After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World

It was a bright but cloudy day in the territory, the atmosphere was comfortably temperate, and almost everyone was outside.

The sun’s embrace was warm, but not too hot. The sky stretched expansively, with the soft breeze greeting everyone good morning.

At this time, there were already plenty of people hunting outside the territory, and many more heading out, weapons out, ready to accompany the guards in clearing out the surroundings of enemies.

They were mostly guards, but there were also plenty of citizens, a lot of whom hope to get the job during the next openings.

Being a guard was still the best, not only would you get stronger, you’d be rewarded in and of itself.

Also, the guards were very cool.

There were also the people who were hired by the territory to get the carcasses of the monsters killed by the sentries, provided there weren’t maggots, of course.

One feature of this place was, as the resources refreshed at a miraculous rate, so did the decomposition of dead things on the soil.

This included food.

One could imagine thinking a barbeque would be perfectly fine after not eating it after resting a couple of hours… only to wake up with it filled with maggots!

Interestingly, this only happened outside of the territory, so biscuits and noodles were especially popular even if the trip outside only lasted a day.

The maggots here were very scary and very, very, ugly. Although they didn’t actively attack people like in those scary apocalypse movies, accidentally touching them would be painful and could lose someone major amounts of spirit.

Anyway, their jobs were to check whether the meat had maggots or not. They were instructed to ignore those meats with maggots and double-checking those that did not for further processing.

The territory was increasing and almost everyone was used to eating meat every meal, back to how it was, which surprised even the rich aborigines.

Further, after improving their physiques… their food requirement increased as well. The System restaurant probably provided food that better considered the changed physiques, but they still wouldn’t exchange it for the food they had now. The difference wasn’t much anyway, and they only had to eat a little more meat.

Overall, one could imagine the meat consumption. This also meant that the mobs hunted outside weren’t enough anymore. For now, anyway.

Of course, the meat was studied thoroughly for consumption before being sold at the discount markets, and the other parts were sold to leather manufacturers like Sassy the Tanner.

Bones were also sold to Baron’s group as they could create various tools, even needles, from it.

As for the rest of the carcasses, they were asked to be sent to the composting pit, to be made into fertilizers.

The inside the territory on the other hand was no less lively.

There was a bustle of activity in pretty much every corner of the village. Regardless of activity, laughter and chatter flowed freely in the village, as neighbors caught up with news and gossip as they prepared for their day.

First, there were already a lot of people perusing the interior forests at that time, cleaning out loose wood and stones to sell and find plants to eat.

Then, there was the marketplace that was already bustling with life. The stall owners laid out their products and wares to sell, wearing welcoming smiles on their faces, imagining the day’s sales. On these stalls, there were also various colorful fruits on display, herbs, handicrafts, and the like.

Some people also started selling Terran items for novelty, still for high prices, selling them as if they were antiques. For example plastic ware, jewelry that wasn’t converted to Xeno currency, and even things like story books, toys, and the like.

Interestingly, these people had hoarded these things not on their own, but mostly bought from others early in the Migration.

This reminded her of the stories of people hoarding antiques back in Terran during the Great Famine, and getting rich when they regained their values.

The industrial factories were not yet open, but the makeshift armory and weapons stores were. The expert’s hammers and tools had rhythmically prepared for the start of production, and one could already imagine the goodness that would be created.

Other than these, the aroma of freshly cooked goods and baked bread bathed the air, relaxing everyone’s souls.

Overall, there were very few people idle in the territory and people seemed to have somewhat recovered from the disasters of the previous week.

Of course, it would take a long time, if ever, for people to truly go back to the peaceful life in Terran—back when people’s biggest problems were breakups and not being able to afford luxury bags.

But people were resilient and the territory provided them with enough stability and peace they so needed.

The people’s relaxed faces, in contrast to the despaired look of when they had just entered, was something Althea appreciated with relish as she walked to the industrial park.

”Pretty miss! Come buy some of my fruits!”

”No, no, buy mine!”

”Buy juice, miss!”

”You look beautiful, this jam would make you even more so!”

While the marketplace was still under construction, a lot of stalls, even towards the East gate, had popped up. Most of them though sold fruits and vegetables harvested in the Territory.

After all, a good part of the territory had been making good money relative to the low cost of living. They now had more than enough purchasing power to just spend money on local fruits instead of picking them up themselves.

Hence, although she placed a limit on the amount of cheap fruit and plants the citizens could take within the territory, this business was still booming because the scavengers could still make some money even if they paid for the extra things they picked.

”Old man, feed your daughter well! She’s so beautiful!”

”My fruits are very healthy! Your dad and babies would love it!”

”Oh my, there are babies?!”

It seemed that, subconsciously, people didn’t associate strollers with babies here.

After all, adults died easily in this place, what more of children? They probably thought she was pushing a small shopping cart or something.

However, Althea was in a good mood and allowed the many bystanders to admire her children. Of course, she limited the number so the babies didn’t get smothered.

They looked at the toothless smiles of the children and their hearts softened into puddles.

”How old are they?”

”A few days old.” She said and some people looked at her, thinking how could they not remember there was such a beautiful pregnant woman walking around. Althea was not surprised. After all, she rarely went out of the house except when going to the farm. Most people had really not seen her at all.

However, someone did actually recognize her. The person gasped, looking at her as if looking at a star.

”You’re the pretty pregnant woman who’s hiring so many people!” He said. ”My roommate is one of your farmers.” He said, eyes beaming with joy, ”Congratulations on giving birth!”

She smiled and said thanks, until she realized the looks others were giving her.

The looks on her sizzled even more, probably due to her ’CEO’ status, making her feel awkward.

Who could blame them though?

Everyone who were updated with current affairs knew that those who worked for her team were living very well, much better than others.

They heard that there were also bonuses from their restaurant or grocery if you worked well.

These bonuses were in the form of food and ingredients, some of which were not yet available to the public!

The people looked at them hungrily and Harold’s cowardly side showed as he hid behind the boss and the strollers.

Althea’s eyes twitched. Why did she suddenly feel like a golden goose hunted by everyone?