Everyone Enters the Water Together - 1
The furnace, workshop, warehouse, watchtower, water pump, and even the lab—all the facilities needed for the base level-up were finally complete.
"Finally..."
Facilities made of wood didn't require much effort. The real issue had been the water pump. It needed iron for the pipes. I'd agonized over ripping pipes from the ruins of nearby buildings, but all I got were messages like, 'The material's condition doesn't meet the threshold. You must build a recycling facility.'
Base level has increased!
The base and internal safe zone range have slightly expanded.
New constructible facilities have been unlocked!
From now on, you can assign personnel to facilities to gain experience and bonuses based on the assigned individuals' stats!
"Nice..." I calmly scrolled through the list of new constructible facilities. Some were essential must-builds right away, while others seemed like nice-to-haves.
"...Hm?"
An Sua was gazing at me with eyes brimming with anticipation.
"Master, what should we build next?"
"The most urgent need right now... is the recycling facility."
I hadn't tested it yet, but with that, it seemed like we could haul in scrap from all over the city and put it to use.
"The logging camp doesn't have any special equipment requirements, so we can set that up right away—"
Designate a section as a 'logging camp,' and trees in that area would grow faster, while anyone assigned as a 'lumberjack' would chop them down more efficiently. No actual building required—just zone it off. Better to designate that forest as a logging camp ASAP.
"We need a mine too. For stone and other minerals."
I wasn't dreaming of gold or diamonds, but we needed a stable stone supply, and that meant digging a mine. It felt like suddenly becoming coal miners, which drew a sigh, but it beat wandering mountains with pickaxes.
"We'll have to build a farm eventually. Not right now, but food shortages are coming soon."
We were fine for the moment. But farming doesn't happen overnight. The second supplies ran low, thinking 'Maybe time to start farming?' wouldn't fix it. Even a small plot needed prep now—not starting full farms yet, but laying the groundwork.
"Oh, and apparently we can get electricity too. Though that's a stretch for now."
It'd cost a fortune in electrical parts, copper wire, and steel—or scavenging them. Recycling might help scrounge some locally, so not urgent. Power sources wouldn't be easy either.
"Hmm..."
"A lot, huh? It's okay. We don't have to rush. Let's take it steady, one at a time."
Lots to do, but nothing screaming immediate.
"Besides that... isn't there something more fun?"
"Fun?"
I had no idea what An Sua was hoping for.
"Well... convenience facilities... Oh, we can build a ping-pong court. Gives a minor agility stat boost. Besides that... bathhouse or restaurant?"
"That sounds great!"
An Sua's eyes widened.
"What?"
"The bathhouse! I wanna bathe with you, Master!"
"...Wouldn't the apartment be better?"
Building the base revealed just how insanely overpowered my apartment was. The new base had a safe zone big enough for one building, but the whole apartment complex was a safe zone. Plus, water and power without any setup? Miraculous.
Here, we'd need extra effort just to wash prisoners and secure drinking water.
"That's... nice, but cramped. I wanna soak in the same water more leisurely, bodies all mingled..."
"So that's what you meant."
I roughly ruffled her hair.
"Even aside from that, we need a bathhouse! Soon, those friends we took in before will have to graduate from the apartment, right?"
"True."
It wasn't just her selfish bath fantasy; she had a solid point. Prisoners could wash in streams under my watch, no big deal. But my followers? Different story. Even if it wasn't theirs, getting then losing apartment residency would sour moods. And we couldn't expand the apartment forever. As base facilities grew, we'd need defenders here. Time to move them over—with proper infrastructure.
"Can't do it right away. Gotta build recycling first... Bathhouse needs a ton of stone too? Mine first."
An Sua clenched her fist.
"I'll do my best!"
I stroked her head with a pleased smile.
Time passed.
Two groups of women worked diligently on separate facilities.
Recycling facility completed.
A wood-only build, so it hadn't taken long. But now, piles of scrap awaited judgment there. Women finishing construction tossed in 'maybe useful' junk they'd gathered.
Form severely damaged. Unrecognizable.
"Ugh..."
First try failed. But the second brought good news.
Synthetic fiber acquired. Begin reprocessing?
"Huh?"
I clenched my fist and called the other women over.
"Got it! This works. Great. Figure out what counts as 'official waste' and standardize on that—"
Kim Soi clenched her fist.
"So... we're finally free from that hellish 'vine rope twisting'?"
"Don't know the recycler capacity yet, or how many more facilities we'll need materials for... Might still be tough for a bit."
She hadn't lost her mercenary edge—still chatted with old subordinates here post-liberation. Twisting thread sounded torturous regardless.
"The lab... I'd definitely produce good results there."
Shin Roa wrinkled her nose slightly at the new base's bustle.
"Sorry, busy and tough?"
She ran the apartment's new 'clinic' and old 'library' too.
"I'm fine. Not busy or hard. It's just that you're too strong, Sunwoo, so there's no time I can really help."
She brimmed with confidence, and her skills were proven. Unlocked comics for vicarious thrills, no problem—even lewd manga, novels, videos.
"Then I'll focus on research."
"Real research, or...?"
"It's ancient knowledge info for now. Without my education, even I wouldn't grasp it."
"Hm..."
"No overdoing it. I've never hated studying."
Worried, but they brushed it off laughing.
"Alright... time to mine some stone."
Downtown lacked stone surprisingly. Smashing sidewalks had limits for warehouse/furnace builds. Wagons would still visit, but we couldn't ransack blocks forever. Unlike trees, stone doesn't regrow. Long-term, mine ASAP for bathhouse stone.
Prep was mostly done: deep shaft, cargo elevator (cash only), torches placed.
"I'll head out."
An Sua nodded slightly, overlapping her hand on mine.
"Good luck."
"Of course."
Just finishing touches: tidy entrance, connect warehouse, sort durable vs disposable pickaxes. All while commuting apartments/base daily, hauling food too. No easy feat.
"Still..."
An Sua's cheerful voice echoed in my head. I wouldn't mind lounging in a big bath stargazing with her and the others.
"Time to get started."
I gazed at the nearly finished mine. Back to work.