The village relocation took less than two days.
This wasn't surprising.
For one, the village was dirt poor, meaning the villagers had barely anything to move.
Their belongings were pitifully few.
Secondly, Steven had brought out several Iron Golems to handle the transportation.
With those things doing the heavy lifting, there was no way the process would take long.
But while the speed of the relocation was impressive, what truly baffled Talulah was something else entirely—
How had Steven built an entire new village in just one night?
Talulah clearly remembered following Steven to pick out a location.
At the time, it was just a desolate wasteland, filled with trees and scattered rocks.
Yet by the next morning, an entire village had seemingly appeared out of thin air.
A fully built, uninhabited mountain village.
The houses had that signature wooden-box look, something unmistakably Steven's style.
Sure, they weren't visually impressive, but in terms of quality, they far surpassed the crumbling shacks of the old village.
This was just ridiculous.
Talulah already knew that Steven was a man of many mysteries, but she never expected him to have construction skills on this level.
"You can do this too?!"
She stared at Steven in utter disbelief as he directed the Iron Golems.
"No, wait—forget that! What CAN'T you do?!"
If she could actually beat this guy in a fight, she would've tied him up and forced him to work for her.
Seriously, his skills were way too useful for the Infected.
As far as she was concerned, Steven alone could solve all their logistical problems—food, shelter, supplies—he had some kind of ability for everything.
Steven shot her a smug glance, his expression oozing with arrogance.
"Jealous, huh? Want this power?"
"Then go study hard, train hard."
"And maybe, just maybe, you'll win my heart one day."
"Unlike with friends or strangers, I help my wifes for free."
Talulah: "..."
She had never wanted to punch someone more than in this moment.
To be honest, Steven hadn't even pushed himself for this village.
If he had activated any of his structure building mods like the BuildPaste Mod, let alone building a village, he can craft an entire nation in one night.
The entire layout of the newly built village was directly inspired by the villages in Minecraft.
Sure, the houses looked like wooden boxes, but they were sturdy, capable of withstanding harsh winds and natural disasters.
That was more than enough.
Aside from the houses, Steven didn't add much else.
He simply placed a Waystone in the center of the village, and left a few Iron Golems behind as guards.
This village was now his personal tree farm.
The only thing he asked of the villagers was to watch over the tree field that he had deliberately spawned nearby.
After all, wood was something he would always need.
For the villagers, this was a dream come true.
Before, their deal with Steven had been temporary—just a short-term job.
But now?
Now they had a stable job with a reliable income.
No one wanted to stay poor and starving in that old, rundown village.
This was a fresh start.
And not a single one of them had any complaints.
Steven's wealth was beyond anything the villagers could comprehend.
They had all come to the same conclusion:
As long as they followed him, they would never go hungry.
As for whether the Ursus government would discover this place—Steven wasn't the least bit worried.
For one, those Iron Golems were not something an average person could handle.
And secondly, by the time he returned, it wouldn't matter if it was the Infected Patrol Squad or the official military—
He could wipe them out just as easily.
Seeing the hope slowly lighting up in the eyes of the villagers, Talulah couldn't help but smile.
This was the world she wanted to create.
A world where not just ordinary people, but also the Infected, could live under the same sky without fear.
But to achieve that dream…
She still had a long road ahead.
Her gaze unconsciously drifted toward Steven.
Toying with the communication device he had given her, she sighed inwardly.
If she could somehow convince this guy to help her…
Her journey would become so much easier—perhaps even half the struggles would be gone.
But unfortunately…
He was not an easy person to persuade.
Hell, she hadn't even convinced Patriot yet.
How could she possibly change Steven's mind?
The guy might as well tattoo "Not My Problem" on his forehead.
Relying on someone as lazy as him?
Yeah, not happening.
"You're leaving?"
She glanced at Steven.
Although he didn't look particularly dressed for travel, she knew better.
This was the guy who could pack up everything with just a flick of his wrist.
Honestly, she had always been curious about where the hell he stored his stuff.
Even when he let her search his pockets, all she ever found was empty space.
Steven gave a light nod.
"Yeah, not much to pack. If my ride is on schedule, it should be arriving soon."
He remembered clearly—Kal'tsit had said that Rhodes Island would only be staying in Ursus for about a month.
And by his calculations, it was about time for them to leave.
Since he planned to travel the world, catching a free ride seemed like the smart choice.
"So if I need to find you… I just use this to contact you?"
Talulah held up the communication device.
"What if there's an emergency? How fast can you come back?"
There was a hint of reluctance in her voice.
Steven could be an insufferable bastard sometimes, but she had to admit that whenever he was around, she always felt an unexplainable sense of security.
Like no matter what happened, there was nothing this guy couldn't solve.
Steven grinned.
"If it's urgent? Easy—just count to three, and I'll be standing right in front of you."
Talulah: "...…"
This damn liar.
"Who'd believe that?!"
She rolled her eyes.
"Didn't you say you're leaving Ursus? Do you even know how far this place is from other countries?"
Did he think he was some kind of superhuman?
Steven chuckled.
"Just trust me on this one."
Then, without warning, he reached out his hand, moving it toward her face.
Talulah froze.
Steven wasn't usually the touchy type, so this was weirdly out of character.
For a moment, she didn't even know how to react.
Her body instinctively stiffened as his fingers slowly approached.
What is he trying to do?
Touch her face?
Should she resist?
But… she owed him so many favors.
Letting him touch her for a second wasn't that big of a deal, right?
Just as Talulah's thoughts spiraled into chaos, overthinking every possible scenario—
She suddenly felt something press against her lips.
But it wasn't Steven's fingers.
It was something else.
Something strangely familiar.
A glass bottle's opening.
In that instant, all her previous emotions vanished.
Her expression dropped dead on the spot, staring at Steven with a look of pure disbelief.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Steven asked with an innocent grin.
"I'm about to leave, right? Gotta collect more 'Dragon's Breath' while I can. Come on, cooperate a little!"
"Oh, and when you trim your nails or peel off dead skin, save it for me. It might come in handy one day."
Talulah: "...…"
She had never wanted to punch someone more in her life.
"Screw you!"
With an angry kick, she slammed her foot into Steven's shin.
This guy… he was an absolute menace when it came to ruining the mood.
Steven just laughed, completely unfazed by her attack.
"You should be more energetic like this all the time."
Reaching out, he ruffled her silver-white hair, this time with no tricks—just a gentle, sincere touch.
"Stop overthinking things. Trust me, focus more on the present and live in the moment, got it?"
Talulah huffed, turning her face away.
"Tch, you think I need you to tell me that? Even if I screw up, Alina would snitch on me to you anyway."
She glared at him, but…
She didn't shake off his hand.
Steven chuckled.
"Alright, that's settled then. If you have time, take care of my wooden cabin. There's nothing valuable inside, but I left you a little surprise. If you can find it, consider it your reward."
After one last message, Steven stood up and headed toward the village's exit.
"You're leaving just like that? You are not even saying goodbye to Alina?"
Talulah called out, watching his retreating figure.
Steven waved a hand, not even bothering to turn back.
"I already said goodbye earlier. No need to drag it out."
With that, his figure slowly disappeared into the snowy plains.
Unbeknownst to Talulah, at some point, Alina had silently appeared beside her, watching Steven's departure together.
Perhaps…
They would meet again very soon.
<+>
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