Webnovel Author In The Apocalypse World

Moon Baein shrugged his shoulder. "The road was perfectly safe. If you want the full story, you'll have to ask them."

With that, Moon Baein casually walked over to Go Okrim and asked, "Go Okrim, is there anything you need me to do? Want me to peel potatoes? Just leave it to me."

That left only Kim Haru, Hwa Jian, Han Gwonhee, and the members of the Delta Squad standing there.

"Hm?" Kim Haru gave them a questioning look.

At this point, Hwa Jian, the one who had initially proposed their activity, suddenly lost his nerve and shifted his gaze to Shin Woncheon. The members of the Delta Squad also looked pitifully at their captain, making their timidness abundantly clear.

Shin Woncheon sighed. "Alright, I'll explain."

"Mr. Kim, it's nothing serious. We just got into a fight yesterday, and things got a little out of hand, so both sides ended up hitting pretty hard," Shin Woncheon said truthfully. It wasn't a complete lie—they had indeed fought, just not against people.

"Yeah, yeah, we got into a fight," the others echoed, nodding their vigorously.

Under no circumstances could they let Kim Haru find out they had ended up like this while searching for a gift for him. Those annoying bugs, why did they always go for the face? They might as well be called face-slapping bugs instead of Starlight Armored Bugs.
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"Oh, right, Mr. Kim! We brought you a gift. Take a look and see if you like it," Hwa Jian quickly changed the topic, pulling Han Gwonhee along to move the large box off the sled.

Kim Haru scrutinized them for a moment and, seeing no serious injuries in their movements, decided not to press further. Whether or not they were truthful, their condition didn't seem to warrant concern.

Letting it go, Kim Haru turned his attention to the box. "What is this?"

"Mr. Kim, open it and take a look," the members of the Delta Squad said, pushing the box in front of Kim Haru.

The box was easy to open, tied with just a simple bow made of rope. A slight pull, and the knot came undone. Inside, the contents were concealed by a black cloth. Kim Haru was about to lift the cloth when Shin Woncheon stopped him.

"Wait, Mr. Kim! Don't take off the cloth yet. Look through here first," Shin Woncheon instructed.

He pointed to a small gap in the black cloth. Slightly pulling it apart would reveal the contents inside.

With all this buildup, Kim Haru's curiosity about the box's contents only grew. Slowly leaning closer, he peeked through the gap.

A dazzling display of multicolored starlight appeared before his eyes. The lights were of various sizes, softly flickering in the darkness. They weren't blinding but shone with a unique brilliance.

Kim Haru raised his head. "What is this?"

It wasn't firefly season, and fireflies didn't emit this kind of light. Could they be some kind of mutated fireflies? Whatever it was, it was undeniably beautiful.

The group, sensing Kim Haru's curiosity and satisfaction, beamed with pride. Hearing his question, Ryu Hyunwoo eagerly explained, "These are Starlight Armored Bugs."

Starlight Armored Bugs—a species living deep underground that is incredibly useful to humans.

Before leaving the Safe Zone, Hwa Jian, Han Gwonhee, and the rest of the Delta Squad hadn't anticipated stumbling upon such a large cluster of Starlight Armored Bugs. These creatures were exceedingly rare, inhabiting only the deepest layers of the earth. Humanity didn't know what they had mutated from or when the mutation occurred. In fact, without increased exploration between major safe zones, many people wouldn't even have been aware of their existence.

The name "Starlight Armored Bug" was coined by the discoverers who first encountered them in an unusually deep mining tunnel. According to their accounts, they saw a field of starlight underground and almost thought they were hallucinating.

Later, when others tried to find the bugs by following the map to the same mine, they found no trace of the creatures. Despite turning the entire mine inside out, no other Starlight Armored Bugs were discovered.

Even those aware of the bugs' unique properties had difficulty locating them, with successful findings being extraordinarily rare.

So when glowing lights appeared outside the Pyeongseong Safe Zone this time, no one initially suspected they were related to Starlight Armored Bugs.

After all, these bugs were known to avoid humans. So many people had searched for them unsuccessfully that it seemed impossible for them to suddenly appear so close to a human safe zone. And not underground, but openly exposed on the surface.

This assumption was precisely what allowed Hwa Jian and the others to stumble upon a significant find.

When Hwa Jian and his team cautiously approached the source of the glowing lights, they could clearly see the multicolored starlight dancing midair. It was as if a piece of the night sky had descended right before them—a stunning sight.

At that moment, they had no idea that what they had encountered were Starlight Armored Bugs.

"The area isn't large. Prepare to encircle them," Shin Woncheon was the first to snap back to reality. After observing the glowing bugs' activity range, he immediately issued instructions. "Be careful not to get too close."

Shin Woncheon worried that these unknown bugs might release toxins or create hallucinogenic effects through their light, so he gave specific precautions.

He didn't need to say much. Except for Hwa Jian, who lacked experience, everyone else present was a seasoned pro. Even Hwa Jian, under Han Gwonhee's guidance, moved with extreme caution.

Once the encirclement was set, traps were placed, and defensive specialist Ra Jinho even infiltrated the bugs' territory. Yet, despite all this, the glowing bugs didn't retaliate.

It was as if the humans were invisible.

Puzzled but focused on safety, Shin Woncheon tested the bugs using various methods, none of which provoked a reaction. Finally, when Shin Woncheon decided to close the net and capture the bugs first, the group—now working in a tighter perimeter—discovered a chunk of iron on the ground.