Webnovel Author In The Apocalypse World

At first, Do Seungjin was reluctant. He had brought Mr. Kim out here, so his top priority was making sure he got back safely without a scratch. But after Kim Haru demonstrated Go Okrim's "Teleportation Skill," Do Seungjin hesitated.

That teleportation skill was indeed handy. It might not be the best in battle, but it was certainly useful for a quick getaway in dangerous situations. If that was the case, it might just work.

In the end, Do Seungjin couldn't convince Kim Haru otherwise and agreed to the plan.

"Just be careful, Mr. Kim. If anything happens, call for us right away."

Kim Haru nodded and, with Go Okrim in tow, headed deeper into the territory.

Kim Haru wasn't acting on a whim by going off on his own. He had seen something light up on the system map—a symbol indicating the presence of edible plant seeds.

And not just one type! Several lines of text overlapped there, although all he could make out was something about "melons."

Go Okrim didn't argue against Kim Haru's plan; he simply followed Kim Haru's lead. Once they were deep enough into the forest and out of sight of others, he even had his Space-type zombie to summon the Fire-type zombie over.

The Fire-type zombie was just as formidable in terms of combat strength.

The territory occupied by the black pigs was quite extensive. Though it was referred to as a forest, it was really just an area full of bare tree trunks. The only noticeable green was the vast spread of pigweed. As Kim Haru walked, he occasionally spotted pig hoofprints as big as his head.

Running into one of those black pigs wouldn't be easy to handle.

Kim Haru kept an eye on the map while moving toward his goal, doing his best to avoid the massive footprints.

But as he went on, Kim Haru noticed that the hoofprints were increasing in number. If he wanted to reach the melon seeds marked on the map, avoiding the black pigs' activity range was going to be impossible.

"I see a pig," Go Okrim pointed out ahead.

Kim Haru looked in the indicated direction. Amid the towering pigweed, he spotted a black pig with its head down, gnawing on the grass. The pig's color blended perfectly with the surroundings. If Go Okrim hadn't pointed it out, Kim Haru might have mistaken it for a shadow of some other object.

"What should we do, hyung? Should we try to avoid it?" Go Okrim had previously seen Do Seungjin and the others battling a black pig, which had made him eager to jump into the fray. If he gave the go-ahead to fight the pig, Go Okrim would call over more zombies to help without a second thought.

Kim Haru frowned slightly. "We can't avoid it."

The pig was positioned precisely where they needed to go, making it impossible to bypass.

"Let's wait and see," Kim Haru said. He didn't intend to just charge at the black pig. Since the pig was busy eating, there was a chance it would leave once it was done.

Go Okrim didn't feel disappointed about missing out on a fight. He obediently followed Kim Haru's lead, crouching down with him. Together, they used the pigweed and other obstacles to stay well hidden.

As for the Fire-type zombie, it didn't need much attention. After all, mutated animals and zombies typically didn't bother each other, and it was rare for them to engage in combat.

Sure enough, the black pig kept munching away, though at one point, it seemed to notice something and lifted its head to glance in their direction. But all it saw was a mindless zombie roaming alone, so it paid no attention and continued eating.

Kim Haru didn't just wait for the black pig to finish its meal idly. While crouched there, he kept a sharp lookout, observing his surroundings. Since the system had marked this area as having a variety of melon seeds, there was a chance this place held some unusual features.

No matter how Kim Haru looked at it, aside from the fact that the pigweed here grew more densely than in other areas, he couldn't find anything unusual.

The water source and soil fertility didn't seem any different from other places. So why were there so many seeds concentrated in this spot?

Wait, if he had to point out a difference, there was indeed something. Find your next read at My Virtual Library Empire

Kim Haru sniffed the air slightly.

He detected an unpleasant smell.

Before he could figure out what it was, Go Okrim suddenly whispered, "Hyung, look at that!"

Following Go Okrim's gaze, Kim Haru instantly understood the source of the smell.

The black pig had finished eating and was now using its front hooves to dig a shallow pit. After a few quick scrapes, it squatted down to relieve itself.

Yes, the odor Kim Haru had smelled was pig manure.

After finishing, the black pig even attempted to cover its waste with a few kicks, though it was a feeble attempt. True to its nature, it didn't bother checking if the job was done properly and simply waddled away.

Kim Haru: "..."

His face turned dark.

He finally understood why there were so many seeds here. It seemed these seeds had been left behind along with the black pigs' excrement. The pigs must have eaten a large amount of melons somewhere, and since melon seeds are hard to digest, this area had likely become their regular bathroom spot.

Ah, the smell wasn't too strong, so it seemed that not all the black pigs came here—perhaps only those nearby.

However, this didn't comfort Kim Haru in the slightest.

If he wanted those melon seeds, he'd have to search through the pig manure. If he didn't want to do that, he wouldn't get the seeds.

It wasn't just the thought of digging through pig manure; even thinking about moving forward made Kim Haru hesitate. He dreaded stepping into something unpleasant just a few steps ahead.