Hiding a House in the Apocalypse - Chapter 65



Only Krnovel

40. Luck (2)

“You want to cosplay me?”

Defender’s younger brother’s suggestion sounded a bit unrealistic.

Because the idea of ​​me being played by someone other than myself sounded like a story from a completely different world.

Are you trying to imitate Park Gyu?

This Professor Park Gyu?

“······It won’t be easy.”

It’s not easy.

It’s never easy.

“I’m just going to borrow the account, what’s so difficult about that?”

Now that I hear it, it seems a bit easier.

“······hmm.”

“Listen? I’ll tell you why I suddenly brought this up. Are you okay with it?”

“Oh. Skeleton. Listen carefully to our little brother’s story.”

Contrary to what the Defender said, the Defender’s younger brother’s words were not listened to.

It was just like it always was.

A message from Defender: Did you know that our Viva! Apocalypse! accounts and gear are being traded on the Palenet? They’re often posted on the used goods boards. They’re probably from people who died long ago. I think it’s because looters and scavengers hoard them without knowing what they are at first, and then they slowly start selling them once they figure out what they’re for.

A message from Defender: The guy who bought that account is watching us.

Defender’s brother showed me the message that the human in question had sent.

Message from JUSTICE_MIN: Defender. You’re the crazy guy from Viva! Apocalypse!? You keep killing people and getting certified. F*ck. LOL.

A message from JUSTICE_MIN: Now I know you. This hero of justice knows you. Starting today, I’m going to hunt you. I’m going to hunt you and “certify” you. Wait. It won’t take. Long······!!!

“What is this? Are you a middle school student?”

“I wish that were true.”

Defender’s younger brother sighed.

“But if there is a human being in the world today who can get his hands on our equipment.”

“He’s not an ordinary guy, is he?”

Defender added.

The Defender siblings seemed to be taking this situation quite seriously.

“Maybe they were a group of marauders, or maybe they were a pioneer group.”

“I guess we can’t rule out that possibility.”

“In this situation, it’s pretty dangerous for us to be known as a two-person team, you know? That’s our kind of weapon, isn’t it?”

“hmm······.”

“No problem, listen till the end!”

Dajeong’s plan is to film herself beatboxing and then upload it to her Skeleton account.

“It will definitely be explosively popular.”

Da-jeong said with confidence.

“I used to upload videos to PicTok often.”

“Ahem······.”

It will probably get some views.

It’s because our bulletin board friends don’t say anything, but there are quite a few friends who can’t move when a woman appears.

But me becoming a woman, what should I say?

The country of Skeleton is another self-destructive image.

A skeleton is a skeleton.

I have my own image.

Although he doesn’t have a good reputation on the bulletin board, he is the one who goes above and beyond for his friends on the bulletin board, sometimes relieves his loneliness by beatboxing, and above all, he is the last user of Viva! Apocalypse.

“You don’t seem to like it?”

Dajeong asked cautiously.

“little.”

As if he was afraid to answer, the Defender suddenly intervened.

“Skeleton. I’m sure there will be people who recognize someone your size.”

I found myself nodding without realizing it.

Yes, that’s right.

100%.

“Honestly, I couldn’t even watch the last beatboxing video until the end because it was so crude. If you actually showed your body or face, wouldn’t you get caught right away?”

“Maybe so.”

My last beatboxing video was also secured, so if I had revealed just a little bit of myself for self-satisfaction, Woo Min-hee would have found out my identity long ago.

“If PaleNet hadn’t come in, I wouldn’t know, but at a time when PaleNet kids are always spying on our bulletin boards, I think the more ambiguous our identity is, the better. What is that? Strategic ambiguity?”

“Strategic ambiguity······.”

“Isn’t that a shield of anonymity? One day, you become a woman, then a man, then an old man, then a swindler.”

“······hmm.”

Anyway, I don’t like the Defender siblings’ proposal.

But I’d like to raise my hand to the idea of ​​making our identity ambiguous.

In a situation like today where anonymity is a lifesaver, there is nothing good to be specific about.

Right now, Defender is being threatened by a bulletin board user named Justice Min, and I may also be threatened by people who knew my past, including Woo Min-hee.

“You don’t like looking like a skeleton woman?”

Da-jeong suddenly asks.

“That’s a bit like that.”

“Then there are ways to preserve Skeleton’s identity, whether it’s digitally weathering it, making it look like a theft, or making it seem like family.”

“Is there anyone who knows my face?”

“Only they would know. But wouldn’t they be confused too?”

“Okay. Let’s get started. Whatever.”

First, the M9 started a fight.

It doesn’t matter whether you win or lose this childish fight with that guy, but as Da-jeong said, this is an opportunity.

If I were to upload a beatboxing video out of the blue, it would be buried with the same miserable view count as before, but now that M9 has paved the way, there are people who will watch my videos.

This means that there are people who will naturally spread the word about my new video without me and Defender having to do any viral marketing to force it.

If it were Da-jeong, not me, it would have enough ripple effect.

The Defender siblings have more than enough “tactical ambiguity” to go around.

I was thinking like that and was about to end the conversation.

“Oh. And Skeleton. Don’t hang up. I have business to attend to, too.”

This time, the Defender himself has something to say to me.

This guy, who is often aloof but rarely speaks, suddenly has business with me.

I asked with curiosity.

“What is it?”

“Do you remember the Legionnaires who were around our house when we moved last time?”

“Ah. Those guys. What are they doing? They’re stockpiling troops as if they’re going to go to war at any moment.”

Although we’ve digressed from the topic for a moment, it’s a definite fact that the Legion forces will be a variable.

The fact that they are concentrating that much power in this time of destruction is almost like a harbinger of something to come.

But their purpose is unclear.

There are several opportunities to take over Seoul, but there is no movement at all.

I’ve seen combat helicopters flying in and out, but I’m not sure if they sent them or if they were sent from the provinces.

The Defenders seem to have discovered something about those quietly crouching creatures.

“I mean those guys.”

A gloomy shade fell over the Defender’s voice.

“It felt like I was in contact with a fanatic.”

“what?”

I jumped up from my seat.

“Their territory was right next to each other, right? Well, I’m not sure since I was just watching from afar, but I have a bad feeling about it.”

“······okay?”

This is not an ordinary story.

In some ways, this is a story that is thousands of times more important than the Jeju Island evacuation fleet that is causing a stir on the bulletin board right now.

Legionnaires and fanatics join hands.

This means that an army led by Awaken is born.

This is an unprecedented event.

Western countries, including Korea, strictly separated the hunter group that the Awaken belonged to from their military, and China designated the Awaken as the enemy until the very end.

According to international agreements, Hunters – including Awaken – are not “soldiers” as defined by the Geneva Convention. They act like soldiers and perform similar tasks, but are treated as civilians, or as civilians with special status.

For an old-time hunter like me, I am no different from a regular soldier, but the Awaken possesses a terrifying attribute that could change the face of warfare in this era, following the nuclear attack.

The military potential of Awaken is limitless.

Since so little is known, the possibilities are nearly endless.

If they were to turn their guns on humans instead of monsters, they could be proud to say that they are more dangerous than monsters.

This means that even those with abilities that are below level 5 and cannot be used in battles with large monsters can turn into the most difficult enemies.

Let’s think about the fresh-faced junior who came to see me when I went to Lee Sang-hoon’s funeral the other day.

The woman who found me said.

You didn’t “discover” me, you “detected” me.

That sensing ability is useless against large monsters.

Because monsters don’t hide, conceal, or ambush like humans do.

So, while it is considered a waste ability when fighting monsters, it is completely different when fighting humans.

This means that no matter where you are hiding or how you ambush them, you will be detected the moment you enter the detection zone of that Awaken.

The combat prowess of a level-1 Awaken with only the ability to sense is nothing special, but what if that Awaken were to act alongside a well-trained soldier?

This means that you may encounter a type of danger you have never encountered before.

“How did you find it? Did you see it yourself?”

I asked the Defender, hoping it wasn’t true.

“I was walking by to see if I had forgotten something at home, and I saw a group of fanatics walking towards the Legion camp. The soldiers didn’t stop them.”

“Really?”

“I saw it from afar, but it’s real.”

“That’s not normal.”

“I was planning to go there again anyway.”

“Isn’t it dangerous?”

“Honestly, this neighborhood is quiet and nice, but since no one comes, it gets boring. So I’m going to come back one more time.”

“······Take care.”

That’s the only thing I can say to the Defender right now.

Right now I have a leg wound and active reconnaissance seems more suited to the Defender than me.

“Oh, before that, my brother and I are going to stop by your bunker.”

“What, what did you say?!”

“I need to make a beatbox video. Skeleton!”

*

I’ve probably been inviting friends since I was in elementary school.

I remember the scene where my beloved older sister, the one who can no longer return, was scolding me.

“Hey. Park Gyu! Your friend is coming over, but you haven’t even cleaned your room. What are you doing? There’s no separate pigsty!”

My older sister was a nagging person.

Although he was a nagging person, he took good care of his immature younger brother.

The scene of her helping me clean my room came to mind.

The sight of him picking up randomly scattered trash and throwing it in the trash can, organizing the books on the messy desk, and wiping the dust off the plastic models that were lying on the shelf after playing with them and gathering dust.

Now my sister is no longer by my side.

As I cleaned out my bunker, half-submerged in darkness, I thought for a moment about the bright days I would never return to.

I’m talking about the peaceful and simple days before the fire of hatred burned in my heart.

“······.”

The flame in my heart still burns.

Unavoidable circumstances have exiled me here.

The biggest reason would be my helplessness.

“Fuck! I can’t move!”

Memories that make me miserable just thinking about them.

“Hey, it’s telekinesis! That guy! He’s using telekinesis!”

The guy I encountered in the crack was someone I couldn’t do anything about.

The guy I named and went hunting for.

General type.

My axe, which had been slaughtering countless monsters, did not move in front of that guy.

No, I couldn’t move.

Because the near-infinite, intangible power crushed my meager strength, made of blood and sinew, like a rock.

I wanted to prove my worth by killing him, but he instead sentenced the slim hope I had to death.

“Ugh!”

“colon!!!”

After that day, the professor died.

I, Park Gyu, survived somehow, but it didn’t mean much.

Eventually I left the battlefield and ended up in this dark place.

It seemed as if my life would slowly settle like sand on a riverbed, sinking forever.

But the world was wide.

There were many areas I didn’t know about that I couldn’t see with my narrow field of vision.

“Wow. It’s spacious. It’s really spacious. But what the heck?! Why is the toilet in the middle? And it’s on a platform, one step higher.”

“I know this. What is that? A toilet? You know, the one that’s on display at the art gallery?”

“You were an artist, Mr. Su?!”

I made a friend.

Since elementary school.

What would my older sister say if she saw this?

You’ll probably be shocked.

It looks like a girl, and a pretty one at that, came in with her.

“······Welcome to the Skeleton Proud Supreme Castle.”

*

Da-jeong performed beatboxing with my bunker in the background.

To be honest, her beatboxing was just unwatchable.

“Chikichiki bakchiki, bakchiki!”

“······.”

But her internet savvy was anything but ordinary.

“I’m going to digitally weather this. That’s how I’m going to confuse things!”

She skillfully aged her footage, adding a layer of noise and even changing the metadata, such as the shooting date, to a time before the war.

“I guess I’ll still hear people calling me a fraud, but that’s just Skeleton’s problem to deal with, huh?”

“Don’t worry. There’s nowhere further to fall.”

“Do you know?”

Dajeong smiled and sent the remaining message on her tablet.

[ Our skeleton, will it become a named person~ ♥ ]

“Okay. Let’s do it!”

So Skeleton’s new ambitious work was posted on the Viva! Apocalypse! bulletin board.

SKELTON: (Skeleton Video) Skeleton’s Beatbox (4)

The Defender siblings sat next to me, eating my food while watching Viva! Apocalypse!’s reaction.

At first there was no reaction.

but.

unicorn18 : ?

One guy took the bait.

Defender’s brother laughed happily while spilling my cookies.

“Hey. It’s a unicorn. A unicorn! You otaku!”

The unicorn sent me a message right away.

Message from unicorn18: Skeleton eyes? Eyes… were you a girl…???

“Wow. Look at the DMs you send. What a shady otaku!”

Dajeong looked at me with a smile but also a hint of worry in her eyes.

I guess he’s worried about me.

But it didn’t take long for her concern to turn to surprise, and even a little contempt.

Knock knock

“S, Skeleton?”

SKELTON: I’ll leave it to your imagination~♥

“and···.”

“It wasn’t that you didn’t like imitating women······?”

The two Defender siblings looked at me at the same time.

“······.”

It’s strategic ambiguity.