Chapter 48

"It's no biggie. You head out first, I gotta change." I nodded slightly.

"Okay." Grace glanced at my bare chest, blushing a bit, and quickly dashed out.

'Since when did she get so shy?' I wondered, looking at myself. My muscles seemed even more defined, my physique more perfect. 'Do women dig this kind of build?' I mused.

I threw on my camo gear and instantly felt more serious. This combat suit was something I brought with me to this world. Once I had it on, my figure looked even more like a warrior's.

Just then, Jerry flew over. It circled me, and I noticed a tiny bug, about the size of two fingers, behind Jerry. I got the message Jerry was sending me.

'Are you giving me your kid?' I squinted at the tiny bug. I didn't expect Jerry to have offspring so quickly this morning.

Jerry flapped its wings energetically.

'Alright, hand it over.' I raised my hand to the little bug, which looked a lot like Jerry, just without the horns and less majestic. It was like a level 1 super firefly, with the only power being to glow. It'd make a decent light bulb.

Jerry told me they had settled in the 'Sacred Tree', hanging out on the Elf Tea tree during the day and lighting up at night. It also mentioned it could produce one offspring daily. I was thrilled by this unexpected gift. Jerry's offspring could solve the lighting problem in Tortoise City perfectly.

I held the little firefly and walked out of the room, feeling pretty happy. I got to the hall and saw all the women there.

Selena was packing, and I walked over with the firefly. "Got enough food and water? Bring some extra crossbow bolts." I said, concerned.

"Don't worry, this is plenty. Grace prepped these supplies for me." Selena patted her bag, smiling.

"Well, take this too." I handed her the little firefly and explained how to use it. "This little guy can light up for you at night. But I don't recommend traveling at night. You're more of a survival pro than me." I said casually.

"Thanks, Mr. Steele." Selena replied.

I had already briefed Selena on everything she needed to know these past couple of days. Honestly, Selena was more than capable of handling this journey. She had braved Bloody Morgan's camp with me and was an excellent 'bounty hunter'. All I could do was make sure she had the supplies and gear she needed.

Jessica came over, holding a bottle. "Selena, take this too. It's repellent powder I made for you. If you run into a zombie horde, just break this bottle, and they'll stay away."

"Okay." Selena took the bottle and stuffed it into her backpack, then looked at Jessica with a slight frown. "Why's your face so red? You feeling okay?" Selena asked suddenly.

"I'm fine!" Jessica quickly looked down, clearly embarrassed.

I glanced at Jessica, knowing exactly why she was blushing.

"If you see Linda and Ellie, tell them I miss them." Jessica mumbled.

"I know, it's not our first time being apart. You shouldn't stay cooped up in the lab all the time. If you get bored, come out and hang with Mr. Steele or chat with Grace." Selena said softly.

"What? Hang with Mr. Steele?" Jessica clamped her legs together, almost tripping. "Well, I need to get back to working on the enhanced potion..." Jessica trailed off and ran back to the lab.

"What happened? I've never seen Jessica so scared of someone before," Selena said, looking at me.

I gave an awkward smile, thinking, Jessica wasn't scared of me but my psychic power, which was 505 times stronger than the average person's, easily picked up on Jessica's irregular breathing, flushed cheeks, and the damp scent coming from between her tightly squeezed thighs. All signs pointed to one thing: Jessica had just accidentally reached climax. She was a sensitive woman, and the more sensitive, the more interesting. I chuckled mischievously.

Selena shot me a reproachful look. "Don't bully Jessica. She's a quiet, good girl, and she's still a virgin."

"Then you misunderstood me." I quickly changed the subject, feeling a bit guilty at Selena's words.

After packing up, Grace and I walked Selena out together. We strolled through the streets of Tortoise City, where smoke rose from some homes, filled with the aroma of roasting and boiling meat.

Grace took a deep breath, savoring the moment. "Mr. Steele, just a few months ago, I dreamed of this kind of life, eating barbecue and meat soup whenever I wanted. Back in that camp, the leader was so bad, he took almost all the food. Unlike Tortoise City now, where people only need to hand over a small portion of the hunt, and their families can eat well and be full. There's nothing happier in the world than these days."

I flicked Grace's nose. "Is this enough for you? In the future, I will make sure the residents of Tortoise City can have bread and ice cream," I said confidently.

"What's ice cream?" Grace's eyes lit up at the mention of food.

"Well, ice cream is a cold dessert, very sweet. But it requires cream. If we come across cows, I can make this food," I replied. With sugarcane in the plantation to make sugar, along with cream, Tortoise City would have many delicious foods.

As Grace listened, she unconsciously started to drool, also remembering the name of an animal, 'cow'.

We arrived at the city gate, where several dead bodies were hanging. Michael and others had already arrived with weapons. Seeing their serious expressions, I knew that the dead bodies had a significant impact on them. If these crazy thieves entered Tortoise City, it would pose a huge danger to the residents, indicating a failure in guarding.

"Mr. Steele," Michael saw me and immediately approached with his men.

"We'll talk about this later," I responded calmly.

I held Selena's hand and escorted her away. We stood on a rock, controlling it to descend like an elevator. Grace didn't follow us down to Tortoise City. She stood on the city wall, waving to Selena, her voice clear, "Selena, be careful on the road."

"I will," Selena turned back to look at Grace, softly responding. Then she looked at my face, "I'm leaving."

"I'll be waiting for you in Wasteland City," I said gently.

"Okay." Selena's eyes were a bit red as she left the stone platform. Suddenly, she couldn't help but turn around and run towards me. She threw herself into my arms, and I hugged her waist with both hands, quietly enjoying this moment of warmth and bittersweet parting. "Mr. Steele, I'm really leaving." After a quiet embrace for a while, Selena reluctantly pushed me away, turned around, and ran off.

I knew that if we kept hugging, Selena wouldn't want to leave. I was slightly moved, with moist eyes. 'Why does it feel like saying goodbye to a comrade?' I watched until Selena disappeared on the horizon, then controlled the rock platform to return to the city wall.At that moment, Grace let out a little hum, like she was protesting.

"What's up with you?" I ruffled Grace's curly hair, knowing she was jealous again.

"Don't touch me, I'm going back!" Grace dodged my hand and hurried home.

'I just hugged Selena for a moment, why fuss?' I thought for a moment. Grace's menstrual period should be over, so maybe I should visit her room tonight. After all, she had invited me several times, and if I kept ignoring her, it would surely upset her.

I turned to Michael, who, along with the others, was looking at me strangely. I even overheard some of the team members whispering.

"Look, Mr. Steele actually likes touching women's hair." 

"What's wrong with touching hair?" 

"Didn't you see how annoyed he made Ms. Kelly?" 

"It's really strange, Mr. Steele actually likes this kind of thing."

Hearing their words, I twitched my mouth, coughed heavily, and solemnly addressed everyone, "Summon all the members of the hunting team, I have an important announcement to make."

"Yes, Sir!" Michael's expression tightened, and he ran off to gather the team. Soon, everyone was assembled, standing upright.

I cleared my throat and said only one sentence, "The defense rule of Tortoise City: kill all the intruders."

Today, the members of the hunting team officially became the city guards of Tortoise City. They were responsible for hunting, patrolling, maintaining order, and also had combat duties. If there was an external invasion, they had to fight to the end.

I also shared with the guard members the system I had in mind. Tortoise City would distribute resources in the form of points. Unlike the prison camp, points were not given to each person every month but had to be earned individually. I would periodically release point tasks, and the hunted prey could also be exchanged for points. Besides the normal prey to be handed over, the rest could be exchanged for points. There would be point rewards for daily patrols, drills, with more points during combat. If one unfortunately sacrificed, the family members would also receive generous point rewards. These points could be used to purchase any items in Tortoise City, even Elf Tea or some 'Enchanted items'. Canned food and ham could also be exchanged for points.

Most of the guards came from the prison camp, where they had almost no presence, just some mercenaries. But now, with the point system introduced by Tortoise City, they truly felt the honor of being a part of the city. Earning a point was a contribution to Tortoise City, and each point could improve their lives. The members began to discuss quietly, showing great interest in the point system.

"Besides your specific tasks, I will also release other tasks that your family members can undertake," I continued. I also needed to find things for the residents to do.

"Family members can also take on tasks?" Michael's eyes lit up. When family members had something to do, it was truly integrating into Tortoise City, rather than sitting at home and waiting to die every day.

"My big house needs some wooden tables, iron pots, cabinets, and so on. I will provide specific blueprints, and as long as the production requirements on the blueprints are met, points can be earned," I explained patiently. The so-called furniture was not made by simply joining a few pieces of wood together but by assembling smooth wooden boards. I wasn't pursuing a luxurious lifestyle but giving everyone something to do, especially since there were too few tasks in the early stages of Tortoise City. A fine piece of furniture would take several days to complete.

"We'll let our families know and have them work hard to complete the tasks!" Michael assured, patting his chest.

"The specific tasks will be posted at the city gate," I added. "Furthermore!" I raised my voice deliberately, catching everyone's attention. "As members of the Tortoise City guard, you also have special benefits. If you achieve great things or earn enough contribution points, you can exchange them for the 'Body Strengthening Potion' and evolve into a Mutant."

The guard members erupted in excitement. I could feel their emotions. The potion that could turn someone into a Mutant was priceless. In this world, it was tough for ordinary people to survive, but becoming a Mutant would rid them of that worry as each Mutant had a certain survival ability and would make it easier to capture more prey and earn more points.

The guard members were all shocked, the atmosphere serious and tense. "Mayor, you're amazing! You're so wise!" someone exclaimed.

After a while, the team dispersed, and I returned to the big house. The tedious task of recording points naturally fell to Vincent and Sophia. I trusted them.

Back in the house, I headed straight to the laboratory. The one thing I was concerned about now was the 'Body Strengthening Potion,' and I didn't know when Jessica would be able to produce the first batch.

In the lab, Jessica was extracting some plant liquid, completely unaware of my arrival. Taking advantage of her distraction, I took an empty bottle, activated my 'Angel's Tears' superpower, and condensed a small bottle of 'Angel's Tears.' 

"Jessica, are you still mad at me?" I walked towards her, holding the bottle.

"Mr. Steele, I'm working. If you don't have anything else, please leave. If you disturb me during the experiment, I won't be polite to you," Jessica said seriously.

As soon as she saw me, she clamped her legs together, looking somewhat comical. I shook my head. I wasn't so bored as to chat with her now; I would wait until she finished her experiment. "I want to know how the progress of the 'Body Strengthening Potion' is going?" I inquired.

"Mr. Steele, this is scientific work. Do you understand science? The things on the parchment need repeated experiments and verification, and right now, I'm also short of herbs. Do you think I'm progressing slowly?" Jessica pouted, looking a bit displeased. Then she added, "Apart from other herbs, when will the 'Devil Fruit' be delivered?"

It seemed that I had caused Jessica some psychological trauma last night. Yesterday, when I asked her about the progress of her research, she was eager to explain everything in detail. Today, her behavior was clearly intentional.

"Here, this is for you." I opened the glass bottle and handed it to Jessica.

"What is this?" Jessica glanced at it, then sniffed it, suddenly trembling with excitement. "Such strong medicinal power, and I feel the 'Super Zombie Virus' on my body clearly regressing. Could this be the juice of the 'Devil Fruit'?" she asked excitedly.

"I promised to give you the 'Devil Fruit,' but an ordinary 'Devil Fruit' wouldn't pique your interest. So, I decided to give you the finest essence of the 'Devil Fruit,' which I call Angel's Tears." I smiled and touched Jessica's long hair.