Hiding a House in the Apocalypse - Chapter 38



Only Krnovel

29. Cold wave

A system breakdown means we are deprived of the services we take for granted.

Weather forecast is one of them.

They are always criticized for being wrong in their forecasts, but who else analyzes and judges the weather?

It’s been warm for the past three days.

It was a perfect spring, both by the seasons and by the calendar.

The world changed in one day.

The north wind that blew in without warning during the night began to freeze everything.

The outside thermometer read minus 32 degrees Celsius.

The inside of the bunker became a giant refrigerator.

The water in the toilet located in the center of the first floor bunker was frozen solid.

If Duchamp, who was famous for his toilet exhibitions, saw this, wouldn’t he have titled it The Frozen Fountain?

I waited for the sun to rise and went outside.

It’s so cold, but it hasn’t snowed at all.

The sky was incredibly clear and the air was sadly clear.

“······after.”

What should I do?

The battery is running low.

It was past the beginning of spring and the temperature has been rising recently, so there were many opportunities to turn on the generator, but I didn’t.

Since the oil in the storage tank has fallen below half, we need to start economizing here too. It seemed like spring had come, so we didn’t operate the engine, but now the bitter cold has arrived.

There was a need to run the generator even in broad daylight.

The benefit of running a generator is that it prevents frozen pipes, reduces my chances of getting frostbite, and reduces my risk of freezing to death in a cold snap by 99%.

But running the generator at full capacity in broad daylight will inevitably produce smoke.

Since it has smoke reduction facilities, it won’t be visible that far away.

At night, it is almost impossible to discern unless the moonlight is very bright.

But it is daytime now. And the air quality is very good.

If a faint wisp of smoke were to rise into the sky from this desolate, abandoned land, it would appear to be larger than I imagine.

The choice is simple.

Should I choose to hide and face the cold, or should I start the generator and risk being discovered by a hostile entity I don’t know?

I didn’t consider the option of lighting a fire inside the bunker, because that would be another way of committing suicide.

“······.”

The first choice I made was to face the cold.

I thought I could survive this cold without electricity, just like a primitive person, with only my own heat and my cold weather gear.

However, primitive people did not survive the winter naked.

They had fire.

I have a small fire called a hot pack, but the temperature of a campfire is 1300 degrees, while the temperature of a hot pack is 40 degrees······.

Beep- beep- beep-

The battery is discharged.

The temperature of the heated mat inside the heating tent cooled down annoyingly quickly, and the cold whipped my heart every moment.

I tried to endure it by drinking alcohol, but drinking alcohol only makes the blood flow faster. Drinking a little alcohol doesn’t light a fire inside me to fight the cold.

Even before the war, there were many people who froze to death after drinking alcohol.

“······Fuck.”

I wiped my nose and swore without realizing it.

If this continues, I’ll freeze to death.

I’m the one who kills monsters, thieves, and plunderers before they die.

Around 11am.

Eventually, I decided to turn on the generator.

That’s the only survival conclusion I can think of.

But I won’t do anything ordinary.

I threw open the bunker door and braved the biting cold as I headed toward the fields across the area.

Last year, weeds grew wildly and now the fields are withered like shiitake mushrooms.

He threw a piece of rag soaked in synthetic oil that he had received from Ji Young-hee and lit it with a match.

The wind was so strong that the fire was put out several times.

When do people swear?

Everyone has their own reasons, but for me, it’s when my body is tired.

“Fuck! Fuck! You made this out of oil?”

I repeated the same task, spitting out curses that came out on their own.

Just as I was losing all feeling in my hands and feet, the fields were set on fire.

The fire was burning fiercely, carried by the wind, and there was a danger that even I would be burned, but I stood there for a while, bathing in the fiercely swaying fire.

By the time we returned to the bunker, the flames had grown bigger and bigger, burning the field.

I started the generator as I watched the black smoke rise steadily into the sky.

Wheeeeeeeeing—

I climbed the ladder to the first floor, watching my greatest asset turn around, beating like a heart.

The bunker was still an icy valley, but it already felt warm.

The heating equipment I mainly use is a set of a heating tent and a hot water mat, which allows me to get the highest efficiency at the lowest cost.

But there is one more thing.

Cheeeeeeek-

The radiators installed here and there received hot water that was heated and rotated by a boiler that was fully powered by the generator, and sent out fine steam throughout the room, delivering warmth to my room.

This is the real heating facility that I, Park Gyu, have hidden away.

Luxurious heating that warms not just the floor, but the entire air.

You could say it’s a secret weapon that’s only activated on special days like Christmas or New Year’s Day.

The fact that this radiator is running properly means not only that the air is warm, but that the plumbing system has survived this fierce cold snap.

I took off the parka that wrapped me tightly and watched the thermometer rise.

The temperature rises.

Started preparing the meal.

I suddenly want to eat curry.

My kitchen is next to the toilet.

People are always surprised why the toilet is in the middle, but it can’t be helped.

Installed in the center for optimal design of water supply and sewer pipes.

If I were in the mood, I could decorate it neatly, like an apartment, with three rooms, two bathrooms, and even putting up walls here and there.

But I’m going to use it alone anyway, so what does the location matter?

Crucially, there is a ventilation duct located above the toilet.

This means that the smell can be removed most quickly without installing any special ventilation.

Knock-knock-knock-

I cut the half-frozen carrots, onions, and potatoes into bite-size pieces.

Across from me, water was boiling in a Chinese pot on the induction stove, and next to it, an opened package of Japanese solid curry was waiting to be dropped in like a kamikaze.

Naturally, the temperature inside the bunker rose rapidly.

Even in the bitter cold of minus 28 degrees Celsius outside, the thermometer gradually rose to close to 15 degrees Celsius.

At this point, it’s almost like spring.

You can just turn off the generator, but the batteries won’t be fully charged yet.

Since you took a risk and turned it on, you have to get a good payout.

The hot water that was finally secured was placed in a wheeled bathtub under the shower next to the toilet.

After washing and shaving properly, I got into the bathtub.

“······Wow.”

I feel alive.

It’s like I’m already alive, but new life is coming into my body.

The hot body in the bathtub had the power to melt not only my frozen body, but also my heart.

I relaxed lazily, watching the thick steam escape through the ventilation duct above the toilet.

Who can afford such luxury in this age of destruction?

I felt a warm smile spread across my lips and let this satisfying time pass by.

In the kitchen, the curry was simmering, adding flavor.

Yeah, there have to be days like this.

I checked my surroundings before the sun set.

The plains to the west were blackened and only white smoke was being emitted.

There is no one around and the air is still cold.

The temperature outside is minus 28 degrees.

It’s the kind of weather that would even freeze to death.

*

Continuing from yesterday, I asked the sniper how he was doing today.

“Ugh, it’s cold. It’s so cold. Fucking Korea!”

The sniper mother and daughter probably don’t have to worry.

The fact that I’m posting on the bulletin board every day even on such a cold day is proof that it’s worth living.

Actually, there haven’t been many posts in the community yesterday or today.

There are a few posts saying they’re freezing to death, but that’s it.

Few of our doomsdayers would have frozen to death.

However, it wouldn’t have been easy to type on the keyboard in the bitter cold that turned the inside of the bunker into a refrigerator.

I mean, no one wants to get frostbite and cut off their finger while they’re out in the community.

After filling my stomach with the curry I made yesterday, I went out for a morning reconnaissance.

The air is still cold, minus 18 degrees.

It’s definitely better than yesterday.

The air was still clear and it wasn’t snowing.

I looked toward the golf course, blowing white breath.

A very subtle change was detected.

There is a black dot that I had never seen before under the hill of the golf course that slopes loosely towards this side.

It looked like a person, but it didn’t move at all.

I grabbed my weapon, left the bunker, and approached cautiously.

As expected, it was a person who froze to death.

He was dead, kneeling and bowing his head, and ironically, he was looking in the direction of my bunker.

The gun he was carrying was recovered.

K-2. It was a domestically produced rifle and the magazine was full of bullets.

In my pocket there were condoms, cold medicine, and for some reason mosquito repellent, so I took them all.

I was tempted to pack an expensive imported parka that was similar in size to mine, but I just left it.

After I packed my things, I wondered what to do with this body.

Burn or bury?

I don’t like either of them.

The fire is visible and the burial is a pain as it requires digging through frozen ground.

It would be better to throw it somewhere out of sight.

Later, when the weather gets a bit warmer, I’ll have to go and decide whether to bury or cremate her.

He grabbed the corpse’s feet and dragged it up the hill.

I don’t know much about golf because I’ve never played it and I’m not interested in it, but this golf course was called a country club.

Unlike public golf courses where anyone can play, it seems that only members with expensive memberships were allowed to enter.

I once heard from Mr. Kim that a membership here was traded for around 1.8 billion won.

It’s true that there were a lot of expensive cars coming and going.

While I was looking at the golf course, exhausted from working on the bunker, I often saw a cute cart going over the hill while making a noise.

I thought about it every time.

What’s over that hill?

What kind of new world is unfolding in a country club with a membership fee of 1.8 billion won?

After the war started, I walked past the empty golf course and over the hill.

There was nothing.

Only the cut-and-burned lawn, garbage of unknown origin, and collapsed bungalows vaguely hinted at the fact that this was once a gathering place for South Korea’s upper class.

I’m climbing over that hill again.

Holding the feet of the corpse of someone I don’t know.

My intention is to throw this body over this mound.

If I just move it there right now, it won’t be visible from my bunker.

This is not just for aesthetic reasons, but also to ensure that my vision is clear of any wild animals that might pounce on the corpse.

“Phew.”

I climbed up the ridge of the hill with the feeling of having climbed a mountain.

I kept my mouth shut.

It had to be that way.

There are more bodies.

That too, one of a dozen.

They all froze to death.

Some people were carrying guns, but others appeared to be civilians.

The man I brought wasn’t wearing a military uniform either.

Are you a refugee?

Or are you a pioneer?

I would like to believe that they were looters, but the proportion of elderly people, children, and women was too high for them to be looters.

Their frozen corpses formed a straight line, and, creepily, the point where that line was pointing was none other than my bunker area.

“······.”

I paused for a moment, lost in thought.

The man I brought was also looking at my bunker.

Could it be that you came here because of the smoke I made?

In the cold of below minus 30 degrees?

There must have been smoke from the field, so why did they come this way?

Can my acting be seen that far?

Did the smoke from my generator look more beautiful than the rough, demonic black and red smoke of the fields?

I looked back at the corpses, feeling an inexplicable sense of irritation.

“Why on earth did you come······.”

I wish I had the ability to talk to the dead.

I wanted to catch that spirit and ask it why it came to me on this cold day.

I wanted to ask why he had made this rare good feeling so dirty.

My anger was not connected to the fire.

He left the golf course, leaving the uninvited guests behind.

There are footprints I’ve never seen before in my area.

I remembered the armed corpses on the golf course.

They were all frozen to death miserably, but they were well armed.

Only 7 automatic rifles.

I couldn’t take everything, so I only took ammunition and left the ball aside.

Surely that wasn’t all?

There was another group and they found my bunker which they couldn’t reach.

“······.”

Feeling his blood run cold, he put down the gun he had captured and slowly approached the bunker.

From the middle, the footprints disappeared and instead, a crawling, dragging trace remained.

There was a gun abandoned next to the fourth bunker.

The gear marks became increasingly messy and shallower.

The trail continued all the way to my main bunker.

In the well-camouflaged and concealed entrance to my main bunker, a man lay kneeling.

There were no signs of life.

Looking at the goblin needles stuck to my clothes like tumors, it looks like they came over the mountain.

So that’s why our paths diverged.

It seemed that he had reached the entrance to my territory based on vague impulse and instinct, without any particular awareness that my main bunker would be here, as evidenced by the fact that he had thrown his gun and the traces of crawling he had made.

Looking at the face of the man who now looked to be in his early 20s, I blurted out a cold word without realizing it.

“Hole in one.”

It seems that this cold wave is not only freezing the sky, the ground, and nameless people.

*

Defender: Why are you so depressed?

Defender: The cold wave protected you?

SKELTON: (Skeleton grins) Really?

Defender: Shall we join you?

I was about to type “YES!”

“······.”

My joy was cooled.

Because I realized halfway through that what I was seeing was a dream.

Ten days have passed since contact with the Defender was lost.

People were murmuring that even the world’s greatest defenders could not overcome this destruction.

“······.”

When I opened my eyes, the familiar darkness greeted me.

It was pitch black, with nothing visible.

Without thinking, I turned on the computer by feeling around and remembering the locations of objects like a blind person.

There is no reason.

I just want to see people.

I want to pour something out.

Even if no one responds to what I say, I want to see them alive and moving.

A message came.

Message from Defender: Skeleton, did you miss me? You didn’t freeze to death, did you?

Just a few simple sentences can stir up emotions in people.

“······Fuck.”

I feel something hot running down my cheeks.

It’s a happy and sad thing.

Who would have thought that this Park Gyu-ga would get teary-eyed seeing that guy?

But the heat running down my cheeks is not a dream, it’s reality.

Knock knock

I typed with my frozen fingers.

SKELTON: It’s been a while.

Message from Defender: That’s it? Nothing more to say? You were waiting for me, weren’t you?

“under.”

Why is this guy acting so rude?

Is there something missing?

Any novel expressions to express my joy at reunion without hurting my pride?

Ah, a sentence I had seen somewhere flashed through my mind as if I had seen it in a dream.

Knock knock-

“like.”

He replied by blowing on his fingers.

SKELTON: (Skeleton denies) Well, it wasn’t something you particularly wanted to see?

Message from Defender: Wow······.

A message from Defender: I’ve been feeling this way for a while now, but aren’t you terrible at the internet?

SKELTON : !