Hiding a House in the Apocalypse - Chapter 298



Only Krnovel

119. Tools (5)

When someone we knew better than anyone else – our parents, siblings, friends – and whom we had no doubt would never change, turns out to be a completely different person, someone we don’t know about. How should we view that person?

“Ugh······. Yes. Yes. Hwang Jang-wook. The 30 million won you borrowed from me. You still haven’t paid it back. I don’t want to go through a lawsuit anymore. Just looking at the courthouse makes me sick.”

“The results of the research on cracks have been continuously updated even after the war. For now, our predictions were right. Stains, diseases, and boils. Gomtang. I want to eat gomtang. Pour a lot of radish kimchi soup into the pot that has been boiling.”

“My daughter hasn’t taken the CSAT yet. Why doesn’t she show her nose? I’m the father. She’s always like that. She only takes her mother’s side. She’s wearing everything I bought from head to toe with the money I earned.”

It didn’t take long for Jang Ki-young to figure out that he was crazy.

He is not the Jang Gi-yeong I knew.

Just as his appearance had turned into a zombie, his insides were sick and corrupted.

He is already crazy and beyond recovery.

“let’s go.”

As a team leader, one of my greatest virtues is quick decision-making.

“What? Already?”

The defender who was standing guard at the door reacted in surprise.

He answered while glancing at Jang Gi-yeong out of the corner of his eye.

“He is already finished.”

“I understand that.”

“Why? Do you have any opinions?”

I stood outside the warehouse in place of the Defender, keeping watch over the surroundings and waiting for the Defender to speak.

The Defender took a moment to gather his thoughts before opening his mouth.

“I thought it might be too hasty.”

“That may be true. But when you look at it, do you think that person has a chance of recovery?”

“Well, I don’t know. I’m not a doctor. But still, aren’t you my teacher?”

As the conversation continued, a bitter smile suddenly appeared on his face.

I feel like the opposite.

When you see Defender, a psychopath acknowledged by the community, having a conversation with Lee Skeleton, a user who seems like a normal person and has power, you get the impression that he is a psychopath.

“How about giving it a little more time?”

Defender offered his opinion.

“I know he’s weird, but at least I recognize your voice, right?”

“Does that matter?”

“huh.”

The defender nodded.

“My grandfather couldn’t even do that. He didn’t even recognize his children or grandchildren when they came.”

I accidentally learned another piece of Defender’s family history.

“At least you’re making something?”

The defender stared at Jang Gi-yeong with indifferent eyes.

I was able to read Defender’s emotions to some extent from the way he looked at Jang Gi-yeong.

Defender isn’t worried about Jang Ki-young.

Jang Ki-young’s fate is not much different from what he felt towards someone who intruded into his territory.

The one the Defender is worried about is me.

He was worried that I would end a relationship after walking a long and dangerous path all the way here, and he was asking me to give him more time because he was worried that I would end a relationship that would last less than a minute.

If only to avoid any regrets I may have later.

I looked at Jang Gi-yeong, feeling a little grateful for his kindness.

He’s still tinkering with things.

I don’t want to know what’s being made.

It’s probably just a bunch of junk that embodies some old-fashioned fantasy, like the Bona Mana Rocket Axe.

As I stood there silently, the defender approached Jang Gi-yeong.

“Principal! How long will it take?”

As a psychopath, Defender can act as a cheerful young man whenever he wants.

“Yes? Principal. What are you making~?”

Jang Ki-young, who seemed like he wouldn’t react, suddenly answered.

“Who are you? Hong Jeong-ho?”

The defender looked back at me with a surprised expression.

It’s hard to believe that he remembers his own name.

“Yes! It’s Hong Jeong-ho.”

“Wait an hour. The parts are all made, now we just need to assemble them.”

The defender whispered to me.

“I’ll go and take a quick look at what you’re making.”

While I was standing guard, the Defender glanced at the front of the workbench where Jang Gi-yeong was standing with his back turned, then turned back to me.

“I don’t know what it is.”

“Isn’t that like a powered suit? The ones American kids wear.”

“No, that’s not it. What should I say? Why don’t you just see it for yourself?”

“How can I know something that you don’t even know?”

“Maybe so.”

“How long do you think it will take?”

I can’t wait long.

As Jang Gi-yeong said, if it takes an hour, I think that’s a long time.

“Just wait a minute. It’s almost done! It’s almost done!”

There is another problem.

Jang Gi-yeong has dabbled in so many different fields that he is like licorice, but he doesn’t really know anything.

This is the so-called shallow but broad type.

Considering that most of that knowledge comes from the Internet, it’s unlikely that a zombie in the guise of my mentor would come up with a proper result by touching the machine.

but.

“This is something incredible. This will be a historic discovery. This will change the paradox!”

A fragment of the Master, which is nothing more than an echo, is so excited.

“Professor! Wait! It’s a specially tailored piece of equipment that can kill general types! Just wait and see. Kang Han-min. That monster-like guy keeps talking about being the best, but it was always the Professor who was the best! It was my disciple, the Professor!”

I thought about it for a moment.

“······.”

I guess I’ve become weak-hearted too.

If it were a country of the past, it would seem impossible.

I can feel a sense of duty rising deep in my heart to at least see the results.

“Isn’t that a paradigm?”

He spoke to Defender, who was looking at Jang Ki-young with a bitter smile.

“good.”

“Have you changed your mind?”

“Oh. Since it has come to this, let’s wait until the officer’s work is completed.”

And so the endless wait began.

Rumble! Boom! Boom!

Jang Gi-yeong worked tirelessly, pounding and fitting together piles of scrap metal.

Defender occasionally went forward to check the results, and every time he came to me, he gave me a puzzled look as if he didn’t know what to do.

An hour passed quickly in anxiety.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Jang Ki-young’s hammering doesn’t stop and shows no signs of stopping.

The Defender spoke with a friendly tone.

“When will it be over, Principal?”

Jang Gi-yeong responded curtly, hitting the scrap metal with the hammer again.

“You said one hour?”

As expected, it was a vain belief.

Only then did the Defender seem to realize the reality.

When I see the once cheerful expression freeze into a cold one.

“I think it’s a bit strange?”

Things have changed.

Now it looks like the Defender wants to leave here.

That’s right.

I’ve been in this danger zone for quite some time.

We’re not under threat from zombies or cultists, but zombies are everywhere and the cultists know we’re here.

There is no benefit to be gained by wasting time.

however.

“Instructor.”

I don’t know either.

“Why? Park Gyu? Have you tried the Karakol tactic I sent you by email? It’s a strategy that works well against the dancer type you’re having trouble with.”

“It was a very good tactic.”

Why am I like this?

“Really? Of course. Of course. It’s the tactic I planned and you carried it out!”

He is not in his right mind.

I’ve never seen anything like the Karakol tactic, so I’ve never used it.

I asked, feeling the edge of my heart being cut away.

“······How much time is left until the work is finished?”

Jang Gi-yeong looked at his wristwatch.

“30 minutes. 30 minutes is enough! Just watch TV and wait.”

As Jang Gi-yeong turned on the remote control, a TV with a long antenna line hanging from a corner of the warehouse turned on.

Jang Ki-young said something while watching TV.

“What? Pickle is still active. He used to dance and sing when I was young. These days, it seems like his age is not his age.”

I already felt like it was all over, but that scene literally drove the wedge in.

All we can see on the old TV where Jang Ki-young watched the singer is an endless, sizzling, gray-white noise.

“······.”

I will correct it.

Jang Ki-young is not crazy.

Because that’s not even Jang Ki-young.

The twisted corpse now babbling in front of me is the remnant of my teacher, Jang Gi-yeong.

The story is that a broken phonograph is nothing more than playing the sound of a record that has been recorded over and over again.

The defender muttered.

“You were right. I should have left here from the beginning.”

It’s a belated realization.

Bang! Bang!

A gunshot rang out not far away.

We and the fanatics are the only ones with guns around here.

Beep beep beep—-

The sound of a whistle.

and.

“Over there! They’re hiding over there!”

The cry of a fanatic.

They found us.

They know our exact location and are tracking it.

“What should I do?”

The Defender asks, wiping the dagger on his sleeve.

“······.”

well.

There is no silver bullet.

The first thing that comes to mind is the easiest method.

That is, run away and distance yourself from the fanatics.

That’s not as easy as it sounds.

In these ruins, our enemies are not only fanatics.

Zombies, mutations, monsters.

There are plenty of enemies who don’t like humans.

furthermore.

Beep be …

A whistle blew from the other side.

The whistle was a signal to call reinforcements.

“How many fanatics were there here back in the old days of the Legion?”

“Even if it wasn’t possible, there would have been more than a hundred.”

“I see.”

It looks like we’re surrounded.

Defender’s curiosity was the trigger, and my foolishness solidified the crisis.

Even though the situation is going so desperately, my teacher is still happy.

“Look at this spray nozzle. Isn’t it shiny and cool? But if you were to compare it to a knife, it’s just the handle. A truly sharp blade is the pinnacle of modern chemistry. A trick that even monsters can’t do anything about!”

He’s pounding the hammer with excitement.

The voices of fanatics could be heard from beyond the entrance.

It’s right in front.

“Hey. Those little rats. Are they in the zombie warehouse?”

“A zombie warehouse? Really?”

“Yes. Dong-cheol is watching. There are three of them in there, including the zombie.”

The fanatics seem to call my master a zombie.

Having lived in the eroded zone for a long time, you probably know about zombies that retain some degree of reason.

Then footsteps are heard.

I vaguely estimated the number by following the trajectory of the footsteps.

“At least ten people.”

“There’s a good path behind the warehouse.”

“okay?”

“I’ll come back and see you again.”

The Defender is back.

“There are no enemies. It seems like a path that even they don’t know about. It’s difficult for people to pass through. If you don’t get caught while climbing, it’s worth a try.”

I followed the Defender to the back of the warehouse.

As I passed the master, I glanced at the object he was making.

“?”

What is that?

Every time the Defender comes, I tilt my head.

Seriously, I don’t know what it is.

What kind of thing is it, and what is it intended to be used for?

All I could see was two metal cylinders connected together.

“Just wait a moment.”

Even in the midst of all this, my teacher gives me a creepy smile.

“Professor.”

“······.”

I checked the back of the warehouse with the Defender.

There is indeed a way.

It was a very dangerous path, climbing up the remains of a half-collapsed building on a slope, but that also gave me the confidence that no fanatic could know about it.

“Shall we go?”

The defender said.

It’s right to go.

That’s what I tried to do.

Until we hear the fanatic’s next voice.

“Let’s kill him together with the zombie.”

For a moment I stopped.

I stood there and replayed what they had said.

“······.”

They said.

They said they were harming my teacher.

In a sense, it may be absurd to kill my teacher who is already dead, but those fanatics were talking in front of me about how they would destroy my mentor.

I can hear the fanatic’s conversation.

“According to the communication, the jiangshi is a being who has seen the truth, standing on the border between life and death. In a broad sense, he is a comrade who shares the same beliefs as us. Isn’t that why we have left that jiangshi alone until now?”

“That zombie anyway. He doesn’t even cooperate with us. He ignored us even after seeing the truth.”

“Because that zombie’s mind is still not in its right mind.”

“It’s cosplay. That kid. He’s just acting crazy because he doesn’t want to cooperate with us. Gil-wan saw it too, right? That zombie kid was talking to a rival like no other and even making a deal.”

There seems to be some disagreement.

But the differences were soon narrowed.

“It was already annoying, but now that it’s come to this, there’s no need to forgive me.”

I can hear the fanatics moving.

They decided.

Let’s handle my gift together.

“let’s go.”

The defender walked towards the back.

As I said before, the plan is to escape through the back of the warehouse.

But I didn’t move.

The defender who had gone ahead looked back at me with a look of slight bewilderment.

“Skeleton?”

“······.”

“What happened?”

“You go first.”

“What are you talking about?”

I sighed and looked back.

There is my transformed teacher, still innocently absorbed in his work.

“······well.”

I can’t leave him behind.

At least,

“I’ll go and see Instructor Jang Gi-yeong’s finished product.”

“No, you said you were just going to ignore me earlier? Why did you suddenly change your mind?”

Defender questions me with a slightly excited tone, but he knows me well.

Soon the Defender read the determination on my face.

“······really.”

He burst out laughing.

“You always seem cool, but sometimes you have a weird side.”

The Defender is back.

He looks at him quietly and says with a sly smile.

“I can’t help it, right?”

Looks like he wants to come with me.

It seems to suit my stubbornness.

“There’s no need to force it. This is a problem between me and Jang Ki-young.”

“I owe you my life many times. Not just mine, but my brother’s too. Well, even if we die here, there are still those who are left. I’m saying that we can close our eyes more comfortably than before.”

The meaning of defender is stubborn.

There is no need to reject his kindness.

“······thanks.”

After a brief thank you, I immediately told him my plans.

“They don’t know who we are. Whether we’re Huntington soldiers, scavengers, or just residents.”

“Are you saying that we are misjudging our fighting power?”

“Knowing our numbers will only make them less cautious.”

As Defender knows, fanatics are mostly untrained, fanatical civilians.

Therefore, they are weak to shock and ignorant of tactics.

As with any untrained group, they can easily collapse if they sustain a lot of damage in a short period of time.

We will try to draw you in as much as possible and inflict maximum damage.

The more fatal the damage, the more time you can buy.

If everything goes according to plan, it may actually increase your chances of survival compared to running away.

We have to keep in mind that even if we escape by back roads, we will be tracked by those with sensory abilities.

Anyway, we are standing on the edge of a cliff, captured by a fanatic.

Jeokbuk-

The fanatics are coming.

I held the mirror out at an angle to check their appearance.

Five people.

But they come together.

“Don’t shoot.”

There is one over 5 level Awaken mixed in.

It is unclear who it is.

The two eyes are shining softly.

I examined the weapon.

One man with a glare in his eyes was holding a domestically produced submachine gun, while the rest were holding cold weapons, and those that didn’t have blades.

Wood, aluminum bats, chains, and even knuckles.

Are you planning on capturing him alive?

He chuckled.

What an impudent choice.

Sent a signal to the defender.

The defender nodded and stood behind the warehouse.

Srrrrung-

He pulled out the axe with one hand.

“······.”

There will be a price to pay.