Hiding a House in the Apocalypse - Chapter 114



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61. Recommendation (1)

After a long time, the president sent a message.

The short video, which was just over a minute long, showed the visibly haggard president deeply regretting his mistakes, taking responsibility, and resigning.

Whether he resigns or not is a good thing, but our president is said to be sending an acting president to represent him in Incheon.

For the first time in the post-war chaos, a government without a leader has someone to blame.

The acting governor is said to be tasked with resolving the chaos and stabilizing the Incheon temporary capital area and the rest of the region before the new presidential election scheduled for next spring.

But that person called acting manager,

I know that guy.

gijayangban: Appointment of “Yang Sang-gil” as Acting Government Agent

-Who is Yang Sang-gil? lol

He’s the person who served as the head of the National Assembly lol

Well, I’ll do well, right? Haha

I knew that Woo Min-hee hated Yang Sang-gil, but I could tell from the initial consonant “ㅋ” she added to the end of every word that her hatred for Yang Sang-gil was deeper than the ocean.

What on earth will Eom Chang-i think?

It’s a question I’m curious about, but it’s one I’ll have to take to my grave.

Anyway, as the government became more chaotic, Woo Min-hee’s stalking naturally stopped.

Hoping she would stay busy, I also tried to focus on the bulletin board activities that I had neglected for a while.

To be honest, I haven’t been on the bulletin board much lately.

There was so much going on, and I was so busy preparing for winter and preparing for Rebecca’s move that I didn’t have time to breathe.

But as I started to prepare for winter and had some free time, I ended up hanging around PaleNet as well as our bulletin board again.

There have been a lot of notable posts on PaleNet recently.

Left and Right: The Reality of the Chinese Government’s Suppression of the All-Righteous Religion

Paradise Nirvana: (The Power of Conversation) The Manryu Gwijong religion seeks harmony with the opposite sex, whom humans call monsters.

Uchi (Foolish): The appearance of Ma Won-gap and his followers calmly making and drinking tea next to a monster

Happy Fool: Erosion? NO! Harmony? YES!

…

…

It’s a cult.

While I was away for a moment, the cultists were pouring shit on the sacred Palenet of Jonnaenon.

Well, anyone can see that their actions are organized.

The sight of them swarming around, going to popular bulletin boards, and advertising on walls seemed more mechanical than human.

I’ve heard before that many of the fanatics are North Korean survivors.

The “pacifists” who lived alongside monsters in a completely eroded North Korea fled south in large numbers as the front lines were breached, and some of them quickly took to the remaining cities in South Korea to spread their fanaticism.

In fact, there is a situation where the Legion faction joined hands with this pseudo-religion.

Fortunately, PaleNet’s response was lukewarm.

ㅇㅇ: Get out of here, there’s nothing to believe in, so I fell asleep believing in Chinese shit

ㅇㅇ: Trust me

Yeah : Slowpoke Monster

This would be a normal reaction.

It would be normal for a normal person to react like this.

I also commented.

SKELTON: Gyaaaaahh …

“······.”

I’ve been thinking about this lately, but writing weird stuff helps me relieve stress by letting go of my shame.

It’s like the state of mind of a child playing with fire.

I remember that Kang Han-min, who is now treated as a savior, had a similar hobby.

During my time in China, I sat down at the cafeteria’s public computer to watch beatboxing videos, my only hobby, when someone left the computer with the internet window open.

I looked at the Internet window and saw that someone had written something.

Kang Han Nam: Hyung, isn’t that where you pee?!

(A picture of an elephant sticking its trunk into a toilet)

This bizarre piece of writing was written by Kang Han-min.

Kang Han-min, who arrived late, blushed and hurriedly explained the reason that was not asked.

“That, that’s right. It’s supposed to be for preventing PTSD. When people are stressed out too much, they tend to break down, right? It’s supposed to help them release that stress.”

I remember him adding this while smiling sadly and looking into the distance.

“Whether it’s a person or a machine, once something breaks, it’s hard to get it back to its original state, right?”

At the time, I hated Jang Gi-yeong, but since I was already hardened to the Jang Gi-yeong mentality all the way to my brain, I was the kind of person who thought that those who break were weak and that machines that break were worthless, so I listened to Kang Han-min’s opinion with one ear and let it go out the other.

The reason why memories from that time, which are almost 10 years old, came to mind involuntarily may be because of a small incident that happened before winter.

Message from anonymous848: Skeleton, can you help me? It’s important.

Anonymous848 asked me for help.

That’s where the problem started.

*

Anonymous848 is a long-time member of the bulletin board.

They are a trio of friends who used to be friends with the now-defunct Kyledos and the anonymous 458. They were cheerful friends who would appear in various posts like licorice even after Kyledos disappeared, bringing vitality to our previously static bulletin board.

I have actually seen it in real life.

When I went with Diesirae to beat up the teenagers during the Second Scholar Incident, Anonymous848 was also there.

At the time, he was wearing sunglasses and a mask to cover his face, but he still couldn’t hide the fact that he was over 40 years old.

Regardless of his age, I personally thought he was a pleasant and decent person.

He asked me for help.

SKELTON: What’s going on? Where are you? Now?

I heard a while ago that he lives in Pyeongtaek.

Actually, he was in Pyeongtaek.

To be exact, it is located near Anseongcheon Stream, which flows into Asan Bay.

The location was not far and there were no major threats to the south, so there was no problem getting there.

When I asked what they needed, they said they needed help.

I didn’t specifically ask for any items or food.

Considering that some of our bulletin board users are begging on the bulletin board because they are running low on food, these are good conditions.

“······hmm.”

It’s not difficult to get there.

The only problem is, is it really anonymous848 who is messaging me?

It’s a common death scenario for a refugee to kill Anonymous848, put on his internet skin, and lure innocent message board users.

I thought about it for a while and decided to give it a try.

SKELTON: I think this is our first time meeting in person, so what are your impressions?

Soon, a reply came to Anonymous848.

Message from anonymous848: What are you talking about? We met during the scholar incident. Don’t you remember?

SKELTON: (Skeleton blinks)

“······hmm.”

It seems like it’s really me.

I asked again in earnest what was needed.

There’s a place I want to go, but I don’t have transportation.

I don’t have the confidence to go alone.

Message from anonymous848: Instead, I’ll recommend everything Skeleton writes.

Knock knock

SKELTON: Where exactly is it?

I rode my motorcycle to the realm of anonymous848.

Among the realms of gold, I passed through the wilderness at the edge and headed towards the river, leaving the ruined city on my left.

I remember going for a walk on a beautiful trail here before the war for exercise, but now the trail is covered with reeds and weeds, and I can’t even find it.

The rusted-out roadside exercise equipment rising above the reeds seemed to tell a sad story of where a walking path used to be.

That the area was certainly deserted was easily surmised by the skeletons of corpses hanging from trees that had not yet been recovered.

I found the territory of Anonymous848 using the abandoned factory as a landmark.

He lived by the river.

Like other doomsday activists, they seem to have chosen the convenient but dangerous method of discharging all of their domestic wastewater into the river.

I can see the old bus stop over there.

Instead of straightening up the motorcycle, I circled around at a fairly fast speed to scout out the area.

There were no signs of any particular ambush or attack.

I parked my motorcycle at the old bus stop and honked my horn four times.

This is the signal that we have decided to meet.

He hid behind a tree that could serve as cover, holding his gun, and waited for people to appear while keeping a close eye on his surroundings.

Soon someone appeared from the forest, shuffling about.

Medium height with a skinny build.

A man with sunken cheeks and a gloomy look slowly appeared.

Although this is my first time seeing this man, I know who he is.

This is anonymous848.

“Skeleton.”

He said my nickname first.

“848.”

He replied with the same nickname.

I stood face to face with him.

He threw his fist at me.

We greeted each other with a light fist bump.

“I didn’t know you would really come.”

“If a friend on the bulletin board calls, you should come. What’s going on? Why are you suddenly looking for me?”

His health was neither good nor bad.

The clothes were also neat.

However, the fierce conflict on his face gave me a bad feeling.

Soon, Anonymous848 continued mumbling.

“······Kaildos. Do you remember?”

“Oh. I know.”

“I’m pretty close with that guy. Anonymous458 is also one of my friends, but I’m closer to him privately.”

Looking at the long introduction, I feel like my hunch is coming true.

Anonymous848 looked up at me with the typical begging eyes and opened his mouth.

“capsule.”

As expected.

“Skeleton. You said you cleared away the capsule that Kyledos showed up in?”

“Did you hear that from Kyledos?”

“It’s a secret between the two of us. The other kids don’t know. Even Anonymous458 doesn’t know.”

“······okay?”

I sighed and looked around.

You won’t find anything resembling a bunker, let alone his own.

“Let’s drink some water. It’s a bit hot during the day.”

“Wait a minute. I have some drinks left.”

“what?”

“Tezawa.”

“Is there anything else?”

“There are pine tree eyes.”

“What else? Like cola or cider.”

“None. They raided the warehouse area at the beginning of the war and that’s all that’s left.”

“Give it to Tezawa. There’s no ice?”

“How could such a luxury exist? It’s still September.”

I followed him as he went to get a drink.

Anonymous848 is horrified.

“No, don’t follow me. Stay here! Here!”

“Why? I just wanted to take a look at the bunker.”

“Oh, that’s it. My bunker is a bit······.”

Anonymous848 avoided eye contact.

I looked at him furtively and asked him in a subtle way.

“What, is there something strange?”

“Uh, yeah! There are some things like that. It’s hard to show to others.”

“It’s okay. I don’t care. Whether there’s a real doll, a corpse, or a woman. I just want to see what other people’s bunkers look like.”

“I’m really sorry, but can we do that next time?”

That’s when I had a gut feeling.

This man, who is so apologetic but also so determined to not show the bunker, is hiding something.

A woman or a corpse.

Well, I guess it’s a good thing.

We live in a time where anything can happen.

“I’ll be here.”

“Thank you so much! I’m really sorry, Skeleton. I’m asking for a lot of things when I’m asking for favors.”

“Take your time.”

I thought about it for a moment while he went to get a drink.

“······It’s a capsule.”

It’s a bothersome and dangerous job.

The fact that a capsule appeared this far back also blatantly hinted that the future was dark.

But this capsule.

If I use it well, it might be okay?

So, if I leave the capsule in the path that the Legion Faction is likely to take, wouldn’t it make them less likely to target me?

With the southern provinces in ruins, creating one less monster den or more isn’t really that important.

Of course, the risks of capsules must definitely be checked.

It was while I was spending time like that in a daze.

“hmm.”

Anonymous848 isn’t coming.

10 minutes have passed.

Are you making a drink or something?

Rustle-

There was a sense of presence in the thicket of trees.

This is not the direction in which Anonymous848 disappeared.

Just in case, I hid behind cover, slowly took out my pistol, and watched them.

Soon a man emerged from the forest.

“hmm?”

It’s not anonymous848.

She’s a woman.

Age: mid-twenties.

There were no weapons.

He had a face that was not badly malnourished, wore clean clothes, and above all, he looked like he was desperately looking for someone.

She looked around and gave a low, desperate, dry cry.

“Skeleton? Skeleton?”

me?

Are you looking for me?

It slowly revealed itself.

She found me.

“Skeleton?”

As she nodded, the corners of her mouth went up brightly.

“A real skeleton?”

I looked at the woman who pretended to know me twice and asked her calmly.

“Who are you?”

I don’t know about anything else, but I could tell that this woman was quick-witted.

She had been smiling brightly at me, but soon her face changed to one of urgency and fear, and she desperately clung to me.

“I’m sorry to say this when we first meet, but I was kidnapped by someone named Anonymous848!”

“······hijacking?”

“Yes. I’ve been held captive for over two years. Every day, I’m being asked to have unwanted sex. I can’t live like this anymore. Please, just get me out of here. I’ll do anything! Just get me out of here!”

“······.”

“Every day is hell. I don’t know how many times a day they make demands. If I don’t comply with their demands, they create an atmosphere of fear all day long… It’s a life that’s truly hell. If this keeps up, I might kill myself….”

Her speech stopped.

The reason is clear.

Behind me, in her field of vision, a person we both knew appeared.

“Yejin.”

This is anonymous848.

With a pale, tired face, he looked back and forth between me and the woman called Yejin, then fixed his gaze on the woman and raised his voice in a voice that was both pitiful and filled with anger.

“What are you doing there?”

A woman named Yejin clung to me.

“Mr. Skeleton. Please! Help me. Please!”

“What are you doing!”

I unconsciously grabbed the back of my neck as the screams erupted from both sides.

“······under.”

Suddenly, it occurred to me that today the capsule might be the weakest.