"Ah, I see. Mr. Generator wants Sasha to go hunting, right?"
Ino quickly summarized Alina's explanation, conveniently skipping over the part about Sasha needing to be mindful of his Originium Arts usage.
"Make sure he takes care of himself."
"He'll be healthy; you don't need to worry about that."
Ino possessed healing Originium Arts, though they weren't yet fully developed. If he stayed with the guerrillas, there'd be plenty of opportunities for him to hone his skills.
But Alina worried about his mental state. This child was too simple, viewing everything as either black or white. Such rigid thinking could easily push him toward extremes.
"With you here, I can rest easier," Alina said, gently patting Ino's white hair. "I have other matters to handle. Don't forget to tell Sasha, okay?"
Ino looked delighted. "Alright, you go ahead."
Wang Zhan found it peculiar. Since Alina trusted this child, he had no reason to interfere.
"By the way, do you know how to contact the guerrillas?"
With a storm looming, Wang Zhan felt it would be better for the Patriots and the guerrilla forces to retreat beneath the Generator. Resources were tight and couldn't sustain 2,000 people, but surviving the storm came first.
If they had a way to handle the storm on their own, so be it. There was no need to force them into a shared hardship.
"Talulah should know," Alina said after some thought. "Her close comrade, Karl, likely knows as well."
Though Talulah was a bit impulsive, her decisions were always well-considered. She must have left Karl with a way to communicate with the guerrillas, ensuring a channel for dialogue between Wang Zhan and the Patriots.
"Did he go out on patrol this morning?"
Wang Zhan recalled that Talulah had assigned him to lead a patrol team. He should be back by now.
"The twenty-four hours are up; they should be returning," Alina replied.
Wang Zhan waited a bit longer, checking on the doctors he had recruited. Gatling was expected to arrive at the Generator tomorrow.
"Huh?"
Dorothy's recruitment request had been approved?!
But it would take her a month to reach the Generator. Would she survive the journey?
The storm was fierce. By the time she arrived, it might already be raging.
He pondered ways to bring this promising talent over but eventually gave up. He simply didn't have the capacity to deal with her situation right now.
"What a pity."
[Our temporary patrol team has discovered a warm cave near the canyon. Not far from the entrance, they found moss growing, leading us to suspect there's a hot spring inside. This could be used for farming.]
[However, they heard strange noises coming from the cave and decided not to venture further. Should we proceed with the exploration?]
Wang Zhan stared at the sudden notification, deep in thought. The "Yes" button was grayed out, requiring the Temporary Patrol Decree to be activated first.
Why did this feel like paying off a debt?
Mu Ye had been hinting at activating this decree repeatedly.
"Karl's back," Alina said, bringing Karl to the base of the Generator.
Karl's bear ears twitched as he grinned, clearly anticipating a new assignment.
"Alina, what does Mr. Generator need from me? I'll do my best."
"Do you know how to contact the guerrillas?" Alina asked urgently.
"Yes! What does Mr. Generator wish to convey? I'll head to the nearest contact point immediately."
Alina frowned, her expression serious. "Mr. Generator wants you to keep this confidential for now. Don't tell anyone else."
Karl was used to such requests. Though he found Alina's insistence amusing—she was, after all, a country girl unaccustomed to big events—he didn't think much of it. Raising his hand, he declared, "I swear to the Generator!"
Only then was Alina satisfied. "There's a strong storm heading for the northern plains. Mr. Generator hopes the guerrillas can come here to take refuge."
A storm?!
Karl laughed. When it came to storms, no one was more experienced than the Patriots.
"That's it? I thought it was something serious."
"This storm is expected to drop the temperature around the Generator by sixty degrees Celsius," Alina added. She was shocked by the data—it sounded impressive, but what did sixty degrees feel like?
Karl fell silent, his black eyes filled with skepticism. "You're not joking, are you?"
But since this came from Mr. Generator, there was no reason to doubt its authenticity.
"Understood," Karl said, now grasping why Alina was so insistent on secrecy. If the infected learned about this, it would cause an uproar.
But in Karl's opinion, there was no need to hide it. Where could these infected go?
Apart from the Generator, every other path was a dead end!
"Got it. I'll take care of it," Karl said, dashing north toward the canyon before Wang Zhan could ask about the cave. He disappeared from sight.
Fine, the guerrilla matter was more urgent. He could ask other patrol members about the cave later.
"Alina, make sure to reassign the patrol team. They've served their punishment and need a break."
"Alright, I'll handle it. Don't worry."
Alina quickly gathered former members of Talulah's unit and organized a temporary patrol team, sending them off to monitor the canyon's outskirts.
"Anything else to arrange?"
Wang Zhan glanced at the progress on the workbench. The textile factory's research was almost complete. "Nothing for now. You can take a break."
Alina let out a breath of relief, gathering the children playing hide-and-seek in the camp. Busy as she was, their lessons couldn't be neglected.
But outside the screen, Wang Zhan was fretting. Mu Ye's construction patch had added build times to structures, requiring several hours and manpower.
The textile factory would likely be completed tonight and operational by tomorrow.
The next tech to research was the drafting table, which would take eight hours at full efficiency. But current efficiency was only 60%.
To speed up research, he'd need to assign Alina and Talulah to the workbench and activate the Engineer Apprenticeship decree. This way, they could meet their goals before the storm arrived.
As for the next decree to activate, the plan was clear: Children's Shelter, followed by Engineer Apprenticeship.