I drove home singing.

  It was an old pop song, something that used to play on a loop in the grocery store back when grocery stores existed. I didn't know all the words, but I hummed the melody, tapping my fingers on the steering wheel of the Terramotta.

  I was in a good mood. A fantastic mood, actually.

  The government propaganda—the fear mongering about the "Red Zones" being instant death traps—was a half truth. Yes, they were dangerous. But Rushfall proved that strong cultivators could carve out pockets of order. And the Spirit Stone vein proved that the real wealth wasn't huddling inside the Safe Zones; it was waiting out here for anyone brave enough to take it.

  The sun was just rising when I pulled into the driveway of the duplex.

  Aiya was in the driveway, standing on a mat in a warrior pose. About six of the new staff members from Eden were arranged behind her, stretching in unison. They looked peaceful, breathing in the morning air, seemingly forgetting that a mile away there were armed checkpoints and monsters.

  I watched Aiya for a moment.

  Her fear was gone. The desperate woman who had begged on my doorstep was a distant memory. But the efficient chef I saw in the kitchen wasn't quite her whole picture, either.

  It seemed that ascending Realms didn't change your personality. It just peeled away the layers of trauma and social conditioning to reveal the "True Self."

  Aiya’s True Self was apparently a community building hippie.

  "And what does that make me?" I wondered, looking at my own reflection in the rearview mirror.

  If she was light and community, I was walls and thorns. Was I always this cold? Or was this just what was required to survive?

  I pushed the thought away. Introspection didn't pay the bills.

  I got out of the truck, gave a little wave to the yoga class and headed straight for the backyard.

  "Time to expand," I whispered.

  I opened my System Menu. I had been eyeing two specific plants in the Catalogue for weeks, but I hadn't justified the Qi cost until now.

  [Unlock: Heavenly Whispervine (50 Qi)]

  [Unlock: Heavenly Filter (50 Qi)]

  "Unlock," I commanded.

  The knowledge flooded my mind.

  I started with the Whispervine. I planted a seed at the base of the duplex's gutter. I poured a little Qi into it.

  It grew rapidly, darker and denser than normal ivy. It crawled up the siding, wrapping around the eaves and the roof. It looked decorative.

  The effect, however, was immediate. The ambient noise of the street vanished.

  Heavenly Whispervine: Dampens sound and energetic signatures.

  I nodded, satisfied. Just as I had sensed Bells Ruper’s aura in Rushfall, any hostile cultivator could sense mine or Aiya’s. We were beacons in the dark.

  The Whispervine was a cloak. It masked the house. Combined with the Mandrakes for offense and the Bamboo for defense, the duplex was now a fortress that looked like a suburban home.

  Next, the Filter.

  I walked to the storm drain at the corner of the property. The water inside was black sludge, smelling horrible. I scooped some into a clear glass jar.

  I placed a Heavenly Filter seed in the jar.

  Roots exploded instantly, weaving into a dense mesh at the top. The sludge passed through the mesh.

  The water below turned crystal clear.

  I took a sip. It was cold, crisp, and tasted like it had been melted from a glacier in Heaven.

  "Perfect," I said.

  This had two uses. One: survival. We could turn sewage into drinking water if we had to. Two: Profit. I made a mental note to tell Aiya to start serving "Eden Water" at the restaurant. We could charge ten stones a glass for water this pure.

  But these were just side projects. I had a colony to build.

  I went inside and called for the sisters.

  Mayah, Sarah, and Chloe appeared in the living room a moment later. They were holding dusters and mops, looking terrified. They always looked terrified.

  "Put the cleaning supplies down," I said. "You're getting a promotion."

  Mayah blinked. "A... promotion?"

  "Pack a bag," I said. "We're leaving in ten minutes."

  I went to the hallway rack. My Grade 4 Spirit Bamboo Armor was useless—sliced clean in half by Bells' wind blade. I stripped it off and let it dissolve back into raw Qi. I didn't have the reserves to weave a new set yet. I would have to go out unarmored.

  Ten minutes later, the four of us were in the Terramotta.

  I drove past the checkpoint, waving to the guards. The sisters went pale as soon as we crossed the line into the Independent Territory.

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  We drove for an hour, deep into the wilds, until the paved road gave way to dirt. I navigated the truck over rocks and roots until we reached the rocky valley.

  The massive carcass of the snake was still there. The glowing vein of Spirit Stones pulsed in the morning light.

  I stopped the truck. "Everyone out."

  We stood before the vein. The wind howled through the valley. It was desolate. Dangerous.

  I turned to Mayah.

  "Congratulations," I said. "Mayah, you are the Governor of the first Eden Colony: Adam."

  Mayah stared at me. Then she looked at the rocks. Then at the dark forest surrounding us.

  "Governor?" she whispered.

  "Since you are from the outside, you know how to survive here," I explained. "You know how to interact with the people of the Wilds better than the soft citizens of the Safe Zone. Your talents are wasted scrubbing my floors."

  Mayah dropped to her knees.

  "Please!" she wailed. "Please, Mr. Kaaz! I'll work harder! I won't complain! Don't leave us here! We'll die!"

  Sarah and Chloe started crying too, clutching Mayah’s shirt.

  "We didn't do anything wrong!" Sarah sobbed.

  I sighed, rubbing my temples. I had approached this like a CEO giving a transfer order. I forgot that to them, I was just dumping them in a monster pit.

  "Stop crying," I said. "You misunderstand. This isn't a punishment."

  I unhooked the Heavenly Gourd from my belt.

  "Watch."

  I walked to the center of the valley, near the vein.

  I reached into the Gourd and pulled out a handful of Spirit Soil.

  Nothing grew without the soil. It was the foundation of my Path, and it would be the foundation of this town.

  I knelt and pressed the soil into the gritty earth of the Wilds. I poured my Qi into it.

  The ground trembled. The dust of the valley infused with vitality. Dark earth spread outward from my hand, consuming the rocks and the sand. It expanded in a circle, widening until it covered an area the size of a small village.

  Mayah stopped crying. She watched, wide-eyed, as the smell of rich, fertile earth replaced the scent of dry dust.

  "Now," I said. "We build."

  I reached into my pocket.

  Heavenly Bamboo.

  I threw the seeds along the perimeter of the new soil.

  Grow.

  Hundreds of stalks erupted from the ground, shooting up twenty feet in seconds. They wove together, forming a solid, impenetrable wall of green iron around the valley.

  Heavenly Whispervine.

  I planted it at the base of the wall. It surged upward, covering the bamboo in thick leaves, dampening the sound of the wind, hiding the energy signature of the vein.

  Heavenly Moss.

  I scattered spores across the ground. They took root instantly, carpeting the town in a soft, glowing teal turf that lit up the area and purified the air.

  Heavenly Mandrake.

  I buried the ugly roots at the four cardinal points of the wall. Sentry turrets, active and waiting.

  Heavenly Filter.

  I walked to a murky, stagnant pond at the edge of the valley. I threw a seed in. The black water swirled and cleared, turning into a pristine, blue reservoir.

  I stood up and dusted off my hands.

  The desolate valley was gone. In its place was a glowing, fortified sanctuary. The air was sweet. The walls were secure. It felt safer than the Safe Zone.

  Mayah stood up slowly. She looked around, her mouth slightly open.

  "This..." she whispered. "You made this?"

  "I made the shell," I said. "You run the engine."

  A horn honked in the distance.

  I used Dominion to slide a section of the wall open.

  Sal’s fleet of construction trucks rolled in, looking like a military convoy. Behind them, Aiya’s and Grace’s cars followed.

  Sal jumped out of his truck. He looked pale. His crew was gripping their hammers like they were ready to fight off a horde.

  "We're here," Sal said, his voice shaky. "We saw some... things on the way here, Kaz. Big things."

  "You're safe now," Grace said, stepping out of her car. She looked perfectly composed, though her eyes widened when she saw the Spirit Stone vein. "Look at the walls, Sal. Nothing is getting in here."

  Aiya walked over, looking at the moss. "Nice touch. Very zen."

  I gathered everyone—Sal, his crew, Grace, Aiya, and the sisters—around the glowing vein.

  "Listen up," I said.

  I pointed to the crystals jutting out of the earth.

  "This is the reason we are here. This is the reason for the colony."

  Silence. Even Grace looked stunned by the sheer size of the deposit.

  "This is Eden's first overseas territory," I continued. "We are done playing small. We are done relying on the Auction House for a measly million stones a week. Major factions don't run to auctions to pay their bills. Major factions produce."

  I looked at Grace. "This mine will fund the war with White Hill. It will save the Beckenfein empire. It will propel us into the big leagues."

  Sal raised a hand. "Okay, I see the money. But boss... you want us to build a town here? In the dirt?"

  "Not in the dirt," I said. "On the Spirit Soil."

  I pulled out a piece of notebook paper where I had sketched a rough plan.

  "I want a colony. Not a camp. A colony."

  I looked at Sal. "I want a hospital. A gas station. A general store. Residential homes for the workers. A schoolhouse."

  Sal nodded, taking notes.

  "And," I added, "I want a Saloon. For the eventual police force. And a Mansion. For Governor Mayah."

  Mayah straightened her spine. The fear was completely gone now. She was looking at the spot where her mansion would go.

  "What's the grid like?" Sal asked.

  "Copy Rushfall," I said. "I was there this morning. It’s a town about five miles east. They have a good urban layout. Compact, defensible."

  "How long will it take?" I asked.

  "A week," Sal said. "Maybe less if we work nights."

  "Good."

  Grace stepped forward, looking at the wild forest beyond the gate. "Kaz, the infrastructure is one thing. But who will live here? Who would want to live in such a dangerous and uncivilized place?"

  "People out here," I said. "People who can't afford to live in the Safe Zone. Rushfall taught me that civilization can exist anywhere if you have the force to defend it."

  I turned to Mayah.

  "So, Governor," I said. "Do you still want to go back? Do you want to return to the safe zone?"

  "No," she said firmly. "I'm fine here. I have no need to go back."

  "Good."

  I checked my watch.

  "Before you start building," I announced to the group, "I want everyone—Grace, Sal, Aiya, the sisters—to drive to Rushfall. Go look at it. See what is possible without the backing of a Major Faction. See how they live. Then come back here and build something better."

  "You're not coming?" Aiya asked.

  "No," I said, walking toward the Terramotta.

  "I'm going back," I said, opening the truck door. "I have work to do."