When I Returned to Farming, National-level Big Juniors Flock - Chapter 128



Only Krnovel

128. What comes after suffering

The North Korean region was a no-man’s land where no one lived, and a region filled with monsters.

Although the Hunters of the Special Operations Command had advanced to take control, it was impossible for the military to regain complete control of the entire area, such as inside the border, no matter how densely they established their bases.

Realistically, it is impossible to respond to all gates, and the same goes for nests.

When we found a large nest, we made it a top priority to remove it, but we couldn’t remove all the small nests hidden here and there.

As a result, erosion occurred here and there in the North Korean region.

In addition, even if there was no erosion problem, the turbidity pollution was inevitably severe due to the turbidity generated from the monster corpses.

Because of this, no matter how advanced the facilities were, not only was it impossible to grow food, but even the water flowing in the stream could not be drunk.

While in South Korea, food exposed to the pollutants simply tastes bad, here in North Korea, the contamination is so severe that it can be fatal to ordinary people.

Of course, since Hunters have a basic resistance to takki, it doesn’t happen that much unless it’s a really severe area.

However, no matter how high the resistance, it is clear that it will have adverse effects in the long term.

This was the reason why even the troops stationed in the North were supplied with food and drinking water exclusively from outside sources.

“Albern.”

Of course, Oh Hyun-seong didn’t need to worry about that.

As he held out the empty pot, clean water appeared out of thin air and fell in with a splash.

It was pure water, without even a speck of turbidity, which could not be found anywhere else in the world.

Hurrah!

A pot was placed on the gas burner.

While waiting for the water to boil, he chopped the green onions.

‘I was looking through the seed vault carefully, so it took longer than I thought.’

Oh Hyeon-seong is confident in his swordsmanship, even if he is not sure about anything else.

At first, he had to control his strength so as not to accidentally cut the cutting board and sink together, but his full-fledged cooking career has been going on for several months.

I was confident that my knife skills would be comparable to those of a first-class chef.

He quickly cut down all the leeks and took out the secret weapon he had prepared in advance.

‘The eggs I’ve been saving up until now… I have to gather my courage and use them today.’

Oh Hyun-seong carefully lifted three shiny eggs.

Although Oh Hyeon-seong was well-established in the agricultural sector, livestock products such as meat were extremely precious to him.

Thanks to the purifying power of the spirit of light, Alisa, it is possible to hunt wild boars in the back mountain and obtain pork, but that is still the only steady source of supply.

Wild crops are still growing in today’s rural areas.

However, there were almost no livestock workers left at present.

Crops have been bred to maximize their resistance to drought.

In return, the yield is reduced and the taste is lost, but it still grows well once planted.

But this was not the case for livestock.

It was difficult to significantly increase resistance to turbidity through improving animal breeds, and various unavoidable side effects emerged.

It is basic that the taste is lost due to the turbidity.

Due to weakened immunity, diseases are frequent, and livestock have become ferocious, attacking people and even destroying livestock facilities.

In effect, normal business is impossible.

So now, almost all meat consumed by humans has been replaced with synthetic meat.

Rather than raising livestock and producing meat in traditional barns, it has become a manufactured product that is bred and produced in factories.

Thanks to this, the only realistic source of meat for Oh Hyeon-seong was wild animals.

Even if you purify the synthetic meat made in the factory with Alyssa’s power, it won’t taste like the original meat.

‘The only silver lining is that the livestock that were released during the chaotic times have somehow managed to settle into the Korean ecosystem.’

After the gate incident became full-blown.

There was a time when society was in chaos and livestock farms were destroyed and abandoned all at once.

The abandoned livestock at that time entered the mountains and forests of Korea, settling into an ecosystem disturbed by the toxic air.

That is why Oh Hyeon-seong was able to encounter a wild chicken’s nest in the past.

Although it has become a nuisance that attacks humans due to its increased aggression, it has become a valuable source of meat and by-products for Oh Hyeon-seong.

Anyway, he was willing to invest his very precious eggs today.

Percussion!

Oh Hyun-seong, who was boiling ramen noodles, poured an egg into it.

When the chewy noodles were cooked to the perfect degree, he quickly turned off the heat and stood up.

“Okay, perfect.”

Oh Hyun-seong nodded and turned his gaze.

The three chairs that had been set up in advance were now empty.

“Probably, it should be over by now.”

*

“Ugh… Ugh…”

Jang Seo-jun, who was stretched out, let out a rough breath.

My breathing, which had been rapid, gradually calmed down, but I was still covered in a cold sweat because of the eerie sensations.

He looks a bit dazed, staring blankly at the sky.

“How are you feeling?”

Baek Ji-soo came and sat down next to him.

“Um… I’m fine.”

“It doesn’t look like it.”

Jang Seo-jun’s face turned pale.

He was the one who held out until Baek Ji-soo, who had been watching, felt that it was dangerous, and considering his abilities as a hunter, it was obvious that it was quite difficult.

“This is the first time I’ve stopped someone during training.”

“Is that so?”

“Why do you do that?”

“Because every hunter has a desire to become stronger.”

“That’s all?”

She glanced over and asked.

It was true that hunters instinctively sought greater power.

But if it’s a desire that everyone has, it doesn’t necessarily have that much driving force.

Then, Jang Seo-jun, who had been catching his breath for a moment, opened his mouth.

“I’m from Pyeongan Province.”

“… what?”

“Like other people from the North, I came down to South Korea six years ago.”

The Queen’s forces, which had devoured all of China, began invading North Korea a few months later.

At the time, North Korea did not have the ability to respond to that massive force, and the regime collapsed in an instant.

The Queen’s legions are pouring in from the north right now.

There was a massive influx of refugees throughout North Korea, and South Korea had to respond immediately.

“Do you know what happens in Unsan?”

“There’s no way I wouldn’t know, because it was one of the fiercest battlegrounds on the Northern Front at the time.”

She said.

Baek Ji-su also participated in the northern defense battle.

Although she was from a secret unit and her past history was largely unknown, everyone knew that she was a war hero at the time.

“I was in Jeongju at the time, but I know that I was in the middle of an evacuation operation with the refugees who had gathered.”

“I was there. Not just me, but my family as well. We were stuck with no escape route, and then all of a sudden, monsters came rushing in from all directions. No matter how many shells we fired, the waves of monsters would quickly fill the void… We were just facing certain death.”

Six years ago from now.

For Jang Seo-jun, it was a time when he was still a minor and had not even awakened.

Even though I was with my parents and younger sister, I was in a situation where I could only helplessly wait for death and tremble in fear.

“But then someone appeared. I could only see them from a distance, so I couldn’t even see their face, but I saw them clearly. The countless monsters that filled my field of vision… That person annihilated them in one breath.”

Jang Seo-jun said with his eyes shining.

Even when I think about it now, that moment is vivid enough to be pictured before my eyes.

It was a scene he would never forget until he died, and it was also the driving force that allowed him to come this far as a hunter.

‘If you were in Unsan or Yongbyon at that time…’

Baek Ji-soo, who had been thinking deeply, twisted the corners of her mouth as she thought of someone.

I didn’t know you were from here because you had no accent at all, but who could have guessed that such a coincidence could happen.

“I, who was supposed to die originally, have been given a new chance. So I want to become stronger and help this country. As a Hunter, I want to be able to give that chance to someone else. And… if possible, I want to stand side by side with that person from back then.”

Jang Seo-jun said seriously.

I didn’t know his face or name, but I believed that a hunter of that caliber would survive and not die even in that fierce war.

If you get close to the top as a hunter, there are things you will face.

Then Baek Ji-soo let out a sly laugh.

“okay?”

Jang Seo-jun flinched for a moment at her laughter.

He is a 7th-grade hunter who will never be ignored, but he is ultimately just a soldier on the front lines.

He blushed in embarrassment at himself for seriously talking like this to the legend in front of him, who was lying there unable to control his body.

But then a hand suddenly appeared in his sight.

“wake up.”

“Ah… ah, yes.”

Jang Seo-jun grabbed Baek Ji-soo’s hand as she approached him.

Her hands, which seemed as cold as ice, were quite warm.

He was suddenly lifted to his feet and his balance was unsteady.

“That’s all for today’s training. Let’s go back now.”

*

The sky has suddenly become dark.

Jang Seo-jun’s stomach growled as he walked toward the car.

It’s because I haven’t eaten anything since I joined Oh Hyeon-seong.

To be honest, I was so hungry that it was almost unbearable.

Originally, I could easily tolerate something like starving for a day or so.

But today was a very busy day, and I even did some high-intensity training, which was the first time in my life that I had ever done such a thing.

I was physically and mentally exhausted, and so hungry I felt like I could eat a cow.

“Oh, senior.”

“You were just coming.”

At that time, Oh Hyun-seong and them ran into each other after walking for a short while.

“When did you come back?”

“I saw you were training earlier. I prepared a meal in advance.”

Oh Hyun-seong looked at Baek Ji-soo and Jang Seo-jun alternately.

Judging from their expressions, the training atmosphere didn’t seem bad.

“If you’re preparing a meal…”

Baek Ji-soo, who remembered something she had forgotten, reacted with an “Oh no.”

Finally, as the street got closer, a wafting scent began to drift in.

This strong smell irritates the nose.

Baek Ji-soo started walking quickly, and when she stood in front of the table, she let out an exclamation without realizing it.

“Humid…”

Baek Ji-soo wiped the corner of her mouth without realizing it.

She stared blankly at the ramen as if she was possessed by something.

Jang Seo-jun, who followed her, was embarrassed to see her like that.

‘Ra… Ramen?’

Ramen is a food that can be easily found even in the military.

Ramen has always been a cheap, simple, and filling meal.

But one crucial difference is that today’s ramen is just plain fucking tasteless.

Basically, because they used cheap, low-priced synthetic grains, they couldn’t possibly taste good, and in fact, they were treated as no different from combat rations.

Gulp!

But why is that?

He swallowed his saliva as he sat down.

Food usually tastes better when you’re tired, but this was a completely different feeling.

Thud!

Oh Hyeon-seong held out a bowl toward him.

Jang Seo-jun was momentarily confused by the wafting smell of fire.

“Don’t just look at it, try it.”

“Ah, yes…!”

He carefully picked up the chopsticks with slightly trembling hands.