Hiding a House in the Apocalypse - Chapter 344



Only Krnovel

Hiding a House in the Apocalypse Episode 346

140. When

The first snow has come.

It was just over four years after the war began.

As the weather gets colder, it becomes easier to find people.

“Three in the north. Two in the west. One in the south. None in the east.”

When the temperature drops, people light fires.

It’s not just humans who can see well.

As snow covered the ground, things without white fur came into sharp view.

Mutations were included among them.

“······Is that a wild boar?”

It appears that a herd of mutant wild boars, often seen in the south, have moved into our territory.

The smaller one is the size of a compact car and the larger one is almost the size of a one-ton truck.

At that size, the rifles we have alone may not be enough to firepower something like that.

While I was wondering what to do, Bang Jae-hyuk came with a good tool.

“I can handle it.”

Crash

“How about this?”

This is a rifle for the grand mutation.

As the name suggests, it is a large-caliber rifle used by Baek Seung-hyun that has been slightly modified to suit mutation opponents.

“Are you okay?”

If a shooter like Bang Jae-hyeok had a high-powered weapon, he would be able to deal with that herd of wild boars without difficulty.

The problem, after all, is humans.

I sighed and looked at the two plumes of smoke rising from the north.

Bang! Bang!

Tata tata tang!

Four years after the war began, the distinction between refugees and looters is meaningless.

It has become natural to kill and steal from those who are weaker and richer than me.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Two groups of refugees who have set up temporary camps on the other side of the mountain have been engaged in a meaningless standoff for the past ten days.

It all started with a very accidental, childish argument.

“Are there any K University alumni? I’m looking for K University alumni~!”

As with any absurd incident, the conversation between the two groups on a shared frequency was initially cordial.

It seemed that he was trying to build rapport with a heterogeneous group approaching from afar.

“Oh. I’m from class of ’99. I majored in philosophy.”

“Is that so? I graduated from law school. Class of ’98.”

“Oh, really? Oh my. You must have studied hard in law school.”

“Haha. We’re from the same university, so is there any need to divide us into classes? We’re all alumni!”

Blood ties, regional ties, and school ties are the only reliable and strong connections in today’s world.

It is not uncommon for groups that meet for the first time to find commonalities in surnames, origins, region, and school ties and become friendly with each other.

In particular, groups classified as prestigious tended to be more united and show stronger solidarity.

Anyway, looking up to this point, it seemed like there was no reason for the two disparate groups to fight.

Rather, their union was threatening to us.

The two groups were each made up of about 50 people, organized into family units, but both were armed with numerous weapons.

Our honest wish was that you would retreat to Sejong as quickly as possible.

The problem arose suddenly.

“Ah. I miss the school cafeteria food we used to eat at Wonheunggwan. On a breezy day like today, eating oxtail soup with radish kimchi soup would fill me up for the day.”

The first person to find the alumni spoke coquettishly.

There didn’t seem to be any particular elements to nitpick or get angry about.

But the other person was different.

“Wonheunggwan?”

The other person, who said he graduated from the philosophy department, asked bluntly.

After a brief silence, the law professor asked cautiously with an embarrassed laugh.

“why?”

The philosophy department soon answered.

“What kind of learning is there at Wonheung-gwan? I don’t know about Changjo-gwan.”

“What are you talking about? I’ve been eating there for four years!”

“Which campus did you graduate from?”

“Seoul campus.”

“I’m a Seoul Campus person too?”

Bang Jae-hyuk, who had been listening up to that point, said something.

“······That kind of thing.”

He shook his head.

“There’s a kid joking.”

Ha Tae-hoon, who was standing next to me, provided additional explanation.

“There are surprisingly many. There are people who commit academic fraud among refugees.”

“Why do you cheat?”

I asked because I was curious.

“In a place where people of average grades gather, there’s an atmosphere where people with higher academic backgrounds are treated with more respect. What should I say? It’s the expectation that since they graduated from a good university, they’re smarter and thus more suited to be leaders.”

“okay?”

“Quite a lot. Honestly, isn’t it human nature to not want to entrust leadership to someone who has no clue?”

Well, there was that kind of trend.

I know this well because I once pretended to be a doctor on Darami’s website.

Meanwhile, increasingly harsh words were being exchanged on the radio.

“I’m also a Seoul Campus Person. Ah. Let’s just stop talking. Let’s say that’s true.”

“What? This son of a bitch? He fucked people up and what? You want to stop?”

“Asabarikandaphunk!”

“What are you talking about?”

“Hey, doesn’t that guy named Dongmun even know the festival slogan? Asabarikandaphunk!”

“I don’t know about that kind of stuff because I only studied. I went to Shillim-dong in the first semester of my freshman year to study for the civil service exam. How could I have the time to play around like that?”

“This is fucking annoying.”

“Really? Show me what real shit is?”

It’s ridiculous, but this is what caused the two groups to engage in a bloody fight with no end in sight.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Each group builds a stronghold and small groups of fighters move back and forth, exchanging gunfire to find each other’s openings.

These sporadic skirmishes continued even as temperatures dropped noticeably, and the first snowfall had now arrived.

When the first snow falls, I have an expectation that these hopeless people will continue to fight and not stop.

Regarding this, Ha Tae-hoon expressed a negative opinion.

“This is a fight that will end when one side is destroyed.”

“Really? Would you really do something like that for nothing?”

“······It looks like one guy became the leader through academic fraud. If you were me, would you just step down?”

As Ha Tae-hoon expected, the first snow did not stop the fight between the two groups.

Instead, as it snowed, the two groups exchanged more frequent gunfire.

It’s a good thing that two groups unrelated to us are fighting to the death, but the place where they fight is too close to our territory.

At first, they were fighting only across the golf course, but now they are fighting inside the golf course, and yesterday, they even fought around the US military base.

Naturally, both sides flew drones as promised, and at one point even used large-scale firepower like something out of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

He gathered his comrades as he looked out over the mountains to the north, where black smoke was rising.

“What do you think we should do?”

At this point I thought it was time to ask my colleagues for their opinions.

“There is no need for us to interfere.”

“Those who fought to the death tend to gather together like ghosts when they see something weaker and more powerful. There’s no need to show up.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to respond when it comes over here?”

Opinions were unanimous.

I think we should all watch.

My thoughts weren’t that different, so I decided to watch the fight.

As the battle dragged on, both groups appeared to be conserving their ammunition.

Instead of guns, both carried crossbows called Judge Killers.

The battle was defensive.

It looks like both sides have taken up positions in good defensive positions and are just waiting for the other side to come.

Even though the main weapon reverted to cold weapons, the front line never narrowed down because there were still friends with guns.

bang!

The two groups ended up raising smoke after the empty gunshots rang out in the evening.

Looks like they’ve both reached their limits.

Perhaps they will engage in a brief war of nerves and then compromise and back off?

It looks like there aren’t that many casualties.

But things in this world don’t always go smoothly.

Especially in this time of destruction.

Early in the morning, Suu discovered a herd of mutant boars.

“Skeleton. That boar. It’s circling around people.”

Although young, Su-woo has stood guard in the world of destruction for a long time.

She has a precise understanding of the meaning and actions of things.

“······I think they’re waiting for people to lose their strength.”

He nodded.

I agree with Suu’s thoughts.

Those boars will wander around and attack at night when they are sure that human firepower cannot penetrate their hides and skulls.

And then I’ll eat up all the helpless humans like I’m choosing from a buffet.

I hate to get involved in stupid fights, but I feel it’s right to intervene here.

After getting everyone’s consent again, we delivered our message via K-Walkie-Talkie.

“I’m just passing by, but I’ve discovered a wild boar mutation nearby. Can you see it wandering across the frozen river to the east? If you don’t want to be pig food, take it easy and go to Sejong.”

I gave a warning.

The refugees were not completely foolish; they immediately tried to make peace as soon as they heard our communication.

“······You heard? We saw it. We did too.”

“······Yes. Us too.”

“Who wants to go first?”

“We should go together. But aren’t we the same person?”

“Let’s keep our distance and move together.”

“Let’s do that.”

The long, drawn-out standoff has finally ended.

No matter how foolish they were, as befitting people who survived four years of destruction, they had the insight to objectively assess the threat of mutations and the flexibility to join hands with humans who seemed ready to devour them at any moment.

The lack of casualties may also have been a major reason why the two groups agreed to a quick ceasefire.

From what we’ve observed, there have been no deaths and only about three minor injuries.

The two groups moved about 400 meters apart.

Armed with rifles and crossbows, perhaps empty ones, they pulled a cart and passed through our territory, heading towards Sejong.

In the evening, Rebecca reported that a herd of boars was chasing them.

I briefly considered telling them this, but I didn’t bother to tell them because I thought they were already aware of the danger and it would only reveal our location.

That night, a gunfight broke out in the south.

It was impossible to tell what kind of battle they were waging from the flashing lights to the south alone, but considering the spacing, frequency, and location of the lights, a grim conclusion could be drawn.

I wonder if that shootout isn’t human versus human, but rather human versus mutation.

*

As the sun rose, we sent out the drone.

Ha Tae-hoon’s drone reported the cold reality.

“As expected, people are fighting each other.”

Someone betrayed me.

They had decided to go to Sejong together, but as soon as night fell, they launched a vicious surprise attack.

The outcome was not clear.

It seems that the side that was taken by surprise was also well prepared, and above all, the risk factor we warned about intervened during the battle.

It’s a mutation.

Traces of an unstoppable herd of wild boars were captured beyond the site of the fierce battle.

The few survivors hastily fled south, while the rest were left abandoned, dead or motionless.

We formed a team and headed to the scene.

It is not for the sake of charity, like a rescue operation.

The purpose is to retrieve any necessary materials.

Since the mutant group was formidable, everyone except Rebecca and her daughter were mobilized.

The most important firepower is, of course, Bang Jae-hyuk.

Dressed in winter clothing, he had his Mutation Rifle mounted on the top of his truck, ready to fire at any moment.

The scene was more horrific than I could have imagined.

Bloodstains, flesh, hair, and torn clothing were scattered eerily across the snow.

At least a dozen people were eaten.

If you’re lucky, dead. If you’re unlucky, alive.

There were still quite a few corpses that hadn’t been eaten yet.

About twenty corpses lay motionless, stretched out in large rows or positions, spaced apart, strangely enough, all gathered in one place.

“It’s a mutation.”

Bang Jae-hyuk spat and muttered.

“I saved it to eat later.”

I left the security to Ha Tae-hoon and Bang Jae-hyeok and inspected the bodies with Cheon Yeong-jae.

Because there’s a chance that a human pretending to be dead might point a gun at us.

“here.”

Cheon Yeong-jae’s abilities shine in this type of search.

“One is alive.”

They found a man lying face down, probably with a broken spine.

He was a man in his mid-forties, broad and stubborn, and, strangely enough, still conscious.

“Hello.”

Cheon Yeong-jae took out a gun and spoke.

“Shall I make you comfortable?”

Then the man said,

“Help me. Yes? Help me.”

This voice. It’s a familiar voice.

Yeah, I was one of those people who had absurd arguments about academic background.

“Law school?”

Cheon Yeong-jae also seems to remember that voice.

The man nodded.

Cheon Yeong-jae chuckled.

“Excuse me. Teacher. Teacher, can’t you feel anything in your lower body?”

“No. There is. There is!”

That’s a lie.

Cheon Yeong-jae was gently pressing down on his leg with the greatsword.

Deep enough to make a normal person scream.

“We wouldn’t accept a normal person, so why would we accept a disabled person like you?”

“Please. Even though I look like this, I’m a person with connections. I have connections in Jeju. I have connections in Sejong! That’s right! King! I even know the King!”

Cheon Yeong-jae looked at me with a bitter smile.

He nodded.

I left the man and searched the surrounding area.

There was a lot of stuff scattered here and there, but we were able to recover some food, medicine, and several electronic items.

The guns were crude and the ammunition was homemade, so there was no need to capture them, and all but one pistol were thrown into the pile of corpses.

After setting fire to the pile of corpses, I looked around.

When mutations come, I plan to kill them all.

Cunningly, a wild boar watched us from afar and then ran into the white snowy field without a second thought.

“What should we do?”

Bang Jae-hyuk asked.

“Ignore it.”

There are also groups that lie in ambush.

The point is that there is no need to fight in a place with bad conditions.

“A pistol. One. Can’t you leave behind just one pistol?”

A man with a broken back begged us with a trembling voice.

I asked him.

“Who started first?”

He handed him the pistol he had retrieved.

I had intended to leave it to him from the beginning.

Because that’s the only mercy we can give.

I looked into the man’s eyes and waited for an answer.

His bloodshot eyes moved around and then he looked at me with wide eyes.

“······We started first.”

“You answered well.”

He held out his pistol.

“Don’t release the safety devices until we leave.”

He said this while getting on the truck first.

The last one left is Cheon Yeong-jae.

He squatted down in front of the man and asked curtly.

“Who lied?”

Bang Jae-hyuk and I faced each other.

I think that guy lied.

Well, I’m not from that school, but even from an outsider’s perspective, that guy’s logic was weak.

The man answered.

“I.”

Cheon Yeong-jae stood up from his seat.

I started the engine and prepared to leave.

The man was watching us.

When our eyes met, the man spoke with a determined look on his face.

The muzzle of the pistol was aimed at his temple.

“In this country, even if you make a mistake, you can’t admit it.”

Ignored it.

“Do you understand what I’m saying? Even if you make a mistake, admitting it is the real mistake!”

It was a ridiculous excuse, but I vaguely understood what he was trying to say.

bang!

I guess that’s what happens when the time comes.