Uziel quietly ate his food on the side. Was he jealous? A little.
Even when he made braised rabbit meat yesterday, Paige didn't praise him like that.
But then he thought about what just happened between him and Paige…
He felt happy again.
Ely secretly watched his sister interacting with Winn and thought, was he really going to have a new brother-in-law so soon?
No wonder she asked him that strange question earlier today.
So, what did his sister mean by that?
Looking at the situation now, it seemed like she liked Winn too.
After eating and drinking, the four of them sat around the fire, warming themselves and chatting.
Listening to their laughter and casual talk, Paige felt a little dazed.
She had never lived such a relaxed life.
Since she was little, it was all about studying, tests, real combat…
Then came one mission after another.
When she returned home, she enjoyed everyone's support, praise, and service, but she always felt something was missing.
Now, Paige understood. What she lacked was a warm atmosphere.
They used to treat her so well because she was their provider.
But now it was different. They were a family.
She, Paige, finally had a home of her own.
It was just a pity that she could never have her own child.
She was created to be the strongest warrior, not to get pregnant and have children, so she didn't even have a womb, nor did she have a monthly cycle.
Before she left for her mission, she heard that a batch of expectant mothers was preparing to be released. She didn't know how many of them eventually succeeded.
Unfortunately, she would never get to see it.
The so-called "soon-to-be mothers" didn't mean pregnant women. It referred to this group of embryos whose main function was to become pregnant and give birth.
Because women around the world had lost the ability to have children, people felt that relying only on technology wasn't a long-term solution.
So, they tried genetic modification to create some women who could get pregnant and give birth.
The genes were still being tested, and Paige didn't know whether it would succeed in the end.
The three men were chatting, talking about life and imagining the future.
"I want to become a general," Paige suddenly said.
She knew that only with power could she easily protect the people she wanted to protect.
With her abilities, she could protect them, but she hated trouble.
She had seen how the common people lived, and it wasn't peaceful.
Even though this wasn't the apocalypse, now that there were invaders, it still wasn't peaceful.
In chaotic times, power was the most useful.
Besides, chaos produced heroes, and she was suited for the fighting and action. If it were peaceful times and she had to use her brain, she might not have any advantage.
Fighting was something she was good at.
In her whole life, she had never lost a fight.
Wait, there was that time with the zombie king. She didn't exactly lose, but she didn't win either. That was the only time she hadn't won—and she paid with her life.
"Sis, there are no female generals," Ely said.
"That's perfect. Then I'll be the first female general," Paige said with confidence.
"But they don't even recruit women," Ely said.
"That's gender discrimination. It's fine. I'll beat up their commander, and they'll definitely take me," Paige said like it was nothing.
"But..." Ely looked worried.
"Sis, soldiers aren't always good people. I'm scared that if you join the army, you'll get scolded."
Getting scolded wasn't the real issue. The real issue was that his sister had a bit of a temper.
Lately, she seemed to have gotten a lot stronger too.
If she lost her temper and accidentally punched someone to death, they'd have to pay medical bills.
It didn't seem worth it!
Paige had no idea Ely was secretly criticizing her in his mind.
She was wondering why being a soldier didn't mean being a good person.
Thinking back to her memories, she finally understood how bad the current soldiers were.
They weren't really soldiers, they were basically bandits.
So, the four of them spent the whole night discussing what they would do in the future.
Late at night, the four finally went to sleep.
Because Ely was there, the two brothers Winn and Uziel didn't dare to cross any lines.
They turned down Paige's hint to share a bed with her, so the three of them squeezed into one bed.
Paige had no choice but to sleep in her own bed, feeling a bit disappointed.
She had thought tonight she could take things to the next level, what a pity.
Right now, she felt like an old single person who had gone without love for over twenty years.
Now that she had finally started experiencing it, she wished she could be with them every day.
Not to mention, being with them helped her improve her abilities, a win-win situation.
"Let's go back to the village later. A lot of people have already moved back." There were many people in the village who had lost their homes just like them.
Even though they didn't plan to move back to Rin Village, they still needed to help others rebuild their homes.
That's just how the village worked, when one family had trouble, everyone helped.
But since their family was eating meat and white rice every day, it would be easy for the others to notice if they moved back.
Explaining all of that would be troublesome, so it was better to keep living in the cave for now.
As long as the fire kept burning, the cave stayed warm enough.
Besides, they had plenty of blankets and clothes now.
When the four of them came down the mountain, they saw everyone already busy with their work.
The villagers, looking worn out, quietly searched through the ruins, their eyes filled with endless sadness and confusion.
The once lively village was now filled with the muffled sobs of adults and the cries of children.
In this bombing, some lost their parents, others lost their children, and some families lost everyone.
The villagers who had lost their homes did not cry for long in front of the ruins.
They quickly wiped away their tears and began cleaning up the ground. Even when their nails were worn down and blood seeped out, they didn't stop.
Their eyes were full of determination, as if telling the world that what had been destroyed was only the buildings, not their courage to keep living.
Winter was not a good time to build houses.
All the families who lost their homes could only gather dry grass and branches nearby to build a simple shelter.
Although rough, at least it kept out the wind and rain.
The caves were cold and damp. Adults could manage, but the elderly and children couldn't stay inside for long periods.
When Paige and the others arrived, they didn't have time for greetings. They split up to help everyone with the work.
Rin Village wasn't big, and since everyone shared the same ancestor, the villagers usually got along quite well.
A village that once had two to three thousand people had, after months of shelling, less than a thousand left.
"Winn, where are your grandparents?" the village chief asked as he saw Winn helping out and walked over.
"Grandpa and Grandma were at home. They didn't get out," Winn replied, looking at the chief.
"Sigh, it's a blessing you all weren't at home. Otherwise, no one would've escaped," the chief said, patting Winn on the shoulder.
Too many people in the village had died during this time. Anyone still alive was lucky.
"Village chief grandpa, the Rin family has only Paige and Ely left now," Winn said, pulling the chief back as he was about to leave.
He was afraid the chief might ask Paige directly and reopen her wounds.
"Alright, got it. Are the four of you living together now?" the village chief asked.
"Yes, both of our families lost our homes. We're living in a pretty big cave right now. We plan to move back down when spring comes," Winn said.
"Good. The two of them are women and children. You two young men should help out where you can. If you need anything, come find me," the village chief said, patting Winn on the shoulder with a satisfied look.
Hard times will pass eventually. As long as everyone in Rin Village works together with one heart and mind, there's no difficulty they can't overcome.
The village chief quickly registered the number of people, and everyone went back to work.
Simple straw huts could be built in a morning. Just a few stones placed at the entrance would be enough to build a stove.
As for the bed, a few wooden planks on the ground would do.
The houses had all been blown up, and there were even fewer usable items left.
"Time to eat, bring your bowls over!" shouted the village chief's daughter-in-law. Everyone stopped what they were doing and went to get food.
Paige looked over and saw a pot of unidentifiable black-green mush and a big bowl of salted vegetables.
Each person got a bowl of mush and picked up a couple of bites of salted vegetables.
These food supplies were gathered from the ruins—things that didn't belong to anyone.
Though the houses collapsed, most of the things in the cellars could still be salvaged.
If the original owners were still around, their belongings were returned. If no one from the household survived, the supplies were taken by the village and distributed by the village chief.
Like now, with the whole village rebuilding, the village chief's daughter-in-law organized a few women to cook for everyone.
As for the children who lost their parents, their families' things were listed separately. If someone adopted them later, the food would go with them.
If the kids could manage on their own, they'd at least have the means to survive.