After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World - Chapter 957

Chapter 957: New Arrivals

While the family headed back to their villa, a new caravan had arrived. This one came from Bright Village, a consistent partner of Alterra.

A lot of the people immediately headed to their target places as soon as they went past the threshold. Whether it was towards the supermarket, the clothing stores, the marketplaces, and the like—hoards of people rushed towards their shops, afraid that the stocks would run out.

It wasn’t the first time it happened!

In contrast, the new faces were left standing in the middle of the wide sidewalk in awe.

This was Hana, Atlas, Tim, and Tilda. It was only them in their group, the rest of them decided to stay in Bright Village, which seemed like a very good place already anyway.

There were also those, like Laos, who stayed because they didn’t want to be near Tilda at all.

It wasn’t easy for the four of them to join the caravan though. In hopes of increasing his own population, Micheal had added a tax and payment for the non-citizens who came along with the caravan.

They would also pay a bond twice that amount, which the territory would keep in case they decided not to come back to Bright and settle in Alterra.

This discouraged most of the refugees who were poor and had just enough to survive day to day.

However, this was not the case with Hana and the others.

It wasn’t that they had plenty of money, but they did have reasons to gamble much of their remaining money to get here.

After gathering himself, Atlas took a deep breath and prepared to head out as well. He looked at his former companions. “Well, this is where we part.”

This made the others flinch, especially Tilda who looked at him with a betrayed expression on her face.

“Why? Are you going to leave us?” she asked. Atlas almost rolled his eyes.

“You tagged along with me to get to safety. I allowed it. Now we’re safe, do you still hope for me to carry you?”

“That’s not what I mean—”

“Also, Tilda, don’t forget that no one would want you in their team—especially not after what you’ve done,” he said, looking at Tim, who seemed embarrassed for his sister. “You’re lucky to have a good brother, but even good people have their limits.”

He walked over to Tim and patted his shoulder. With a low voice, he gave the other man the last advice he’d give to him. “Sometimes, the hardest—but wisest—thing you can do is to walk away from those who harm you, even if they are related by blood.”

He walked away then and they could only watch as he disappeared deeper into the territory.

Tilda wanted to follow but was held back by her brother. She whipped her head to glare at him, eyes a bit teary. “Why didn’t you stop him?!”

Tim shook his head. “Didn’t you see? He has a direction. He probably found his relatives.”

Back in Bright, they went around after renting a bedspace in the dormitory. They all found something interesting, and most of it had to do with the ‘master’ village called Alterra.

The siblings just heard of the place’s amazingness and they wanted to see it. On the other hand, Atlas found leads to people he wanted to find.

At the time, he was asking around and dropping names, hoping to get some information. With his background as a former police officer, he naturally managed to get a lot of information.

For one, Alterra was worth the risk and he was seriously considering going there instead. The fact that the territory imposed a high tax and bond on those leaving for Alterra meant people were likely to stay there when they were given a chance.

He was already planning to say goodbye to the ‘team’, never really thinking he’d stay with them forever. After all, they—with a few exemptions—had just depended on him for guidance and a little protection and he was glad to let go of the burdens.

Unexpectedly, a guard approached him at some point. He was apparently called by the lord himself. He was confused at first, and he just thought perhaps the man wanted to hire him. The lord of their former territory wasn’t very secretive so they knew a lot of their capabilities as Lords.

For one, they knew lords could see what was in their wallets, what their potential was, as well as their professions and elements. It was extremely intrusive, but what could they do?

He went with the guard for formality, though he might consider staying if the offer was good and if he could get information about his loved ones somehow.

He arrived the see a striking man with blonde hair, and his instincts told him he had blood in his hands. He was clean and a bit intimidating, and Atlas wasn’t sure what to expect.

Instead of a hiring notice though, he was asked a question that shook his core: “Do you know of an Artie Cruz?”

Atlas flinched, looking around. His eyes brightened a bit at this, and his heart hopeful. “Yes, he’s my brother.”

Micheal didn’t answer for a while, the pause causing Atlas’s heart to clench. However, his mind refused to go in a bad direction. “Where… is he?”

“He’s not here,” he said, straight to the point. “He’s no longer here.

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

“W-What?”

“For what it’s worth… he died trying to save people,” he said, standing up to pat the man’s shoulder. “He also lived honorably even if life was hard. You should be proud.”

Atlas’s ears rang for a long time, still absorbing the fact that his brother was no longer there.

The lord here apologized to him himself, telling him everything that he knew, which should’ve been flattering, but he was still reeling from the news of his brother’s death the whole time.

His little brother who followed him to the police academy because he admired him so much—

To be honest, it was too much of a shock that he couldn’t even mourn.

“His former team is in Alterra, and he gave a lot of importance to them, and they to him,” Micheal said. “I’ll waive the caravan fees for you if you want to see them yourself.”

Atlas didn’t even need to think. He nodded and went away without turning back—desperate to meet the people who had known his brother before he died.

At the very least, he wanted to know how his brother truly lived during the last months of his life!