After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World-Chapter 1881: New Migrants

A/N: Thank you for your consistent support, everyone! I haven’t been reading comments the past few weeks cuz I was preparing the new story (writing 4 stories is challenging, OK), but I will read them all soon! Hearts~

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No one had any idea what kind of magic thoughts Obi was having right now. People just went through their days, hoping to improve their lives, even if only a bit every day.

The territories had become more and more connected to each other, at least through the Lords, and for many, this meant better access to the goods Alterra was making.

For most, the sellers were the Lord’s party themselves, creating a win-win situation for the administration, who’d receive the profits, and the people who didn’t have to venture out to danger to get the goods.

Of course, there were still plenty of caravans and groups of individuals from these territories who wanted the profit for themselves.

Most Lords wouldn’t stop their citizens from making deals with Alterra, as prohibiting them could just encourage rebellious thought. What if they just stayed in Alterra? It wasn’t easy to buy a residency nowadays, but the world did not lack talent.

So, the Lords would just allow others to sell as well if it was within their capabilities. The taxes and the like were advantageous to the territory as well, anyway.

That said, in terms of caravans and people who could actually deal directly with Alterra, it was still very limited to those with strength and/or monetary capital. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

It was just that, if the Lord could help it, they’d prefer the citizens not know Alterra too closely.

This was a matter of course. First of all, the profits as middlemen were there and were solid. Another, which Lord would want their people migrating out?

So, although many were aware of Alterra’s existence, not many were aware of its actual location, especially if they were a bit farther out. Even if Alterrans passed by to establish connections, that would be directly through the Lords. The relationship developed through them as well.

The citizens below would only find out about Alterra if they had interacted with them themselves, which was fairly rare after the initial scouting missions. The latter scouting missions, particularly by the intelligence team, weren’t the kind that they’d announce their identities either.

Alterra might be able to produce massive amounts of goods every day, but there was a much, much larger market waiting to consume them. Alterran merchants didn’t have to head out to sell at all. They just needed to wait on their doorsteps.

Hence, there were no caravans originating from Alterra, while the caravans from other places that passed through would not actively spread out their location.

At most, most people—especially those more than a day’s trek away from Alterra—would’ve just heard about it, and it would likely be in the form of a brand. For example: Alterran rice, Alterran cloth, Alterran glass, and so on.

They may have heard a lot of stories about it, too. However, at some point, many stories were so fantastic that they felt embellished. Some even suspected that it was propaganda purposely being spread out.

Such was most members of one group from the North were traveling South.

They were comprised of several young men and women, a few middle-aged people, and they all looked quite poor.

They were part of a village that had minimized the people’s knowledge about Alterra. The administration also monopolized the goods that their people bought from the place. At the same time, they were also too far for town-to-town caravans to think the territory was a worthy stopover.

There were big caravans that continuously went to and fro all directions of Alterra, whether it was from Ferrol down South, Cerimica at the West, Flaret in the North, or Basset in the East.

It was just that these caravans would go from town to town (with Alterra 100% as the journey’s source point). They could maybe pass by a village or two on the way, but no caravan would go out of their way just to end in a village.

And so, for a long time after the alliance, the source of Alterran goods for a great majority of people in the region was through the Lord, and they had to pay a lot of money for them.

In the beginning, they were just happy to see these things again. Seasonings? Instant noodles? Even coffee and hot chocolate mixes?! How could people not rush for them? By that time, it had been more than a year since the migration, and people’s souls had grown stagnant and grey. Seeing good food felt like it enlivened their spirits again! It was like they were seeing color again!

They splurged their savings easily, and there was no guilt at all!

Most did not think of finding the source themselves either. The place that could produce these things would not be normal.

The Lord and his cronies were extremely secretive about the source, and it wasn’t like it was easy for them to liquidate their assets and go exploring on their own, anyway.

Not to mention: They weren’t that strong either.

Sure, they were exceptional for village level—some of them gaining a skill even before they migrated here—but after so long, they were naturally aware that there was a much bigger world out there.

And that there was far greater danger than was normal outside of their little village.

As such, they were already thankful for the previous arrangement. They did not mind that they had to kill several monsters around their level to get a small pack of instant noodles.

In fact, they even thought it was too cheap and how lucky it was for them to have access to such goodness.

It was also an inspiration for them to work harder. To get a little taste of home, they were willing to spend hours risking their lives outside.

They did not like their Lord, but they thought he was at least capable because he managed to do this.

Things changed after that Cold Wave.