Webnovel Author In The Apocalypse World

Do Seungjin left, practically glowing with excitement.

Just as he reached the door, he suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, by the way, Mr. Kim, since you're raising chickens, do you also want ducks? I know a place where a flock of mutated ducks lives. According to the season, it's likely the time when they're laying eggs. If you'd like, I could take some people to catch a few for you."

Kim Haru's eyes lit up instantly.

How could he refuse? Of course, he wanted them!

"It would be best to get ducklings. But if you can't find any live ones, fertilized eggs would work too." Bringing them back to hatch himself could even make the ducklings more attached to him.

Do Seungjin nodded thoughtfully. "Alright, I'll do my best to bring back both eggs and some ducklings. If possible, I don't ask for much in return—just that you help teach the folks at our institute to raise ducks too."

Kim Haru agreed. "Of course."

With that promise, Do Seungjin finally left, clearly delighted.

At the table, only Kim Haru, the Safe Zone Commander, and Jang Dojang remained.

Jang Dojang excused himself to prepare some food for them, leaving just Kim Haru and the Pyeongseong Safe Zone Commander alone.

The Safe Zone Commander looked at Kim Haru and smiled with a deep sense of gratitude. "Mr. Kim, you truly are our savior."

Kim Haru gave a polite smile. "Is there something you wanted to discuss, Safe Zone Commander?"

Whether it was appointing the Vice Safe Zone Commander or waiting until Do Seungjin had left, it was clear he had something to say.

"As expected of Mr. Kim." The Safe Zone Commander stood from his seat, walked up to Kim Haru, and suddenly knelt down. "Please, Mr. Kim, save Pyeongseong Safe Zone!"

Kim Haru instantly stood up.

"What are you doing?"

He reached out to help the Safe Zone Commander, but the latter remained motionless, showing no intention of rising from the ground.

The Safe Zone Commander's voice was somber. "Mr. Kim, winter is coming soon. Among all the safe zones, Pyeongseong Safe Zone has the fewest resources. This winter, I don't know how to ensure that more people will live to see the next year."

Kim Haru paused, his hand still in midair.

The Safe Zone Commander continued, "Even with the supplies the search team recently brought back from Gokmul County, it's still not enough to get through the winter. I can't think of any more ways, Mr. Kim."

"What about before?" Kim Haru asked.

"Before? Things weren't the same as they are now." The Safe Zone Commander let out a bitter smile. "In those early years, each safe zone still prioritized the future of all humanity; everyone was united. Pyeongseong Safe Zone was always able to get through with the support of the surrounding safe zones. But as time went on, people's hearts… slowly changed."

The winters of the apocalypse are tough to endure.

Ever since the virus started wreaking havoc, it triggered a series of catastrophic changes. Zombies are only the beginning; the mutations in animals and plants have made human survival even more difficult. Soil and water are contaminated with the mutagenic virus, disrupting any attempts to grow crops or raise animals.

Then, there's the weather.

Kim Haru was fortunate. The autumn he arrived in was the calmest season in this world. Outside of this period, summer and winter are extremely harsh. One season is scorching, like a furnace that could bake people alive, while the other is freezing, like a walk-in freezer, where even the slightest misstep could lead to death by cold.

As for spring? Spring doesn't really exist. One day you're wrapped in a heavy cotton coat, and the next, you're sweltering in short sleeves.
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In this kind of climate, those with special abilities can manage slightly better. Especially if a team has both Fire-type and Water-type ability users, they can maintain a bearable temperature in both summer and winter.

Of course, for these ability users, the energy drain is tremendous. If they overextend themselves even a bit, they risk damaging their energy cores, which could cause permanent harm.

If even ability users have it this hard, the ordinary people with no powers at all live in utter misery.

In the Pyeongseong Safe Zone, each winter, ordinary people in the Third District and Fourth District die in large numbers. The majority of people in the Pyeongseong Safe Zone passed away quietly in their sleep, frozen to death without a sound. Others, realizing they wouldn't survive the winter, chose to end their lives, leaving whatever little warmth they had for their families.

Winter is also the season with the highest rates of robbery and murder in the safe zone.

Those who don't have enough supplies to survive often resort to stealing from others.

In the past, Pyeongseong Safe Zone could request aid from nearby safe zones, but just a few days into autumn this year, the Safe Zone Commander heard disturbing news: the previous Safe Zone Commander of the Haneulsae Safe Zone had died because he failed to breakthrough, and a new Safe Zone Commander had taken over.

This new leader was the former Vice Safe Zone Commander of Haneulsae Safe Zone.

The Pyeongseong Safe Zone Commander had heard of this man's reputation. He was cold-blooded and greedy, but those weren't the worst traits—the most concerning part was that this new Safe Zone Commander had always opposed supporting other safe zones.

The new Haneulsae Safe Zone Commander had said, "Survival of the fittest. Weaklings are just weaklings. No matter how much you save them, they remain weak. What's the point of saving so many of them? It's better to keep vital resources for those who truly need them."

The ones he deemed "truly in need" were ability users.

Such beliefs, prioritizing ability users and viewing them as superior, were common. Since the start of the apocalypse, when some humans began to evolve with special abilities, these ideas have never been fully suppressed.

But the Pyeongseong Safe Zone Commander never expected that such a person would become the new Haneulsae Safe Zone Commander.