Building a Safe Zone with My Harem In The Post-Apocalyptic World-Chapter 76: The System Is A Cheat

The aberrant was even larger than Gideon remembered. Now that the flesh had mostly rotted away from its head, the skeleton looked far more terrifying. Its massive jaw hung open, frozen in place, as if the creature had been trapped in the exact moment of its death.

"Big, isn’t it?" Jade said. "Now I’m wondering how you managed to kill it with just a sword."

"That’s an exaggeration. It wasn’t only a sword, and it’s not like I chopped its head off with some legendary blade," Gideon replied. "The most likely answer is adrenaline."

He knew the truth was more complicated than that. Even now, he still could not believe a sword worth ten thousand Love Coins had been able to sever the tail of an S-rank aberrant.

’This system really is a cheat,’ he thought. Even an ordinary weapon turns into something ridiculous.

He shook his head, still feeling a bit of disbelief.

"Maybe," Jade said with a small shrug. "But if I were you, I wouldn’t worry about that part. I’d be more concerned about your name spreading to smaller factions... maybe even the larger ones."

She turned toward him. "You ever hear what those government dogs do to people with powers? If I were you, I’d talk to that old man living with the Child of Eden. Ask him where those abilities come from and what that bastard government wants."

Gideon narrowed his eyes. "Why are you so sure about that? Did Daphne tell you something? For all we know, her grandfather might have adopted her during the apocalypse."

Still, Gideon had already planned to speak with the old man eventually. But would he really know anything?

From what Delilah explained earlier, Gideon suspected the Children of Eden might not have been born with their abilities. There was a strong possibility they were humanoids created in laboratories.

It is also possible that the old man might have run away with the experiment subject, but it was unlikely that he was living this long.

’Wait, is he the reason that the ruined government’s search for the Children of Eden in every faction?’ he thought.

Jade sighed. "Well, it turns out I’m not as dumb as Elaine likes to think," she said before turning and walking away.

Gideon stayed where he was for a moment, watching her back as she left.

Something about her mood felt different. Maybe she was simply in work mode. He rarely saw her this serious or this sharp-tongued.

Still, she was right about one thing.

He needed to visit Climber Rift soon to check the market value of the fangs and scales. After that, he would head to the ’hospital’.

For now, he walked closer to the workers. They were separating the remaining flesh from the scales. Most of the rotting meat had already turned into thick slime, so they ignored those parts and focused only on the sections that were still solid. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"Slime meat will melt through those protective suits if it lands on you. And we can’t use forklifts or excavators because the corpse is too fragile," Jacob suddenly said behind him.

Gideon flinched slightly at the sudden voice. "Oh, I see. That’s a shame though. There are still scales stuck in those parts, right?"

Jacob nodded. "Yeah. But we’re not risking our lives for them." He shrugged.

It turned out Jacob was the supervisor in charge of this part of the operation. Workers rotated every three hours while constantly reporting conditions in the field.

At some point, even the protective suits and gas masks would stop being effective. When that moment came, they would have to burn the entire corpse as quickly as possible.

"Hm... would it be alright if I take it? Could you wash the slime off with water afterward?"

Gideon was curious about the limits of his body. This aberrant residue was extremely toxic. He wanted to know whether he could withstand exposure to something this concentrated.

"Are you insane?" Freya shouted and rushed toward him.

She had been staring at the Devourer’s corpse in fascination a moment ago. The second she heard what he said, she ran straight to him.

"You’ll die!" She grabbed his arm and shook it. "I know we need cores and money to build your territory, but that doesn’t mean you should kill yourself just to get them!"

"Whoa, calm down," Gideon said. "I’ll pull back the moment my body starts feeling strange. I’m not trying to commit suicide."

"Oh really?" Freya snapped. "Says the man who let the Devourer swallow him and then blew it up from the inside!"

Their argument was loud enough that several workers stopped what they were doing. A few even turned their heads, curious to watch the lovers quarrel.

Gideon frowned. "I didn’t do that deliberately. The monster was too big and too close for me to dodge. So right now, you need to trust me the same way I trust you."

Freya groaned in frustration. "Ugh... fine. But I’m staying right beside you. If something happens, I’ll drag you back myself."

"You need to keep your distance. That’s the deal."

Freya hesitated, then finally nodded. Both of them looked toward Jacob.

"Fine," Jacob said. "But don’t blame me if anything goes wrong."

He handed Gideon a crowbar and a pair of heavy blacksmith tongs.

"This is what we use. If a scale is stuck in the slime, pry it loose with one of these. Just remember something. Each scale weighs around ten kilos and is about the size of a forty-inch television. You might end up carrying it by hand."

"No problem. I can handle it," Gideon said.

He passed the crowbar to Freya.

The two of them moved toward the rotting section of the corpse. This part was closer to the head, where the flesh had almost completely dissolved and the bones were visible. Several scales had already fallen onto the ground.

Gideon stopped when the thick slime came into view.

He turned around. "Don’t follow me. Stay there."

"Your boots will melt! Gideon, stop this!" Freya protested.

"Just let me try once," he said, ignoring her complaints and stepping forward.

Freya had been right. The moment he stepped into the slime, his boots began to melt. Heat surged through his feet as if he were walking on burning coals.

Still, he pushed forward. Using the tongs, he grabbed one of the massive scales and turned back immediately, running toward safe ground as fast as he could.

The sensation was similar to when he had been inside the Devourer’s stomach.

Once he reached clean sand, he dropped the scale and quickly pulled off his ruined boots. He sat down and examined his feet.

The skin was red, blistered, and badly burned. But it was already healing.

The regeneration was slower than the first time he fought the aberrant, yet the wounds still closed rapidly. Within moments, the pain faded.

"Damn," Gideon muttered with a laugh. "So wounds from aberrants heal ridiculously fast. And I’m completely immune to the toxins too, even at this level."

His laughter stopped the moment Freya started yelling at him again.

Meanwhile, the workers who had witnessed the whole thing had stopped their tasks completely. Some looked impressed. Others looked terrified.

Even Jade stood nearby with her arms crossed, watching him silently as if deep in thought.

Gideon noticed the expression, something about it felt strange. His instincts told him she was hiding something important.