The four froze and slowly turned, only to see a small wooden boat behind them.
On it stood a fair-skinned woman in clean attire, leaning forward slightly, her expression a mixture of fascination and wonder rather than fear as she stared at the C-Class water beast.
At the appearance of the stranger, the four immediately became alert.
Feeling their gazes boring into her, Isla withdrew her gaze from the retreating water beast and flashed them a smile.
New guests!
Isla wasn't expecting to receive new guests so soon. She thought she would need to wait until Mr. Bear came back.
With these new potential customers, she could unlock new buildings.
"Welcome to Solace City!"
Solace City? Is that a name of a base?
Axel, Rick, and Earl thought to themselves.
Rose's eyes promptly fell on the pink arc behind the woman. At this distance, she could read the words on the arch.
What's going on?
The arch looked so new, without any traces of rust or moss, as if it had just been built today.
Rose thought in shock.
Isla's eyes quietly swept over the four people, lingering slightly longer on Axel and the sinking boat. She instantly guessed what had happened. Their condition was much worse than Bear's team when she first met them. But thankfully, they didn't seem to be severely injured, according to the system.
Isla invited them, "Climb in. My place is just nearby. As long as you have cores, I can provide you with shelter, food, and water."
Because of the freezing temperature of the water, the four were visibly shivering, their teeth chattering audibly.
But these new guests were more cautious than Bear's group.
Axel and his group had encountered all kinds of people, so they didn't immediately trust Isla and instead looked around to see if she had 'friends' in ambush.
"...Captain... it's so cold..." Earl whispered. After the hard plunge into the water, Earl couldn't hold on anymore and lost consciousness.
"Earl!" Rose exclaimed in concern.
"I got him..." Rick, who was closest to Earl, grabbed him before he sank. Rick could feel Earl's skin was strikingly cold. He feared that if they didn't find shelter soon, Earl's condition would only worsen. "Captain... let's find a place to rest first..." With night getting closer, the temperature would only drop further.
Because the situation was urgent, Axel pressed his lips together and finally agreed to get on the boat. "We have cores. As long as what you said is true, the cores are yours." But if she was lying, Axel wouldn't be so kind.
Isla was very sensitive to gazes. She could tell what Axel was thinking. As long as she made any suspicious moves, this guy would definitely act.
But it wasn't her concern.
She quickly made room for the four. "Come up. There is enough room for four people."
Rick helped place Earl in the boat before climbing in himself.
The moment he boarded the woman's small wooden boat, Rick couldn't hide his shock. "This..."
The cold was gone, and his body began to warm up as if summer winds were caressing him.
Rose and Axel showed the same expression as soon as they joined Rick.
"Captain... do you feel it too?" Rose whispered into her captain's ear.
Axel nodded, confused. Other than that, he was also surprised at how stable the small boat was. No matter how much they moved, the boat didn't sway at all, as if it was anchored in place.
The strange things didn't stop there.
In the next moment, the scenery changed.
The three were astounded.
"We're here! This is the place I'm talking about." Isla tied the rope of the boat to the mooring post before hopping onto the wooden platform.
Where are we?
The situation felt surreal. One moment, the view in front of them was full of debris, and the next, they were standing before ten wooden cabins arranged in a grid formation.
Their eyes wandered around. The distance between the cabins and the other buildings wasn't far. Turning around, they could see wooden buildings in the north, center, and south.
The two shops in the north were not clear from their angle, while the greenhouse and mill were closed to the public.
Therefore, their eyes were particularly drawn to the big building with glass walls standing on a massive wooden platform.
There were two human figures standing in front of it, but at such a distance, it was hard to see their appearance clearly.
Setting that aside, if one wished to construct buildings in the middle of Moonstone Province, which had now become a sea, it would require a strong and stable foundation.
A strong and stable foundation would require a lot of manpower and time. If it were in the past, this task would be possible, but after the apocalypse, it was just wishful thinking.
Just procuring the equipment and materials alone was already a headache.
Yet the building remained stable like an immovable boulder, even with wild waves crashing beneath the platform.
"Captain..." Rick couldn't help but show his surprise.
"I see it too," Axel said, taking his eyes off the big glass-walled building in slight shock.
What's more mind-boggling was that even with waves splashing at the edges, the wooden floor of the boat and the planks beneath their feet remained dry. Not a single drop of water could be seen.
How is that possible?
He thought deeply as he stared at the back of the fair-skinned woman walking in front of them.
Restraining his curiosity, Axel continued walking and followed Isla. Behind him was Uncle Rick carrying Earl in his arms, and Rose. All three of them were buried in their own thoughts until Isla stopped in front of Cabin number five.
"Your friend can rest in one of these wooden cabins. Cabins 1 to 2 are occupied, and Cabins 3 and 4 are reserved. You can rent Cabin number 5 and the rest."
The occupants must be the two human figures they saw near the big building.
"Normally, I would require you to sign up for a resident or E-wallet card first before buying products and renting cabins in my city, but since you're a special case, you can register later," Isla said, opening Cabin number five's door and giving the three a quick tour.
Axel, Rose, and Rick were stunned by what they saw inside. It was better than they had anticipated.
Axel didn't have high hopes for a base established in Moonstone Province. A small sleeping space would have been good enough.
But...
What?
They had access to unlimited electricity and water for 24 hours a day?
What? Even a working portable electric stove was provided?
What? Besides the living room, there was a separate bedroom and washroom? And they even provided clean bedding as perks?
What? Rent was only five F-Class cores per day?
The three: This must be a dream!
"So how about it? Are you going to rent?" Isla asked, though it was a sure deal judging from their expressions.
Unlimited shower!
A clean and warm bedroom!
Where else could they get a deal better than this at such a cheap price?
The tired Rose and Rick looked at their captain with hopeful expressions. It seemed that this fair-skinned woman had been sincere from the beginning. Otherwise, if she had planned to lure and rob them, there would be no need for such a meticulous and generous setup.
Electricity alone was a precious resource. In their base, it was only used to run important facilities and lighting. Even for an elite team like them, for a sky-high price, they could only gain access for a short period of time.
Axel's eyes were no longer as sharp as before. "...Yes, I would like to rent three cabins." He and Earl would temporarily share one until the latter wake up so he could check on him.
Axel always had a habit of tying empty water jugs to their backpacks. Thanks to this, he was able to save the backpacks of cores. He opened the zipper and dropped a handful of cores into Isla's palm. "As promised, the cores are yours."
When Isla saw fifteen indigo E-Class cores, she frowned. "You must have heard it wrong. I said F-Class cores, not E-Class."
"For such a nice place, paying F-Class cores would hurt our conscience. Take it," Axel explained.
Isla lightly chuckled before taking two E-Class cores and placing the rest back into Axel's palm. "Although cores are what I lack, I won't take advantage of people."
Isla's hand was fair and small. When it touched Axel's big, calloused, tanned palm, the contrast was striking. Axel couldn't help but give her hand a second glance until she withdrew it.
"An E-Class core is equivalent to ten F-Class cores. I still owe you five F-Class cores. If you need anything else like food, come find me in that big building," Isla said, turning on her heel and pointing at the Town Hall, before leaving.
Axel withdrew his gaze from Isla's departing figure as he felt a tug on his left arm.
"Captain... look..." Rose said, her mouth slightly agape as she raised her finger. She was certain the boat had no motor or turbine, and it didn't seem to be moved by the waves.
Axel followed her gaze and saw the small wooden boat gliding slowly on its own.
"Goodness... how can it move on its own..." Uncle Rick was completely amazed.
The three watched as the small wooden boat moved northeast.
Some things in this place made no sense, or maybe it was just because they were too tired.
"Let's rest first..." Axel said, holding his head in his palm.