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"Boss, you're here!"
Nanami Kento stepped out of the guard booth and had his men move the newly set barricade aside.
"Brought some seeds."
"Get people organized and have them planted as soon as possible."
Julian pointed toward the back of the truck.
Two guys immediately stepped forward and carried the supplies inside.
"Don't worry. We already turned over most of the soil in the green areas today."
"The soil here is pretty good. We can start planting tomorrow."
Kento grinned.
Everyone had just arrived, and they were all fired up, working like their lives depended on it.
Kento had only asked them to prepare some ground for planting, but they nearly dug up all the greenery in the entire residential area.
"As for the original residents…"
"Keep an eye on them."
"They were all spoiled before. I'm worried they won't be willing to work properly."
"If even one or two people start slacking off, that attitude will spread. It'll also upset the ones who are actually putting in effort."
"If you find anyone like that, just drive them to the city center and leave them there to fend for themselves."
Julian spoke in a calm but firm tone.
There was no room for freeloaders in his colony.
Right now they were just farming, but later on they'd be setting up factories and processing agricultural products.
A big part of the food quality on Donghu Island would depend on this place, so standards had to stay high.
"Don't worry, boss."
"I've got this under control."
"Oh right, I'm planning to take a team out tomorrow to look for supplies."
"We've got five Awakened now. As long as we don't run into anything too crazy, like high-level mutant zombies, we should be fine."
"I want to take advantage of the current situation while supplies are still relatively easy to find."
"Give it some time, and there might be nothing left."
Kento suggested.
"Sounds good."
"I'll make you a list tonight. If you come across anything on it, bring back as much as you can."
"You can also take some of the non-Awakened with you."
"Whether they awaken or not, getting some real combat experience will do them good."
"Oh, right. Do you still have enough gold bars?"
Julian asked.
With so many people sharing one, it didn't seem very convenient.
"We've got enough, we've got enough."
"We usually just let everyone take a bite when they've got time."
Kento said as he pulled out a… heavily gnawed gold bar from his pocket.
"What the hell, is that a sea cucumber?!"
Julian jumped in shock.
What did they do to it?!
It looked terrifying…
Didn't that mess with their heads when they were biting into it?
"Well, we've only got the one, so everyone just makes do."
Kento scratched his head awkwardly.
"Actually…"
"You don't have to swallow it."
"You could make rings or pendants out of it."
"As long as it's in contact with your body, that's enough."
Julian reminded him.
One gold bar could easily be turned into dozens of rings or pendants.
"Boss, you should've said that earlier!"
"Every time I take a bite, I have to check my poop afterward."
"If I see any little gold bits, I dig them out. Didn't want to waste anything."
"I'm honestly getting a bit sick of it myself."
The burly Ryuji spoke up from the side.
"Wait…"
"The gold bits you dug out… where did you put them?"
Kento suddenly had a bad feeling.
Ryuji froze, clearly not daring to continue.
"Alright, I'll leave you guys to… figure that out. I'm heading back."
Julian hopped into the truck and drove off.
Halfway back, he suddenly heard the roar of an engine.
Headlights appeared in his rearview mirror.
A motorcycle sped past him.
Julian frowned.
This coastal road was far from the city.
A motorcycle showing up at this time…
Thinking worst-case scenario, it could be a scout sent out by another camp.
Looks like it's time to strengthen defenses on both the base and the colony.
Even if it was just a passing bike, Julian decided to stay cautious.
In the apocalypse, caution meant survival.
—
At that moment, on Donghu Island, Hana was holding an orientation meeting in a conference room for thirteen girls.
"Alright, everyone, repeat after me."
"Master~~~"
Hana said it in a cute tone, with a hint of admiration.
"Master~~~"
All the girls except Chizuru echoed her naturally.
"Hana, do we really have to call him that…?"
"It feels kind of weird."
Chizuru looked a little embarrassed.
"We all say it, and you're the only one who doesn't. So who's the weird one?"
Hana shot back, hands on her hips.
Chizuru paused.
…Okay, that actually made some sense.
"Let me go over a few more things."
"Master goes swimming at the rooftop pool every morning and evening."
"When he swims, he doesn't like wearing clothes, so don't show up at those times."
"And at night, I suggest you all keep your doors locked tight."
"As for why… I won't explain."
"Also, this is the schedule Mafuyu and I made."
"Your daily tasks are all listed there."
"Of course, the workload will increase over time, so be mentally prepared."
Hana was really starting to grow into her role as a little housekeeper.
The girls took the schedule and glanced through it, then immediately lit up.
This was way easier than school.
At school, they had posture classes, dance, vocal training, English lessons…
Compared to that, this place was basically paradise.
This amount of work? Nothing.
They could handle double, no problem.
The meeting quickly wrapped up in a cheerful atmosphere.
The girls headed off to the villas they'd been assigned.
They were planning to go for a swim, then take a nice bath…
So comfortable!
After everyone else left, Chizuru walked over to Hana.
They'd been close before, so they were more relaxed with each other than the others.
"Hana, be honest with me…"
"You and your master… are you two… you know?"
Chizuru raised an eyebrow, her eyes full of teasing.
"Hey! What are you talking about!"
Hana's face instantly turned red.
Well… it wasn't like there was nothing going on.
"Is your master… a decent guy?"
"He won't try anything with us, right?"
Chizuru pressed on.
"Oh, don't worry about that."
"He specifically told me to warn you not to get any ideas about him."
Hana explained.
"Ha, as if I'd be interested in him!"
"If I ever started thinking about him like that, I'd…"
"I'd run naked around the island three times!"
Chizuru said defiantly.
Like she'd ever fall for him!
Wasn't Peng Yuyan handsome? Wasn't Takeshi Kaneshiro handsome?
No way she'd like that guy!
"....."