Hiding a House in the Apocalypse - Chapter 402



Only Noblemtl

Hiding a House in the Apocalypse Episode 402

163. Crowd (2)

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Tilted Hope, searchlights focused on the rooftops of The Hope.

I’m not trying to do something like a film festival.

Wheeeeeeeeing—

The lights illuminate the giant beacon installed above The Hope.

Made from miscellaneous scrap materials such as steel, plastic and recycled paper, the signals are powered by an external power source and display a command signal system that can be read from up to 10 kilometers away.

Cheolkeong-

The signal, which stopped transforming with a loud roar, is displaying a message across the dark sky, telling missing people to immediately send out a signal flare or other means to report their survival.

I passed that slanted apartment.

The inside of the rocking armored vehicle was plunged into silence.

Everyone feels it.

That this mission is by no means an easy one.

Even before the war, searching for missing persons was extremely difficult.

To be honest, even when they received orders from the Chinese military, they only pretended to do so and did not actually take action.

Because the word missing itself contains uncertainty, and the event of missing always occurs in a dangerous area.

In fact, during the Chinese era, a breakdown in communications was nothing more than another way of saying that a unit was destroyed.

Hunter’s operations were always conducted close to headquarters, and every team member had a radio that allowed them to contact headquarters in real time at any time.

Before we were caught blatantly stealing our tactics and know-how from the Chinese government, we even wore body camcorders that were linked in real time to our operational command center.

Under these conditions, there is only one reason why the Hunter Team would suddenly lose contact.

It means that in an instant, they all went to the underworld.

Although ambushes by cultists often caused these tragedies, there were also many instances where unpredictable attacks by monsters engulfed entire teams.

But now the existence of a monster that destroys the communicator has been revealed.

In fact, a lot of communication equipment was destroyed along with a strange noise.

Engineers and scholars have suggested that the mysterious wave that destroyed communications struck the outskirts of the city more strongly than the city itself.

The story is that they may have been targeting our team members operating to the north across the river, rather than the entire city.

The only question is why they didn’t use flares as emergency signaling devices, but that’s something I’ll have to check out myself.

thud!

The armored vehicle shook violently.

The car accidentally stepped on debris scattered across the bridge, causing one side of the car to tilt high and then come down.

“Senior. What the heck is that?”

Kim Da-ram, who was checking his weapon with an expressionless face, stared at the weapon I was holding with blank eyes.

“As you see.”

I carefully wiped the blade of the new weapon, which had just been finished yesterday, with a rag.

It’s a two-handed axe.

To be exact, it is a weapon closer to a polearm than a two-handed axe.

The handle is too long.

Even when lying on the floor, it was almost 1.5 meters long.

“It’s really long.”

Cheon Yeong-jae, who also participated in the operation, also expressed doubts.

“Why, I keep thinking of the Blue Dragon Sword used by Chinese hunters.”

The handle wasn’t made long to show off like a Baitou.

As I was making it, it became this long.

I have a burning desire to explain, but explaining things in a noisy armored vehicle is not a very rewarding task.

Instead, he turned his gaze to Ahn Seung-hwan, the last team member sitting next to Cheon Yeong-jae.

“······.”

There is a deep look on his face.

It’s not because I’m scared.

Anxiety and nervousness were shaking his mind.

Seung-hwan Ahn feels responsible for Haru Lee’s disappearance.

Originally, he had assigned Iharu to the mission he was supposed to go on, but he returned with the same result.

It appears that he was quite shocked.

It’s so funny to see that old-fashioned friend, who rarely reveals his feelings, showing his emotions like that.

“How are you feeling?”

Seung-Hwan Ahn was required to take antidepressants before the mission.

I haven’t tried it, but I heard that antidepressants cover a wider range of effects than you might think.

Fortunately, it seems that the medicine has had a good effect on Ahn Seung-hwan as well.

“It’s okay. It’s so okay that it’s a big deal.”

I’m still anxious, but I feel much better than before.

The armored vehicle stopped in front of the Han River embankment, overlooking the pale moon.

Beyond the bluff lies a desolate open space, where the buildings of the past have been pushed aside, which we call the Ruins Plain.

Although it was an open area, it was impossible to cleanly remove all the way down to the base of the building, and there was no ability to collect the remains of the collapsed buildings, so unidentifiable piles of stones rose up ominously here and there in the ruined plain, like cemetery mounds.

As we got out of the car, technicians also got out of the armored vehicle.

“How about cable 3? Does it come with a signal?”

“Number 3 is okay. I think it’s already been restored?”

They inspected the wire cables installed along the riverside.

The answer is in the cable.

To prevent destruction by large monster bombardment, wire cables were installed along the riverbank.

The cables would emerge from the riverside at certain points and enter deeper into the city, and engineers tried to build the cable network in such a way that it would make the most of the pre-war infrastructure.

This is because South Korea’s cable burial technology and know-how before the war were unrivaled in the world.

This comes against a slightly bitter backdrop to the North Korean military threatening us with artillery fire right in front of the capital of South Korea.

“The missing team members probably approached Gunjagyo.”

Outside the operational area.

There has been no confirmation from regular reports or GPS.

Did you turn off your GPS device and move forward?

Most accidents are caused by mistakes, but major accidents are caused by desires.

Gunja Bridge is the bridge most frequently used by monster groups coming down from Paju.

Initially, surveillance equipment was installed on this bridge, but it was destroyed for unknown reasons and has not been restored.

It would be nice if it could be restored, but the area around Gunja Bridge has been a dangerous zone called a zombie field since the Seoul government era. Even now, if you look at the northern end of Gunja Bridge, you can see traces of the anti-zombie barrier installed by the Seoul government.

Even though the government periodically cleans up zombies, it seems as if the Garak of Seoul, which sucks up all the youth of South Korea, has gone nowhere, and the number of zombies that came from unknown places has been filled in.

Even when installing past equipment, I went with Kim Byeong-cheol’s unit and barely managed to install it after fighting off zombies.

Even caterpillar types were mixed in among the zombies, making long-term operations impossible.

As a side note, it is still not determined what type of meatball type controls the caterpillar type.

There are cases where caterpillar types that were active in certain areas disappear, so it is assumed that they are general combat types, but nothing has been confirmed for sure.

Because, except for the first one I dealt with, there are no more cases of the meatball type discovered.

Anyway, going deep into such a dangerous area seems like an unwise choice.

One thing that is questionable is the disposition of Shim Hyeong-do, who led the missing hunter team.

He never graduated from school, but he is a heavenly hunter.

Even if he had an insufficient criminal record, he is a friend with strong self-control who would turn back without any regrets if things went according to plan.

He didn’t seem like the kind of person who would do something too difficult.

CLANG!

The armored vehicle stopped about 200 meters from the edge of the ruined plain.

I walked slowly forward, looking ahead, toward the ruins towering in the distance, as soldiers and engineers watched.

Woof woof woof—

A chorus of zombies can be heard from afar.

The time is 2:00 AM.

It’s the time when zombies are active.

How the zombies are still alive and active four years after the start of the war will forever remain a mystery, but one thing remains true: they are a troublesome enemy.

Clank-

Seunghwan Ahn took out his weapon.

It is a domestically produced automatic shotgun.

Normally, regular Awakens carry relatively easy-to-handle domestically produced submachine guns or American-made double-barreled shotguns, but the fact that he chose a heavy and difficult-to-handle domestically produced shotgun means that Ahn Seung-hwan’s determination for this mission is not ordinary.

“Gunshots attract zombies. Cheon Yeong-jae and I will deal with any small groups, so watch from behind.”

After checking that the trigger on the gun held by Ahn Seung-hwan was pointing to safety, he picked up the weapon.

Srrrrung-

It would be more appropriate to call it a spear axe rather than an axe.

I think it was called a halberd.

This is not the intended design.

I’ve said it many times, but this is how it turned out while I was making it.

“Is this the new weapon that my senior is developing?”

Kim Da-ram looks at my new weapon again and asks.

He nodded.

“It looks like it has a gimmick.”

Despite his stubborn and frowning mindset, Kim Da-ram is still a great old-school hunter.

I immediately knew that my new weapon had a secret device.

“Huh? Really?”

Cheon Yeong-jae is very afraid of Kim Da-ram.

If they fought with fists, he would win, but Kim Da-ram is not an ordinary woman.

If they fight with guns, there’s a good chance Kim Da-ram will shoot and kill Cheon Yeong-jae.

Anyway, since the stage has been set, I think it wouldn’t be a bad idea to show off my new weapon’s gimmick.

Crunch!

The new weapon’s gimmick starts with holding the grip that protrudes from the top.

If you hold the cold grip in one hand and turn it sideways with all your might,

Chorus!

A metal skirt spreads out from the bottom of the handle, like a peacock spreading its wings.

It’s not only cool to look at, but it’s also designed for a very practical use.

I guess we’ll have to meet the guy to find out if it’ll work out, but at least I’m satisfied with this gimmick.

“how is it?”

Receiving a new weapon first, learning how to use it, and then showing it off to my teammates were some of the few small pleasures I had as a professor.

He stared at Kim Da-ram with a pleased smile on his face.

“What is this? Is this something I made wrong?”

“?”

Why is the reaction different from what I expected?

“······It’s a thing made by bonding ultra-thin ceramic tiles to titanium aluminide. It’s even used on the hull of a space shuttle.”

Although you explained it kindly,

“It’s titanium, it’s a blade, it’s an inverted umbrella, isn’t it?”

Kim Da-ram doesn’t seem to understand or have any intention of understanding.

Soon, Kim Da-ram shrugged his shoulders and turned his gaze away from the new weapon.

“······.”

Complete indifference.

Although he looked at the younger generation with more flexible thinking, Kim Da-ram was a nobleman.

Cheon Yeong-jae and Ahn Seung-hwan. Neither of them even pay attention.

“I don’t see any living people. There are only zombies.”

Cheon Yeong-jae is always watching his surroundings,

“One day. Just wait a minute.”

Seung-Hwan Ahn is still feeling guilty.

Slurp-

After putting the skirt back in its original place, she followed in step with her teammate as if nothing had happened.

“No, what are you going to do with something like that? You have to pick up a gun. As my senior always said, taking a gun off a hunter’s body is like taking the trunk off an elephant.”

Kim Da-ram’s one punch in the middle was a bonus.

“······.”

Everyone ignores it, but it is a secret weapon for the upcoming battle.

I was hoping you’d give it a little attention.

But the result was a complete rip-off.

It’s like writing a long, thoughtful piece on Viva! Apocalypse! and not getting a single comment.

Booooooo—-

A low-pitched sound signal was heard from the south.

I looked towards the Han River.

Indeed, the shape of the signal attached to the building standing alone, tilted in the middle of the darkness, changed.

The signal changed every 10 seconds and showed three symbols.

If I remember correctly, that signal says mass, zombies, and active.

It seems to be trying to tell us that a lot of zombies have awakened and are roaming around.

Kim Da-ram opened his mouth as he turned on the lantern and looked at the list of signal patterns.

“Shall we turn on the communicator?”

It seems like you haven’t memorized the table.

Actually, I’ve always hated using my head.

“No. I’ve learned the pattern.”

I brought a radio and a walkie-talkie, but they were turned off.

I don’t think it’s necessary to communicate about this.

According to my prediction, the monsters that destroy the communication system are different from humans in that they cover the entire world silently, as if they see radio waves.

“It seems like a large group of zombies are active in this area.”

“Mass zombies?”

Kim Da-ram made a trembling expression.

Although often overlooked, zombies are quite a scary enemy.

I don’t know if it’s a satire on humans themselves who are obsessed with materialism, but just as more money brings more profits, these guys also have a tendency to become stronger the more they increase in number.

Enhanced abilities include the entity’s motor skills, vitality, and, incredibly, even intelligence.

However, the reason why zombies have not been such a problem until now is because of the superior destructive power of weapons of mass destruction invented by humans.

Even a horde of tens of thousands of zombies are reduced to rubble by the simultaneous fire of artillery units.

Even a single properly placed machine gun emplacement can easily take down hundreds of them.

The more they gather, the stronger they become, and the more they gather, the more they can be dealt with, so in countries that maintain military power, hordes of zombies are considered an inferior threat to monsters and mutations.

But without such power, zombies become a more fearsome enemy than any other.

“Considering that they even issued a warning, the numbers seem to be no joke.”

He pulled out an audible signal called a crackle.

Used in North America for deer hunting, this device transmits signals quite far.

One of the hastily developed alternative signaling systems after learning about the Screamers.

Knock! Knock!

An acoustic signal was sent and the armored vehicle was advanced to within 100 meters of the ruins.

This armored vehicle is our only lifeline should a horde of zombies target us.

The biggest problem is that Mrs. Kim Da-ram’s expression is rotten, but at least she is a perfect hunter when she is on a mission.

“excuse me.”

Kim Da-ram discovered something.

There are flares scattered on the floor.

As expected, Kim Da-ram.

Daytime vision is monstrous, but night vision is even more beastly.

“this.”

Seung-Hwan Ahn recognized the flare.

“It’ll only take a day!”

I nodded and looked around.

Footprints, and blood.

There are bloody footprints.

Knock! Knock!

They started moving forward while sending an acoustic signal to the rear.

Before I knew it, gloomy lights were shining all around, decorating the darkness.

There are a lot of zombies.

Srrrrung-

He took up his weapon and advanced cautiously.

The blood trail led down to the basement of the half-collapsed building.

It looked like an ordinary office building.

What you see is what you know.

“Huh? Where is this?”

Kim Da-ram opened his mouth while looking at the entrance of the building.

A few zombies continued to follow us, so I waited for Kim Da-ram’s next words while keeping a close eye on the surroundings with my two-handed axe in hand.

“Do you see something like a nameplate at the entrance?”

Sure enough, there is a sign at the entrance to the building.

The name written on the nameplate is Lee Hyeong.

“It’s my first time seeing the real thing, but it looks like a secret bunker for the agents. The pattern is like that, and the name written on the nameplate is like that.”

“A bunker for the people?”

“For government VIPs. They seem to have them here and there in case someone can’t escape Seoul. I also knew there was something like that after seeing the information Woo Min-hee spread.”

Seunghwan Ahn, who was standing next to me, said something.

“This? It looks like it belongs to a really tall person.”

I saw Seunghwan Ahn.

Ahn Seung-hwan continued speaking, recalling the materials he had probably received while studying in Jeju Island.

“It’s like the presidential office.”