Chapter 1298: Interesting Shop

Wallace carefully stored the Storage Bottle before looking around.

"Well, that’s settled."

Vasco nodded.

"It was a good trade."

Wallace smiled before turning toward the others.

"Since I still have a few hours before the portal reopens, I might as well look around a little more."

Reese nodded.

"There’s plenty to see."

The group left the harbor and began walking through the streets of Blue Haven Shelter.

The atmosphere was surprisingly peaceful.

Survivors moved between the buildings, merchants called out to customers, and workers transported various supplies through the streets. Although everyone knew that the outside world was still filled with dangers, life inside the shelter had certainly begun to resemble that of an ordinary settlement.

Wallace looked around with interest.

"This place really is different."

"Different from what?" Wade asked.

"Other shelters I’ve visited."

Wallace shrugged.

"Most settlements I’ve seen are either heavily focused on military defense or barely managing to survive. This place actually feels like people are trying to build a normal life. Is the apocalypse ending on your side?"

Reese was also unsure how to answer this... "We’ve been through quite a lot. I think we just wanted something closer to our home."

Wallace glanced at him.

"What kind of apocalypse are you people originally dealing with?"

Reese was slightly surprised by the question.

"The Zombie Apocalypse."

Wallace was quite impressed since he wouldn’t choose this option for sure...

"Zombies?"

"That’s right."

"Interesting."

Wallace looked around thoughtfully.

"Right... As you know, that’s not the apocalypse I came from. It’s the A.I. Rebellion Apocalypse."

The Supersoldiers immediately looked at him.

"A.I. rebellion?"

Wallace nodded.

"Artificial intelligence turned against humanity. Machines, androids, automated weapons, military systems... basically anything controlled by an A.I. became a potential enemy."

Wade frowned.

"So your enemies were machines?"

"Mostly."

Wallace smiled.

"Some were much worse than ordinary machines, though. They could learn, adapt really well, infiltrate networks, take control of other systems, and even manufacture more machines."

Reese’s expression became serious.

"That sounds troublesome."

Wallace chuckled.

"We spent more time worrying about what the enemy could control than what was actually standing in front of us."

Wade nodded slowly.

"Then how did the Codebreakers survive?"

"Well... Our Guild Leader is quite special. He’s capable of producing a lot of resources with his special ability... Anyway, with his help, we’re basically breaking the systems before the systems broke us."

Wallace grinned.

"That’s how the guild got its name."

Reese couldn’t help but smile.

"Not a bad name."

Wallace then looked at Reese.

"What about you? You said you came from a different world before joining the Foreign Survivors of this Apocalypse."

Reese’s expression became slightly more serious.

"My world was being invaded by the Demons before I got caught by the gray fog and summoned here."

Wallace immediately stopped smiling.

"A Demon Invasion?"

"Yes."

Reese nodded.

"Demons appeared everywhere. Some were weak enough for ordinary people to kill, but the stronger ones could destroy entire settlements."

Wallace glanced at the weapons hanging from his body.

"That explains all this."

He tapped his silver dagger.

"I suppose you had to become a Demon Hunter just to survive."

"I became one because I had no other choice."

Reese’s voice remained calm.

"If I wanted to live, I had to learn how to kill them."

Wallace nodded. He understood that answer better than most people would because he had to move to different Apocalypses and learn how to fight them.

"So you’ve experienced a Demon Apocalypse, I’ve experienced an A.I. Rebellion, and these people are dealing with Zombies."

"But since the apocalypses started merging, we’ve encountered a lot more than Zombies."

Reese nodded.

"Vampires... Dragons... Dragonoids... Demons."

Wallace’s expression slowly changed.

"Your world is kinda messed up... Different apocalypses are usually separated. Even when the Codebreakers travel between them, they’re normally distinct environments."

Reese’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"Then our situation really is unusual."

Wallace continued walking, his expression thoughtful.

"Anyway, one of the reasons the Codebreakers travel between different apocalypses is to collect information as much as we collect resources."

Reese glanced at him.

"So you know about other apocalypses?"

"Quite a few."

Wallace began counting on his fingers.

"A.I. Rebellion. Demon Invasion. Vampire’s Rise, Deep Sea Invasion... Several worlds affected by monsters. One where the environment itself became hostile to human life. Another where the entire world was basically covered by an endless ocean."

Wade’s eyes widened.

"An entire world covered by an ocean?"

"Yep."

Wallace shrugged.

"Unsurprisingly, they had some pretty good seafood. They have a huge ship called Gargantia..."

The Supersoldiers stared at him.

Wallace laughed.

"I’m serious."

Reese shook his head. "I can believe that. Everything can happen at this point."

As they continued walking, they passed several stores and workshops built along the street.

Wallace glanced toward them.

"So, where are we going?"

"We’re looking for a shop," Wade answered.

"A shop?"

"Yeah. You said you wanted to look around, didn’t you?"

Wallace nodded.

"Of course."

Reese pointed toward the street ahead.

"There are several shops here. Some sell food, some sell equipment, and there are also stores that specialize in items brought from other shelters."

Wallace’s eyes immediately brightened.

"Items from other shelters?"

"That’s right."

The conversation about the different apocalypses had clearly caught his interest, but the possibility of finding something unusual in Blue Haven’s shops seemed to interest him even more.

As they continued down the street, Reese finally pointed toward a shop...

It was a relatively unusual store compared to the others around it.

There were no weapons displayed outside, nor were there piles of food or ordinary survival supplies.

Instead, several sculptures were placed around the entrance.

Some were made of stone, others of metal, and a few appeared to be carved from materials Wallace couldn’t immediately recognize.

"What kind of shop is that?" Wallace asked curiously.

"It’s Adrian’s Store."

"Adrian?"

"He’s a sculptor. His sculptures are pretty famous around here."

Wallace looked at the statues outside again.

"They’re not just for decorations?"

"That’s right..."

Wallace became slightly more curious.

"What do they do?"

"You’ll have to ask Adrian yourself."