I Only Wanted A Class In The Apocalypse-Chapter 1842: A Response to Hye’s Request

"You mean it was part of your pre-apocalyptic world?" Moth asked. He let out a long, dramatic sigh.

"Then it couldn’t have been that good. No matter what you think, a primitive world’s meat can’t even come close to the taste of even a low-tier dish in the wider universe. You’re just suffering from nostalgia, Hye."

"Oh no, you really don’t get it," Hye said, his voice dropping into a tone of deep reverence. He paused, his gaze fixed on a point somewhere beyond the tent walls, lost in a memory that stretched far beyond the last twenty years of blood and ash.

He went back to the very first moment he had tasted that burger—the warmth of the bun, the specific sear of the meat. "There is nothing in the known universe that tastes like it. It isn’t just food; it’s a lost standard."

"I get it, I get it," Moth said dismissively after a few minutes of silent, vigorous eating. He wiped a stray bit of sauce from his chin. "You grew up eating it. It’s your ’comfort food.’ It’s understandable that you’d overrate it due to sentimentality."

"You are wrong again," Hye replied, refocusing on the spread before him and picking up a piece of the dish he liked most. "I only ever ate it once."

"Just once? No way!" Moth’s reaction was almost comical, his eyes bulging like a shocked child’s. He set his utensils down with a heavy thud.

If Hye had only experienced it once and was still talking about it decades later, the flavor profile must have been legendary. "I want it. I have to have it. How can we find this ingredient? Can you draw this creature for me? My race has scouts in a thousand sectors; we can find a match!"

"Believe me, I’ve tried. I tried to find replacements. I even tried to use the System’s premium services to retrieve the DNA from the planet’s archives to clone them, but it wasn’t possible. The record is locked or corrupted."

"It’s indeed impossible to do that through the standard channels," Moth sighed, leaning back and looking defeated. "The animals of a pre-apocalyptic world are considered dormant and weak. They lack the spiritual density to survive in a world of real strength, and the System doesn’t see the value in preserving something that can’t help nourish a high-tier warrior."

"I know. That was the exact, clinical answer the System gave me," Hye said. He paused, a new light flickering in his eyes as he looked at the opulent spread provided by the resort.

"Let me ask you something. What do you think of a restaurant like this one? Would a place that served unique, lost delicacies earn a lot of money in the wider universe?"

"Money?" Moth looked genuinely puzzled. He thought Hye was just killing time, rambling to fill the silence while they waited for the communication crystals to hum.

"If you’re asking if I’m the only one in the universe who treats food like a religion, I can tell you I’m not." Moth chuckled, taking the comment as a lighthearted joke. "There are countless nobles and high-ranking officials who would willingly pay a king’s ransom just to have a single meal prepared by a renowned, five-star chef."

Hye didn’t reply, but his mind began to race through a labyrinth of crazy ideas. Years ago, he had been obsessed with the idea of bringing the burger back—alongside all the famous, vanished dishes of Old Earth. He had eventually lost interest, crushed by the realization that cows were a biological impossibility in the current era.

But now, a different path appeared. He didn’t need the cows. He had the flavor profiles etched into his memory. With the vast resources of the universe at his fingertips, he could look for alien ingredients that matched the exact fat content, texture, and savory notes of beef. He could synthesize the experience.

"That might be a very good direction to invest in," he muttered under his breath. The low, hummed words caught Moth’s attention, but the general didn’t press for details. He didn’t have the chance.

"A response is back," Moth said suddenly. His posture stiffened, and his expression became uncharacteristically guarded, as if he were hesitating over the data flowing into his mind.

"Fire it up," Hye said, his appetite vanishing instantly. He was curious to see what the elders and high-ranking strategists back at the Hescos headquarters had decided regarding his bold demands.

"Well, there’s good news and bad news," Moth said, clearing his throat and adjusting his collar. "Which one do you want to hear first?"

"Tell me both at once. I don’t care for the theatrics," Hye shrugged, though his pulse quickened. "C’mon, it can’t be that bad, right?" 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"Let’s start with the good news, then," Moth said, taking a final, nervous bite from one of the side dishes. "They are actually willing to negotiate the terms you asked for. Your demands haven’t been rejected outright."

"Based on what?" Hye asked, leaning in.

"That’s... where the bad news comes in," Moth said, pausing for dramatic effect. "They need to see a proof of concept. They need to know exactly how effective your ’help’ will be at the outer battlefield before they sign over the resources."

"They want a demonstration?" Hye blinked twice, the silence of the tent stretching for a heartbeat before he suddenly burst into a loud, genuine laugh. "I don’t know who the genius behind this idea is, but I absolutely love it!"

"You agree?!" Moth was stunned. He hadn’t expected a flat refusal, but he certainly thought Hye would take hours, if not days, to weigh the risks of exposing his tactical secrets in a live demonstration.

"Of course I do," Hye said, quickly reining in his excitement. He understood the cold logic behind the request perfectly.

"It makes total sense. You need to see my real market value—what I can actually bring to the table when the blood starts flowing. Only then can you decide if my demands are an overvaluation or if I’m actually selling myself short."

"Undervalued?" Moth fixated on the word, his brow furrowing. Hye simply shrugged.