The Shelter Is Dirt Poor, and the Boss Lady Is So Stingy

Tip: This story is best enjoyed with the cover. Take a screenshot and zoom in to see it. The full story is expected to be 150,000 characters, a cozy little novella.

The apocalypse arrives, and pollution runs rampant. Contaminated plants and animals grow huge and vicious, while humans alone escape unscathed.

But to survive, people have to eat. Those who eat dead, mutated plants and animals develop patches of poisonous sores on their bodies.

An exploration team loses its way in the Gobi Desert, only to stumble upon a bathhouse that's open for business. It offers not only clean lamb hotpot, but also a dog that hasn't mutated. What's more, the bathhouse lets customers exchange contaminants for points to spend, and soak in a purification solution to draw the accumulated poisonous sores out of their bodies!

It's just... the place is far too shabby. Red brick walls, concrete floors, and a drainage ditch for a toilet. The bathing tubs are earthenware vats. There are no bowls for meals, and the only way to keep warm is to drink hot soup. Sleeping is cheap, though, because the inn doesn't have any beds at all.

But the proprietress says that as long as the business upgrades, the pure land beneath their feet will expand. Once the business grows bigger and stronger, the world will return to normal!

The future the proprietress describes sounds so wonderful that the exploration team swallows the whole promise hook, line, and sinker.

Later, more and more customers come to the shop. Everyone initially thinks this little shop will become the center of the new world... only to discover that the future lies beneath their feet, and in the hopeful distance ahead.

Theme: Build a green home