Webnovel Author In The Apocalypse World

The Starlight Armored Bug didn't require fresh plants to produce coal.

For these magical creatures, the essential element they absorbed was the wood element, which was present even in withered plants.

To the insects, there was no difference.

Moon Baein's eyes lit up at the suggestion.

If this could be implemented, it would bring significant changes to Pyeongseong Safe Zone.

After all, the withered and non-mutated plants were abundant in this world.

They posed no threat, and even ordinary people could safely gathered large bundles of them.

"I'll arrange this immediately!" Moon Baein said excitedly before rushing off.

While Kim Haru was busy weaving fishing nets, the Starlight Armored Bug Breeding Facility in Gokmul County had already been completed.

He took the time to personally transport over 2,000 Starlight Armored Bug purchased from the swamp to Gokmul County.

In addition to these, Kim Haru bought another 1,800 insects from the system, rounding the total to 4,000.

Kim Haru did not request any funding from the Pyeongseong Safe Zone for these 4,000 Starlight Armored Bug.

This was a collaborative project between him and the safe zone.

These insects represented his investment, and he planned not to involve himself in the farm's management or operations, instead awaiting his share of the profits.

All revenue from the Starlight Armored Bug farm would be distributed proportionally, with a designated portion allocated to Kim Haru as his private assets.

Thanks to being system-generated, the Starlight Armored Bug adapted seamlessly to their new environment.

Once placed in the solid breeding facility, they immediately began creating tunnels to their liking.

Following Kim Haru's instructions, the humans workers waited two days before making any modifications.

They only widened the entrance tunnel slightly to facilitate human access, leaving the interior rooms untouched.

The metal molds that was prepared in advance, were moved into the production chambers, while piles of sand were transported into the feeding rooms.

As for the nursery and rest areas, human workers avoided these spaces entirely.

This hands-off approach ensured the Starlight Armored Bug could live with greater peace of mind.

Otherwise, even system-generated insects might rebel or attempt to escape.

Once the Breeding Facility was fully operational, the progress of the Pyeongseong Safe Zone's Greenhouse accelerated dramatically.

The trucks of glass were transported from the Gokmul County farm and swiftly installed on the Greenhouse frames.

Even without a heating system yet, the temperature inside the Greenhouse began to rise noticeably within just a few days, which slightly higher than the outside.

The logistics department meticulously tracked the glass output.

Once enough glass had been used for the Greenhouse, they halted the extraction of river sand and instead began transporting collected dead branches to the Starlight Armored Bug farm.

By this time, the second batch of refugee from the roaming base had mostly passed their assessments and received residency permits for the Pyeongseong Safe Zone.

However, "mostly" was the key word—some of this people had harbored malicious intentions, attempting to acquire money and resources through theft or robbery in hopes of obtaining their residency permits early.

Unfortunately for them, the safe zone had anticipated such actions and prevented their success.

Those people who are getting caught were not executed but were barred from employment in the safe zone and sent to live in Buyeo Town.

They were permitted to stay there only until the end of winter.

Once spring arrived, they would be required to leave.

The Pyeongseong Safe Zone even allowed these people to exchange their remaining points for food before being expelled, demonstrating their considerable leniency.

Shortly after, the Caeruleus Draco Squad returned from the other side of Gokmul County.

They brought back an important piece of news.

"There's a massive colony of mutated ants living there."

Hearing the word "ants," everyone's expressions changed instantly.

"Ants? How could it be ants?" No one had expected it to be ants. "How many are there? What species?"

The members of the Caeruleus Draco Squad were aware of how shocking this news was.

The reason for their delay was their effort to gather detailed information about this group of ants.

Upon being questioned, they immediately took out a piece of paper and handed it to Moon Baein.

The paper contained all the data they had collected.

The moment Moon Baein read the ant species listed on the paper, he made a quick decision: "We need to ask Mr. Kim for help."

Why were ants so terrifying?

In truth, a single ant posed little threat.

Even in the post-apocalypse world, ants were different from other mutated creatures—they didn't grow in size.

The largest among them was only as big as a human palm, unlike other mutated animals, which could be as large as a house or even an entire building.

However, what set ants apart from other mostly solitary mutated creatures was their infamous tendency to act in massive swarms.

These weren't just swarms of dozens or hundreds; they moved in the tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions and billions.

Such an enormous number of ants would have been formidable even before the apocalypse, let alone afterward.

People had witnessed it before: in an instant, the ants surged like a tidal wave.

Within seconds, when they retreated, all that was left in their wake were bare, white bones.

Every bit of edible flesh had been stripped away and carried off by the ants.

How horrifying was their destructive power!

No one wanted to encounter such a massive swarm of ants in the wild.

Yet, despite the ants' formidable nature, their species and groups varied.

Some carnivorous ants were inherently destructive, leaving nothing but devastation in their wake.

However, other ant species behaved differently.

The Caeruleus Draco Squad discovered that the ants in Gokmul County, fortunately, did not belong to the particularly aggressive category.

The ant species is called the "Antharion Giant Ant," it was ranged from the queen leading the colony to the worker ants at the bottom.

Their temperament was more "live and let live"—as long as they weren't provoked, they wouldn't attack.