Zombie Queen transmigration into a book

Chapter 186: Whoa! A rare find

The morning on the other island was lively and busy with construction, as before.

Though the smell of cooked crab meat filled the air, every pot had a crab boiling in it.

"Should we start building the surrounding wall? Metal users fortify it with cement blocks." one of the engineers suggested, pointing to the blueprint showing where the walls would be built.

Grace had been against building walls so soon, but that attack on the shore had taught her otherwise.

"Do that, and hire able-bodied men or women to help with the construction. Three square meals will be payment enough," she instructed. The man nodded in response before heading out to begin construction.

The surrounding trees had been cleared, and the city’s foundation was being laid, with rigs digging and tunnels being created by earth users.

Grace rubbed her stiff neck and flipped through the newly produced paper filled with ideas the scientist and others had created.

Before, they had known how to make paper; they used animal skin instead to preserve the scarce trees they had in Oasis city. Now, however, they had an abundance of trees at their disposal.

"An underground water source for drinking needs to be dug and channeled into the city for use," Grace read aloud, then flipped to another page, feeling it wasn’t important at the moment.

[Drainage system to be laid beneath the city, with restrooms available for use.] Grace paused, then marked the idea as important to carry out.

[New monetary system.]

[Dungeon raids.]

Grace read on and on, ticking off the ones that needed her immediate attention, while the rest were set aside for later, when the city was built.

She worked for hours, jotting down her ideas while consulting the hidden family heads for guidance and scientists and engineers for input.

While recruitment for the wall’s construction was underway, notices were circulated in writing or read aloud to those who were illiterate.

The city’s construction was underway, settling into a calm rhythm, while Grace, her subordinates, other administrators, and the Veil Order handled minor issues as they arose.

....

Meanwhile, Eva, Julian, and Ethan escaped through the trees as a cluster of bees relentlessly pursued them.

The buzzing sound filled the air, causing Ethan to transform his furry ears into human ones with a grimace of pain.

"There’s a cave ahead!" Julian yelled over the buzzing as his snake slithered swiftly in that direction.

Eva and Ethan felt a wave of relief and quickly guided their beast toward that area.

The scenery blurred into streaks of color due to their speed. A few minutes later, they reached the cave opening and, without hesitation, went inside.

Eva quickly placed their beast in the space as they went deeper into the cave, the space narrowing the farther they went.

Eva stopped and looked back, her breath coming in heavy pants as she stared at the entrance, where the bees buzzed but couldn’t get in.

"Haa... finally... we escaped those monsters." Eva slumped against the wall, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she tried to calm herself.

Julian rubbed his thighs, a hiss of pain escaping his lips. They had been running for hours to escape that flying beast.

"You seem to know what beasts those were," Ethan muttered as he neared Eva, his brows slick with sweat.

"Hmm. They’re bees. Don’t ask how I know them... but their stings hurt as hell. If you’re stung enough times, you might die from the small amount of venom they leave behind," Eva explained, flinching at the thought of those sharp stingers.

They frowned at her words, and Ethan’s face turned a little pale as the image her words conjured flashed through his mind.

"At least we have a fighting chance against those wolves... but no chance at all against these bees. Their numbers are already shocking, and there’s no way we wouldn’t get stung in the process," Eva said, rubbing her aching thighs.

They fell silent for a moment as everyone caught their breath, then Julian broke the silence.

"This island is more dangerous than the previous one, and the beast here seems to travel in large numbers."

"Hmm... we still have a fighting chance if it’s more than just the three of us. Ha! What am I saying? We could easily wipe them out if it weren’t so time- and energy-draining. Plus, we are here to explore the area—mum and the other dungeon raiders can take care of it. Though we’ll miss out on their honey," Eva said, her tone laced with regret.

There was no helping it; those bees were too scary—she loved her life too much to die for food.

Ethan tilted his head in curiosity at her last words, wondering whether their meat was called honey.

"I can kill one or two for you to eat," Julian offered upon seeing her regretful expression.

Eva turned to him with a confused expression when something clicked in her mind, and she burst into laughter.

"Ah-ha! Not the bees themselves, but the fluid they produce, called honey. It’s sweet like sugar but not actually sugar, and it’s good for the body," she explained.

After hearing her explanation, the idea that she was different from others solidified in their minds, and they felt nothing but the certainty that she was unique—and their wife.

"If we encounter them again, maybe we’ll steal their honey as revenge for chasing us so relentlessly. We should get going," Ethan muttered as he rose to his feet.

He felt a faint current of air flowing through the cave and sensed there was another exit besides the entrance.

Eva rose to her feet, brushing dust from her pants, and turned toward the entrance to check if the bees were still around when Ethan grabbed her arm.

"Not that way. There might be another exit in the cave. Those bees might be waiting for us."

Eva turned toward the dark, narrow space ahead, and a sense of rejection crept over her. But remembering the bees outside, she decided it was better to walk into the unknown than face them.

"Alright, let’s go." Eva steeled her nerves and formed three green balls in the air to light the way—the hovering spheres were different from the ones she compressed to form a blast.

With the help of the lights, they could see the path, though not clearly.

The only sounds they could hear were their heartbeats and their footsteps against the rocky ground—loose debris occasionally rolling across the floor.

Eva took out the snacks the chef had made for her and began munching, not forgetting to offer Julian and Ethan small pieces.

Time passed slowly; then they noticed a white light ahead, and their pace quickened. Relief spread across their faces.

But instead of the exit, they came up into a room whose walls were lined with white crystals, with white sand piled at the center like a pool.

Eva sniffed, catching the strong smell of salt, and her eyes lit up.

"Whoa! A rare find. It’s a genuine natural salt cave," Eva exclaimed as she rushed toward the wall.

Julian and Ethan already had an idea of what it was before she spoke, but they were still surprised by the sight before them.

"I’ll create a marking here and inform Mother when we return," Ethan muttered as he brought a pinch of salt to his lips.

His face wrinkled at the sharp taste on his tongue, then a broad smile lit up his face.

So this is what natural salt tastes like—not like those processed ones made from monster blood back at Oasis City, he marveled inwardly. Though the chef had replaced it with ocean salt water ever since they came to this island, he hadn’t gone out of his way to taste it.

"I’m packing some with us. I’ll need those wooden containers in your space," Julian called out to Eva as he moved toward the salt pool.

Eva didn’t need to be told twice; she quickly brought out four large containers and bowls to collect the salt.

She felt those bees had actually done them a favor by chasing them without rest; otherwise, how would they have stumbled upon such a good find?