Hiding a House in the Apocalypse-Chapter 128.4: The Tower (4)

Message from mmmmmmmmm™: Capsules? There are plenty of capsules. Everything around here is a capsule.

Message from mmmmmmmmm™: But why are you looking for capsules? Don’t tell me you came because of my popular post, Skelton.

Message from mmmmmmmmm™: If you're nearby, I can help you. As you know, this area belongs to Captain M9, doesn't it?

Hoesadama.

The fact that M9 is being friendly to me is definitely a good thing.

Everyone in Korea—no, every Barbarian in the world—knows that there's no better guide in this area than M9.

However, just because someone uses the internet doesn't mean they're a good person like me.

No website is free from the rot of toxic users.

M9 mentioned the name of a user who hadn't been very active lately.

Message from mmmmmmmmm™: You know Reporter Guy, right?

SKELTON: Of course.

Message from mmmmmmmmm™: This happened after my post went viral.

Message from mmmmmmmmm™: I took a screenshot. I’ll show you exactly what happened.

M9 sent me a picture.

There, the grotesque online persona of Reporter Guy—Woo Min-hee—was laid bare for all to see.

Message from gijayangban: M9, lol. Take the post down. ^^

*

I met M9 again.

“Oh, Skelton. I’m seeing you a lot these days. Are you hoping to move into our apartment too?”

Since he had been eating well and climbing the steep apartment slope daily, M9’s body was completely different from the one he had when he first caused a fuss about moving into The Hope three years ago.

How should I put it? It was like his body had evolved to climb inclines.

Noticing my gaze, M9 flexed his arm muscles in an exaggerated manner and joked.

“My body? Doesn’t it look like a leopard’s?”

To me, he looked more like a gibbon, but I kept that thought to myself.

Anyway, the driving force that allowed M9 to navigate the harsh reality of the apocalypse was his ever-positive mindset.

Even if it was just mental gymnastics, that was fine.

Better to forget or vent than to let stress accumulate and turn into an illness, even if it meant being mocked by others. That was the right way to survive the apocalypse.

As I watched a few crumbs fall noisily from the slanted apartment, I asked M9,

“What about the newcomers in your neighborhood?”

“Oh, they’re probably not coming out.”

“Why?”

“Something about a bad relationship with Kim Byeong-cheol.”

“I see.”

Did they try playing both sides and ended up making an enemy of Kim Byeong-cheol?

Not seeing the Ji father and daughter was honestly a good thing for my mental health.

“This way.”

Convergent evolution, was it?

When faced with specific conditions, different species evolve into similar forms.

The same applied to survival techniques.

Just as us Hunters created "parkour routes" to traverse rough terrain, M9 had pioneered his own parkour route through the collapsed ruins.

“Watch closely.”

M9’s equipment consisted of a harness and a rope with a detachable hook.

When he needed to cross dangerous gaps between buildings, he securely fastened the rope’s hook to his harness, then sprinted before leaping across to the other side.

Even if the jump failed, the rope would keep him from plummeting, and the harness would distribute the force evenly, preventing injuries to his back and muscles.

“This way.”

After effortlessly clearing a six-meter gap, M9 gestured toward me.

“Think you can make it?”

I followed him with ease, though the jump was closer than I would have liked.

As I caught my breath and detached the rope from my harness, M9 stood on the opposite rooftop, gazing down at the landscape.

“Over there and there. That land belongs to the monsters. That side is a zombie nest. Across the river... there seem to be people, but I doubt they’re normal. Probably cultists.”

I had underestimated M9 a little, but he deserved to have survived this long.

He was aware of almost everything happening around him.

“The capsules should be over there. I saw a massive pile of them last time.”

M9 scratched his rough beard absentmindedly, lost in thought.

Then he turned to me.

“Hey, Skelton.”

“What?”

“It feels weird to ask this now, but... are you okay with this?”

“With what?”

“Reporter Guy.”

“What did he say?”

M9 leaned against the railing and stretched his neck.

“He said he has a powerful Awakened in his group.”

“An Awakened?”

“Yeah. He said if anyone touches the goods, he’ll send them after them. I don’t know if it’s true, but you know Reporter Guy, don’t you? He’s not just any regular user.”

M9 gave a wry smile.

“...Man, none of these people are easy. They all act unhinged on the internet, but when you meet them in real life, they turn out to be big shots.”

His face was filled with disillusionment.

And it was justified.

These were people he had known as online friends for years, but now that their masks were off, they were too much to handle.

The users involved in this incident alone included Kim Byeong-cheol, Woo Min-hee, Defender, and me.

Woo Min-hee had made a name for herself in Incheon, but Kim Byeong-cheol had almost taken control of the entire country.

It was no surprise that M9 was having a bit of an existential crisis.

“...Is it that only the strong remain, or was the board always full of strong people?”

M9 glanced at me.

“You’re pretty strong yourself, aren’t you, Skelton?”

“I’m not just one strand—I’m two.”

“?”

“Or maybe I’m just a troublemaker.”

“Reporter Guy said—”

Even after my killer joke, M9 remained expressionless and changed the subject.

“If anyone touches even a single item in the warehouse, he’ll send people after them.”

“That so?”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

I didn’t know the full situation, but one thing was clear.

My old colleague, Woo Min-hee, knew about the secret assets underground in The Hope.

Even if she didn’t know all the details, she was aware that something was hidden there.

That was why she was stirring up trouble.

Honestly, even though we were colleagues, I still didn’t fully understand how Woo Min-hee thought.

But I wasn’t about to let her interfere with my plans.

“That’s the place?”

“Yeah.”

I confirmed the capsule’s location.

However, the terrain was bad.

It wouldn’t be easy to bring in a vehicle.

“What about another spot?”

I asked M9 to show me another capsule site.

After another similarly difficult journey, we arrived at a second cluster.

“What do you think, Skelton?”

It was an old university.

The area was sloped, but it was connected by roads and relatively free of obstacles.

With a sturdy four-wheel-drive vehicle, it would be manageable.

The problem was the zombies.

Uuuuuh—

Uuuuuh—

Their eerie humming echoed all around us like background noise.

Even in broad daylight, the monster-infested ruins cast a gloomy, ashen-gray shadow over the land, a synesthetic representation of the apocalypse’s arrival.

Beyond that gray-tinted university campus, the capsules were visible.

“Thanks, M9. Really.”

“What are you planning?”

M9 stared at the capsules with a worried expression.

As I gazed at the same spot, I answered calmly.

“Lately, don’t you think there are fewer people on our board?”

“Well, yeah. We do get new members, but honestly, they give me the creeps. Isn’t the average user basically on Defender’s level now?”

“That’s why I’m planning to bring in some fresh, untainted recruits.”

“Huh? Is that even possible?”

I smiled.

“Probably.”

I hoped that next year, our board would still be full of people.

Not the way it was now, slowly sinking together into silence, but like the days before a war—when countless people shared their stories, connected, and made the apocalypse feel alive.

Even if I end up as the last human standing, if I can experience enough vibrant, lively moments along the way, then maybe—when the time comes for me to die alone—it won’t feel as lonely.

John Nae-non must have created PaleNet with a similar thought in mind.

At first, out of revenge. Later, for the noble purpose of connecting everyone.

I don’t know if I can do the same.

But at the very least, I think I’ve stepped onto the stage.

*

Forming a relationship with Kim Byeong-cheol was a wise decision.

“What? You’re planning to destroy it using a monster? Geez. I don’t even know what to say. That’s such a Hunter-like idea.”

Kim Byeong-cheol didn’t fully grasp my plan, but just by explaining the purpose, necessity, and reasoning behind it, he willingly lent me a military jeep.

And not just that—he even included valuable combat personnel.

He wasn’t the type to refuse a request.

If the enemy were only monsters, I might have declined the combat personnel, as they could get in the way. But we had to pass through an area infested with zombies and human-sized killing monsters.

We received two modified SUVs for combat, two squads equipped with heavy weapons, and a military jeep for ourselves before setting off toward our destination.

I had already confirmed the location with M9, and from the top of that tall building, we had mapped out the roads and obstacles in advance. There was nothing obstructing our route.

We arrived in the danger zone without much trouble.

Uuuuuuh—

Uuuuuuh—

From here on, we were entering the real zombie-infested territory.

Not just zombies, but several caterpillar-type creatures had also been spotted.

There were even some small-scale erosion zones caused by minor mutations.

“I’ll be counting on you.”

I spoke to the soldiers.

And then—

“I’ll be counting on you, too.”

To my comrades as well.

Above us, Hong Da-jeong’s drone had already arrived and was providing real-time surveillance of the area.

Our plan was simple: reach the capsule cluster, secure the capsules within three minutes, and return to The Hope.

I had only discussed this operation with Kim Byeong-cheol during the planning stage, so I hadn’t yet heard the frontline commander’s concerns. But as soon as we entered the danger zone, I could hear the soldiers' unfiltered worries through the radio.

“Is this plan really going to work?”

“Yes. It will.”

“Are you sure? No matter what, these are capsules we’re dealing with. As soon as they open, monsters will come out.”

And then there was this guy leading the unit—Major Hwang.

He seemed to be quite the whiner.

“If three minutes pass, you’re free to retreat first.”

“Well, even if you say that—”

“Just report that I ordered it.”

Bwoooooom—

Annoyed, Major Hwang started up his vehicle without another word.

Fine by me.

I followed closely behind.

No matter how irritated he was, he wasn’t about to start shooting recklessly.

If he opened fire from the get-go, all the dormant zombies would wake up and swarm us.

Even someone as narrow-minded as Major Hwang wouldn’t be that reckless.

We steadily made our way toward the university campus, pushing zombies aside with the vehicles rather than engaging them in direct combat.

“There it is.”

Major Hwang stopped the vehicle.

As expected.

“I’ll start the timer now.”

“Go ahead.”

I turned to my comrades.

Cheon Young-jae and Defender.

Most of all, I trusted Cheon Young-jae.

We had already coordinated the operation in advance.

If the capsule turned out to be a “fully matured” one, he would provide backup.

If that happened, we might exceed the three-minute limit—but we had a contingency for that.

My radio had a direct channel to Kim Byeong-cheol.

Uuuuuuh—

Uuuuuuh—

The eerie chorus of zombies filled the air.

Shambling figures began appearing in my peripheral vision.

In the middle of the gray, desolate sports field, an unnervingly white cluster had taken root.

“......”

Identifying capsules was one of the most dangerous tasks.

Especially for someone like me, who insisted on checking them one by one with a melee weapon.

Schring—

I walked toward the capsules, carrying only two axes.

I could hear the soldiers murmuring behind me.

“What the hell? That guy? An axe? Just an axe?”

“No clue. I heard he’s an old Hunter. Let’s just watch.”

“Even that guy, Kim Daram, wouldn’t do something this reckless.”

They knew Kim Daram?

Well, that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

That meant Kim Daram was under Woo Min-hee.

By now, he might even be dead.

That was the kind of world we lived in.

My mind was wandering too much.

It meant I was letting too much noise into my thoughts.

I was no longer the kind of person who burned with blind hatred like I did in my Professor days.

I had changed.

But.

“Park-sunbae, you ready?”

The flames of hatred toward monsters still burned fiercely in a corner of my heart.

I swung my axe at the disgusting gray mass in front of me. freeweɓnøvel.com

With a single stroke, I split it open.

And then—

Clang!

My axe was blocked—by my other axe.

Which meant—

“This one’s alive.”

It hadn’t fully matured yet.

In other words, it was exactly what I was looking for.

“Oh.”

“As expected.”

Cheon Young-jae and Defender rushed in and hoisted the capsule.

“Careful. Don’t jostle it too much.”

The whole process—checking the capsule and loading it onto the vehicle—took exactly three minutes.

“......”

From a distance, I noticed Major Hwang watching me silently.

Without a word, he climbed into his vehicle, spun it around, and took the lead.

Uuuuuuh—

Uuuuuuh—

With the sound of zombies closing in, we started our retreat, following Major Hwang’s vehicle.

Tatata-tang!

Bang! Bang!

We engaged in a high-speed chase with the horde, but that part wasn’t particularly important.

All that was left was to place it on Da-jeong’s favorite robotic vacuum cleaner and release it in front of the government’s pet dragon.

That would solve everything.

But this incident had more than one problem.

The dragon inside the warehouse was one issue.

The people connected to the warehouse were another.

Especially Woo Min-hee.

I had already heard from M9, but my suspicions quickly turned into reality.

Just as the capsule operation was wrapping up, a vehicle arrived at the scene unimpeded.

[Republic of Korea Government]

The faded emblem of a past authority.

Kim Byeong-cheol’s soldiers stood in formation, watching as the car door opened.

Unlike M9, who resembled a gibbon, the woman who stepped out had a lean, panther-like physique.

We spotted each other almost simultaneously.

“Sunbae?”

“......”

It was Kim Daram.