After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World-Chapter 1917: Still in Voumi

After serving Voumi for so long, only a few lucky ones were not put in positions where they had to hurt innocents, including fellow Terrans.

They were Terran but they might not be innocent, and they had to determine whether they’d have to serve a sentence (likely as guards with extremely long work hours and with pay cuts, if the crimes were not too harsh).

Depending on their transgressions, their salaries might be fully withheld for a while. In a sense, this could be part of a community service because they served the enemy, even if they had been forced to.

To be fair, it was also in consideration of the Voumi Terrans’ psyche. If a person truly had a conscience, then this type of punishment was something they’d be willing to go through, and more, just to avoid depression.

As for those who were judged to be prisoners of war, they actually begged to be assigned to Voumi as well. They were too ashamed of what they had done as slaves, and were willing to work for more atonement points, but they could not bear to see fellow Terrans in Alterra.

One of these people was Terran Survivor #003, named Kaito. He was a metal user, but he received a special skill even back in Terran. The skill was called [Penetrative Strength] and the number of people he killed with a punch to the heart...was countless.

Some of that was even Terran.

During one of the wars, they were sent to attack Terran territories Northeast of Voumi. The friend he had been looking for was there, serving as a guard.

When the ’masters’ gave an order to kill, he ended up killing his own friend.

While they were asked to preserve merchandise, they were also asked to kill anyone who could become a serious threat, including strong people. His friend happened to be one, and they had to fight desperately to survive.

A citizen was nearby, reiterating the orders, and they kept yelling, ’Kill! Kill!’ and his body started moving on its own, all his limbs mindlessly compelled to do evil, even when his heart was breaking with each movement.

His friend knew he was being controlled and couldn’t do his best, which ultimately led to his demise. Kaito’s sharpened hand went through the man’s heart.

He still had nightmares of it every single day. It was as if he could still feel his heart beating on his palm, slowly dying as he did.

He felt a bit of his sanity leaving every time he woke up. When the recent town war ended, and he was still alive, he was honestly disappointed.

But then he heard that the wife of the new owner was a Terran, and Terrans in Voumi could be transferred to the allied Terran territory; he had no idea what to feel. He felt happy and relieved, yes, but he also dreaded having to face any of them.

He’d serve Terran territories later. For now, he wouldn’t be able to remain sane with them around.

Eventually, he figured out that the Terran territory was not just an ally—but the master. Most slaves were just not privy to what was happening outside, only knowing to listen to their masters, and maybe even stay in rooms whenever they were not being used.

It was, in all accounts, too miraculous to him, and he found it hard to believe, and it made him even more convinced that he couldn’t face them.

A part of him had been convincing himself that he only did what he did because there was no choice, softening the blame even if only a little.

But seeing thousands and thousands of Terrans living so well, even in this world, made him feel like everything that happened to him was his fault.

He was just incompetent and could only blame himself.

So, he was determined to serve Voumi well, at least as long as it didn’t hurt his fellowmen. Rather, he knew a lot of them were staying or had to stay. He wouldn’t do his people a disservice by serving this place instead.

They probably didn’t want to see the face of a traitor, anyway.

The rest were convinced that serving their sentence was actually helping fellow Terrans. Another was a top 50 named Tanya, Survivor #7. Unlike Kaito, she didn’t need to become a Prisoner of War.

While she wanted to see Alterra badly as well, people she cared for were still here, and could not leave, so she opted to stay. Although she hadn’t killed anyone as a slave yet, it was just because she was lucky that she was assigned elsewhere and not in wars.

In a sense, she was lucky she was a woman, as women were generally not used in wars. Even if she lost her pride, she at least avoided committing massacres, especially against her brethren.

With her ’ownership’ transferred to the master territory and could be earned back after a while, she was rest assured to stay in Voumi, as there was little chance someone could order her around.

She didn’t know how it was on the other side, but she would never feel rest assured until she freed herself.

She was afraid of hurting people, especially with the ability she received early on.

In Voumi, she was just a man’s toy, and people were unaware of her skills. She did not dare underestimate the Terran territory that could take over a local one. She wanted to observe more while waiting for her lover to be willing to move as well.

Tanya was a fire user, and the skill she received upon awakening back in Terran was something called [Remote Explosion]. As was in its title, she was capable of activating small bombs just with her skill...

It wasn’t too overpowered for a town, but as a village, a single move could kill dozens.

The reason why it wasn’t considered one of the ’peak skills’ (that is to say, the skills received by higher-numbered Terrans) was likely because of the requirements needed to activate it, as well as its cooldown.

What the bomb was, well, it was a liter of her own blood prepared a day prior. It could only be used once a day as well. Not that removing a liter of blood was healthy to do every day. That was enough to make someone a bit dizzy.

Further, the force could be distributed because blood was liquid. If she decided to throw a bottle of her blood without the lid, then the drops would also explode. Even if the impact was weaker per affected area, if they were going against people below level 15, then it could still cause some serious and lethal damage.

Even in a town, people could still die if the mixture was concentrated enough.

So far, all she killed with it were aborigines they went to war with before their village was taken over. Even then, she felt a heavy punch in the gut.

"Are you really staying here?" Kaito asked, holding her hand. He was looking at her with a complicated expression on his face. "If it’s because of me—"

"No, I’m doing it for myself," she said. "I want to observe that Alterra first," she said, learning on his broad shoulder.

"Hopefully...we will find a true home this time."