The next morning, the whole camp was already working. Marie gathered all the camp’s evolvers, selecting exactly half of them to lead into the forest for the first week.
Although their numbers had dwindled a lot during the battle against the mutated beast tide, they had recovered slightly. Most of the men who had stayed atop the walls and used guns were now evolvers, so they could no longer hide behind modern weaponry.
Also, Nicolas had recruited people from the Outer Ring—those who willingly volunteered to become evolvers. Although the fear of the risk was high, several people still volunteered.
Some parents volunteered so their children could receive better treatment and be moved into the Inner Ring, while others volunteered simply because they had lost too much to care about other things.
They simply wanted to grow strong enough to be able to fight and decide their own fate. The first week of the apocalypse had broken a lot of people, but humans didn’t stay broken forever. Even scarred, they still pulled themselves together and learned to survive.
By the time the sun fully rose into the sky, Marie and the ground of over five hundred evolvers entered the forest, accompanied by Richard and his two tamed beasts.
Watching them depart, Leon glanced at Selene. "You want to follow?"
Without looking at him, she answered, "Why are you asking me? Isn’t that what you want?"
Leon shrugged and turned around. "I’m simply asking for your opinion. You might have other plans, after all."
Selene shook her head, then silently leaped off the wall, stealthily trailing Marie’s group. If they got into danger that even Marie couldn’t handle, she would step in.
Leon was reassured with her presence with the group, then returned to the villa. Nora, Cassie, and Fel were waiting for him, each one dressed in their respective combat gears.
Reymond and Miguel had disappeared somewhere in the camp, probably exploring the place.
"Dad, where are we going?" Nora asked, blinking innocently.
Leon let her hold his hand as he answered, "We’re going on a little adventure. Sounds interesting, right?"
The little girl’s eyes brightened, and she asked, "Are we going to kill monsters?"
Leon’s lips twitched. Those words felt odd coming from the mouth of a nine-year-old girl. Unfortunately, the world wasn’t as peaceful as it was before.
Smiling, he carried her on his shoulders and nodded. "That’s highly likely."
"Uwooohhh!!!" She shouted, throwing a fist into the air.
Leon finally turned to his two subordinates, his gaze turning serious.
"So, what are your evolution requirements?"
They were alone in the living room, and Leon was sure no one was eavesdropping on them. It was safe to talk at the moment.
Cassie went first, saying, "I have to cripple ten Tier One beasts and then leave them after that. I have four more beasts to cripple."
Leon was surprised by the difficulty of her requirement, but didn’t dwell too much on it. It wasn’t that hard. It was just to cripple ten Tier One beasts.
’Wait... no, that’s odd. Asking an unranked to cripple ten Tier One?’
Leon’s gaze changed, and he couldn’t help but wonder how powerful Cassie would become once she reached Tier One.
He turned to Fel, gesturing for her to speak. "Mine is a bit... complicated. I have to drain the vitality of a Level 50 Tier One creature and use it to heal someone. I don’t know how that’ll work, though."
"Hmm..." Leon rubbed his chin thoughtfully, equally confused.
He couldn’t understand how the Star Stream expected her to drain the vitality of any creature when her only abilities were healing and a poison ability.
’Perhaps there’ll be an ability for that, and she only needs to get it.’
He sighed. Before departing on this short scouting journey, he needed to see someone first.
So, the four of them headed to a different building in the Core Ring of the camp. This office building was specially dedicated to Gwen, and when they found her, she was buried under a stack of papers.
Her brows were furrowed tightly as she reviewed plans proposed by Nicolas and his assistants concerning the improvement of the camp. She was so busy that she didn’t even notice the guests until thirty minutes later when she finally dropped her pen.
When she saw Leon, her face instantly brightened, and she smiled.
"Since when have you been waiting? You should have just called me."
She immediately gestured for them to sit, leaning forward with an eager expression.
Leon gave a small smile and shook his head, "It would be rude to disturb you. Besides, it’s not like we’re rushing anywhere."
Gwen wanted to insist, but Leon interrupted, his tone serious.
"What do you think about the Resource Wheel?"
Immediately, Gwen’s expression snapped to focus, and she replied, "I’ve reviewed a few resources that were gotten from it yesterday, including the Slime Metal."
She paused, searching for a stack of papers. Soon, she found what she was searching for and handed it to Leon.
"With the first five tries, we can confirm that it’s literally a resources wheel. Raw materials, ore, something similar to crude oil, and several others we can’t identify yet. But it’s undeniable that these resources are nothing to scoff at—especially the Slime Metal."
Leon slowly nodded as he listened, reading through the papers she had given him. They contained details and assumptions the researchers had made about the materials procured.
"What do you have in mind concerning that Slime Metal?" He asked without lifting his gaze.
Tapping the table in a steady rhythm, Gwen replied instantly, "The walls. Our biggest priority in the camp is protection. The current walls are pretty good, but not enough. If we apply the Slime Metal wisely, it should make us capable of defending against Tier One beast tides."
Leon nodded in agreement, glad that their thoughts aligned. Gwen had heard about the mutated beast tide from him, and she had looked into it after arriving here.
In just a few hours, she already deduced the major problems and possible solutions. Leon found himself admiring her foresight.
"The Equipment Wheel. How many draws were you able to use?" He asked, his eyes narrowed.
Pausing her finger on the table, Gwen answered, "We were able to get fifteen items. Six were simply normal utility items—basically magic tools with little relevance for now. But the rest are powerful equipment that are useful. Unfortunately, most can’t be used in combat."
She sighed, looking disappointed. "We were only able to change Miguel’s hammer and Reymond’s sword. As for the rest, they’re either for cooking, or fishing, or farming and repair."
Leon remained silent as he listened to her. Once she was done speaking, he looked at her.
"What about the farm? Was there a Mana Fruit before we moved?"
Gwen nodded. "Yes. We transplanted them here, though, and they’re already working on building a larger farm with the Supreme Shovel."
Leon cringed at the name of that equipment, but nodded nonetheless.
"That’s good. When Marie comes back, you should give the Mana Fruit to her. When another one springs up, you can have it."
Hearing this, Gwen’s eyes brightened, and her brown pupils changed into heart-shapes.
Not wanting to linger too long, Leon found an excuse and escaped her office.
He had a place to reach today.