Webnovel Author In The Apocalypse World

He hadn't expected to own an orchard so soon, so he hadn't prepared the necessary supplies. Once he completed his assessment, he'd go to the safe zone to find what he needed.

After spending most of the day in the orchard, Kim Haru finally had a clear understanding of its condition and even managed to pick a large bag of oranges. Naturally, a good portion ended up in his stomach along the way.

He didn't even discard the orange peels and left it to dry anywhere, they'd make great seasoning for meat stews and the like.

Leaving the orchard, Kim Haru didn't ask the Space-type zombie to teleport him back. Instead, he wandered leisurely through the woods.

He wasn't in any rush, and the mountain air was fresh. Every now and then, he'd spot strange-looking plants that piqued his curiosity, turning his walk into a casual exploration.

Still, if he'd need to transport a lot of goods from the orchard in the future, he'd probably have to build a road.

This time, he'd check with the safe zone to see if there was any cement available.

Kim Haru wasn't overly hopeful about finding any, though. Cement was highly valuable not only for road construction but also for building repairs. Every time he passed through the fourth district in the safe zone, he saw many buildings that was hastily patched together or left dilapidated, without any hint of cement repair.

He believed that it wasn't due to neglect from safe zone commander; Its more likely, the safe zone simply didn't have any cement left.

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When Kim Haru returned to the farm, Go Okrim was there to greet him while holding a sound-transmitting snail. "Kim Haru-hyung, there's a phone call for you. It's from the shop. I was about to go find you."

Go Okrim didn't care for the term "sound-transmitting snail," thinking of it as just another word for a biological phone. "Phone call" sounded simpler anyway.

Hearing that the shop was calling, Kim Haru quickly took the shell. "Hello?"

"Boss, someone's causing trouble."

When Kim Haru arrived at the location of his Green Basket Vegetable Shop in the Second District, the area was already in chaos.

To explain the scene, it's worth noting how the road in front of the Green Basket Vegetable Shop had transformed over time.

Originally, the area around his villa was part of a small villa complex, with low building density and wide streets intended for the convenience of car-owning residents. Nowadays, with fewer cars around, the roads looked empty and spacious.

Apart from Kim Haru's villa, most of the nearby ones had become property shared by different ability-user teams. These teams often went on missions and demanded a high level of security around their residences, making others too wary to come here casually for fear of provoking someone they couldn't handle.

Then, Kim Haru's shop opened.

Each day, a huge number of people gathered, all vying to be the first in line when the shop opened, fearing that if they were too late, everything would sell out. Some people who coming from far away and unable to arrive in time in the morning, even found spots nearby to stay overnight.

In short, from the day the shop opened, the street had never been empty.

Gradually, some quick-thinking people noticed an opportunity.

They brought their own goods and set up small stalls along the road. More and more vendors began appearing, and since the customers waiting to buy vegetables already had crystals on hand, they passed the time by browsing and inevitably making purchases.

Over time, the area turned into a bustling marketplace with a high volume of traffic.

Now, with the Green Basket Vegetable Shop at the center of this new marketplace, any trouble there was sure to draw a crowd. Not only did people gather to watch, but they also began defending the shop, helping fend off the troublemakers. At first, everyone stayed level-headed, maintaining some restraint, but as pushing and shoving escalated, tempers flared.

No one knew who struck first, but just as Kim Haru had barely stepped forward, he saw someone launch a fireball straight at their opponent's face! If it landed, it would surely leave a permanent scar.

Fortunately, the other person reacted swiftly, raising a water shield in time to protect their face.

Then, in retaliation, they conjured multiple water arrows and shot them back!

The ordinary people who had come from the Third and Fourth Districts had no way of getting involved in a battle between ability-users, so they took cover on either side of the street.

Seeing Kim Haru arrive, Hwa Jian anxiously came over. "Boss, I already sent Han Gwonhee to find the patrol team, but I don't know when they'll get here."@@novelbin@@

"What's going on?" Kim Haru frowned.

"The ones causing trouble are those in the middle," Hwa Jian said, pointing them out on tiptoe. "At first, they acted civil, but then they tried to buy up all the produce in the shop. I refused, so they began driving customers out and even threatened to trash the store."

"Han Gwonhee threw them out, trying to avoid too much damage to the shop, so he didn't hurt them much. But instead, that only made them more arrogant."

Among the seven troublemakers, all were Level 2 abilityusers, with one already at the peak of Level Two. That person was of the thunder type ability user, known for its powerful offensive capabilities. If Han Gwonhee were to fight them head-on, it would be a tough battle with no quick outcome.

But this wasn't the only reason the situation had descended into such chaos.

"One of them is a psychic-type ability user," Hwa Jian explained, his face grim. "It seems he has special skills with language. With just a few words, he managed to sway nearly half of the customers outside to take their side."

"He was spouting absolute nonsense! He claimed that, Boss, your produce could save the entire post-apocalyptic world, so it shouldn't be hidden away and should be given to them for free. Then he started talking about how they deserve to get more and better food, questioning why they should have to squeeze in with powerless, impoverished ordinary people to get it. He's convinced some people to join them in directly raiding the shop, even promising how the spoils would be divided once they seized it."