I walked out to meet them.
"Stay back," I said. My voice was amplified by the acoustics of the dead street.
"We need help," the man said. "My sister is hurt. We saw the ranking. Ravenna Fortress. That's you, right?"
"It is," I said.
"Let us in. Please. The monsters are coming back tonight."
I looked at them. I activated [Architect's Eye].
[Human (Lvl 2) - Class: Brawler] [Human (Lvl 1) - Class: Nurse] [Human (Lvl 1) - Class: None]
A Nurse. That was valuable.
"This isn't a charity," I said coldly. "This is a private residence."
The man bristled. "The world is ending, and you're talking about private property?"
"The world ended yesterday," I said. "This is the new world. And in this world, safety costs money."
I pulled a piece of paper from my inventory. It was a blank sheet, but the System allowed me to scribble terms on it.
"You can enter," I said. "But you sign a contract. 50% of your loot goes to the House. You work eight hours a day on construction. You defend the walls when the alarm sounds. You break the rules, you get evicted."
"Evicted?" the Nurse asked.
"Thrown into the nail pit," Silas added helpfully from behind me.
The group hesitated. They looked at the dark alleys behind them. They looked at the sturdy walls of my fortress.
"We'll sign," the man said.