Hiding a House in the Apocalypse - Chapter 342



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Hiding a House in the Apocalypse Episode 344

139. The Weight of Life (2)

There was a man who bred mutations before the war.

It wasn’t a mutation from the beginning.

He was a member of a loving family.

The mutation factor that accidentally flew in made the beast, which was already in the process of growing or growing, grow to an excessive size that anyone could see.

Education about mutations had been widely disseminated and had been a topic of interest to people for several years before the war, so everyone was familiar with it.

Some voluntarily applied to the authorities for culling, but they hid the animals they considered family and left them as they were.

News of mutants growing larger and slaughtering families, killing neighbors, and running rampant through the streets was a common occurrence before the war.

To conclude, the result is already decided.

Raising mutations is unfortunate for both the mutation and the humans.

Of course, let’s also acknowledge that there are some exceptions.

An anonymous cat mom has proven this fact, and I am one of those who have witnessed the possibility that humans and mutations can coexist.

But reaching that understanding is not easy.

Think of it as a process of persuading someone who hates you for no reason.

It’s not easy.

If there are other people around, they might try to kill the mutation before they even understand it.

Many people who hid mutations were tried for violating the law and sent to prison.

So, what I’m saying is that it’s a tragedy that was already decided.

Well, it might be a comedy in Fox Games’ case, but she’s not Kim Byeong-cheol’s daughter.

He’s a good kid, but he’s overly bright.

Besides, she is Kim Byeong-cheol’s daughter.

Although Kim Byeong-cheol has now been reduced to a warlord, he was once the leader of the Republic of Korea.

Besides, he couldn’t help but worry about his daughter’s safety, considering the thousands of people surrounding the government warehouse he was guarding, even though they weren’t under his command.

I searched through my phone to find Kim Byeong-cheol’s personal identification number that I had received before and contacted him.

“This is Marshal Kim Byeong-cheol’s radio.”

An unknown voice picks up the radio.

By the way, we are enemies.

I’ve already advanced to a higher level.

“My name is Park Gyu. Can I connect you with Captain Kim Byeong-cheol?”

No matter what you call him, he’s still the boss to me.

After a while, Kim Byeong-cheol received a radio transmission.

“Oh! Park Hunter! Long time no see! What brings you here?”

It’s not easy to figure out someone’s feelings just from their voice, but at least Kim Byeong-cheol didn’t seem too upset today.

“It’s just that I saw on the internet that a person who was supposed to be your daughter was raising a dog.”

“Humphrey?”

“yes?”

“I thought you were talking about our Humphrey. You’re talking about a puppy, right?”

“You do know that’s a mutation, right?”

I put a sharp edge to my voice.

Enough for the other person to notice.

Even if Kim Byung-chul had not lost power, my reaction would have been the same.

There are no exceptions when faced with obvious and anticipated danger.

We need to make the other party, whether he is the president or not, realize the danger.

Before the war, I spoke my mind even in front of the man who was called the Emperor of China.

That is our duty, those who stand against the cracks.

“I know.”

Kim Byeong-cheol, who understood my intention, answered with a different voice.

“I think it would be best to kill him as quickly as possible.”

“······Isn’t it too cold?”

“If it’s more important than your daughter’s life, you can just leave it alone.”

“······.”

“If you have nothing to say, I will hang up now.”

“Park Hunter over there.”

“yes.”

The moment I heard that voice, I had a bad feeling.

Now that it couldn’t be helped, Kim Byeong-cheol’s voice was beginning to resemble the typical tone of a person making a request.

If it was a small favor, I could grant it, but a request from someone in a high position like Kim Byeong-cheol is always burdensome and carries risks.

With the rejection in mind, I waited for Kim Byeong-cheol’s next words.

“I’m really sorry, but could you convince my daughter for me?”

“······.”

“When my wife divorced me, she took my son with her, but when the war broke out, I lost contact with both my wife and my son. So, they are the only family I have left.”

“How can I persuade him?”

I was an instructor for a while, but I don’t think I was a good teacher.

Besides, I am the type of person who likes to demonstrate rather than teach others.

I am neither deep enough to persuade anyone nor do I have the patience to wait for the other person to change their mind.

First of all, I am neither his subordinate nor in his domain.

It would be impossible for me to leave my territory and go there alone during the dangerous season when migratory birds flock for the sake of my daughter.

“I’m not a counselor. And I can’t go there either.”

“You don’t have to come.”

“yes?”

“Could you please say a few words there?”

The moment I heard that, I unconsciously stared at the monitor.

Inside the monitor, a photo of Kim Byeong-cheol’s daughter holding a mutant dog was displayed.

“On the Internet?”

“In my view, you are as capable an internet warrior as a hunter.”

“······.”

“I’m really sorry, but I can’t do anything to my daughter. But since you’re famous on the message boards, maybe you could say a few words that might move her heart?”

Kim Byeong-cheol sighed.

“As a father, I’m ashamed to say this, but right now my daughter doesn’t even listen to what I’m saying······.”

I thought about it for a moment.

Certainly, the term Internet warrior is an anachronism.

No one on the internet, including me, uses words like that.

But it is true that I am famous on the bulletin board and have some influence.

He nodded.

Wouldn’t it be okay to say a few words on the Internet?

There is nothing to lose, and if you refuse this request, you may incur Kim Byeong-cheol’s wrath.

I think you’d better accept it.

But before that, responsibility was clearly defined.

“You know, advice given on the Internet is often ignored. If people don’t listen when you tell them in person, who will listen when you tell them on the Internet? That’s what you need to know.”

“Okay.”

“And after 30 days from now, or at the latest after 45 days, you must dispose of it regardless of your daughter’s wishes.”

“······I’ll consider it.”

“The latter is not a recommendation. It is a warning.”

That’s how I ended up taking on the unexpected task of providing psychological counseling to Kim Byeong-cheol’s daughter.

The name of that precious daughter of Kim Byeong-cheol is Kim Ye-rim.

He is 17 years old and has grown up preciously.

Kim Byeong-cheol did not say that his daughter had a disability, but he said that his daughter had refused to go to school since middle school and that the reason for this was that she had an excessive amount of emotions.

In short, it seems like he’s not good at controlling his emotions.

It appears to be one of the so-called autistic symptoms.

Regarding autism, there is a story told by our mentor, Jang Gi-yeong.

“Autism? There was no such word in the past. Do you know why? In the past, there was always one person in the neighborhood who was called the idiot brother. Even though he was old, he hung out with kids. He was obviously a weakling. He was old enough to be in middle school, but he hung out with kids in elementary school. But when I was in middle school, that idiot brother disappeared. It wasn’t just in my neighborhood. Many idiot brothers disappeared.”

Jang Ki-young smiled faintly.

“Where did all those neighborhood idiots go?”

His anachronistic reminiscences are one of the main reasons that keep me and him apart.

Anyway, since I’ve entrusted the work to Kim Byeong-cheol, it would be natural to talk to him.

I pulled myself together, sat upright in front of the computer, and tapped away briskly at the keyboard.

“······.”

Knock knock

SKELTON: (Skeleton greeting) Hello!

I sent a message to Yerim.

After a while, she received a reply.

Message from armeegruppe_B: (Yerim sweats) Huh?

SKELTON: Can we talk for a moment?

Message from armeegruppe_B: Who are you?

SKELTON: (Skeleton disappointed) Don’t you know me?

Message from armeegruppe_B: Of course I know!

Message from armeegruppe_B: You always post weird stuff!

SKELTON: ?

Message from armeegruppe_B: Aren’t you having a baby today?

I found myself smiling without realizing it.

Kim Byeong-cheol’s daughter knew me.

I knew that very well.

It’s a strange thing.

It’s like this that my existence is known to someone I’ve never seen or spoken to.

I felt like my heart was finally being filled and I gave a little fan service.

“······.”

Knock knock

SKELTON: (Skeleton gives strength) Kiyoyongyooot!

SKELTON: (Skeleton Good Boy) Ugh.

Message from armeegruppe_B: I’ll block you.

Is this a generation gap?

SKELTON: Wait! I have something to tell you.

Message from armeegruppe_B: What’s going on?

Let’s get to the point.

SKELTON: (Seriously) I saw your post. It looks like you have a dog.

Message from armeegruppe_B: Yes, yes. Our Humphrey, right?

Message from armeegruppe_B: (Yerim is proud)

The moment I saw that message, I thought of my classmate Lee Sang-hoon.

Lee Sang-hoon was an excellent hunter, but the National Intelligence Service was not an easy place to be promoted based on that alone.

Even though Lee Sang-hoon had high performance, he was just one of the top performers compared to me, and he wasn’t even away like me.

The reason why Dong-gi Lee Sang-hoon was highlighted was because he handled this mutation incident in a sophisticated manner.

I clearly remember Lee Sang-hoon confessing the difficulties of the job in an interview with the press.

“Convincing my family was the hardest part. It was dozens of times harder than dealing with mutations. Why, they’re my pets? They’re my family. They say half of the scammers in Korea scam their family and friends. They didn’t fall for it without knowing it, they fell for it knowingly. They say affection is the bond that connects people, but when one person falls off a cliff, the other person is dragged along with them.”

Lee Sang-hoon sighed and stared at the screen with empty eyes.

I remember that the image containing human agony was highly regarded by people.

I don’t know how they actually handled it, but according to Kim Da-ram, who hates Lee Sang-hoon so much, they only talk a lot, but it seems like they mostly just dealt with it by killing the mutations and notifying them.

Kim Da-ram’s words need to be taken with a grain of salt.

I believe my motivation has convinced others to think of another family in their own way.

It was hard to imagine a future in that empty funeral parlor where I would walk the path he had walked, years after his death.

SKELTON: (Skeleton advice) I don’t know what to say, but I’m a mutation dog expert.

I sent a photo I had prepared in advance.

These are one of the few precious photos I have of myself and my partner Gold.

Message from armeegruppe_B: Wow.

Message from armeegruppe_B: (Yerim is surprised) This isn’t a composite, right? Wow······.

Message from armeegruppe_B: I want some emoticons.

Of course, they mosaic-processed my face.

SKELTON: Not to brag, but it’s very difficult to achieve something like this.

Message from armeegruppe_B: Is that so?

SKELTON: Raising mutant dogs is very dangerous. Remember the story on the news before the war where a mutant killed an entire family?

Message from armeegruppe_B: ? This is my first time hearing about this?

For a moment, I thought it wasn’t going to be easy.

I could feel the struggles of my classmate Lee Sang-hoon.

SKELTON: They may be cute now, but mutations grow very quickly. Even faster when they’re hatchlings.

SKELTON: Right now, that dog is just a cub who doesn’t know anything, so he’ll be fine, but as he grows bigger and more intelligent, you’ll be in danger.

In Kim Ye-rim’s silence, I continued to send messages alone.

After a while.

Message from armeegruppe_B: So?

A cold reply came.

“······.”

What should I do?

What should I say here to change your mind?

I know that too.

It was a time when everyone was smart and successful.

It was a time when there were many people who thought that others were wrong even when their own knowledge was wrong.

It is a delusion to think that you can change someone’s mind just by talking.

“······.”

Knock knock

SKELTON: I know you like that puppy, but does that puppy like you?

All I can do is tell the truth.

Message from armeegruppe_B: My Humphrey loves me so much. He wags his tail whenever he sees me. He’s so cute. Seriously.

SKELTON: That’s because the puppy has no choice but to rely on you.

SKELTON: As your body grows, and you become confident that you can easily subdue it, it will change its mind.

There are reports that mutations enhance both intelligence and wildness.

It was an argument to explain why animals that used to follow humans so much showed completely different behavior simply because their intelligence had increased.

Either way, it is true that mutations raised under humans harm humans.

There are very rare exceptions, but exceptions are just that.

Reality mercilessly strikes down those who try to be exceptions.

SKELTON: I think you’d better give up the puppy.

This is my conclusion.

and.

Message from armeegruppe_B: I’ll block you. Don’t talk to me.

This is Kim Ye-rim’s answer.

I took a screenshot.

This is to avoid embarrassment in case Kim Byeong-cheol questions him later.

So I guess I’ve done my job well enough.

Actually, I did what I had to do.

But it is also true that I feel uneasy.

If we leave it like this, Yerim will probably die.

That too, miserably.

“······.”

I got up from my seat and walked around the bunker, centering around the central toilet.

I sat back down.

Where should I start?

It is true that what I can do is extremely limited.

Outside, migratory birds are camped out.

They are not targeting us, but groups of immigrants who happen to be passing through my territory at the same time are aware of each other and are digging their own camps and staging a sit-in on the road.

If we are not careful, the sparks could fly to us too.

In this situation, it would be foolish to go to Seoul, and there would be little justification for me to risk my life and go there to kill that mutation.

Knock knock knock

The rough motion of turning the mouse wheel must be a reflection of my mind that can’t do anything.

I absentmindedly clicked on the popular posts tab out of habit.

Still that damned thing – Fox Games’ anachronistic trend is dominating the popular posts.

Knock knock.

I found myself tapping away at the keyboard without realizing it.

Yes, that’s right.

If you can’t persuade Kim Ye-rim, you just have to create an environment where she can be persuaded.

Foxgames

This is a phrase I typed into the input box without thinking.

Yes, that’s right.

This guy is the problem.

This fox game has given people false hope.

If so, the solution to the problem may be surprisingly simple.

If Fox Games has given people false inspiration, let him take it back.

“······.”

Knock knock

How long has it been?

Sending a message to this rotten-minded person I once thought was a kind person on the bulletin board.

SKELTON: Hello?

Of course, he could have blocked me.

Because blocking is something that can be done, then unblocked, and then done again.

Message from Foxgames: Oh. Skeleton.

Didn’t block.

Message from Foxgames: Long time no see?

Rather, he welcomes me.