One Step Ahead! Conquer the City's Enigmatic Gates!

"My shelter is at level 3 now," Mike muttered as he reviewed his storage. "I have enough points, but I'm seriously lacking in upgrade materials."

He glanced over the supplies, noting that he still had 352 units of electronic components. To upgrade to a level 4 shelter, Mike needed 10,000 units of electronic components, 100,000 survival points, and 100 personnel units.

He'd met all the other requirements, but the shortage of electronic components was a significant obstacle. After taking control of the city center, Mike hadn't received any upgrade materials, and the shelter materials available were few and far between.

The shelter of Dongfang Qiang was an enhancement type, which required "big bills" for upgrades, and he had sold off most of his upgrade materials for survival supplies. Among Mike's residents, only a few had upgrade materials, and no one had electronic components.

Looking around the city, Mike's shelter was the only one far ahead in level; the others were mostly at level 0 or level 1. Most survivors in the city had no incentive to upgrade their shelters, as they didn't face immediate survival pressures, and therefore didn't see the value in risking their lives in material dungeons.

"They've got no desire to level up, and that pressure is all on me," Mike sighed. "I need to upgrade faster to secure the strength of the whole settlement."

Mike opened the online trading platform. There were some electronic components available, but the total amount still wasn't enough. After counting, he saw that the available electronic components added up to less than 3,000 units, and the prices had risen significantly.

"If I bought all of these, I'd need to spend tens of thousands of points," he muttered, shaking his head. "I can't afford to waste points like that."

He glanced at the calendar. It had only been a little over a week since the Puzzle Gate dungeon appeared. Given the short time frame, the survivors hadn't had enough time to gather materials.

"It looks like I'll have to do this myself," Mike sighed deeply, and then decided to play his trump card.

"King Shi!" he called out through his communicator.

Even without a dedicated communication channel, King Shi's voice immediately echoed back through the room.

"Sir, I'm here."

"What are you doing?"

"After finishing last night's decapitation mission, Miss Jiang assigned me a new task," King Shi replied calmly. "I'm currently standing before a Puzzle Gate in the East District. If you wait any longer, I might have to enter it."

"A Puzzle Gate?" Mike was taken aback. "Miss Xiao Ci sent you into dungeons?"

"Dungeon?" King Shi paused briefly, then answered. "Yes, sir. Miss Jiang has formed a temporary 'Red Gate Squad' to search for and mark all the Puzzle Gates across the city."

"The team consists of me, Lin Yue, Chen Qiu Ren, and Zhao Si Qi, each leading a squad of 20 elite soldiers, and we've been spreading out across the city."

"Since today, we've located 112 Puzzle Gates."

"112!" Mike sucked in a sharp breath. Given how rare these gates were, this number probably covered all of Jinling's Puzzle Gates.

"Of course, it's Xiao Ci. Even while dealing with the city center, she's already thinking about the shelter upgrade resources," Mike muttered. "While everyone else is celebrating, she's already moving to seize the city's Puzzle Gate resources."

"By the way," King Shi continued, "we've run into quite a few other survivors hunting for Puzzle Gates too. As per Miss Jiang's orders, we've made deals to prevent them from taking the resources, using supplies as compensation. No conflicts occurred."

"That's good to hear," Mike replied, relieved. "We can't have rumors of 'the commander taking resources by force.' That would be a disaster."

"Everyone has been cooperative," King Shi added. "Some didn't even need compensation; they just left."

Mike paused for a moment, then said, "Tell Xiao Ci that we can't monopolize all the Puzzle Gates in the city. We can't keep pushing people out every time. It'll cause discontent eventually."

"I'll let her know, sir," King Shi replied. "Miss Jiang has already considered that. She only wants to ensure your shelter upgrades 1 or 2 more times, after which we won't interfere with the Puzzle Gate resources."

"There are new plans for long-term management of the Puzzle Gates," he added.

Mike was impressed. Jiang Xiao Ci had covered all bases.

"Alright, keep at it," Mike instructed. "Let's get those 112 Puzzle Gates under control. I'll leave the rest to Xiao Ci."

"Understood, sir," King Shi responded. "We aim to complete the task by tomorrow morning. That should give you enough resources for shelter upgrades."

With that, King Shi cut the communication, and Mike's screen immediately flooded with messages indicating that his personnel were successfully entering various Puzzle Gates of different levels—C, B, and even A-level.

"I don't think there are any S-level Puzzle Gates in the city yet," Mike muttered, recalling that there was one in the suburbs, but no survivor had successfully cleared it yet. He had held off on sending King Shi to tackle it, fearing he wasn't strong enough.

"Once the shelter is upgraded, I'll boost King Shi's strength and have him handle the S-level gate. The rewards from it should be worth at least an S-level talent."

Mike's current roster had very few S-level talents—aside from Jiang Xiao Ci and King Shi, he had two S-level generals. But those generals were more suited for command and military tactics, not other areas.

"Outside the military talent pool, I only have 2 S-level, and 1 A-level talent," Mike thought. "Let's aim for an S-level talent and gather more A-levels."

Taking a deep breath, Mike lay down to rest. He needed to recharge before the results of the Puzzle Gate missions came in.

The next morning, Mike woke up to find the daylight streaming in through the window. He checked the time—8:32 AM. As he opened his eyes, he was immediately greeted by a massive influx of messages.

"Holy hell, King Shi really delivered!" Mike marveled.

He quickly scanned the messages and saw that the resources from the city's Puzzle Gates had already been claimed, the majority of which were now in his possession.

Just as he got out of bed, there was a knock at his door.