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"Wait." Kisha tugged on Duke’s arm, and for a moment, he felt as though he were rooted to the spot. He tried to pull away, testing her grip, but to his surprise, he couldn’t overpower her. His brow quirked in amusement as he stood still, waiting for Kisha to speak.

Without saying a word, Kisha tugged Duke toward the tent, guiding him into her territory space for more privacy. "Just give me a minute," she instructed, her tone leaving no room for argument.

"Did you finish smelting the materials I assigned last night?" Kisha asked 008.

Before heading to bed, she had recalled the new features unlocked when 008 reached level 5—the ’smelting and synthesizing’ abilities.

With that in mind, she had immediately sent 008 to smelt the large amounts of Tungsten Steel, Vanadium, and Iron Meteorite she received as a reward.

Given their current equipment, she knew even their skilled artisans, even with awakened abilities, might struggle with such materials. So, she took it upon herself to ensure the job was done.

"Please deliver this to Aston so he can assign it to the artisans. These materials might be useful for the solar panel project and any other blueprints we acquire in the future," Kisha said, her tone firm yet purposeful.

Understanding her reasoning, Duke nodded and swiftly stored the large crates into his Space Ring. Each material—carefully smelted into ingots—filled at least three crates each material, neatly prepared and ready for distribution.

Duke understood that while Kisha wanted Aston to oversee the distribution of the materials, her true intention was to ensure he had what was needed for crafting the solar panels.

The remainder was meant for safekeeping, as these rare and valuable resources couldn’t be squandered on practice or routine crafts.

Duke was well aware of their scarcity and the importance of preserving them for critical projects.

With a nod, Duke took the materials and made sure to explain to Aston exactly what they were for and how they should be handled, ensuring everyone was on the same page.

Kisha, pleased by Duke’s quick understanding, nodded happily in return.

They both exited the territory space, each heading in their own direction. As usual, Kisha stayed close to Vulture and the others, lending them her presence.

The team felt more powerful with her nearby, as if their spiritual energy was overflowing, and fatigue seemed like a distant memory.

What they didn’t realize was that Kisha had been subtly activating her new skill each time she called out "Let’s get them!"

While they assumed she was just offering encouragement, she was actually triggering her active skill ’"Lion’s Roar" that boosted their morale and enhanced their spiritual and stamina recovery.

Coupled with her "Healing Dome," it was a double punch of power, making them feel as though their energy and stamina were limitless.

Even Kisha was taken aback by the results. It almost felt as though their stamina and spiritual energy had become limitless.

Not only were they able to work tirelessly, but Kisha herself now had an abundance of spiritual energy to fuel her active skills.

Her abilities seemed to defy natural limits, though there was a catch: after using her 20-minute skill, she had to wait for a 3-hour cooldown.

Despite this limitation, her "Healing Dome" was more than enough to keep everyone going without pause, ensuring they could work relentlessly without tiring.

Whenever Kisha activated her "Lion’s Roar" skill, everyone would feel a surge of spiritual energy and stamina, making them work faster and more efficiently for the entire 20 minutes.

Once the skill’s effect wore off, the overwhelming energy would dissipate, but their spiritual regeneration would still be much faster than usual.

This served as a reminder to pace themselves and be mindful of their energy use, ensuring they didn’t overexert themselves and burn out.

Although they were initially baffled by the sudden surge of power, the group was too focused on their tasks to dwell on it, and simply accepted the strange but beneficial phenomenon.

After parting ways with Kisha, Duke made his way directly to where Aston and Tristan were.

He asked a few people along the way if they had seen them and was directed to the workshop they had chosen the day before.

Upon arriving, he saw Aston and Tristan overseeing the construction of a platform where items would be placed before being lifted by the pulley.

Nearby, a large crane was being positioned beside the building, carefully placed to avoid obstructing the flow of people coming and going.

When Duke arrived, the workshop was already buzzing with activity. Workers were busy rearranging the space, creating clearly defined areas with temporary partitions.

Since they lacked enough materials for permanent walls, they had opted for the partitions as a short-term solution.

Later, once the earth-type awakened ability users were available, they planned to have them craft earth walls to divide the sections more permanently, without using up the precious construction materials Sparrow had brought back for the Supply Center warehouse.

Since the earth users were still occupied with building the wall for the City Lord, they had to wait for them to become available.

For now, the partitions would suffice, allowing the artisans to begin their work as soon as possible.

Duke glanced around, his curiosity piqued after hearing Kisha speak about the artisan-type awakened ability users.

While he was intrigued, he couldn’t help but feel somewhat skeptical.

Having already experienced the high-quality products from Kisha’s system, he wasn’t sure if the artisans could replicate anything on that level.

Still, he understood Kisha’s vision for what the artisans could contribute to their base.

Equipping their people with such specialized items would undoubtedly make them more formidable, especially when facing outside forces.

As Duke surveyed the place, he noticed Aston and Tristan deep in a heated discussion about the workshop’s blueprint.

"Hey," Duke called out, making his presence known as he approached.

Both Aston and Tristan immediately looked up, standing up straighter at his approach.

Aston, in a moment of reflex, saluted Duke before quickly realizing he had treated him like a general. He quickly recomposed himself, a faint flush creeping onto his face.

"Good day, Vice City Lord," Aston greeted, his tone respectful as he presented the blueprint he had retrieved from the archive.

"Are you here to check on our progress?" he asked, gesturing to the document he and Tristan had been editing to match their vision for the workshop.

"No, I’m here on my wife’s orders to deliver some items," Duke replied casually.

Both Tristan and Aston choked in surprise. They exchanged a look of incredulity—hearing Duke, of all people, being sent on an errand was something they never expected.

Given they both knew Duke before the apocalypse, the idea of him being anyone’s errand boy was almost laughable.

The very thought of someone daring to ask the great Duke Winters to run errands would surely be the subject of gossip for days.

With this new perspective, both men felt a renewed sense of respect for Kisha. They were also intrigued—what could be so important that Duke himself had to deliver it?

Surely, someone else could have handled it.

Realizing it must be something significant, Aston and Tristan exchanged a brief glance before nodding in silent agreement. Without a word, they gestured for Duke to follow and led him to a more private area.