A silence settled as they waited for Jetro’s answer.
Over the past few days, they had observed how he managed the building and finally concluded that he was a good fit for their team.
"What kind of organization is this?" Jetro asked.
"Just selling information and supplies in exchange for jades. Our time is limited—please decide," Ethan replied.
Before he could finish, Ethan activated his skill, [Inventory], pulled out a hot beverage, and handed Jetro a warm cup.
Jetro is stunned to witness such a magical feat right before his eyes.
"So, this is how you make your supplies appear and disappear."
He had been thinking about this for a while—how the shop had vanished without a trace, how there was no need to carry goods or set up stalls like ordinary vendors.
So, they really do have the power to make things appear and disappear.
"I agree," he said firmly.
If this gave him a better chance of surviving the disaster, then he was ready to take the risk.
"What do I need to do? I know nothing comes for free."
Ethan smirked, clearly pleased. He liked working with sharp people.
"Nothing much. We want your loyalty—in exchange, you get sanctuary."
"Of course not. You’ll also manage everything in Building A. And if we give you a task, we expect you to follow through," Ethan said seriously, as he finally looked forward to some peaceful time with his wife.
With Jetro around, his wife wouldn’t have to run all over the place and could finally focus on her pregnancy.
"No problem. I’m already the manager here, so I have authority. As long as the task is reasonable, I’ll do it without question."
"Good," Ethan replied, then winked playfully at his wife.
Elena understood her husband’s intentions and immediately summoned the Golden Tablet.
With a swift motion, she marked Jetro with a teardrop symbol, granting him access to the Eastern Lake sector—where he could help manage the growing population of marine life.
Jetro felt a warm surge of energy flow through his head, but nothing else seemed to change.
"So... I’m part of the organization now?" he asked, a bit confused.
Ethan took off his mask and revealed his face, which shocked Jetro as he recognized the retired chief’s familiar features.
He quickly composed himself and said, "So the retired chief is my new boss now. Well, it’s good to see you alive, Ethan."
"Same here, Jetro. But my wife, Elena, is the real boss. Her word is absolute in this team—you must follow her lead."
Elena gave a small nod, confirming Ethan’s words.
Then Ethan and Jetro sat down to share their experiences during the disaster.
Ethan also introduced him to the space and explained the rules that came with it.
A few minutes later, they wrapped up the meeting.
"Further rules will be explained to you by Andrei and Daniel later. And one friendly reminder—don’t even think about revealing anything about Paradise. You’ll regret it."
The last person who tried was Andrei himself.
Curious about what would happen if he broke the rules, and wanted to know what the Golden Tablet would do.
First, he was struck mute as a warning. Then, he was electrocuted three times.
That was more than enough to show how serious the consequences were.
"Got it. By the way, we’d like to hire Paradise Shop to help clear the ice on the rooftop. Don’t worry—the payment’s already prepared. What do you say?"
"Talk to Oslo and Xander about it."
"Alright. I won’t take more of your time," Jetro said, as he still had to meet with the residents.
"Enter Paradise later. I’ll introduce you to the others so you can communicate with them properly."
Jetro nodded in response.
Afterward, Elena and Ethan left the unit and reappeared inside the shop, where many busy customers were buying supplies.
Building A was becoming livelier daily, despite the ongoing disaster outside.
Three days passed, and government authorities had already stationed themselves at Building B, focusing on investigating the unknown beast that several witnesses claimed was lurking nearby.
At first, they treated it as a simple task.
But as time passed without any results, their confidence began to crumble.
Suspicion grew—some started to believe that the Building A manager and the Paradise staff were playing tricks on them.
However, all doubt vanished the next day when panic erupted.
The beast attacked several officers near the Golden Tower beside the Camel Tower area.
Elena kept a close eye on their movements, curious to see how they would handle the situation.
But their response left her unimpressed.
The officers were clearly too inexperienced to take on such threat.
A few brave police officers tried to fight back, but the intense cold caused them to suffer from frostbite.
In the end, the Paradise Shop had to sell frostbite medicine to treat their injuries.
"Wife, where are you going?" Ethan asked, watching her get dressed.
"Oh, didn’t I tell you?" Elena replied.
"I’m heading downstairs with the kids later. They’ve been stuck inside the Paradise and the unit for too long. It’s time they understand what the outside world really looks like."
"Wife, we were supposed to swim in the lake today and then have a date in the flower field with the baby."
"Change of plans. I already promised the kids, and they’re really excited. How about you join me, and we babysit them together?"
"Alright, we can swim later this evening," Ethan said with a suggestive tone. He then got up from the bed and hugged his wife.
She seemed more easily tired than usual. Her typical two-hour naps had stretched into four.
The baby must have been wearing her out.
"Okay, I also need to soak in the lake later to relax. Stop hugging me; I’m going to have lunch now."
"Take your time—I will prepare it for you."
Ethan quickly placed her favorite food on the table.
This time, she craved something salty.
After lunch, they exited the space and called the kids one by one to get ready.
This would be the first time the children went out to mingle with other residents on the floor, so Elena considered the trip important.