After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World - Chapter 1616

Chapter 1616: Various Distractions

Anyway, that was not within his options at this time. He had considered sending Posts, actually, but that damned Felipe was very strict.

Felipe…was pretty much the acting Lord now, though no one—especially the Lord—seemed to notice. It was probably because these people hadn’t seen puppet governments before.

In any case, Felipe watched every outside interaction like a hawk. After all, with what they had, a premature slip could literally attract several swords straight at them.

So, unless he was certain about what to do next, he did not dare contact people in Alterra or Ferrol lest it alert Felipe of their existence. With his growing connections, he could end up planting people there, and it might get dangerous for the Terran slaves from this side.

Anyway, he pushed those thoughts away for now, focusing on the task at hand: Getting these three away from the eyes of others. They left the building, with the three following after him.

The reason why one of the requirements was mobility was precisely because…they had to quickly disappear.

Sadly, while they tried to keep up with him, they had physical limitations, and Gian had no choice but to slow down so they wouldn’t get left behind.

As they walked to their destination, he was silent, not really caring for their stories. Caring too much would get him too invested, and he was more objective without it.

Further, his attention was sharp, looking around for threats or any signs that anyone was following them. Buying off slaves continuously was naturally suspicious and could make him a target of greedy people who wanted gold and slaves.

This was why he had to use his disguise skills—learned from his time as a soldier—to pick up batches of slaves in rotation. He also chose different slave markets every couple of weeks.

He also had ready coats to cover whoever he bought. They were naturally easy to detect because of their unusual appearances, after all.

They passed by an alley with coats and then started moving erratically again. The slaves did their best to catch up until the new master stopped once more.

“Wait here,” he told them, asking them to stay put in one of the alleys. He then used his flame to create a distraction—i.e. a torch becoming too strong so they would lose whoever was following them, if there were any.

The three were very confused, and they were in pain, but as slaves, they could only follow.

They entered the alleyways and made a few more turns, watching their backs just in case. Gian continued adding various distractions here and there just to be safe.

Soon, they entered a residential area with a narrow street serving two lines of houses. It was one of the ‘poorer’ residential areas, ranked just above the actual slums. It was placed right next to it, too.

The group entered one of the inconspicuous doors, with the ‘slaves’ granted access to as they entered.

The three gaped a bit, overwhelmed, when about a dozen other people greeted them as soon as they entered.

They had various expressions on their faces and, after checking each of them out, their hopeful expression morphed to disappointment.

“Ah, it’s not someone I know either…”

“It is the same with me…”

“Not everyone was as lucky as this guy,” another said, looking in the direction of a couple sitting at a corner, leaning on each other.

“I wish they’re not so lovey-dovey…”

“If you find your wife, you’d be worse.”

“Perhaps in the next batch, the master would choose the same slave market…”

“Yes, I heard it’s about time to rotate in the next batch…”

“This…”

“I hope I can be part of the next batch of oath takers. I want to see the town again, and perhaps assist in looking for other slaves…”

For the safety of the operation, Gian naturally did not allow the new ‘slaves’ out. One, they could be recognized easily, and another, they hadn’t taken the oath in the Center yet, so they were not bound exclusively to him yet.

He also put those above level 10 as a priority to take oaths. One, they’d be more useful assistants, and another, they would do more damage to the other ‘slaves’ if they were found and ordered by someone more powerful than him.

In any case, the newcomers were weak and tired, especially after trying to follow the master. They weren’t quite sure what to make of the ongoing conversation, either.

They also noticed how everyone except the master also had something ‘wrong’ with them. Many were scarred, limping, and someone even lacked an arm. Somehow, they had a feeling they were like them, except their states were somehow better.

“Come now, give them space,” she said. “You know the master chooses randomly. We cannot make requests nor would he go out of his way for any of us. It is also for everyone’s safety.”

The newcomers were in a daze, only pulled to the present by the woman’s gentle voice. The gentleness took the three newcomers aback. It had been a long time since they felt this.

As she approached, one could see she had a very bad limp, almost as if she would fall down to her side with every movement that she made.

They were gently led to the sofa by a middle-aged woman with a gentle smile, shooing away a few people hanging around there. They grumbled though they stood by, as if curious about them, which made the newcomers so much more self-conscious.

“My name is Maria,” she said. “What is yours?”

They gaped and weren’t able to answer immediately. After all, they hadn’t been able to have a proper conversation with others for a while.

Maria was not surprised, and she was patient. “The man who bought you is called Gian,” she said. “He is technically our master, but he has never given us orders except to take care of our own needs and not to betray him, especially not to let outsiders know where we live and what we’re doing.”

“Who…” Who is he? They couldn’t help but ask, looking in the direction the man had disappeared to.

“He’s a soldier from the Eden Country. He has been slowly trying to get many of us back.”

Eden country. A soldier.

That was quite a far place in Terran from theirs. After all this time, they knew that most people in the North were from their own continent. What was he doing all the way here?