Webnovel Author In The Apocalypse World-Chapter 322: New Year’s Feast

Thus, the Cryo Wolf that had created the hole were assigned a new task: traveling to Gokmul County to borrow a few ants to fix the wall.

It wasn't impossible to repair the wall directly within the safe zone, but most of the buildings here were constructed by the ants, who had long since scorned the aesthetics of human-made structures.

If they saw a hastily patched-up wall, they might become so offended they'd go on strike.

To kill two birds with one stone, Kim Haru asked the Cryo Wolf to deliver a message as well: inviting the queen ant to join them for the pig feast.

The ants didn't particularly care about holidays, but fresh meat might pique their interest.

The Cryo Wolf, unencumbered by carts or passengers, were incredibly fast.

By the time the pig feast in the safe zone was still being prepared, the Cryo Wolf were already back.

And accompanying them was none other than the queen ant herself.

'I've always been curious about human celebrations,' said the queen ant, clearly delighted by the invitation.

The one responsible for carrying the queen ant and her guard ants was Snowball No. 11.

After setting the ants down, Snowball No. 11 immediately jumped far away, rolling frantically in the snow.

"...Mr. Kim, is the Cryo Wolf okay?" Hwa Jian asked worriedly as he watched Snowball No. 11's peculiar behavior.

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Before Kim Haru could answer, Go Okrim waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry, it's fine. It's just recalling its psychological trauma again, that's all."

"Psychological trauma?" Hwa Jian asked, puzzled.

Thus, Go Okrim enthusiastically recounted the tale of the Cryo Wolf' grievances with the ants, complete with animated gestures, as if he had been there to witness it all firsthand.

After hearing the detailed account of this "psychological trauma," everyone glanced at Snowball No. 11 who is still rolling in the snow, with suppressed laughter in their eyes.

You had to feel sorry for these Cryo Wolf.

"Speaking of the Cryo Wolf, with all that fur, don't you think they might need a trim?" Ryu Hyunwoo chimed in, joining the conversation. "You know how sheep, which are also really woolly, need to be sheared regularly? These Cryo Wolf didn't have owners before, so I bet their fur has never been trimmed. No wonder the ants managed to burrow into them so easily. Should we consider giving them a haircut?"

"We could even use the trimmed fur for something useful," Hwa Jian added thoughtfully.

All eyes turned to Kim Haru.

Kim Haru, quite satisfied with the fluffy texture of the Cryo Wolf' fur, said, "Let's wait until winter is over."

"That's true. What if their fur is what keeps them warm during winter? Shaving it off might make them freeze, and that wouldn't be good."

Meanwhile, the Cryo Wolf, who had unknowingly gathered near the cooking pot, were completely oblivious to the humans plotting to trim their fur.

They were utterly captivated by the aroma wafting from the pot.

And it wasn't just the Cryo Wolf.

Even the humans found it hard to resist the tantalizing smell.

"This smells incredible!"

"Hehe, that's because today's seasonings were all provided by Mr. Kim. Whatever seasoning we needed, he had it. Of course, the meat prepared with these seasonings smells far better than when we only had salt," the person in charge of cooking said with a proud grin.

Every cook relishes the moment when diners praise their culinary skills.

Watching everyone revel in the aroma, Kim Haru silently added "seasoning production" to his plans for next year.

Because the seasonings in Kim Haru's own kitchen were all provided by the system, and the current stock was enough to last him a long time, he hadn't given much thought to the fact that the people in the safe zone barely had any seasonings.

Having just salt was considered fortunate for them.

Realizing this, he decided to pay more attention to crops that could be used as seasonings after the spring thaw.

Things like chili peppers, peppercorns, star anise—just finding a single plant of these would be a great start.

As for soy sauce, it seemed possible to make it using beans.

He planned to look through the study later to see if there were any resources on how to make soy sauce.

After all, most of the beans he currently had were being used to extract oil or make tofu, and the stockpile was more than sufficient.

Even if the stock ran low, beans—one of the beginner's gift pack crops—only took three days to mature.

Planting a bit more wouldn't be an issue.

As the aroma in the air grew richer, one delicious dish after another was placed on the table, and the feast officially began.

Not only did the central animal research institute enjoy this sumptuous dinner, but throughout the entire Pyeongseong Safe Zone, the fragrance of pork filled the air wherever there was a kitchen in operation.

The larrge tables that has been prepared were brought outside and set up.

Without much concern for seating arrangements, everyone gathered around, sitting in a large circle to enjoy the meal together.

Moon Baein smiled broadly. "This year, everyone will have a good New Year. From now on, Pyeongseong Safe Zone will only get better and better! And we owe it all to Mr. Kim! Thank you, Mr. Kim!"

He raised his cup.

Of course, the cup didn't contain alcohol.

With food supplies barely sufficient, there was no surplus grain for brewing.

Instead, the cup held pure water free of the mutagenic virus—a rare and precious resource in a post-apocalypse world where even the water was contaminated.

Thanks to Kim Haru, Pyeongseong Safe Zone had become a place where people could regularly drink such pure water.

Everyone raised their cups.

"Thank you, Mr. Kim!"

"Thank you, Mr. Kim!"

"Thank you, Mr. Kim!"

"Thank you, Mr. Kim!"

"Haha! Thank you, Mr. Kim!"

The repeated thanks rang out clearly in Kim Haru's ears.

His face turned slightly red, though the deepening night obscured this, and few people noticed.