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

The way to the Research Center also had a lot of shops and stalls (it was impossible to walk through a few blocks and trees without encountering a few stalls).

Oslo naturally treated them to a few snacks and suddenly all the suffering they had to go through during their travels were forgotten.

Kahonn took a single bite of a snack, remembered how accessible and cheap they were, and nodded at Oslo with deep understanding. ”No wonder you’re so fond of this place.”

The others nodded. At the back, Menzon, who tagged along because he couldn’t bear being left alone with the Golds, also nodded, though very mutely, as if admitting his enjoyment was a sin.

As they walked, they ate and ate, ’familiarizing’ themselves with some of Alterra’s offerings, gaining their own preferences and favorites-so-far.

Kalfene’s favourite snack so far was churros, especially with that expensive choco dip. When he tasted it, he bought a bucket.

Even if Oslo said they couldn’t bring food into some areas of the laboratory, he would feel better to have a stock of it in his space.

Kahonn’s favorite was the kebab. He groaned at its savory goodness, feeling the delicious mix of flavor and texture from the meat and the vegetable explode in his mouth. Each bite released savory meaty juice that made him drool for more.

Even Menzon, who had tried to be as low-key as possible, seemed to have found love with caramel popcorn. It was noisy to chew, which made Sleuth look badly at him.

Speaking of Sleuth, he preferred the crepe, which was easy and quiet to eat, but gave such sweet satisfaction—not that he uttered all of this out loud, of course.

They eventually reached the large complex known as the Research Center. It was a five-storey building that seemed to dwarf its surroundings while matching the place’s theme at the same time.

It was surrounded by a level 3 wall like the warehouse complex and had several guards assigned to it. There were also a few loose sentries.

They gulped, suddenly feeling the importance of the place.

They entered and saw the grand lobby and the various chairs and meeting areas. Although the activity was muted, it still felt full of life and surrounded by an atmosphere of knowledge.

Oslo led them to the front desk with a pretty woman in a white-and-blue uniform. She looked good, and when they got closer, they realized it was a very pregnant woman.

Several eyebrows rose. They had seen many women working on the way here, which was already a surprise, but this was the first time they had seen a pregnant woman working, too.

Salia smiled. She was used to the stares on her stomach, but she was the one who insisted on working, so she could only pretend not to see the looks.

”Hello, Miss Salia~” Oslo said, naturally flirtatious. ”I have our toolmakers here,” he said, pointing at them.

The woman brightened immediately at the sight of them. ”Yes! They’re waiting for you on the 4th floor.”

The Main Research center was separate from the Alchemy wing. The first two floors were Eugene’s department, which required a lot of space, while the 3rd and 4th floors were the Math team’s, the array team’s, and the Magic tool and materials research teams. The top floor was for meetings, presentations, and so on.

”Thanks,” Oslo smiled with that smile that made all women in the vicinity swoon.

Kalfene nudged his friend, stealing a glance at the pregnant woman behind the counter. ”That wasn’t your kid, was it?”

Oslo rolled his eyes. ”No, that’s the sister of one of our soldiers—you met him in Bleulle.”

Salia was Sean’s sister. Even when she was pregnant, she couldn’t stay the whole day in her home with that mother-in-law of hers, especially when her husband was working, too.

Sean used some connections to get her an interview for one of the shifts in the concierge, which was a relatively light job. Fortunately, his sister did work in the hospitality industry before she got married and was forced to retire back then, so she aced that interview despite being heavily pregnant.

Anyway, putting this aside, the group used the stairs (the elevator couldn’t fit them) and headed up to the desired floor. Anyway, their physiques were strong due to their levels, and climbing up four floors barely took a breath.

Each floor had a small, well-designed lobby with sofas, coffee tables, magazines, interior plants, and so on. Later, they’d find out each floor also had its own pantry, which was always filled up with snacks by the building’s administration team.

That alone was enough to convince them to work here forever.

Anyway, a whole zone on the 4th floor was dedicated to the study of arrays, and right next to it was where they placed the toolmaker’s section.

”They gave you a research room,” Oslo said, showing them their hall. They had large work stations divided by partitions that extended to the ceiling. While one side of the workstations was open, they actually had the option to close it if they wanted complete isolation.

Each station was as big as a room, each one with basic tools, cabinets, desks, and ample work space for tools one could carry with two hands. There were also combined workspaces in the middle of them for discussions and so on.

The toolmakers’ area was connected to the array research department, and they could see the various drawings painted and some colorful notes stuck in front of them, though some in languages they could not understand.

Oslo clapped his hand. ”We have new colleagues here!”

The ’array scholars’ flinched, and after Oslo told them they were toolmakers, they immediately surrounded them.

”We really got four toolmakers!”

”Whoa!”

”I’m so excited!”

Oslo smiled, and he turned to the newcomers. ”Introduce yourselves,” he said. ”And what you can do.”

”My name is Kalfene, I create Aether letters and Aether boards,” he said with a smile. Quite handsome.

”Sleuth. Voice Blockers,” he said, taciturn as always.

”My name is Kahonn,” the curly-bush toolmaker waved his hand in a way he saw the Alterrans wave at Oslo while they were walking around earlier. ”I create Token Guards.

’Oohs’ and ’Ahhs’ abound in the room, making the toolmakers shy. Then, they looked at the remaining toolmaker who hadn’t said anything yet.

”M-Menzon,” he said, trying to appear proud by puffing his chest and lifting his chin. ”I received the inheritance for Celeste Mirrors!”

”Oh? Cool! What does it do?”

”Do you have one with you?”

”Can we see?”

Menzon suddenly felt pressured. What if they ask him to make one?

”I... haven’t actually made one yet.”

Kahonn—as tactless as always—even added. ”For a few years, I reckon.”

Menzon paled and looked down. He didn’t want to see the disappointed looks on people’s faces. Instead, he felt pats on his shoulder.

”Awww, it’s okay, we’ll help you!”

”Yes, but you have to let us watch your process if we want!”

”Okay, group goal! Get Menzon to succeed within six months!”

”Group goalllsss!”

Menzon’s eyebrows rose, and so did the others’.

Menzon had been used to either disappointed or derisive stares whenever they found out about his ’failure’.

But...they’re trying to help him?

His jaw clenched a little, and he looked away, sniffling.

Fine, he could let them watch him...