Chapter 92: Cleanliness and order were the entire point of the system
With Kulu circling high above like a silent scarlet shadow, his amber eyes tracking every single movement in the brush, Raiden set off down the ridge.
His bright pink tails swayed with an insufferable bounce as he deliberately paraded right past the thickets where the onlookers were hiding, practically inviting them to make a move.
Hana didn’t spare him another glance. She focused entirely on her tablet, adjusting her position on the granite boulder as the sheer scale of the operation widened.
Below the cliffside, Caspian was moving like a targeted demolition crew. Since he didn’t need to fly, his massive obsidian wings had already glided back, disappearing completely into his back to keep his movements fluid.
His horns caught the harsh sunlight as he unleashed precise, controlled streams of orange fire to vaporize the dense brambles and dead vines, leaving the heavy hardwoods perfectly unmarred for the Boars.
The Boar-kin, working in perfect sync with the automated builders, lugged the massive logs up the rocky slope, creating neat, towering stacks at the primary construction spot.
As the morning progressed, the exhausted Fox Tribe finally reached the lower perimeter boundary. They stood in a large, messy cluster at the edge of the clearing, their bundles clutched tightly to their chests.
Elder Meira kept her seven tails tightly tucked, while the Chief stood at the front, his gray features tight with a mixture of awe and deep-seated apprehension as he stared at the roaring machinery. They looked completely lost, unsure of where they belonged in this terrifying layout.
Hana swiped a screen on her tablet, connecting to the audio amplifier she had integrated into the primary sub-station hub. Her voice cut across the entire valley, clear, amplified, and entirely devoid of warmth.
"Listen up," Hana broadcasted, her deadpan tone echoing off the mountain walls, drawing the attention of the Fox Tribe, the working Boars, and the hidden scavengers lurking in the brush. "This is the foundation of New Eden. If you are here, whether you are the Fox Tribe or the outsiders hiding in my woods, the rules are identical. I am building a structured community with a public power grid, advanced medicine, and secure shelter. But nothing in this valley is free."
She paused, her dark eyes scanning the perimeter through her active drone feeds.
"If you want a piece of this technology, if you want a warm place to sleep, and if you want access to the medical bay, you will register with the Boar overseers and provide labor. You work, you follow the grid regulations, and you get what everyone else is getting. If you are here to loaf around, pray to your trees, or wait for a weakness to exploit..." Hana’s lips curled into a sharp, lethal smirk. "The strange metal things you see right now have dangerous weapons that can cut you in seconds, and Caspian has plenty of fire left. Don’t test the perimeter limits."
The kneeling and standing Fox Tribe members looked at each other, the younger generation swallowing hard as the reality of their new lifestyle set in.
The Chief simply closed his eyes and nodded, signaling his elders to begin organizing their kin into the designated lower sectors to await labor assignments.
Hana’s tablet suddenly pinged with several bright red warning indicators on the secondary display.
Past the lower ridges, a few of the scruffy leopard-kin and heavy-set bear-kin were shuffling closer to the tool crates, their sharp claws flexing with clear, predatory anticipation.
They were muttering among themselves, obviously plotting to grab some of the loose metal components and run off into the thickets.
"Idiots," Hana muttered.
She didn’t call for Caspian or Kulu. Instead, she tapped the screen, activating the defense protocol on the surveillance quadcopters hovering directly above the thieves.
The drones dipped low, their undercarriage taser units humming with an ominous blue electrical current that cracked sharply in the quiet air. The red laser pointer aimed directly at the beastmen’s chests and made them freeze mid-step.
Hana had no intention of letting blood spill on New Eden’s soil today unless it was absolutely necessary—and if it came to that, she would be the one doing the purging, not these uncoordinated scavengers.
Cleanliness and order were the entire point of the system.
The bear-kin took one look at the humming drone, another look at the Fire king snapping a hardwood trunk with his bare hands below, and slowly backed away into the trees, dragging his companions with him.
> [COMMUNITY INITIATED: PUBLIC BROADCAST COMPLIANCE]
> Current Labor Status: 42% Registered
> Perimeter Security: Maximum Grid Control Active.
> Note: A strict regime prevents structural rot. Keep the inventory under lock and key.
Hana swiped a stray lock of hair from her face and tucked it behind her ears, her eyes reflecting the scrolling green code as the first automated builder began laying down the concrete-alloy synthetic foundation for the housing sector.
The worms were still twisting in the dark, but as long as her fingers were on the glass interface, her new world was going up precisely by the numbers.
The concrete-alloy foundation was settling with a dense, heavy hum, and everything was going smoothly.
Once they were done with the foundation, the construction could finally commence without a hitch.
"I’ll put this part for the Boar settlement," she muttered to herself as she swiped through the layout. The heavy lifters and very diligent workers would be closer to the den, but not too close that they pose a threat during a rebellion.
There’ll be a fence in between right here... she zoomed in and locked on her focus when a sharp, desperate cry cut straight through the mechanical roaring of the saws.
Hana didn’t look up immediately, assuming it was another territorial skirmish at the perimeter, but the proximity sensors on her drone feed didn’t just flash a standard red warning.
They began to pulse erratically, matching a sudden spike in frantic movement coming from the eastern rocky pass.
"Move! Out of the way!" a deep, panicked voice roared from the thickets.
A group of three large, rugged badger beastmen burst through the tree line, ignoring the automated security drones that immediately swiveled to paint red laser dots across their chests.
They weren’t holding weapons; instead, they were carrying a makeshift stretcher made of heavy vines and thick branches.
Lying on the stretcher was a small, pale rabbit-kin female. Her breathing was shallow, her hands clutching a heavily distended belly that was practically rigid.
