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

They realized that, although they were in a dense forest area within the wall, there was actually a wide avenue that greeted them. It was around eight or nine meters wide—which was really wide—and it looked like a pathway leading to either a fantasy land or somewhere creepy.

It also reflected the duality of what they were feeling now. They were now obviously in a safer place, at least compared to the outside, but how—being around scary aborigines—would their lives be after?

Somehow they encountered Tim and Hana again, which was… awkward. They just nodded at each other as if they didn’t just say their goodbyes in vague terms and pretended to just be two groups walking along the same path to keep the peace.

They continued to walk on with uncertainty in their steps and soon, they encountered their first foragers in the forest.

”Excuse us,” Atlas called the nearest person, and they looked over before walking towards them.

Now that they saw him nearby, they realized that he was miles better than they were. He was thin, but not skin and bones, and their skins were not nearly as dry or flaking as theirs.

Was he an aborigine? The ones who attacked them were taller than they were. Perhaps he was a slave? But a slave that was doing better than they were meant this place wasn’t bad.

But… what if they become slaves themselves?

As people who didn’t know much about this place, they naturally went into a lot of scary assumptions.

”What is it?” The person asked, and then looked at them up and down.

”Terrans?”

They flinched and looked at him. ”Are you Terran?”

He looked at them weirdly. Wasn’t it obvious?

”Oh, sure, we’re all Terrans here.”

Their eyes widened and looked at each other.

The man shook his head and just pointed at the path. ”Just walk along this avenue, you’ll be able to reach the village proper soon.”

He then waved them away as he kneeled back down, filling the basket on his back with twigs and small rocks to sell in the Village Center.

Seeing as the person didn’t want to bother with them anymore, Atlas and the others continued their way with unknown expectations.

Their pace hastened a bit when they began to hear the distant sound of people, and soon the forest opened up to civilization.

They gaped as they looked at the dense buildings and streets bustling with activity that greeted them.

It was not only less dense than Juno, but it was also cleaner and refreshing to look at.

The dominant buildings were also 2-stories tall and they had a consistent aesthetic which was pleasing to look at.

There were even some patches of green in between, framing the entire place and balancing it, and it was truly reminiscent of their peaceful times back in Terran.

Most importantly—it was the people themselves who caught their attention.

They were Terrans, but they all looked decent even after that disaster. They had bright eyes and wide smiles on their faces, living life as if the world wasn’t trying to kill them every moment it could.

Their hearts lightened.

However, as they walked along the streets, people started noticing them. When they did, they would stare and frown, immediately looking at them with pity.

A

lot

of pity.

The newcomers flinched, feeling conscious.

Just… how bad did they look?

They couldn’t help but look at each other. They did not have mirrors, but they could at least see each other.

Compared to the locals here, they really… looked like beggars.

No, even beggars looked better than they did.

Before, they couldn’t quite register it because they had been used to the person’s appearance for weeks that it went over their heads.

However, next to the ’healthier’ people around them, they came to realize just how unsightly they looked.

Hana, who had always paid attention to her appearance, almost cried.

At some point, a couple of locals even gave them a couple of copper coins each and they didn’t know what to feel.

”There’re cheap food in our marketplace,” one of the kindhearted people said. ”It’s just around the corner.”

Some people wanted to say they were not beggars, but then their stomachs rumbled and no voice came out so they couldn’t actually utter the words.

In the end, they realized they shouldn’t think too much of pride right now. They simply thanked the kind-hearted folks and followed the instructions, eventually reaching the so-called ’Bright Marketplace’.

Micheal stayed a long time in Alterra when he lost his territory. This gave him time to study Alterra more intimately. When he got the token back, he created a version of the marketplace and moved the stall owners there.

It was much smaller than any of Alterra’s, but it was still overwhelming for refugees who hadn’t seen good food in months.

”Wow…”

”This is…”

They were blinded by the array of choices, and their feet moved on their own to explore the Market at their own pace. They decided to just meet up a couple of minutes later somewhere in one of the corner tables.

As they did so, they (at least Atlas did) gathered information as well. He was kind enough to tell them what he gathered as they ate.

”They have dormitories,” he said, making the others stare at him. ”It only costs 5 copper a day.”

”So affordable!”

Atlas nodded. ”I’m really surprised.”

In fact, this was more expensive than Alterra. Bright had too many expenditures and did not have

nearly

as many income-generating industries as Alterra had.

No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t handle giving a 1-copper-coin bedspace rent.

Still, 5 copper coins were still very affordable, and definitely much better than what the refugees had experienced since coming to this continent.

An hour later, when the refugees entered the rooms, they were extremely amazed. At 5 coppers, they were expecting to sleep on the floor.

Instead, they got complete furniture!

They immediately took a bath for the first time in over a month, resting their backs on the soft bed with a comfortable cushion.

As they stared above them—either at the ceiling or the underside of the bed above—they couldn’t help but wonder.

How long had it been since they slept on a comfortable bed without their stomachs trying to eat itself?

They didn’t know anymore. All they knew was that it would be the most comfortable sleep they’d have after a long, long time.

For the first time, their bodies finally let go of the tension that had been killing them from the inside…, and they couldn’t help but cry.