My 100th Rebirth a day before the Apocalypse - Chapter 948

Capítulo 948: Chapter 946 Rakan’s Awakening 4

He had just arrived, his hands freshly washed with soap, and happened to overhear the warm exchange between his old wife and his grandson-in-law. The sight amused him, though he tried to act stern, pretending to be dissatisfied as he crossed his arms and pouted like a sulking child.

Of course, Grandma Aldens saw right through him. With a playful smile, she gave his shin a light kick under the table. “Oh, stop it, you old man,” she said, shaking her head in mock exasperation.

Because of their playful exchange, everyone burst into laughter, and the atmosphere around the table grew lighter and more cheerful. As the feast began, the earlier hesitation and shyness melted away, replaced by warm smiles and the comforting sound of chatter.

Duke, as always, devoted his attention to Kisha, making sure she had everything she needed, peeling shrimp for her, and filling her plate with her favorite dishes. Seeing this, Grandpa Aldens seemed to take it as a silent challenge.

With a determined grin, he began doing the same for his wife, peeling shrimp, deboning fish, ladling soup into her bowl, even shelling clams and mussels one by one.

Grandma Aldens, of course, happily accepted his fussing and enjoyed every bite, her heart full as she watched her family and the other survivors eat to their heart’s content. After so many days of hunger and hardship, the warmth of that shared meal felt like a true blessing.

After the meal, Kisha and Duke immediately headed back to the meeting room to check on Rakan. Fortunately, before leaving earlier, Duke had covered Rakan with several layers of ‘Ice Shards’ to keep his body temperature stable while they were away. When they returned, however, the ice had already melted, and cold water had soaked through Rakan’s clothes.

Duke shook his head with a quiet sigh, but before he could say anything, Kisha lifted her hand. Using her ‘Telekinesis’ ability, she gently drew the icy water out of Rakan’s clothes, making sure he wouldn’t catch a chill from being damp for too long.

Watching her, Duke arched a brow, realizing his earlier worry had been unnecessary. A faint smile curved his lips as he murmured, “My wife really is the best,” before leaning in to steal a quick kiss.

Kisha let out a playful snort, pushing his face away lightly, though not quite enough to make him stop.

Before Duke could do anything else, Kisha pulled a mattress from her inventory and, with her awakened ability, gently lifted Rakan’s entire body into the air before placing him on it. Sleeping on the cold floor would only make him uncomfortable, and when he woke up, he’d surely have a sore back.

Since she wanted Rakan to recover in the best condition possible after awakening, it was only right to give him a more comfortable resting place. She realized she should have done this earlier, but better late than never.

Still, despite reassuring herself, Kisha couldn’t help feeling a little embarrassed for overlooking such a simple thing. To make up for it, she carefully tucked a soft pillow beneath Rakan’s head while the floating ‘Ice Shards’ hovered protectively above him, trailing after his body like bees.

And so after settling Rakan, Duke gently pulled Kisha onto his lap again as they began reviewing their work progress through Kisha’s territory interface. Each of them opened their own set of windows.

Kisha focused on monitoring the development of various projects around HOPE Base, particularly the relocation of the new lab and the construction of the children’s school.

Meanwhile, Duke checked the progress of the Biogas Project, wanting to see whether Hugo and his team remained as dedicated in his absence or if they had started slacking off, thinking that without direct supervision, they could get away with giving less than their best.

In this way, Duke could observe whether Hugo and his team were truly worth nurturing into capable subordinates who could handle greater responsibilities, or if they were better suited for minor tasks.

In other words, he wanted to see whether they deserved promotion or should remain at the lower ranks of the hierarchy. He was genuinely curious; so far, Hugo and his team had performed well on the project, and Duke had nothing negative to say about their work ethic.

They were hardworking and accustomed to physical labor, but Duke knew better than to place blind trust in anyone. Human nature was fickle, and experience had taught him, and especially Kisha, how dangerous betrayal could be.

Because of her past lives and her deep aversion to disloyalty, Duke made it a point to remain vigilant, ensuring that no hidden threats could endanger his wife or their families.

Using Kisha’s territory interface, Duke watched Hugo and his team working within the territory space; it felt almost like watching a live feed. Then, one of the men in Hugo’s group suddenly grumbled, “Brother Hugo, we’ve been working on this biogas project for so long that I’ve completely lost track of time.”

“Can’t we at least have a rest day? I mean, isn’t it normal to have days off when we work? You know… work-life balance?”

The man let out an awkward chuckle, as if trying to pass it off as a joke, though his tone betrayed genuine curiosity. It was clear he wanted to gauge Hugo’s reaction. After all, Hugo was their leader; depending on his stance, the man would know whether he could push the idea further or not.

He was the youngest in the group, still clinging to fragments of the world before the apocalypse. Perhaps the comfort and safety of City A’s Base had made him complacent, letting him forget the harsh reality they now lived in.

He seemed to think that as long as Hugo spoke to Duke and Kisha, they might be granted some sort of reward, maybe even proper rest days like before.

Duke raised an eyebrow, not because he opposed the idea of a rest day, but because it wasn’t as if they were being overworked in the first place. Inside the territory space, time flowed differently, and everyone was already given ample rest.

He wasn’t strict about schedules either; if someone was exhausted, they could take an afternoon nap without question.

Aside from aligning the pipes, making and moving the compost bins, and occasionally moving materials, their tasks weren’t exactly labor-intensive. The work required effort, yes, but compared to Hugo and the others’ previous jobs at the pier, it was nothing alike.

Back then, their veins would bulge from hauling heavy cargo under the sun all day, and their so-called “days off” were spent sleeping or washing clothes. If they were lucky, they might squeeze in a grocery run or a quick movie before going back to work.

Now, they had clean sleeping quarters, proper meals from the cafeteria, and even time to chat with their families, a life far better than before the apocalypse. It wasn’t that Duke was belittling their past struggles; if anything, he respected them deeply.

But as someone who once managed a multibillion-dollar consortium, he understood both sides, the workers’ fatigue and the discipline needed to keep progress moving.

Still, Duke remained silent. He wanted to see how Hugo would respond. After all, just as the young man thought, Hugo was their team’s representative; his words would reflect the group as a whole. If even Hugo began to entertain the idea of taking more rest days, it would mean that the ease of their new life was starting to make them complacent.

Duke knew from experience that once a leader starts stepping back, it becomes a habit, one retreat leading to another until control slips away entirely. What he needed in his subordinates wasn’t just loyalty or blind trust; he needed people who understood their place and the weight of their responsibilities.

The biogas project wasn’t a casual task; it was vital to ensuring a stable and abundant power supply for the entire base. Duke had made that clear from the start. So until the project was complete, any thought of slacking off needed to be purged from their minds.

He required subordinates who were disciplined, dedicated, and driven, those capable of helping him and Kisha push the base to greater heights.

His gaze sharpened as he stared at Hugo on the screen, watching the man hunch over a set of pipes, carefully checking the connected valve to make sure it was fitted and sealed properly.

It seemed even Hugo was checking to make sure no one was slacking off. He was doing a routine inspection of the work quality, and seeing that, Duke smiled faintly but said nothing. He simply watched as Hugo straightened his back and stretched, patting his waist to ease the soreness from hunching too long.

“Kid, what are you talking about?” Hugo said, his tone laced with mild disbelief. “Haven’t you been sleeping enough? Every morning before we start work, we wake up naturally, no alarms, no bosses breathing down our necks, no threat of getting our pay docked for being late.”

“We’re not hauling heavy cargo for every penny we earn anymore. So tell me, what do you even need a day off for, huh?”

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