Compact, lightweight, easy to store, and packed with calories — in their current situation, this white sugar was practically a miracle resource.

  And that wasn’t even the extent of its usefulness. It could boost the explosive power of gunpowder, increase the stickiness of incendiary bombs… its applications were far from limited.

  Pound for pound, sugar was worth more than many other supplies.

  “Everyone, move faster! Every second you save here raises your survival chances! We’re not doing this for anyone else — we’re fighting for our own lives!”

  The supplies quickly piled high on their shoulders. Oran carried more than his share, his exoskeleton already operating at full capacity. But the strain brought another realization.

  His strength... it had definitely grown since arriving in this world of oceans.

  Once they were safe, he’d need to give himself a proper examination to figure out what had changed.

  Oran led the group toward the gathering spot he’d discussed with Ivankov — a shallow depression within a gorge, something Ivankov and Jinny had spotted before they came across Oran’s ship. It could serve as a temporary base.

  Their group had grown since then, with more locals from God Valley joining in. These people knew the terrain better than anyone — in fact, they even found a narrow trail hidden within the canyon walls.

  Young or old, everyone carried something. No one could afford to sit idle — only the load varied.

  “Brother Oran! About two hundred meters that way, there’s a cave. The entrance’s pretty narrow, but it’s huge inside. You could hide a ton of people — and there’s even a spring!”

  A boy who looked no older than ten pointed eagerly at a patch of thick brush.

  “A spring? How big is it?”

  “Well, my friends and I sometimes bathed there. There’s even fish swimming around.”

  The boy spread his arms to demonstrate — the pool must be fairly spacious.

  “Lat! Didn’t I tell you not to go wandering off into the gorge! You—oh, forget it…”

  The woman beside him started to scold, but gave up halfway through. She’d only been doing her usual chores when disaster struck. Now, she’d escaped with her child — but her husband, a soldier in the royal army, was missing in action. The weight of uncertainty and grief was crushing.

  “Ma’am, save your strength. Your son just saved us all a massive headache.”

  Water was just as vital as food. Though God Valley had plenty of rivers, the Celestial Dragons surely knew that too.

  Humans needed water to live. The Celestials would follow every water source to hunt down their prey.

  If that spring had fish, it was likely connected to an underground river. That meant steady flow, and most importantly, secrecy. A hidden water source was a godsend.

  “Lat, aside from you, who else knows about that cave? And you adults — any of you ever hear about it before?”

  If this pce was as hidden as the boy said, it could be a perfect shelter. But if too many people knew, the risk of exposure rose sharply.

  “Only a few of my friends. We made it our secret base. Never saw anyone else there… I just hope they’re okay.”

  “No,” a local adult shook his head. “Lived here most of my life — never heard of a cave in that gorge.”

  So it was likely the result of recent geological shifts — a new formation stumbled upon by children during one of their pretend adventures.

  Oran first brought everyone to the agreed-upon meeting spot, then went to inspect the cave himself. Satisfied, he included it within their temporary base perimeter.

  “Rest up and eat while you can. We’ll need to haul more supplies soon. You few, stay behind and start gathering dry wood and anything that burns — we’ll need that ter.”

  “If anyone knows the local terrain well, draw me a map. The more detailed, the better.”

  During the trip, Oran had developed a rough idea of everyone’s physical capabilities. Those in poor shape couldn’t carry much no matter how hard they tried — but fortunately, there were still plenty of other jobs to go around.

  “One more thing. Start digging. Make a big pit here, then a smaller one nearby. Connect them from below. Then dig three shallow trenches leading out and cover them with debris.”

  He used pry bars, shovels, and other leftover tools from the food stores to show them how to build a smokeless fire pit — the kind that dispersed smoke and hid the fme.

  With this, they could cook without revealing their location — a small but critical improvement in their defense.

  Not long after, Oran received a call from Ivankov. They’d located the shipyard workers and were on their way back with them. Around the same time, Kuma also approached.

  “What’s up, Kuma? Something wrong?”

  “Not really. I’ve rested up. I just wanted to ask… what’s our next move?”

  Kuma’s voice was soft as he spoke, watching Oran examine a map.

  “We’re going to tear down some things. Then install devices around the area to cloak it.”

  He wasn’t talking about just anything — it was his own ship.

  Yes, in theory, once the Gate was fully constructed, they could teleport the ship too. But the bigger the object, the longer the transfer would take.

  As valuable as that vessel was, Oran knew it was expendable. With the right materials and time, he could always build another.

  What mattered most now was getting living people to safety.

  This ship had followed him across worlds. But here… it would meet its end.

  Perhaps it could be turned into a massive self-destruct device. The onboard hologram projectors could be reprogrammed, lowering image quality to stretch coverage across multiple directions — assuming they solved the power issue first.

  Oran gave Kuma a brief rundown. He’d have to expin everything again once Ivankov brought the engineers.

  Kuma didn’t press for details. Instead, he pointed toward a nearby spot.

  “Oran, about the girl you told me to watch… she won’t talk to me. Won’t eat. Nothing. You’re the only one she’s even looked at. You should go check on her yourself.”

  “I figured as much. Take another break. Before those Celestial bastards start their twisted little ‘game,’ we need to be as ready as possible.”

  Oran got up and walked over.

  A slender figure was perched on a rock nearby, her entire posture screaming vigince. The moment she sensed someone approaching, every hair on her body bristled like a startled animal.