Hiding a House in the Apocalypse - Chapter 374



Only Krnovel

Hiding a House in the Apocalypse Episode 380

154. Innocence (1)

While I was out of Seoul for a while, the Paju Observatory reported that a large eruption had been confirmed.

There are no signs that a large group of monsters is heading to Seoul, but the problem is their size.

It is said that hundreds of medium to large-sized monsters, including giant species that have not been observed for several years, have emerged.

Most of them died out naturally in the rift zone, but we had to stay awake for several days under stress.

As it became increasingly clear that Kang Hyeon-min would not come out of Ganghwa Island, we were busy devising a strategy to build a new defensive line in Seoul using only our own forces.

The most traditional and effective way to block monsters is natural terrain. Rivers and seas are natural barriers that were widely used before accurate information about monsters was properly researched.

In fact, claims about rivers and seas have been widely circulated on hunter information sites.

“Monsters breathe, and if their breathing holes are blocked, they will disappear more quickly.”

This claim was soon proven to be bullshit.

From afar, an Indian man resisted by spraying water from a fire hose at the monster, and up close, a monster crawling across the riverbed from the Chinese front line was confirmed and killed once again.

Of course, it is true that monsters tend to avoid prices.

Strictly speaking, monsters can move via rivers, but if there are other options, there is a very high chance that they will move via land.

This habit has been used to great advantage on the Chinese defensive front.

A pseudo-kill zone was created.

By cutting off all the other bridges, leaving only one bridge, and concentrating firepower on that bridge.

Unfortunately, the operation was canceled by order of high-ranking Chinese officials.

The decision maker’s one-dimensional thought that it would be better to cut off all the bridges rather than waste shells was what moved him and he did so.

The result was dozens of monsters crawling across the riverbed, taking over the opposite bank.

Unlike then, this defense plan is entirely in the palm of my hand, but that doesn’t make things easier.

Because a bridge is always connected to economic benefits.

The story is that depending on which bridge is demolished, people who rely on traffic over that bridge may or may not suffer significant damage.

The new rising power in the new Seoul is the so-called “gangsters.”

According to their argument, it is closer to the true meaning used in the past, not the gangster-like thug that the world speaks of.

Originally, the term “yangachi” referred to a group of thugs who, after the Korean War, carried a large basket on their backs and used tongs to pick up everything they saw on the street – including children – and the name was chosen because they did similar work.

In other words, it is a scavenger.

However, they are exerting significant influence on the new Seoul economy, whose members are increasing by the day.

The government’s supply of goods is limited because they collect items left behind by people in the Gangbuk area and distribute them to the market.

As the preferred areas of these thugs vary depending on the bridge, coordinating them accordingly has become the biggest issue at hand.

The most difficult thing in the world is mediation between people.

As the situation worsened further and further with even so-called citizens’ representatives and pseudo-politicians interfering, an unexpected incident occurred before me.

A group of fanatics abandoned their faith and surrendered.

*

Fanatics are not our concern.

The military is in charge of fanatics.

There are currently two major factions within the military guarding the new Seoul.

One is from the corps faction that Kim Byeong-cheol originally led, and the other is from the government army that Woo Min-hee led.

Those who are more numerous and have the upper hand are from the government army.

In fact, they are said to secretly look down on Kim Byeong-cheol’s soldiers as remnants of a warlord and frequently ignore the orders of Kim Byeong-cheol, who is nominally in command.

The military police investigation unit I visited this time is also part of the government forces.

“It’s a kind of internal strife.”

The one in charge of investigating the fanatics was an army captain named Shim Won-jae, who had a face that looked strict at first glance.

In the world of the legionnaires who “inflate their ranks” and wear the Mugunghwa flower, it is a rank equivalent to a first-year officer, but for the orthodox soldiers, it is still a rank that can take charge of a field.

Perhaps that’s why his single metal rank insignia was so shiny.

“There are many gang-like behaviors where fanatics capture people who have nowhere to go, force them to commit crimes, and hold them as accomplices. This organization seems to have captured people in a similar way. But what kind of people are the people of the Republic of Korea when they call people like that? We’ve even changed presidents several times. In the end, they fought among themselves, and the religious order itself collapsed. The faction that surrendered this time is also from South Korea.”

I was a little curious.

Fanatics are not originally objects of tolerance.

Even if you surrender, summary execution is the norm.

But I guess the military police investigation team had a reason for calling me, even though I was already busy.

There certainly were circumstances that would make that happen.

“It is said that their leader was also abandoned when the sect was disbanded. Naturally, he is an Awaken. According to the Awaken list written by the leader himself, he is not over level 10, but he is an Awaken with great potential. He is said to be a talent who can achieve a second awakening as he grows.”

A useful person does not ask about the past.

Nazi scientists did the same thing in the past, as did Japanese experimenters.

The leader of the problem is also said to be a powerful figure who was ranked quite high on the list of aptitude aways managed by Woo Min-hee.

But I still wonder why they called me, who has nothing to do with Awaken.

So I asked.

“Did the chief call me?”

“No. It is the judgment of our military leadership.”

“I don’t think it’s my business.”

When I showed my doubts, Shim Won-jae held out the leader’s profile and whispered in a small voice.

“First, look at this.”

I saw your profile.

The name is Ham Chun-ok.

The place of origin is, of course, North Korea.

But the face photo attached to the profile.

Why does it look familiar?

It’s a strange thing.

It’s a face I’ve clearly never seen before.

Do you happen to resemble a famous celebrity?

There is a saying that pretty faces are all similar in their own way.

But that’s not it either.

Soon a nickname crossed my mind.

“ah.”

There was a guy named ONE_FAITH.

The guy who came to our sacred bulletin board and advertised his fanaticism.

The guy who had his post mercilessly deleted by the strict manager Park Gyu suddenly appeared in front of me in real life.

“There is a human who knows this woman well.”

As Shim Won-jae clapped his hands, the man who had been sitting awkwardly in the corner of the office suddenly appeared.

A man of medium height and thin body.

He was wearing glasses and half of his left ear was cut off, looking creepy, like a sterilized stray cat.

I could tell at a glance that he was malnourished, but I still had a mysterious belief that he was not born in North Korea.

Indeed, he was Korean.

“Chun -ok is deceived by a dog like a dog!”

The name of this man, who has been complaining with an extremely resentful look on his face since the first meeting, is Hwang Min-seok.

It is a very common unfortunate life, where one is caught up in a cult with one’s parents and becomes a believer without any choice.

As expected, his parents, who were both old and former teachers, are said to have disappeared for unclear reasons during their teaching careers.

He said he had some kind of connection with ONE_FAITH, whom I know well.

“Actually, she’s my girlfriend······.”

The age range was similar.

Although it may seem a bit odd to judge a person solely by their appearance, Hwang Min-seok’s charm seemed to be slightly lower than that of our Cheon Yeong-jae.

Objectively speaking, it’s ugly.

Well, maybe he has the ability to captivate women with something other than his looks.

So I asked.

“Do you play an instrument?”

“No. Why the sudden musical instrument?”

“What about beatboxing?”

“yes?”

I turned my head to Sim Won-jae again.

Shim Won-jae, as if he had been waiting, explained to me what I had to do.

“I would like you to form a team with the hunters under the captain’s command and take this friend with you to secure Ham Chun-ok’s new recruits.”

“Is there a reason why we should do this?”

“It is said that there is one regular Awaken called the Guardian around Ham Chun-ok. The reconnaissance results show that there are only two, including Ham Chun-ok, but aren’t they still Awaken? It would be difficult to deal with those who deploy a reflection field with just soldiers. Awakens need Awakens. That’s why I asked for your help, Captain.”

“Well, it’s not that I don’t understand.”

I looked at Hwang Min-seok.

“Do you really think that girl who is the leader of the fanatics will follow us if we go looking for her?”

Captain Shim Won-jae answered without even blinking.

“If you don’t follow this, I want you to shoot me immediately.”

As expected, Hwang Min-seok reacted strongly to these words.

“No, why are you killing me? Huh? Chun-ok listens when I say it! She’ll die if I say it! Why are you killing someone like that?”

By the way, Captain Shim Won-jae.

As expected, he is not an ordinary military police investigator.

When he sent him a cold look, Hwang Min-seok instantly froze like a mouse in front of a cat.

Perhaps there was an episode of his own that I don’t know about.

I guess it’s a good thing.

“······Then I will go.”

Then, Sim Won-jae asked in surprise.

“Yes? Captain?!”

It’s surprising.

The person currently in charge of the final defense line against monsters volunteers for a mission that could suddenly lead to combat.

But people are precious here too.

Sim Won-jae believes that things will be resolved easily if our regular Awaken goes, but that is because he does not know about the existence of the “Law Guardian.”

If the law was copied from the Chinese religious system, they would probably prefer cold weapons over guns.

They would also prefer a large sword that can instill a sense of intimidation and fear in their opponents.

The religious order of the Chinese soldiers, who deflected soldiers’ guns from medium range, charged into close combat, and slaughtered soldiers mercilessly, were as fearsome as monsters.

Well, in this case there are only two people, so it’s not like the Chinese law enforcement officers who came in droves, but we still need experts.

If we can just recruit the high-potential Awakens that Woo Min-hee personally put on his checklist, they could be a good resource for us.

To be honest, I don’t even want to take a break from what I’m doing now – mediating gangsters.

But more than anything, my curiosity about the somewhat cute bulletin board seed called ONE_FAITH moved my heart the most.

*

The Defender party was not included in this expedition.

There is a risk of massacre.

The average fanatic might not know this, but high-level Awakens are a strategic resource managed by the state.

It’s a waste of resources to kill them out of vague hatred.

Instead, I added my long-time partner, Kim Da-ram, to the team.

“······.”

Our Mrs. Kim doesn’t say much, as if she’s feeling uneasy.

That makes sense.

There’s no way she wouldn’t know, having been with us all our time in China, that what we were about to do was quite a dangerous mission.

But once the battle starts, Kim Da-ram will actively protect me with more precise shooting than anyone else.

She is one of the few hunters I can trust with my back.

We also added a member who is just as useful as her.

“Securing fanatics. Right. Even if there are no people, that’s the case.”

Although not as much as Defender, I added Cheon Yeong-jae, who hates fanatics, to the team.

His usefulness needs no further explanation.

The most impressive team member on this expedition was Lee Haru.

“I’ve often seen them in webtoons by author Pilkrum, but I never dreamed there would be this many in real life! There wasn’t a single one in Jeju.”

When I asked for support staff from the regular Awaken side, she immediately volunteered.

The first thing I thought of was Kim Hanna, but Kim Hanna is a secret.

Even if she had raised her hand, her chances of winning against this aggressive young lady would not have been very high.

“I don’t know about anything else, but I’m incredibly good at playing the stationmaster!”

Her presence is probably the biggest visible achievement of this new Seoul.

The combination of Old School Hunters and Awaken Hunters is something I’ve been thinking about since before the war, but it’s never really come to fruition.

For reference, it is said that in Jeju, Old School Hunters and Awaken Hunters are operated in different formations.

The so-called “meat shield” and “main”.

Anyway, it would be a good experience to test this luxurious team against a hostile Awaken group like the Cultists.

Of course, the group also includes former fanatic Hwang Min-seok.

For some reason, he glanced at Iharu every now and then, and he seemed quite nervous.

What should I say?

It feels like the typical, number-less male indecisiveness is being reproduced in textbook form.

Iharu must have noticed my gaze as well, as he quietly approached me and asked me a question privately.

“That guy. Is that really the boyfriend of that fanatic leader?”

I was wondering that too.

First of all, based on our captured cultists, their helpers, and the information we’ve gathered through drone reconnaissance, it’s clear that our target cult leader is protected by a single male.

Hong Da-jeong demonstrated her skills by shooting drone footage from close range, but no other ambushes or fanatics were seen.

There are only two of them, a young man and a young woman.

But that man named Hobeop.

He is quite handsome.

He is not a textbook handsome man with a sculptural figure like me, but with his long eyelashes, small face, and white skin, he has the kind of handsomeness that can steal women’s hearts.

As the amount of information increases and its specificity increases, something becomes clearer.

Maybe that ONE_FAITH and that fanatic guardian were just running away from love.

The condoms hanging next to the laundry are the biggest evidence.

“It was obvious at first glance that our eyes had met.”

Kim Da-ram said something.

Her mood lightened because she figured our mission would be easier than expected.

Anyway, the content of the mission itself is simple, but the biggest obstacle is the testimony of the former fanatic who assisted us.

I asked again in private.

“Are you really dating Chun-ok······?”

“that’s right.”

He answered naturally, but he looked at it carefully.

Hwang Min-seok’s eyes shook for a very brief moment.