Webnovel Author In The Apocalypse World

The pasture grass understood that humans preferred to live in safe, flat environments.

Those deep cracks in the ground, which looked incredibly dangerous, were something humans wouldn't like.

It didn't care about other humans, but if this fragrant human decided not to come because of them, that would be a huge loss!

No, no, no!

It had to fix this place up!

That way, when the humans arrived, they would see a smooth, comfortable land, perfect for building houses.

Kim Haru was more than happy to let it proceed with its work.

Upon returning to the Pyeongseong Safe Zone, the moment Kim Haru landed, Moon Baein rushed over.

"Mr. Kim, are you alright? We heard that you ran into trouble outside, and when I got the news, I was scared to death!"

Moon Baein could hardly imagine what they would have done if something had really happened to Mr. Kim.

Now that he saw Kim Haru standing safe and sound in front of him, he finally let out a deep sigh of relief.

Even though Jo Sungmo had already sent word that everything was fine, Moon Baein couldn't feel completely at ease until he saw Kim Haru in person.

Kim Haru could easily imagine how much of a shock it must have been when news of him falling into the cliff reached everyone.

So, he simply raised his arms and spun around in a full circle.

"See? I'm fine. Just a false alarm."

"That's good, that's good," Moon Baein said, still carefully scanning Kim Haru for any signs of injury.

Only after confirming that he was truly unharmed did everyone finally turn their attention to the results of this expedition.

The giant owl standing nearby didn't even need an introduction.

Just one look at its calm and well-behaved demeanor—eyes downcast, nose to the ground—was enough to tell everyone that it was yet another mutated animal tamed by Mr. Kim.

Speaking of which, having such a giant owl as a mount is undeniably impressive.

When it descended from the sky just now, the vast shadow it cast and the aura of a powerful mutated creature it exuded must have made countless people envious.

Of course, the initial moment of panic that arose when everyone first saw such a gigantic mutated creature—well, let's not point that out.

If it weren't for the person on the owl's back sending a message in advance, the entire safe zone would have likely fallen into chaos.

The appearance of this owl also sparked thoughts among the ability users.

Indeed, they didn't have to focus solely on whether mutated creatures were edible—those that couldn't be eaten could still be developed for other uses.

Take this flying one, for example.

How great would it be to have one as a personal mount?

Even if they couldn't find one this large to ride, smaller ones could be used for scouting or delivering messages!

All the ability users turned their eager gazes toward the researchers at the animal research institute.

Ordinary people like them certainly couldn't just tame whatever animal they liked the way Mr. Kim Haru could.

Their only option was to rely on the researchers to cultivate creatures that were more docile toward humans.

Take the spiny fish they were encouraged to raise before—it hadn't just grown healthily, puffing up like a fat pig, but many of them had even lost their fear of humans.

If their caretakers moved a bit slower while feeding them, they could even touch the spines on their bodies.

Of course, they had to move carefully, making sure not to startle the fish.

They also couldn't apply too much force—those spines were razor-sharp, and even the tiniest puncture required immediate treatment with an antidote.

Otherwise, death was inevitable.

Even a brainless fish bred purely for food could be raised to be somewhat friendly toward humans.

If they deliberately nurtured creatures with this goal in mind, perhaps they really could develop the kind of animals they dreamed of.

But all these expectant gazes had nothing to do with Kim Haru.

He was still showing Moon Baein and the others the seeds he had acquired on this trip.

"These are all suitable for spring planting. Once I return to my farm and process the seeds, we can start planting them in the empty plots we left."

By "processing the seeds," what Kim Haru actually meant was purchasing the required amount directly from the system store.

Not only would his own farm be growing some of them, but the safe zone would also be planting them.

The trees would likely take longer to grow, but the other crops should have much faster growth cycles.

Especially things like scallions and chives—they might be ready to harvest in just a few days.

As Kim Haru had anticipated, with the system's enhancement, these crops, which originally had much longer growth cycles, grew at an astonishing rate.

Scallions had the shortest maturity time, matching the three-day cycle of the cabbage and potatoes he received in his starter pack.

With the addition of growth-boosting fertilizer, some scallions even matured within a single day.

What's more, after their leaves were harvested, the remaining roots could sprout another batch.

Although the regrowth was a bit slower than the first harvest, it was still something to celebrate.

Soon after, the bok choy and chives followed, taking about ten days to mature. The slowest-growing crops were tomatoes, eggplants, and peanuts, all of which had growth cycles nearing two months.

Other crops, such as bell peppers, green peppers, long beans, and lettuce, had growth cycles of around forty days—just a little over a month.

As for the peach, pear, and cherry trees, their growth cycles all exceeded six months.

Kim Haru transplanted the few trees in his small farm to the orchard.

These were all grown from system-purchased seeds, meaning they wouldn't mutate.

The regular fruit trees were entrusted to the mutated orchard trees.

Although the latter didn't think much of these non-mutated newcomers, they still patted their trunks and assured Kim Haru they would take good care of them—if only because he was the one who had planted them.