Webnovel Author In The Apocalypse World

Initially, Kim Haru had wondered what he'd do if the people from Delta Squad didn't agree, but before he even finished explaining—without even mentioning the penalties for breaking the contract—all four of them immediately nodded their heads without hesitation.

"We're willing. We swear we will never betray you, Mr. Kim."

Alright, as long as they were willing.

Very soon, Kim Haru's farm staff had increased by a few more people, bringing the total to eight.

Go Okrim, Hwa Jian, Han Gwonhee, and the Delta Squad members Shin Woncheon, Ryu Hyunwoo, Ra Jinho, Gang Yuwon, as well as Pyeongseong Safe Zone Commander, Moon Baein.

Yes, even the Pyeongseong Safe Zone Commander had become an employee in Kim Haru's farming system. In fact, Moon Baein had signed the contract with Kim Haru even earlier than Hwa Jian and Han Gwonhee. When Kim Haru agreed to help Pyeongseong, the Safe Zone Commander had already signed his name on the contract.

It wasn't Kim Haru who had initially requested this, but rather the Pyeongseong Safe Zone Commander who had suggested it himself.

Of course, Moon Baein didn't know about Kim Haru's farming system. At first, he had intended to seek the help of a researcher from the Animal Research Institute—a specialist in rearing insects—to ensure mutual trust by placing Mutated Gu Insects in each of them.

Yes, the insect-rearing researcher was said to be an Insect expert before the apocalypse. With the emergence of the apocalypse, all types of organisms mutated, including insects, and this researcher, accidentally found this unique mutated Gu Insect in the apocalypse.

The thought of having any strange insect on him made Kim Haru's skin crawl. He straightforwardly proposed that he had a contract that could achieve the same effect.

Moon Baein's initial suggestion of the Mutated Gu Insect was meant to put Kim Haru at ease. Since Kim Haru trusted his own contract more, Moon Baein raised no objections.

And so, not only did Kim Haru acquire control over Pyeongseong 's farmland, but he also recruited the leader of the Pyeongseong Safe Zone under his command.

After signing the contract with the Delta Squad, Kim Haru teleported back to the small farm, leaving Go Okrim in the safe zone to gather intelligence on the Haneulsae trading team.

...

Even as they sat in Pyeongseong's reception room, the members of the Haneulsae Haneulsae trading team still hadn't quite recovered from the shock.

Once they regained their composure, the members of the Haneulsae trading team gazed at the oranges placed in the center of the table, slipping back into shock.

The Pyeongseong Safe Zone must have encountered some major opportunity; otherwise, how could they not only cultivate large amounts of normal crops but even have fresh fruit?

Seeing that the representatives from Pyeongseong Safe Zone had yet to arrive, one of the Haneulsae members finally couldn't resist picking up an orange from the fruit platter.

"Captain Roh, may I have one?"

The other team members cast eager looks at Roh Baekjin.

Not just the others—even Roh Baekjin himself couldn't stop staring at the platter of oranges, swallowing hard.

It had been so long since they'd tasted fresh fruit, and the person who brought in the fruit platter had said it was prepared for them as guests. Although they hadn't explicitly said it was free to eat, surely that's what it implied, right?

Roh Baekjin cleared his throat, "Go ahead, but be mindful."

As soon as he gave the go-ahead, the Haneulsae team members immediately reached for the fruit platter, each grabbing an orange. Even Roh Baekjin himself couldn't resist and picked one up.

The oranges were easy to peel, needing only a slight press with a fingernail to open. This made the Haneulsae members handle them even more carefully, worried that they might accidentally damage the tender flesh inside.

When they finished peeling the oranges, the plump, juicy slices glistened in front of them, a vibrant golden yellow and brimming with moisture. Unable to hold back any longer, they each took a slice and popped it into their mouths. When they bit into the juicy orange, the flavor filled their mouths, and they just wanted to close their eyes, savoring each taste.

Heavens, this was delicious!

They stretched out the experience of a single orange, eating it slowly for what felt like half a day, reluctant to swallow it too quickly. By the time the Pyeongseong representatives opened the door and walked in, each Haneulsae member was still clutching half an orange.

Haneulsae team: "..."

Awkward.

The Haneulsae members never expected they'd be so enchanted by Pyeongseong's food, only to be caught red-handed. Recalling their earlier expressions, they only wished they had a time machine at that moment.

Oh, don't get the wrong idea—even if they could go back in time, they'd still eat the Pyeongseong oranges. They'd just make sure to hide the oranges and adjust their expressions before anyone from Pyeongseong walked in.

With a smile, the Pyeongseong Safe Zone Commander entered, bringing along Jang Dojang and several other officials, seemingly unfazed by the expressions he'd just witnessed on the Haneulsae members' faces. "Thank you all for waiting. I apologize for the delay; there was a small issue with the farmland outside, and I went to handle it. I hope you don't mind."

As for whether there was indeed a minor problem or whether they were intentionally kept waiting, that was hard to say.

"No need to worry at all," said Jo Sungmo, the Haneulsae team's main diplomat, stepping forward to greet him. "The farmland is, of course, the priority, and we didn't wait long at all."

"Since you've come such a long way, why not take some time to relax?" Enjoy exclusive content from My Virtual Library Empire

"Sigh, with winter approaching, every bit of supplies we can gather could save another life in these times. We don't have time to rest. When we heard that Pyeongseong was willing to trade virus-free foods, we wanted to come and take a look as soon as possible."

"Indeed, indeed. Speaking of food supplies… it's really been a struggle…"