Post-apocalyptic world with Bees

Chapter 76

“I haven’t seen you around lately. I didn’t think you’d be here.”

“An old fogie like me has to find a way to survive.”

“That’s true.”

People who had a connection with each other.

That is Ko Dalsu and Lee Yeonbun.

Both of them were within a fairly short distance of the previous shelter, and their pursuits and ways of life were somewhat similar, so they had gotten to know each other through frequent interactions.

Sung-hyuk was inwardly relieved to see the two of them exchanging words of encouragement.

‘I’m glad sparks didn’t fly on me’.

Ko Dalsu, the near-obsessive message terrorist.

Sung-hyuk was worried that Dalsu would come up to him and try to talk to him through the entire meal, but he had a great shield in the form of Lee Yeonbu!

Of course, whether he likes it or not, during meal times with over 500 people, the atmosphere became noticeably more lively compared to before, with the increased numbers.”

“Wow, this is so delicious!”

“It’s just melting in one’s mouth!”

“The taste of this soup. The umami is out of this world!”

“Wow, the effect of this is insane!”

From those who express their admiration for the taste and buff effects of the food, which are enhanced by excellent ingredients and unique preparation,

*Weing~~*

*BuZzZz!* *BuZzzZzz!*

“Hiek!”

“Cough! Cough!”

Some people are freaked out by the sight of the bees approaching them while they’re enjoying their meal.

For those who are aware of the charm of bees, regardless of how cute they are, they are still insects.

In other words, bugs.

In all honesty, if a person was eating a hearty meal and a bug approached them, chances are they would freak out.

Moreover, some of them have seen the sight of an army of bees swarming at them.

*Gulp*

Especially with a glistening backside in the sunlight and a stinger on the end.

Just as the sight of a syringe frightens most people, it’s undeniable that the long, pointed stinger of a bee is one of the most feared objects.

“Big Sis, don’t worry, the bees won’t attack you unless you attack them first.”

“That’s right, that’s right, look at this. It’s sitting still and buzzing. It’s asking me to pet her backside, and you can touch it too, it’s really fluffy.”

“….R-Really?”

“Hmmm. Okay, I’ll give it a try, I’ll touch it.”

However, bees are scary only when they attack.

Encouraged by the twins’ words, who have already developed a bond with the bees as residents, they reach out to touch them with their hearts pounding.

“W-Woooow, they’re really fluffy.”

“I feel like I’m touching a plush doll.”

“They’re warm…….”

“I…. I want to touch one!”

As with all new things.

The first time is the hardest, but after that, it gets easier.

As one by one they formed bonds of familiarity with the bees, those who had been silently observing from behind felt a sense of awe.

Particularly young children and young women, who appeared to be students, followed and petted the bees.

“Kkyaaa!!”

“So, cute!”

Bees are one of the few social insects.

Like humans, they have similarities in living in groups where each person has a role to play, but bees and humans are very different.

Bees are completely altruistic, without the individualism and selfishness of humans, who pursue their own best interests.

Therefore, bees interpret the behavior of others toward them more simply and clearly than anyone else.

*Wieng~* *Weeeeeiiinggg~~♬*

Returning goodwill with goodwill, and hostility with hostility.

It’s a fairly simple way to bond with people, as bees always do,

*BzzZ!* *BuZzZ!!*

Fluttering their wings and wiggling their bottom.

* * * ko-fi(dot)com/dusclops * * *

Five hundred new residents.

Each of them was assigned to a role group according to their occupation, whether it was combat, gathering, or processing.

The ones who were going into battle for the first time could not help but express their astonishment.

“Eli…, An elite monster?”

“H-Hey, they’re way too strong!”

The World Tree, the Golden Mine, the Wild Beehive, and so on.

Due to the powerful attracting power of monsters, there were always high-level and elite monsters around Sung-hyuk’s farm.

Understandably, the new residents can’t help but feel overwhelmed in the face of such powerful monsters.

However, as powerful as the monsters were, the beekeeping farm had strong reinforcements.

*Weing~~*

That’s because the bees buzzing around nearby flowers, collecting pollen and nectar, were ready to lend their support.”

*BuZzz!* *BuZzZ!!*

TunTun¹, clad in impressive armor, began to gather nearby bees.

With his enormous size, he leads the charge, performing acrobatic maneuvers and charging straight at the monster.

“Guweeeeeek-!”

TunTun, striking the monster like a free-flying cannonball.

That was followed by several hundred.

Hell, thousands of armored bees, each one delivering an additional blow to the monster’s body like a bullet.

“Kku, kkuiik!”

“Keeeeeeek!”

Monsters, both common and elite, are unable to withstand the bee swarm’s pummeling and fall to the ground.

Unknown to these players, they instinctively bow to the bees in gratitude for their assistance in saving their lives and making the hunt easier,

*Weing~* *Weiingg~!*

TunTun responds with a beating of his wings as if he realizes something.

At his signal, the nearby worker bees fly over and offer honey tea to the injured.

“T-Thank you.”

“I’ll drink it well.”

The helpful bees, who help in hunting and recovering!

But this is not the end of the bees’ incredible capabilities.

“Keeeeeeek!”

“Kweeeeeek!”

A horde of monsters, somehow respawned, coming in large numbers.

It was a terrifying parade of monsters, but such a horde is a welcome treat for the bees.

That’s right….

*Whooooosh*

*Boooom!* *Boom!!*

The taste of artillery shells and traps delivering a direct blow to the horde.

“……This is awesome.”

“……Ha, hahaha.”

The new residents could only stare in amazement as they watched the monsters being wiped out by the natural biological weapons.

* * * ko-fi(dot)com/dusclops * * *

The sheer functionality of Sung-hyuk’s bee farm.

That’s because in addition to the assistance of the bees in hunting, there are also many other types.

“Hey, Jeong. Come over here and check this out!”

“OMG, what is all this?”

“This is amazing!”

“There’s a lot of high grade forage stuff over here too!”

Pollen-carrying plants, for example.

Bees are one of nature’s most utilitarian insects.

Thanks to the efforts of the worker bees, who have been dedicated to their work since their birth, flowers are in full bloom all around the beekeeping farm, and as a result, various natural vegetation grows in addition to these flowers.

And most of all, there are things that are directly influenced by the bees,

[You’ve found a cluster of Peridot Enoki Mushrooms² (★★-) a Natural Vegetation!]

[You’ve discovered a cluster of Peridot Clown Mushrooms (★★★-) a Natural Vegetation!]

[You’ve found a cluster of Peridot Oyster Mushrooms³ (★★-) a Natural Vegetation!].

……

They are mushrooms that have grown from the Spore Mycelium Bees and Hyphomycete Corps Commander Bee have scattered naturally while foraging for nectar.

“It’s like a whole mushroom field, isn’t it?”

“Hehehe. These are highly rated and the experience points they give are insane!”

But does it stop there?

[World Tree’s Embrace is in effect].

[100% growth rate increase for all growing crops and natural vegetation within the World Tree’s territory, and a significant increase in the frequency of rare natural vegetation].

In addition to the help of bees, the newly added Phantasmal Type, The World Tree.

Due to the incredible power of the World Tree over nature, the growth rate of the nearby natural vegetation has been boosted to such a high degree that there are now countless rare natural vegetation which were once scarcely seen, are now discovered in abundance, sometimes even daily.

“OMG. This must be a dream!”

“Grandpa, there’s more here!”

“I see them, I can see them!”

The sight of such natural vegetation could be considered a utopia for those who have a job related to foraging.

Not to mention the reliable bodyguards, the bees.

The foragers, no longer worried about being hit in the back of their heads, were smiling and busily working.

* * * ko-fi(dot)com/dusclops * * *

Combat and Gathering.

Then there’s the barn for livestock and the greenhouses for crops.

Numerous different individuals begin to fulfill their respective roles on the bee farm in a variety of ways.

However, among all of them, the most important ones are the blacksmiths who are assigned to the forge.

“Hoo, are these all minerals we can use?”

“Holy shit, such a ridiculous purity rate, it’ll be no problem to forge some amazing weaponry with these.”

“Are the minerals being supplied to us at wholesale prices? I will definitely not forget this favor!”

Initially, the blacksmiths expressed their delight at the minerals supplied to them from the Golden Mine.

They never could have guessed.

“Ah, finally, reinforcements have arrived. Everyone, please follow this production method well. Each of you is requested to produce only 1,000 items at an easy difficulty level for today’s quota.”

“…Huh?”

“What are you all doing?! If you have time to ask questions, then use that time to hammer more! If you don’t meet the quota, you won’t even be able to sleep properly -!!!”

“……”

A forge with a ridiculous quota of 1,000 per person.

It was a hellish landscape, unlike any other, where laughter was as rare as a flower in bloom.

* * * ko-fi(dot)com/dusclops * * *

“Whew, what a waste.”

Upon returning from the battle with the Chinese servers, Sung-hyuk looked at the state of the beehives and clicked his tongue.

Was it because the oversized beehives weren’t full of honey?

No, quite the opposite.

The honey in the beehives had surpassed 100%, leading to a significant amount of honey spilling onto the ground.

“Sorry, kids, You spent all that effort collecting.”

Is it due to the game’s system?

Regardless of whether the level of honey is 80% or 130%, for some reason, the maximum amount that can be harvested in a single attempt is 100%.

Naturally, the resulting excess of honey had to be forfeited.

‘But I can never give up now.’

The limitation of manual collecting was harshly revealed during this excursion.

After all, as the number of bees grows, the amount of honey that can be produced will soon surpass one’s imagination.

Of course, manual gathering can be managed with stats if he is always present on the farm, but as in this case, it is inevitable that he will leave the farm at some point, whether willingly or unwillingly.

Luckily for Sung-hyuk, he has a plan in place to prepare for this.

‘Automatic Collecting Beehive. I’ll pour all my coins into it.’

Crafting the Auto-Collecting Beehive, a skill he finally obtained after reaching level 40.

Since Sung-hyuk had no problem with coins to begin with, it wasn’t too difficult to buy high-grade lumber,

“Mmm, it’s just a matter of processing the wood into plywood. Just leave it to me.”

“I appreciate it.”

Transforming the wood into plywood is not difficult at all because he has Seokchul.

______________________________

[Sturdy Navan Plywood (★★★)]

* Category: Material

* Description: A ★★★-grade Navan plywood with the Keyword “Sturdy” engraved on it by a skillful woodworker.

[Sturdy World Tree Plywood (★★★+)]

* Category : Material

* Description: A ★★★+-grade World Tree plywood with the Keyword “Sturdy” engraved on it by a skillful woodworker.

______________________________

The high-quality plywood obtained through coins and world tree.

The materials and the skill are all ready.

With no reason to delay any longer, Sung-hyuk decided to build an oversized beehive that could hold a large number of bees.

Sung-hyuk started to build his first auto-collecting beehive.

** ** **

TL/N:

1. TunTun is the 1st Peridot Galehound Corps Commander Bee that was born commanding all the bees in battle.

2. Enoki Mushroom

3. Oyster Mushroom