Post-apocalyptic world with Bees

Chapter 34

“Wow, what’s all this?”

“Big Sister Soo-hee. This is a real delicacy, nothing like the ones we used to eat before.”

“OMG. Look at the quality of this. This is truly amazing. This is like the good old days, isn’t it?”

“Ohhhhh, I didn’t do it all alone, it was all thanks to the cuties here.”

*Weing~~* *Buzz!!*

The bees understood immediately when she pointed to them and quickly responded with a figure-eight dance while bouncing around on the air.

Everyone bursts out laughing at their adorable behavior.

Soo-hee clapped her hands together to get everyone’s attention.

“Okay, let’s all enjoy the food before it gets cold and you guys hurry up and sit down. Sung-hyuk brought honey soap, so make sure you all wash your hands before eating. There’s also honey-dried apples and honey-dipped jerky for dessert, so take them with you when you go to work later.”

“……This is crazy, bro!”

“I really want to be a slave here for life!”

“Hehehehe, Sung-hyuk bachelor, thank you again!”

“Hmph. Let’s stop talking and eat it before it gets cold, like Soo-hee said. And since we don’t have to be polite or anything, let’s eat as much as we work for.”

“Yes!”

“I’ve been waiting for you to say that!”

A hard worker deserves a good meal.

As soon as Sung-hyuk, the owner of the farm, gave the go-ahead, the workers began to pounce on the food as if they had been waiting for it.

“Wahahahaha! It’s so melt-in-your-mouth good!”

“Mmmm! This is totally my style, isn’t it?”

“Sis, you could eat one of these and die!”

“Okay, slow down, there’s no one to take it away from you…….”

Mealtime can be a noisy affair.

It was a different experience for Sung-hyuk, who always enjoyed the flavor of honey in silence with the bees, but he didn’t think it was so bad.

What can he say?

Should he mention that he finally feels like a human being?

‘This reminds me of the orphanage.’

For some reason, Sung-hyuk can’t help but think back to his orphanage days.

Aside from the bees, the people he remembers the most are the director of the orphanage, who adopted him and the children who became part of his family when he was around middle school age,

The families of the orphanage, whose names and faces are now a blur.

In a world like this, he can only hope that the children and people like the director get good jobs and survive.

‘Well, they’re great people who won’t die easily because they’ve had enough persistence.’

If there’s anything else, the world according to the Transcendent is a game with a system that determines the characteristics of the jobs you’re granted based on the “karma” of your life.

Though his memories of them were fuzzy, he knew that their tenacity and obsession with life was not normal for orphans, so he thought that they would be able to survive on their own.

“Mr. Sung-hyuk, is this not to your taste?”

“Oh, I just thought of something.”

Was it because he hadn’t picked up the dishes while he was lost in thought?

Worried about Soo-hee, Sung-hyuk shook off the thoughts in his head.

It’s always been the case, but there’s nothing stupider than worrying about every single detail.

It’s best to take care of the here and now, like bees diligently collecting nectar for tomorrow.

“……Yum, Soo-hee. I feel like I’m really eating at my mom’s house.”

“Oh my goodness, thank you for the compliment, ho ho ho!”

A meal that tastes like honey.

Sung-hyuk, whose parents had passed away when he was a child, enjoyed the feeling of a full stomach with a rich effect.

* * * *

A scene from a bee farm, where honey suckers are enjoying a sweet meal with honey.

The world outside had drastically changed.

Not to mention the casualties caused by the monsters that have been steadily respawning since the introduction of the new world, and the intelligent behavior of field bosses and dungeon monsters since the Chapter 1 update.

The ‘Soldiers vs. Civilians’ event quest, which emerged in the midst of the so-called ‘thinning’ situation, where players were getting stronger and dying at the same time.

Since the introduction of the 30-day quest, which was both short and long, players on both sides of the conflict have been in a state of chaos.

“This is an order! Increase the vigilance of the guard, and kill not only the monsters, but also the evil people who approach!”

“What do you mean, Platoon Leader? How are we supposed to distinguish between the evil ones, as opposed to the monsters?”

“You’re supposed to be able to tell the difference between the good and the wicked by now, after all, you’re a Squad Leader.”

“Oh, no matter how you say it…….”

“This is an order from above. For now, I expect you to obey.”

The order was to increase vigilance and kill the Evil Ones along with the monsters.

However, due to the event quest, it’s impossible for military and civilian players to determine if someone is evil or not.

Of course, they could rescue some of the civilians first and ask them to help identify the evildoers, but who is to say whether or not those rescued are “evildoers”?

Besides, the confused soldiers are still people after all.

The main focus of the event quest is the 3x reward.

In addition, the soldiers’ jobs have the added perk of being able to advance in rank as they level up to match the special circumstances of the military.

‘It’s not like we’ll be punished for killing people anyway, right?’

‘Yeah, we just treat them as monsters, triple bonus monsters.’

‘Who knows if they’re actually civilians or murderers who killed people? I need to get stronger so I can protect my family!’

And so on.

Some soldiers will quickly rise to the rank of sergeant or officer, earning a place in the rebuilt country, and you can’t help but get caught up in the greed of becoming stronger as a player.

“Ah, evildoers!”

“Kill them all!”

*Boom, boom, boom!*

As they say, everything is hard at first, and then it gets easier.

Well, this is not a sin to be borne alone, but a sin to be borne by an army.

Moreover, it’s a sacrifice of a minority for the greater good in order to rebuild the country.

And last but not least, in the crazy world set up by the game’s system, soldiers armed with modern weapons aren’t necessarily the most powerful force in the world.

” A group of evildoers has appeared!”

“Die, murderers!”

“Shoot them down!”

“You’re ……ing me. Crazy assholes pointing guns at the weak. What, we’re murderers? Be reasonable with your firing, bastards!”

“What kind of soldiers are you, not even coming out when we need you, and now you’re shooting at civilians?”

“Brother. I don’t think they’re that big of a deal.”

“Get as close to them as you can, they won’t be able to shoot us as easily if we blend in.”

Soldiers vs. Civilians It’s not just soldiers who benefit from Event Quests.

Players who exist as civilians can also get triple the rewards.

What’s more, while the soldiers were being controlled from within the military, there were plenty of players who were growing up outside of it, becoming superhumans, armed with all sorts of amazing armor and high stats as they tackled field bosses and dungeons.

As such, they were able to penetrate into the midst of the soldiers, bouncing off bullets with ease, and slaughtering them like a wolf in the midst of a flock.

It’s a bloody scene in which both sides have their own sense of justice and patriotism at first.

In the midst of a devastating situation where lives are being snuffed out and the smell of blood is everywhere.

There was a single entity watching all of this as if it were a movie,

– Kahahahaha! Yes. Keep fighting, livestock! That’s how useful livestock are born!

It’s Riggle, the pet of the Transcendents, the organizers of this event quest and the administrators of the Korean server that caused it.

– With this much excitement, I’m sure the Transcendents will be able to find enough footage to keep them entertained. Kikikikik!

A pet of the Transcendents who considers the deaths of living beings to be mere entertainment.

To their common sense, their demise was not a cause for sorrow, but only pure joy at having extracted a video that would be patronized through a channel to be opened in the future.

* * * *

“Tsk. There’s less and less to harvest.”

The thick scent of blood stung her nose.

Looking at the corpses lying on the ground, she took a moment to bite her lip.

As the player watch with cold eyes, a smile suddenly appears on her face when she notices a small movement.

“Hehe. There you are!”

A tiny movement in the midst of the corpses.

As the player heads over and clears the corpses, a teary-eyed child looks back and forth between the player and the dead body.

“Huhuhu, Dad…… Daddy got killed…….”

“Hmm, I guess that’s how it is.”

Apparently, in order to hide and protect his child, he’s used his own life as a shield.

What an indescribable paternal love.

Honestly, in such a hellish world, is it really good to survive?

Although part of her wondered, it’s never a good idea to waste a life that one has somehow managed to save.

“Hi kid, this older sister’s name is Cha Hye-rin. I just want you to know that I don’t intend to hurt you at all. By any chance, what’s your name?”

“……Ju-yong. Lee Ju-yong.”

“Then, Ju-yong, I’ll give you a choice. Do you want to stay here, or do you want to go to the shelter with this older sister to survive? It’s called soft soup. It’s a place guarded by an old lady who can make a good bowl of noodles no matter the circumstances.”

“Sniff. Plea.. Please take me there.”

“Sure.”

Normally, a little kid who lost his parents wouldn’t be much help in an apocalyptic world.

But Cha Hye-Rin.

Was it because she, too, had come from an orphanage where her parents had died?

It’s hard for her to think about leaving him behind, as she feels a strange sense of identification and overlap with her old self.

“If you’ll excuse me, the neighborhood is dangerous.”

Monsters and villains everywhere.

And in a world where you never know when a soldier will jump out at you, a crying child can be a danger.

After lulling the child to sleep with the sleeping powder she’s created through her skill, Hyerin springs to her feet and begins to make her way.

…..

As a player who has selected the 5-star unique class, Silent Walker, she makes no sound at all, even when she’s moving fast and briskly.

As a result, the players around her are completely unaware of her passing.

*Whoosh!*

The sight of their dumbfounded state momentarily sparks the urge to harvest again, but Hyerin shakes her head.

‘Let’s hold off for now.’

If she were to do it alone, the child might be in danger while on her back.

How far had she gotten by persevering?

*Oink! *Oink!

*Ooink!*

Hyerin was greeted by the sounds of piglets and adult pigs growing up in a livestock pen,

“Fck! Where did you get the kid from?”

The player who summoned the pigs and the owner of the Yeonbun Noodle Soup Shelter.

Yeonbun’s curses pierce Hyerin’s ears.

“……Well, I can’t just leave him there, his parents are dead and he’ll die if I don’t take him with me.”

“Ugh, you’ve got a lot of compassion for kids for no reason. Hurry up and wake him up and bring him to the dining hall. How starved he must have been for his skin and bones to look so bad! tsk!”

“Hehe, okay.”

Even in the face of Yeonbun’s insults, Hyerin didn’t stop smiling.

Yeonbun, who was like a mother to her, adopting and raising her, was a lifesaver to her, even if she was cranky on the outside.

“How are you doing, Miss Hyerin?”

“And who is that child?”

“He’s the newest member of the family, so please take care of him, uncles.”

“Hehehe, please leave him in my care. Please.”

“I hope Hee-rin has more friends.”

“Kluck. His bones look strong. I’ll raise him.”

“If he eats only big sister’s soup, he’ll have muscles in no time, right?”

The shelter of Yeonbun’s noodle soup, which may look fierce on the outside, but is unparalleled in terms of its heart and comfort.

After running a long distance to scout the area, she takes out a cup of honey tea to soothe her weary body.

‘……Honeybee. You’re alive and well, as is the director, right?

A memory from the orphanage.

Recalling a boy who was unusually obsessed with bees, Hyerin wished him, Honeybee or whoever he was, a long life in this new chaotic world.