Hiding a House in the Apocalypse - Chapter 316



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Episode 316 128. Top (2)

Encountering people during the apocalypse is not a positive event.

In today’s world, as long as you have a gun, one person can kill another person without fear of legal sanctions or much pangs of conscience.

The more people you encounter, the higher the risk.

But if there are too many people you encounter, how should you evaluate it?

Under the shadow of The Hope, South Korea’s last luxury shopping complex, there was a long line of people that could be seen from afar.

Cheon Yeong-jae, who was sent as an advance party, returned with accurate information.

“They are the people who came up to Seoul during Kim Byeong-cheol’s time and stayed there.”

During Kim Byeong-cheol’s ambitious operation to recapture Seoul, he used sweet words to lure people from the Incheon refugee camp into moving to Seoul.

As the Kim Byung-chul regime collapsed, the people who had gathered in Seoul dispersed, but many citizens still wanted to remain in Seoul.

“This is my hometown where I was born and raised. Even if I go there, there’s no way I can get there.”

“My hometown is across the river, but wouldn’t it be better to live somewhere a little closer to our neighborhood?”

“If I have to die, I want to die in Seoul. I don’t want to see a neighborhood I don’t know. Now.”

Those left in Seoul had been fragmented and organized into small, scattered organizations since the collapse of the Kim Byung-chul regime, but one incident provided the impetus for bringing them together in one place.

“That leaning apartment, what was the name? I remember it being called the Leaning Tower of Pizza. Anyway, I heard there’s some supplies hidden by the government under that apartment?”

“I can’t not go since they have enough supplies to feed a million people. It’s not like you can dig up the land and get oil.”

“I don’t know. But since everyone else is going, we should go too. Since we have nothing to lose anyway, wouldn’t it be natural to take whatever we can get?”

The reason that conflicts do not arise despite the gathering of such diverse and heterogeneous groups is because there is a mediating force.

Everywhere, there are people in military uniforms, holding guns and watching the surroundings.

Even though they had removed their rank insignia and covered their unit insignia with tape, we could easily tell that they were trained soldiers.

The deployment of soldiers, the maintenance of guns, the regular and efficient communication, the agility of moving as if under a single command system.

It would be a thousand times easier and more convincing to describe them as soldiers than to describe them as something else.

“There. Truck! Vehicles, please come this way. There’s no room there.”

The soldiers were neither particularly wary nor hostile to us.

Although no one gave them any authority, they acted as if they were the administrators of this area.

“It seems like a legion.”

The defender sitting next to him looked at the soldiers and whispered in a low voice.

“100%. It smells like a legion. This.”

Hong Da-jeong, who was sitting in the luggage compartment, had the same opinion.

So, out of nowhere, I was incorporated into a small society that had suddenly formed around The Hope.

We had a chance to chat with people in similar vehicles as we walked toward the car park where cars were lined up.

“······I came after listening to the broadcast.”

It’s a world where you can easily win favor with a cheap cigarette.

A man of about my age, but who looked ten years older, told me in a disjointed manner what had happened to him.

“It wasn’t a radio broadcast, it was a car with a loudspeaker. It was going around everywhere and talking about something down there in that apartment.”

The man sucked on the remaining cigarette with regret, blew out ashen smoke from his nose and mouth, and continued speaking.

“At first, everyone was skeptical. No, it wasn’t like they were banging on the doorbell while they were sleeping, but suddenly there were resources to feed a million people under that apartment. Who would believe that? But you know, isn’t that how people feel? When other people go, you want to go too. The guy who went there made a radio call. He said that if you go there, you can at least get free nutrition bars.”

Crowd psychology, chronic shortages of supplies, and the provision of food are all reasons why so many people have gathered in one place.

But that’s not the only reason that brought them together.

People gathered in one place can leave for another place at any time.

At least, no one gathered here has left the ranks.

“Who knows? There might actually be supplies in there to feed us.”

“If this winter is as cold as last year, I won’t be able to endure it. There aren’t any trees here. But I don’t want to leave Seoul.”

“Just, what, just believe. What else can we do? Let’s just believe that there’s something inside that can really save us.”

The people gathered here wanted to believe in that leaning tower, the tower where Emgu lived.

The tower itself is not subject to ups and downs.

Isn’t it because they believe in that tower that they hope their own choices are not wrong?

The topic of the story shifted from the tower to the soldiers guarding the area around the tower.

“Those soldiers?”

The man made an impression.

“Well. Well, isn’t it better to have a gun in a place where so many people gather? Honestly, it’s more convenient to have a gunman. Even if it’s expensive, that’s not the issue.”

Another man said that the soldiers were, as we had guessed, legionnaires.

But the Legion is an organization of the past.

No one knew who commanded those soldiers.

The question that seemed so difficult to solve was surprisingly easily solved.

“Isn’t that Kim Byeong-cheol?”

It was when the announcement came on that meals would be distributed and I was heading to the distribution area with Defender.

Kim Byung-chul pointed to a man with his face covered by a mask and sunglasses standing among the soldiers distributing nutritional bars.

Although his face was covered, I could see the characteristics of Kim Byeong-cheol in the man, which I had personally experienced before.

“I think so?”

Crucially, next to Kim Byung-chul was a woman in her late teens who looked just like him, smiling brightly and handing out nutritional bars to people.

“She’s Kim Byeong-cheol’s daughter.”

The defender said with confidence.

“Kim Byeong-cheol’s daughter?”

By the way, there was a guy who used Kim Byeong-cheol’s Viva! Apocalypse! account.

Did you say your name was Yerim?

Although it was a brief meeting, I remember it vividly because it brought a liveliness that my bulletin board friends lacked.

“Oh. I know because I’ve taken them around sometimes. There’s nothing to see. These soldiers. These organizations. They’re all on Kim Byeong-cheol’s side.”

“I see.”

That’s definitely a possibility.

When Kim Byeong-cheol’s headquarters was destroyed, Kim Byeong-cheol’s life or death was not confirmed.

Everyone assumed he was dead, but it appears Kim Byeong-cheol was alive.

But, having lost his base in Wonju, there aren’t many places he can return to.

Around Wonju and to the east is the territory of his old army rivals who ousted him from power.

Kim Byeong-cheol, who fell from being an emperor to an exile, has nowhere else to go but the wilderness.

It seems that he has chosen the wilderness of Seoul, which he had tried to pioneer in the past and which contributed to his downfall, as his new base.

It is probably no coincidence that he, who had been living in hiding in a certain place in Seoul, has reappeared.

The hidden assets that the South Korean government has been hiding could be the secret key that can revive the fallen Kim Byung-chul, and more than anything, Kim Byung-chul is a Viva! Apocalypse! user who uses the nickname armeegruppe_B.

He probably got his information from Emgu’s broadcasts and posts.

However, it is unknown why Kim Byeong-cheol gathered so many people.

Are they trying to put up a curtain of benevolence?

This is to prepare for any possible attacks from other factions of the Legion.

Or perhaps he is calling people to himself to personally slay the dragon guarding the government’s warehouse and prepare a new coronation with the countless people gathered here as witnesses.

Either way, Kim Byeong-cheol, a character who seemed to have left the stage, appeared before us again.

“Excuse me. Are you Hunter Park Gyu?”

As Kim Byeong-cheol, his face covered by sunglasses and a mask, glanced at us from afar, an armed soldier appeared in front of us and asked us.

He looked at Kim Byeong-cheol beyond the soldiers and nodded lightly.

*

“I never thought I would meet you.”

Kim Byeong-cheol’s camp was located near the underground parking lot of The Hope.

Several military vehicles, private vehicles, and crudely modified vehicles were lined up, and soldiers with guns and automatic sentry guns were maintaining strict security around the vehicles.

I hadn’t expected to meet Kim Byeong-cheol, but the moment I saw the crowd of people gathered around The Hope and the soldiers controlling them, I decided it was something I had to do.

Rather, I think it is a bit of a blessing.

Since Kim Byeong-cheol and I do not have the same goals, we may be in a relationship where we can coexist in a mutually beneficial way.

We told him straight to the point what our business was.

“Oh, this car. Do you want this car?”

“To be exact, I would like to operate this vehicle for three days. After that, you can keep it or pass it on to someone else.”

The reason we believe that negotiations will definitely succeed is because our demands are so small.

The price for obtaining the help of a group of professional hunters is only three days of equipment rental.

From Kim Byeong-cheol’s perspective, it is a business in which he has no loss whatsoever.

But when Kim Byung-chul took off his mask and sunglasses, I had an ominous feeling that the story would not progress as well as I had thought.

It’s not just the ugly scars and marks of loss etched across her face.

The internal strife within the Legion seems to have taken away from him much of the universal value of faith.

Kim Byeong-cheol asked coldly, his half-open mouth quivering.

“May I ask why you require these conditions?”

There’s nothing to hide.

I told him my true intentions.

“Necropolis?”

Kim Byeong-cheol made a puzzled expression.

It seems like you don’t know.

Well, people who are old enough tend to be indifferent to things that don’t interest them.

“You’re joining hands with us just for something like that?”

He nodded.

Kim Byeong-cheol smiled crookedly.

“Just give it a try.”

It’s not a very pleasant word.

But it’s a better answer than no, I guess.

“By the way, you do know that what’s blocking our way isn’t a monster, right?”

“I brought an expert with me.”

“expert?”

“Yes. I’m good with drones.”

Kim Byeong-cheol nodded his head.

“Let’s do that. Let’s do that. But I hope it doesn’t take too long. We have our own experts.”

Kim Byeong-cheol held up three fingers.

“I’ll give you three days. Three days.”

Even if I wanted to suggest conditions beyond that, I wouldn’t be able to.

Why, because Kim Byeong-cheol only had three fingers left.

Anyway, the negotiations were concluded, albeit imperfectly.

Although it is only three days, it is a precious time to avoid unnecessary battles with humans.

By the way, it seems that Kim Byeong-cheol’s keen eye is not ordinary.

“The person you were carrying around.”

What Kim Byeong-cheol is talking about is probably the Defender.

“Isn’t that the guy the fanatic advertised he’d kill?”

Just as Defender recognized Kim Byung-chul, Kim Byung-chul also recognized Defender without difficulty.

He nodded.

“You better lock that guy in that car.”

Kim Byeong-cheol added, wearing a mask and sunglasses.

“People remember more than just faces. They remember everything. Gestures, postures, actions. The face is just one of the signs that distinguishes people.”

Certainly this is advice worth heeding carefully.

Defenders are not suited to crowded places.

As I was finishing up the negotiations with Kim Byeong-cheol and about to return to our truck, someone followed me with light footsteps.

“hey!”

I wondered who it was, and it turned out to be Kim Byeong-cheol’s daughter.

Did you say your name was Yerim?

He certainly resembled Kim Byeong-cheol.

Especially those sunken eyes and that stubborn, upright nose.

This is the so-called “tough” appearance, as if there are no loopholes and they will do everything according to FM rules.

But what on earth could this Kim Byeong-cheol’s daughter do for me?

It was when I was quietly staring at her, wondering.

She hesitated and fidgeted for a moment, then finally mustered up her courage and spoke to me.

“Is it by any chance Mr. Skeleton?!”

what.

Did you know me?

Well, Kim Byeong-cheol also knew my true identity.

If he had spread the word to his daughter, it wouldn’t be surprising if Kim Byeong-cheol’s daughter, who he was meeting for the first time, recognized this skeleton.

Kim Byeong-cheol’s daughter is also a Viva! Apocalypse! user, even though she borrowed her father’s account.

He nodded confidently while looking at Kim Byeong-cheol’s daughter.

“Yeah. I’m a skeleton.”

“wow······.”

“?”

He looked puzzled, but I could feel a little bit of anticipation rising in his chest.

“······.”

By any chance, do I have a fan too?

Does this skeleton, who is not Twelvesquare, have any fans?

Looking back, I think I objectively conducted myself in a respectful manner on the bulletin board.

Not only do I not keep a diary or criticize others, I always try to provide enjoyment to other users, and when I find good information, I share it, and I also maintain a respectable article-to-comment ratio of 1:3.

I waited for Kim Ye-rim’s next words with pride in her expressionless face.

That Kim Ye-rim said bluntly.

“Why does someone who looks normal act like that on the internet?”

“?”

“I’m curious where you learned to say things like skeleton panic and skeleton advice. I honestly don’t know a single person around me who would say such things!”

The emotions that briefly crossed my mind were disappointment and anger.

But even greater than that, a feeling of regret enveloped my thoughts.

Don’t you know?

The giant of our bulletin board called “Jonnaenon”?

“Do you by any chance not know the person you are referring to?”

“What is that? It feels a bit strange······.”

“Search it.”

“yes?”

“Search by keyword John Nae-non. Then you will know. What kind of person he is to us.”

“······Huh?”

Kim Byeong-cheol.

He was a man who was also clumsy in raising his children.

I returned to my colleagues with a sense of personal regret.

Our crews were already fully prepared to take down the dragon left behind by the government.

What stands at the center of it all is, of course, affection.

“Skeleton. I’m ready. Just give me your autograph.”

Anti-jamming equipment, high-sensitivity antennas, VR monitors, and Chinese military drone controllers.

As Da-Jeong, armed with the best equipment she can currently get her hands on, moves the controller, a small, high-speed drone spins briskly around us with a whirring sound of wind.

In the distance, you can see a gap in the iron plate that the Ji Chang-su couple had drilled with a welding machine, making it look like it was torn like paper.

In that gap that appears to our eyes as a black darkness, there must be a fearsome dragon living there that the government has let loose.

That strategy doesn’t seem like it will be easy.

However, there is no labyrinth in this world that cannot be conquered.

Especially if it’s man-made.