Hiding a House in the Apocalypse - Chapter 317



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Episode 317 128. Top (3)

That’s when the crack first opened.

Countries around the world have shown strong concerns about paraphysical phenomena that cannot be explained by modern science, while at the same time showing a dualistic attitude of trying to connect the rift with economic and scientific gain.

The hardliners’ opinion that the crack should be sealed off with a thick concrete wall like Chernobyl was soon overshadowed by the cautious opinion that the crack should be explored.

Thinking back now, if we had followed the hardliners’ advice, the clock for the fate of humanity might have been slightly delayed.

After the conservatives gained power, “exploration” began as expected.

The exploration was conducted in a similar way to the exploration of space, a dimension that obviously exists but is completely different from Earth.

First, they send the means of provocation, and then confirm their return, then they send primitive creatures, then gradually send more advanced creatures, and finally, they send the foolhardy ones who want to leave a line in history.

Unfortunately, it is unknown who was the first to pass through the crack.

It’s not that there were no records, but it’s because so many people passed through the rift at similar times, each claiming to be the first to pass through the rift.

Now, a dozen years later, we are exploring secret government facilities in a way that is strikingly similar to the rift exploration of the past.

Wheeeeeeeeing–

The first one attempted was a high-speed drone piloted by Hong Da-jeong.

The drone, which is said to have the ability to maneuver in eight directions and has mysterious maneuvering abilities that seem to defy the laws of physics unless there is wind interference, however.

Bang! Tata ta tang!

As the light flashed beyond the darkness, bullets were fired and scattered.

“Is this not a joke?”

Hong Da-jeong tilted her head.

The fact that she, who is an expert at piloting drones, reacted like that means that there is no answer to this situation.

“How did you take the picture of Emgu? He also used a drone, right?”

Immediately, a hearing was held on Emgu.

Currently, Emgu doesn’t know that we are here.

I didn’t tell the story on purpose.

If I talk to him, there’s a chance I’ll meet the Jichangsoo family, whom I don’t like that much, and I might have to climb up the rope to that apartment building that could collapse at any moment.

Fortunately, Emgu seemed to have nothing better to do and answered my questions obediently.

Message from mmmmmmmmm™: ? It just works?

Message from mmmmmmmmm™: Oh, while I was taking some pictures, a bullet suddenly flew.

Of course, the drone was destroyed.

Only after seeing the message did Hong Da-jeong nod her head and show a look of understanding.

“It looks like the drone sent by Emgu has opened up the air defense network.”

“What? You didn’t set it up from the beginning?”

“It’s probably something that moves the toy inside, not a passive defense system, but an AI learning type.”

Hong Da-jeong drew a simple picture on her tablet and explained it.

“I heard this when I was in the Legion, but the Chinese use people when operating large-scale drones. About 20 people when operating 100 drones? On the other hand, the US and Korea operate all drones as a single control system, and right before the war, they added AI learning to that control system. It’s called an autonomous learning control system.”

Rustle

Hong Da-jeong took out another pile of drones and stuck her tongue out.

“Not bad for an opponent who can shake hands.”

For the first time in a long time, her eyes glowed with the eerie light they had when I first saw them.

I felt like I could trust it.

But as in most areas, in human-on-human combat, equipment is king.

Especially in a technological war that is running at the cutting edge, the side with even slightly better equipment will achieve a complete victory.

Just looking at the Air Force alone, the latest US military aircraft have a record of about 99 wins out of 100 battles against fighters of lower class.

Bang! Tata ta tang!

The dragon inside the warehouse, equipped with a brain called AI, easily crushed any attempt by Hong Da-jeong.

That too, in a form that was increasingly humiliating to Hong Da-jeong.

At first it was pouring out a lot of bullets, but now it is.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Hong Da-jeong’s drone was intercepted with just a few shots.

In less than a day, Hong Da-jeong lost five drones.

Although many say it is a cheap consumable, it is a painful loss in today’s world where production and distribution are difficult.

“hmm.”

Hong Da-jeong stopped the operation.

“I guess I’ll have to wait until I think of a better idea.”

We are not alone in facing the government’s hidden assets.

Kim Byeong-cheol’s subordinates did not watch our every move, but they checked the situation in the warehouse next to us, loosely but without fail.

“It doesn’t seem to be going well?”

You can tell just by looking at what Kim Byeong-cheol asked at the scene that evening.

“If it doesn’t seem like it’ll work out, give in to us. There’s no need to waste resources, right? Right?”

Next to Kim Byeong-cheol, his daughter, who looked just like him, was fiddling with something with a bright face.

She waved at me happily, but I felt an inexplicable sense of antipathy.

It’s good that he’s bright and cheerful like a young friend, but I feel like that brightness doesn’t fit with the current times.

“He seems to have autism.”

As expected of someone with a straightforward personality, Cheon Young-jae expressed his opinions without any filter.

As I was watching quietly, Cheon Yeong-jae shrugged his shoulders and added.

“That’s exactly what it feels like.”

“No matter what, that’s true. Do you say such things to someone else’s child?”

“After the war, I worked at a welfare center. I had some community service work to do.”

“Have you committed a crime?”

“I did some drunk driving.”

“It’s a boast. A boast.”

While I was talking to Cheon Yeong-jae, Hong Da-jeong appeared.

She, who had an acquaintance with Cheon Yeong-jae but didn’t talk much to anyone other than Defender and me, approached us with an expression on her face as if she had something to say.

“There were rumors like that.”

Is it because things aren’t going well for you these days?

If you see them doing something they’ve never done before, it’s 100% true.

“The kid is strangely bright. I don’t know if he has autism or not, but he definitely has a low IQ. What is it called?”

“Borderline intelligence?”

Cheon Yeong-jae knows a lot of words that I don’t know.

“Yeah, yeah. That’s for sure. There’s a rumor going around that his mom left home because of him.”

It’s exhausting to listen to two people badmouthing each other.

In fact, I was on guard all day.

Just in case Kim Byeong-cheol betrays us.

As time went by, it became clear that my suspicions were excessive, but I thought it was better to see things through to the end, so I maintained a state of alert throughout.

Anyway, the sun sets.

There is no quick fix and there will be the aftereffects of traveling all the way to Seoul, so I ended the day here.

the next day.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Hong Da-jeong took off the VR monitor and stood right in front of the gap, observing the inside of the warehouse with her naked eyes and moving the controller.

Soon one of the drones was destroyed.

“hmm.”

Hong Da-jeong let out a shallow sigh and took out her favorite tool.

It’s that damn robot vacuum cleaner.

No matter how I looked at it, it didn’t seem like it would be of any help, but I didn’t bother asking.

Hong Da-jeong patiently inspected the robot vacuum cleaner and then flushed it through the gap.

Buss …

The robot vacuum went into the gap, making a strange noise as if there was something wrong with one of its wheels.

Not long after.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A gunshot rings out.

What’s different from before is,

Buss …

The robot vacuum cleaner came back to life?

The secret is the armor plate mounted on the top of the vacuum cleaner.

There were three dents imprinted on it.

Hong Da-jeong nodded and approached me holding a vacuum cleaner.

Why is his expression so confident?

“Did you find out anything?”

“3.5 seconds. 3.5 seconds.”

“3.5 seconds?”

“The time it takes for the warehouse defense system to recognize the enemy and attack. I’ve deployed 7 units so far, and I’ve confirmed that the time it takes to attack is decreasing. But it doesn’t go down from 3.5 seconds.”

Hong Da-jeong put down the robot vacuum cleaner and straightened her shoulders.

“It’s the minimum amount of time it takes to recognize, think, and attack.”

“Hmm. Really?”

Does that matter?

Well, that’s fine.

3.5 seconds.

It’s a long enough time to kill a person, but conversely, it’s too short a time for a human being to do anything.

“For now, let’s stop here.”

“What does that mean?”

“Yeah. I give up for now.”

Hong Da-jeong stared at Kim Byeong-cheol’s soldiers who were watching us from afar as if they were laughing at us.

“Let’s watch what those people do.”

Hong Da-jeong, who was thought to be the type to avoid people, appears to be the type to be quite active outside when her competitive spirit kicks in.

Well, I used to work at a cafe, so I guess I’m pretty far from being a social phobic.

It’s been a while since that happened, but it seems like they killed people in what’s called a snake operation.

Now that I think about it, I think I simply avoided dealing with people because I found it annoying or I didn’t like it.

Now that Hong Da-jeong has declared a hold, there is no justification for continuing the operation.

If we continue the operation like this, we will only end up consuming drones.

“What? You’re giving up already?”

Kim Byeong-cheol burst into laughter.

Looks like he’s in a pretty good mood.

“I knew it.”

He took out his walkie-talkie and asked his subordinate in a cheerful tone.

“Are you ready? Oh, really? Okay. Let’s get started right away. The guest just vacated the room!”

It seems that Kim Byeong-cheol has a secret weapon.

Soon, Kim Byeong-cheol’s secret weapon appeared before us with a loud noise.

It’s a tram.

K1A1.

The main battle tank of South Korea, made so strong that it shook the entire underground parking lot as it approached us.

Instead of the Defender going into the cargo hold, Hong Da-jeong, who was outside the cargo hold, uncrossed her arms and glared at the tank.

“Ah, as expected.”

She nodded with a meaningful smile.

“I thought you were going to use that method.”

“okay?”

“Huh? Because the windows are so tight and precise. The fire field is also well formed. But I’ve sent out drones several times, right? I haven’t seen any heavy weapons greater than machine guns.”

“The largest diameter would have been around 7.62mm.”

“Then the solution is simple.”

“Is that it?”

“Yeah. Sending out a big guy whose teeth can’t reach a machine gun.”

Hong Da-jeong crossed her arms again with a bitter sneer on her face.

I asked abruptly, noticing that the smile on her lips had not disappeared.

“Do you think it will be okay?”

She shrugged.

“well?”

Soon she lifted her crossed arms slightly and scratched his shoulder as she continued speaking.

“Will it not work out well?”

The tank advances.

Kwajik!

The car body went straight through the heavy iron gate.

and.

“Cover your ears there!”

Before the tank commander’s shouts could reach us,

bang!!!

The main gun fired a shot that threatened to level the entire parking lot.

thud!!!!

A loud explosion was heard beyond the warehouse, amidst a terrible aftershock that kicked up clouds of dust.

“Is that okay?”

Cheon Yeong-jae, who was standing next to him, muttered.

Well, the target isn’t the drone, but the supplies inside it.

I don’t know what he was thinking, but the main gun fire just now definitely had a performative nature.

After firing the main gun as if he was going to kill someone, he ran the tank at full speed into the hole he had made.

Hong Da-jeong, who still had her arms crossed, counted the numbers with her fingers.

“Three, two, one······and a half.”

Not long after she crossed her arms and crossed three fingers, a fierce gunshot rang out from beyond the iron gate.

At first glance, the estimated number is dozens of guns.

It would be difficult for either humans or drones to survive.

But the bullets don’t hit the tank.

It was designed that way from the beginning.

“Okay! Keep going! Push! Push the toy guys!”

Kim Byeong-cheol, who had suddenly appeared on the scene, appeared with his daughter who looked unusually bright and shouted passionately.

“The future of the Republic of Korea is in our hands!”

I tilted my head for a moment.

“······.”

Is this person still tied to the concept of the Republic of Korea?

I have no intention of criticizing or mocking patriots.

“The revival of the Republic of Korea is in our hands! The revival of the Republic of Korea will take place here in Seoul! Go! Go forward! Plant the flag on the high ground!”

But his thoughts and ideas seemed to go beyond the expression of being boring; they seemed like an act of longing for something that had already fallen apart and had no form left.

Yeah, like a vain belief.

Should we call this a prayer to a god who does not answer?

“Skeleton.”

While I was lost in thought, Hong Da-jeong called me.

“Look carefully.”

She silently blurted out an onomatopoeia meaning explosion with her mouth.

“ah!”

The tank crew’s sighs burst out unfiltered, along with noise, from the loud radio that Kim Byeong-cheol had turned on.

The next moment.

Boom!!!

Another blast of aftershock came out with a roar, as if it were going to blow us out of the hole the tank had made.

The tank was destroyed.

“People say the South Korean government is incompetent, but aren’t they better than anyone else in the world at protecting their own jobs?”

Hong Da-jeong whispered in my ear in a low voice.

“Of course, measures related to armored vehicles have also been put in place.”

No tanks or drones allowed.

The dragon left behind by the South Korean government was stronger and more ferocious than one could imagine.

Hong Da-jeong shook her head.

“I’m sorry, Skeleton. I think this is going to be difficult.”

She probably gave up the attack when the fifth drone was destroyed.

The reason he gave Kim Byeong-cheol a chance was probably because he predicted that he would fail.

To convince me.

“The defense system inside seems to be designed to deal with every type of weapon that humans have. It’s said to have a defense power so strong that even a mediocre warlord like him wouldn’t be able to even think about it.”

She has a point.

I’m not saying this because I’ve been hurt.

Da-jeong was worried about me, so she provided evidence by providing several easy-to-understand, specific examples to prevent me from doing something reckless.

In the process, it was an act befitting of the siblings who used the name Defender to sacrifice the lives of innocent tankers.

Defender, who had been hiding inside the truck the whole time, had a similar opinion.

“Skeleton. I don’t think this is our specialty.”

That’s definitely true.

Our hunters are not omnipotent.

Our Hunters are “ad hoc” beings, as the logic goes, custom-designed solely to deal with the anomalous beings known as monsters.

Regardless of our skill and ability, we have no intention of denying that view.

But I think the greatest virtue of humans is intelligence and the application that comes from intelligence.

“Just a minute. I’ll go on the internet and come back.”

“Internet?”

“huh.”

I ran straight to the truck.

Defender, sitting with his arms crossed and an expressionless face, and Valentine, who was looking embarrassed and oppressed by Defender’s murderous intent, came into view.

“Come out for a moment.”

I apologized to Defender and sat down in front of my laptop.

“······.”

Knock knock

SKELTON: (Skeleton emergency) Captain Mgu! Respond!

Message from mmmmmmmmm™: Captain Mgu speaking!

How many things in this world can make someone smile with just a few words?

Feeling the deep affection of my fellow bulletin board members, I move my possessed fingers that can type 900 times per minute.

Tata tata tata tak!

SKELTON: Are there any capsules around you?