New People

Apparently, Nakami woke up when the lights fell, but he didn't get up to investigate as he knew that more people were coming. He decided to continue sleeping and would check on them later when he woke up.

Nakami checked his phone upon waking up, but it was only a daily update for his E. As he opened the map function, Nakami hoped to locate the groups that had arrived the previous night.

[ 580 earned. 1420E left]

When he checked the map earlier, he found it could locate the newcomers, but it only showed blue dots on the map with limited details about them. Surprisingly, most of the dots were located near the river, which was quite far from his location, but there were four dots clumped together at the spring. Nakami planned to visit the spring right after breakfast.

During breakfast, Nakami warned the girls that there might be new people coming to live here today. He advised them to be more careful and vigilant and prioritize their safety. Most importantly, he emphasized that they should not reveal their enhanced skills to others.

Before leaving, Nakami upgraded most of the buildings in his base, including the stone walls surrounding it. Surprisingly, it didn't cost him as much as he had expected; in fact, it only cost him 200E to upgrade everything.

Previously, the buildings were merely sturdy and practical, but now they are more stable, smooth, and, most importantly, most of them are equipped with water pipe systems, while their air ventilation has been fixed.

"I guess I need to learn much faster to reduce the usage of E," Nakami thought as he prepared to leave the base with his cart.

On his way there, Nakami spent more E to learn about automotive and electric engineering. Currently, he was paddling the cart to move it, although it was aided by a simple electric motor, it was still not sufficient. While he could have upgraded it, he wanted to learn more about these topics first.

[ 100E used. 1120E left]

It was still pitch black outside when Nakami arrived at the cluster of dots near the spring. To his shock, he found a bunch of wailing children surrounded by their weeping parents. Upon closer inspection, Nakami realized that the four dots he'd spotted earlier were all part of the same family!

Nakami took a closer look at the group and quickly realized that they were all Caucasians. But that wasn't the most interesting part, the daughter was sporting an anime character shirt that Nakami instantly recognized. He knew that shirt was all the rage back in 2020.

As Nakami glanced around, he saw that the others were decked out in hiking gear, complete with sturdy boots and backpacks. The contrast between their attire and the daughter's shirt was stark and puzzling.

Nakami edged closer to the group, coughing to announce his presence. "Hey there," he called out, hoping not to spook them.

"Who the hell are you? Show yourself!" barked the father of the family, his eyes darting around nervously.

Nakami realized that he still had [Night Stalker] activated, so he quickly pointed his flashlight to the ground to indicate his position and disarm their suspicion.

"Sorry for the scare. I'm Nakami, and I've been living here for a few weeks now. We need to find a safer place to chat. Your kids can hitch a ride in my cart over there if you want," Nakami offered, gesturing to the nearby cart hidden behind the bushes.

To Nakami's surprise, the family immediately trusted him and followed him to his cart without question. Their children seemed completely at ease, which helped to put the parents at ease as well.

As they walked, the family chatted with Nakami and shared their names and story. Adam Smith was in his early 40s, while his wife Norah was in her mid-30s. Their son, Charles, was 12 years old, and their daughter, Lily, was just a little tyke.

They had been camping on a mountain they had climbed together when an earthquake hit, destroying their campsite. They all heard a mysterious voice telling them that they had been given a second chance at life, so Adam convinced them to take it. And now, here they were.

As they entered the base, Nakami could see the awe in their eyes as they marveled at the size and strength of the buildings and walls. He had called Alice earlier to let her know they were coming, and she was waiting to open the gate for them. Nakami was curious about the magical device they had brought to this world, but it turned out they only had a mini smart television they had brought with them on their camping trip.

Nakami found it strange that they shared the same device, but he decided to let Alice explain everything to them later. For now, he entrusted Alice with handling the newcomers while Sarah would be spending time with the younger members of the group, teaching them and making new friends.

Alice had taken care of their guests, providing them with food and water to enjoy in the dining area. Nakami couldn't join them, as he had to start working on a new building for the incoming group of people. He had already prepared a living area for the newcomers, an empty plot of land next to the farms on the edge of the base that he had acquired when he expanded the outer walls.

Using his alchemy skills, Nakami constructed a magnificent three-story condominium with wooden and stone pillars. Each room boasted its own windows and was fully furnished with a bed, sheets, wardrobe, and ceiling lamps powered by a main generator.

There were 5 family rooms and fifteen smaller rooms for single occupants. The family rooms featured one master bedroom and two smaller rooms for children. Although there were no kitchens or bathrooms, Nakami had provided outdoor facilities. For safety, Nakami kept duplicate keys for each room.

[100E used, 1020E left]

It was almost 10AM and Nakami called a meeting with Adam and Norah to go over the rules of the base. He seemed nice, but Nakami was strict about keeping everyone safe from harm. Adam quickly volunteered to do heavy work in the forge, while Norah would focus on farming and teaching their kids to help with lighter tasks. The base had both plant and animal farms, and it was clear that Sarah couldn't handle everything on her own.

Nakami set out to gather the newcomers once again, using the map function to track their movements. Much to his surprise, only three dots were left on the map, and they appeared to be working together at the river near the rabbit habitat he discovered the day before.

"Looks like they're building their settlement together now," Nakami mused.

Nakami spent 100E to learn about water piping systems and related technology during his journey. The current manual water transfer system was inefficient, so he knew he needed to create a functional water pump to streamline the process.

[ 100E used. 920E left ]

Nakami spent some extra time on his journey to the rabbit habitat, gathering edible plants to bring back to Sarah for processing. Although she seemed to enjoy making medicine, Nakami knew it was a meticulous process that required precision and attention to detail. He'd leave the medicine-making to Sarah and focus on other tasks for now.

Noon arrived as Nakami made his way to the location, only to be taken aback by the sight of two well-made, thatched huts standing before him. They were identical to the ones he had built before. Upon checking his map, he discovered that only one person was present inside the hut, while the other two had moved to a location not far from there.

"Hello, anyone in there?" Nakami called out in a calm tone, not wanting to startle whoever might be inside.

He waited patiently for a minute until the door made of leaves rustled and a person emerged from the hut.

"Hello there, who are you and what brings you to this place?" asked the woman in a calm and collected tone.

Nakami was surprised by the woman's outfit. She was dressed like a teacher from the old Chinese dynasty, which made her seem out of place in the wilderness. Though she appeared to be around the same age as him, she had an air of dignity that made Nakami feel like he was in the presence of someone important.

He couldn't help but wonder how she had managed to construct the huts, as she didn't seem like someone who could handle physical labor.

"Hey, I'm Nakami. I've been living here for a couple of weeks now, and my place is not far from here. So I just came here to visit. These huts look amazing!" Nakami's words sounded a bit fake and forced, but he tried his best to be friendly.

"Wow, I never expected such awkwardness! Sorry if I'm not trying to insult you or anything, it's just fascinating to me. My name is Liu Wenwen, and I used to be a royal teacher in the old kingdom of China. I know we come from different eras - you from the future and I from the past," says Wenwen calmly, gesturing for Nakami to follow her as she looks for the other two.

"Eh, she seemed to be smart and most importantly very calm. Lets see how this goes." thought Nakami though trying to act poker face.

"Hoho, you would so surprised when you see the other two."