Webnovel Author In The Apocalypse World-Chapter 196: Exposed (Part 2)

The little hamster shook itself, then scurried along the branch to stand in front of Kim Haru, waving its paws around in an elaborate display.

Kim Haru… couldn’t understand a thing.

The little hamster grew agitated, mustering its courage to climb up Kim Haru’s clothes. It made its way to the pocket of his shirt, dove in, and poked out just the tips of its ears.

At that point, it was impossible for Kim Haru not to understand.

"You want to come with me?" he asked.

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The little hamster poked its head halfway out of his pocket, nodded its head, and squeaked softly. It even lifted a tiny paw and pointed at the apple tree.

Kim Haru followed the gesture and looked at the tree. The apple tree was trembling slightly, rising taller and taller. To his astonishment, it pulled its roots out of the ground, transforming into a form more suitable for walking.

Then it took a step forward—toward Kim Haru.

With that step, the apple tree was practically brushing up against him.

The commotion naturally drew everyone’s attention. But the shy apple tree immediately vanished from sight.

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Kim Haru, however, knew it was still there. The branch hooked onto the hem of his coat hadn’t let go.

This was the first time Do Seungjin and the others had ever seen a mutated plant willingly follow a human. Every single one of them was opened their eyes in disbelief. After the initial shock, their admiration for Kim Haru only deepened.

"Do we have room for the apple tree in the vehicle?" Kim Haru asked Do Seungjin.

There was no way Kim Haru would even consider turning the apple tree away. If anything, he felt lucky it wanted to come along. How could he ever reject such an offer? The tree had a shy disposition and would turn invisible when flustered. It didn’t have any offensive capabilities beyond deflecting attacks, and it came with a nimble little helper skilled at picking fruit. The helper even had its own spatial storage abilities. Only a fool would refuse such a gift.

Do Seungjin nodded his head repeatedly. "There’s room, there’s room."

Even if the truck bed couldn’t fit it, they could always secure it to the roof. Overloading wasn’t a concern right now—this was an apple tree, after all. There was no way they were leaving it behind.

The thought of Kim Haru’s store selling not just oranges but apples in the future filled everyone with excitement. With apples and oranges already accounted for, could other fruits be far behind?

And so, Kim Haru brought the little hamster nestled in his pocket and the invisible apple tree trailing behind him to the place where they had parked the vehicle.

The bed of the large truck was already packed with squealing piglets. On the ground beside the truck lay two massive black pigs, clearly deceased. One glance was enough to tell that the team had had a bountiful hunt.

Looking at the truck and its load, Kim Haru made a decision. "I’ll take the tree back first using the teleportation skill."

He wasn’t sure if the apple tree would suffer any effects from being out of the ground for too long. Besides, those who were close to Kim Haru in the safety zone were already aware that Go Okrim had teleportation abilities. There was no need to keep it a secret.

Hearing Kim Haru’s plan, Do Seungjin and the others raised no objections.

And so, Kim Haru and Go Okrim teleported back to the small farm, bringing along the apple tree.

In the blink of an eye, the two humans, the tree, and the little hamster appeared in the clearing in front of Kim Haru’s wooden cabin.

Then, Kim Haru froze in place.

What… what was this?

The once-modest experimental field was now completely surrounded by thick, root-like growths. These tangled, sprawling appendages extended in every direction like writhing tentacles, their origins indistinguishable. Some were as thin as small snakes, while others were thicker than a person’s body. Some were bare and smooth, in a dull grayish-brown hue, while others were covered in sharp, sprawling leaves. The sight was both bizarre and unsettling.

A little further away, eerily colored plants were digging their roots into the fermentation pool. A plant with a large, sharp-toothed mouth lay sprawled by the edge of the pond, doing who-knows-what. As for the cleared farmland on the other side of the pond, it now looked more like a primeval jungle than any real jungle ever could.

Kim Haru closed his eyes and reopened them.

If it weren’t for the familiar sight of his small wooden cabin and the zombie-bots he had left standing in front of it, blankly awaiting new orders, Kim Haru might have genuinely thought he had teleported to the wrong place!

What in the world was this haunted, monstrous place?

"Hyung..." Go Okrim was visibly shaken by the scene before them.

Kim Haru was even more bewildered, his face filled with utter disbelief.

He was absolutely sure that the strange, grotesque things in front of him had been moving when they first teleported in! In the instant he blinked, it was as if all those things had suddenly frozen in place.

Even now, with everything immobilized, it didn’t matter anymore—he’d already seen them move!

Without saying a word, Kim Haru pressed the teleportation device again.

...

Do Seungjin and the others were standing together, happily chatting about apples while waiting for Kim Haru’s return. They didn’t expect him to come back so quickly.

However, they immediately noticed something unusual—both Kim Haru and Go Okrim looked visibly disturbed.

Before the people from the animal research team could even ask what had happened, Kim Haru posed a question that he’d neglected for far too long.

"How do you tell the difference between mutated plants and non-mutated ones?"

Do Seungjin and the others froze for a moment, confused.

Wait—did Kim Haru not know?

Though curious, Do Seungjin answered the question, pointing to the withered plants nearby. "99% of non-mutated plants in this world can’t survive—they end up looking like this. The plants that are alive and thriving are all mutated to some degree. Some mutations are strong, others are weaker."

Kim Haru: "…"