Hiding a House in the Apocalypse - Chapter 53



Only Krnovel

36. Transformation (1)

A sudden thought made me a red-eyed boy.

The starting point was PaleNet.

I didn’t log into PaleNet with any grand purpose in mind.

As usual, I was filtering and consuming mostly meaningless information without much thought when my eyes were caught on a bulletin board.

[Guard Examinee Bulletin Board]

This bulletin board is a gathering of friends who want to become my juniors.

The bulletin board ranking is a whopping 8th.

It’s a large bulletin board.

The users are a group of teenagers in their mid to late teens.

Their only pleasure is to beg for airwaves by sticking to the walls of government buildings or military facilities, barely able to access the Pale Net and posting worthless messages. The public reputation of this bulletin board is that it is a place where 99% pure “amchang-in-saengs” gather.

Actually, I’ve been on this bulletin board before, but I left after a while because the users were so low-level and childish.

However, places where many people gather have their own reasons.

This bulletin board also had its own interesting culture.

That culture is none other than the Litzy certification – getting certified and evaluated on a telepathy test paper that we also have hanging in our homes.

If you search for the certification tag on the Guard candidate bulletin board, you will see these young friends’ jealousy, desire for approval, dark gossip, and sincere compliments that seem like a drop in the bucket.

ㅇㅇ: Did the retweet come out? (34)

Yeah : Leetegi certification lol (12)

ㅇㅇ: Hey, did something white appear?! (8)

ㅇㅇ: Can I go to Jeju Island with this amount? (31)

ㅇㅇ: Mom, I got something white on the day I fell behind lol (131)

…

…

If you just search, it looks like you got a white dog or cow, but when you actually open it, they’re all black.

There were some white ones here and there, but they were not made of lithography, but were made of white paper torn like lithography and haphazardly authenticated.

But even among these posts full of pranks and trolls, real verification was also found quite frequently.

I know that Litzie has a gradation of the psychic potential of the tester depending on the color, but I don’t know exactly what level each color represents.

However, on this bulletin board, there were quite a few posts that vaguely hinted at the Awaken level that the colors meant.

In one post I found out what blue meant.

It’s level 1.

So, I’m saying that I’ve only just begun to notice the bare minimum of my psychic abilities.

I also found out that gray is level 5 or higher.

I didn’t know what level the white was at, but I was able to find some interesting phenomena separate from the level.

That means it’s not just kids on this board.

As expected from a Republic of Korea where education comes second to none, there were many people who appeared to be parents of children on this 99% pure Amchang Life bulletin board.

ㅁㅁ: Is it okay if it’s gray? Can the whole family go to Jeju Island? (43)

Changmin’s Mom: My child’s lithograph color came out like this. What is it like? (88)

Chef Father: How can I get white from black? Here is a case (132)

…

…

But this place was too cold for their educational enthusiasm to be effective.

ㅇㅇ: Mr. ㅁㅁ, are you color blind? Can’t you tell colors apart? It’s black! You crazy bitch, lol (9)

Changmin’s mother’s pillar: The color of my mistress’s child, Leetegi, came out like this (verification) (33)

Chef Father, look at this: Please reroll the child gacha (13)

As you can see from the crude and uninhibited mockery, these are not very important people.

There were other “adults” who were truly important.

On this message board, which is filled with countless impersonators, trolls, troublemakers, and low-educated lunatics, that adult was treated very specially.

REDMASK: Hello. I am the admissions officer for the Guard. I will send you a link, so please click on it.

Red Mask.

He is the absolute ruler of this bulletin board.

No one leaves malicious comments, sarcasm, or picks a fight with Red Mask.

Because this Red Mask can give the people gathered on this bulletin board what they want the most.

By the way, this nickname is Red Mask.

It has a slightly different meaning to me.

“Woo Min-hee······?”

The first time I saw that nickname, I immediately thought of a disgusting woman with a prosthetic arm and leg.

It’s exactly the same personal identification number that Woo Min-hee uses.

If I hadn’t entered her research facility, I could have passed it off as a coincidence, but in that research facility, over a hundred children who wanted to go to Jeju Island were locked in small rooms, and some were dead and lying on the dissecting table.

“······.”

This red mask.

That’s right.

This is Woo Min-hee.

Unlike me, she was someone who enjoyed using social media.

In particular, I enjoyed using the SNS called Inssagram, and I enjoyed subtly revealing my daily life through photos rather than expressing my feelings through text.

I know that she was warned by the National Intelligence Service’s compliance department for posting on her social media account a message suggesting that she was a hunter.

I, as the team leader, heard the scolding myself.

A hunter with an account with over ten thousand followers says revealing that he is a hunter is a violation of the confidentiality agreement.

There is no reason why she, who is so familiar with the Internet, would not set foot on Palenet, the largest Internet bulletin board in the era of destruction.

However, it was not easy to guess her identity just by looking at her writing.

Instead of writing, she always just left comments.

The content of the comments was consistent.

REDMASK: Hello. I am the admissions officer for the Guard. I will send you a link, so please click on it.

The conversation appears to take place through that link.

The idea of ​​solving the weakness of the PaleNet, which has no messaging function, by inducing a connection to a private network was enough to remind me of the sparkling creativity of Woo Min-hee, whom I know.

“······Woo Min-hee.”

At that point, I concluded that the super named REDMASK on the examinee bulletin board was Woo Min-hee.

My curiosity was aroused.

What exactly does that woman do at that research facility?

I understand that they are trying to recruit students for the new school that opened on Jeju Island, but it’s clear that they are also doing miscellaneous research.

Besides, Woo Min-hee is a level 12 Awaken.

There are only ten Awakens in South Korea who are over level 10.

The story is that less than 10 talented people in the entire Republic of Korea did not go to Jeju Island and instead remained in Seoul.

She cited her antipathy towards Kang Han-min and Na Hye-in as the reason, but that alone would not make the cunning Woo Min-hee abandon the safety of Jeju Island and stay in the metropolitan area, which is full of danger.

“······.”

There is definitely something there.

But how can I know what’s on her mind?

It was when I was smiling bitterly while looking at the picture of my teacher’s rocket axe that I had absentmindedly stuck on my desk.

A truly mind-boggling thought crossed my mind.

“ah.”

Yeah, you can just contact them directly, right?

Not Park Gyu, Skeleton, or Professor, but under the pseudonym of Palenet, ㅇㅇ.

In other words, I become one of the boys active on this guard candidate bulletin board and make her approach me so that I can get the information I want.

There is bait to catch Woo Min-hee.

This is the white ridge of the teacher.

There is a gimmick to the Litzien, similar to a banknote. The gimmick of the Litzien is that the school’s mark is printed in black in advance, and when the Litzien changes, that mark is revealed.

The teacher’s white ridge bore the school’s mark, which he had personally designed – a skull and crossbones and a half-broken shield – standing out clearly against the pure white background.

This level of certification would be enough to attract Woo Min-hee’s attention.

Because she appeared in person and did the “selection” everyone wanted, even if it was just a proper gray certification.

However, problems still remain.

That’s right, a conversation with her.

No matter how anonymous I am, I have discovered over the past two years of Internet experience that the language and writing I use, and the subtle thoughts I express therein, are more specific than I could ever imagine.

For example, if I take myself as an example, my specificity would be my unique style of writing, my witty jokes, and my high gags that are somewhat ahead of people’s tastes.

Compared to the users of this bulletin board for prospective guards, the language I use certainly feels foreign.

If I try to talk to Woo Min-hee in this situation, in the worst case scenario, my identity could be revealed.

The defender said I can’t even use the internet….

So I decided to transform.

Professor Park Gyu, who may become the last human, becomes a boy in his early teens who is active on the bulletin board for prospective guards.

That’s easier said than done.

Some people say that it is easy to lie about your age on the Internet because you can’t see your face.

Absolutely not!

Just because it’s a keyboard doesn’t mean it doesn’t smell like an old person.

Rather, it is the letters that are the mirror of the mind that exude the scent of age and time more strongly than anything else.

As a test, I posted something on the test taker bulletin board.

ㅇㅇ: Our peers are having fun playing haha ​​(3)

3 comments.

Let’s read it once.

ㅇㅇ: What kind of same-age person are you?

ㅇㅇ: How old are you?

ㅇㅇ: Hey, go and talk about politics;;

“······.”

It takes a lot of determination and a willingness to learn for a hard-boiled man in his early 30s who has experienced all the hardships of life to transform into a reckless and frivolous teenager.

Knock knock knock

Author Nickname: ㅇㅇ

First, instead of the unique nickname Skeleton, he wears a mask called ㅇㅇ, which is the same as everyone else.

Knock knock knock knock

Yeah: Hey! Shhh!

Erasing the headings that are like personality and writing meaningless nonsense.

Knock knock knock

ㅇㅇ: There’s no one over 30 here…?

Lying about my age.

Knock knock knock

-Why are you here…?

Forgetting the me in my 30s.

“······.”

This is perfect.

I am fully prepared.

Now is the time to contact Woo Min-hee.

Knock knock knock

I wrote this with the mindset of Zhuge Liang throwing down the gauntlet.

201cm120kg28cm: I tried the Litegee test and got some pink.

-What?

Keep the text as short as possible.

It is the use of initial consonants that are not even letters, let alone proper sentences, in a way that keeps up with the times.

I took a picture of my mentor’s ridge exposed to the sunlight in an outdoor camouflage house while imitating the language of the boys on this bulletin board.

And waited.

201cm120kg28cm: I tried the litchi test and got some pink (103)

“oh.”

There were over 100 comments.

ㅇㅇ: What is this?

ㅇㅇ: Isn’t this plagiarism?

Yeah : It’s really the same

ㅇㅇ: This kid is good at art

ㅇㅇ: Hey, is this real?

Youngmin’s dad: Excuse me, but where do you live? I have a Nintendo, a laptop, and lots of food.

ㅇㅇ: It’s not a composite?

ㅇㅇ: Your forehead is small compared to your height…

…

…

It seems like even the young kids can recognize the real thing.

But what I’m waiting for isn’t their reaction.

There’s only one thing I’m trying to catch.

It’s a red mask.

*The radio rang.

“Skeleton.”

Someone said it was affectionate.

“What? All of a sudden.”

“Did Skeleton post this on the PaleNet test taker bulletin board?”

“What? What is it?”

“2 meters or something.”

“Are you on the test taker bulletin board?”

“No? I saw it on the grill?”

A hot plate?

Are you saying that my post ended up on Palenet’s popular post list?

What should I do?

There’s no need to tell the truth.

This is my problem and Woo Min-hee’s.

“I didn’t upload it.”

“Well, I don’t think it was Skeleton who posted it. I just contacted him just in case.”

“Oh, really? Why do you think so?”

“The nickname is similar to the style I’ve seen before, but the content and the way it was posted make it feel like it was posted by someone else?”

It was only natural that a meaningful smile appeared on my lips after hearing the words of my younger brother Defender.

Even the defender acknowledges me.

They recognized me as a teenage boy.

Skeleton’s transformation is innocent.

Now all I have to do is wait for Woo Min-hee to contact me.

As expected.

The kiss has come.

REDMASK: Hello. This is the New Guard Admissions Officer. I’ll give you a link, so click on it.

REDMASK :

I clicked on the link.

Then, my Internet browser suddenly automatically connected to a site I didn’t recognize.

An extremely simple interface, like the stories floating around on bulletin boards.

The site followed the format of an old-fashioned Internet chat room.

REDMASK: Hello. My name is Redmask, and I am an admissions officer for New Guard.

REDMASK: Please introduce yourself~

REDMASK: Please write your name and age in the writer field below (e.g. Minhee20) and click the enter button~~~

Woo Min-hee started chatting first.

And that’s three times at once.

How does this woman chat?

I have only one arm left. But I can even draw wave patterns······.

Is this even possible with Awaken?

No, after thinking about it carefully, it seems like they’re using voice recognition chat.

Because the latest voice recognition technology is very reliable.

Anyway, this is just the beginning.

“······.”

Empty your mind and picture a boy in his teens.

Not Professor Park Gyu, but the mischievous teenage Skeleton.

And then type.

Knock knock

-Eomchang11 has entered.

REDMASK : ?

REDMASK: Oh, really?

Eomchang11: Hello

REDMASK: What? Is that your name?

Eomchang11: Yes. The song that will be sung by Eomdu Eom. Kim Eomchang. I am 11 years old.

REDMASK: Aha.

Eomchang11: Why?

REDMASK: No, it’s nothing. I just thought it was a unique name.

Eomchang11: Yes

REDMASK: Eomchang is eleven years old, right? Just by himself?

Eomchang11: Yes

REDMASK: Is Eomchang really 2 meters tall······?

Eomchang11: I’ve heard a lot of people say it’s big

REDMASK: Kids these days are growing really fast. Is that the right weight?

Eomchang11: No, actually, I lied. I lied about everything except the last one.

REDMASK: The last one is real?

Eomchang11: Why?

REDMASK: Oh, no.

Eomchang11: ?

“under!”

Woo Min-hee, look at this guy’s flustered face.

This must be the first time you’ve met a guy like this.

Who would have expected that a guy in his thirties would act like an elementary school student who just got out of school?

I’d like to tease you some more, but there are a few things I’d like to learn about this time.

There was something I had been curious about for a long time.

For example, “Jeju Island Evacuation Ship.”