Apocalypse: Hero of Potato Fields-Chapter 387 - 370: The False Town

Inside the Shelter.

Lin Yi pondered that at this rate, he could soon level up to 16.

He suddenly realized that the deity of his Shelter could manipulate all the rules.

He immediately ran to the laptop and added a stipulation in the soldiers' contracts, stating that 5% of all their Experience Points would belong to him.

It was nothing much to them, but for him, accumulating bit by bit would be quite significant.

In the following twenty minutes, he sped across the wasteland of Tilian, heading towards the nearest survivors' camp.

But he stopped a few kilometers from the destination, as it was time for lunch.

"Boss, how can you do this?!" As soon as Lin Yi walked to the dining table, Annie exclaimed.

"How? I've done lots of things. You'll need to be more specific."

"I'm talking about Rein! We went to the hospital, and she's still being treated!"

"This is war. She put herself in danger to protect me. But I don't blame her; she's not a professional soldier. There's a lot she doesn't understand yet. She made the decision based on her emotions at the time."

"How can you say that, boss?! She was trying to save your life!" Annie shouted.

"I'm grateful for that, so what do you want me to do, hmm?" Lin Yi glared at Annie.

Annie avoided his gaze and fell silent.

"Do you want me to drop everything and stay by her side while she's being treated in a sarcophagus?

Do you want me to just forget about the lives of those who trust me?"

"I... I didn't mean that..." Annie said, tears welling up in her eyes.

Everyone began eating in silence, though many were absent.

Solomon was busy, and his wife was at home taking care of their newborn child.

Da Chuan and Mira were also in the hospital receiving treatment, so they weren't here either.

"Sylvie, how's the work on the upgrade parts going?"

"It's going well! We've finished all of it."

"And what about the equipment? Are they all repaired?"

"We repaired the equipment damaged yesterday, but those damaged today are still being fixed. But boss, your Power Armor can't be repaired anymore. Also, there are three other sets of Power Armor that are too damaged to be repaired."

"How have things been, Chen Youyou? How are the people from Hanover doing? And that pair of sisters... what are their names again?"

"The Riggs sisters," Chen Youyou smiled.

"But that pair of twins has been a great help, they're really smart... the refugees are doing alright, still a bit shaken, but we should be able to solve this problem in about a week."

"Alright, good job."

Lin Yi looked at the professor, who was now rapidly devouring his food.

"Professor, how's the zombie experiment going? And other matters as well."

"Zombies? Oh... everything's fine."

This seemingly young old researcher mumbled, lost in his own world, pondering something important.

The rest of lunchtime was quite lively.

The girls started chatting.

Annie was boasting about Xiao Chuan, as Xiao Chuan had performed outstandingly in the battle against vampires.

And they were together every night!

Just three months ago, Xiao Chuan was just a scavenger, wandering on the brink of death daily and eating whatever he could find.

He never thought about girls.

But now... who could have thought meeting a naked, bearded Chinese man with a baseball bat could completely change his life?

"Alright, lunch is over. Time to get back to work..." Lin Yi murmured to himself.

He was tired of the endless chatter from the girls, so he transported to Tilian. When

all the most pressing issues in the Shelter had been resolved, and he had handled all his miscellaneous tasks, the defense situation was good, and the military was growing stronger by the day.

The only problem was the task of purifying the island needed to be completed within two weeks...

Lin Yi drove at full speed towards the semi-destroyed town in the middle of the wasteland, not in his "Dagger" vehicle, but in a truck seized from the Horu people.

He drove along the rickety road.

He saw several security guards in front of the town, but they didn't react to him, so he drove straight past.

It turned out this town was rather bustling.

Numerous half-mechanical people were trading, chatting, making things, and engaging in other survivor activities.

However, thanks to the nomads, Lin Yi knew this was just the tip of the iceberg.

Most of this camp was actually hidden in a secure underground bunker.

Clearly, this camp had more hidden than what met the eye.

All the guards were equipped with excellent gear, and the machines wore decent clothes instead of rags.

Many people wore coveralls with systems air filters or donned gas masks.

Lin Yi also noticed that the artificial skin conditions of these survivors were quite good.

He parked the truck in a guarded parking lot and then walked towards the town center.

"Energy Crystals! We have Energy Crystals!"

"Batteries! High-quality pre-war batteries!"

"Mechanical parts! Energy guns! Skill chips!"

Lin Yi was browsing the marketplace, spotting some intriguing devices.

[Solar Charging Station, Level 3]

This device absorbs solar energy to produce energy crystals.

It was valued at 30,000 Coins, shaped like a silver cube. The next one was even more interesting.

[Disruptor Generator, Level 4]

This device generates a field that disrupts electronic equipment. It has a built-in battery and slots for Level 2 and Level 3 Energy Cores.

Current Power: 0/300

"Can you tell me more about this device?" Lin Yi asked, pointing at the generator.

The seller was a burly man in protective gear.

Like many locals, he kept his face hidden behind a helmet.

"If you're willing to spend a lot of money, you can use it to create a field that disrupts electronic equipment within a radius of one-third kilometer.

It's highly effective against machines and Old World technology, that's about it," the merchant said listlessly.

Many had inquired about this device, but no one had actually bought it.

"Does it work on mutants and titans?"

"The disruption annoys them, so they'll destroy the device as quickly as they can."

"Got it, thanks for the information. I'll take it and the charging station."

"Really?! I'll give you a discount, how about 100,000 Coins for both?"

"Sounds good." Lin Yi handed the man 100,000 Coins.

He wasn't sure what these things were truly worth or whether he was being ripped off, but getting a Level 4 device for 70,000 Coins felt like a bargain.

Lin Yi picked up his cube and continued forward.

The marketplace had many mechanical parts for sale, along with a few Level 1 machines.

Unfortunately, purchasing these would reveal his identity when he wanted to gather as much intelligence as possible.

This place was too suspicious... where were these merchants and customers coming from? They were buying energy weapons and depleted Energy Cores in large quantities…

"Melanie, report." Lin Yi spoke after disabling the external speaker on his Power Armor.

"The marketplace is a sham, with a few hotels actually open for visitors, several workshops, and a Half-Mechanical People service center, but that's about it. Everything else is just a facade."

"Isn't that obvious, even the nomads told me. What about the underground part?"

"It appears, if not more advanced than those fortresses, at least comparable.

My camera's range is limited, so I can't see much inside."

"Understood, keep monitoring and let me know where their leader is."

"Got it, boss."

Lin Yi spent another twenty minutes wandering around the small town, chatting with the "tourists."

The area surrounding the town was actually quite safe, so there were some small camps there.

For those living in the small camps, the town served as their main trading hub and survival lifeline.

Survivors there scavenged resources, hunted Mechanical Zombies, and bartered their findings for ammunition, equipment, energy crystals, and repair services.

After gathering all the necessary information and figuring out who to speak with, Lin Yi left the town.

He needed a "compelling reason" for those people to listen to him and allow him into the bunker, and he intended to provide one.

Once he was far enough, Lin Yi teleported 800 infantrymen clad in "Apocalypse Knight" Armor and 200 soldiers in "Slaughterer-3C" Power Armor to Tilian.

He also summoned several machines, trucks, and motorcycles, plus two "Shell" vehicles, which were Level 4 armored personnel carriers used by Argon Knights.

Lin Yi's army advanced toward the town, but they did not enter.

The town was defended by defense turrets and a sizeable garrison, and Lin Yi wasn't interested in a fight.

The army stood there for five minutes, then ten minutes... Finally, a small delegation emerged from the town in a regular jeep.

The vehicle carried four people: a driver, two security guards, and a negotiator.

"Good morning, may I know who you are and why you decided to visit us?"

asked a man in a dark red jumpsuit, wearing a helmet with a built-in filter.

"I am a messenger from the Rusted Fortress. I'm on my way to Layhill Fortress, stopping at each camp along the way to convey some extremely important information."

Lin Yi handed the man a device, given to him by the Rusted Fortress Archbishop, that served as proof of identity.

It looked like a credit card.

"You can check the Archbishop's information. I have other places to go, and after I leave, I might not return."

"Understood." The negotiator said, accepting the card.

"We'll get back to you as soon as possible. In the meantime, please don't come any closer to the town. We've recently repelled several unknown enemy attacks and are rather tense right now."

"I can retreat a quarter of a kilometer. If you wish, you can even leave some people here to monitor me, but please be quick."

"That's much appreciated," the surprised negotiator replied.

Lin Yi gestured, and the entire army instantly moved a quarter of a kilometer back.

The man in the jumpsuit watched, dumbfounded, and then quickly returned to the town…