Webnovel Author In The Apocalypse World

Why did he suddenly feel like a scumbag trying to bring a mistress into the house, but afraid of angering the main wife?

Kim Haru shook his head and shaking off the strange thought from his mind.

At that moment, Jang Dojung, who had been picking beans nearby, slowly moved closer to Kim Haru and asked in a hushed voice, "Mr. Kim, can we take that giant pasture grass with us? I see you have a good relationship with it. It would be a shame to leave behind such a unique plant."

So, it wasn't just Kim Haru who had this idea—everyone else was thinking the same thing too.

Kim Haru had only been considering taking the plants in the vegetable field, but Jang Dojung was thinking even further—he wanted to take the giant pasture grass too.

Kim Haru shook his head. "We can't take it."

Jang Dojung was stunned.

The others had been eavesdropping as well.

A plant as special as the giant pasture grass was naturally something they wanted to take along.

Upon hearing that they couldn't, they all gathered around in curiosity.

Kim Haru explained, "Did you notice the withered pasture grass across the plain?"

As he spoke, he pointed toward the area near the vegetable field.

Aside from the vegetable field, the entire plain was covered with those withered pasture grasses.

The others immediately recalled the phenomenon they had observed before the giant pasture grass emerged from the cliff.

Jang Dojung started to understand. "Mr. Kim, are you saying that all these seemingly withered little pasture grasses across the plain are actually part of the giant pasture grass?"

Kim Haru nodded.

The others also more or less understood, except for Chung Hwangeun, who still hadn't wrapped his head around it and quickly asked for an explanation.

Jang Dojung explained, "The giant pasture grass originally grew underground and was too lazy to move, but it still needed nutrients to grow. So, it created these inconspicuous withered pasture grasses. We saw it before, right? These grasses aren't truly withered—it's just camouflage. In reality, they're channels that transport nutrients to the giant pasture grass underground."

Chung Hwangeun was dumbfounded as he looked around. "The entire plain, all these withered pasture grasses—are all its doing?"

Biryong Plain was vast, stretching beyond sight, and densely covered with gray-brown withered pasture grasses.

No wonder Chung Hwangeun was so shocked.

Even the others were just as astonished.

But now that they understood, they knew it was impossible to take the giant pasture grass with them.

Its roots likely spread throughout the entire Biryong Plain.

Even if they could somehow dig up all its roots and transport them, would the Pyeongseong Safe Zone even have a land as vast as this plain to accommodate it?

Jang Dojung sighed in disappointment.

The others also looked at the giant pasture grass with regretful eyes.

Just then, Kim Haru suddenly asked, "What's the usual procedure for the Pyeongseong Safe Zone's territory expansion?"

As soon as he said that, everyone was stunned.

…Territory expansion?

That's right!

If they couldn't take the pasture grass with them, they could just include the entire plain in the safe zone!

...

Expanding territory is simple, especially when it's unclaimed land—just occupying it is enough to make it yours.

"Once this trade gathering ends, send some people over to start basic construction. The terrain along this route is flat, so vehicles can travel easily," Shin Woncheon planned. "When other safe zones arrive, we should exchange for more building materials. Now that the river ice has been melted, collecting mud and sand will be much easier."

Others chimed in with their own suggestions.

"The people Mr. Kim Haru brought here lived in this area before the apocalypse, so they should be more familiar with this plain. If their identities check out, they can handle the basic construction work."

"Right, right. The safe zone is already overcrowded, and everyone's looking to build houses. We might as well start construction here."

"Should we fence off this vegetable field? The plants here are all mutated—we need to deal with them properly."

"That makes sense. And what about this giant pasture grass?"

Hearing their discussion, Kim Haru also began forming a plan for the plain in his mind.

There was no need to worry about the giant pasture grass.

Its lazy, indifferent nature made it particularly easy to get along with—or at least, that's how Kim Haru saw it.

As long as the humans established clear rules, the pasture grass wouldn't just be an obstacle to construction—it might even become the guardian of the entire plain.

With the giant pasture grass standing guard, the mutated plants in the vegetable fields wouldn't cause much trouble.

In fact, these mutated plants seemed to have already been influenced by the grass's personality—they weren't particularly aggressive.

Wasn't that the case before?

Even when the fruits of nearby plants were picked, they didn't retaliate in unison.

They only showed a reaction when someone picked from them directly.

That kind of temperament made them perfect to work with.

After most of the mature crops were harvested, Kim Haru led a group to clean up the long-neglected vegetable field.

While the mutated plants occasionally maintained their own territories, it was never as effective as when humans took charge of cleaning.

Following the system's suggestions, Kim Haru made improvements to the field—digging drainage ditches, separating plants that competed for the same nutrients, and grouping together those that complemented each other.

He expanded space for crops that needed larger areas and adjusted the soil for those with specific nutritional needs.

After all the effort, the vegetable field looked completely refreshed.

Not only did the humans find it much more comfortable, but even the mutated plants, which had previously ignored them, seemed to be in better spirits.

They regarded the two-legged creatures walking around with a newfound sense of approval.

From now on, having these humans come by every so often to till and dig seemed like a good idea—comfortable.