The next day, the weather was clear.
Tang Yu stretched lazily and walked out of the castle. There was a new resident here last night, making the whole castle feel much more lively.
After breakfast, Tang Yu and Eileen went to the small garden in front of the castle.
Eileen, at this time, was wearing a beige long dress, the hem gently fluttering in the wind, exuding a youthful vibe.
Tang Yu searched for the clothes overnight. After all, he wasn't into women's clothing, so there naturally weren't any women's clothes readily available in the castle. After Eileen took a bath, she had to make do with a coat from the rack, and the image from last night still lingered in Tang Yu's mind.
Although the summoning result was somewhat unexpected, Tang Yu did not forget why he summoned Eileen here in the first place.
She was his first follower and would be his most beneficial helper.
A mage with A-grade qualifications!
"Did you rest well last night?"
Eileen lightly hummed in response.
Such a life was unimaginable to her before, but at this moment, she was ready for everything.
Soon, at the Lord's request, Eileen demonstrated her power.
From that damaged Magic Book, she had mastered two spells.
One was the Ice Crystal, and the other was the Ice Storm.
As she raised one hand, the Ice Crystal formed, shot out, pierced through the trunk of a distant tree, and blue Frost spread from the breach, quickly turning the entire tree into ice-crystal color.
Tang Yu observed.
Eileen's strength was about at the Second-tier Peak of Awakening, which was rare. From the Contract, Tang Yu also learned a brief information about Eileen and knew that the little girl had not had it easy. Although she had awakened three years ago, she had not received systematic spell guidance, nor did her world have monsters leveling up. Her strength came through meditation.
Step by step, she reached this level of power by relying on meditative methods she figured out herself. Tang Yu knew it wasn't easy but also understood it was challenging.
This strength couldn't compare to Number One and Number Two. However, mages had their own advantages. Besides, Number One and Number Two were just puppets, and no matter how intelligent they were, they could only be used as weapons, whereas Eileen was a living person with A-grade qualifications and limitless potential.
Tang Yu also speculated that perhaps because of Eileen's high qualifications and exceptional ice element affinity, her skin, far from becoming coarse and yellow from her difficult past, became increasingly smooth and crystal-clear due to the constant improvement from the elements.
…
On the other side, early in the morning, Chen Haiping and others had already woken up and were preparing to cook porridge.
In the apocalypse, waking up early was considered a luxury for ordinary survivors. After all, ordinary survivors could not eat their fill every day, so there was no breakfast to speak of. Instead of getting up to starve, it was better to sleep more since one wouldn't feel hungry in dreams.
But today, each of them woke up early, their mouths watering. Tang Yu gave quite a bit of food yesterday, and the variety was rich. They could enjoy porridge with some bacon and pickles, which was enough to make them happy!
Don't think they were hiding in a cold storage meant for storing grain. The place only stored ordinary rice, and they had escaped in a hurry without any tools. Not starving to death was already a blessing.
But today... After devouring a bowl of rice porridge, a survivor patted his belly, smiling contentedly, "Why is it that ordinary rice porridge tastes so fulfilling?"
"Because you're fat," a companion jeered, "Fat people are easily satisfied."
"Nonsense! Who was it just now who almost dipped their face into the bowl eating?"
A group of people quarreled noisily but without any anger.
With energy, they had the mind to joke around, even Chen Haiping, an Awakener. Although he could fill his stomach in the past, he wasn't a trusted aide of Director Wang Tai, and his daily meals were still not as good as now.
With a comparison, they realized that the present times were immensely valuable.
Chen Haiping led the survivors to Villa No. 3, and beyond that was the restricted area. Tang Yu had warned them yesterday that the innermost area of the villa district was off-limits, and they naturally wouldn't be curious enough to explore.
Curiosity kills in the apocalypse, a universal truth.
"Why hasn't Mr. Tang arrived yet?"
"Call him Director Tang. We will be working under Director Tang. We need to behave well. With Mr. Tang's generosity, he surely won't treat us poorly. If Director Tang truly establishes the Sanctuary, we'll be the founding members."
Tang Yu had already discussed work matters with them yesterday—just transporting various materials. Though it was manual labor, it wasn't dangerous, and there was no better job in the apocalypse. The compensation mentioned yesterday included food and essential daily supplies, which was already quite generous.
They had hesitated before, but now they were determined to work diligently under Tang Yu. Their perception changed immediately. Although they still thought establishing a Sanctuary seemed unlikely, no one dared say Tang Yu was overestimating himself. They couldn't leave this place anyway. Besides, if the Sanctuary was built, their quality of life would improve significantly with Tang Yu's generosity.
Thinking this made them eager to start working.
"Director Tang is here!"
Someone suddenly shouted.
They saw Tang Yu approaching from a distance, dressed in a tracksuit, with a short knife at his waist. Behind him, Number One looked the same as yesterday.
Suddenly, they were surprised to see Eileen following Tang Yu's footsteps.
At this moment, besides wearing a beige long dress, Eileen also had on a loose, hooded outerwear. Eileen didn't feel warmth. Instead, the long years in the slums made her accustomed to hiding herself, even though the outerwear couldn't fully cover her.
A few survivors almost stared, entranced, but quickly lowered their heads.
Perhaps they mistook the delicate Eileen for a pretty face, only Chen Haiping sensed a faint mysterious aura from Eileen.
These auras were similar to those of an Awakener, yet different.
Chen Haiping shook his head, stopping his speculation, and then stepped forward to discuss today's arrangements with Tang Yu.
Puh puh swish!
Suddenly, Chen Haiping heard an odd sound, his expression froze, and he looked up in the direction of the sound.
Under the blue sky, a dark cloud was approaching. As he focused, he realized it wasn't a cloud but countless flocking Flying Demonized Beasts creating a terrifying scene.
"It's Demonized Sparrows!"
Chen Haiping blurted out.
These creatures were local sparrows on Earth, demonized under the influence of the red mist. Among demonized beasts, they were the lowest tier, even weaker than the Demonized Steel Rat.
Yet he grew more anxious. Apart from their weak individual strength, Demonized Sparrows typically moved in flocks, vast in number. Glancing over, Chen Haiping estimated no less than dozens or hundreds in the dense mass. More importantly, these demonized beasts could fly!
Exactly what Chen Haiping worried about: While Armored Experts were strong, they couldn't fly or have large-scale offensive means, which meant they couldn't utilize their full strength against the Demonized Sparrows.
This was dangerous!
In the blink of an eye, the flock of Demonized Sparrows flew over the villa area, spotting them, diving down like a dark cloud descending from the sky.
At this moment, escaping to a fortified room was the only chance to avoid disaster, but the Flying Demonized Beasts were swift, making escape too late.
"Is there really no way..."
Chen Haiping used a handgun to kill two Demonized Sparrows, but the dark cloud didn't seem to diminish, and his heart sank even more.
Tang Yu noticed this situation, yet his eyes shone bright.
The tasks for the transport team were already arranged, and now with Eileen as a main force, the development speed of the Territory would undoubtedly accelerate. However, whether the second system building could be established today depended on the Source Crystal.
At this moment, the self-delivered Demonized Sparrows seemed adorable indeed. The significant contribution these Demonized Sparrows would make to the Territory, he vowed to remember.
Behind him, Eileen had already extended her fair palm, and white mist condensed into Frost.