Apocalyptic World: Surviving with my husband and my cute little babies
Chapter 218: Shantel

Chapter 218: Shantel

With a wave of her hand, the antiques and jade disappeared one by one.

She then used the Golden Tablet to confirm their quality and authenticity.

So far, the results looked great—the quality was excellent.

If not used for upgrades, this collection could maintain the space for up to two years.

"The jade and antiques are stored now. Let’s go, husband," Elena said, glancing at Ethan, who was watching outside the unit.

Knowing she was done, he quickly walked over to her.

"How are the items?" he asked, wanting to be sure the military hadn’t tricked them.

Even though he trusted them, it was wise to be careful.

"Good. Lots of top-quality jade and antiques," Elena replied.

"That’s great, then. Let’s leave quietly. No need to say goodbye—they’re probably busy sorting the supplies."

Elena nodded, and together, they entered to the space.

Unbeknownst to them, the moment they left, General Mason returned to check on them and to ask if they were satisfied with the trade.

But when he saw the empty unit, he was stunned.

"Mysterious indeed," he muttered.

Inside the space, Elena didn’t rest.

She quickly put her plans into action by retrieving the blueprint for the automatic salt production factory.

Then, she used the [Building] function to construct it.

As she activated the function, the ground in the Eastern Lake Sector began to shake.

Suddenly, materials rose into the air.

They floated like leaves caught in a gentle breeze, swirling and dancing as if guided by an unseen force.

Metals twisted and spun, shaping themselves, bending gracefully as they were cut and assembled according to the blueprint.

Before long, the new factory stood tall and ready to use.

Jessa and Aunt Joana, who had been busy collecting the newly produced bottled water, were left speechless as they witnessed the magical scene.

Construction materials appeared out of nowhere and, as if by magic, assembled themselves into a brand-new factory right before their eyes.

It was a stunning sight they had seen before—just like when Elena’s house was built.

After that, Elena and Ethan teleported to the Western Fertile Soil Sector to build the sugarcane processor.

As they activated the [Building] function again, the same magical spectacle began.

Within a few minutes, the sugar processor was fully built.

Elena quickly went inside to inspect it, then used her [Telepathy] to contact Uncle Anthony about the newly completed facility.

Once he arrived, Elena gave him instructions.

"Uncle, the two processors are ready to use. I leave this facility in your care."

"Don’t worry, Elena. I’ll take care of it," he enthusiastically replied, eager to examine the facility.

Elena was about to call it a day and rest for a while when Jetro contacted them, saying the government wanted to make a deal with Paradise Shop.

"They heard about your deal with the military and want to discuss supplies and negotiations," Jetro said.

"I’ll think about it. For now, decline their offer and just say we don’t have any supplies yet," she replied, not having a good impression of the government.

"Alright. By the way, there’s a woman looking for Oslo and Xander."

Elena raised her brows. "Who could it be?"

Jetro scratched his head, trying to recall the name.

"Her name is Shantel. She was injured, but I’m not sure what exactly happened."

"I don’t know her. Let’s call Oslo and Xander here," Elena said, then contacted the two and asked them to come inside for a moment.

A few seconds later, they arrived, and Elena relayed the information about the woman looking for them.

"Shantel?" Oslo echoed, trying to remember.

Before he could say more, Xander spoke up.

"Is she our medicine distributor?"

Elena finally recalled.

Shantel was the woman Aunt Liza had recommended when she bought a large supply of medicine way back.

"You’re right. Come, let’s meet her."

"I won’t join you. I need to return to the shop," Oslo said, remembering how customers were already crowding the place when he left earlier.

"Alright."

Soon after, Elena, Ethan, and Xander exited at Jetro’s location and appeared on his unit.

They went downstairs to the branch shop floor, where they saw Shantel sitting with a bruised face and bandaged arms.

"Shantel?" Xander called out, staring at her.

She had grown thinner, and the confident, energetic woman they once knew was now gone.

The last time they heard about her was when Oslo mentioned that he had met with her, stating that the batch of medicine had been safely retrieved after the earthquake and that she would return to City D once the transaction was completed.

But now, it seemed she never made it back.

Hearing her name, Shantel slowly looked up and was stunned to see Xander—he looked clean and well, like the disaster hadn’t touched him at all.

"Xander? Is that really you?" she said, shocked.

"It’s me! It’s good to see you. But what happened? How did you get hurt?" he asked, stepping closer, with Elena and Ethan right behind him.

Shantel broke down in tears.

Reaching this place had taken all her strength. Meeting them again felt like sheer luck.

She began to share her story—how she survived the earthquake and ended up in another government evacuation center.

Her situation there was awful.

The government barely cared for the people, and the conditions were terrible.

It had been a heartbreaking experience, and she deeply regretted going there.

"Afterward, the refugees heard about the Paradise Shop and wanted to come here. Since it was located in Camel Tower, I remembered that Oslo had invited me to take shelter in your building, so I joined them," she said, pausing momentarily as if trying to forget what came next.

But she continued, warning them, "When we were almost in the area, a beast—or maybe a large cat—with many wounds attacked us. Many of the refugees died. I was one of the few who survived."

She explained that military patrols later found her and brought her to Building A.

The others followed, and eventually, Jetro was the one who handled them at the military’s request—and that’s how she found them.

They listened quietly to her tragic story.

When she finished, Xander tried to console her, searching for the right words.

He thought it might be easier if she were a child—like how he always comforted Little Koby when the boy got sad or anxious.

Then it hit him—why not think of her as a kid?

"I know what you went through was terrible," he said gently.

"But your will to survive is strong, and I believe you can get through this. By the way, if you don’t have a place to stay, you can use this unit for now."

Jetro agreed. "Alright, you can stay here for the time being."

"Thank you," Shantel said, eyes watering. "I’ll definitely repay your kindness."

After she had calmed down, Elena finally spoke. "Hello—do you still remember me?"

Shantel looked at her, stunned. A beautiful woman stood before her, so clean and graceful.

Well, living in the evacuation center, surrounded by disheveled and unkempt people, had made Shantel forget what normal people even looked like.

Now, seeing Elena, she couldn’t help but stare—amazed by her beauty.

"I... think I forgot. Do we know each other?" she asked, confused.

Elena smiled gently. "I’m the one who purchased bulk medical supplies from you to donate to the few villagers."

Shantel’s eyes widened as she finally recognized the familiar voice.

"So it’s you—Aunt Liza’s niece."

She felt relieved that Elena was safe, then asked, "How are Aunt Liza and Little Mia?"

She and Aunt Liza were friends.

Shantel was formerly a scientist who worked with her, but later shifted her focus to business.

With her connections in pharmaceutical companies, she was able to buy and resell medicine, earning a fortune.

Unfortunately, the disaster struck, and now she was poorer than most.

"They’re doing great," Elena replied. "I’ll tell Aunt Liza about your situation—she’ll definitely be happy to hear you’re alive."

"Please send my regards to her."

Now that they knew Shantel was safe, they left her to rest. They would visit her again after she had recovered.

Elena hasn’t tried to recruit her yet.

She wanted to observe her demeanor first—then she would decide if Shantel was fit to join them.

They said their goodbyes and left the unit.

Elena then instructed Jetro to take care of her for the time being, but Xander volunteered instead.

He and Angela knew Shantel better, and it would be awkward for Jetro.

Ethan raised an eyebrow, trying to guess his friend’s intentions.

Then chuckled and winked at his wife, as if asking her to agree.

Elena was a little surprised but nodded anyway.

"Alright."

Xander then left to put on his mask and leave them to help out at the shop.

"Wife, let’s check out the shop here as customers," Ethan suggested.

Since they were already nearby, it was a good chance to observe the shop a bit before resting.

"Sure," Elena said, curious about the changes in the building.

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