Building a Safe Zone with My Harem In The Post-Apocalyptic World

Jasper hadn’t taken his eyes off Gideon since they entered the chamber.

The man was suspicious.

Jasper had heard the stories from Aaron and Kilian, both of whom considered Gideon extraordinarily strong.

The younger man had apparently killed the Verdant Devourer, built an entire territory in only a few months, and somehow turned it into a place where people actually wanted to live.

Jasper had never been there himself, but some of the people who had visited couldn’t stop talking about it.

Apparently, Cinders of Dusk had public bathrooms with enormous pools that stayed warm even during winter.

It had a defensive tower capable of firing cannons at approaching aberrants. There were even fields where the snow somehow didn’t settle, allowing people to grow food.

It sounded ridiculous. But this world had become ridiculous a long time ago.

Death Wide remained largely unmapped, and strange things appeared there every day.

Still...

Jasper clenched his fists. He couldn’t stand Gideon’s attitude.

The man had mocked him earlier, treated his memories like some childish weakness, and acted as though everyone else’s feelings were nothing more than obstacles.

"You need to calm down, Jasper."

Petter’s voice broke through his thoughts. The younger man was drinking from his water pouch, grinning as he glanced toward Gideon.

"The Chief’s a good man. He’s funny too."

That foolish kid.

"You should be careful around him," Jasper muttered. "He might turn you into a human shield if things go wrong."

Addam raised an eyebrow. "Pretty sure we’re already human shields. We’re basically suicide bombers at this point, right, Nick? Jade or Aaron might even ask us to plant that C4 soon."

He grinned as though discussing dinner instead of death.

Nick rolled his eyes. "Jade said we probably won’t need it. Gideon’s here, after all. He’s supposed to be incredibly strong. Honestly, I don’t even know if he’s human."

Jasper’s jaw tightened. "You say that like you’ve actually seen him fight."

"I saw him fight the Devourer," Nick replied matter-of-factly. "He was the first person I’ve ever seen cut that monster from the inside and survive."

Jasper snorted. "How many fighters have you actually seen fight? Ten? Twenty?"

Addam and Petter laughed, clearly amused by the argument.

Nick frowned. "I’m not going to humor you guys. He’s strong. Aaron believes it, and that’s why he put Gideon in charge instead of you or any of us."

He pointed toward Jasper.

"Jade and Kilian think the same thing. I don’t see why it’s so fucking difficult for you to accept that."

The chamber fell quiet for a moment. Petter was the first to break it, standing up and throwing an arm around Nick’s shoulders.

"Come on, Nick. Don’t get all serious on us. We’re just joking."

Jasper barely heard him because a voice had entered his head.

’Jasper.’

His entire body froze. He knew that voice.

’Don’t trust that man. He will lead you to your death.’

Jasper blinked and looked around.

"Did you hear that?"

The others stopped talking and stared at him.

Addam frowned. "Hear what?"

Jasper swallowed. Nobody else had heard it.

Then the voice came again, quieter this time.

’That man is already infected by the parasite. He will lead all of you to your deaths.’

Jasper’s hands began to tremble.

’Believe me, Jasper.’

The voice sounded exactly like his brother.

’Or do you want to let me die again?’

Jasper’s breathing became shallow.

’You left me alone in that cold snow.’

His brother’s voice was filled with pain.

And for the first time since entering the mine, Jasper wondered whether the thing speaking to him really was a monster.

Or whether it was the ghost of the brother he had failed.

***

Kilian had been waiting for fifteen minutes.

He was restless, and the hourglass sitting in front of him seemed to be moving far too slowly. Only half the sand had fallen, yet it already irritated him more than it should have.

He was stationed at the post near the western section of Climber Rift. Everyone in the area had been instructed to remain inside their homes unless they had something necessary to do outside.

Officially, Jade’s reason was simple: the Eternal Snow was approaching, and they needed to keep the residents safe.

That part was true. It simply wasn’t the real reason. The parasite was.

And Jade clearly didn’t want to tell the residents that something was hiding beneath their feet.

Kilian turned his head toward her. Jade was still trying to reach Aaron or Gideon through the walkie-talkie, switching channels and calling them repeatedly, but nothing came back except static.

"Jade, just do it," Kilian finally said. He couldn’t stand waiting anymore. "Evacuate your people. It won’t hurt anything to move them out for a while. Besides, it’s already been more than fifteen minutes. Something could have happened down there."

Jade didn’t answer immediately. That alone told Kilian she knew he was right.

The radio should have worked in theory. Its range was roughly five kilometers, and although the mine was deep, it wasn’t particularly large. There shouldn’t have been enough distance between them to completely kill the signal.

Unless something inside the mine was interfering with it.

Jade eventually sighed and walked toward him, lowering her voice.

"You can tell the residents near the western section to leave their homes. But don’t give them a reason like there’s a hive mind beneath the canyon. Just tell them we’re conducting another inspection related to the strange outbreak in Climber Rift."

Kilian nodded, though he clearly wasn’t satisfied.

"Jade, everyone needs to be evacuated. Everyone, including your own men." He paused, his expression becoming more serious.

"If a fight breaks out underground, whatever is down there could emerge through another route. It could reach the surface, infect someone, and then we’re dealing with this thing inside the settlement."

Jade’s expression tightened. "No. Not yet."

She hesitated. That alone was unusual enough for Kilian to notice.

"If the thirty minutes pass without contact," she continued, "or if we somehow manage to reach them before then, I’ll reconsider."

Kilian was about to argue again when the door suddenly opened.

A young man stumbled inside, breathing heavily. He was one of the soldiers stationed with another group.

"What’s wrong?" Jade immediately asked.

"There’s an attack near the square!" The man struggled to catch his breath. "We need more personnel!"

Jade and Kilian exchanged a glance. The timing was terrible.

"Keep following the plan," Jade ordered. "I’ll take care of this."

Kilian nodded reluctantly.

Jade followed the young man out of the post while Kilian turned toward the stairs leading to the western section of the houses.

He gave order to his men and climbed quickly, his hand tightening around his weapon.

Fifteen minutes had already passed.

Now there was an attack on the surface and Gideon still hadn’t answered the radio.

Kilian could only hope they weren’t already too late.

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