Inside the pit was a small wild chicken. Just as Kim Haru had expected, its claws were stuck in the branches at the bottom of the pit. Upon hearing Kim Haru's approach, the chicken was frantically flapping its wings, trying to escape.

Kim Haru immediately grabbed it by the base of its wings and lifted it up.

Only then did he realize that the reason the wild chicken hadn't escaped wasn't just because of the branches at the bottom of the pit. There were also some plant roots wrapped around its legs.

The roots weren't thick—thin and delicate, they had entangled the chicken's legs, and despite its struggles, the chicken hadn't managed to break free. With a casual tug, Kim Haru easily pulled the roots off.

"You poor thing, what bad luck you've had," Kim Haru said, shaking the little wild chicken as he sighed.

If the chicken hadn't somehow gotten those roots tangled around its legs, it might have flown out of the trap long ago, and there's no way he'd be able to catch it now.

But the chicken's bad luck was Kim Haru's good fortune.

He picked up some of the roots that had tangled the chicken and used them to tie its wings securely at the base. Once he was sure the chicken couldn't fly away, he set it down beside him and started fixing the trap that had been damaged by the chicken's struggles.

Seeing that the trap actually worked, Kim Haru decided to keep using it and see which unfortunate animal might fall into it next.

"If only I could catch something like a piglet," Kim Haru muttered to himself while covering the trap with leaves.

By now, he had fully embraced his role as a farmer and was even starting to enjoy it.

Since he was going to build a farm, how could it be complete without animals? In rural areas, every household kept pigs, which were easy to raise because they ate anything and grew quickly.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt like it might be worth looking for piglets in the post-apocalypse world. Or maybe the system would eventually give him pigs?

Lost in thought, Kim Haru quickly reset the trap, sticking a branch into the ground to mark the spot, and then went to retrieve the wild chicken he had left nearby.

When he saw it, he couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow, what a little rascal!"

The wild chicken had almost run out of Kim Haru's line of sight.

However, since its wings were tied, it didn't seem very skilled at walking long distances. Every time it ran a short distance, it would trip, and just as Kim Haru watched, the chicken had already fallen three times.

Laughing, Kim Haru took a few steps to catch up and picked it up.

"Stop running. You won't get away."

Besides, he still wasn't sure if he was even going to eat the wild chicken. Technically, it was considered game meat, and in his past life, there were always warnings against eating wild animals. Even though it was the apocalypse and no bacteria or virus could compare to the zombie virus, Kim Haru still wanted to figure out a way to test it before eating it.

Even if he decided not to eat it, keeping the wild chicken as a pet wouldn't be bad either. Just look at those sleek, shiny feathers and the tail feathers that were almost as long as his arm—it looked pretty nice.

With a grin, Kim Haru happily carried the wild chicken back home.

Just as Kim Haru reached the cabin, his system interface pinged with a new notification.

[ You have obtained one bird, categorized as <<Wild Chicken>>, and earned the title of Rancher. ]

[ Title Reward: Hen Chick x1 ]

Ha, speak of the devil!

Kim Haru chuckled as he read the message.

He had just been thinking about how the system might give him a pig to raise. While there was no pig, at least he got a chick, which was close enough.

Still holding the wild chicken in his left hand, Kim Haru quickly claimed the hen chick from his reward.

The little chick appeared, bright yellow and fuzzy. Since it was a system reward, it wasn't afraid of him at all. It seemed very fond of Kim Haru and immediately nuzzled its soft, downy feathers against his palm.

It even chirped a couple of times at him.

... it's so adorable.

Kim Haru glanced at the chick and gently stroked its tiny head with his thumb.

"Good girl. Let's give you a name."

Since it was the first chick he'd raised, and it would be the leader of all future animals on his farm, and the future "big sister", it definitely needed a name.

After thinking for a moment, Kim Haru decided, "I'll call you Little Nugget."

When you grow up, you'll be called Big Nugget. Anyone will know who I'm calling.

Feeling satisfied with his rather bad naming skills, the newly titled rancher chuckled to himself.

After naming the chick, Kim Haru placed Little Nugget on the ground and set the wild chicken down with his other hand, pushing the two birds together.

"Come on, get to know each other. This is Little Nugget. As for you... I'll call you Sir Peckington. Since Little Nugget's arrival is thanks to you, I won't eat you, Sir Peckington. You'll stay here and keep Little Nugget company.

You're both chickens, so I trust you'll become good friends."

Not only did he say this, but Kim Haru, with all seriousness, pinched the tips of both the wild chicken's and the hen chick's wings and shook them together, as if they were shaking hands. He fully committed to the little ceremony.

He didn't even stop to consider whether a wild bird and a domesticated chick could actually become friends.

Once he let go, he allowed the two to get familiar with each other.

Of course, Kim Haru wasn't foolish enough to untie the wild chicken's wings. He figured it was better to keep it grounded until it was used to him.