Chapter 361 183: Central Intelligence

"Boss, what's the plan now?" Zhang Peng asked.

Li Ziyu paused at the question. He looked down in thought for a moment before shaking his head. He didn't know what he was going to do next either—or rather, he hadn't even thought about it.

When he first transmigrated, his goal was to figure out how to leave the Wasteland. He hated this barren place. In order to leave, he focused on getting stronger. Then he ran into the robbers from three troublesome Races and had to focus on how to deal with the Alliance Army.

Now that the war was over and a temporary peace had arrived, Zhang Peng's sudden question truly left him feeling a bit lost.

'People need goals to move forward,' he thought. 'With a-goal comes motivation. Otherwise, it's easy to just drift aimlessly and start slacking off.'

'That's right. It's time to think about my next goal.'

"What about you two? Do you have any goals?" Li Ziyu asked, looking toward Liu Xingxing and Zhang Peng.

"I'm going to keep treasure hunting!" Liu Xingxing raised his hand and exclaimed excitedly. He hadn't been strong enough before, forcing him to be extremely cautious whenever he went out. He even had to strictly limit his search area, which had been a great source of frustration for him.

As a Treasure Hunter, Liu Xingxing could sense that the lands of the Otherworld were filled with ruins and treasures—a fatal temptation for him. This was especially true since the Race under his command was the Treasure Hunting Catman, which made finding treasure even easier. There was no reason not to put them to use.

After all this time developing his forces, he finally had the power to protect himself. Although his combat strength was nothing compared to the Undead, he was no longer afraid of small or medium-sized Tribes. If he couldn't win a fight, he could still run!

The combat strength of the Treasure Hunting Catman, the Race Liu Xingxing controlled, was nothing special on its own. They had many types of units, but most were support-oriented; there were very few true combat units. After all, their main job was treasure hunting. However, the Treasure-Hunting Catman Fortress was extremely powerful!

The Treasure-Hunting Catman Fortress and the Skeleton Undead Fortress were two completely different types of fortresses. The Skeleton Undead Fortress was more traditional, but the Treasure-Hunting Catman Fortress was incredible—it followed something of a tech-tree path. Every building could be fitted with attachments, including not only ones for treasure hunting but also combat Weapon attachments.

Liu Xingxing had once mysteriously told Li Ziyu that as long as he could get the blueprints, his fortress could produce cannons. He had even seen a massive bomb called the "Fat Boy," but he couldn't manufacture it. Just like the cannons, it required blueprints.

During the battle against the Alliance Army, Liu Xingxing had primarily relied on his fortress's combat power, with the Treasure Hunting Catmen acting in a support role. Essentially, the fortress did most of the fighting.

Now that he could defend himself and the threat of the Alliance Army was gone, his urge to go treasure hunting was becoming irrepressible.

"Alright, I approve," Li Ziyu said with a laugh. "But you have to be careful. And please, don't go trying to dig up anyone's ancestral graves again."

"Boss, can we please not talk about that?" Liu Xingxing whined. "That was one embarrassing moment, and you bring it up all the time."

"Zhang Peng, what about you? What are your goals?" Li Ziyu asked, turning to Zhang Peng.

"I'll continue expanding my trade routes. I plan to spend some time digging out a network of tunnels beneath this Wasteland," Zhang Peng said.

His objective was the same as before, unchanged by the victory over the Alliance Army. He and Li Ziyu had first met through business, and his focus remained there. He also intended to build his own intelligence network.

The Gophers' advantage was their ability to hide underground, moving through passages like subway tunnels. If he could crisscross the entire underground with tunnels, not only could he travel anywhere unobstructed, but his security would also be massively enhanced. The tunnels would become a labyrinth, allowing him to react calmly even in the face of an invasion.

"That's an excellent idea. I support you!" Li Ziyu gave Zhang Peng a thumbs-up. After a moment's thought, he continued, "Hearing you two speak has given me an idea. There shouldn't be any power left in this Wasteland that can stand in our way. We can start by spending some time transforming this place, turning it into a supply base for our resources—our home base."

"We'll have to venture out eventually, but this is the place where we got our start. If we build this place up properly, we'll have put down roots!"

Li Ziyu grew more excited as he spoke, feeling he had finally found his objective. The Mobile Fortresses allowed them to roam the Otherworld, but resources were stationary. Take the Wraith Mountain Range, for example. When Li Ziyu left, he couldn't exactly drag the mountains along with him. To acquire resources, you had to stop and develop an area.

A golden opportunity now lay before him. If he could successfully develop this Wasteland, it would solve many of his resource problems. Although the area was remote and barren, it also meant there was little competition—there were practically no other Strong Races around!

"Oh, right, Boss," Zhang Peng said, suddenly remembering something. "Since you mentioned venturing out, I have some intel for you."

"Hm? Go on," Li Ziyu nodded, gesturing for Zhang Peng to continue.

"I think I know what was going on with Batubohe," Zhang Peng said seriously. "I was reviewing battle reports recently and found one about the Wasteland's Central Zone. It had been overlooked because it was so unprofessionally written. According to the report, the Transmigrators in the Central Zone formed an alliance and fought a direct battle against the Native Strong Clans."

"And the result?" Li Ziyu's focus sharpened. He already understood what Zhang Peng was implying: Batubohe must have been a member of that Transmigrator Alliance Army.