“It’s still unbelievable that I’m drinking something this cold in this weather,” Doral said, astonished as he gulped down the ice-cold orange juice. Ice in the middle of summer was a luxury that only kings or emperors had. The Ainos’ only way of enjoying such luxury was to go to places with cold weather all year round in the mountain ranges. However, it wasn’t easy to access as it would take more than a full day to get there. Also, half of the ice would melt during the transport so the entire village would have to share perhaps a fist-sized block of ice.
So the presence of an endless supply of ice and its coldness was natural.
“The fence for the sheep is done too.”
Joonbum handed a wet towel and orange juice to Gazlow who had just completed his work. He repeated Doral’s surprised comment and the other Ainos did the same. The people who came to help out rotated on a regular basis so it was a repetitive cycle when they experienced the coldness.
‘If I finish building the third outer wall…’
Joonbum looked around as he thought. The fortress now seemed to be a bit small due to the amount of visitors. More people were coming now that the monster hunting was over. Warriors who finished hunting had nothing else to do as the Ainos did not farm for their food. So, with their abundance of time, they came to visit the fortress.
Joonbum and Sunsook welcomed them as it gave them a sense of security as more came into the fortress. Its liveliness with the people in it was also a good thing.
The hard-working people gathered to rest as the sun became hotter. Each found their own spot under the shade to rest.
“Lunch is cold fruit punch!”
“Whoa!”
The kids ran toward Mayze after she called out to them.
“Okay, line up. Younger ones first.”
“Okay!”
Kids started lining up as Mayze directed them. People laughed at the sight and soon everyone had their bowl of fruit punch.
“Come back for more.”
“Thank you.”
A big basin made of stainless steel had bite-size strawberries, pineapples, peaches, and watermelons floating in cold milk mixed with honey and ice. It was cold and sweet — perfect food for such hot weather. It was very popular among the Ainos too.
“This is best! I like these fruits.”
“It cools me down.”
Satisfied, they started talking to each other as they started cooling down under the shade. It was peaceful.
“But are you really okay?”
“What?”
“Okay with some of us moving here?” Gazlow asked in sudden seriousness. Joonbum nodded.
“My mother and I are both grateful. We like having you people here.”
Gazlow let out a sigh of relief at the answer. It was Joonbum who welcomed it more as this was still unknown land. When the Ainos elders requested to move to his fortress, Joonbum and Sunsook welcomed the idea wholeheartedly. It was great to have a trustworthy neighbor in this wilderness.
‘It’s also good to be lively.’
“That’s reassuring. You sure are different from the humans down below. I might have to change my impression of them.”
Gazlow smiled as he spoke. Joonbum grinned in embarrassment. From what he heard from Doral, it looked like the humans here had a bad reputation among the Ainos.
A slow breeze swept through the fortress and the kids started napping in their spots. The adults brought blankets to cover them. Pretty soon, even the adults started taking naps.
‘Maybe I should take a nap too.’
Joonbum closed his eyes and soon began snoring. The livestock that grazed the area were now under the shade, falling asleep. Galfus and the cubs were about the same.
It was a peaceful moment that could not be found in the city. The hot summer evening passed by.
“Oh, that…”
Doral was curious about a machine that Joonbum was looking at. It was the Humvee parked in a dead spot outside all the cameras. The Humvee was brought in this morning with a heavy M-245 machine gun installed on top of it.
He wanted to install the Browning first, but Taesoo offered him this model instead. It was more durable and there was less overheating due to better technology. It was able to handle 500 bullets at once and the scope on it provided better accuracy from a distance.
-What did I say? I knew you were going to buy it. It’s like an addiction. Once you start gaining interest, you can’t stop. Did I talk about those rich people? They buy these because they’re hooked! You just need your hands on one, and then there’s no going back.-
Taesoo said this to him as he prepared all the requested items in just two days.
‘So I did buy it. What can I say?’ Joonbum thought as he felt the urge to try shooting it.
“When are you going to try it out?”
“Oh, so you’re going to shoot it?”
“Can we try it too?”
“Joonbum, that rifle from before was fun stuff.”
Men who had tried shooting before started gathering even before Joonbum could answer Doral’s question.
“Oh? Erm, haha.”
Joonbum scratched his head at the sudden attention.
‘I hope I’m not drawing people into this addiction.’
Joonbum did feel bad for spreading all the pollution and addiction from modern technology.
“So when are you going to try?”
Pree-an, who was quite close now, spoke out.
‘It’s too late now.’
However, it was not too much of a trouble as they were just purely interested. They acknowledged its power, but they did not seem to be greedy, nor did they want to acquire it for their own purposes. They knew the limitations the guns had and they were not thinking of replacing their weapons.
“We have to dig up a well today, so maybe in two days.”
He pointed to an empty spot on the ground. Sunsook was digging a large hole in the ground with an excavator.
‘Hail, my mother.’
Sunsook had changed a lot just like Joonbum after she started living in the other world. Her skin grew soft and her body seemed to gain youth. She now started sleeping less than four hours also.
With all the leftover time, she started studying agriculture and using heavy equipment.
‘Thanks to her, the fuel problem was solved.’
The Humvee’s fuel consumption was absurd. It consumed so much fuel that it was almost impossible to utilize it. But Sunsook took care of such concerns so easily when Joonbum explained the problem to her.
-It consumes too much fuel? How about we use biodiesel? You can easily make fuel from beans or corn. We have tons of field space here so I don’t think we’ll lack in numbers. They grow fast too.-
That instantly solved the problem. There were other instances where her knowledge proved useful.
Proposals for offering a catalog model photoshoot for his mother and the other Ainos women poured in as the women flawlessly using heavy farming machinery seemed to attract the attention of a lot of people.
“Water!”
