My 100th Rebirth a day before the Apocalypse - Chapter 492

Chapter 492: Chapter 492 Checking The Site
“We should go inspect the location together,” Tristan suggested. “Once we see it, we can decide how to transform the space into a fully functional workshop and figure out the logistics.”

Aston nodded in agreement. “You know, that’s exactly what the City Lord suggested as well. Looks like we’re all on the same page. And you’re probably right—if the City Lord hasn’t mentioned anything about the materials, she might already have what we need.” He gave a satisfied nod, feeling more confident in their plan.

What Aston didn’t realize was that Kisha had forgotten to mention one crucial detail.

Fortunately, she had received some valuable steel, but those materials were far too precious to be used by the artisans for practice.

Given their current skill levels, they might not even be able to smelt or properly utilize such high-quality steel.

Additionally, Kisha had already made plans for those materials, keeping their potential use reserved for a more important purpose.

After discussing the matter further, Tristan set aside the document signing and joined Aston as planned to visit the site for the new workshop.

Fortunately, the northern wall’s expansion in that area had already been completed some time ago, and the space had been cleared out.

However, since it was still relatively new and untouched, the area felt a bit desolate, with only a few soldiers stationed on the wall and some warriors on patrol nearby.

In the area, there was a closed-off marketplace that resembled a mall, with five floors excluding the underground garage.

Fortunately, Kisha and the others had already cleared the space of zombies, leaving only minimal cleaning to be done.

Despite the place being relatively untouched, several items and shelves remained, left by the previous occupants, and many of them still seemed usable.

The marketplace had already been sectioned off, making it easier to allocate space for the artisans.

Tristan and Aston decided to assign each floor to two or three groups with complementary skills, ensuring that their work wouldn’t interfere, even if they were neighbors on the same floor.

The first floor was designated for food-related artisans, while the second floor was set aside for blacksmiths, jewelers, engravers, and transcribers.

The third floor was designated for construction-related artisans, such as builders, carpenters, and more, while the remaining artisans were allocated to the fourth floor.

The building was vast, offering plenty of room, but there was one major issue: the electricity no longer worked.

They would either need to rely on generators or climb the stairs manually.

However, the real challenge would be how they managed to work efficiently without proper power, especially considering that artisan-type awakened ability users typically lacked the enhanced physical capabilities of defense and offense-type superhumans.

This would make their tasks far more difficult, as they were not as physically strong and would likely struggle with the demands of the work.

The main issue now was how to transport materials to the upper floors, given the artisans’ lack of physical strength.

The only viable option was the stairs, as the elevators were non-functional without electricity.

If they wanted to restore power to the building, they’d need to use a generator.

However, given the building’s vast size, the generator would require a significant amount of gasoline.

This posed a problem, as Duke and his team had already raided all the gasoline stations in the city, draining their supplies.

Half of that gasoline had already been used to blow up the sewers, leaving them with limited reserves.

The current gasoline stock was carefully rationed, as it was already being used for essential operations, like powering the City Lord’s villa, the central hall, the Supply Center, and various offices, as well as fueling the trucks used for supply runs.

Now that the problem was clearly identified, Tristan and Aston had to come up with a solution.

Unfortunately, there were no larger buildings nearby that could be repurposed into a workshop.

Their only alternative would be to allocate multiple smaller buildings for different types of artisan work, which wasn’t ideal.

Despite the expansion of their territory, they had to use the available space wisely, as they still had to accommodate the future influx of survivors.

Every decision regarding space allocation would need to be strategic and long-term.

“How about we set up a pulley system outside the building to deliver materials to each floor?” Aston suggested suddenly, his gaze drifting to the window.

He noticed a balcony just outside where someone could easily stand to wait for deliveries.

Beyond that, he saw the perfect spot to install the pulley system. It seemed like a simple yet effective solution.

“That’s a solid idea,” Tristan agreed, nodding thoughtfully.

“But we’ll need to ensure the pulley system is sturdy enough to handle hundreds, if not thousands, of kilograms of supplies up to the fourth floor.” He paused, glancing outside as well. “As for lighting, we can use candles or oil lamps—those won’t drain our gasoline reserves, so that’s one less issue to worry about.”

Aston hesitated for a moment, then clarified, “I was thinking we could use the crane’s structure to support the weight, but instead of actually lifting the supplies with the crane, we could rig it to hold the load in place while a manual pulley system does the lifting. Essentially, the crane would just act as a frame to distribute the weight safely, without using its lifting mechanism.”

Tristan paused, considering the idea. “So, the crane’s just there for structural support, and the manual pulley would do all the heavy lifting? That might work,” he said, his tone thoughtful.

“If we’re going to set up a pulley system, we’ll need a solid foundation for the wheel. We could park the crane beside the building; we wouldn’t need to operate it, just use its sturdy hook and frame as the anchor.” Aston paused as he looked at a specific location where he thought the crane would be positioned.

“Then, we can have a strong superhuman pull the pulley system up. However, it could get cumbersome, so it might be best to create a delivery schedule. That way, we can rotate the task among a few people, spreading out the workload.”

“Well, that’s our best option for now, unless we manage to fix the electricity issue at the base,” Tristan nodded, thoughtfully considering Aston’s suggestion.

It was a practical solution for the time being. “It’s a solid plan. Now, the next step is figuring out who wants to work under us and who prefers to go solo,” he added, scanning the area as if waiting for further input.

“About that, I’ll need to have a conversation with them,” Aston said, pulling out a small notebook and readying himself to take notes.

“But I’m not sure how to explain the material distribution… or the help they’ll get if they choose to go solo.”

Tristan didn’t seem bothered by the question, despite the constant stream of inquiries.

He leaned back, considering the situation. “It’s simple enough,” he replied thoughtfully.

“You can explain that while working under us means shared resources and a guaranteed supply of materials, those who go solo will have more freedom but will need to handle their own supply needs.”

“Make it clear that going solo comes with more responsibility, but they won’t be left completely unsupported—they’ll still have access to some resources, just less consistency.”