Global Awakening: Apocalypse Ender's Chronicle

An hour later, with medical clearances given, the scavengers were soon gathered in front of Shane once more.

Gideon looked relieved. ”Your doc says we’re clean. So… what’s the cost of staying here?”

Shane glanced toward the empty buildings near the southern side of the settlement. Originally built for potential newcomers, they were simple but sturdy wooden houses. Each house had enough space for ten or so people.

”Two of those houses should be enough for your people,” Shane said. ”You’ll get three days—longer if you prove useful. The price is one Zombie Core per day.”

It means that they have to pay 20 Zombie Cores days if they want to stay here.

The price was definitely a lot more expensive than the Neutral Shelters. After all, they only had to spend three Zombies Cores and that would already grant them 7 days of stay.

However, they could also tell that this shelter was special. It was clean, the atmosphere was lively, and there were several mysterious beings guarding this place.

They were the elves, super soldiers, and even some spirits lurking around.

The security within this shelter was definitely the best in this region.

”Is there a possibility we can work to lessen our fee?” Gideon asked after a moment of thought.

”I’ll ask my butler to arrange something for your group. As long as they have the necessary skills, they could receive a salary… Of course, there’s also a chance of becoming a permanent resident but that’ll only be discussed if you stay here for at least a month.” Shane said as he certainly considered pulling some useful residents to his shelter.

After all, if they stayed here for a moment, their loyalty would already be high enough to become loyal to him. It may seem unethical as his Territory Lord Talent affects the minds of the people in his territory, but this was still an apocalypse world, so he couldn’t just fully trust people.

”Let me discuss this with my group…” Gideon said.

Then, after talking with the rest of his group, Gideon finally had an answer.

He then signaled for one of his people to step forward.

It was a woman with a satchel.

She opened this satchel, revealing several Zombie Cores. She counted them out and handed them over.

”That should cover us for three days…” Gideon said.

Shane took the payment and gestured toward Edwin. ”Edwin, get them settled. You can also arrange some work for them.”

The butler gave a graceful nod. ”Of course, Master Shane. This way, please.”

As the scavengers followed Edwin, Gideon hesitated, turning back to Shane. ”I don’t know what kind of place you’re running here, but… thank you. Most shelters wouldn’t have even let us past the gate that quickly.”

Shane shrugged. ”Eclipse Domain isn’t the same with others. I’m planning on turning this place into something better.”

Gideon gave a curious look. ”Better? You mean like a proper town?”

Shane smirked. ”Something like that.”

Gideon chuckled. ”Well… if you pull it off, maybe we’ll stay longer.”

With that, he turned and followed his people into their temporary homes.

***

As Shane walked away, he was still thinking about what he said to Gideon.

A real town.

Not just a shelter where people holed up to defend it or wait to die—but a place where survivors could live, trade, and build a future.

He imagined inns, where travelers could stay safely.

Pubs, where warriors could drink and unwind.

Shops and trade hubs, where crafters and merchants could do business without fear of raiders or zombies.

Transportation could also be included once they started to get bigger.

It would take time, resources, and manpower. But Eclipse Domain would also be supported by two other shelters.

Furthermore, he had already proven it could attract merchants and survivors alike. It shouldn’t be impossible to do it.

If he kept expanding, it wouldn’t be long before it became something much bigger than just a hidden refuge.

Shane exhaled, glancing at the settlement around him.

If the world was going to stay broken, then he’d build something new out of the ruins.

Eclipse Domain wasn’t just a shelter anymore.

It was the beginning of a new civilization.

Now that he thinks about it, maybe the way to end the Zombie Apocalypse would be better ending wasn’t just killing all of them or finding a cure… Perhaps, rebuilding the zombie-infested world would give them a better rating…

’That might be a good idea.’ Shane thought.

Well, he had already seen the ending of both A.I. Rebellion and Fairy Realm Collision… He didn’t really have a good rating there.

His Fairy-Realm Collision Apocalypse only gave him a Squire-Class achievement while the A.I. Rebellion gave him a Knight-Class.

They were both in the lower class achievement… This time, however, he wanted something higher than that. If he was able to get the highest achievement, that would also be the best.

Anyway, his plan was good but for that to happen, he needed infrastructure—roads, housing, defenses, and organization.

And there was one person who could make that happen efficiently.

Eliot Mercer, one of their best engineer.

Without hesitation, Shane contacted Max in the Springriver Manor to send Eliot through the portal.

Just a day after his message, Shane was notified that Eliot had finally arrived.

It seemed that he was planning to expand the Clan Hall in the Manor so he took quite some time to arrive.

Anyway, Shane didn’t hurry the man since he knew that his task wasn’t that urgent. He was also aware that this lone engineer had a lot of work to do.

Nonetheless, during the time he was waiting, Shane simply arranged an office for their engineer.

After all, even if he could actually do the job as well with Cloud’s assistance, it would be better to have a dedicated person to do it so he could just assist if necessary.

Of course, Shane had also arranged a warehouse where he decided to bring several machinery or devices that could be helpful in construction. Needless to say, they were items he bought in the Anima Store.

Soon, Shane arrived at the office he arranged for the engineer.

As soon as he opened the door, he saw the man at last.

Eliot Mercer was a man in his early forties with streaks of gray in his short black hair.

”It’s been a while.”

Shane said as he also recalled this man’s skills.

[ Structural Reinforcement Lv10 (Max) ]

[ Electrical Expertise Lv10 (Max) ]

[ Reinforced Foundations Lv10 (Max) ]

[ Demolition Specialist Lv10 (Max) ]

There were some other skills related to his job but aside from these four, those others were only at Level 5 or below 10.

However, he was the best in the field.

”Indeed, Sir Shane… It’s been a while.” Eliot said as he slightly bowed to Shane.

”This is a good office by the way…” He muttered as he looked around at his new office.

”I guess I’m finally going to work on another big project. The rebuilding of the manor, the temple, and Clan Hall isn’t that difficult at all.”

Shane smirked. ”Yes, you’re right… You’ll be working on various projects here.”

Eliot smiled as he certainly liked working now. He had recently obtained draconic potions from Raze which allowed him to become stronger and work longer. He even started working on various defensive structures in the Springriver Manor.

”So, what do you need this time? More turrets? Upgraded defenses? Maybe a new bridge?”

Shane crossed his arms. ”I need something bigger.”

Eliot arched a brow. ”Let’s hear it…”

Now that he got the engineer’s full attention, Shane set down his tools and gestured for Eliot to follow him to the drafting table, where dozens of blueprints and maps were laid out. They were prearranged by Shane and they were drafts that he made with Cloud’s assistance.

”Alright, you have my interest,” Eliot said. ”What’s the job?”

Shane leaned over the table and placed a hand-drawn map of the surrounding terrain onto the blueprint pile. He tapped his finger on Eclipse Domain’s location.

”I don’t want Eclipse Domain to just be a shelter anymore. I want it to become a town.”

Eliot blinked. ”A town?”

Shane nodded. ”Let’s say, we’ve been getting more traffic—survivors, merchants, scavengers. We have the land, the resources, and most importantly, defenses strong enough to make this place one of the safest in the region. If we build proper roads and infrastructure, we can connect with other neutral shelters and make this a trade hub.”

Eliot exhaled slowly, rubbing his chin. ”You’re not wrong. But turning a shelter into a town isn’t as simple as setting up a few extra houses.”

”I know,” Shane said. ”That’s why I need you to figure out the details.”

Eliot chuckled. ”Oh, so I do all the hard work, and you get to be the visionary leader, huh?”

Shane smirked. ”That’s how leadership works.”

Eliot chuckled as he could already tell from the blueprints that Shane’s plans were already good. He might not even be needed with the blueprints that Shane had shown him. Shane just lacked some details to make it perfect.

’I guess he just needs a project manager.’ Eliot thought as he grabbed a fresh sheet of paper and pulled out a pencil. ”Alright, let’s break this down. First, we need a proper layout…”