Hiding a House in the Apocalypse - Chapter 39



Only Krnovel

30. Golf (1)

Defender: Authentication

All the people who showed up for the Defender’s murder certification after a long time were soldiers.

Just like the Nazi German soldiers of World War II, they were wearing all kinds of badges and medals.

Although it is said to be a product of the sorrows of a country that had no choice but to stick to a conscription system while verbally switching to a volunteer system, it was not a very pleasant sight for a third party.

It is common knowledge among both soldiers and civilians that the bigger the sergeant, the more veteran the soldier is.

The soldiers killed by the Defenders were all packed with their weapons so tightly that they almost covered their shoulders.

After all, he must have been a private guarding the front lines.

Defender: The cold wave saved me.

The soldiers who appeared in the Defender’s certification showed no signs of trauma on their bodies.

Everyone froze to death.

He fell asleep in the midst of a sudden cold wave, not knowing what to do, and that led to his death.

This cold wave that struck without warning resulted in massive casualties.

People living in poor living conditions where they cannot even expect proper insulation, let alone heating, were hit hard.

Countless people died and many more suffered from frostbite.

The warm days that heralded the arrival of spring before the cold wave also contributed to the damage.

Like the people who died in my area.

They say that in Seoul, a lion cub appeared in every other house.

Just three years ago, white steam rose from chimneys in every house in Seoul, but now black smoke is rising everywhere.

At every corner, in every square, corpses were piled high and burning, and many people were warming themselves next to the burning corpses, as if to comfort the frozen dead.

Seoul’s decline has been underway for some time, but this cold snap has in some ways been a fatal blow.

Fortunately, our doomsdayers weathered this cold spell with flying colors.

They say that a few users who were usually inactive have disappeared, but none of the users I know have died and the bulletin board population hasn’t decreased significantly.

But everyone knew that things weren’t going to get any better.

That was actually the case.

A message from Defender: Legion deserters have turned into small groups of marauders who are raiding the area.

Message from Defender: I think it’s time to move soon.

In the east, deserters from the Legion are on the rise.

Their threat is more lethal than any enemy we have ever faced.

Users who lived around the front lines confessed that their territory had become half the territory of monsters and mutations.

lifeismagic: Monsters and mutations are flowing in from North Korea with free passes because the soldiers aren’t guarding the front lines.

Anonymous 213: Here, in the outskirts of Sokchon, a monster starts walking slowly, and the area gradually changes into something strange. What is it? Should I say it’s gray? No one can do anything about it.

qwer740128: I’m from Hanam and this is the first time I’ve seen a mutation in my life. You guys have seen and lived through things like that.

The western region I belong to is relatively safe.

This is because the military, including the National Assembly, was conserving its power, centered around Incheon and the western part of Seoul, and government functions were somehow running.

But in the outskirts, a long-standing problem has erupted.

Boss_domingo: Are you installing the pioneer pups again?

keystone: No, I was taking a breather after all the guys that were there before froze over, but then another bunch of them crawled in.

Anonymous848: I think more will come when it gets warmer. They call themselves pioneers, but they are being abandoned by the country.

The weakening of the Legion faction means that the National Assembly faction is regaining its composure.

Perhaps the pioneers who had been deployed to the front lines are being sent back to the front lines.

Before the peaceful winter had even ended, the new year brought its harsh bills.

My field is no exception.

Chijijik–

The K-Walkie-Talkie picked up a noisy frequency.

“Mr. Park Gyu? Mr. Park Gyu?”

A familiar voice called my name.

Whose voice was that?

I clearly remember that voice.

“100······ is······ here······.”

The reason there was so much noise was because there was radio interference in the area or because there was a lot of sunspot activity, but the biggest reason was the distance.

As I adjusted the sensitivity to a long range, the previously blurry voice became clearer.

“This is Baek Seung-hyun. If you can hear me, please answer.”

So it was this guy.

One of my seniors.

He was in charge of all kinds of dirty work under the National Assembly member, so what business do you have with me?

The last time I saw him, he was working as a handyman under a junior who was called uncle.

I’m a little glad that he’s alive, but I’m also a little worried.

Especially when you look for me from such a distance.

“I heard from Mr. Kim Da-ram. Do you live around here? If you do, please contact me. I have something important to tell you.”

When I heard the name Kim Da-ram, something inside me sank, but soon cold reason crushed my heart as if it were trampling on it with a military boot.

I held back and waited for his next words.

“Mr. Kim Da-ram said he was around here. Mr. Kim Da-ram is in critical condition right now. He is asking for rescue. Mr. Park Gyu is needed for rescue. Aren’t you around here? I heard he’s around here.”

Baek Seung-hyun continues to talk.

But the longer his words became, the more the sincerity, or the sincerity in his words, seemed to quickly dilute.

Soon a faint grumbling sound, as if from far away, could be heard beyond the speakers.

“I don’t think this is the right place.”

It’s not Baek Seung-hyun’s voice.

Another, unidentified man’s voice.

There are two or more people.

The communication was soon cut off, but the lingering engine noise of a motorcycle I remembered from afar could be heard.

Baek Seung-hyun is leaving.

Leaving behind a creepy feeling and eerie questions.

“······.”

In a book I read a while ago, it said that when the stage of destruction progresses to a certain point, an era will come where people will eat other people.

It seems like we have entered that era.

*

The incident occurred three days after a mass shooting at a golf course.

“This is the 22nd Pioneer Corps headquarters. This is the 22nd Pioneer Corps headquarters. If there are any survivors among the 333rd Pioneer Corps, please respond. I repeat. If there are any survivors among the 333rd Pioneer Corps, please respond.”

The pioneer has revealed his territory again.

[ 22nd Pioneer Group ]

The flag waving on the 5-ton truck in the distance is a memorable flag.

Maybe I saw it at Cat Mom’s apartment.

Elderly people were abandoned and killed in groups.

“It looks like they are all dead. I pray for the souls of the deceased to rest in peace. We will take care of the bodies and equipment.”

Even after sending so many people to their deaths, the voice coming from the radio was extremely cheerful.

“Huh? Huh?”

After a bizarre tongue twist, the radio fell silent.

A moment later, a clear, male voice came out darkly from the other end of the radio, accompanied by a mocking laugh.

“Are there people around here? Huh? Are there any kids? They took all the good ones, except for the empty ones from the crappy guns.”

Human insight isn’t all that great.

Ultimately, you have to make a judgment from a first-person perspective.

I made the best judgment I could at the time.

The only thing missing was a gun that could not be recovered or taken.

If another refugee or looter were to get his hands on that automatic rifle, it would pose a direct threat to me, who was closest to me.

But who knew that as soon as the cold wave subsided, a group of pioneers would rush in so quickly and swiftly?

Those who died on the golf course had no flag.

No, maybe that flag, a useless object for survival, was thrown away in the cold wave that killed people.

“I’ll give you one minute.”

The man on the other end of the radio demanded attendance in a low tone.

“You messed with the wrong person. I’m Colonel Cho Seong-yong, the leader of the 22nd Pioneer Corps. Cho Seong-yong, the Chihuahua~ Once you bite, you’ll never let go!”

Several drones soared into the sky from the ridge of the golf course, while pioneers in different trucks fanned out in all directions to search the area.

As expected, no one came to my territory, which looked like a desolate group of tombs.

A drone approached us at low altitude, but soon flew away.

I turned off all the power, blocked all the pipes, and left only the radio on to eavesdrop on their radio conversations.

“Colonel, this is Go Min-soo. I searched the entire area around the US military base, but I found nothing.”

“This is Ha Choong-soo~. I searched all the apartments in Shinwha. There’s nothing special~.”

“Victory! This is Sergeant Kang Min-jae. We have completed the search of the Dongil-ri ruins, but we have not found any survivors. Should we continue searching?”

This pioneer is well armed and well equipped.

They brought three trucks, an SUV, and a new light armored vehicle, and each vehicle was in a team, constantly communicating with each other via radio.

Maybe that’s why.

It seemed like he didn’t really care about security.

No, we cannot rule out the possibility that they are intentionally talking on the public frequency.

Because from the position of being forced into silence, the sound of the radio blaring out loud can itself be violence.

In fact, Jo Seong-yong knew his own advantage well and had a talent for psychologically pushing people.

“Search nearby rivers. If there’s a place where people are hiding, there’s bound to be a place that smells like shit and piss. Out of all those doomsday bastards, I haven’t seen a single one with a septic tank. They’re fucking bastards who only care about their own survival, so they don’t care about the environment and just let it flow. Look for sewer pipes covered in shit.”

Perhaps, if you were a doomsday person like Jo Seong-yong, you might have felt the sensation of your feet collapsing upon hearing that radio message.

But that doesn’t apply to me.

While working in China, I observed the behavior of numerous survivors, and while building bunkers, I studied cases in other countries closely to prepare for the worst.

The sewer pipe that Jo Seong-yong is looking for is one of them.

I have a septic tank.

The hint came from a case that occurred in India.

I have heard of instances where looters would track down rich people’s bunkers and drag them out to kill them based on the smell of feces.

Septic tank construction is not an issue that can be decided easily.

Not only does it cost a lot of money to have equipment to clean up the sludge, which seems unnecessary, but individual survivalists like me also have to endure the trouble of scooping out the sediment by myself.

The hard work was amply rewarded.

“Nothing, sir. It’s very clean. I found a few water pipes used for agricultural purposes, but there’s no trace of human waste.”

The group searching the river approached the valley just below the hill where my main bunker was located, but they found no trace.

“okay?”

Jo Seong-yong’s sigh was heard over the radio.

“Were there any looters around here?”

“No. The only reports we’ve received are of remnants of the US military taking over a town and a pack of mutant dogs. I’ve also heard that a pack of nomadic marauders are running wild to the southeast. Could this be their doing?”

“After retrieving and recharging the drone, search all the roads you can. If they’re moving by car, there’ll be traces. Call the kids together.”

The pioneers who had been searching all over the place gathered again at the golf course.

Even if you didn’t listen to the radio transmission, you could tell just by looking at the way the pioneers were gathering together in a haphazard manner.

The enemy has not found me and is leaving my territory empty-handed.

It’s my victory.

No, wouldn’t it be better to call it a triumph of individual survivalism?

Collective survivalism, led by Diesirae, has been gaining ground on message boards recently, but that’s probably because they haven’t faced such a powerful enemy before.

If the deserters from the east come down right now, won’t they change their minds?

Maybe it’s because I’m feeling less tense, but I’m starting to feel hungry.

I took out a piece of hardtack, a type of cracker with a brick-like texture, put it in a bowl, and poured lukewarm water from the water purifier.

It is one of the human feeds that we eat to survive.

As I was tapping the slightly loosened dry bread with a spoon, making it sticky like porridge, the radio rang again.

“Gominsu, take the kids and dispose of the body.”

“Yes, I’m going.”

“Sergeant Kang, pick out the worst guns from the remaining ones and give them to the new guys.”

“all right.”

“Piljae. Contact headquarters and ask them to send a dog.”

The endless radio transmission ended with Jo Seong-yong’s cold threat.

“Hey. Thief? Are you listening? I know everything. Just wait. I’ll let the dogs out soon. It’ll take about three days. Before that, carefully prepare the stolen firearm and the damages and place them in a conspicuous place on the golf course. This is not a warning, it’s a notice.”

As the truck honked its horn at the golf course, fully armed men climbed into the tarpaulin-covered cargo bed.

Jo Seong-yong was probably not seen as he was in the vehicle from the beginning to the end.

Soon the truck carrying the people disappeared over the ridge with a loud noise.

“······Phew.”

It seems like they somehow managed to overcome the crisis.

But it’s too early to feel relieved.

The method of pretending to leave while leaving behind a watchful eye is quite a classic.

As expected, around evening time, the drone’s flight sounded like it was gliding over my bunker, heading north.

After all, the drone was left behind.

They must have been placed so high up that no sound could be heard, and were watching over the entire area.

Of course, this won’t be the end.

Jo Seong-yong said he would release the dog in three days.

I made my own preparations.

They removed the smell, sprayed imported dog repellent spray everywhere in the United States, and blocked the entrances to all the bunkers with dirt and rocks.

In preparation for an emergency, we moved the daily necessities on the first floor of the main bunker to the generator room and installed the claymores that Rebecca had given us at intervals there.

I checked to make sure the vent shutters were working properly, as those trying to storm the bunker seemed to enjoy using tear gas.

Finally, he inspected each bullet and sharpened both axes.

Three days later, two buses arrived at the golf course.

“?”

Did they bring two busloads of search dogs?

This is nonsense.

But the reality was stranger than I imagined.

The dogs that Jo Seong-yong spoke of were ordinary people.

You could call them neighborhood uncles and aunties.

People who looked like neighbors I had seen somewhere before showed up in the -12 degree Celsius, windy wilderness without any clues.

Across the golf course, a loudspeaker speaker blared.

“Dear citizens. There is a criminal here who has killed dozens of people. What you need to do is find that bad guy. The person who finds him will be rewarded with a first-class family ticket to Jeju Island on an evacuation ship!”

I, Park Gyu, to find one. More than 100 people moved.