After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World novel Chapter 625

"Okay, Papa," she said and the two were holding hands as they followed the Alterans’ leads back to their territory. But by the time they reached the tall wall, they could only gape.

"Wow…" Rebi and the others said, gaping, not expecting for Altera to go beyond their imaginations. Little Lani’s eyes were also wide, staring at the big village with a strongly beating heart.

"This place is so…" Rebi mumbled as they entered, speechless at the clean and functional arrangement of, well, everything With wide eyes, he looked at Bruce. "You weren’t lying when you said Altera is amazing."

Tom, who was walking beside them, smiled. "Well, there’s much more to Altera than just this. But you can explore at your own time later. Let me bring you to my house so you can rest."

"A-Ah, yes. Thank you, Tom."

"No problem," the big man said, leading them towards their new abode.

Bruce though couldn’t help but look at the massive cast on Tom’s arm. "Your hand…" _{fɾēewebnσveℓ.com}

Tom looked at his arm and sighed. "Got into an acccident yesterday when I was training," he said, looking a bit bitter.

In his hopes to take revenge for the friends he lost during the previous war, he trained very hard to get stronger. Sadly, he overdid it a bit, ending up quite injured along the way. The only good thing that came out of it was that Betty herself helped him out, a move that ultimately kept him from suffering permanent damage.

Anyway, other than the cast, he didn’t have any other problems. Sadly, the injury was on his dominant hand which rendered him unable to join the war despite wanting to do so.

After a couple of minutes more walking, they arrived in one of the duplex communities in the area.

This time, Tom only had Bruce, Rebi, and the little girls with him. The rest were guided by a few locals to the Village Center. Although they didn’t have an identity in the system, they could register in Altera, which was honored in the same way. Tom advised Rebi and the others to do so after resting. There was a long queue in the village center now, after all.

Soon, they headed to Tom’s rented house. "I am not a permanent resident yet so I can only rent, but it’s fair and doable."

"Who are you renting with?" Bruce asked, worried. He didn’t want to get Tom in trouble.

"I rented this during the war," he said. "I knew some of you would need a home, so…"

The two big men looked at him with wide eyes, looking as if they wanted to cry. Tom’s eyes twitched, immediately raising his hand to keep them from crying. "Please don’t."

"We promise to pay you back."

Tom smiled. He wasn’t planning to ask for rent during the first few months at all, but he didn’t disagree, knowing it was the only way they’d feel comfortable staying in the house.

Tom then said goodbyes to leave them be, and Rebi and Lani gestured to enter. However, they realized that Bruce and Lily weren’t entering.

They turned to see the two looking in a direction. Lily was smiling and waving her hands, and it was obvious she saw her friends.

Bruce chuckled, willingly led by his daughter to see her friends. "Lily wants to introduce me to her friends. I’ll go ahead for now," he said. Anyway, seeing his daughter had effectively made the tiredness disappear.

If they took too long, he probably wouldn’t be able to move the whole day tomorrow, but it’d be worth it.

As such, the father-and-daughter disappeared out of their view shortly after, leaving the other two behind.

Lani pursed her lips and held Rebi’s hand tighter. "You’re my Papa now, right?"

"What’s wrong, little Lani?"

"You are, right?" She asked again, as if looking to hear a particular answer.

Rebi was a little confused. He kneeled down to look at the pouting girl and then looked at the direction where Bruce and his daughter left. It took a while, but he was eventually enlightened.

The girl… she was envious and worried, probably fearing she’d be left behind.

"Of course," he said, answering her question, and the little girl gladly entered to give him a hug.

It didn’t last long however, when another small voice echoed in the area.

"PAPA!"

Rebi’s eyes widened, recognizing the voice. He turned to see a familiar little girl with a few other kids, looking at him. There was also Bruce behind them, and it was obvious that the friends Lily saw before was this group.