Building My Empire in the Frozen Apocalypse (Riley Carter) novel Chapter 70

Chapter 70 Wind Turbine

Neeko paused for a second.

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She kept an eye on Riley to make sure the couch–which looked like a giant soft rock–wasn’t swallowing her whole. Then, finally, she gathered the nerve to climb on.

At first, she crouched on the cushion, both feet planted on the expensive velvet like a wary cat sizing up a new spot. But almost immediately, she realized just how incredibly plush it felt under her paws.

She eased herself down.

The moment she sank into the cushions, Neeko’s eyes went wide–and then she was rolling across the sofa, burrowing into its softness.

“So… soft…”

Neeko’s eyelids grew heavy with comfort, and a low, contented hum rose from her throat, almost like a purr. She hugged one of the throw pillows, rubbing her cheek against it, her tail swishing happily beside her, occasionally brushing against Riley’s leg.

“From now on, this is our spot to unwind.”

Riley leaned back, sinking deeper into the couch, and reached over to grab the tablet from the coffee table.

“Okay, where were we… let me check.”

Neeko scooted closer right away, half of her still molded into the cushions, resting her head lightly against Riley’s shoulder.

The screen lit up.

Riley opened the learning app and pointed to a picture on display–a flickering flame.

“What’s this?”

Neeko stared at the image, her brow furrowed in thought, her mismatched eyes narrowing slightly.

After a few seconds, she answered hesitantly, her pronunciation still a little unsteady.

“Fire… fire? Warm…?”

“It’s fire. But you’re not wrong–it does bring warmth.” Riley corrected her gently, her voice soft in the quiet of the cabin.

“How about this one?”

She swiped to a photo of a snow–coated wolf.

This time, Neeko reacted quickly.

She bared her teeth slightly. “Bad… bad! Bites! Kill!”

Riley blinked, then gave her head a soothing pat. “Yeah, that’s one of the dangerous ones.”

Another swipe brought up an image of a wild boar.

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Chapter 70 Wind Turbine

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“And this?”

“Not friend. Also bad… thing!”

“Right. But this kind we can hunt–grill it up and eat it.”

At the mention of meat, Neeko’s fierce expression vanished instantly. She reverted to her usual soft, eager, food–loving self and nodded vigorously.

“Eat meat!”

She said it louder and clearer this time–even more clearly than when she’d said Riley’s name earlier.

Riley shook her head with a faint, amused sigh.

They spent about half an hour going over basic words and pronunciation. Neeko was keen to learn, but Riley couldn’t keep the lessor going any longer.

As cozy as the imported sofa was–cozy enough to lull her straight to sleep–there was something more important to take care of tonight.

Electricity.

In this frozen wasteland, fire meant survival, but electricity… electricity meant keeping a piece of the old world alive.

Riley glanced out the window at the swirling snow.

“Alright, Neeko, break time’s over. We’ve got work to do.”

Riley closed the tablet and rose from the couch. Neeko looked a little reluctant, but she hopped down anyway, gave her ears a quick shake out of habit, and trailed closely behind Riley.

Together they stepped back out into the biting wind, hurrying across the short stretch of the yard before slipping into the workshop.

It wasn’t as warm as the main house, but it was still a world better than being outside.

Riley walked over to the corner and pulled out the blueprint she treasured more than just about anything: Small Wind Turbine Schematic.

She’d studied it countless times already, memorizing the specs of every component.

“Materials…”

Riley looked over the supplies she’d laid out on the workbench.

She’d gathered most of the core parts during her scavenging runs and that last dungeon trip.

“System scan complete…

“Main materials ready.

“Auxiliary materials needed: Insulated Wire x3, Packaged Salt x5.”

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Chapter 70 Wind Turbine

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“Tch.”

Riley frowned.

Wire wasn’t a problem. She still had a few Battery Material Kits left–cracking those open would give her the wiring she needed.

But salt…

She opened her inventory to check. Only half a container of table salt remained.

‘Should’ve seen this coming.” Riley tapped her forehead lightly. “I was so focused on stockpiling tech and building stuff that I let his slide.”

she opened her messenger and typed to TartKing first. If anyone would have salt on hand, it’d be her–she cooked daily.

‘Spicy Burger: Hey TartKing, you got any salt to spare? Table salt or even coarse stuff works. Need about two containers‘ worth.”

‘Tartking: Huh? Not really, boss. I mean, one container lasts me ages, so I never kept extra. Sorry!”

‘SpicyBurger: No worries. Thanks anyway.”

.ooks like she’d have to check the trading boards.

Riley switched over to the regional exchange channel.

Even late at night, messages were scrolling by steadily.

Anyone have pain meds? Took a bad hit in that dungeon and my leg’s killing me… feels like it’s frozen stiff.”

Looking for a party to check out the frozen lake west of here. I’m almost out of clean water and I’m done with melting snow–last ime gave me the worst stomach cramps.”

The snow’s coming down harder tonight. Anyone else notice?”

Riley skimmed for a moment, then typed into the trade box.

OFFERING: 3 White Bread OR 1 Canned Beef

SEEKING: 1 Pack of Salt”

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