Hiding a House in the Apocalypse - Chapter 275



Only Krnovel

112. Faith (4)

There’s a note tucked between the plastic parts, next to my name.

I read it.

– There will be a red button painted with magic. Press it!

I pressed the button.

Then, the robot vacuum cleaner waited for a moment, then turned its body and headed toward the dark street.

Dalgrak- Dalgrak-

Although this is only a guess, it appears that this robot vacuum is not a drone.

It’s a kind of messenger that sends us coordinates by simply entering them into a robot vacuum cleaner that is literally nothing more than an appliance.

It is a choice made in recognition of the threat of drones being tracked.

I followed the vacuum cleaner as it quietly walked down the street.

The vacuum cleaner’s speed was fairly slow, no different from what we normally see, but it wasn’t a problem.

“Over there. And over there. There’s someone.”

Cheon Yeong-jae, with a gentle glare, pointed to a place where people were hiding in the quiet one-room street as if they were mice.

Some of them are places where I have confirmed my presence, but most of them are places where I have not noticed.

Since it is a residential area with people hiding everywhere, it is impossible to bypass the entire area like before.

I chose a route that was shielded from the windows where people were, while staying close to cover as much as possible.

Thanks to this, our forward speed was not much different from that of the vacuum cleaner.

The vacuum cleaner led us to a building that looked not much different from the one-room apartment buildings that are common everywhere.

[Royal Imperial Class Bestville]

“Wow.”

Cheon Yeong-jae let out a shallow exclamation when he saw the name of the building.

“What’s new?”

“That’s true. That’s what this country is like.”

The vacuum cleaner was headed to the back of the building.

Following the debris strewn with waste materials, I came across a doghouse.

The vacuum cleaner went into the dog house.

“No matter how much the world is ruined, will a robot vacuum cleaner go into a dog house?”

I looked into the doghouse while listening to Cheon Yeong-jae’s impressions.

It’s a dog house on the outside, but it’s completely renovated.

We made a crude ramp to make it easy for the vacuum cleaner to climb up, and we also paid attention to basic waterproofing to prepare for rain as well as providing a charger for the vacuum cleaner.

Next to the vacuum cleaner, a small drone was placed on a stand, seemingly a last resort in case the vacuum cleaner became unusable.

Attached to the drone was a note written in magic ink that said “Underground.”

“It looks like you came to the right place.”

I looked around.

There are at least five buildings within a 150m radius where the person Cheon Yeong-jae pointed out was hiding.

Even more than two of them are within 80m.

Everyone is living on the road side, so there won’t be anyone who can observe us from the back of the studio apartments, but they’ll probably hear us.

Cheon Yeong-jae went down to the basement while watching the net.

There is no sound beyond the basement.

This is a defender-like attitude.

I sense a strong will to never reveal myself until my identity is clearly confirmed.

You must have waited a long time.

He said, knocking on the door.

“grow.”

There is no answer inside.

He added one more thing.

“It’s a skeleton.”

Only then did I hear a sigh of relief from beyond the door.

“Skeleton.”

“Skeleton! You came!”

Both the Defender and the Defender’s younger brother are safe.

I looked toward the door.

Indeed, part of the door was firmly twisted.

It’s not like you can open a lock by breaking it with a gun.

“This won’t work with Paruro, right?”

I also brought a crowbar called a Parura and a welding machine.

I would have liked to have been able to open it with a hammer if possible, but given the Defender’s thorough nature, I guess I’ll have to use a welder.

I unpacked my backpack on the stairs and took out the welder.

“It looks like the radio is being tapped too?”

I spoke through the closed door as I set up my portable welder.

“Oh. I saw you wiretapping, and electronic warfare was still at the pre-war level.”

The defender answered,

“Drones are similar. The moment they are launched, they are immediately inspected.”

Defender’s brother continued.

“What happened? I see soldiers killing each other.”

I asked for a brief summary of the situation.

“It must be Lieutenant General Pyo Du-won. That man was openly saying that he would kill General Kim Byeong-cheol. Maybe he was the one who conspired with the fanatic.”

“Is it just fanatics and soldiers?”

Although it is said to have been destroyed, the remnants of prosperity that remain in the city make it unlikely that there will be zombies or mutations.

What I want to ask is.

“What about the monster?”

“I don’t know. I’ve felt the waves many times. I don’t know if it’s the monster’s or the fanatic’s.”

“You said there was an outlet?”

“Over there. Remove the road signs that are upside down.”

I tried plugging in the portable welding machine outlet.

The lights come on exactly.

“What power is left?”

“It must have been really cool. I barely used electricity since I was locked in here.”

“I see.”

The conditions are met.

Just open the door with a welder.

I started cutting it as is.

Phagejijik-

Although it is said to be portable, it is a high-performance welder with an output current of up to 150A.

however.

Thud!

Suddenly the welder turned off.

To be exact, the power to the inverter connected to the welding machine went out.

I immediately checked the condition of the welder with an electrician.

It’s not the welder’s problem.

It seems that the remaining power in the building that the Defender had guaranteed was running low.

Defender also knew that fact and opened his mouth.

“I think we need to turn the generator back on.”

But that doesn’t work.

In this one-room village, only complete silence flows.

The silence was so loud that even the smallest sound could be heard, but it was mixed with the fear of the people who were hiding, and it came across as eerie enough to make you shiver even in the middle of a summer night.

If you start welding here, you will hear it in all directions.

It is said that this has reached the ears of the soldiers who have taken control of the street.

The problem is that the current form of fighting surrounding the city is a mopping-up battle.

If there’s a loud noise, the execution squad will definitely come.

“Are there any other chargers?”

“This is the last one.”

“It is dangerous to turn the generator.”

“Really? There won’t be anyone around.”

“No, surprisingly, there are many. Cheon Yeong-jae came with us.”

“Was that Youngjae’s voice?”

We confirmed the survival of the Defender siblings, but it was a mountain beyond a mountain.

Defender’s personality, which demands excessive perfection, caused a disruption in the plan.

“Isn’t there another exit?”

“There is a ventilation hole.”

“Can’t you come out there?”

“It might be okay for a cat, but it’s too wide for a person to get in and out.”

The door suddenly shook.

Squeak– squeak—

Metal meets metal, making a terrible noise.

It looks like the Defender is trying to open it from the inside.

“stop.”

Said to the defender.

“Let’s find another way.”

“······okay.”

That’s what I said, but there’s no real solution.

I think it would be good for Cheon Yeong-jae and I to bump into each other’s bodies.

Even if you make noise, if it’s loud all at once, it can somehow be buried as a coincidence.

As my worries deepened, a gunshot rang out.

Bang! Tata ta tang!

It’s a sound coming from nearby.

I climbed the stairs and looked towards Cheon Yeong-jae.

Cheon Yeong-jae was already looking at the place where the gunshots were coming from with his eyes shining softly.

“I can’t see very well. I can’t tell them apart. But there are at least several of them.”

Gunshots continued to ring out.

This is no ordinary gunshot.

There is also the sound of gunfire in return.

But the gunshot that responded was…

Kwaaang!

I am helplessly buried in the merciless cannon fire.

“It’s a tank.”

Cheon Yeong-jae said.

“I know.”

I even know what kind of tank it is.

K-4B special specification tank.

Although it has the number 4, it is actually a so-called “dumb tank” with the turret and barrel of the outdated M48 Patton tank reinforced for low penetration, low firepower, and reinforced frontal armor.

It was made based on the extremely simple principle that objects reflected by the reflective field are honestly reflected in the opposite direction. Although it is an old-fashioned tank, it has achieved quite good results against monsters.

In modern tank warfare, where monsters abound, it is nothing more than a moving coffin, but against infantry without anti-tank firepower, it can show an overwhelming difference in power as in the days when tanks dominated warfare.

Boom-! Kwakwakwak!

“It’s a high explosive bomb.”

The dumb tank only uses penetrating shells.

This is because it can protect against reflected shells with less risk.

There is one reason for using high explosive bombs that are not even in the regulations.

From the beginning, they brought tanks for street fighting, and that too to kill people.

In order to completely destroy the troops occupying the building.

Bang! Tata tata!

The gunfire grows stronger.

And the sound of gunfire is also getting closer.

Cheon Yeong-jae turned his head towards me.

“Senior Park. This is······.”

“okay.”

The clean-up battle has begun.

Right here, heading towards the one-room village.

When you see things like this, everything is two-faced.

The rescue was delayed due to the Defender’s excessive measures, but conversely, if we had arrived later, those excessive measures might have saved the Defender siblings.

Boom! Boom!

This is especially true when you see soldiers kicking down doors everywhere.

“What should we do? Should we withdraw for now?”

Cheon Yeong-jae asks.

Very rarely, this guy’s eyes turn challenging.

Now is the moment.

Cheon Yeong-jae, who pretends to be easygoing but is clearly a skilled person, looks at me with these eyes at every crucial moment.

As if he was testing my leadership skills.

I don’t know about Cheon Yeong-jae, but this Park Gyu has been challenged like that thousands of times.

Professor.

That’s what it’s like to live at the pinnacle of old-school hunters.

He is always the subject of jealousy and surveillance from his younger, smarter and more talented friends.

“······no.”

He answered calmly.

“then?”

“The generator starts to operate in response to gunfire and cannon fire.”

I sent a signal to Cheon Yeong-jae.

It means to stand guard.

Cheon Yeong-jae nodded his head with a faint smile on his face as he returned to his seat.

I don’t agree with that.

It means we’ll just wait and see.

“······.”

I picked up a welding machine.

And wait.

Tata tata tang!

The moment when the footsteps of a beast, the sound of gunfire, get closer and closer.

“Turn the generator on!”

Wheeeeeeeeee—!!

The sound of a makeshift generator inside the building spinning powerfully can be heard along with the command.

The sound is connected to a force that once moved the world.

Phagec!

The welder is back.

I put on my sunglasses and resumed cutting, feeling the blinding flash of light leaving bright marks in my vision.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee—

The generator makes even louder noise due to the enormous power consumption,

Boom!

The roar of the tanks covers everything.

In the afterglow of the gunfire, I silently split the dented iron gate that separated us from the Defenders.

Clank!

The collision section was dismantled.

I tried shaking the door.

It’s shaking.

The door that seemed as if it would never move finally began to shake.

“Cheon Yeong-jae.”

“yeah-!”

“Let’s push forward.”

“Good.”

After stepping back with Cheon Yeong-jae, he simultaneously rushed towards the shaking door.

thud!

The door rattles loudly.

But it hasn’t opened yet.

Tried again.

thud!

The door opened.

In the darkness, thick with a faint stench, faces we hadn’t seen for a long time were watching us.

“Skeleton.”

Defender.

“Skeleton!”

And affection.

The Defender doesn’t look much different than the previous picture, but Da-jeong’s face has become quite gaunt.

He looked at her and asked cautiously.

“Are you feeling okay?”

“Yeah. I’m fine! Don’t worry.”

I turned my head away from her gaze, which was becoming wet with tears.

“How much luggage do you have?”

Defender carried a backpack he had prepared in advance, and Da-jeong carried a light bag.

I couldn’t help but laugh as I looked at the obelisk sticking out from the Defender bag.

As expected, our bulletin board friends are bulletin board friends.

“We leave right here.”

“Okay. Let’s do that.”

Meanwhile, the battle for elimination continues.

Bang! Tata ta tang!

The soldiers are coming closer.

Also the tank.

Just as the Chinese army did to their cities, the legionnaires are trying to obliterate entire cities, building by building, room by room.

“I can see it now! It’s so close! This is fucking crazy.”

Cheon Yeong-jae’s voice is heard.

“There are enemies everywhere!”

“Not everywhere, right?”

To be precise, there is a way out.

This is the southwest direction we came from.

But the road doesn’t always lead southwest, and the bullets travel far.

“Hey, senior.”

I turned on the radio for the first time in a long time.

“Uh. Park Gyu.”

“VIP secured. We will be leaving now, so please request drone support.”

“Rager.”

It’s escape time.

He took the lead with Cheon Yeong-jae and paved the way.

I can see a face peeking out the window.

It looks like one of the survivors we passed by earlier.

The defender is about to aim his gun.

“Just pretending.”

There is no need to kill them.

But I didn’t have any hope.

Defender is originally that kind of person.

The expected gunshot did not ring out.

I looked back at the Defender.

When our eyes met, he smiled faintly.

“Just pretending?”

Things have changed.

This guy too.

I felt that even a cold-hearted person who justified everything for his own survival could change.

There must have been countless experiences that I don’t know about that have changed him.

It won’t be a negative change.

Thinking so, I hurried on my way.

“Over there!”

The soldiers’ shouts are heard.

Bang! Tata ta tang!

The gunshots are getting closer.

There is only one thing we can believe in.

“Change course. To the east. There are soldiers coming from across the street.”

This is Ha Tae-hoon’s drone.

A drone perched high above us reported the enemy’s location to us through thermal imaging equipment.

I followed Ha Tae-hoon’s instructions and escaped the maze-like streets.

but.

Bang! Bang!

The gunshots are getting closer.

They’re not chasing us.

The number of soldiers participating in the mop-up battle simply increased.

But if things continue like this, it’s only a matter of time before we get caught.

To make matters worse, it appears that Ha Tae-hoon’s drone has also been captured.

“Damn. There’s an anti-aircraft vehicle coming our way.”

“Anti-aircraft vehicle?”

“A guy with four M60 machine guns tied together. He may look weak, but once he finds the location, he can destroy most things.”

If things continue like this, I won’t be able to receive Ha Tae-hoon’s support.

“······.”

There is only one answer.

Break through by force.

“Jim, can you give up?”

I asked the defender.

“us?”

“Take care of your little brother instead.”

Break through one axis of the encirclement and charge forward with full force.

First, you just need to go to where the vehicle is.

It’s possible they’ll deploy a helicopter, but would they really do that?

While Defender was unloading, he discussed the plan with Cheon Yeong-jae.

“That one is the thinnest.”

Cheon Yeong-jae pointed to the east.

A map was automatically drawn in my head.

“There’s a two-lane road around the corner.”

There is nothing more foolish than fighting against elite soldiers.

But if two elite hunters make a surprise attack, they could wipe out a squad in an instant.

“Park Gyu.”

While I was moving the spare magazine into a pocket within easy reach, Ha Tae-hoon contacted me.

“I’m listening.”

“I just heard a transmission on the radio.”

“short.”

“It looks like a monster has appeared.”

“Monster?”

As soon as he finished speaking, a familiar nightmare sound was heard from the northwest.

thud!

Shock wave.

It’s the monster’s heartbeat.

“Retreat! Retreat!”

At the same time, beyond that, I could hear the voices of the soldiers we were planning to surprise attack.

The sound of several busy footsteps can also be heard receding into the distance.

“You have to live long to see this.”

Cheon Yeong-jae smiled faintly.

“I never thought a monster would become my savior.”

I corrected him.

“That monster will eventually try to kill us too.”

Monsters and benefactors are concepts that cannot coexist.

Because monsters are beings that cannot coexist with humans.

Bang! Tata tang!

Gunfire is heard from the northwest.

“Let’s move quickly, Senior. Do you have the drone up yet?”

“Hey, Park Gyu.”

Ha Tae-hoon’s voice is shaking slightly.

I waited for his next words, feeling a bad feeling.

Even before Ha Tae-hoon’s answer resonated, we could tell the signs that were making Ha Tae-hoon tremble.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Multiple shock waves.

I thought for a moment.

Rather than a monster, isn’t this something that resembles a human?

“It’s a fanatic! A fanatic is heading straight for you!”

At that moment, my eyes and the Defender’s met straight ahead.

It wasn’t my intention, but it couldn’t be helped.

Than his karma.