Hiding a House in the Apocalypse - Chapter 21



Only Krnovel

19. Theme Park (1)

I once read an article that said that among the nightmares that South Korean men had before the war, the most troubling one was the one about re-enlistment.

For me, it’s a nightmare when it comes to loans.

As expected from a bad debtor, I received a huge amount of debt collection calls, and what I particularly remember is the endless stream of documents.

My fan letters come in a variety of forms, including the highest order, payment order, complaint, notice of trial date, judgment, order to specify property, notice of voluntary auction, etc.

I don’t really want to imagine a future without war.

Since he didn’t have a job, personal rehabilitation would have been impossible, so perhaps it would have ended in bankruptcy?

As a result, I must confess that I was a little happy when I heard the news that war was breaking out…

In my case, the destruction did not have only negative effects on everyone.

Some, on the contrary, found a new vitality and even a meaning in life that they had never had before in this new change called destruction.

My only internet friend, the human hunter, was also a fish that could swim freely only in the turbulent current of disaster.

*

On the day that Kim Da-ram came to my hideout to check on me, the human hunter sent me a message without fail.

Message from Defender: When are you coming? Skeleton. I’m waiting with bated breath.

I’m the kind of person who keeps my promises, even if I don’t pay back the money often.

SKELTON: Wait. I’ll bring you a gift.

Promises must be kept, if only for the sake of my social standing within the community.

I was worried about my means of transportation, but in the end, I chose my favorite luggage bike.

It can be quietly and easily discarded.

If you get properly ambushed, you’ll still lose.

Since there are no mutations, slow and quiet would be best.

I bought it used on Carrot Net with the intention of using it for a short while and then throwing it away, but this guy works the hardest.

As expected, there are things in life that you never know about.

Before leaving, I checked the chains, filled the tires with air, and loaded up the ammunition box.

The weapons he brought with him were, as always, a simple travel set of a rifle, a pistol, and two axes.

But, unlike usual, he was wearing a bulletproof vest inside.

It’ll probably get penetrated by rifle bullets, but it’s better than nothing.

According to information provided by the Defender, there are three major danger zones around the contact area.

The first is the monster control zone.

From what the human hunters have described, it seems like they are not the wandering type, but rather the sedentary type that settles down in one place and does not move. As long as you do not enter their territory, they are generally harmless.

The second threat is the area taken over by zombies.

A large number of zombies have taken over an abandoned apartment complex and entered a dormant state, but some are still roaming around as scouts, looking for unlucky victims.

However, the zombie zone is located off the path to the southwest of the contact point and is quite far away, so it does not seem to be a real threat.

The third threat is the entire rest of the region.

Yes, the ultimate threat is humans.

Even the human hunters couldn’t say for sure where they would be or how they would attack.

Unlike monsters or zombies, humans change their positions frequently, devise new tactics and strategies, and try to set traps to catch enemies off guard.

However, it is information that allows you to know in advance the locations where raiders often lie in wait and their areas of activity.

The human hunter gave quite a lengthy explanation of areas to avoid and human groups to avoid.

What he particularly emphasized was clothing.

A message from Defender: Don’t mess with the guys in red pants.

I always feel this way, but the risk of an operation is reduced to the extent that you think about it in advance and put in the effort.

The rather dangerous journey was so peaceful and smooth that it almost felt boring.

When they had reached the middle, a veil of night covered the decaying land.

From the riverbank I saw ghostly, grayish-white lights illuminating the abandoned streets.

This is the monster’s territory.

The mission of an invasive species that can survive independently in the Earth’s environment is not to kill or exterminate humans.

Their role is to gradually transform the surrounding areas they control into something similar to their hometown.

Could it be said that humans are nothing more than obstacles that must be eliminated in the process?

As the darkness obscured the monster’s territory just as it obscured me, I couldn’t tell what type of monster it was, but at least I was able to confirm that it was a stationary type.

Meanwhile, the human predators that were most feared were nowhere to be found along the route.

As I passed the three ambush sites, all I found were abandoned vehicles, wreckage, and charred corpses.

The threat came from an unexpected place.

It’s a zombie.

There were a lot of guys active around the route that were supposed to be far from the route.

Although I couldn’t see them, the chorus of corpses echoing ominously under the pale moonlight suggested that their size was by no means small.

At least a hundred or more.

Has he woken up from hibernation?

I proceeded the rest of the way carefully, keeping as little noise as possible.

It was agreed in advance not to use radio.

Unlike my empty territory, this area is home to quite a few people and factions, so using the walkie-talkie only serves to indicate that there are people here.

If the human hunters had personal identification numbers, they could communicate on their own frequencies instead of the dangerous public frequencies, but I’m the only one of the two with a personal identification number.

Instead, we decided on a detailed meeting place and expected time, and the human hunter even took a picture of the meeting place and sent it to us.

The meeting place was under a large fir tree that looked like it was leaning against a large Ferris wheel that was tilted as much as the Earth’s axis.

As I approached the theme park, I looked for similar trees.

there is.

The angle of view was different, so the Ferris wheel looked like it was sticking out rather than leaning against the tree, but the tree was exactly the same as in the photo, standing upright under the moonlight.

There was no one around.

He drew his weapon and approached slowly.

Keep all your senses open and be prepared for all possibilities.

After a while, a noise was felt.

He is a person.

There is a person standing behind the tree.

My heart pounded lightly.

Are we finally going to meet?

The mischievous boy on the bulletin board called Human Hunter?

What would it look like?

Maybe it’s a surprisingly good impression.

Human nature has nothing to do with appearance.

But this breathing sound.

It’s too thin to be a man’s.

With a slight shock, a shadow behind the tree appeared.

She’s a woman.

A long-haired woman with pale skin that resembles moonlight.

A woman of considerable attractive appearance looks at me cautiously with eyes that are both curious and fearful.

She waved awkwardly and greeted me.

Instead of responding, he raised his pistol and aimed behind them.

“Come out.”

There is one more.

Crash

“I told you to come out.”

I felt a woman move slightly at the edge of my vision.

“Stay still.”

He warned the woman by pointing at her with his right hand, which was holding an axe.

The shrubs swayed gently.

“wow.”

The young man’s exclamation echoed through the bushes.

Soon a black shadow appeared, leaping out of the bushes, and slowly walked forward, hand raised, revealing itself in the moonlight.

A tall, handsome man was looking at me with his teeth bared.

“It’s the first time you haven’t fallen into our trap.”

He stepped back slowly, brought the two into view, and asked briefly.

“Are you serious?”

The man burst into laughter.

“No, even if I ask, why did you have to name that kid? It’s annoying. I’m a defender.”

My eyes shifted between the man and the woman.

The man smiled and the woman turned her head away, avoiding eye contact.

“Both. My younger brother is the one who posts most often.”

“what?”

I stared at the woman.

Was it this guy?

The guy who posted cynical comments and murder certifications that showed not a single speck of humanity?

It doesn’t look like that at all.

The face itself looks kind.

Well, you can’t judge a person by their looks alone.

The man looked at the woman who had turned away.

“My little brother, he’s a hamster in real life, but he’s a nerd on the internet. Well, since it’s my account, I post things when I have time. I leave comments often, too.”

“······That’s what it was.”

The identity of the human hunter has been revealed.

They are not one, but two. They are brother and sister.

They were both in their mid-twenties, seemed to be in good nutritional condition and psychologically stable.

“Since we introduced ourselves, should we introduce ourselves too?”

Their bodies, which I thought would smell like corpses, actually smelled like burnt grass.

He answered briefly, keeping a blank expression.

“It’s a skeleton.”

I wasn’t supposed to come.

He pointed towards the bike, feeling an inexplicable sense of regret.

“That’s ammunition. Take it.”

What could be the reason?

Because there were two of them? Because it was different from what I expected? Because I felt uncomfortable with the overly friendly attitude?

No, I think I have a rough idea.

Their methods were connected to bad memories.

A man, led by a young woman with a fair complexion, ambushs and kills his victim when the other party lets their guard down.

This is a scene often seen in China, which has become a den of demons.

Not my team, but a fellow hunter got caught in that shallow water and his decapitated head was hung under a traffic light.

I don’t want to question the meanness of the method.

I just didn’t like seeing the same scenes I had seen on the battlefield repeating themselves before my eyes.

“Why are you so cautious?”

The man looked back at me as he moved the ammunition.

The woman has been looking at me cautiously for a while now, her arms crossed.

After being on guard for a while, she took something out, rolled it up, put it in her mouth, and lit it.

It smells like burning grass, not tobacco.

Perhaps this is the cause of the smell coming from their bodies.

“Would you like to come in and have a cup of tea?”

A man suddenly asks while moving ammunition on a cart.

“No, I guess I should go now. You guys go in first.”

“Why are you being so cautious? Weren’t we friends?”

“······.”

“Why are you silent?! Skeleton. Are you disappointed in us?”

He nodded.

“······why?”

This time, the siblings asked at the same time.

Both of them looked quite shocked.

To be honest, I just hate the sight of it, but I don’t think I can say it out loud. Is there any way to put it mildly?

As I was spinning my head without turning, a strange sound came on the wind from not far away.

“Mom······. Mom······. Eeeeeeeeng.”

It’s not like it’s a ghost’s voice.

It’s a baby crying.

There are two or three children, under the age of ten, crying sadly and looking for their parents.

That heartbreaking cry may be an attribute of the theme park space located below, but not now.

“Skeleton.”

The male defender became serious.

The female defender was already ready to grab the cart and pull it.

“Let’s go to my house for a moment.”

“What’s going on?”

“Those kids.”

The male defender showed his clear killing intent for the first time.

“Why I need bullets.”

*

The Defender’s home base was not a bunker, but an old house nestled in the mountains overlooking the theme park.

It’s more like a mansion than a house.

Although it has an overall old and run-down appearance, it is luxurious with a detached house, warehouse, and garage.

Is this why you chose to kill them all rather than hide?

In a small greenhouse made of vinyl under the moonlight, various plants were being grown, but it was too foggy to see what was growing.

The female defender looked at the luxurious box in my hand with timid eyes.

I think he’s still wary of me, but he keeps staring at me, so I guess he’s interested.

“······Skeleton. What is that?”

Soon she asked in a timid voice.

“this?”

This is Kim Da-ram’s high-quality snack.

I brought some half-eaten food with me, intending to give it as a gift to the human hunter when I met him.

I thought that it would raise Defender’s favorability rating and naturally improve my reputation.

But the Defender I actually saw was not as good as I had imagined.

There’s also one more mouth.

So I was thinking of taking it home and eating it by myself, but then I got invited out of the blue and ended up bringing it along.

“Seo, it’s a gift······.”

He reluctantly offered the snack to the female defender.

She opened the box and looked at me with a bright smile.

“Skeleton!”

A look of genuine joy.

“······.”

I avoided her gaze.

Instead, I looked around the house.

Unlike my bunker, the open, wide hall felt refreshing and visually stimulating.

As expected, it’s a rich family.

Traces of money can be seen everywhere.

However, it was unable to avoid the magical corrosion and wear and tear characteristic of the Destruction Period, and here and there, worn and collapsed parts were visible.

Soon the male defender brought out a steaming cup of tea.

“oh.”

He smiled brightly as he looked at the cookies.

“Skeleton! He’s a really cool guy. He’s a real man that I recognize!”

“······.”

While he was still silent, the female defender whispered something in the male defender’s ear.

“My brother asks me why men are so fearful and unmanly.”

“?”

Who is talking to whom?

When I looked at the woman, she tried hard to avoid my gaze and pretended not to care.

He sighed and opened his mouth.

“What is that baby crying sound?”

This is the main point.

The sound of a crying child brought me here.

“Let’s have some tea first.”

The brother and sister picked up the car at the same time.

I smelled the scent.

Smells good.

It has a luxurious scent, far removed from the cheap iced tea in my bunker.

But I didn’t drink tea.

Don’t take everything that is given to you.

This is the etiquette of people living in a time of destruction.

But unlike me, the Defender siblings gobbled up my cookies.

I couldn’t resist, so I took one and put it in my mouth. As I put the cookie in my mouth, I couldn’t help but take a sip of tea.

it’s good.

It’s a perfect match~.

I think I should have trusted my internet friends a little more.

As I was looking at the empty box, soaked in regret, and licking my lips, the male defender opened his mouth.

“Pioneer.”

“pioneer?”

“You know those fucking kids in front of Keystone House? They’re the same type.”

“okay?”

“But the quality is so bad that it can’t be compared to those.”

The male defender snapped his finger at his brother.

Then the female defender opened her laptop and showed me the screen.

In the photo taken with a cell phone, there was an armored vehicle and some ordinary-looking middle-aged men holding guns standing awkwardly.

Just when you think there’s nothing special about them, you notice that all their pants are red and you also spot two children crouching under the armored vehicle.

“What is this?”

The male defender snorted coldly.

“Angel.”

“Angel?”

“Mobilize the kids and make them cry so that we can lure out the moles hiding in the bunker.”

The male defender pretended to slit his throat.

“They take everything and kill everyone. They kill the men, rape the women, and use the children as bait for the next time.”

“They are a bunch of trash.”

“So I was going to kill him.”

The human hunter smiled brightly, revealing his teeth.

For some reason, the expression on his face as he talked about murder looked quite enjoyable.