Webnovel Author In The Apocalypse World-Chapter 346: Zombie Robots and Spring Hotpot

"Enemy attack!"

Kim Haru froze in shock.

An enemy attack?

Someone had infiltrated the small farm?

However, the area around the farm was surrounded by mutated plants and there hadn't been the slightest warning.

What kind of formidable enemy could manage this?

Kim Haru quickly get out of the wooden cabin and heading toward the source of the commotion while searching the system marketplace for weapons.

What kind of powerful weapon would it take to fend off an enemy capable of slipping past the mutated plants undetected?

System, don't let me down now, he thought anxiously, all the while keeping an ear out for any developments from the scene.

The shout had come from Kang Hose and seemed to originate just beyond the farm's edge.

Along with his cry of "enemy attack," there was the fierce growling of Cresent—and, oddly enough, the panicked sounds of Go Okrim trying to… stop something?

Kim Haru froze in place.

A sudden realization struck him: things might not be as they seemed.

The fragments of Go Okrim's flustered voice carried on the wind, broken and hurried. "Wait… stop… I can explain… they're actually… robots…"

Apart from Go Okrim and Kang Hose's voices, there was another sound…

A flat, emotionless "Ah—" that lacked any trace of feeling.

Kim Haru suddenly found the sound oddly familiar.

As he followed the noise and got closer, he saw the familiar barn ahead.

That was when it finally clicked—he remembered where he was and more importantly, what he had forgotten.

At the same time, he realized what had happened right in front of him.

Several zombie-like robots that was no longer hidden under the snow, were sprawled blatantly in the barn, which had its heating equipment removed.

In the morning, perhaps because spring had just arrived, these zombies who are frozen solid throughout the winter—had been sluggish and unresponsive.

However, now, as they thawed out, they had started moving again.

One by one, they attempted to stand up in their stiff, mechanical way.

It was at this precise moment that Kang Hose saw them.

When did Kang Hose arrive?

He had only joined the farm as a staff member halfway through the winter, so naturally, he had never seen these zombie-bots before.

Nor was he aware that so many "enemies" had been buried under the snow in this seemingly ordinary farm.

As for Kim Haru and Go Okrim, they hadn't commanded the zombie-bots for most of the winter and had completely forgotten about them.

This, of course, meant they hadn't thought to introduce the zombie-bots to Kang Hose.

So, when Kang Hose suddenly came face-to-face with so many "zombies," how could he not be shocked and on high alert?

He shouted, "Enemy attack!" at the top of his lungs.

However, before he could unleash his abilities on the zombie-bots, Go Okrim, quick to react, intervened.

If not for Go Okrim's swift response, the functional and decently zombie-bots that Kim Haru had painstakingly acquired would've ended up as battered scraps.

When Kim Haru arrived on the scene, Kang Hose turned to him helplessly.

His eyes were filled with confusion, unsure of what to make of the situation.

The zombies were right there in front of him.

Should he attack, or should he hold back?

Why weren't these zombies making any move to attack living humans?

Were they really zombies, or were they just robots that happened to look like zombies, as Go Okrim claimed?

Kim Haru: "…"

After a lengthy and chaotic explanation, along with Kang Hose cautiously testing the zombies, he finally stopped treating them as immediate threats.

However, he still struggled to interact with the zombie-bots, his entire body stiff with unease.

In contrast, Luna and Cresent adapted to the situation much faster.

Luna was already bold enough to use the zombie-bots legs as a scratching post.

Since zombie-bots were sturdier than humans, they turned out to be perfect for sharpening claws.

Even Cresent had Go Okrim program a fetch game for the zombie-bots.

It happily played with them, tossing and retrieving balls on its own.

For now, the zombie-bots didn't have any urgent tasks to perform, and their joints were still recovering from the winter chill.

Playing fetch with Cresent was as good an activity as any to loosen them up.

Watching his dog happily chase the small ball being tossed around by the zombie-bots, Kang Hose found himself at a loss for words.

He silently began to doubt whether his mental resilience was truly so weak—was he genuinely inferior to even a cat and dog?

For the entire duration of the hotpot meal, Kang Hose was still questioning his life choices.

Kim Haru noticed this and felt an unusual pang of guilt.

He was well aware that commanding zombies to work during a post-apocalypse era full of the zombie was probably pushing the limits of what the native could handle.

It wasn't unreasonable for someone to start questioning whether he might secretly be the boss of the zombies.

But then again…

If people could cooperate with mutated food and animals, why not treat zombies as functional robots?

Of course, while Kim Haru himself thought there was no issue, he understood that this wasn't something he could announce widely just yet.

Using zombies as workers on the small farm was manageable because the people here were all ability users.

The mutated animals and plants were also unique and immune to the virus, even if scratched by zombies.

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Even though Kim Haru was an ordinary human by definition, his current state made him wonder whether he was "more dead" than the zombies or vice versa.

Either way, he wasn't at risk of infection.

Using zombies as robots posed no problem for him personally.

However, this approach would be absolutely unacceptable in the heavily populated place like the Pyeongseong Safe Zone.

Even if the zombies were perfectly controlled and didn't actively attack humans, there was always a chance of accidents.

A human might inadvertently brush against a zombie's claws or mouth during work.