When Zane entered the human settlement which the young woman by the name of Allie led him to. He was truly surprised by what he saw. A city had been built within the trees. No less than fifty feet above the ground, a small city, which housed tens of thousands of humans, or at least from what Zane could tell by a cursory glance was built within the tree line.
To Zane it looked like something straight out of fantasy. But then again, so did the jungle itself that had sprouted throughout what used to be the city of Tucson. The trees themselves were hundreds of feet tall. With their trunks being thicker than anything Zane could reasonably describe.
Built fifty feet above the ground were wooden platforms which held buildings upon them, and were connected by suspended bridges constructed of wood and rope. Rope fashioned from tree bark from the looks of it.
The buildings spiraled higher and higher into the sky. With platforms elevated well over a hundred feet in the air. There were guard towers built within several of the platforms, which housed guards. Many of which were sporting long-range rifles.
While others were wielding weapons crafted from the grim forge such as long bows, and crossbows. It was truly a bizarre environment, one which the humans of the area, or at least those who survived seemed to have adapted to.
The gates which led into the city were opened upon the guards seeing Allie return. She was after all a rather unique looking woman, with short green hair, cut in a tomboyish style, and matching green eyes. Her body was muscular, abnormally so for a woman, but not in a grotesque way.
She herself had a bolt action scout rifle tied to her back. No doubt chambered in a hefty cartridge one that was capable of taking down higher ranking undead. The guards let her pass through, but immediately came down to investigate the odd-looking fellow she had come back with. Questioning the young woman, albeit not aggressively so.
"Whose this young man? When you left, you were all alone. Don't tell me there are still survivors down there on the surface?"
Allie seemed unusually friendly with Zane as she wrapped her arm around him and introduced the man by the alias he had given her.
"This guy's name is Dave. He's from Phoenix, and from the sound of it, one of the last few survivors. He is ridiculously strong! He will be a huge help around the city!"
Zane honestly did not agree to stay in the city. But, if he was being honest he was intrigued by the local environment. He had only seen such things in fantasy before, and wanted to explore the city in the trees himself.
Which he did not recognize.
"Here, try these! They taste pretty good after being roasted and salted. But more importantly, a handful of these, and you have all the nutrients you need for a day! It's some kind of miracle fruit that began sprouting in the jungle after it appeared.
We grow them here in the village and harvest them for consumption. A handful may not look like much, but trust me, not only will you have all the nutrients you need, but they're quite filling too!"
Honestly, Zane did not need food to survive. But he was quick to examine the nut with his system to see if there was anything wrong with it.
---
[Everblossom Nut]
[Item Type: Food]
[Description: A nut derived from the Everblossom tree. Of which the Rainforest of Tucson is filled with. This nut is packed full of nutrients, and more filling than a simple glance would lead one to believe. Perfect for human consumption, and an excellent staple crop!]
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The system did not detect anything wrong with the nuts, and thus he was quick to grab a handful and toss them in his mouth. They tasted good enough, with an almost mixed flavor between a cashew and a peanut. But Allie was right. Zane felt unusually satisfied with such a small amount of food after having a simple handful of them.
He was more curious now than ever about what else had sprouted in this forest, and how it could be used in the future. Something he would plan to investigate once he was free to do so. For the time being, he was a guest of the local human settlement, and he was still cautious of their intentions.