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

"Can you tell us more?" Otto asked. Although Alterra had encountered a version of the effects back then, the Golds were still in Bleulle at the time.

Not to mention, because it didn't exactly happen in Alterra itself, it simply hadn't been mentioned. The offer in Voumi Town was the first time Otto encountered this substance.

Fos then narrated what (New) Shrao Village experienced back then. Fortunately, in their case, the supply was limited because the items were just stocked by some refugees. Shrao simply brought the problem to Alterra as soon as they could and it was controlled.

He told them of its intense effects, which were much more rabid than what they had seen in Voumi, because the victims at the time were very low-leveled.

"I have heard of addictive plants before, and they were frowned upon, but there are places who use them," Otto said. As a famous merchant in his region, he had heard or encountered more things than others.

"Those are probably similar. This is much more potent because it had been purified and added with some other enhancers we don't know about," Sammy said, recalling that case.

"Anyway, as long as we can control its spread in our area, it shouldn't be much of a problem," the dark-skinned soldier said. "Of course, we'd still try to stop it from spreading because once it does, it'd be like a pandemic."

He then turned to Misha. "Would their effects still be the same with our high levels?"

"It has effects on Hesso, who's well past level 20," Misha said. "So it's safe to assume it can affect anyone below level 30."

Their jaws clenched. If the drug could have some effect on someone with that level, no wonder the lower leveled ones who had been exposed became half-crazy.

"They reached Voumi," Mao said, whistling. "Looks like a group is starting a drug trade in this place."

"Didn't our intelligence network catch wind of this?"

"You realize that a region in Xeno is as big as a country in Terran right?" one said. "Besides, we have just landed in Voumi a few weeks ago, and we've already managed to affect their business."

"This is definitely something Alterra should be aware of."

Misha couldn't help but look at these people.

From Silvia and also from Otto, she knew that the main power behind all of this was Terran—which was already impressive in its own way. However, now they talked about affecting an established Town as if it were a matter of fact?

They were also discussing the territory as a center of power of sorts—one that could make changes around it as it wanted.

Misha had heard about its greatness many times from many people the past few days, but seeing this gave her another perspective.

Anyway, this topic was soon put on pause because they needed the input of the Elders.

The next agenda was the division of 'slaves'. It was already accepted that not everyone would go to Alterra—Alterra didn't really want them all, anyway.

Alterra though, had declared a few names they hoped to keep for themselves. Other than that, it was free rein.

In this case, the associate villages would pay twice as much as whatever they paid to Mafo. Of course, the former slaves would also have the right to choose if they wanted to go with them at all.

After that, Sammy and the others agreed to update the associate territories with vital information about people from this region, as well as the white powder.

Unlike Alterra, whose hospitals were full of incredible experts, the drug might cause them quite a bit of trouble if they detected it too slowly.

When the meeting adjourned and everyone stood up, Otto's eyes fixed on Misha, who seemed to be approaching his direction.

Instead of going to him though, he went straight to Juno. "Can I talk to you?"

Juno blinked before nodding and the two went elsewhere.

Otto frowned as they disappeared into a corner. He thought for a while before attempting to follow, though he was stopped by Mao and Sammy asking a few more questions.

By the time he escaped them, Misha was already queueing up in the weapons store to get her weapons. For the slaves, they had to borrow some money for equipment since they literally had nothing on them.

He cleared her throat as he approached, causing the woman's eyebrows to rise as she looked at him. She then looked at the line behind her before giving him a look.

"Line up properly."

"..."

"What did you and Juno talk about?"

"I asked him to take me to Bright."

Otto's jaw clenched. "You're my recruit. Technically speaking, you're Alterra's."

"Not if my brother's the Lord in his."

"What?" he paused. "Micheal's your brother?"

Because Misha was busy making money from doing odd jobs in Shrao (she refused Otto's help), Otto didn't see her interact much with the Bright Village party.

Misha stared at the man, a bit surprised. "You know him too?"

"Our paths have crossed," he said. The other lord visited Alterra occasionally.

She nodded. "I heard that he went through a lot. I want to see him."

"I'll take you there."

This made her flinch and she looked at him in surprise. "What? There's no need—"

"I'll take you there," he said, this time with a more somber tone. He also gazed at her with deep eyes, ones that could make most women swoon.

Their eyes met, and deeper meanings were exchanged.

Misha's lips twitched. "Fine," she said. "We'll see how it goes."

…

Back in Voumi, several scouts were reporting what they knew to the lord.

"In what direction did they go?"

"North, Milord."

"I see."

"They're really heading to Valov?"

"Well, we'll see."

"Valov is older, richer, and of a higher level than us," another elder said. "Although it is a rumor, I think it also has the backing of a city. Would this cause us problems?"

Well, there wasn't much they could do about that, at least for now. Now that they gained thousands of gold from the elementalist trade, things were temporarily stabilized. They'd need more, however, now that they suffered so much loss in their industry.

Now, they were discussing options to explore to fill up their coffers again. One was to get more subsidiary villages to attack Terran villages and get more slaves. Another…the exploration of a new product.

It was introduced by Hesso to him. Rather, he caught him and his friends being suspicious (they were placed under the radar after their meeting with Otto), and they were forced to share it. They even showed its potential with their own bodies.

"I like this," he said, sniffing a bit more of powder. At his level, it had mild effects but was still very enjoyable. It was like consuming sugar, but more intense.

At the same time, this meant he could consume a lot more, so he knew he'd require a lot more. "Where is this from anyway? Find a way to secure it."

"It won't be easy, Valov Town seems to be interested as well."

"What?"

"According to the merchants they're also buying in bulk!"

At this, one of the elders slapped the table. "It's how those merchants were so arrogant! They had the Valov Town's backing?"

It was cheaper than sugar, too! How good it was! If they sold it elsewhere, they'd be able to sell it for such a high amount! Who needed their old industry!

Although it might be too early to say it now, but he had a feeling that whoever monopolized this resource would soon gain great power—much like how those cities with specialized products gained theirs.

Mafo's eyes sharpened. He was determined that he and his Voumi Town would be next!