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

Back in Alterra, families remained indoors, with several members of some volunteering to clean up roads to get extra food, which could be bought off with contribution points in evacuation centres/canteens set up in every zone of the territory.

This was especially tempting for the commonfolk who rented bedspaces, lived in dorms, or were newcomers who lived in motels. Most of them didn’t have their own cellars and couldn’t stockpile too much food.

By the time the second week passed, they had begun to worry about their futures.

In fact, many of them still had some food in their spaces or in their wooden chests (if they lived in dorms or shared spaces), but people simply couldn’t be comfortable without ’savings’. They felt ’naked’ without a sizeable stockpile!

Who knew how long this cold would last? What if it got worse?!

So, since they had no idea about the future, many of them geared up to go outside to help out with the clearing. Other than the main roads where the snowplows passed through, there was also a lot to be cleaned up in areas directly adjacent to the roads.

In such heavy, continuous snow, one did not clear everything, just the corridors. It was just that some of the roads were in danger of caving in due to the difference in snow heights (snow on the road was cleared, but directly adjacent areas were meters deep in snow), so people had to stabilize it.

What they did was to cut snow into blocks and then move them accordingly from the top layer down. Many also pushed their own agendas and cleared the streets to their own houses along with neighbors.

As long as they didn’t place the ’chipped away’ snow blocks on other people’s roads and property, the guards did not mind them and still paid the associated contribution points.

On the other hand, while there were more and more people gritting their teeth and working outside, there were also those who had enough to last months and were fairly cozy in their own place.

The entire Gaea team, including the ’in-laws,’ gathered in the main villa.

The place was large, and it was so much more comforting with many people, so people like Sheila and Eagle went to stay with the original team rather than stay alone in their unit.

Now that the cold lasted much longer than expected, they couldn’t help but feel relieved that they did so. It would’ve been so lonely if it were just them. Plus, there might’ve been resources they hadn’t stocked enough of. Now, they didn’t have to worry.

Of course, Eagle was there to help clear the yard of snow as labor payment.

The dogs were also inside the house, except for the giant pupper, who was placed in the main bunker because it was so large. Speaking of the main bunker, there were also scores of people staying there.

They opened it up for many guests and the like who couldn’t secure a room. Anyway, the bunkers were extremely insulated, and the temperature there was decent.

They also had a stockpile of food, but the rationing was stricter than that of others. The people tended to have food in their spaces, while the food in the stocks could be bought by either contribution points or in gold (but was more expensive).

The risk here was that because a good portion of the people here were guests from different places, there was bound to be some conflicts. Whether it was asking for more space, more food, or complaining about noise or smell, it happened there.

Fortunately, they assigned a few guards, and the sentries were working, so people had no choice but to behave.

Not to mention, the rules were still there, and outside of wars, any sign of aggression would send them to the prisons, which were definitely much less equipped for the cold.

As for the updates, they received them through aether letters. The Alterran guards had their own signature and signals too, so they were certain that everything was really okay and that they were really the ones making the report.

Fortunately for them, because Gaea had their ravenous pet there, they also had to replenish the stocks there, so there was always a merchant selling necessities, so the occupants didn’t have to worry about going hungry despite the extended period of the cold. As long as they had contribution points and/or gold, they’d be fine.

For the most part, things were peaceful...until today.

Althea and the rest of them looked at the baby boy floating near the ceiling, and also the baby girl playing with her toys on one of the beams. She was playing with her Sailor Cat toys, and the cats apparently had to be from a height to be exciting.

It was difficult to clean those parts, so both of them were gathering a bit of dust in their winter onesies.

It also didn’t help that both parents were out at this time. Garan was in the Guard Station while Althea was in the Research Center.

The others head out in alteration, too, but most workspaces only required hybrid and skeletal work in this weather. That was to say, they only had to go to work about three to four times a week, and with slightly shorter working hours.

It so happened that Althea and Garan’s schedules were today, so both of them headed out. They usually didn’t get the same schedule, but since there were more people outside than normal, Garan had to head out to check the situation.

Althea’s team was also continuously producing things, mostly from their home laboratories, but today she was sharing some findings with her colleagues.

Fortunately, the Research Center was designed well and had insulating materials in between the concrete, so people were relatively warm over there. Engineering in Terran was quite advanced, after all, and even their manual structures were well-made.

The people who worked in the Research Center generally could not stay sane without doing any studies for weeks, so this also had to do with mental health.

Anyway, now... everyone else was stuck with the babies who happened to choose this time to activate their powers.

The theory was that the children lacked exercise, and now that it was an endless winter, there were no alternative outlets for their boundless energy.

A few days ago, they started exhibiting again, and this time... they couldn’t be stopped easily anymore.