Hiding a House in the Apocalypse - Chapter 305



Only Krnovel

123. Message from the Dead (1)

Early in the morning, I suddenly received a call from Woo Min-hee.

“Hello, senior. I have something special to tell you today.”

She contacted us out of the blue and gave us some unexpected information.

“Another severe cold wave is expected this winter. I don’t know the exact reason, but according to European sources, there’s an opinion that it might be related to the rift that occurred in the North Pole. Huh? Why are you suddenly giving me this information? I don’t want my senior to freeze to death before me, right?”

Woo Min-hee’s forecast may be wrong.

But we know the horrors of winter.

At least in South Korea, cold waves have killed more people than war.

To be precise, the war destroyed the infrastructure, and the people living on top of that destroyed infrastructure could not survive the winter.

The season is now passing summer and entering fall.

The weather during the day feels no different from summer, but the approach of fall can be seen in the subtle but definite changes nature is showing here and there.

Thanks to Melon Mask’s creation of the integrated popular post bulletin board – Global! Apocalypse!, users from all over the world who had been separated from each other until now can now interact more conveniently and actively.

Amidst this positive change, we have seen similar information posted to what Woo Min-hee had told me.

The author, one of the few survivors living in the devastated Netherlands, shared with us the photos he had obtained by chance from a satellite control center.

LLM_Nibbixwoud: There’s definitely something wrong with the Arctic. I’m not an expert so I don’t know for sure, but look. This isn’t the Arctic we know. Something’s going on. Things we can’t imagine.

The North Pole in the satellite photos he released was covered in thick clouds reminiscent of fog.

For some reason, the ashen fog felt similar to what I had seen in Jeju.

LLM_Nibbixwoud: You know, before the war, one of our main topics was global warming. It was obvious that the Earth’s temperature was rising due to excessive human activities, but it doesn’t make sense that the Earth’s temperature would plummet due to mere human nuclear weapons, right?

His opinions drew attention and response from many users.

Everyone suffered greatly during the winter.

However, the author was unable to give an adequate answer to the question of whether changes in the Arctic were causing the extreme cold waves that have been repeated over the past two years.

Proving a connection between the fog in the Arctic and the current climate change may not seem easy, but there have been more than a few obviously malicious counterarguments.

In particular, the Dutch user’s comments were fiercely criticized by those who identified with global warming to the point of paranoia.

According to them, even the current cold wave is just one of the phenomena of global warming.

I have neither knowledge nor interest in meteorology.

To me, weather meant little more than tactical data that our specialized departments provided us with.

But as for the indiscriminate criticism poured on my Dutch friend, well, I don’t know.

At the moment when the cracks opened, we saw the things we had been proud of and believed in so unquestionably become so easily neutralized and lose their meaning.

I trust what that Dutch user said.

The cold wave will repeat itself.

Our group’s preparedness for the coming cold spell is not bad.

We have enough food and equipment, and we have information that summer is ending and fall is approaching, so we have plenty of time to prepare for the cold spell.

But is that enough?

So, is it enough for Viva! Apocalypse! users to know this information?

We knew from the moment we signed the contract and paid our monthly dues that Viva! Apocalypse!’s purpose was to be a networking tool for the doomsday people.

In fact, the mortality rate of our Vivarians is significantly lower than that of non-Vivarians.

Even in times of destruction, the importance of information cannot be ignored.

When I was deciding on the location of the bunker, I chose a place that was appropriately far from Seoul, so that I could be informed in advance of the dangers that individuals could not deal with.

Up until now, I’ve been struggling to survive on my own and thought that was enough.

But seeing the number of people gradually decrease and the empty seats left by those people increase was not a very pleasant experience.

We need people. We need people like us, people who can communicate and interact.

This change of thinking will be the greatest shift in my thinking compared to before the apocalypse.

SKELTON: (Skeleton suggestion) If the cold wave comes again this time, how about we let people know about it?

For the first time in a while, I have posted a constructive opinion on the bulletin board.

As always, there was no particular response to my writing.

The only articles I’ve written are mostly complaints from users I don’t know.

Anonymous1883: What’s the point of telling me? Just let me freeze to death. Let’s keep it between us, lol

Even though he is obviously a guy who killed existing users and stole their equipment, for some reason he seems to have a sense of superiority in that regard.

Do you think that just by logging onto our bulletin board you are special?

Rather, it was the Oldbees on our bulletin board who responded positively to my suggestion.

But this kid.

Foxgames: I wholeheartedly agree with Skeleton! Although I don’t know if the cold spell will come or not, I think we all need to work together and actively spread the word about this to others.

Didn’t you block me?

What on earth are you planning?

Well, it’s obvious what that raccoon-like guy’s intentions are.

Since his reputation is getting worse these days, he must be trying to pretend to do something good for his clever public opinion management.

I thought about deleting the comment for about 3 seconds, then decided to leave it alone.

Whatever the intention, what you said is true.

I want as many people as possible to survive this winter.

The problem is the way it is transmitted.

The only means of communication we have now are K-walkie-talkies, Defender’s wireless equipment, and satellite internet.

The walkie-talkie that goes to Jeju Island is out of the question.

After all, it’s not a means of communication that we use freely.

It is not easy to spread the information we have to others who are far away.

The ideal form of information dissemination, I thought, would be for Viva! Apocalypse! users in each region to take the initiative and directly inform people within the range of the public frequency that a cold wave is coming.

You could call it a chain of good influence.

Of course, I know that my thoughts are like those of someone who has cultivated a flower garden in his head.

If you try to do something good, you could get detected and lose your bunker, and even your life.

This is the reason why he has the ability to post more than 10 comments per second, but is reluctant to do so.

Feeling frustrated, I went to the English bulletin board to ask for advice.

The English bulletin board has many more users and people than we do, so there are more capable people.

I posted the following text using the automatic translation function.

SKELTON: (Skeleton questions) Shouldn’t we be the only ones who know that a cold wave is coming?

Since it’s my characteristic to not respond to comments often, I didn’t expect comments to be posted so quickly, but surprisingly, comments were posted quickly.

GeraldOx992: I know everything, what are you talking about?

I immediately replied to that comment.

SKELTON: (Skeleton confused) What?

It was a foolish question and a wise answer.

GeraldOx992: Don’t you know Necropolis?

Yes, that’s right.

In North America, there is a network for everyone called Necropolis.

I’ve always thought about it, but because I wasn’t used to it, I couldn’t think of it right away.

The problem is that Necropolis is only available in North America.

The saving hand of Necropolis has not yet reached Korea.

We have to use another method.

I asked the question again on the English bulletin board.

SKELTON: (Skeleton questions) This is Korea, and there are no necropolises in Korea. How can I let others know that a cold wave is coming?

There was no reply to that post, as if it were a given.

*

The Internet is important, but more important is the reality we face every day.

In preparation for the coming winter, we are focusing on securing food.

The only food we can secure right now is rice that I planted and grew myself.

There have been several crises, but the rice plants that I planted and grew by plowing the land myself are now standing proudly among the surrounding weeds and are now preparing to bow their heads.

I looked back at the rice fields ripening into a golden color with Cheon Yeong-jae.

“Wow. This is pretty serious. How did you make it?”

It’s not that much.

At this point in time, with the population growing, it is not enough to feed the entire population of our area.

It is the amount that can be consumed in just a few days by eating it as a special meal.

But a bowl of freshly harvested, warm rice will instill in its members more than just nutrition.

It’s natural for every Korean person to have a longing for rice.

There are two main things that are important when it comes to winter.

Food to last through the winter, and firewood to warm your body.

Although firewood is more important, the two should be considered almost as one.

In fact, our food situation is quite abundant.

There is enough to last not only this winter but also next winter.

The amount I had already stockpiled was a lot, but the amount the new family members brought was also considerable.

Even Cheon Yeong-jae, who came with only a backpack, whined that most of the things in his backpack were food.

Among our members, the Defender siblings are the ones with the lowest food needs, but since they have a different way of thinking than us, where they can just raid other people’s homes or kill others to steal food, the current food shortage may not be a big problem for them.

Where is it that they don’t eat people?

Anyway, even if there is an abundance of food right now, I think it would be better to leave preserved food as a last resort if possible.

The food I’m thinking of right now is pemmican.

I plan to buy meat and make preserved food to survive the winter.

Although the flavoring, like cranberries, was lacking, my appetite increased as much as the cranberries that fell.

This means that you can tolerate a slightly strong meaty smell.

“I can’t see it yet.”

Hong Da-jeong’s drone is floating in the sky.

She’s not very productive at all except for piloting drones, so I have to make her do something like this.

This is in stark contrast to Bang Jae-hyeok’s mother, with whom she does not have a good relationship, who works tirelessly to improve our quality of life with small agricultural products and side dishes.

When Bang Jae-hyuk’s mother first came to our realm, I thought she was just a burden that her son had brought with him, but when I look at her innate sincerity and the changes that came with it, it seems like she was a set that Bang Jae-hyuk had brought with him.

Anyway, what Hong Da-jeong is currently looking for with the drone is a mutation.

Eating mutations during the early stages of the war was unthinkable, but over the past three years, mutations have proven to be a pretty good food source.

I don’t know why, but I feel like the mutated animals taste better than the originals.

I didn’t even put it in my mouth, but people said that the cat meat I hunted the other day wasn’t bad.

Even in Jeju, mutation cattle are making up for the lack of meat.

The story is that it’s not bad if you eat it in Jeju.

The problem is that mutations are not an easy prey.

The hunting difficulty is the hunting difficulty, but if the mutation is determined to avoid people, the angle won’t come out.

That’s why humans can’t do anything when whale mutations wreak havoc in the ocean.

Just the black guy who was wandering around my territory right now gave me so much trouble.

Still, we confirmed that there is a herd of mutant boars to the south.

If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to get a lot of fresh meat.

After finishing my day’s work, I went into the bunker and turned on my laptop.

“hmm?”

The alarm has come.

Looks like someone commented on my post.

Could it be that there were comments on the article I wrote at dawn?

I didn’t have high expectations.

The English bulletin board isn’t full of only wise people.

There are just as many different types of people there as we are, and there are just as many malicious users.

Even the new villain appearing on our message board right now, the human leather crafter, is a type that has been appearing on the English message board since right after the war.

Anyway, I took off my top and checked the comments.

Deadman_working: It seems there are no necropolises in Korea?

As expected, this article has no nutritional value.

“······.”

Knock knock

SKELTON: Yeah. None. I wish someone would introduce it.

I checked that my writing was automatically translated and headed to the shower room.

After taking a shower, I went down the ladder and took a sip of the special coffee milk that was stored in the basement refrigerator.

“Hmm~.”

A fantastic taste with the golden ratio of skim milk powder and coffee mix.

I sat down in front of the computer again, feeling the day’s fatigue washing away.

A message has arrived.

Message from deadman_working: Can we talk for a minute?

That friendly guy from earlier.

Since I had nothing else to do anyway, I readily agreed.

SKELTON: Yeah.

It was obviously a trivial conversation, but it was enough to relieve the day’s fatigue.

The moment I sent the message of approval, the screen suddenly went black.

A clear white message appeared within it.

Message from deadman_working: Are you twelvesquare?