found absolutely nothing of value. "Captain, are we leaving?"

"Of course we’re leaving. There isn't even a single medium-sized city here; why stay?" As for small towns, he didn't even want to bother with them anymore. The amount of map data they provided was barely worth the effort. "Dismantle the town. Take it all apart." Looking at this small town annoyed him; although they had obtained some good items, it had wasted too much of his time. Logically, they had searched a massive area—basically everything within a 500-kilometer radius—yet found nothing. The map display seemed fine, but why couldn't he find any locations?

After everyone had left, he called Anna over. "Why can’t I find any medium-sized cities?"

Anna replied with a helpless expression, "Because we are still near the mountain range, of course there aren't any."

Lin Mu opened the map; it clearly showed the area as small, so how could they still be on the edge? He showed the map to Anna. She shook her head. "I don't know about that, but what I do know is that there are actually plenty of medium-sized cities, but each one is at least tens of thousands of miles apart, and they are usually far from mountain ranges. According to those who have stayed here a long time, the mountain region is considered resource-poor."

Lin Mu couldn't help but ponder her words. If that was the case, how large was this place? Had the map been lying to him? As for the lack of resources, it was indeed quite barren. Though better than the outside world, it wasn't by much. Thinking of this, he looked at Anna. "Then why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"You asked me last time, and I told you! We used hand-drawn maps, and I showed you the map too; you just didn't look at the scale," Anna replied, looking helpless. The cultural differences between them made it difficult to communicate.

An hour later, the town vanished, and Lin Mu obtained another pile of materials. The next goal was to find a medium-sized city.

"All vehicles, prepare to assemble!"

Lin Mu activated the War Machine. Vehicle after vehicle transformed into parts, merging together until a giant War Machine stood before them.

BOOM!!!

Flames erupted from beneath the War Machine, and it slowly lifted into the air. The energy reading on Lin Mu’s controller displayed 60,000 units of energy, showing no sign of fluctuation. He wondered what the consumption would be at full speed. He gently pushed the throttle, and the speed began to climb. 200... 300... 500...

Once the speed reached 700 kilometers per hour, Lin Mu stopped increasing it. He still had to look for cities; if he went too fast, he wouldn't be able to see them. He glanced at the energy levels—still holding steady at 60,000. For now, it seemed there was no consumption.

"Attention all units, keep an eye on your screens. Look for cities larger than towns."

"Received!"

Lin Mu continued to increase altitude, flying at a height of 2,000 meters. Before 001 was a screen divided into 16 smaller windows, showing images of the ground from various angles.

"001, keep a constant watch for cities."

"Understood, Master." For 001, 16 screens were just right.

After setting the War Machine, Lin Mu stood up from his seat, went to the lounge in the back, picked up a book from the table, and began to read. The title was *Notes on Battle Qi*, the same one 001 had analyzed for him. Although he hadn't succeeded in cultivating it yet, he had to keep reading. You never know.

And so, the War Machine flew at 700 kilometers per hour while the members stared intently at their screens, searching for cities. Just as Anna had said, this was a remote area; there were simply no cities to be found. After flying for over three hours, they hadn't received a single report of a medium-sized city. Instead, they had encountered quite a few small towns, and the number was only increasing.

At five in the afternoon, the War Machine had flown nearly 5,000 kilometers.

"Captain! I’ve found a city larger than a town. I’m not sure if it’s the one you’re looking for." Zhang Qian’s voice came over the intercom.

Lin Mu, who had been resting with his eyes closed on the sofa, straightened up instantly. He hurried to the pilot's seat and brought the War Machine to a halt, hovering in the air. He picked up the intercom. "Where is it located?"

"To the rear right."

"001, check the rear right. Is there a city there?" He then continued into the intercom: "Shu Yi, have Anna come over."