abcnovels
Chapter 170: It's Not Free
Chapter 170: It's Not Free
“Hmm…”
Sejun woke up from his sleep, squinting his eyes. He had gone to bed late because he had been thinking of ways to save the Earth until dawn.
“Chairman Park, your face is all wrinkled again!”
Theo, who had woken up early for the first time in a while and was observing Sejun’s face, began to press it with his front paw as soon as Sejun got up.
“No…”
“There’s no need to thank me, meow!”
Theo generously offered his kindness.
‘Fine. Do as you please.’
Thud. Thud.
Sejun left his face in Theo’s paws and organized the thoughts he had before dawn.
The conclusion he had drawn after much contemplation was unchanged: his crops were effective in repelling the locusts.
‘So, we’ll proceed with the original plan.’
However, this time he was thinking of expanding it on a larger scale, creating a new farm.
[49th Floor Persimmon Farm Land Deed]
Sejun planned to use the land deed document to establish a massive sturdy blade green onion farm on the 49th floor of the tower. This was to increase the supply of sturdy blade green onions to Earth and reduce the transportation distance.
The labor for farming would be determined after checking on the 49th floor, but if he couldn’t find enough laborers, he considered seeking help from the rabbits of the Rabbit Kingdom on the 55th floor.
Then,
Krueng!
[Daddy, Cuengi’s hungry for breakfast!]
Cuengi, having awakened from hunger, came looking for Sejun.
“Got it.”
Sejun quickly prepared breakfast.
And,
“I’m going down the tower…”
While eating breakfast, he informed the animals of his plans. Naturally, he informed the dragons as well.
-Alright. Return safely.
-Take care.
The dragons seemed disappointed, knowing they wouldn’t get to enjoy their makgeolli and meals without Sejun, but they said nothing more.
While Sejun was talking to the dragons,
“Chairman Park, I’m ready, meow!”
Krueng.
[Cuengi is ready too!]
Theo, with his bag packed, and Cuengi, with a giant lunch box on his back, finished their preparations to descend the tower.
(I’m ready too!)
The golden bat sat atop Cuengi’s bag with a tiny bundle.
Clank.
“Get inside the void storage.”
After placing the animals into the void storage, Sejun said,
“Aileen, I’ll be back.”
[The tower’s administrator will be watching over you, so do as you please.]
Now, with her enhanced abilities, Aileen could use the tower’s features effectively, which included the ability to see situations on other floors through the crystal orb.
“Knowing you’re watching makes me feel reassured.”
Swish.
Sejun smiled as he unfolded the land deed document.
[The summoning function for the initial engraving of the land deed for the 49th-floor Persimmon Farm has been activated.]
Sejun disappeared as he moved to the 49th floor.
***
Black Tower 1st Floor.
There was a commotion near the exit.
“What’s going on?”
“Why can’t they leave?!”
Some of the hunters, intending to return to Earth via the tower’s exit, were unable to proceed, as if blocked by a wall. They had one thing in common: they had entered through the Black Tower located in Brasília.
They had heard about Brasília being attacked by locusts and were in a rush to return to Earth.
Then,
[The Black Tower you used to enter has been destroyed.]
[The exit is gone, and you can’t leave.]
The message that appeared before them felt like a death sentence. Over 30,000 hunters who had entered the tower through the Black Tower in Brasília panicked as their way back disappeared in an instant.
This made other hunters realize that if the tower they entered through disappeared, they could never leave. They quickly informed their respective countries.
Consequently, nations intensified their scrutiny to prevent even a single locust from getting through. In the current situation, the power and economic strength of each nation heavily depended on the hunters growing within the towers.
Therefore, the disappearance of the tower was a significant loss to the nation. With the introduction of mysterious crops from the tower, its value had increased even more.
“What do we do?”
A member of the Earth Defense Force, who entered the Black Tower in Brasília to escape the locusts, asked Lucilia. Among the hunters who couldn’t leave were ten members of the Earth Defense Force.
“First, let’s inform Han Tae-jun and ask for his help.”
“Understood.”
Upon hearing Lucilia’s response, they hurriedly began to ascend to the 40th floor of the tower.
***
[You have arrived at the 49th floor farm.]
[You have moved from the top floor, 99th floor, to the 49th floor.]
[You have descended 50 floors.]
[Due to the effect of <Title: Retrogressor>, all stats increase by 50.]
“Wow!”
No matter how he thought about it, the effect of <Title: Retrogressor> was simply too good. The idea that his stats would increase even more as he descended was like telling the weak to become even stronger.
“Ah! Now’s not the time!”
Clang.
Sejun quickly opened the void storage, summoning Theo, Cuengi, and the Golden Bat. There’s no telling where danger might lurk; the painful experiences on the 77th and 83rd floors had taught Sejun to never let his guard down.
He quickly surveyed his surroundings. There were about 100 persimmon trees around, but not one bore fruit. The trees, filled with withered branches, certainly didn’t seem to be in good shape.
Then,
“Earth Defense Force! Let’s move out, meow!”
A shout from Theo echoed from within the void storage.
And then,
Flap. Flap.
(Speed Gold is here!)
From the void storage emerged the Golden Bat, donning the bone helmet, swiftly emerged and took to the skies.
Following that,
Krueng!
[Power Honey is here!]
Similarly wearing the bone helmet, Cuengi rolled out from the storage, positioning itself in front.
“Puhuhut. Lucky Yellow is here, meow!”
Lastly, Theo, also wearing the bone helmet, came out, and struck a pose with one leg stretched forward.
Roll. Roll.
Krueng!
Cuengi rolled next to Theo, taking a mirrored stance.
And then,
Flap. Flap.
The Golden Bat, which had soared into the sky, landed between the two, spreading its wings as wide as possible.
“…What are you guys doing?”
“To defend the Earth, we must pose like this, meow! Chairman Park, you didn’t know, meow?”
Krueng!
[That’s right! Dad should quickly come and stand in the middle!]
‘Was the middle spot for me?’
“What are you talking about? Who said that?”
(I saw it on Earth! The Earth Defense Force has to create a great formation. Did I do well?)
The Golden Bat proudly stated. After descending to the 83rd floor, it had moved to Earth. Although Han Tae-jun had promised to help Sejun to buy the building under Sejun’s name, there were still numerous offices with contracts pending.
While he was wandering around the offices,
(Huh?!)
The Golden Bat noticed an employee watching something.
[Earth Defense Force Power Pose]
The man watched intently, learning about the children’s favorite show so he could play with his child later. Thanks to him, the Golden Bat could also study about the Earth Defense Force.
(The name and pose of the Earth Defense Force are essential!)
Thus, the trio had practiced the Earth Defense Force pose in the void storage to help Sejun, who was worried about saving Earth.
“Pfft.”
Sejun chuckled upon realizing what they were up to.
“Alright. Dragon Warrior Helmet – Summon.”
Sejun summoned his helmet and placed himself between Theo and Cuengi, taking a stance with one knee bent.
“Chairman Park is here!”
“Puhuhut. Now we can defend Earth, meow!”
Although Sejun didn’t understand their logic, Theo’s confident statement somehow reassured him.
(No! Big brother, we’re still one member short! The Earth Defense Force always consists of five members!)
“What-meow?! Where are we going to find another member all of a sudden?”
Krueng!
[This is a problem!]
As the creatures worried about finding another member,
“By the way, aren’t there any monsters here?”
Sejun asked, looking around. Despite all the ruckus, nothing had shown itself. But there was another reason for that.
-Brothers, have you forgotten about me?! Earth Defense Force’s Black Earth Dragon is here!
The Earth Dragon appeared, poking its head out of the ground, becoming the fifth member. Since the Earth Dragon was a pair with the Tower Farmer, it could follow Sejun wherever he went.
And then, the reason for the surrounding silence became clear.
Thud… Thud…
The moles, frightened by the Earth Dragon, couldn’t approach. They peeked their heads out, each the size of a soccer ball.
“Hey kids, come here.”
Sejun called out to the moles. He had been in need of workers anyway, so finding them so easily was a good start.
However,
Thud! Thud!
Moles feigned ignorance at Sejun’s words. They couldn’t believe the weakest one in the group was speaking.
“Come here when I’m asking nicely!”
Sejun got angry, but
Thud!
The moles remained unmoved.
Then
– How dare you defy the master’s command!
As the Earth Dragon stepped forward in anger,
Thud thud thud!
The moles scattered and ran away in a hurry.
At the same time,
[You have been recognized as the rightful owner of the land deed for the Persimmon Farm on the 49th floor of the tower.]
[Land deed skill: Farm Information Lv. Max is activated.]
He was recognized as the owner of the land. It seemed like chasing away the moles validated it.
[49th Floor Persimmon Farm Land Deed]
? This land deed proves the ownership of the persimmon farm located on the 49th floor of the tower.
? Owner: Tower Farmer Park Sejun
? Grade: C+
? Skill: [Farm Information Lv. Max]
“Farm Information.”
[Farm Information Lv. Max]
? Size: 10,000 square meters
? Crops: 104 persimmon trees
? Worker: 1 (landowner)
? Special note: Moles have been gnawing on the roots of the persimmon trees, leaving them in poor condition. There are 2,012 moles available to be used as workers.
So, the moles were gnawing on the roots. That’s why the persimmon trees looked withered.
“Earth Dragon, turn over the ground first.”
Once the Earth Dragon turned the ground, Sejun can quickly create fields using Myler’s hoe later on.
-Yes! Leave it to me, master!
Sejun gave instructions to Toryong and touched the withered branches of a persimmon tree.
[Farmer’s Warm Touch Lv. 4 is activated.]
[The roots of the persimmon tree heal slightly while touched.]
It was as he had seen earlier. When Sejun inspected the soil closely around the persimmon trees, he could see mounds of raised soil. It was obvious without looking.
‘The work of the moles.’
Sejun continued to heal each persimmon tree,
“Power Force! go fight!…”
The golden bat sang, healing the trees. For some unknown reason, plants seemed to thrive and grow faster when listening to the golden bat’s song, even though it had no related skill.
When Sejun had completely healed the roots of five persimmon trees,
“Chairman Park, Lucky Yellow wants some churus, meow!”
Krueng!
[Power Honey is also hungry!]
Theo and Cuengi held their bellies and spoke.
“Alright, just a moment.”
Snap!
Sejun quickly made a fire with a snap of his fingers, lighting up some fallen dry persimmon branches, and hurriedly prepared food.
Sizzle. Sizzle.
First, he roasted sweet potatoes and cherry tomatoes for lunch.
And then,
“Vice Chairman Theo, your claws.”
“Got it meow!”
Theo took out his claws and thinly sliced the frozen locust meat. He also planned to prepare soup for dinner.
Crunch. Crunch.
As Theo diligently sliced the locust meat with his claws,
Thud!
The moles, drooling, circled around Sejun. Roughly 2,000 of them. Their focus was on the locust meat Sejun was cutting.
“Do you want to eat this?”
Thud! Thud!
The moles nodded vigorously at Sejun’s question.
“Hehehe. Then come and eat.”
With a mischievous grin, Sejun handed the sliced locust meat to the moles.
Thud!
As the moles were enjoying the meat,
“But do you guys have money? This isn’t free.”
Thud?!
The moles looked puzzled at Sejun’s words.
“Vice Chairman Theo.”
“Puhuhut. Moles, stamp here, meow!”
Theo collected stamps from the moles who were eating the meat, and thanks to that, Sejun could easily hire workers for the farm on the 49th floor.