Apocalypse Arrives: I Become a Powerhouse by Scavenging
Chapter 40: Mocha Forest 11

Chapter 40: Chapter 40: Mocha Forest 11

After hearing what the man said, Moira Lynch felt a wave of relief that she hadn’t used her spiritual power to just take the fruits.

If that plant had suddenly launched a 360-degree attack, even with her space to hide in, she couldn’t be sure she’d dodge every single one of those spikes.

Just then, a young man from the team of two men and two women stepped forward and asked, "How are we going to split the rewards if we succeed? Let me be clear, I won’t accept an even split. I have no intention of sharing the fruits of my labor with just anyone."

As he spoke, his gaze swept over the exceptionally disheveled skinny man and fat man, and the girl in the white skirt.

As for Moira Lynch and the other girl with short hair.

’Never mind the last two rounds. Anyone who dares to go it alone in this round has to have an ace up their sleeve.’

’Besides, even though their clothes were filthy, their eyes were sharp and held no trace of exhaustion. You could tell at a glance they’d been getting by just fine these past few days.’

The man who’d spoken earlier nodded. "That’s only natural. The more you contribute, the more you get. Since we’ve all decided to cooperate, we should introduce our talents. It’ll help us coordinate."

The moment he said that, a silence fell over the group. Even the man who had just spoken shut his mouth.

Everyone knew someone would eventually bring it up, and they knew it was the right thing to do—they had to understand each other’s abilities to work together—but no one wanted to be the first to reveal their hand.

After all, a person’s talent was their ace in the hole.

The man frowned and scanned the group. Just as he was about to speak, the young man beside him gave him a slight tug and cut in, "I know what you’re all worried about. So, how about this? I’ll go first. My name is Storm, and my talent is speed."

The other three members of his group introduced their talents as well. Without exception, they all had combat-oriented talents focused on physical enhancement.

The first man to speak, in particular, stood out. His in-game name was Kong, and his talent was fitting: when activated, his body would expand, his skin would become impenetrable, and his strength and speed would increase dramatically.

"I have a Water Talent; I can conjure water."

"I can scale walls and leap across rooftops like a cat."

"I can conjure all sorts of melee weapons."

As he spoke, a long, sharp blade materialized in his hand.

Moira Lynch watched the man who had just spoken. ’He’s lying,’ she thought. ’When he was introducing his talent, he didn’t let it show on his face, but his inner turmoil was intense.’

When it was Moira Lynch’s turn, she said without hesitation, "I can communicate with animals."

’This was what she’d planned to say all along. She really *could* communicate with animals, so it wasn’t exactly a lie.’

All eyes fell on Moira Lynch.

"If you can communicate with animals, does that mean you can command them to..."

"No!" Moira cut him off flatly before he could even finish. Whatever he was about to ask, the answer was no.

"And let’s be clear," she added. "I can only *communicate* with animals, not command them."

’This part was true, too. She couldn’t even get those three goofy sled dogs in her space to listen to her.’

The man clearly didn’t believe her, but given her firm tone, there was nothing he could do.

"All right, it’s getting dark. We need to hurry. I doubt any of you want to spend the night here."

At those words, everyone who had been about to pick a fight silently shut their mouths.

Everyone knew how terrifying nights in the Mocha Forest were; you only had to recall the screams of previous players.

Moira Lynch remained at the back of the group, silently listening to their discussion.

’But she felt they wouldn’t come to any real conclusions. They were just wasting time. No one trusted anyone else; everyone was holding something back.’

’In a situation like this, everyone wanted someone else to charge in first and act as a human shield while they swooped in to pick up the spoils.’

’The problem was, no one here was an idiot.’

’"The more you contribute, the more you get," sure, but you had to be alive to collect.’

In the end, after all their discussion, the group’s grand consensus was to just play it by ear.

Moira Lynch sighed internally. ’I knew it.’

She glanced at the sky. It was already dusk; darkness would fall soon. While the others had been busy arguing, she had already scouted out a place for shelter.

Moira Lynch trailed silently behind the group. She had a nagging feeling that these people were completely unreliable.

The longer she spent with them, the more she regretted her decision to team up.

The group hid in the tall grass, their eyes fixed on the fruit atop the plant. They even quieted their breathing, each one exchanging glances, trying to signal for someone else to make the first move.

Even Kong, the one with impenetrable skin, didn’t dare to act rashly, a testament to the plant’s fearsome power.

Meanwhile, Moira Lynch was hiding behind a large tree, attempting to use her spiritual power to communicate with the plant.

’Normally, it’s impossible to communicate with plants. Their actions are purely instinctual; they don’t think like animals.’

’But hey, what’s the harm in trying? It’s not like I’ll lose anything if it fails.’

As she expected, there was no response.

Just as Moira was about to give up, she suddenly perceived a faint wisp of a message.

A jolt went through Moira. ’It’s actually possible to communicate with it!’

But before she could establish further contact, she heard a loud THUD! A snow-white spike had embedded itself directly in the tree she was hiding behind.

Judging by the impact, Moira estimated it would have no trouble skewering two or three people if it had hit a person directly.

’That’s not a weapon, that’s an ultimate death machine!’

Her ears were filled with a storm of profanity.

"Fuck! Don’t dodge over here!"

"AHHHHH! The spikes can grow back that fast?! Help me, I’m hit!"

The crowd, which moments ago had been so confident that cooperation would guarantee success, scattered in an instant, every man for himself.

Correction—some people did pay attention to others, but only because using them as human shields came so naturally.

Especially Kong. He grabbed the fat man and the skinny man, one in each hand, and used them as meat shields.

Moira was already some distance away from the group and hidden at the very back. From her vantage point, she had a clear view: it was the girl in the white skirt who had pushed the two men out first.

And Kong, who was right there, had promptly turned them into meat shields.

The girl’s motive for doing so was simple: she was after their basket.

But the moment the skinny man sensed her intentions, he committed to a final, desperate act, tossing the basket right toward the plant.

Seeing this, Moira instantly swapped it with a zero-point basket she had on hand.

’Everyone was running for their lives, so no one would notice anyway. Besides, all the baskets looked identical; without checking the points, you couldn’t tell one from another.’