"I suppose I should say thank you for the meal, Major," I thank her before placing the provided ration into my Inventory for later consumption. Or maybe not. I should not eat anything I have not prepared myself.
It is much safer that way, as getting poisoned is going to be a pain in the ass.
Since I have my gasmask on, I cannot eat or drink anything without revealing my identity, and I prefer not to reveal it to the Major just yet. There is no point in doing so at the moment, and it will not be on her terms.
The Major eyes me for a moment before nodding and left me to my own devices. She joins her soldiers in a corner of the chamber for debriefing and future planning. Since I am not invited to the party, I can only assume that I am unwanted.
No biggie, as she will be begging for my help one day in the future. It had happened before, and it will happen again in this new timeline.
Since I have free time at the moment, I decide to examine the floors and walls of the chamber. Some civilians notice what I am doing and become curious. Not curious enough to talk to me, however.
This is because they have gone through quite a bit before the Major and her men came to their rescue, and it will take them some time to get over the trauma. Not all of them will, however, and that is just the way things will be.
"What are you doing, mister?" one of the kids asks me. He is about 9 or 10 from my estimation. There are others about his age in the group. Not many, however.
I look at the child before crouching down to his level. "I'm playing Minecraft. Do you know it?"
The kid nods repeatedly in response. "Yes. Yes! I love Minecraft. Can I play too?"
"No, but you can help me, as long as you get permission from your parents," I response and gauge his expression. "Or an adult that you know."
The kid nods and runs off to get permission from an elderly woman. She seems to be utterly exhausted, and she doesn't quite hear what her grandchild (?) has asked her, but she gives her permission anyway.
On the way back to inform me, he runs into several other children, and from their scream "Minecraft", I suppose I will have more company. Not a bad thing, considering I have made use of child labor before.
And slave labors simply because I do not want to pay them and decrease my overall Wealth. Come to think of it, I had never paid the children for their work either. I doubt they needed the money because everything was provided to them by me already.
"My nana said I can, mister," the kid tells me while the children accompany him ask whether they can join in on the game. There is no reason they cannot as long as they have permission, of course.
"If your grandmother said you can," I response and use a stick to draw some images on the ground for the children to see. "If you can see something like this sticking out in the wall or the floor or the ceiling, come and tell me. It is called Mithril."
Green Mithril to be exact, and its existence is thanked to the formation of the Zones. There are other types of magical metals, but Mithril is the most abundance, easily formed and found near the surface.