It was time for him to start thinking about where to build a headquarter for his own faction. But first, time for food. 

Kasha brought him to an amazing-looking place called <Nature's Bounty>. The restaurant was green, vibrant, and looked like a painting of a fresh summer garden. Josh raised an eyebrow seeing that it was a vegetarian place. 

"You surprise me, Kasha. I thought you to be the meat-eater hunter kind of gal." He remarked. 

"Usually yes, but a change of pace is always welcomed. Plus, look at this." Kasha gestured at the spacious and completely empty interior, grinning. "This is the power of the apocalypse, everyone is on their cheat day right now!" 

"Nice find! As expected of the amazing scout of Draconic. Praise be her falcon eyes, praise be her falcon ears and her—" Josh theatrically began, only to be shortly cut off.

"If you say falcon one more time, I'll beat you up." She teased him as she lazily sat at a table. But then rose up and started trying every single seat in the area, akin to a musical chair player.

"Oh, legendary scout! Which table suits us best for the meal to come? Which chairs shall we pick to support our weary bodies? Pray tell, know that I hold boundless trust in your infallible judgment!" He grandly declared as she began chuckling, finally choosing a table by the corner.

"Isn't this nice? We can enjoy the peace and quiet." She smiled brightly before loudly shouting "Hello! You have customers!" …So much for the quiet. 

A man wearing a neat black chef outfit came out of the kitchen. He greeted them convivially. "Welcome, welcome! Please be at ease! We have the best vegetarian food in this street!" 

"Also the only one…" Kasha remarked.

"Exactly!" The man looked so confident! 

"Alright, bring us whatever delicious food you have in great quantity. This is your opportunity to shine. Let this be a meal worthy of being written about!" Josh said. The chef nodded warmly, leaving.

Kasha looked at  Josh a trace of worry and concern in her eyes. "So, something preoccupies you. I can discern that much. What is it?" She had guessed about the curse. How much stress must Josh be under! Even if he wasn't showing it… 

His expression was serious as he leaned forward. "How does one buy land in this world? Is there a ministry in charge? Is it traded between individuals? Also, are there any restrictions to what one can build on it?"

"That's it?! That's what's troubling you?!" She exclaimed before sighing. People were convinced of their demise, yet the man that bore the brunt of the curse was in a mood to invest. Where was the tension?!

The chef came back with a green, unctuous, and somehow appealing broccoli soup (?!). Josh couldn't help but smile ~ plotting the world's downfall while eating broccoli. Getting a lair was step one. 

"It depends a lot. You need to ask the proper Metropolis in charge of the area. Rule of thumb, anything important is managed by either the MTA or its cousin branch the Ministry of General Affairs (MGA) that handles non-Climbers. What do you plan on buying?" 

"Disaster zone D-23." 

"Pffttt—" Kasha spat out her soup, as he promptly dodged it. "How did it go from 'I want to purchase some land' to 'I want to buy a goddamn disaster zone'?! Seriously?! What do you even want to do with that?!" 

"I like the scenery there." Josh really felt like it was an amazing opportunity. 

D-23's monsters were too busy sleeping to be any real danger, it was the first disaster zone to appear ever and the system in there was very cooperative. Josh could already picture using the entire Alter Tower as a training ground for recruits. He needed control over the area for that or it would soon backfire. 

Anyone else would have considered it madness, but he felt it was possible. The items could be worth it too. At first glance, it was all junk, but the burger mask had already seen some use. Josh would farm the Tower for normal items and the Alter Tower for cosmetic/special ones.

There was only the problem of it being a few hours away by flying car. Still, that wouldn't be much of an issue if Josh organized his time correctly. He could totally afford to spend a few days out if it meant getting new quirky gear. 

Finally, there was one last reason. The slothtrosities had insane potential in his eyes. There were taming emblems out there. If he ever got one, maybe he'd try taming one of them. 

Kasha glanced at him curiously. He liked the scenery? Please! "Then you'll have to discuss this with Metropolis D's MTA. Good luck with that. They incurred so many losses. If they just sell it now without achieving anything people will riot."

"I see." She sure had a point. 

Still, right now was perhaps the best time to try and acquire it. Why? Simply because everyone was too busy worrying over the curse to care about that stuff. Plus the tremors had begun once more. It was probably causing sleepless nights to whoever was in charge.

"So, have you given up?" 

He simply smiled as he kept eating the dishes that the chef was bringing them. It seemed like he had brought his A-game. He had cooked one of each dish on his menu, having realized that they were obviously loaded Climbers. 

He expected them to take a bite of it all and got the shock of his life when it all disappeared in Josh's stomach yet he kept asking for more. Soon ended a delicious and peaceful lunch. 

"Say, Kasha. Do you have any plans for the afternoon?" 

"Asking me out on a date? How bold of you. Don't you know how many men would be jealous if I were to accept?" She faked misunderstanding his intentions. 

"Just the ones that enjoy gorgeous women I'm guessing." He jokingly replied in kind. Well, it was true. 

"Please! I know you're just trying to butter me up for an insane request!" She could see him fiddle with his UW. "What are you doing right now?" 

"Oh, simply checking up on the funds I have available. Had to ask Dario." 

"You're asking for a loan? This really seems like a bad idea…"

"Nope. Don't worry about it. Alright, there is someone else we need and then we can go on a short journey." Kasha just gave him a puzzled glance as he soon brought her to a medium-sized building in the D district. The sign at the entrance read <Top Dwellings>. 

"So, what are we doing at a real estate agency? Actually, never mind. This isn't going to end well…" 

"Don't be so negative."

As they entered they could see the same saleslady Josh had met the other time. 

"Welcome to Top Dwellings. If it's the end of the world you may as well get that sweet new place you've always wanted and….wait it's you! Just to be clear we don't do refunds, no matter what!" She exclaimed. 

"I'm not here for a refund. I need help from a specialist with acquiring some land. Anyone here that can do that?"

"Of course! Just tell me what kind of property you are looking for and we'll do our best to assist you!" She smiled radiantly. 

"This one." Josh showed her an image on his UW. 

"Ah, you probably miss-clicked, Sir. This is a picture of that disaster zone." 

"Yes, it is," Josh confirmed. 

"Wait….that was intentional?! Then the land you want to buy…?! How?! Why?! What the Hell?!" 

That is when came the voice of Lilly's mother from the other room. "Lyrie! How many times do I have to tell you to remain professional in front of our customers!" Then she entered and noticed Josh. "Oh, it's you! It's been a while. Say, are you going to bring a new woman every time you visit? How it must be nice to be young! 

Kasha raised an eyebrow "Does he comes here that often?" a hint of displeasure in her voice, 

"Yes, yes. He's a VIP here by now." She giggled as she said that. 

Josh didn't even bother with the teasing. He interrupted. "So, interested in helping me buy this or not?"

The middle-aged lady came closer before seeing the picture on the UW. "You! You're kidding, right?! You want to buy a disaster zone?! How?! Why?! What the Hell?!" but then she composed herself once more. "Then again, it's nice to dream big. Alright, Lyrie. Help him with that."

"How the fuck am I supposed to do that?! This isn't even in our area of jurisdiction. I can act as a consultant, but there is no way anyone can just buy government property! This should be super expensive too! We can't just swagger in there and ask them to sell it to us!" 

"Why not?" Josh remarked. 

"Common sense, that's why!" Lyrie exclaimed. 

Josh simply, shrugged. "Alright, let's go. It should be a few hours drive to get there, right? Let's make the most of our time!" 

Kasha followed, simply because she found the endeavor extremely entertaining. Her only regret was that she couldn't show off her cool car since it was a two-seater. Many times she proposed they simply stuff the agent in the trunk and take hers, but Josh convinced her otherwise. 

No, they had to rent one instead. It was a simple dark-blue one that seemed ordinary and truly was but it would do the job. Josh even offered to try and drive, but it seemed like this world too was plagued by the requirement of a driver's license. 

It was time for a road trip! Kasha began blasting some EDM music, Josh got into it and raised the volume further and the poor Lyrie began seriously wondering if she had made a huge mistake by joining them….