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

A/N: April 2025 is here and may it be a good month~! *prays* Thank you everyone for your support the previous month~! Extra hugs to those who voted, sent golden tickets (many of you even gave bulk *cries*), and gifts. HUGS, everyone!

Extra mention the March 2025’s Top 3 Golden ticket gifters: Lavenwinkle, Emilia_Kostelia, and Amara Woods~! If you have any chapter requests, do tell me~

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The ceremony reception continued with the guests eating their fills. They could also stay as they wanted, using the venue to relax as they explored the Alterra gardens later on.

Interestingly, Hoffen’s alleged antisocial properties seemed to be nonexistent when he was consuming delicious food.

”What is this… it’s so… savory.”

”What did your cook add in this?”

”I really like this place.”

Gregor was eating silently next to him, but there was a slight tilt on his lips, indicating his amusement.

Hoffen turned to look at him. ”Does this mean we can get used to this kind of food?”

Gregor nodded. ”I believe so.”

”This is becoming a better investment than I thought,” Hoffen said, and Gregor could only amusedly shake his head.

Next to them, Obi had just found out that Otto had reserved a lease for a villa in the new development. It promised even grander design than the current villa areas, which was saying something!

”How did you get the money?” Obi asked. As far as he knew, the money they had after being scammed by Bleumrick was mostly on their mother, who was smart enough to hide a space ring outside the City.

Otto grinned. ”Before leaving, I may have deposited a few thousand gold in the Alterra Bank.”

Their oath to Bleumrick was to give him all their assets within Bleulle. Everything else was free game.

”How much?”

”It’s nothing compared to what we’re used to, but it’s enough for us to live comfortably in Alterra for years.”

He barely used his gold at all because a lot of his expenditures could be taken from contribution points and his bonuses. Not to mention, the cost of living in Alterra was really low in their standards.

Otto deposited a few thousand gold in the bank. Or, to be accurate, he asked Althea to deposit a major portion of his payment for the Blueprint Materials—as well as their other deals—in the bank instead.

It would also grow some interest inside. It wasn’t big, but it was better than the money just sitting in his space. According to Ansel, this was called ’letting money grow on its own while you sleep’.

With some of that money, he’d use it to buy that house. He also decided to use their terms of payment (i.e. downpayment first) instead of paying for everything in bulk. It wasn’t what he was used to, but he could use that money elsewhere.

For example, business and leisure. Another, taxes.

Alterra, like any other territory, also had quite a few taxes. For example, for those related to land, there were property tax, transfer tax, Estate tax, and the like.

It was still much more affordable than the monthly property tax imposed in other territories, and they were much more willing to pay these because they could see where it was going.

Speaking of Alterra Bank, something all Elders were aware of was that the money deposited there was not counted in Althea’s wallet. Since its inception, tens of thousands of gold had entered its vault for circulation.

This vault was created with Garan and Oslo’s metals, combined with their latest metallurgy technology, including the use of steel and other improved alloys.

Like the Bunkers, there was no way for earth elementalists or goblins to get through this, at least not without taking a long time.

As for the access to the bunkers, there were only a few people who could personally access and take money from the vault, and each one went under extremely specific oaths.

The Elders were also allowed to withdraw a certain amount of money through them, though this was after the approval of their proposal for its use.

For accounts payables, the salaries would also come from here. The payment for staff was always in copper—even if, on paper, it was in silver or gold—to balance things out and reduce the number of copper in the vault, allowing the bank to store a lot of physical money.

The gold and silver, on the other hand, would be used for major improvements like manual constructions, utilities, and the like.

While it was a bit risky to separate so much money from her, Althea thought it was still necessary because the territory’s wallet was tied too closely with hers. She didn’t have the time to handle the incoming and outgoing amounts.

This method also allowed for a better audit because she really couldn’t monitor all of the spending.

And… what if she was away?

She was definitely aiming to explore eventually. She just needed to stabilize a few things.

On the other hand, the money automatically added to her wallet would be the entrance fees, the residency fees, the trade taxes, and a few other things.

However, the other things were slowly being redirected to the bank to allow for its proper circulation. The territory was getting bigger, she simply did not have the energy for it anymore, nor was it her expertise.

Anyway, by this time, every sibling had found out about Otto’s latest investments. They dragged Otto aside as they planned how to design their new house.

Otto gave them a look. ”Bold of you to assume I’ll be sharing.”

He was a healthy bachelor, for goodness’ sakes!

They gasped at his response, as if they did not expect it. Otto rolled his eyes and he wanted to rub his ears at the barrage that came after.

”What?”

”How selfish!”

”Didn’t mother teach you to share?!”

Sibling fights aside, the event ended on a good note and good memories for everyone, especially the new aborigines who hadn’t experienced such a thing yet.

Not to mention, since they had properly rested already, the Golds decided to tour their family around the new territory. They had become Permanent residents as soon as they settled in, so now they’d be exploring their new home.

They also dyed their hair different colors by now. They also spread around trusted sources not to spread they were the Golds from Bleulle City. While it wasn’t foolproof, any delays for the passage of news was welcome.

Of course, the men of the family may or may not have sent a few posts here and there to create a few diversions too.

Anyway, the children toured their parents to the various parks, the arcades, the stadiums, and other facilities of Alterra, making them fall deeper and deeper in love with it too.

By the end of the day, they wondered why they hadn’t migrated earlier on!

Of course, the passive-aggressive jabs between siblings were abound. For example, on the way to the view deck, they passed by a blocked road with the sign ’Hot Springs Under Construction’.

They all couldn’t help but give Otto a bitter look.

”Wow, must be nice, someone’ll live in the new community,” Olga said, shaking her head.

Obi nodded. ”Wow, I heard of outdoor hotsprings. How nice~ I wonder if I’ll experience it.”

And so on.

Otto: ”...”

Still not sharing, though.