Chapter 496 - 314: Peace on the Ruins (Part 2)

Chapter 496: Chapter 314: Peace on the Ruins (Part 2)

Their only drawback was their desire to paint every building red. They would stubbornly point to a row of red houses that all looked the same color to the locals, insisting that this wasn’t just one "red," but a "vibrant spectrum of red."

They would also lament that the common tongue lacked enough words to describe different shades of red.

The locals gradually got used to it.

Red houses were better than no houses, and besides, it was a kind of Devilish flair. Maybe they could even market it as a tourist attraction in the future.

Having gotten a taste of the sweet success of live streaming, Asmodis had the Devils start broadcasting from the construction sites.

They’d already bought the streaming equipment, so it would be a waste not to use it.

This time there wasn’t a "pay-to-smack" segment, but the clever Devils still came up with a new gimmick.

Performing extreme sports on the construction site.

Donate a gift, and they’d perform a little stunt that would make a safety inspector flee the scene.

They were fully exploiting the Legendary durability of the Devils.

The construction live streams even got a sponsor: Red Dragon Beverage from the Zog Group.

Considering the Devils’ stunts didn’t have a very high success rate, this time the tagline was truly, "Your death will be more spectacular than you can imagine."

The Devils didn’t require Augustine City State to repay a hefty loan; their only demand was for the city-state to accept Devils as residents.

The people readily agreed.

Now, most of the Augustine People felt a great sense of security being around the Devils.

Another organization that provided a great deal of help was the Zog Group.

Despite immense construction pressure in Deepwater City, Zog still managed to spare a Beastman construction team.

Their main task wasn’t to do the construction themselves, but to teach the locals how to use advanced construction machinery.

Many new types of construction machinery had been invented during the work in Deepwater City. Zog had no part in their creation; they were entirely the product of collaboration between the workers and the Deep Research Institute.

Zog couldn’t have participated even if he’d wanted to; it was a blind spot in his knowledge.

Of all the organizations providing aid, the Zog Group was the most "generous."

So generous, in fact, that the Augustine People could hardly believe it. All that seemingly high-end, large-scale machinery was provided "for free," and all the Zog Group required in return was the lease for a stretch of wasteland on the outskirts of the city-state.

No matter how they thought about it, the people couldn’t figure out what use Zog had for that wasteland.

You couldn’t even farm that godforsaken place. The soil was so barren that even potatoes, which were incredibly easy to grow, failed to sprout.

It was also dangerous and uninhabitable, as the ground was riddled with holes of unknown depth that constantly vented gas.

The locals called it "flash-fire gas." With the slightest spark, the gas would erupt into jets of flame, and if you were unlucky, it would explode.

That was why the Augustine People had always stayed far, far away from that place.

Since Zog wanted to lease it, the Augustine City State, as a show of good faith, wrote up the lease for two hundred years.

Zog said they were too kind, that one hundred years would probably be enough to finish extracting everything, but he didn’t mind two hundred.

As for Lavin.

At first, he wanted to do something more practical.

Like becoming a construction worker, rebuilding his homeland with his own hands.

But he was all thumbs, and people found him a nuisance on the construction site. Besides, as a laborer, he would probably never be able to repay his debt to Zog in his lifetime.

So, he tried his hand at learning administrative affairs, but he quickly discovered he wasn’t cut out for that, either.

Otherwise, with his fame, he would have had a huge advantage going into politics.

Examples of celebrities becoming politicians were not at all uncommon.

So in the end, Lavin went back to his old profession.

Mascot.

No, spiritual leader.

He was responsible for attending various events, visiting different places, and providing emotional support for the people.

His schedule for the day was a visit to a new elementary school.

A school established by a charitable organization.

Several young people from the big cities had chosen to come to this place, so recently freed from the flames of war, to bring knowledge to the children.

And they did it all without any pay.

Lavin felt humbled. Everything he did for the Augustine City State was because it was his homeland.

But those young people had no connection to this place, yet they had chosen to come here regardless.

’Such noble spirits.’

Lavin didn’t take a car; he chose to walk to the elementary school.

Resources were tight; he had to save wherever he could.

He had no savings at all now. A large portion of the money he earned went to repaying his debts, and he donated the rest.

’Besides, a good walk is nice. Good for exercise.’

It was a beautiful day. The sky was a clear, cloudless blue. A cool breeze swept through the reconstruction sites, carrying away the land’s past pain and gloom. It also tousled Lavin’s golden hair.

He smoothed down his hair. ’A mascot needs to maintain his image.’

"Mr. Lavin, where are you off to today?"

People nearby greeted him warmly. It was hard to find anyone in the city-state who didn’t recognize him anymore.

"The elementary school."

"Oh, that’s a great place. If I wasn’t too old, I’d go learn to read myself."

"You can sit in on the classes."

"I was just talking."

Hearing this, his fellow workers burst out laughing.

"Knew you were all talk."

"Didn’t you say you wanted to learn to read? Go on, then!"

"We give you an opening and you don’t even take it!"

Facing his coworkers’ jeers, the man’s expression didn’t change. "If I go to study, who’s going to run this drill?"

As he spoke, he cranked up the Magic Energy Engine beside him, charging the drill in his hands. A moment later, with a ROAR, the drill easily shattered the collapsed brick wall at his feet.

’Another little gadget from the Zog Group.’

Even though he’d seen them many times, Lavin couldn’t help but marvel. ’Where do they get all these ideas?’

A machine that could generate its own Magic Energy, no longer needing to rely on Magic Energy Stones for power. And all those other inventions that made the reconstruction work exponentially more efficient.

If someone had told Lavin a few years ago that things would turn out this way...

He would have thought they were dreaming.

The elementary school was currently the best-built structure in the city. It had been the demonstration site for Zog’s Beastman construction team.

The school not only had bright, clean buildings but also a playground.

It stood in stark contrast to the rest of the city, which was still largely in ruins.

More and more people were realizing the importance of education, so the construction of schools had become a top priority.

On the playground, a hundred or so children were happily chasing each other and playing. Lavin couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen such a sight in Augustine.

’I hope this peace can last.’

He thought to himself.

Although the city now seemed vibrant and full of life, with a future that looked incredibly bright, there were in fact many hidden dangers lurking beneath the surface.

The war had temporarily united the various factions within Augustine.

Now they had formed a provisional government, declaring their intent to rebuild the city-state together.

But Lavin was deeply skeptical. ’Can these factions, which have been divided by faith and nursing grudges for centuries, truly come together as one?’

He sighed and finished registering at the school gate.

Just as he entered the school, a teacher spotted him.

"Class, look who’s here!"

Lavin was immediately drowned out by the children’s screams.

’Okay, this is the one thing I don’t really like about kids.’

"I’ve brought presents for everyone."

Lavin then revealed the must-have item for any Zog Group employee at home or on the road: a Treasure Chest Monster.

It was filled with the stationery he planned to give out today.

He had worried that the Treasure Chest Monster’s appearance might scare the children.

Clearly, his worries had been for naught.

To students who were used to seeing Devils, the Treasure Chest Monster looked practically cuddly.

"Form a line, there’s one for everyone."

With a professional smile plastered on his face, Lavin handed out gifts to each child, making small talk and offering a few words of encouragement.

This went on for half the day.

A timid child walked up to Lavin, holding a poster.

"Excuse me, could you sign this for us?"

Lavin didn’t even need to look to know what poster it was. It was definitely for Buffalo Bill.

"Of course."

He glanced at the student. The child’s clothes were old, torn, and ill-fitting.

Lavin decided he would buy him a proper set of clothes out of his own pocket.

’He wasn’t flush with cash right now, but he could still afford that much.’

Lavin deftly signed the poster.

"How about I get you a new set of clothes, too?"

"Really? Could you?"

"Of course."

"That’s great! Now my little brother can finally go to school!" he shouted with excitement, then clapped a hand over his mouth, realizing he’d let something slip.

Oh?

The screenwriter enthusiast in Lavin smelled a good story.