Webnovel Author In The Apocalypse World-Chapter 198: The Orange Grove’s Secret

The moment the words left his mouth, Kim Haru couldn’t help but laugh at himself.

Why did that sound like he was here to cause trouble? Especially with the axe in his hand—it made him seem even more like a thug.

Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, the orange trees began trembling violently.

They had already heard the news that their companions near the cabin had been exposed. Now that this human had come to the orchard, was he planning to chop them all down too? Wuwuwu.

But they couldn’t ignore the human’s question. As if on cue, all the orange trees extended their branches, pointing towards the center of the orchard.

Following the direction of the branches, Kim Haru walked deeper into the grove. Even before he reached the tree in question, he already had a guess about which mutated orange tree was "in charge."

Sure enough, it was the largest, sturdiest orange tree in the orchard.

At that moment, the massive orange tree had its leaves curled inward nervously. Though it towered over Kim Haru by several times his height, it now stood before him like a timid, wronged child.

The surrounding orange trees, all of normal height, began wriggling slightly, shifting their largest and sweetest oranges to the side of their crowns facing Kim Haru. If they dared, they would have stretched their branches to hand him the oranges directly.

Orange trees: Look, we’re being obedient and nice!

Seeing the orange trees acting like this, how could Kim Haru possibly stay mad?

He watered the massive orange tree as a sign of goodwill, then asked, "What’s your relationship with the other orange trees around here?"

Based on what Kim Haru understood, it didn’t make much sense for all these orange trees to have fully "gained sentience"—or rather, mutated—at the same time. Some of the trees must be extensions, offshoots, or even under the control of others.

Sure enough, after a series of chaotic yet cooperative gestures from the orange trees, Kim Haru pieced together the general picture of how this entire orange grove came to be.

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To put it simply, the large orange tree in the center had sprouted the ring of medium-sized orange trees around it. Among those medium trees, only one had its own consciousness, while the rest were controlled by that one tree.

The medium-sized trees, in turn, sprouted a wider array of smaller offspring trees. Similarly, only one of the smaller trees had its own awareness, with the rest being mere extensions.

Typically, the non-sentient offspring would be reabsorbed by the conscious parent tree. However, this batch of smaller trees hadn’t been absorbed yet when they encountered something far more intriguing: Kim Haru himself, a human who was irresistibly fascinating to them.

Thus, through a rather cunning chain of events, this orange grove of interconnected trees came into existence.

And sure enough, they managed to lure a human right to them.

"This is like three generations of a family living together," Kim Haru muttered after hearing the explanation.

In any case, since this grove was already part of his farm, Kim Haru had no intention of letting these orange trees go free. The same went for the chestnut and lemon trees, which were also mutated plants on his land.

"All right, let’s leave it at that," Kim Haru said with a nod, ready to press the button on his teleportation device.

Before he could do so, though, a branch hooked onto the corner of his clothing.

Kim Haru glanced down and couldn’t help but chuckle. "Do all you trees like using this trick?"

He turned his attention to the small orange tree tugging at him. Judging by its "generation," this one would be considered the grandchild among the orange trees. "Don’t worry, I’m not getting rid of any of you. You’ll still get your share of fertilizer and water. Oh, by the way, a new neighbor—a little apple tree—will be moving in soon. It’s quite timid, so don’t bully it, all right?"

The orange trees nodded repeatedly in unison.

Back at the farm, Kim Haru called out to Go Okrim.

"Hyung," Go Okrim greeted, now well aware of the mutated plants surrounding them. He glanced at Kim Haru, wondering if this meant they’d have to relocate.

Kim Haru briefly explained his approach to dealing with the plants: they weren’t moving out and would continue coexisting as they had before. Experience more tales on novelbuddy

"Gojo, take the apple tree to the orchard later and help it settle somewhere near the orange trees. I’ve already told them about it. Also, adjust the fencing to include the apple tree’s spot."

Although Kim Haru wasn’t sure if the orchard even needed a fence anymore, since it was already built, it might as well be put to use.

"I got it," Go Okrim nodded. "What about the little hamster?"

Kim Haru turned his gaze toward the little hamster’s usual spot.

The tiny creature, which had previously been nestled safely in Kim Haru’s pocket, had long since scurried into the apple tree’s canopy, terrified by the overwhelming presence of so many powerful mutated plants surrounding them.

Hearing Kim Haru calling for it, the little hamster peeked out its head cautiously and squeaking twice.

Both the apple tree and the little hamster now seemed to understand that this area was a safe place for them. The apple tree, in particular, was immensely relieved that it had dared to cling to this human with the appealing scent. One sniff of the surrounding soil and fertilizer confirmed its luck—this was truly a premium quality land!

"Do you want to stay here, or would you rather go with the apple tree to the orchard?" Kim Haru asked the little hamster. "If you stay here, you’ll have two little chickens and a little pig—oh wait, it’s now two little pigs—as your companions."

The little hamster poked its head out, glanced at the little chickens and little pigs Kim Haru had pointed out, and immediately shook its head furiously, squeaking insistently while clinging to the apple tree.