Chapter 72
At the same time, in the Capital Area Survivors' Gallery.
A mysterious post appeared there.
Title : [Anseong Tangtang Ramen] System-nim!!! You granted our wish!!!
System-nim...! In Anseong!!! In Anseong!!!
You gave us a vegetable plot!!! You made us one!!!!
You Capital Area bastards!!!! We can farm here!!!!
Bwahahahaha!!
?!!
ㄴ Huh?
ㄴ What?
A vegetable? Plot?
ㄴ ㅇ?
ㄴ Is it the vegetable plot I know?
Seems like it?
ㄴ You grow plants...
ㄴ That vegetable plot where you farm?
ㄴ Hmm?
Like a community garden?
ㄴ Seems like that's what he means?
ㄴ Something like that exists...?
ㄴ No... System-nim gave them one...?
Users seeing Anseong Tangtang Ramen's first post all had incredulous reactions.
Wait, System-nim unlocked farming content?
ㄴ Farming content, my assㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ You mean he built them a community garden...?
No fucking way, don't mess with usㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ These newbies << These bastards suddenly started trolling because they felt left outㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ No, a vegetable plot is taking it too far ㅇㅇ
The soil scattered outside is contaminated and completely rotten.
ㄴ Ah, I miss community gardens.
ㄴ Office workers' only hobby...
Naturally.
Since the apocalypse, all attempts at farming had ended in failure.
Their self-designated safe zones centered on villages with abandoned buildings suitable for living.
Thus, there was little farmland there, and even where there was, most of the soil was contaminated.
Besides, even if they farmed, it took far too long for the results to appear.
These reasons were directly tied to why most survivors had subsisted on rat meat before the System appeared.
Even if they farmed, the unchecked rats and pests that had proliferated after the apocalypse devoured the crops.
That was why they denied the very possibility of farming.
We don't avoid farming because we don't want to.
ㄴ We all tried it too, ahㅋㅋㅋㅋ
There isn't any land to farm, and the soil's contaminated by mutantsㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ You think you can just farm by snapping your fingers?
ㄴ You have to till the soil and do a fuckton of stuff, ahㅋㅋ
Their assumptions were all summed up by a single comment from Anseong Tangtang Ramen.
[Anseong Tangtang Ramen] No fucking way, it's real!! Proof incoming, fuck fuck
ㄴ Show us proofㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ [Anseong Tangtang Ramen] (Roughly, a photo of a vegetable plot with clean soil and gardening tools. JPG)
ㄴ ?!
ㄴ Huh?
ㄴ [Anseong Tangtang Ramen] The soil here really seems like potting soil!! It's moist and super damp!!
Then it really is a fucking vegetable plot!!!
ㄴ It's really a vegetable plot...?
ㄴ So System-nim made that...?
ㄴ He really unlocked farming content in Anseong...!
Holy shit, that's insane
ㄴ Fucking hell!!!!
ㄴ No way!!
Breaking news!!!!!
ㄴ Farming content unlocked in Anseong!!!!
ㄴ Farming!!!
Thus, the Capital Area Unified Survivors' Gallery erupted.
“Uh...”
I stared blankly at the sight.
“Wait, it wasn't supposed to turn into a Gardening Garden.”
A Gardening Garden is literally a garden about the size of an empty lot.
It is a lush, forest-like space planted with fragrant flowers and, of course, trees.
It is clearly a healing space unsuited to a ruined world.
That was why I had moved my residence here instead of the cramped disaster-prevention room that made me feel insane.
But it got copied into a vegetable plot?
“No, my tourism-district project!!!”
The Awakener population had grown a lot, and I wanted to build a tourist attraction to increase foot traffic too.
Now there was a place where crops could be grown.
Wait, did that mean they could really eat crops?
ㄴ We can... eat vegetables....?
ㄴ We can... consume fiber...???
ㄴ Crunchy, crunchy salad??
No fucking way, why are these bastards suddenly looking for vegetablesㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ You wouldn't eat vegetables even when people told you to before the apocalypse!!!
ㄴ No fucking way, you don't want to eat vegetables?
ㄴ You guys are actually insanely constipated;;
Information: If you go a long time without eating vegetables, you'll crave them too.
ㄴ For real, I'm craving salad...
No, fuck, more important than that...
ㄴ Self-sufficiency << That's what this means!!!!
ㄴ That's the important part, ㅇㅇㅇ
ㄴ We can produce our own food!!!
But seeing everyone's reaction, maybe this was actually a good thing?
“I meant to do that...”
Actually, I had never copied a Gardening Garden before, so I had no idea how it would change.
In other words, I had genuinely just wanted to build a tourist attraction out of the goodness of my heart.
[Blueprint Copy Lv.7]
Active : Designate a tile owned by an Awakener and paste it exactly at a specific coordinate or location.
Passive : The functions of a copied offline area change appropriately according to the number, shape, and purpose of the copied tiles.
“So this is how it changes.”
Appropriately.
That was a really good word.
“Anyway, if the result is good, it's all good.”
This Apocalypse System bastard really knew exactly what we needed.
“But why did it make the apocalypse happen?”
What we needed wasn't exactly that.
So did System-nim choose the southern region as an agricultural region now...?
ㄴ But hasn't it only been built in Anseong?
There are no greenhouses in Pyeongtaek...!!
ㄴ None in Cheonan either...
ㄴ I guess this isn't happening hereㅠㅠ
What?
ㄴ Did it only work in Anseong...?
ㄴ I guess so.
Wow, but if the southern region really becomes an agricultural region...
ㄴ No zombie waves, and
ㄴ if we can farm stably, that's fucking amazing, right?
Exactly.
ㄴ Their population isn't that large either.
ㄴ It's content made exactly for them, ㅇㅇ
Anyway, this was intentional.
“Let's act as though it was intentional...!”
So I activated the 3D map and arranged three vegetable plots in a row at the center of each area in Anseong, Pyeongtaek, and Cheonan.
[Multiple Gardening Garden tiles have been placed in adjacent areas!]
[Tile Resonance synergy activated!]
“Oh, another synergy appeared.”
As I checked the status window, the Gallery also began to explode.
[Anseong Tangtang Ramen] Another one appeared here!!!!!!
ㄴ Wait, one vegetable plot wasn't the end of it?
One appeared in Pyeongtaek too!!!
ㄴ Three appeared here!!!
Three appeared in Cheonan too!!!
ㄴ Ooooooh!!!!
??!!
ㄴ Are multiple vegetable plots appearing?!
ㄴ Then the southern region has become an agricultural region officially recognized by System-nim!!
ㄴ Gyaaaagh! I'm jealous!!!!
[Anseong Tangtang Ramen] But... three appeared, and... they don't look like vegetable plots anymore...?
ㄴ ㅇ?
ㄴ What do you mean by that?
[Anseong Tangtang Ramen] (Roughly, an insanely cool photo of a transparent dome with rotating LED lights. JPG)
ㄴ [Anseong Tangtang Ramen] The vegetable plot changed into a huge glass-dome shape. It's much bigger too!!
ㄴ Huh???
ㄴ What's that?
Is it a greenhouse?
ㄴ No, it's way too high-tech for a greenhouse.
ㄴ There are machine-like devices operating inside too.
[Shop Wiki] !!!
ㄴ [Shop Wiki] That's not a greenhouse. It's a smart farm!
ㄴ A smart farm?
[Shop Wiki] Yes, yes! System equipment automatically controls the temperature and humidity 24 hours a day!!!
ㄴ Huh?
ㄴ Whoa?
ㄴ [Shop Wiki] You can think of it simply as the final tech level of farming...!!
ㄴ Holy shit
ㄴ It's basically a newbie-tailored gold mine.
Did System-nim tier them up so they could farm more easily?
ㄴ No wonder he was beta-testing with the restrooms....!
ㄴ Exactly.
Fuck, I'm so jealous.
ㄴ Grrrgh!
ㄴ For real, the southern region suddenly became a gold mine...
Once Tile Resonance activated, the vegetable plots' tier shot straight upward.
“What... a farm?”
The building had changed into something called either a smartphone or a smart farm.
“Hmm...”
I'd never seen anything like that even before the apocalypse. It was pretty fascinating.
“Fuck! Then change my Gardening Garden into a smart farm or whatever too!!”
But then again, I really wasn't lacking anything. It wasn't like I was going to farm here.
Besides, if I wanted vegetables, I could unlock the produce section on B1 and eat them.
“Anyway, since this is how things turned out, the southern region is going into farming!!”
It was all intentional. Intentional.
Survivors would be able to become self-sufficient too,
and if they sold what they farmed, wouldn't the mana stone economy get a boost?
[Current copied tile status]
[Existing copied tiles : 46 spaces] (Restrooms + pharmacies)]
[Gardening Garden : 36 spaces] (Anseong 12 spaces + Cheonan 12 spaces + Pyeongtaek 12 spaces)]
[Total tiles currently in use : 82 spaces]
[Remaining copyable tiles : 8 spaces]
[Construction cost for copying/installing 30 new tiles : -360,000 mana stones]
[Mana stones currently held : 579,750]
Okay, the construction cost was fine.
I turned my gaze back to the comment section.
“Hmm?”
There was a problem.
Anseong Tangtang, you bastard!!! Whether it's a vegetable plot or a smart farm, the fact that you can farm now is fucking amazing!!!
ㄴ Plant seeds already!!!!
ㄴ Newbies, hurry up and grow us some vegetables!!!
[Anseong Tangtang Ramen] Uh... but... there's a problem...
ㄴ What is it!
ㄴ Hurry up and grow vegetables!
ㄴ [Anseong Tangtang Ramen] There are no seeds...!
ㄴ ?
[Anseong Tangtang Ramen] I'm not someone who used to farm...
ㄴ [Anseong Tangtang Ramen] So there's no way I would have any seeds...
ㄴ Uh...
ㄴ I... I guess so...
ㄴ ...
Gyaaaagh!!! Anyone here have seeds?
ㄴ Sorry.
ㄴ The Raccoon Man got rid of all the seeds, so don't worry!!
ㄴ Why the hell would you get rid of them!!
ㄴ Who could've known we'd end up needing seeds...
ㄴ For real...
Even if you scavenged scrap, seeds would probably be really hard to find...
ㄴ Hmm...
The problem was that these people had no seeds.
“But that's okay!!!!!”
I hadn't paid much attention because I never expected things to turn out this way, but.
“I have seeds!!!!!”
I had a botanical hall unlocked by owning the entire second floor.
I'm heading there right now.
Upon entering the botanical hall, I spotted colorful ampoule-shaped plant nutrients displayed on one side, along with boxes of premium potting soil.
There were ornamental flowerpots displayed on the other side as well.
“Let's see.... Seeds...”
I passed that section and went farther inside.
A display appeared, densely stocked with various vegetable and survival-crop seeds sorted by type.
“Found them!!!!”
[Seed potatoes]
[Corn seeds]
[Chili pepper seeds]
[Green onion seeds]
....
My ability really is ridiculously useful.
“Hmm... Which seeds should I give them... What would they like?”
Hmm, I guess this one would be good.
After looking over the seeds for a moment, I made my decision.
“I've chosen you!”
*****
At the same time.
Inside the Anseong smart farm greenhouse.
[Starplex Smart Farm]
[Daily rent : 100 mana stones]
Anseong-gye, who had posted the proof on the Gallery under the username [Anseong Tangtang Ramen], was looking at a System window floating in the air.
“...”
The farming content newly patched in by the System.
Since the System had clearly designated Anseong, where it was difficult even to acquire mana stones, as an agricultural zone, they had excitedly rented a smart farm right away.
At 100 mana stones a day, it was a considerable expense for them, but it was fine.
The returns farming would bring them would be greater, after all.
“Honey, look at this. The air is so clean...”
“Those landscaping facilities and machines over there... They're cutting-edge equipment we only saw before the apocalypse...?”
“How do we use them?”
The couple couldn't stop marveling as they gazed at the clean facilities and equipment inside the greenhouse.
The two, who had rejoiced as if they owned the world, soon realized there was a problem.
“Seeds...”
“We don't have any...”
They had no seeds with which to grow the most important crop.
“How do we get seeds...?”
“I'll search around inside a danger zone...”
“No, it's dangerous!!”
Just as the two fell into deep thought.
Whiiiiir-!
A portal opened in the greenhouse.
And a box fell out of it.
“Huh...? System-nim...?”
“Th-That...!”
The words [Seed Potatoes] were written on the outside of the box.
“S-Seed potatoes...!!!!”
“Potatoes!!! Honey! They're potatoes!!!!”
The two tore open the box and murmured as they looked at the sturdy seed potatoes packed inside.
“Honey... We've been living on rabbit meat for days... ”
“...”
”Can't we just roast a few of these over a fire...?”
The wife asked as she looked at the food right in front of them.
Anseong-gye also felt his reason fraying under the onslaught of hunger, but.
“No. We have to hold out.”
He soon shook his head.
“These are seeds System-nim gave us to farm. If we eat them just because we're hungry right now, we won't have a tomorrow.”
“...You're right. You're absolutely right...”
“We have to plant them! We can only survive if we multiply them dozens or hundreds of times over!”
The couple steeled themselves, took the hand trowels arranged in one corner, and began digging into the soil.
Labor with productive value, for the first time since the apocalypse.
“Phew...”
“Should I dig a little deeper?”
“No, this should be about right.”
They had never farmed before, but recalling what they had learned from media before the apocalypse, they planted the seed potatoes as carefully as they could.
The moment they finished planting all the potatoes.
Sssssss-!
“Huh...?”
“Ooh!!”
The sprinkler hanging from the ceiling began automatically spraying streams of water over the soil.
“So... we really only have to plant the seeds!!”
“It waters them by itself too...?”
Thus, suffused with hope, the two sat down side by side in a corner of the smart farm to rest.
“Come to think of it... We can sleep here for a day too...?”
“Exactly!! It's much warmer and more comfortable than a tent!!”
“Let's wait until the potatoes are fully grown.”
“Yeah! Once they're grown, we'll roast some over a fire and mash some into potato stew!”
About two hours after they began resting.
“But honey...”
A realistic worry soon returned to the wife's face.
“When will these finish growing...? Potatoes take a long time to grow...”
“Huh?”
“Our daily rent is 100 mana stones, remember...”
“Uh...”
Anseong-gye was speechless as well.
How were they supposed to cover the rent until the potatoes grew?
“Sigh... We have a problem.”
“...We should scavenge scrap... right?”
Just as the two stared dejectedly at the spot where they had planted the seed potatoes moments before,
“Huh...?”
“H-Honey...?”
Their eyes widened.
Pyo-!
Something light green had suddenly poked up above the mound of soil they had covered two hours earlier.
Anseong-gye muttered as he watched the sight.
“A sprout already...?”