Building a Safe Zone with My Harem In The Post-Apocalyptic World Chapter 16: Climbing Rift

They finally reached the market hub. Gideon pulled down the ski mask, and his eyes widened at the sight before him.

This was not sothing from a ga, a comic, or a novel. It was the real post-apocalyptic market hub right in front of him!

Excitent surged through him as he stared at the world spread out ahead. The settlent lay wedged between two massive canyons, occupying the narrow space carved between towering walls of stone.

This place was known as Climber Rift, a na that suddenly made perfect sense.

From the sand hill, it looked small. Up close, it was anything but.

Canvas roofs stretched across rusted fras, flapping lightly in the hot wind. Market stalls built from welded scrap tal lined the ground level, each one stacked with goods born from hard work and survival.

The hub was crowded. People moved everywhere, voices overlapping, bargaining, laughing, arguing. Gideon spotted individuals from different regions, their clothing and gear wildly varied.

Like a group dressed in crude steampunk gear gambled openly on the street, chanical parts clanking as they moved.

The canyon walls themselves were lined with hos. Scrap-built houses clung to the stone like barnacles, connected by narrow walkways, ladders, and stairs welded together from whatever tal could be found.

"Oh wow," Gideon murmured. "Aren’t they scared it’ll fall soday?"

"Rocks fall once in a while," Sumr replied. "But the canyon walls are sturdier than the ground in most places. Sand out here can turn into sinkholes or quicksand without warning."

Gideon nodded, still taking everything in.

Below them, the market buzzed with activity. Aberrant materials were openly sold. Cores, at, fat, skin, tendrils, things he had only just learned the value of.

There were even makeshift restaurants where hunters handed over raw at and waited while cooks prepared als on the spot.

He spotted blacksmiths too, though most were clearly gunsmiths. They worked on firearms, ammo, armor vests, goggles, robes, and gear ant for survival rather than beauty.

Sumr leaned closer. "They sell ammo here too. A lot of it’s handmade, so sotis it backfires on the user."

She lowered her voice. "Don’t tell anyone that though. Their guild will knock on your door if you dare to talk openly of that open secret."

Gideon walked carefully, still limping slightly, when a sharp voice rang out from behind them.

"Clear the way! The Freebound is passing!"

Sumr grabbed his arm and yanked him to the side. Everyone around them did the sa, stepping back in practiced unison.

A mont later, sand billowed into the air, forming a thick haze. The sound ca next, engines roaring, tal grinding.

Out of the dust burst a procession of vehicles.

They were armored trikes, three-wheeled machines built for sand and ruin. Narrow front wheels cut through the terrain while the wide, heavy rear ends churned forward.

Exposed engines rattled as welded armor plates lined their fras. Bone-pale plates were bolted along the sides like trophies taken from fallen beasts.

At the front rode a woman.

Her long, wavy red hair stread behind her, glowing under the sun. Her eyes were sharp, the sa blazing color as the desert sky.

A mask covered the lower half of her face, marked with the symbol of a wolf’s head over her mouth.

The convoy thundered past in seconds.

Gideon stared after them, eyes bright with awe.

"Holy shit," he breathed. "That’s so cool. So that’s the Freebound you’re talking about? The one who rules without rule and has ’freedom’ as their principal?"

"Sothing like that... They also hunt a lot, their other na is Pathfinder of the Sand."

But then Sumr narrowed her eyes and jabbed him with her elbow. "You playboy."

"What?" Gideon protested. "I ant the vehicle. I totally didn’t notice the woman with long red hair and golden eyes."

He shrugged. "Or the fact that she has a really nice—"

Sumr had already turned and stord off.

"Hey!" Gideon called, limping after her.

He could have used a healing potion, but curiosity pulled him forward harder than pain. He wanted to explore everything.

Sumr suddenly stopped and pointed upward. "The clinic’s up there. You can climb on your own, right? Or do you want to call the Trailmother to carry you?"

"Trailmother? You an that redheaded woman?" Gideon chuckled. "Like mommy?"

She elbowed him imdiately.

"I’m joking, I’m joking," he said quickly, lifting his hand. "Now help ."

Sumr clicked her tongue but took his hand anyway, wrapping his arm around her neck as they started climbing.

"You’re lucky I’m kind," she muttered.

"So you’re fine sharing with Freya, but not with anyone else?"

"Freya’s my sister," Sumr replied without hesitation. "We’ve shared everything since the beginning."

She kept pouting as they climbed.

"Hm," Gideon said, glancing down at the ground below. "You’ve got a point."

The stairs were terrifying. So sections had no railings at all, and a few footholds were missing entirely.

One wrong step ant a long fall. Still, they made it halfway up the canyon wall, where the wind grew harsher and colder.

"We’re here!" Sumr’s mood instantly brightened.

She pushed the door open and announced loudly, "Elaine! I brought you a new patient!"

The clinic was silent.

Three beds lined the room, all empty. The administrative desk was untouched, papers neatly stacked, no one in sight.

"Hm," Gideon said as he eased himself into a chair that looked like a waiting seat. "Maybe she stepped out?"

Before Sumr could answer, raised voices echoed from the room beyond.

"We already gave you two days! Two fucking days! What’s your excuse now?!"

"You know how hard that shit is to find, right? It costs an arm and a leg, and now you can’t even pay!"

"I’ll pay next week, I swear."

"You said that last ti too. Fuck it. Let’s just destroy everything!"

"No! Not that shelf!"

Sothing crashed as the sound glass shattered filling the room.

Sumr stiffened. She turned toward the door, ready to rush in, but Gideon caught her wrist.

"I’ll handle this," he said quietly.

He stepped forward instead. They burst into the room and found three n tearing apart a shelf filled with dicine.

Bottles lay smashed on the floor. A woman in a doctor’s coat was trying to stop them, but one of the n shoved her aside, sending her sprawling.

Sumr’s eyes widened.

Gideon moved first.

"What kind of morons destroy the most valuable things in the room over unpaid debt?"

He grabbed one of the n by the head and pressed two fingers hard against his temple.

"Use your fucking brain. You could sell the dicine and earn a profit. Or are you too stupid to think that far?"

The man snarled. "Who the fuck are you?!"

Gideon didn’t flinch.

He lood over them, his body larger, heavier, his presence crushing. His voice dropped, calm and dangerous.

"I’m the man who’s going to beat the shit out of you if you don’t leave this clinic and this woman alone. Right now."

The room went tense.

And for the first ti, the three n hesitated.