[Build a Children's Shelter.]
If not for the reminder that popped up just now, Wang Zhan might have completely forgotten about this task.
In most of the previous games, a Children's Shelter wasn't a particularly crucial building—he would typically wait until the last minute to construct it.
But things were different now. Alina cared deeply for the children, and since she was already busy with other responsibilities, providing a dedicated shelter would ease her concerns.
"Alina, go to the workshop and find the blueprint for the Children's Shelter."
Alina, who had been chatting with Talulah, froze for a moment upon hearing Wang Zhan's instructions. She instinctively glanced toward the Generator. Did the Children's Shelter actually have a blueprint?
She had thought that after the directive was issued, Wang Zhan might just allocate one of the empty tents at Gatling's camp. After all, there were four unused tents there.
But the directive explicitly mentioned constructing a new building. Could it be that Wang Zhan had forgotten about it?
No, Alina immediately dismissed the thought. Wang Zhan always prioritized the most efficient course of action, and compared to other tasks, the Children's Shelter indeed seemed less critical.
Then why had he suddenly brought it up now?
Alina visibly brightened. Talulah noticed the change and asked curiously, "What's going on? You seem a lot happier all of a sudden."
"The Generator's steward asked me to retrieve the blueprint for the Children's Shelter."
"Heh," Talulah chuckled, quickly guessing the reason. "In that case, let's get to it."
Wang Zhan activated the Generator. The day's work was over, and it had been more hectic than he anticipated. Meanwhile, Alina began organizing a team to construct the Children's Shelter.
Wang Zhan opened the workshop's interface, which now displayed an efficiency rating of 100%. If the lighthouse was added to the queue, the workshop would need to maintain operations on the day of the storm.
The workshop's initial temperature was already a level higher than other buildings, and with the addition of heaters, it would undoubtedly be warmer than the worker tents.
Could everyone take shelter in the workshop during the storm?
Wang Zhan pondered this possibility and called out to Alina, who was still overseeing the construction, "Alina, try letting the children enter the workshop."
"They might start rummaging through things," Alina said, putting down her tools and frowning. "The workshop's materials and equipment are very valuable. Wouldn't you be upset if they damaged anything?"
Wang Zhan, having overlooked such details, responded nonchalantly, "It's fine. Let them in. Once that's done, try letting the workers in too."
The workshop's internal space was limited, but it could accommodate dozens of people. If feasible, he could consider building multiple workshops to serve as temporary shelters during storms.
They'd certainly be more effective than those ramshackle tents!
"Hmm... Sherf!"
A bear-eared boy, who had been wandering around the camp, ran up to her eagerly. Alina ruffled his head, saying, "Go tell the other children that the steward of the Generator is inviting them to visit the workshop."
"Can we really go inside that tall, skinny building?"
Alina nodded in affirmation. Sherf beamed and ran off, gathering the children and leading them to the workshop's door.
"Did you hear that? Someone's knocking downstairs."
Talulah, who had just settled into her tasks, alerted Gatling and another infected worker.
"I didn't hear anything, Miss Talulah," Gatling grumbled.
The other two workers, who had been told that Talulah was their leader, noted her attire and promptly accepted her authority.
"This outfit is just for blending in. I'm an infected like you," Talulah explained.
"But you must've been a noble before, right?"
Gatling put down his protractor and ruler, scratching his head. "I don't have a good impression of nobles, but you seem like a good person—so I guess that's fair."
"Please don't call me 'Miss.' I'm just like you," Talulah said, hearing the knocking below grow louder and more persistent. A frustrated yell came from upstairs.
"It's those brats again!"
"Earlier, a white-haired Liberi wanted to take a look inside—oh, you might know him. His name's Eno," another worker added. "We let him in, but we didn't expect him to bring a whole bunch of kids trailing behind."
"They nearly disassembled the typewriter on the first floor," he said, smacking his palm against his fist. "Without that typewriter, how are we supposed to report to the steward?"
Eno...
Talulah suddenly wanted to check on him. She had been so busy lately that she hadn't had the chance.
"I'll go see what's going on. You all keep working."
The other two exchanged glances but returned to their tasks.
Talulah opened the now-loudly-knocked door to find the children waiting outside. They quieted down at her appearance. She smiled, crouching down to meet Sherf's gaze.
"What are you all here for?"
"The steward of the Generator invited us to visit!"
"We want to see inside!"
Looking at the bouncing children, Talulah spotted Eno lingering at the back, shy without Sasha around.
"You'll have to listen to me and not touch anything, okay?"
She opened the workshop door, leading the children upstairs to the second floor.
"By the First Emperor, look at these little... creatures," a worker on the second floor muttered, half in exasperation, half in amusement. "So lively."
Talulah shot him a stern look. The worker grinned sheepishly. "Adorable, I mean."
"I'll make sure they behave. Just focus on your work."
With the children settled, it was time to test if workers could also take shelter in the workshop.
"Alina, bring in ten workers to test it out."
"It's the end of the workday," Gatling said, stretching. He glanced up to see a group of nervous infected workers crowded on the second floor, curiously peering at his drawing board but too timid to speak.
"Oh, great. Tell me this is the steward's idea of a joke, right?"
The group nodded in unison. Someone shouted, "No, it's not!" and they all shook their heads. "Not a joke!"
Gatling blinked, momentarily dumbfounded.
"Fine. I'll sit back down. Let me know when the first floor clears out."
"Discontent has risen," Wang Zhan noted as the red bar under the Hope meter crept upward.
He didn't mind. The experiment was critical, even if it upset people.
The workshop could hold up to 80 workers. Building two more would provide enough space for everyone to ride out the storm.
He was a genius.
Beep—beep—beep.
The phone rang. It was Mu Ye.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Oh, nothing much—just running some tests."