After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World - Chapter 261

Chapter 261: Altera Gardens
Melissa’s feet moved on its own, her eyes fixed on the details of the bridge.

The bridge was wide and spacious, with its railings made from carved wood and stone. The sides weren’t boringly straight either. There were some overhangs with seating, so people could take a rest, relax, and look over the river without disrupting traffic.

Melissa couldn’t help but sit on one of these seats. It was a bit curved and comfortable to sit on despite it being stone and wood. She looked behind her to see the lovely river, along with the forests and buildings that abutted it, as if serving as its frame.

What was most impressive was how long the bridge was. After all, the river was not just a few meters wide!

“This is amazing, did you guys build this in a few days?”

“Well, a hundred people worked on this, one of which was an earth-metal elementalist, so it wasn’t impossible. The pay and contribution were very generous.”

“Amazing…”

They soon reached their destination, and he took her to the still-closed Altera Gardens, which was set to be a tourist spot in the territory.

It was planned to open within a few days but, as one of the Elders, he was allowed to go in without problems.

“My boss requested for a lot of fields to be built here, and she planted different flowers and plants instead like the gardens before, but much more detailed. She got a lot of contribution points for helping the territory build this.”

He told Melissa of some experiences and challenges they encountered as they walked and appreciated the features as they did so.

There were various earthenware sculptures and plant arrangements, beautiful gazebos, benches, and picnic places. Eugene just knew this would be a popular destination for everyone.

In fact, this was still far from what Boss had planned for this area. In her plans, there were fountains, artificial waterfalls, greenhouses, arcades, topiaries, and the like, which were scheduled after the level-up.

Eugene remembered asking Althea why she chose to develop areas like this when there was still so much to be built.

‘Spirit’. She had told him back then, ‘People need to feed their spirits, too.’

Looking at Melissa’s pretty eyes and looking around happily, he now understood what she meant.

The Boss also said that when the area of the territory expanded, as well as local rubber finally finishing development, courts would soon be added to several parks in the territory.

In this way, people of all types could really enjoy the space.

They walked around the luxury area first, and they went past the bathhouse towards the special villa areas.

The villas here were also very beautiful. Functionally, it had a similar concept to farmvillas, but there were two villas to share a farm. A house also had more intricate decorations and with flowers planted inside.

It was a dream house to all.

Melissa silently took note of the area and placed it in her heart. This was so she could visualize living there someday. Of course, this could just be a dream, but it didn’t matter.

After all, she hadn’t had a dream for a long, long, time.

…

The two found a place to sit on the turf near the mouth of the river. They stared at the clean water flowing endlessly, perhaps towards an even bigger world they had yet to explore.

In this line of thought… “I wonder where these waters have passed? How wide… is the world out there?” Melissa mumbled absent-mindedly, and Eugene couldn’t help but look at her deeply.

They were surrounded by the vitality of plants and nature. Suddenly they felt… that they didn’t have to be so afraid.

They were so little compared to the big world, why did they have to act like they carried all its weight?

Melissa couldn’t help but look at his metallic leg, manually bent to a sitting position by hand.

“You must’ve gone through a lot,” She said, eyes incredibly soft as she looked at him. The last news she had of him was that he entered the mandatory military service, and she thought he’d do great and come out with lots of medals.

Who would’ve thought…

“Yes.” Eugene looked at the beautiful woman whose skin had turned yellow and whose flesh had become bones. She used to have a very healthy complexion. He felt heartbroken at what she had become. “You, too.”

They were silent for a while as if wondering whether to tell the other about what they had gone through.

It was just that the beautiful surroundings relaxed their souls, making them want to lay bare and open up to the other.

And they did.

By the time they already told their experiences since their life paths separated, the two were already teary-eyed.

Melissa wiped her tears with her hands. “In fact, staying in Vismont feels… burdensome.” She told him, “I knew how much suffering Higson had done, and it could’ve been avoided if my Brother didn’t have to think of me every time…”

Eugene sighed, his hand pausing as it hovered an inch above her shoulder.

Eugene could not touch Melissa now—even in comfort—without feeling heavy at Mina’s and his lost child’s memories. However, he still wanted to tell her it would be okay.

“Who’s to say things wouldn’t have been worse without you? At least you have family.” Eugene said, looking into her eyes with a warm smile, “No matter what, everything is fine now.”

She paused and met his eyes, and her heart filled a bit.

“Yes,” she said, “The future is bright.”

It would be such a pity to waste it, wallowing in sadness as she had been doing for so long.

Her soft eyes hardened a bit as a thought came over her.

.

.

.

Half an hour later.

“Are you sure about this?” Eugene asked Melissa, who was looking at the two-story village center with determination.

For the first time in her life, Melissa just wanted to be a little impulsive.

She wanted to buy a house here, no matter what.

She gripped the scores of gold coins her brother gave her—no longer pocket money, but already half of his personal savings.

She couldn’t afford the house, but she could afford its downpayment. The terms were fair and doable and she didn’t want to miss it.

Anyway, although she had made a series of bad decisions in her youth, she was still counted as a smart girl back in the day. She still knew what a good investment was when she saw one.

She wouldn’t regret it. She would pay her brother back in the future, she swore. She was not an invalid. She could take care of herself.

She stood in front of the platform with a strongly beating heart, feeling as if she’d done something rebellious.

She had never done anything rebellious.

Not to mention, the ‘authority figure’ happened to be her little brother.

She heaved a sigh and looked at the screen. [Would you like to purchase Permanent Residency for 10 gold?]

Yes.

[Permanent Residency, Received! -10 Gold]

Then she clicked around to look at the residences. Her dainty fingers hovered over it for a while, before she hardened her resolve again, and pressed ‘Yes’ to the purchase.

[Downpayment Paid! -20 Gold

[Please pay 8 Gold every month for 12 months.

[Penalty: Compounding Interest 2% per month delay]

With this, Melissa successfully became the 10000th transaction in the Village Center—triggering its upgrade.