It was morning.
Adam woke up first—as usual. He was an early bird, not by choice, but because sleep rarely held him for long. He stepped outside and took a deep breath of the metallic, rusty air.
"Hahh… yeah, not exactly a paradise."
The settlement of Verwuste was quiet. It was still early evening by their strange clock, and most people were asleep. Adam wandered off to explore. He stumbled into what seemed to be a distribution hub for the market. The whole settlement probably had about fifty, maybe a hundred people living in it.
"…that's so little."
Then a voice called out from behind him.
"Hey!"
A man smiled at him—an adult in patchy, torn clothes, layered with a coat and leather pants. His body bore no obvious signs of injury, which was rare in a world like this.
"Up early, kid?"He spoke with a calm, relaxed tone. Not like the weird old man Adam had met months ago.
"Just exploring," Adam replied cautiously.
"I see. Then maybe it was fate that we met."
Fate? Really? Adam side-eyed him. Is he one of those people who makes shady, philosophical sales pitches? In an apocalyptic world? Still? That's so pointless…
"Fate of what? What are you planning?"
"Nothing shady," the man chuckled. "Just the fate of meeting."
Ugh. Adam was mildly disgusted by the line. He'd always imagined hearing something like that from a beautiful girl, not… this guy.
"C'mon, don't be like that," the man said, still smiling. "You've got time. Walk with me."
Surprisingly, Adam felt drawn in by his calm presence. He nodded and followed him.
They wandered the market together. The man greeted vendors, asked questions, and showed Adam the kinds of goods available—clothing, salvaged metal, gadgets, and more. Most of it had been looted from the cities.
News was grim. With the Northern Stratum's defenses crumbling, supply lines were drying up. Cities were becoming dead zones—harder to scavenge from.
Adam finally asked, "Why did you call it fate?"
The man looked at him, smiled. "Because you followed me. Most kids would've run the moment I said a word."
Yeah, probably because you look like a kidnapper, Adam thought, glancing up at a laser drone silently floating above.
After hours of wandering, the man suddenly asked:
"Now, what have you learned, kid?"
Adam sighed. "That you're wasting my time?"
Whack. The man gave him a light smack on the head.
"No. Try again."
Adam blinked. What was even the point of all this?
The man scratched his short beard, revealing patches of skin underneath.
"Alright, listen. There are two things you need to know if you want to ever control a settlement."
Adam rolled his eyes. Great, now he's doing a lecture. While the world collapses.
"Stay curious for once," the man added, catching the look.
Adam quieted down. He was curious.
"It's simple," the man said. "Needs and wants. That's it."
"…Huh? What about budgeting? Taxes? Loans? Investments?"
"Sure, sounds smart. But I don't even know what half of that means. If you understand needs and wants, the rest follows."
Adam thought back to the market: food stalls, clothing, tools…
"Food and clothing," he said quietly.
"Exactly. Needs. People will always want more when they have more. But first—they always need those two, or water"
Adam remembered how, in his old world, people still bought books, music, games—even when they didn't need them. Habits shaped wants.
The man grinned and grabbed his arm. "Now come on. Lesson two: creation and distribution. If you can make things cheap, and people need it, you'll outlive every competitor."
The man started coughing. Maybe he was old, maybe sick.
Adam's thoughts drifted to power. Electric companies had always ruled his world. Energy didn't expire like food. People used it every day—like plates, or clean water.
"The fifth thing, kid," the man wheezed, "is manipulation. Convince others to give up their space. Make them need you. Then you run the city."
Adam frowned. Ugh. He really is a rat.
"What about data?"
"Sure, sure. Statistics help. But if you control the people and their needs, you won't even need the numbers."
Adam sighed. "So why did you drag me around all day staring at booths and crates?"
The man grinned. "Because without seeing it, without knowledge, you'd never understand how to start."
Why is he telling me all this? Adam wondered. Does he want something?
Then it clicked. In his memories… people used battery packs, or second-tier energy sources—but they were always destroyed. Wait… windmill?
[Yes. I can generate a basic blueprint for a windmill energy source.]
What? You can do that?
[Of course! Hehe, I'm an AI. I never forget.]
The man spoke again. "I tried reading the books of the ancients. Couldn't make sense of them. Doesn't matter. You just need to gather people who can."
He coughed again, a little harder this time.
"Elben has desire," he muttered, "but no clue how to maintain it."
Adam stared at him.
"I have an idea…" he whispered.