What I saw in front of me was a well-barricaded mall with fences here and there. It's almost like a fortress but not that grand. Most of the ramparts were made of razor wire with a wooden plank, and some vital points were made of bricks, but they were not that bulky either. Reasonably well made, I would say, it was a testament to the resourcefulness of its defenders. While not grand, the mall's defenses were certainly well-crafted.

  The mall itself is quite big. If I exaggerate it a little bit, this mall is probably approximately 210.000 m2 wide.

  I saw the entry post for the camp. It used to be an entrance booth, but it seems they remade it into some kind of gate. Quite well guarded, I saw at least five sentries on the lookout.

  "Hey, it's me."

  Maya said to those sentries.

  "It's scout squad open the gate."

  One of them said.

  It seems he is the head of this sentry group.

  "Who's that other guy?"

  Ask the head sentry.

  "A survivor we found on the way to the forest."

  Maya explained.

  Found eh? Well, she is technically correct.

  "I see"

  Accept the head sentry without questioning much.

  "that dude's name is Rudi. He kinda like the leader of the guard in this camp."

  Whisper Maya to me.

  "Hhmm"

  I nod at her whisper.

  "You brought ogre? That's marvelous let me help you with that."

  Said Rudi to Maya, offering his help. It seems he quite respects her.

  "Okay, please take it to the dismantler. Bima handed it to them."

  Maya accepts the offer nonchalantly.

  "Yes, this is the corpse. Thank you"

  Said Bima happily, giving the ogre's corpse to the sentries.

  As I stepped inside, the camp was a hive of activity, a stark contrast to the ghost towns that the city had become. People bustled about, giving the place a sense of life and vibrancy in the times when most of the cities looked like ghost towns. It's indeed quite a spectacular sign.

  "Bima, you're dismissed. I'll contact you later for the next scouting. And you, the housing department, are inside the mall. I'm planning to go in the same direction. I'll take you there."

  Said Maya to Bima and me.

  "Yes, thank you very much."

  Bima replied while walking away hurriedly.

  Stepping inside, I was greeted by a three-floor mall, each ceiling towering at 7 meters. It was a decent building, and what surprised me the most was the functional air conditioning, a luxury in these post-apocalyptic times.

  "The housing department is just right in the corner."

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

  Said her to me.

  "Ah, yes. Thank you"

  Spacing out, I thank her.

  "I'll take my leave then. Just tell the staff inside that u're the survivor that I brought. Also, if you still want the training that I promised you, meet me at the training ground located on the east side parking lot after you are done packing.

  She adds.

  "Got it."

  I said, gladly accepting her offer.

  I walk inside the housing department, I remember this used to be a bookstore. It seemed they refurbished it into some kind of office.

  I walked toward it, and someone greeted me.

  "Hello, my name is Hannah. Can I help you?"

  Said a woman named Hannah. She is a woman with shoulder-length black hair and dark brown eyes.

  "Yes, my name is Rian. I am a survivor that Maya just brought in. She said this is the place I should go for housing?"

  I explained to her.

  "That's right. So Miss Maya brought you in?"

  She confirmed my question.

  "Yeah, she did."

  I also answered her question.

  "I see. We provide free room for the housing, but it's a shared room, so you need to share it with a few people. We also offer private accommodation, but you have to pay for it."

  She explains how housing in this camp works.

  The system in this camp is actually really solid, and I doubt I can still call this place a camp at this point.

  "Pay?"

  I ask her. Does money still have value in this kind of situation? Do they use valuable minerals like gold instead?

  "Yes. You can pay with essence. Three lesser essences for a night, with four lesser essences, you can get a room with air-con."

  She explained how payments work in this camp.

  I have haunted quite a lot of goblins on the way to the forest, but that doesn't mean I have to overspend. I haven't even researched how to consume this essence stuff, but of course, having a shared room is a no-go since it's an unfamiliar place for me, and I don't want to risk sharing a room with any stranger.

  "Okay, I'll rent a private room without air con for 6 days then. You can keep the changes."

  I said while giving her 20 pearl

  "Okay, a quite generous one, aren't you? Now that I'm not busy, let me accompany you to your accommodation."

  She praises and offers me her service.

  "Thanks. I'll gratefully accept your much-needed offer."

  I'm clueless about this place, after all. Furthermore, the room itself is probably in the apartment complex beside this mall, which would be a hell of work to ask around for.

  We walk around for a few minutes. Conversing on the way mostly about superficial things like stuff about her struggle when the migration started and how this camp came into existence.

  We finally made it to my accommodation. Damn, I'm really gladful for her thoughtfulness. It's literally a maze to reach this room.

  "Thanks, I am really grateful for this."

  I thank her.

  "It's okay. This can be said part of my job, after all. Anyway, this is my number. You can call me if you need help with any general affairs at this camp."

  Said Hannah while giving me a piece of paper that looked like a Name card.

  "You're a lawyer? Sure I'll call you when I'm being sued"

  I said jokingly while observing her name card.

  "Hahaha, I was a lawyer. Sure, I'll be your legal advisor for free if the court still exists. Sadly, I'm just a staff member at this camp now. Well, I'll take my leave then."

  Said Hannah to humor my horrible jokes and take her leave.

  "Yeah, see you next time then."

  I said goodbye to her, too.

  Now that I'm in the room. It's quite a small but decent room. I unpack my backpack. I try to charge my phone just in case it is possible, and it does get recharged.

  "This accommodation is worth it after all."

  I said to myself.

  While at it, I try the so-called consuming essence. I didn't ask for the details about it to Maya cause I was afraid she would realize how clueless I was. All in all, she said consuming, so I probably just need to eat it. So I just cleaned the pearls and put one in my mouth.

  [Consuming the essence (lesser)]

  [Your body is blessed]

  [The percentage of consumed essence is increased]

  [Your vitality is increased]

  It's said the percentage increased, but I can't feel anything has changed at all. Is it because my stats are already too high? I consume a few more to see the effect, but it's neglectable at best.