Hiding a House in the Apocalypse - Chapter 326



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Episode 326 132. Going Out

The wind has become quite cold.

The temperature is dropping faster than usual.

It may be a bit presumptuous to call it winter, but it can’t hurt to prepare in advance.

All you need to survive the winter is enough heat and food.

Among the DVD textbooks I had stockpiled before the war, there were several DVDs that came as a bonus to the purchase of the textbooks, including a historical documentary about the great adventurers of the past.

The Dutch adventurer covered there, Willem Barents, was a man from the 16th century who led an exploration fleet even before the outbreak of the Imjin War, and is said to have survived for five months in extreme cold with an average temperature of -40 degrees Celsius.

The Dutchman’s desperate survival story inspired me as I prepared for the harsh winter.

The most important principles for preparing for winter have not changed one bit since Barents was active in the 16th century.

There is enough fuel and food.

I believe that those two preparations are well secured as of now.

But we are not explorers either.

We must endure the harsh winter that will repeat itself in our territory next year and the year after.

Besides, my colleagues are not subordinates who absolutely obey the captain’s orders like the Barents sailors.

Although they acknowledge my authority to some extent, they are all colleagues of equal status with their own individuality and autonomy.

This is where an age-old problem rears its head.

It’s human relationships.

Our group is divided into three major groups.

Mother and daughter Rebecca, Incheon Hunter, and the Defender siblings.

It’s been quite some time since we started living in the same place, but there’s no sign of us becoming close, nor any intention of becoming close.

They communicate only through me.

So, they are just strangers living in the same place.

This age-old disconnection wouldn’t be a big deal in normal times, but it would certainly be a problem during a harsh winter.

Why, because we have to live in the same place instead of in separate places like now.

Except for my bunker, the rest of the shelter was not prepared to survive the winter.

Ha Tae-hoon’s house may be able to survive the winter to some extent, but the bunker where the rest of his friends live is literally just a bunker.

They were built as defensive structures from the beginning, to confuse enemies who are trying to kill me and to blow up the bunkers when they carelessly take control.

Because of the nature of the bunkers, which look like pillboxes, they are half underground and thus more resistant to the cold than other places, but they do not have basic heating facilities, let alone ventilation facilities.

They won’t experience the five-month winter that the Barents experienced, but they will need a new home to support them for at least three months, even conservative estimates suggest.

That’s how the winter house was designed.

Next to my bunker, I’m going to build a fairly large shelter, fairly spacious, with materials lying around nearby.

The reason I build a new house instead of leaving my bunker is, of course, human relationships.

Even hamsters will eat each other if you put them in a small space.

I don’t think my colleagues will ever do that, but if you put people together who don’t get along well, fights are bound to happen.

The idea is to create communal living spaces that include a fair amount of private space.

It may sound like a full-bellied complaint, but I want my group to remain stable for a long time.

The problem, of course, is cost and time.

When I told people about my plan, not many people welcomed it.

There was no dissent, but the question was, “Is the average really necessary?”

But with our current housing situation, we won’t be able to survive this winter.

Even my well-defended bunker is turning into a freezer, so those flimsy bunkers and huts won’t be able to last even one night.

“This coming winter.”

It was Defender who showed me that my worries were not in vain.

“I think it would be better to live where we were. It’s been sitting there for a while, but it’s a pretty well-built house there.”

It seems certain that the Defender siblings heard an unusual story from Woo Min-hee on the day they left Seoul.

Since that day, Defender has often made a worried expression, and Hong Da-jeong, who used to joke around with the communicator at least once a day, hasn’t spoken to him since then.

“We came together after all, so why bother?”

Although I said that, I thought deep down that it was a pretty good idea.

If the Defenders, a faction in the area, leave for a while, the amount of time it takes to build a new winter house will decrease.

But before that, there’s something I want to ask.

“Defender.”

The defender nodded at me.

“What did you hear from Woo Min-hee?”

At my question, the Defender looked slightly surprised, but at least to me, like a loyal killer, he told me in a small voice the story he had heard that day.

“It’s not that great.”

The Defender avoided my gaze.

“Scout offer.”

“Scout?”

“Yeah. He asked me if I wanted to come into his territory.”

“Why? Because I’m a hunter?”

“huh.”

Is Woo Min-hee gathering hunters?

Well, this is information I already knew.

What’s important is the hearts of the Defender siblings rather than Woo Min-hee’s intentions.

“So what are you going to do?”

Whatever he thinks, I will support him.

No matter what anyone says, Defender is my friend.

“I’m going to think about it for a moment.”

“Don’t you like people?”

Defender responded to the direct question with an unexpected suggestion.

“Shall we go outside for a bit?”

I thought to myself that this would not be an ordinary outing.

*

It is a well-known fact among my friends on the bulletin board that my internet friend Defender killed many people in the early stages of the war.

However, all we know is that the Defender killed people, and we don’t know much about what exactly happened during the process of killing those people.

All the Defenders showed us were cold corpses that could no longer open their mouths and their ID cards.

“There were some ordinary people, but most were bandits who had banded together to rob and kill unprepared people.”

Today’s means of transportation is the bicycle.

After a long time, I took out my bike that had been gathering dust in the corner of the garage and headed east on the old road, shoulder to shoulder with the Defender.

Defender prefers to travel mostly on foot, but he also uses his bicycle quite often when the distance is long and the road conditions are good.

He said he always used a bicycle, especially when there was a load that was too heavy to carry on foot.

“Those guys all had their own hideouts. They would stockpile their loot there and even imprison women and children.”

Although they are speaking casually, Defender is talking about the turbulent times that occurred immediately following the war.

“I’ve also seen celebrities appearing on TV.”

“okay?”

“Even though he was dead.”

“Oh, like that.”

It is said that the Defender took useful items from such loot warehouses and put them in his own warehouse.

As a meticulous doomsday man, instead of making the mistake of gathering all his supplies in one place, he showed wisdom by hiding them little by little in various places where others would have difficulty finding them.

“The more supplies you have, the more enemies you’ll attract. And it’s unfair. It’s unfair that I’m dead, but what if the guy who killed me gets rich too?”

“That’s true.”

As a wealthy doomsday person, I 100% agree.

Not to brag, but at one point I seriously considered planting suicide bombs throughout my bunker.

So that I could blow myself up if I were to die fighting in the bunker.

Although I like explosive endings, I didn’t choose it because I didn’t want to end up like that.

“It’s here.”

The Defender arrived at a half-collapsed building.

[ Adult Products ]

The sign is obscured by stains and scratches, but it’s clear what they sell.

However, judging from the condition of the building, it appeared to have been abandoned and out of business long before the war began.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the building itself was a giant pile of garbage.

The Defender deftly opened the rusty lock using only a wire.

However, even when I opened the lock, the door did not open, which was a hidden trick by the Defender.

The defender took a rusty hoe out from under a bundle of red plastic and dug under the building.

There was an iron stake driven into the dirt, preventing the door from opening.

“Most people ignore it, but once in a while, there are people who open all the doors.”

Defender opened the door, talking about scavenger countermeasures that were not even asked about.

“oh.”

As soon as I opened the door, countless crawling bugs came crawling out along with a musty smell.

What caught my eye more than the bugs was the large amount of fuel.

“Is this briquette?”

The defender nodded.

“There was a guy who had a whole warehouse full of briquettes. This one didn’t even get half of them. If you go further east, there’s another warehouse, but it’s too far away, and there are a lot of remnants of the Legion there, so it’s a bit difficult to get there.”

The defender spread his arms wide.

“It’s all yours, Skeleton.”

“What? You’re giving me all this?”

“There are a lot of people living there besides you, right? I heard they’re building a winter house. Wouldn’t it be perfect to use it there?”

“hmm.”

“Isn’t it better than wood?”

Certainly, briquettes are a better fuel than wood.

Although it has addiction issues, it also has excellent heating efficiency and, above all, the amount of smoke it produces is so small that it is almost disrespectful to compare it to wood.

In addition, because wood has low heating efficiency, it needs to be burned all day to provide proper heating.

The story is that it can attract as many people as that smoke.

At this point, the large amount of briquettes provided by the Defender is a huge help.

However, assuming that two boilers are in operation, that amount is approximately one to one and a half months.

It may not cover the entire winter, but it will be a great asset to fly the most dangerous time, the beginning of winter, with less risk.

But this gift, on the other hand, darkens my heart.

“But why are you suddenly giving this to me?”

I know.

The Defender has made his own determination.

This gift would be a sign that the determination has been concretely solidified.

“······I’m really sorry. Skeleton.”

The defender bowed his head to me.

“You’ve suffered so many times because of us, and now you’re leaving again.”

So that’s what it was.

The air current was felt.

But it feels a bit sudden.

There is enough circumstantial evidence, but I think it is too early to draw any conclusions.

So I asked.

“Why? You don’t like my territory?”

I didn’t think that would be the case.

It was a solid illusion.

The Defender nodded honestly, his face unadorned and unadorned.

“huh.”

My heart wavered for a moment.

“······.”

It probably shook me a little more to hear that he didn’t like my territory than to hear that the Defender was leaving.

The defender smiled and said to me, who was in shock.

“Should I get some briquettes?”

I thought about it while carrying briquettes.

People often confuse what is familiar with what is good.

Although such characteristics may be thought to be exclusive to older people, they are actually common across all age groups.

It’s the same for me too.

I thought my realm was the coolest, most wonderful hideout in the world, fit for the apocalypse.

Actually, judging by the Korean bulletin board standards, there are very few friends who have a bunker like mine.

Maybe something like Fox Games, which are now almost obsolete, would be different.

But my territory is not necessarily what others like.

It was Kim Da-ram who first told me that fact.

She said things like, “How can you raise a child here?” but she said those things because she didn’t like my bunker itself.

The same would apply to Defender.

Looking back, the siblings always lived in luxurious and splendid places.

It was the same when we first met.

Although it was old and had not been repaired, he had lived in a rich man’s villa for a long time, and even after coming to our territory, he lived in a secret house that was used as a house gambling den.

Living in a place like that and then moving on to a cramped, smelly, bug-infested bunker must have been hard.

Of course, the biggest problem would be human relationships.

Although no major conflicts have occurred yet, Defender also anticipated that the siblings would eventually engage in some kind of conflict with another member.

Perhaps it might have been different in pre-war times, but in this day and age, killing people is not that unusual.

Guns are everywhere, and killing machines like drones are within arm’s reach.

Above all, most of the people here are accustomed to killing.

Besides meaning that something is good, familiarity also carries the implied meaning of being easy.

It’s a terrible prediction, but there’s also talk of a conflict that could escalate into murder.

Anyway, for one reason or another, Defender said he would leave my territory before winter came.

“······Oh, and. There’s that too.”

The defender smiled sadly.

“I think I’m going crazy these days.”

“psychosis······?”

For a moment I doubted my ears.

Wasn’t it already a thing?

No, he’s a self-proclaimed psychopath.

“I had this compulsive feeling that wherever I went, there would be someone who recognized me.”

“······.”

Was that so?

I didn’t notice it at all.

I knew the Defender would have such concerns.

I thought I understood people better than before, but how difficult is it for one person to understand everything about another person?

“I can’t let you or anyone else suffer because of me.”

“Our territory is safe enough.”

“But the cowshed side would be safer.”

I agree with that.

Is there anyone in the Korean peninsula with as strong a backing as Woo Min-hee?

“Besides, Jongcheol is there too.”

“Heo Jong-cheol?”

“Yeah. He has a lot of moss, but he looks good, right?”

“Of course. Since you have clairvoyance.”

“My brother’s health has improved somewhat, but he still needs to be observed. In a world without equipment like today, only someone like Heo Jong-cheol can properly see his brother’s body.”

“······Is it cancer?”

He asked a question that had been on his mind for a long time.

The Defender only smiled faintly.

Are you not going to say anything yet?

As expected, the Defender delayed his response.

“For now, I’m going to think about it with my brother in our hideout.”

The Defender stepped on the pedal and picked up speed.

I quietly muttered as I watched him walk far ahead.

“······okay.”

He pedaled his bike without saying a word.

The wind blows.

The reason why the wind carrying the warmth of the afternoon sun feels colder than the wind carrying the chill of the night is not just due to a change in air mass.

The defender will leave.

But I also know that the intention hidden within is by no means cold.

People meet and part ways repeatedly.

If the ending is good, then that is enough.