Seo I-rang (2)
“Oh...”
On the third floor of Farm 1 stood a massive vending machine. Aside from a storage unit in the center, there was nothing else. The machine was enormous compared to others, and its produce outlet was ridiculously wide. The display read 100/100, not the usual 10/10. That meant I could get 100 servings of one vegetable from it.
It was the most unusual machine I'd seen so far, so I was dying to know what it'd spit out.
Thud.
“Whoa...!”
Everyone gasped in awe as a huge net bag stuffed with vegetables dropped into the basket.
“Cabbage...”
Cabbage. I'd wondered when it might show up alongside the radishes, but I never imagined an entire floor dedicated to it.
Each bag held ten hefty heads. Dispensing all 100 would yield a thousand heads of cabbage.
“Holy...”
That was it for Farm 1's third floor. But why stockpile cabbage of all things, skipping other veggies? It didn't take long to figure out.
“It's telling me to make kimchi, right? Bring Im Jun-gu here.”
“Yes, sir!”
I summoned Im Jun-gu, our Korean cuisine chef.
“You called for me, sir!”
“Yeah. What do you think of this cabbage? The kimchi-making kind we know, right?”
I pulled out a head, tore off a leaf, and handed it to him. He tasted it and nodded.
“It's prime stuff, sir. Firm texture, incredibly sweet. Kimchi made from this would be delicious.”
“Good. What goes into kimchi? I only know about the chili powder...”
“With just salt, shrimp sauce, anchovy sauce, chili powder, ginger, garlic, and green onions, you can make great kimchi. But... in this world, gathering all that might be tough.”
“Hmm...”
We had garlic and peppers, but garlic only came from the hydroponics lab—a rare crop—and we didn't have enough peppers for bulk kimchi powder. Still, blatantly giving me a cabbage machine felt like the ability was nudging me toward something specific.
I headed straight to Farm 2's third floor with the executives. Six machines lined up, each showing 20/20.
“As expected.”
“Press each one.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Frozen minced garlic!”
“Oh my, sacks of chili powder.”
“Your Excellency, shrimp sauce in a tub.”
“Anchovy sauce here.”
“Chives.”
“Green onions.”
“Oh, Oppa’s a S-Special Awakener too?”
“Huh? You just noticed?”
That sealed it. The reason for the 100-cabbage machine was obvious: make kimchi with them.
Sometimes I noticed this ability unlocking buildings with things I'd casually wished for. Was the kimchi set because I'd mentioned craving cabbage kimchi, or just coincidence? Hard to say.
Currently, our territory made do with radish kkakdugi. Even that was limited due to scarce peppers, reserved for me and the executives.
Im Jun-gu added, “We can't use all thousand heads, but we could make a good amount of cabbage kimchi.”
The thought of kimchi on every resident's table was pure joy. Would the next farm's third floor bring more ferments or cabbage? Who knew.
We cleared all the produce into storage and moved to Farm 3.
“This one's probably not kimchi-related.”
Floors 1 and 2 matched Farm 1. Floor 3 had four machines marked 25/25.
Pressing the first dropped an oddly shaped glass bottle into the basket—a large, maple-leaf design filled with amber liquid.
“Liquor...?”
I uncorked it, dripped some on my hand. Sweet, syrupy aroma. Tasting it: a unique sweetness, distinct from sugar.
“Maple syrup!”
I shouted.
“M-M Maple syrup? What's that?”
I-rang grabbed my hand, curious.
“Uh... how to explain? Tree sap boiled down... Wanna try?”
“Yes!”
She beamed, pulled my hand to her mouth, and licked the syrup off my skin.
“S-Sweet! Delicious!”
“No... you don't have to eat it like that...”
First machine: maple syrup. Totally unexpected. Tree sap counted as a crop, apparently.
“But this is super rare...”
Not something you'd buy unless you were loaded.
Second machine: black glass bottle. I dripped some on my hand—familiar tangy sourness from Western restaurants.
“This is... salad dressing...”
I offered it to Im Jun-gu. He tasted and confirmed.
“Your Excellency, balsamic sauce.”
“Ah, yeah, that.”
Another luxury item. The rest would probably be rarities too.
“Farm 3's third floor is all gourmet stuff.”
Third: transparent bottle with a picture. Golden liquid inside—obvious even without tasting.
“Olive oil, right?”
“Yep.”
Fourth: huge plastic jug of soybean oil.
“Nice.”
A bit too fancy, but the kimchi ingredients from Farms 1 and 2 were jackpot. No need to kimchi everything—cabbage makes great soup stock, ferments and powder are bonuses. Best part: all farm crops now regenerated every 12 hours, exploding our output.
I woke to find I-rang hugging my arm, sleeping soundly. Staring at her face sparked a brilliant idea.
I called all executives and explained. Their reaction? Lukewarm.
“Guess I'm trash-tier after all.”
My pitch: the Suicide Squad.
On her first day, we'd tested I-rang's powers in the enhancement room. Like Na Hye-won, melons wouldn't boost her. But unlike Hye-won, I-rang's stamina drain lessened over time.
Initially, making one bead was exhausting, but now it was easy. Taming beasts: first try knocked her out, now single enhancements were fine, doubles manageable, triples left her sleepy—but two hours in the VIP room fixed that.
Even a weak spider monster, Stalker, at +3 gained iron-plated hide and horns—a fearsome beast.
Mu Wol Church's beasts were mostly +2 max; +3s were rare, as their leader avoided overtaxing her—not out of care, but poor medical facilities. (Im Jui could rip a +3 Stalker barehanded, but against average Awakeners? Tough foe.)
Key: I-rang's power grew with age. Hence, Suicide Squad—breed disposable +3 beast legions for high-risk battles. No more guarantees of zero casualties against groups or named monsters.
But executives shrugged. Not doubting feasibility, but “Why, when we're here?”
Misunderstanding. I clarified: not replacing them, just cannon fodder. Still meh.
“We'll charge if lives are on the line.”
They probably thought, “Does he think we're scared to die for him?”
I gave up persuading. Back home, reflecting: if executives were at risk, +3 beasts wouldn't change much. They're monster-slaying elites.
We processed Mu Wol's beast corpses and I-rang's catches in the Workshop: enough for five low-grade items. Better than outsider gear. Named beasts yielded top-grade alone.
Han Byeol requested distributing low-grade gear to guards first, with more corpses incoming.
“Yeah... better than Suicide Squad.”
“I-I'll be back!”
“Yeah, be safe.”
I-rang started “school” today. Not a real school—daytime houses empty from work, so using Im Jui's house as temp classroom. Teacher residents and textbooks for basic elementary/middle lessons.
“Huh?”
Odd sight: I-rang greeted school friends warmly—hospital kids she'd befriended. Normal so far.
Then residents bowed deeply to her; she bowed 90 degrees back. Like adults greeting equals.
I asked Han Seol, “Why are residents 90-degree bowing to a kid first?”
“You didn't know...?”
“Know what?”
“Living with you, to them she's like your adopted daughter... They can't treat her casually.”
“My daughter? I've never treated her like one.”
Han Seol tilted her head. “Yesterday, after processing enhanced beasts, you carried her piggyback around the territory...”
“I've done that with other kids. Was tipsy though...”
“This morning, she wanted pancakes with maple syrup, so you made them yourself...”
“Head chef prepped ingredients; I just cooked...”
“You packed her backpack too.”
“...”
I'm only 24. Too young for a daughter.
I ordered Han Seol to stop residents treating her like superior. I-rang was polite back, but at her age, it could spoil her. (Though the cabbages distributed yesterday—essentially her points funding the farms—kinda justified it.)
No more public piggybacks. The point surge just made me proud.