Kael was never the talker, and his EQ had always been questionable, always putting himself in awkward situations—at least when it came to Naia.

Unable to find the right reply, he just said: "I’m sorry I wasn’t there when it happened."

"Why are you apologizing? It’s not your fault. Besides, you’re so far away."

Naia knew that he definitely had been tracking her movements for a while now. Knowing him, he left just enough space to know the most important news regarding her, but kept enough of her privacy.

However, considering the technological limitations, it was not enough to know the details in real time.

His information was thus a little delayed, especially since the programs still had to analyze the various bits of information they could gather.

For example, he received news that some groups they’ve been monitoring had moved, and the direction they were heading, only then did they realize that Naia could be attacked.

By this time, the enemies were already in the village, and it was impossible for him to be able to help.

He knew she’d be fine, but he wished he were there with her, especially since their physiques weren’t as they had been.

To make up for his tardiness, he decided to make a move on the gang. He had been investigating them since Naia mentioned them in Colden, and then more because they were associated with Houser.

Studying the cause and effects—he realized that Naia had done a lot of things while they were apart—it was clear that the Red Gang could find her someday, and they did.

"I’ll handle this side and get back to you if we find out more interesting things," he said. He also had a lot of official things to settle.

In this life, Naia and him would live well.

...

At this time, Naia’s group was nearing Amber City. Amber City was just a few hours away by car, but because everyone’s sleep was disrupted by the gangsters, Naia decided to find a place for them to rest.

In the end, somewhere on the way from Lotus Town to Amber City, Naia found a nice spot with canopies and then brought everyone into the space.

Everyone had claimed their own rooms in the accommodation zone already. The most common room types were bunk beds in a small room, and the parties decided to take the rooms here rather than bother Naia in her villa.

After resting, they went back out and continued their trip to Amber City. They went straight to the hospital with the best Optamology experts, and then got Granduncle Lao confined. Grandma stayed behind to care for him, while the rest of them headed to the suburbs.

As for what the others would do within the next few days...training, of course! The road to growth was never-ending! Fortunately, the habit had started to be ingrained in her family’s bodies, and their tolerance for tiredness had increased through time.

They drove past the suburbs and got out of the car, which was then placed in space.

Naia teleported a kilometer away, deeper into the forest. This one or two kilometers was through a small mountain range and dense forest.

Today, Naia summoned everyone out. Even if they had the space and people could stay inside, Naia was not planning on letting any of them grow in blissful ignorance.

It wasn’t just because keeping people inside cost energy; it was because—unless they were too old or disabled—she wanted everyone to contribute to the upcoming battles. She didn’t want to throw people in as sacrifices, so she naturally had to prepare everyone as much as she could.

This included the small children. No, especially the small children.

She divided them into three teams. The first group had Linlin, Glen, and Mimi. The second group had Hans, Yaya, and Gale. Finally, the third group had Uncle and Riri.

"We will dedicate the next few days in this place, so I suggest you get yourselves familiar with the place."

"Okay, first activity: To win, you have to reach the highway and get the flag. The flag is large and will be hung on one of the trees there. The nearest sector of the road—which was also the sector where the flag was—is somewhere South-southeast from here."

She had already taught them how to determine cardinal directions without compasses, so she had no qualms about being this specific.

Next, for the incentive—

She smiled. "The winning team for this round would get five hundred thousand worth of budget to buy whatever they wanted when we go shopping!"

The group gaped and then broke into loud cheers. They did not expect this windfall!

Five hundred thousand was huge! That’s already more than the annual income for the average worker! How many snacks and goods could they buy with that?

Inevitably, every single one started fantasizing about what to buy.

Plus...this was just the first game! There were still others!

The first game ended about an hour later.

The winner was Uncle and Riri, with Uncle carrying the kid on his shoulder the entire time. Surprisingly, the kid had a very good sense of direction, so their journey was smooth as it was fast.

Naia announced that they would play three games in total, all with that amount of reward money.

While the first one was a test of speed and to train their instinct for it, the next one was a hunting game. The winner would be determined by the edible kilogram of meat they gather.

After the contest, the meat would be placed in Naia’s static space, but would be completely owned by the hunters. This stock of meat alone was enough incentive, but Naia decided to add another five hundred thousand reward to the winning group!

They could capture the game alive or dead, but the point was to learn to hunt. The points received for live catches were slightly higher, but not much.

The game would end in three hours, with Naia setting up a rendezvous point. This was where Naia would hang out, her lounge chair and beach tent already propped up.

Anyone not at the rendezvous point by the deadline was disqualified and would even be punished by running extra laps.

The three groups consciously chose three different directions.

As they played, they would also come to realize that there was more to this game than just hunting.

They also had to consider the logistics of it all.

They had to ask: How many animals would they target? Which one was more efficient to choose?

Once captured, where to put the carcasses? Live captures give higher points. How would they detain them?

If they perform well and capture a small hill of game (everyone had a fantasy on this at some point), who would guard their prey? What if they worked so hard, only for them to be stolen by either monsters or human beasts with two legs?

They didn’t have Naia’s space, so they had to plan without it.

This was one of Naia’s goals for this exercise. Her space was too good and convenient. She was afraid the people would become too dependent on it.

Well, anyway, while the others rushed away from her, Naia laid down in her misallocated lounge chair, took out a pre-ordered four seasons drink and chilled out.

Unexpectedly, after an hour with everyone having something on their backs, they decided to...work together! This was Hans’ idea.

It was really difficult! They were hungry, they were thirsty, and they couldn’t even attempt to get big game. How would they carry it all the way to Naia?

But then they remembered the promised reward.

Gulp.

Hans was determined to get it!

He could buy all the game consoles and games he needed!

Smack!

It was Linlin, smacking the back of Hans’ head. "No! I will win! And I will buy off an entire bookstore!"

And so began the rivalry for money between two loving siblings.

...

The twins were particularly fired up. Interestingly, even when they were in different teams (even if there had been an alliance), this would never change.

Anyway, the twins could now jump over tree branches to train their reflexes and balance, though definitely at a snail’s pace compared to Naia.

The forest had dense trees, so it wasn’t difficult to find the place.

The two entered some sort of competition between them, completely forgetting that Naia could’ve just bought both of them what they wanted.

They were practicing their bow and arrow usage, hunting rabbits on the ground and birds from the sky.

Unexpectedly, while showing off (and imagining he was a ninja), Hans accidentally stepped on a weak branch. With a snap, it broke down, and Hans fell smack to the ground.

"AH!"

Linlin cackled at her brother’s suffering. She couldn’t help it! It’s like it’s a sibling instinct or something!

...

Naia, a kilometer away from them, had actually fallen asleep. She was really fearless.

It was here that rustles were heard at the side. At first, she thought it was her teammates. However, a little peek at her ability showed her otherwise.

Should she just open a zoo or something?