Hiding a House in the Apocalypse - Chapter 272



Only Krnovel

112. Faith (1)

The cold tomb was not a place filled with treasures like the tomb of a pharaoh.

A swanky, flashy dormitory filled with the stench of corpses, crude machinery, LED lights and crude power plants are all things a scavenger might covet.

But there is treasure in that tomb too.

It’s satellite equipment.

There were a total of 8 satellite devices lying around, not even connected, and I took the 4 that were in the best condition.

It was the first time that the young couple who had always been nagging became useful.

Diesira didn’t show any particular reaction.

He just asked me how I knew about such a place and I told him the name of John Nae-non.

however.

“Who is that?”

This guy from Diesirae.

I seem to have forgotten the name of the person I was talking about.

When I immediately injected the concept into him, he just nodded his head with a smile as if he had just remembered.

“Oh, that guy. Yeah, yeah. He also created PaleNet, right?”

Other than that, Diesirae took good care of me.

Since it didn’t seem like everything would fit in the narrow cargo space of the motorcycle, I had someone secure the luggage with chains and ropes, and I also suggested that we stay the night since it was getting dark.

It seems like he still wants me as his member.

The road wasn’t smooth, but there were no major accidents.

The black mutation I saw in the morning kept targeting me, and each time we engaged in a bit of a war of nerves.

His outstanding intelligence and cunning reminded me of the Gold I had seen before.

There was no danger after I dropped the guy in the section where I could speed up.

I contacted Ha Tae-hoon through the communicator and had him open the door.

He was waiting for me at the entrance to my bunker.

That’s not all.

Cheon Yeong-jae, who was outside the area, was also there.

I thought something had happened.

“The Legion was attacked.”

Cheon Yeong-jae relayed what he had heard from his acquaintance via radio.

While I was digging into the cold tomb that I had been curious about, a large-scale surprise attack by fanatics occurred in Wonju.

Although contact was lost midway and the exact circumstances are unknown, it is said that it was a large-scale attack that made it appear as if the entire Wonju was on fire.

There is one unresolved issue.

My first internet friend who was left behind in Wonju.

They are the Defender siblings.

When I entered the bunker and logged onto the bulletin board, I expected to hear from Defender.

There were two new messages in my inbox.

It must have been sent by the Defender.

I checked the message, my heart pounding.

Message from VIVA_BOT014: Skeleton, I’ve sorted out the mini-armband permissions. Please contact me when you log in. If possible, during the day.

A message from COOKIEMONSTER18: (A plate of facts) Skeleton. How are you? I’m Swoo!

They are all sent by people I miss.

But there was no message from the Defender.

*

Chijijik–

Radio.

Before the invention of the Internet, it was the most common means of communication connecting people in distant places.

I don’t use a walkie-talkie other than the K-walkie-talkie, but Cheon Yeong-jae and Ha Tae-hoon enjoy using the walkie-talkie more.

We are still trying to communicate via radio.

Chijijik-

It’s different from satellite internet.

The signal is not received well.

Even if the frequency is tuned in advance, it is susceptible to interference from various variables such as the solar magnetic field, atmosphere, and weather conditions, so a persistent attitude is required.

“It looks like there’s interference.”

Cheon Yeong-jae and Ha Tae-hoon, who mainly dealt with radio, exchanged glances and guessed the situation.

Ha Tae-hoon opened his mouth while looking at me.

“Almost. They’ve built an iron wall around it with jamming signals.”

“It must be the work of the Legion Faction?”

“maybe.”

Since the radio was not working, I tried to find information in my own way.

But I can’t hear any information about Wonju.

It’s been like that since long ago.

Most of our bulletin board users live in the Seoul metropolitan area, and you can hardly find any users in the areas controlled by the military faction.

Well, there were a few before the war.

The problem is that more people die when war breaks out.

Still, I appealed to the fact that the newly arrived new users lived in the Legion faction controlled area and I secretly expected information from them.

It was around noon when the situation in Wonju became known.

“They advanced deep into the city, led by the Awakens disguised as refugees, and launched a powerful offensive inside and outside the city. There were so many corpses that even tanks and vehicles were running over them.”

According to a story told by Cheon Yeong-jae’s acquaintance, Wonju was destroyed to the point where the city’s functions were paralyzed.

“······Is this the Kyumon I saw in China?”

After ending the call, Cheon Yeong-jae looked at us with a tired face and said.

“There must be some who were educated in China. They are that faction after all.”

Ha Tae-hoon has a point, but I see beyond that.

“The original text was destroyed······.”

It’s not a matter of one city being destroyed and countless people dying.

The fact that Wonju was trampled by fanatics touches on a larger, more fundamental problem.

“The Legion Faction might disband.”

After General Kim Byeong-cheol’s ambitious plan to recapture Seoul virtually failed, the corps faction lost its leadership and became divided.

General Kim Byeong-cheol is still alive and well, but there are quite a few generals who are skeptical about him.

The fact that such an incident has occurred on top of the already suspicious leader means that it could lead to Kim Byeong-cheol’s downfall and even the dissolution of the military faction, which is no different from the disintegration and unification of several warlords.

“······Not good.”

Ha Tae-hoon muttered.

The same goes for Cheon Yeong-jae.

“I think we should bring more kids.”

He spoke of more proactive measures.

“Who do you plan on bringing?”

I asked Cheon Yeong-jae.

“Senior Bang Jae-hyuk.”

Was it the 15th generation?

You said you hurt your leg.

“My legs hurt, but I’m a great shooter.”

“Okay. Bring her when you get the chance.”

People are in a hurry.

The collapse of the Legion Faction means that the storm known as the Academy Hunter that swept over here once before could come again.

Besides, if the Legion faction is disbanded, it becomes tiring in many ways.

This means that the various warlords who were cosplaying as the military are revealing their true colors.

“Can you contact Hong Jeong-ho?”

I asked Cheon Yeong-jae about the Defender.

“No. I keep trying, but it doesn’t work.”

“······.”

“He was a strong guy, so he wouldn’t have died easily. If he were alive, I’d probably contact him at any time.”

I wish I could do that too.

But things aren’t that simple.

The Defender is a target that the fanatic has singled out and declared for execution.

This means that the chances of dying are that much higher than other people.

I admit that the Defender’s personal combat prowess is strong, but I know it’s average when it comes to fighting monsters.

Awakens above level 5, which are not much different from monsters, are not opponents that Defenders like.

Plus, Defender has the burden of a younger sibling.

In an environment where drones can be used as equipment, he is a top-notch talent, but as an individual, he is not a very trustworthy combatant.

“······.”

It’s frustrating, but for now, all I can do is wait.

Going to Wonju, which has become a battlefield, without knowing anything about it is too risky.

“How about taking a break? You haven’t slept all night.”

I’m not particularly tired.

I took caffeine capsules and was so focused that I had no chance of feeling drowsy.

But it’s better to sleep when you can.

After listening to Ha Tae-hoon’s advice, I went into the bunker.

I finally got to turn on the generator, turn on the air conditioner, and take a hot shower.

I went to the bulletin board before taking a short break.

Putting aside the new armband, I have to reply to Suu.

It was nice to see you after such a long time, but when I briefly saw Suu’s message, I felt a chill.

It’s obvious that he learned some strange things somewhere.

As expected.

COOKIERMONSTER18: Answer.

I learned something strange!

Where on earth did you learn this stuff?

Weren’t you at a US military camp?

While I was wondering what to say in response, the K-walkie-talkie suddenly rang.

Beep- beep- beep-

A familiar sound.

This is a call based on your personal identification number.

The sender has been confirmed.

Personal identification number: RED_MASK

This is Woo Min-hee.

Is this the first time we’ve contacted each other since going to Jeju?

Although her importance has diminished, she is still a leader of the powerful forces I know.

He cleared his throat and responded to the call.

“It’s been a while.”

As soon as I said my greeting, a shallow, windy laugh was heard from the other end of the phone.

“senior!”

This is Woo Min-hee.

Of all the people I know, only she has such a hoarse voice.

“How are you?”

By the way, what is the weather like these days?

Suddenly, a lot of people are contacting me one after another.

And not even during normal times, but at the most nerve-wracking moments.

I know that’s how things are with people, but I guess what’s good is good.

I emptied my mind and answered with an open mind.

“So-so.”

“You said you came back to your original place in Jeju?”

“I know right.”

“I got a call from Senior Na.”

“Oh, really?”

“My senior told me to help out if there was anything I could help with. So.”

“Huh. What kind of help do you plan on giving me?”

No need for people.

Of course, Woo Min-hee is included among those people.

Their Awaken group is a somewhat different group from us.

It’s because Cheon Yeong-jae is a special guy, so our old school hunters and Awaken can’t mix.

Whether low level or high level.

“Did you hear that something interesting happened in Wonju? It doesn’t seem to have been posted on the bulletin board yet.”

“You’re the one who uploaded it. You’re good at that kind of thing, aren’t you?”

“I’ve been pretty free lately. I’m thinking about enjoying the bulletin board life again.”

“okay?”

“Oh, and.”

Woo Min-hee’s voice has changed.

Perhaps the story that is coming out from now on is true.

“The lighthouse is out.”

As expected, this was the main thing.

“The people at the lighthouse?”

“We don’t know. All we know is that the lighthouse has been out of contact for a week. And there was a massive eruption.”

“That means······.”

“Yeah. Since there’s no lighthouse, we’ll just keep pushing south.”

They say that disasters come in pairs, and it is so indeed.

Even though the Legion was already on the verge of collapse, a large group of monsters came.

But this group of monsters will be different from before.

I saw a new species in Jeju.

All rifts spew out monsters that originate from the same world, and therefore they are identical.

There is a possibility that a new species, like the one I saw and killed, could appear on the Korean Peninsula.

These are already proven caterpillar type, murderous monsters that target humans themselves.

No, it would be more accurate to call it an extinct monster.

“Well, I don’t think we’ll get to the senior’s territory yet. There’s still quite a distance to go before we can be eroded to that extent. If we’re unlucky, we might be able to get to one of the giant bells.”

“······thanks.”

“No, this is all we have between us.”

I can hear Woo Min-hee chuckling.

“Anyway, keep in touch often. We’re neighbors again.”

“Oh. Okay.”

Communication was lost.

It was not a bad exchange.

I postponed my reply to Suu and turned back to my colleagues.

“What? A massive eruption?!”

“So that lighthouse, that attraction, has stopped operating? Does that mean the monsters are heading towards Seoul again?”

My colleagues’ reactions were as expected.

In particular, Cheon Yeong-jae showed a quick response.

“Senior Bang. I need to bring him here quickly. He’s definitely someone I can trust.”

He looked at me and said.

“Do so. We’ll prepare the seats and other necessary items when we get there. I agree that we need fighters.”

Actually, I wish there were two more.

It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while.

While quantitative expansion of combat power is important, we must at least maintain vigilance in terms of borders.

Even though there are machines, blind faith in them results in being killed without being able to do anything due to the betrayal of the machines.

I firmly believe that there are things that only humans can do.

The more people there are, the less burden there is on night watch.

I took a quick nap while Cheon Yeong-jae was planning to bring Bang Jae-hyeok to the outskirts of Seoul.

I woke up after sleeping for exactly 4 hours.

I still feel a little tired, but the fatigue has gone away.

The sun was pointing towards the center of the sky.

I logged onto the bulletin board before I got active again.

Now is the time to reply to Suu’s text.

“hmm?”

The bulletin board’s response is unusual.

Soon I discovered the cause.

ONE_FAITH : Execution.jpg

It was a collection of low quality photos.

There was no dialogue or content, but the photo was cut into short frames like an oriental painting, so when you quickly scrolled down, it gave the effect that the people in the video were actually moving.

In the photo that follows, four people are tied up and blindfolded.

A creepy figure wearing a white hood was holding a large axe.

He picked up an axe and started cutting down people one by one.

At the end of the photo, One Face added his own reply.

ONE_FAITH: Four murderers were captured and executed.

ONE_FAITH: Our pursuit never ends.

ONE_FAITH: Our faith is also unshakable.

“······.”

I rolled the mouse wheel again to look at the picture.

I have no interest in examining corpses closely.

Moreover, I have no interest in zooming in on the face of a corpse beheaded with an axe and looking at its grimacing expression.

What I want to check is the faces of the executed people.

Fortunately, the Defender was not among them.

That means he’s still alive.

I let out a sigh of relief, but my heart still felt heavy.

Cheon Yeong-jae and Ha Tae-hoon came into my bunker.

I’m reluctant to show my internet for privacy reasons, but I thought I should share the status of the bulletin board with them this time.

“Hey. This is exactly like what they used to do in China. Back then, what was that? Taktok? They made a big fuss with that. I still remember that video. They killed Chinese soldiers with chainsaws.”

“Is this the satellite internet? By the way. Those fanatic bastards. Why did you crawl all the way here and start talking nonsense?”

There is spare satellite equipment.

It might not be a bad idea to offer it to them this time.

The price is just to unconditionally press recommend on my posts?

It’s a reasonable deal.

however.

“hmm?”

There is a menu that I have never seen before in One Face’s articles.

A shape that represents deletion, marked with an “x”.

I clicked it once.

-Do you want to delete this post? (Administrator rights)

“!”

this.

Could this be a fraction of the armband authority that Vivabot mentioned earlier?

Yeah, let’s give it a try.

Click!

I tried pressing delete.

– The post has been deleted.

“what?!”

“How did you do it?”

Cheon Young-jae and Ha Tae-hoon, who were watching, ask in surprise.

Ha Tae-hoon, who seems to be better at using the internet than Cheon Yeong-jae, looks at me with wide eyes and asks.

“What? Park Gyu. You. Is this the armband?”

He nodded with a meaningful smile.

“······That’s what it looks like.”

By the way, it seems that my deletion has scratched the inside of my fanatic friend.

ONE_FAITH: Why is my post being deleted?

ONE_FAITH: Who is it? Who did this? Did someone hack it?

ONE_FAITH: Do you want to be executed?

He snorted.

This guy.

The internet is for beginners.