Hiding a House in the Apocalypse - Chapter 314
Only Krnovel
127. Constellation
Four years have passed since the war began.
Through numerous episodes, they have gradually formed a respectable group.
As we approach winter, I think it would not be a bad idea to re-evaluate the power of our area.
There are currently ten people in our area.
There are five fighters who can conduct direct combat: me, Cheon Yeong-jae, Ha Tae-hoon, Bang Jae-hyeok, and Defender.
Direct combat here refers to active, offensive combat, including large-scale monster combat.
Rebecca and her daughter could join the combat force, but I intend to use them only as border and defense agents.
Hong Da-jeong is a special case.
As a professional drone pilot, her personal combat prowess is too weak to be put into direct combat, but she is more valuable than many ordinary combatants in various missions using drones.
The rest of Valentine and Bang Jae-hyuk’s mother are non-combatants.
Valentine is capable of limited combat, but I have no intention of sending him into combat except in unavoidable cases.
He is a valuable resource.
Because he is the only one who can achieve the immediate goal of becoming the second Palenet.
Although Bang Jae-hyeok’s mother has no fighting ability, she is a hard worker and good with her hands, making her a valuable resource in many ways, especially in terms of daily life.
Moreover, losing her could have a huge impact on the mentality of Bang Jae-hyuk, who is a capable fighter, so he will be taking refuge in the deepest part of the battlefield with Valentine.
To be frank, the resources of our area, where a considerable number of people, up to 10 people, have gathered, are quite abundant.
Ammunition, food, fuel, medicine, vehicles, and other consumables.
The amount I already had was ample, but the amount that the group brought with them was also considerable.
There is nothing particularly lacking.
Of course, in the case of medicines, they can run out in an instant.
Just one or two battles with a lot of casualties would be enough to wear you out.
Ammunition will last longer than that, but like medicine, if you fight frequent battles, it will disappear quickly.
The most threatening enemy of our group is, of course, humans.
I have always viewed humans as the greatest threat, and that view remains unchanged even in the present moment when we have formed a group.
Rather, because they formed a group, the risk of dealing with humans increased compared to when they chose individual survivalism.
The stability of these organizations serves as a background that allows me to dream of secondary goals such as a second Palenet or an invasion of the Jeju Intranet.
Personally, the biggest advantage of our group is that there is no one around.
This is consistent with the statement that there are no threatening forces around.
It is true that human-to-human interaction is of great benefit to both, but in the current situation where everything is scarce and unclear, it is annoying to have another group nearby.
Not only can it turn into an enemy at any time, but it also has various negative effects, such as having to be careful with limited resources and wasting unnecessary routes.
Of course, it would be a different story if there was enough trust in that external group, but how do we create that trust?
Creating something from scratch is extremely difficult.
Blood ties, school ties, regional ties.
You need to have some kind of traditional connection to have something to talk about.
If we expand the scope to a region, one group is identified.
To the east, on a distant mountaintop, there is a group of old people.
Conversation is impossible, but they are not a group that is of great concern since they will not come down the mountain.
In terms of the area’s defense power, it has become incomparably stronger than when individual survivalism was chosen.
The entire area centered around the outer wall was fortified.
Our territory will not be suddenly attacked as we have reinforced facilities on the steep ridge to the north.
However, there is no shortage of artillery fire, which can be called the queen of war.
If someone points and hits you, you should get hit.
Most bunkers will survive the bombardment, but Rebecca’s cabin, Ha Tae-hoon’s house, and other auxiliary facilities such as bathrooms and showers will not be spared.
If the shelling is intense, even my bunker might become paralyzed.
The only good thing is that at this point, there is no force left that can launch a large-scale artillery attack to capture a single bunker.
There is no need for Chairman Park Cheol-ju to be bombarded by the legion’s boredom killers.
Even in my realm, there are weaknesses.
It is the bond between the people who make up a group.
Broadly speaking, there are three factions: Incheon Hunters, Defender siblings, and Rebecca mother and daughter.
These people form a group with the country as the center, but conversely, to put it another way, they are strangers who have no interest or concern for each other if I am not there.
If I were to die or disappear in an accident, there is a high probability that our group would be scattered.
Defender and Rebecca both have places to go.
They have a previous stronghold around here.
When the conflict in a group reaches its peak, they will move to a place that is more comfortable for them.
It is not easy to unite these obviously heterogeneous people.
Will they really become close if I force them to have a seat?
Our society is not so rough that having a drink with everyone makes you friends the next day.
Trust is something that is built up over time and events.
I won’t force you to become close with me.
If there is conflict, I will leave it as it is.
The solution is up to each individual.
All I can do is moderate the conflict so that it doesn’t go to extremes.
Fortunately, our territory is large and our personal living spaces are separated, so heterogeneous groups do not often collide.
Well, if the number of people increases here, then that’s fine.
Can I get more?
The only person needed is a doctor.
If we can get an engineer of Valentine’s level, we should make room for him no matter how hard it is.
But as the previous incident shows, newcomers come unexpectedly and without warning.
What would I do if someone I knew well, someone who shared a piece of my past, entrusted their life to me?
Even just the people that come to mind right away are Kim Da-ram’s family and my one-week disciple Song Yu-jin, whose whereabouts are currently unknown?
Maybe we can accept our Viva! Apocalypse! connection.
Cases where the expansion of such groups leads to the collapse of the group are often seen in other cases.
When the group reaches saturation, rejection is necessary.
In the past, when I was called a professor, this would not have been a problem.
But for now, well.
I have no confidence.
Am I weaker or have I changed?
I don’t think it’s simply gotten weaker.
It is a time of loss.
I’m not just talking about people and stuff.
It is an era where everything we know, people, property, values, and even memories are becoming blurred.
To maintain humanity in a place like this, you have to be more human than anyone else.
“Skeleton. What are you thinking about by yourself?”
It’s the time when the spiderwebs start to disappear.
Suu came up to the outpost on the hill, still carrying a gun that seemed larger than his body.
“Are you on guard today?”
“No, it’s the day mom stands.”
“But why Suuga?”
“Mom, I’m in the Valentine’s Day bunker right now.”
“also?”
“Really. Mr. Valentine. It’s obvious that you don’t like us. Mom, you need to be a little more shameless.”
“You shouldn’t disturb Mr. Valentine, right?”
“sorry.”
“No, Suu has nothing to be sorry about.”
It looks like he’s been lost in thought for quite some time.
Actually, it was something I had to do at least once.
The extent to which you understand the strengths, weaknesses and problems of the group.
In the past, as soon as a group was formed, we would have assessed its strength.
Well, I guess they also fired unnecessary personnel without mercy.
Perhaps the harshness of the past has delayed the group’s evaluation.
“How is it here?”
I asked Suu as I felt the breeze that had the heat of the day but also the coolness of autumn pass between them.
“Not bad.”
Suu answered, looking at the faint light in the distance.
“Hmm······. Is that all?”
“No, I didn’t mean it in a bad way. It’s okay. It’s really okay. But.”
“Is it because of other people?”
He looked at Suu and asked.
Su-woo, who had become much more mature, stared at me for a while, then nodded with a smile.
She quickly averted her gaze and stared again at the distant lights.
Perhaps the light is that of a refugee camp living in the distance.
It will disappear soon.
“······It was the same there too. People had the hardest time. Really.”
“It’s the same wherever you go.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. I guess there are places that aren’t like that.”
I look back on the life I’ve lived.
“Obviously, such a place would be so difficult or dangerous that it would be difficult to think about anything else. Or the time spent interacting with the person who makes it difficult would be short.”
“There is no comfortable place in the world?”
That could be the case.
In reality, for most of our lives, relationships are a never-ending thread.
You can cut him off with a single stroke like Alexander, but you can also meet a bad ending like that king.
But, you know.
Is it really necessary to untangle that tightly tangled thread?
“yes.”
“I see.”
Suu lowered her head and sighed.
Although he is much more mature than Rebecca, he doesn’t show as much dislike for the people here as Rebecca does, but Swoo seems to be quite displeased with the inhabitants of our territory.
Well, they are people whose faces I have never seen before, whose races, countries, languages, and all living circumstances are different from mine.
Even for those with the most innocent and young hearts, becoming close overnight is not an easy task.
“But there’s no need to be discouraged.”
Suuga raises his head.
She stared at the dim light she had been looking at.
The light flickered for a moment and then disappeared.
Are they trying to control the lighthouse?
This is something you have to do if you don’t want to attract raiders.
Above the disappeared light, the sky is decorated with countless stars that are less conspicuous but more magnificent and majestic.
The stars each have their own claims.
“Everyone has their own place.”
Although people cannot become stars, it would not be an exaggeration to say that each of us is a star on this vast canvas called Earth.
According to scientists, birth and death are the same fate for stars.
There are only differences in time, form, and beauty.
“Aren’t all those stars shining in their own places?”
He said, pointing to the stars.
“······Is that so?”
Suu’s reaction is lukewarm.
I explained it in a little more detail.
“Finding your place.”
“Your place?”
“I think that’s a priority. Stars that don’t find their place are bound to fall.”
“Meteor?”
He nodded and continued speaking.
“There’s no need to force ourselves into being one. It’s enough if we each find our own place and shine in that place.”
“Hmm.”
I looked up at the large triangle embroidered in a corner of the sky, watching Suu, who still seemed to be reacting incomprehensibly.
“When each star finds its place.”
He pointed to the stars with his finger.
Suu’s gaze followed my fingertips.
“Summer Triangle?”
He nodded.
“Yeah. It becomes a constellation.”
We cannot each become a star.
But I hope that our group will respect and shine in its own realm like a constellation.
“Skeleton.”
Suu, who had been sitting side by side and gazing at the stars, opened her mouth.
“huh.”
“I’ve heard that starlight is the afterglow of stars that died hundreds of millions of years ago.”
He smiled broadly.
“Wouldn’t that make it even cooler?”
Su-woo stared at me with an unreadable expression, then sighed and got up from his seat.
“Now, let’s go back to Skeleton.”
“huh.”
I left Sue behind and went down the hill.
The image of Su standing guard under the starlight that seemed ready to pour down at any moment will likely remain in my memory for quite a long time.
I mean that in a good way.
We went down the stairs, hoping that our constellation would be completed.
*
It was a week after MGOo’s live ended abruptly that the current status of Ji Chang-soo and his wife was revealed.
mmmmmmmmm™ : New resident next door.jpg
The photo showed a woman and a middle-aged man barely climbing up a precariously steep hallway with the help of a rope.
The moment I saw them climbing the rope like a serpent, their eyes glaring so wide that their eyes turned bloodshot and their teeth clenched so hard that they felt like they were going to break, I couldn’t help but slap my forehead and burst out laughing.
But the story behind this is by no means light.
34 people entered the government’s treasure trove.
After one minute, only seven people were able to come out of the warehouse.
The injured man’s groans leaked out through the gaping hole, but the only way they could help him was to end his suffering.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Emgu recalls hearing exactly four gunshots.
But we know.
The creepy groans that echoed in front of the underground parking lot may have disappeared, but the story of Emgu and The Hope, who became one with him in a way, is only just beginning.
Emgu also knew what was coming in the future.
mmmmmmmmm™ : It’s a bit late, but I’ll release a semi-unboxing video.
Emgu deployed a small drone into the warehouse, revealing to us, without filtering, the vast secrets hidden in the vast area connected by the railway.
The amount of materials and equipment captured in the photo was beyond imagination.
It’s as expected.
It is a scale that can sustain the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.
mmmmmmmmm™ : We give up. So come on. Come and get it. I won’t stop you.
People will gather at the Hope.
People who have lost hope and have nowhere to go will flock to the slanted apartments in search of hope.
At least I figured I wouldn’t be included in that line.
Because I have a lot of supplies and a safe haven.
But one photo that Emgu revealed moved my heart.
“Can I use that?”
Across the killing zone filled with sentry guns, killer drones, and other machines that slaughter humans like a factory, a single vehicle caught our eye.
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