Global Awakening: Apocalypse Ender's Chronicle

The one that had appeared had a tall figure with sunken cheeks but had eyes that were filled with hope. From Shane's estimation, the man appeared to be in his thirties, but because of his condition, he looked a lot older than that.

"I'm Mew, the leader here… Are you going to tell us what will happen to us right now?" Mew, the leader of the 20 or so slaves, said without any hint of nervousness.

He just looked extremely tired of the situation.

Shane wryly smiled after seeing the man's expression before he spoke with sincerity. "Nothing… You're safe now. We've taken care of the threats here, but I can see you're in need of help. What are your plans?"

Instead of telling them what they should do from now on, Shane wanted to know the plans of these people.

These words shocked everyone as they realized that the man in front of them was actually planning to just free all of them!

Now that they were asked this question, they immediately started to think about their homes, relatives, and friends.

Unfortunately, their homes were long gone, and they also wouldn't dare to venture alone outside this camp. Their skills were all related to production and not combat.

"Where are we going to go?"

"How about our food?"

"Even if we want to go elsewhere, we'll probably die along the way…"

"Is there even another shelter that will accept us? We don't even have money with us."

"Let's get something to sell here. We're mining silver anyway, and they should have some value for crafting weapons or accessories."

"We'll have to pray to be able to trade with honest people."

The slaves knew very well how bad their situation was since they had no place they could call their home. If Shane really freed them, they might actually die a lot faster!

After some moments of thought, the leader looked at his companions and sighed.

His voice was also filled with the burden of despair, and he said, "We have nowhere else to go. We've been trapped here for so long. There's nothing left for us outside this camp. We were just hoping to find a way to escape this nightmare. We wanted to live better and perhaps, we could even get revenge against those Zombies who had taken everything away from us."

Shane nodded, understanding their situation.

"I want to help you," he said. "How about this… I'll be protecting this place from now on.

Instead of being workers or slaves, however, you will be the residents of this new camp… I will recruit more people here and will make this place bigger and more like a small town… With my abilities, I'm confident of being able to do that… I think we can turn this small camp into something better—a safe haven."

"What do you mean by that?" Mew asked in shock.

The others were also a bit confused since they didn't expect Shane's plan at all.

Shane then reached into his pack and pulled out the Beginner Shelter Crystal, a glowing orb filled with mystical power.

[ Beginner Shelter Crystal: A crystal imbued with the essence of the Shelter. It possessed the power to claim a small piece of land for its wielder. Once activated, the crystal will help repel zombies and undead creatures from the designated area until it reaches full energy capacity. It will also help with Production Speed, Culture Points, Building Durability, and Defense.

Once the crystal's energy is filled, lower-tier Zombies will be less likely to attack your Shelter, and you can activate the special effect of the crystal to protect your land.

Current Energy: 30%

Shelter Crystal Effect: Unavailable ]

Shane also had an Intermediate Shelter Crystal and a Special Beginner Crystal he obtained when he leveled up to 36. However, he decided to just use this normal Shelter Crystal since the camp wasn't too big in the first place. He also didn't plan to expand it unless necessary.

"This will allow me to claim this land as my territory. With it, we can build a refuge for you and anyone else who needs help."

The leader's eyes widened. "You would do this for us?"

"Absolutely, Mew…" Shane replied. "Everyone deserves a second chance, and together, we can create a community here."

With a nod, Shane activated the crystal.

[ Do you wish to spend 1,000 Spirit Points to claim this piece of land? ]

This question popped out, and Shane didn't expect anything like this at all. Nonetheless, with his current Spirit Points, it wasn't really a big deal.

Anyway, Shane also observed the image that had appeared. It showed the map of the surroundings, and there was a highlighted portion on it that included the silver mine and the fenced area of the camp.

'Interesting…' Shane gently nodded as he realized that within this area, all the buildings he'd make would have better durability, and any productions here would be faster. This probably means that they would have a higher yield when mining.

"Yes…" Shane answered.

It was also his first time seeing how it works, so he was a bit expectant.

[ Spirit Points deducted: 1,000.]

[ Area claimed successfully. Zone established: 530 meters x 530 meters. ]

[ Shelter Crystal activation in progress… ]

Soon, a wave of energy pulsed through the surroundings, illuminating the base in a warm, inviting glow. Suddenly, the fence glowed faintly, and it lasted for a few seconds before returning to normal.

However, it didn't end there. An earthquake occurred, and an area was torn apart. Before everyone could panic, however, a small one-story building made of stones appeared from the ground! It was quite similar to the base of the Wild Shelters that Shane had seen before!

'So it was like that!' Shane was impressed.

It seemed that the Shelter Crystal could really help with the construction of the first building.

This building was also located at the very center of the piece of land that he claimed and was quite close to the silver mine.

[ Beginner Shelter has been established. ]

[ Shelter Crystal has successfully established the first building: Beginner Shelter Core.]

[ Building effects: +15% Building Durability, +10% Production Speed within the territory.]

[ Shelter Defense: Zombies and undead creatures of Tier 1 and below will be repelled within a 100-meter radius. ]

[ Energy Charge: 30% → 31%.]

[ Estimated time to full charge: 48 hours.]

[ Warning: The Shelter Crystal must be placed inside the territory to maintain its effect. ]

Shane read the messages carefully as he wanted to understand how to really manage his territory. With a nod, Shane checked his Territory Panel and confirmed that the additional of Silver Mine Camp aside from his Springriver Manor.

[ Current Territory: Springriver Manor ( 100% ), Silver Mine Camp ( 15% ) ]

After confirming everything, Shane turned to the shocked leader. "Mew, we'll need to gather supplies and fortify this place further. The mining should stop for now, and we'll focus on rebuilding this camp. I can see that there's a steady source of water here, and this place had a good elevation… This is really a perfect spot to settle.

Ahem… In any case, you're no longer slaves but residents of my land."

The leader's eyes shone with hope after hearing this, and everyone finally cheered!

They all expressed their gratitude to Shane for doing this for them. Then, Shane asked them about their talents and confirmed that only 12 of them obtained mining-related skills even after working in the mines for so long.

As for the others, their skills and talents were suitable in fields like farming, fishing, and other production field.

After knowing a few things about these people, Shane had to arrange a few things immediately. The first thing was their food and clothes.

Shane quickly took out some of his stocks. Aside from the bread, Shane brought out pots of soup he'd always buy in the Food Store, canned goods, and instant noodles.

Everyone soon had a meal after they washed themselves.

"Are you going to stay here until the next Zombie Wave?" Diana asked after recalling that the next Zombie Wave would come in about a week.

Shane initially planned to confront the Zombie Wave in sector 20. However, with the unclaimed Silver Mine here and a solid workforce, he just couldn't ignore it.

"Yes… But don't worry… This place will soon become comparable to a fortress." Shane said with confidence.

The others were curious about Shane's plan. However, Shane's plan was actually very simple. He just planned to recruit more people!

Looking at this Inventory, he confirmed the number of Recruitment Stones in his possession.

[ Normal Recruitment Stone x54

Special Recruitment Stone x4

Random Recruitment Stone x4

Rare Recruitment Stone x2

Master Recruitment Stone x1

Epic Recruitment Stone x2

Legendary Recruitment Stone x1n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Elf Recruitment Stone x10 ]

Shane smiled after seeing the number of his Recruitment Stones… There were a lot of them, and he had to thank a few events for that. The event included the recent Boss Raid, the Treasure Chests he opened, the Traveling Merchant, and the Elf Administrator.