Zhao Yuan did not like how quiet Tom had been on their ride back to the old restaurant—a space that had remained stubbornly unchanged despite her sweeping upgrade at Liu Han's shelter.
Still, she understood the logic behind its rustic appearance: this old, beat-down structure functioned as an independent, mobile hub—a tether she could deploy whenever she needed to venture into uncharted, dangerous territories.
Seeking clarification before they departed, she shared her concern with the System.
"Do I need to leave this station here?" she asked, considering it contained the local gateway that had connected her to this sector in the first place.
"No. The new secondary restaurant in the upgraded shelter has its own built-in terminal," the System responded calmly, its soft voice bringing her a wave of relief.
"And Ben—will he have to live inside that branch restaurant, or can he work his shifts there and still reside in the main compound?" she continued, moving around the counter to pack away the dishes she had left out yesterday as she prepped the building for retraction.
"He may choose where to reside. The terminal network maintains a constant spatial connection," the System explained efficiently.
Hearing this, Zhao Yuan felt a quiet sense of comfort. She genuinely hadn't wanted to force Ben into isolation, separating him from the other five servers.
Looking at Tom as he methodically wiped down the counters in total silence, her thoughts drifted deeper. She couldn't help but wonder about the origins of Tom, Ben, Leah, Mike, Ann, and Cindy. A lingering suspicion told her that, just like herself, they hadn't chosen to abandon their old lives. They, too, had likely been plucked from their home worlds by the System's unyielding mechanisms, stripped of their pasts, and drafted into service under the guise of an absolute command.
She felt a quiet surge of empathy for them. Even though she was deeply curious about how the System had persuaded—or forced—them to leave their former lives behind, she resolved never to pry. Some wounds were better left unprobed, and in a world where everyone was bound to obey, solidarity was felt in silence rather than words.
Gazing at Tom's impassive, flawlessly sculpted features, she wondered what kind of life he had led before he was drafted into this apocalyptic reality.
"Are you the one who selected them?" Zhao Yuan asked softly, breaking the stillness. She remembered clearly that while she had directly summoned Tom, the System hadn't asked for her input or preferences when generating the five new assistants this morning.
"Yes," Tom answered, looking up with a calm, even expression.
Zhao Yuan gave a slow, understanding nod. It made sense that the senior assistant would curate his own operational staff. Yet, as she watched him finish his work, she couldn't help but wonder if he had chosen those specific five because he recognized them—if perhaps they had shared a history or belonged to the same forgotten world before being summoned here.
Keeping the thought to herself, Zhao Yuan stepped up to the control display and recalled the independent restaurant unit.
The structure dissolved around them in a brief flash of light, and together, she and Tom stepped through the glowing portal of the terminal, returning safely to the main shelter compound.
The sun was dipping below the horizon by the time Zhao Yuan and Tom stepped out from the main building's terminal hall into the central courtyard.
Dusk had painted the sky in shades of bruised purple and deep orange, but the shelter was illuminated by the crisp, golden glow of the automated streetlights. The atmosphere in the main compound was noticeably different from when they had left that morning. The air was clean, humming with the steady, quiet rhythm of an operational machine.
Down near the task fields, Gao Haiming was wrapping up the evening shift check-ins. Long lines of tired but well-fed residents tapped their wrist chits against the central terminal, receiving their daily credit allocations without a single dispute. Across the plaza, Cheng Xue was leading a group of young survivors out of the newly opened educational wing, while Gao Shen and Xue Lili stood near the inner wall, conducting a brisk handoff with the night watch.
Everything was running with terrifying efficiency.
Standing near the entrance of the primary restaurant, Ben, Ann, and Cindy were coordinating the dinner rush. The moment Zhao Yuan stepped into view, all three bowed in perfect, synchronized unison.
"Welcome back, Custodian Zhao," Ben greeted smoothly, his voice pleasant and completely steady. "The day's operational reports have been compiled. Sector clearings under Mike and Leah yielded zero casualties, and terminal throughput has increased by thirty-four percent."
"Good work," Zhao Yuan replied, her tone cool and collected. "Ben, you will be taking over management of the Sub-District 4 branch starting tomorrow morning. The terminal connection is active."
"Understood," Ben answered without a second's hesitation, as if being assigned to oversee a newly integrated warlord estate was no more complex than clearing a dinner table. "I will prepare the morning roster accordingly."
Zhao Yuan gave a quiet nod and continued toward the newly added upper administrative floor that had materialized during her last structural upgrade, Tom stepping into place behind her like an unbreakable shadow.
As they entered the quiet space of her office, the large panoramic window offered a sweeping view of the entire shelter. Below, hundreds of people went about their evening routines, feeling safe, fed, and protected under her banner.
Zhao Yuan rested her hand against the cool, reinforced glass, looking out over the illuminated compound.
Thinking back to the second location she had been deployed to when the System evacuated her following Liu Han's initial attack, a faint headache began to throb behind her temples.
That place had been exponentially worse than Liu Han's territory. The survivors who had surrounded her mobile restaurant there looked far more gaunt, desperate, and feral than anyone she had encountered in Sub-District 4.
Tomorrow, that was precisely where she had to go. But as she stared out into the dark wasteland beyond her walls, she couldn't help but wonder whether she would find an existing structure to upgrade this time, or if she would have to build a haven entirely from scratch.
"Is there anything else you require tonight, Boss?" Tom asked softly from behind her, his tone respectful and serene.
"No," Zhao Yuan said, stepping back from the window with her usual composed, unbothered smile. "Get some rest, Tom. Tomorrow will be a long day."
"Understood. Rest well, Boss," Tom replied with a crisp nod, stepping backward out of the office and shutting the heavy door without a sound.
Once she was alone, Zhao Yuan turned off the primary lights, leaving only the soft blue glow of the System dashboard to illuminate the room. The quiet hum of the environmental controls filled the space as she sat down at her desk, letting her eyes drift over the sector map floating on her screen before finally turning in for the night.