Hiding a House in the Apocalypse-Chapter 124.4: Play (4)

The armored vehicle advanced.

Its speed was slow.

Ahead of it, soldiers moved forward with their weapons raised.

Five of them.

They marched in a standard reconnaissance formation, evenly spaced, matching each other's steps as they progressed.

Above, their drone had taken flight again.

A clear sign that Maxwell still didn’t trust us in the slightest.

As I waited, I tried to think through his intentions.

Maxwell likely had a rough understanding of my group by now.

I had told Rebecca about it.

Unlike my past as a lone wolf, I now led a small group.

I hadn’t given her an exact number, but after spending nearly three years with me, Rebecca would know I wasn’t the type to take in a large number of people.

To Maxwell, the few comrades standing beside me might as well represent my entire group.

"What kind of person is she?"

Cheon Young-jae asked me.

"That woman, Rebecca. She's military, right?"

"She doesn’t like Koreans."

"That’s a strong personality trait."

"But she’s funny sometimes. She’s surprisingly innocent. Even though she’s a mother, she acts more childish than her kid."

"A childish mother?"

"It’s not a bad thing that she’s here. Both Rebecca and her daughter can shoot."

"I’m all for it. Anything’s better than an all-male group."

I wasn't sure.

I actually thought an all-male group was better.

By excluding romantic entanglements, you could eliminate at least one source of interpersonal conflict.

And the unique hierarchy of a single-gender group made management easier.

Even Dies Irae, at the beginning, had led a group composed entirely of men.

For someone as ruthlessly efficient as Dies Irae to make that choice, there must have been a valid reason.

I hated him, but I didn’t deny his rationality.

"Why’d you suddenly go quiet?"

Cheon Young-jae stared at me.

"What?"

"Do you really prefer an all-male group?"

"Is it wrong if I do?"

Everyone looked at me with skeptical expressions.

"?"

I returned their gazes in confusion.

But the moment didn’t last long.

"Mr. Skelton, who prefers all-male groups. The armored vehicle is approaching. It’ll be in sight soon."

Da-jeong’s voice came through the radio.

Before the vehicle appeared, the soldiers came into view first.

Their gear, posture, and habits weren’t much different from the deepfake U.S. soldiers I had created.

"Hey there, hunter."

One of the soldiers waved.

A white man wearing sunglasses.

Shorter than me, but well-built.

If my guess was correct, that was Captain Maxwell.

As he waved, the armored vehicle finally emerged.

By pre-war standards, it was a new model.

Instead of an anti-tank missile, it was equipped with a 12.7mm heavy machine gun, which seemed to be designed for internal operation.

I was certain.

If that machine gun fired on us, not many would survive.

Under its line of fire, we watched the slow-moving U.S. soldiers and the armored vehicle.

Whirrrr—

The distinct sound of a micro-drone filled the air.

As expected, a small device, barely larger than a smartphone, hovered around us, its rotors spinning like a tiny helicopter.

"Damn."

Defender muttered.

"Obsessive."

Not that he was in any position to say that.

"Looks like they’ve been through a lot."

Ha Tae-hoon said with a bitter smile.

"Honestly, ever since the war started, people have hunted soldiers a lot, haven’t they?"

It was true.

Unlike the U.S., South Korea never had widespread gun ownership.

At best, civilians could own hunting rifles, and even those were kept at police stations.

There was no need to explain how important firearms were in human conflict.

No matter how tough someone was, a single bullet in the body could turn them into a sobbing mess.

Just having a gun gave you power over those without one.

As the Aztecs once described it, a gun was a staff of omnipotence.

As the world fell further into ruin, guns became more than just weapons—they symbolized survival.

People sought them out by any means necessary.

In South Korea, the military and police had the guns. And the military had the more useful rifles.

It didn’t matter if they were stationed at the frontlines or the rear—attacks on military bases for firearms became rampant.

Airstrips, anti-air sites, and radar outposts became prime targets.

Independent units were frequently wiped out overnight by raiders stealing their weapons.

Even small squads of soldiers traveling together became targets.

The U.S. military wasn’t exempt from these raids.

Even the radio Defender had given me had once belonged to the U.S. military. He also had a few American firearms.

I never asked, but I was sure he had sent a few soldiers to the afterlife.

Maxwell had probably gone through something similar.

"Who’s Rebecca’s friend? Can you raise your hand again?"

The radio crackled.

I did as asked.

The man I assumed to be Maxwell stopped walking and lifted a pair of tactical binoculars to examine me.

"I heard you killed a monster alone. Is that true?"

"It’s true."

"I’m not a hunter, but even I know an individual can’t take down a monster alone."

"If you get close enough to an unprepared monster and stab the right weapon into the right spot, anyone can do it."

A quiet scoff came through the radio.

Maxwell started moving forward again.

The armored vehicle drew closer.

The soldiers, once the size of a grain of rice in the distance, now looked as big as my thumb.

Maxwell raised a hand.

The soldiers and the armored vehicle stopped.

Distance: approximately 400 meters.

The radio, silent for a moment, crackled again.

"You there, hunter."

I didn’t even need to respond. I simply nodded and stared at him.

"One more question."

"What?"

"Why did you call for Private First Class Rebecca?"

"I already told you."

"No, you didn’t."

Before he even finished speaking, the machine gun mounted on the armored vehicle moved.

Its massive barrel was aimed directly at us.

"Be honest. With one gesture, I can turn you all into minced meat."

"What answer do you want to hear?"

"Your true intentions as Koreans."

Exactly as expected.

It was obvious.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Maxwell himself probably knew how predictable this move was.

But he pushed forward anyway because he believed he had the overwhelming advantage.

I looked him in the eye and spoke.

"A Javelin is aimed at you."

Maxwell snorted.

It was time to let him in on the truth.

"Bang Jae-hyuk."

"Okay."

Beep—

Faintly, through the radio, the sound of a Javelin’s lock-on tone could be heard.

If they had proper military equipment, they would recognize it immediately.

From behind the armored vehicle, someone suddenly rushed forward.

Rebecca.

She shouted something at Maxwell.

For the first time, Maxwell looked visibly flustered, turning around to face her.

He yelled.

I couldn’t make out the words from this distance, but even as a foreigner, I could tell he was harshly berating her.

He was probably saying something like:

"Why the hell did you give them that?"

When Maxwell returned to the radio, he was still simmering with frustration.

"Javelins have an unexpectedly high failure rate. And it’s been nearly four years since the war started."

"Where did you learn Korean?"

"What?"

"Where did you learn it? You’re pretty fluent."

Maxwell smirked and pointed at the ground.

He had learned it here.

"I don’t want to fight. I just want to save my neighbors, Rebecca and Sue."

"Save them, huh?"

"Let me talk to Rebecca."

Maxwell turned and spoke to someone.

And then.

"...Skelton."

Rebecca’s voice.

It was lower than usual.

And unmistakably filled with disappointment.

I couldn't see her, but I pictured her somewhere near the armored vehicle.

I spoke as if she were right beside me.

"I’m sorry for lying. I planned everything."

"...Why?"

"Sue. You’re there, right?"

Before I could react, Sue’s voice rang out.

"Skelton. I called them. I asked them to come!"

It was a short exchange, but I could feel Sue’s consideration.

Between mother and daughter, English was their default language. But here, she deliberately spoke in Korean, ensuring that I could understand her feelings as well.

Soon, the two of them stepped out of the armored vehicle.

It was Sue who spoke first.

"If you stay there, you’ll all die! You know the plane isn’t coming! Why are you pretending not to know?"

"Sue..."

Rebecca kept her mouth shut, staring at her daughter.

Her eyes wavered slightly as she looked at her child, but soon, she bit her lip and forced herself to speak.

"But Sue... Skelton lied to us. There is no plane here. We came for nothing. And your dad... he can't come here either."

"Mom, you know it too, don’t you?"

Sue turned her gaze toward me, staring.

"Skelton did all of this for us."

"Skelton...?"

"Yeah. Even all that weird stuff he did with multiple accounts—it was all for us."

Rebecca’s eyes widened in shock.

"Really...?"

That was just like Rebecca.

And that was just like Sue.

"And look at him now. He might die because of all this, yet he’s still standing there, waiting for us. Who do you think he did all of this for?"

Sue turned to me with an expectant look, waiting for my reaction.

I smiled and gave her a thumbs-up.

Rebecca covered her mouth with her hand.

Then, she lowered her head toward me.

Had she finally understood?

No... I had a feeling she had known all along.

She had just refused to admit it.

"······."

That should be enough.

Now, it’s my turn.

I put down my weapon, raised both hands, and walked toward the American soldiers.

"Park Gyu?!"

"Senior?"

Without turning back, I answered my concerned comrades.

"Conversations should be had face-to-face, don’t you think?"

I spoke into the radio.

"I want to talk up close. Will you allow it?"

From a distance, Maxwell nodded.

His sunglasses gleamed as they caught the sunlight, flashing with each slight movement of his head.

Halfway there, Maxwell moved.

Like me, he handed over his weapon to a comrade and approached unarmed.

What was his intent?

I was curious, but one thing was certain—he had business with me.

Soon, we stood face-to-face.

For a long moment, he silently gazed at the lone hill rising up in the surroundings.

Static crackled from his earpiece.

He responded in English, something like an acknowledgment.

Next, he looked toward the abandoned U.S. military base across the stream from my territory.

He muttered something in English, a sound of mild admiration, then finally spoke.

"Intentional, isn’t it? The location of your bunker."

I nodded.

"Did you recover anything from the base?"

"Firearms and ammunition."

"That’s different from the report. It said they withdrew without leaving a single spent shell casing."

Maxwell turned his head to look at me.

"You seem pretty close to Rebecca and her daughter. Really close."

Then, he stared at me, expression unreadable.

His sunglasses were thickly coated, reflecting the sunlight directly, making it impossible to see his eyes.

"But I don’t trust Koreans."

Maxwell removed his sunglasses.

One of his eyes was blind, replaced by a crude prosthetic.

His lips curled as my gaze lingered on his artificial eye.

"I lost it in this country."

"..."

"Just one question."

Maxwell pointed toward the abandoned U.S. military base.

"Is anyone living there?"

"No."

"What’s the condition of the facilities?"

"Hard to say. The bunker seems intact, but the internal systems likely don’t work. Scavengers have gone through it multiple times."

"Any other factions in the area? Armed groups? Especially the Chinese military?"

"No Chinese military. No raiders. No refugees. It’s just us."

"I see."

Maxwell grinned.

"That’s all I needed to know."

For a moment, the purpose behind this man’s visit swirled in my mind.

He hadn’t come here just to pick up Rebecca.

No—he had come to inspect that base.

If Fort Seghnol were to fall, he needed a new settlement option.

That was likely the most rational explanation for why this excessively cautious man had traveled all this way.

But one thing still remained.

Maxwell drew a knife.

The blade gleamed under the noon sun.

As I stared at its sharp edge, Maxwell smirked and spoke.

"I’ve heard that Eastern pro-hunters prefer cold weapons. In particular, there’s supposedly a hunter in Korea known for wielding axes. I don’t recall his name, but our hunters have talked about his feats quite a bit."

Maxwell’s remaining eye was fixed on the twin axes strapped to my back.

"And, coincidentally, you also carry axes."

He twirled his knife skillfully.

It was an impressive display—enough to intimidate large men in a rowdy bar.

With a challenging gaze, Maxwell spoke.

"How about you show me your skill?"

"You might get hurt."

"That’s fine. I’ll say it now—this is a fair duel."

"Is that so?"

Srrrng—

I drew my axe.

Maxwell grinned.

The outcome had been decided from the start.

Clang!

With a single clash, Maxwell’s knife spun through the air like a fan blade, flying skyward.

The sharp edge of my left-hand axe was now poised at his throat. frёewebnoѵēl.com

His eyes flicked down at the weapon aimed at his neck, and he let out a whistle.

"Good job!"

It was a predictable result.

This fight wasn’t a soldier’s way.

In terms of coordinated teamwork, advanced weaponry, and sheer military doctrine, they were superior.

But in an old-fashioned duel, this was our domain.

In actual operations, melee weapons were a significant part of our arsenal.

I lowered my axe.

Maxwell picked up his knife and sheathed it.

"I heard there was a legendary hunter in Korea."

Maxwell tilted his °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° head slightly.

"They say he wielded twin axes."

A flicker of interest sparked in his remaining eye.

He spoke into his radio in English, then turned back to me with a sharp grin.

"We’ll leave Rebecca and her daughter with you."

Rebecca looked bewildered, but Sue enthusiastically waved in our direction.

"Skelton!"

Sue’s voice rang across the autumn-colored land.

Suppressing my emotions, I turned to look at the lone, isolated man beside me.

"You’re just letting Rebecca go?"

Maxwell didn’t respond.

Instead, he slowly slid his sunglasses back on, hiding both his remaining eye and his dull prosthetic.

Adjusting his uniform, he let out a faint sigh before speaking.

"I heard you formed a new group."

"Yeah."

"Must be an exciting time for you."

Maxwell smirked.

"We had a time like that too. Back then, we were gathering scattered soldiers and civilians across Korea, pulling them into one place. It was a time full of danger, thrill, adventure, and reward."

But the smile was short-lived.

"But not anymore."

Maxwell turned his back to me.

"The more people you have, the greater the tragedies that come with them."

He glanced at Rebecca and Sue as they approached.

"Then, Hunter—until we meet again, stay alive."

The captain raised his fist in a parting salute and walked forward.

Rebecca hesitated as she passed him, but Sue ran past without a second thought, rushing toward me.

"Skelton!"

I looked at Sue.

That U.S. officer had called her a tragedy.

I wouldn’t argue against it.

Human lives are finite.

Anyone can die, and most deaths are tragic.

But that was only looking at a single slice of this long, drawn-out play called life.

I didn’t believe our connection was only tragic.

If anything, from a different angle, it might be an undeniable comedy.

Rebecca and Sue stopped in front of me.

"Skelton. Liar."

I smiled at the two of them.

I wouldn’t hope for a happy ending.

That was too much to ask for in a world collapsing into ruin.

But I would create more good days.

"Let’s go home."

A small, selfish wish of mine.