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Chapter 04
“Wh-what? Just now……”
Feeling like something had changed, Nana looked around. But the inside of the house was the same. Half-eaten emergency rations were still on the table, and the two chickens clucked as they wandered around her.
Then it happened.
<Adrienne Roziton’s house has been declared a farm. All land previously owned and the lake in front of the farm are now farmland. All contamination in the declared farmland is purified. As a job-change reward, all life that had died will return to the state before death one time only. The same applies to crops.>
“Th-the crops came back to life?!”
At the message saying the crops that had turned black and died right before harvest had revived, the word zombie was completely erased from Nana’s mind.
As if possessed, she rushed toward the front door. No—she tried to. If not for the huge pile of furniture blocking the entrance.
“Ugh, seriously! Why is there so much junk? I need to pick a day later and do a big cleanup.”
Was this the same person who had just been cursing the game as trash? The way she frantically removed the barricade just because of crops was almost terrifying.
She threw aside the last chair blocking the door and flung it open.
What she saw made her freeze.
Before her was the farm as it had been before the error—completely normal.
Not the gloomy sky covered in gray clouds, but a bright blue sky. Not rotten land, but rich brown soil. Corn, potatoes, and spinach were growing tall, waiting to be harvested.
But the miracle did not end there.
Nana walked toward the lake just a few steps from her house.
The contamination had not been limited to the land. The water had been polluted too—so badly it could not be drunk.
If she had not filled a large water jar inside her house the day before the zombie world began, she would have already died from dehydration.
Just moments ago, it had been a lake of death, dead fish floating belly-up.
Now the water was so clear she could see the bottom. Small minnows swam in groups.
“Did it really… come back to life? Because it’s my land? Because I declared it farmland?”
The lake in front of the farm was entirely inside her declared farmland. Even the far edge of the lake shimmered with clear water.
“Ah! This isn’t the time!”
If fish were alive again, it wouldn’t be just minnows!
She hurriedly searched her inventory and found what she wanted.
<Beginner Fishing Rod: A rod for those who just started MasFarm! With this, you can catch a big fish in under 5 minutes! Uses remaining: 30>
Meat! Even fish is fine—just give me protein!
She had never used the beginner fishing rod before, leaving it forgotten in a corner of her inventory while enjoying farming. Now she attached the beginner bait and cast the line into the lake.
A short while later—less than five minutes—the float that had been still began shaking violently.
<Adrienne has caught an 80cm giant rainbow trout! Bonus fishing experience granted for first successful catch.>
“My meat! My daily food!”
She quickly stored the flapping rainbow trout into her inventory and cast the line again. Time did not pass inside the inventory, so the fish would not rot.
Trash game though it was, this feature was truly good.
After repeating the process several times and securing enough fish for days, she started a campfire in her yard. She cleaned the first trout, sprinkled salt on it, and skewered it.
Normally she would never do this, afraid zombies might wander by. But after being trapped inside eating tasteless rations for days, she was sick of staying indoors.
As if proving the message about purification was true, the outside air felt fresh.
And that strange confidence—that the farm was safe—came from another line of the message.
Humans cannot enter farmland without the farm owner’s permission.
‘Zombies used to be human. Past tense, but still human. And I don’t allow zombies on my land. So they can’t enter.’
Indeed, no zombie could be seen on the fertile land.
Just as she was about to take a bite of the golden grilled trout—
“Meow……”
She turned her head. A Himalayan cat with brown coloring on its face was staring at her with desperate eyes. More precisely, at the trout in her hand.
The cat was thin, clearly having not eaten for days. Even its long fur could not hide how skinny it was.
Nana felt pity—and a strange sense of kinship.
“You tried to survive in this ruined world too, didn’t you?”
Finding her farm in this land of despair must have been a miracle for the cat.
Just like it was for her.
If she had not become a farm owner for some unknown reason, she would have starved to death in a few days.
She gently picked the meat from the trout and placed it on the ground. The cat immediately rushed forward and began eating eagerly.
It must still be hot, but the cat chewed without care.
Smiling, Nana picked up another grilled trout.
Then—
<Would you like to recruit the stray cat as a party member?>
A party member? Since when did this game have parties? My Sweet Little Farm was supposed to be a healing farming game.
But the world had changed. She had changed jobs.
“Even if it’s a cat.”
She pressed accept.
Soon after, a new message appeared.
<Passive skill ‘Animals of the Farm’ activated. Animals that enter the farm can be added as party members. Special quests will begin automatically. Cats catch mice. Chickens lay eggs daily. Enjoy your farm life.>
<The two chickens, Kkuku and Kkaka, have been automatically registered as party members. Please name the new party member, the stray cat.>
The cat rubbed against her legs, purring.
“Take care of me, Tanbbang.”
At the edge of the continent, now a land of death, a man was walking.
A zombie approached him, but he killed it without hesitation.
After walking for some time, he stopped at a wooden sign.
[Welcome to Sweet Little Village.]
Crunch.
A light green sprout was crushed under his boot.
The wind blew his hood back, revealing black hair and violet eyes. His face was cold and sharp, strikingly handsome.
‘I thought all land on this continent had rotted black… but some land still lives.’
He noticed the rich brown soil and blue sky.
‘Everywhere else is gray with clouds. Only here the sun shines. This can’t be coincidence.’
As he stepped forward—
Thud.
He turned. A woman with apricot-colored hair stood there.
“A survivor? Good. I have something to ask. This place—”
“My coffee beans……”
“What?”
“The thing you’re stepping on.”
He looked down.
A coffee sprout lay crushed beyond saving.
Nana stormed over.
“Move! How long are you going to stand there?! And don’t step on the other crops!”
She knelt, inspecting the damage.
“You crushed my spinach and cauliflower too! I even used S-grade fertilizer!”
“Are you alright—”
“Does this look alright?!”
To her, the crops were not just plants. When the land revived, so had her will to live.
And now this stranger had trampled them.
“Do you have a hobby of stepping on plants?!”
“No.”
“Then why walk on the crops?!”
She ranted in frustration.
The man realized he had trespassed and meant to apologize.
“Pay with your body.”
“What?”
<Hidden Character: $#%@#$ (Name must be discovered). Hire as farm worker?>
At the same time, a message appeared before him.
<Would you like to become a farm worker of Sweet Little Village?>
‘New dark magic…?’
Memories flashed.
“Mom… Dad……”
Blood. Corpses. That man’s face.
Hatred filled his eyes.
Nana didn’t notice.
“Work here and pay it off!”
“These plants… are they for dark magic?”
“What nonsense is that?!”
He drew his sword, black aura swirling around it.
<Expel Hidden Character from farm?>
She tried to press accept.
“Meow meow meow!”
Tanbbang ran over, dropping a fat mouse proudly.
Just before she pressed the button—
“What?! No! I can’t hire a sword-wielding maniac!”
<Workers cannot be fired immediately. Dismissal possible after 3-month probation period.>
“No way! I’m the farm owner! Why is there a probation period in a medieval game?! This trash game!”
“You useless trash game! Fix your bugs instead of forcing me to hire crazy sword men!”
Crying, she fell asleep.
Tanbbang jumped down from the chair.
“What are you doing?”
The man stood in the dark.
“Tanbbang. You’ve been doing interesting things.”
He grabbed the cat by the neck.
“Let go! Brother!”
With a pop, the cat transformed into a young girl.
It was Ateruna.
His younger sister.
“This is my duty. What are you doing here, Brother?!”
