Hiding a House in the Apocalypse - Chapter 409



Only Noblemtl

Hiding a House in the Apocalypse Episode 409

165. Sin

1. Greed

Let’s say you have some kind of terrible disease.

There are two options.

Would you rather die slowly or have a risky surgery that could kill you?

Most people choose the former.

Unless the pain is severe or the discomfort is so severe that it interferes with daily life, people do not necessarily seek out risky surgery.

Even at the national level, such cases are found quite frequently.

For example, if a company that should have been eliminated due to rot is forcibly kept alive instead of being eliminated, the entire country will fall into a long-term recession.

What is the last Republic of Korea that I settled in like?

It was dying slowly, no, quite quickly.

Internal discontent was growing increasingly uncontrollable, and there were insufficient supplies to wage a protracted war.

I thought what we needed was a surgery that carried risks.

I thought it was better to do something than to die without doing anything.

“If we stay here, we’ll all die.”

“I quit.”

“What are you doing? Aren’t you running away?”

“I should go to Sejong.”

When the city was in crisis, its citizens abandoned it without hesitation.

It’s been 24 hours since dark clouds loomed over the river.

20,000 people left the city.

I expected this.

It’s a natural flow.

How many people would not want to leave when a crisis is right in front of them?

It’s a matter of instinct.

Even in China, at first they strictly controlled the citizens’ escape and even carried out summary executions, but later they just watched the citizens leave the cities.

Anyway, those who are meant to stay will stay, and those who are meant to leave will leave.

Trying to hold on to it by force will only cause internal division.

This lesson is common sense to anyone who witnessed the fall of China.

But there are many people who know but pretend not to know.

Especially those who covet my position and try to take it away.

“It’s a shame.”

He was given a suspended sentence.

Although it is not a formal dismissal, it is actually a punishment equivalent to that.

It was not Jeju people but the so-called citizen committee members who suggested the dismissal.

Some say they negotiated behind the scenes with Jeju Island, but I have little way of knowing about that.

Those who dragged me out of my seat were not satisfied with that and were trying to blame me.

The charge is that of attracting large-scale monsters to the city.

Woo Min-hee said that it was a formality and that I would not be indicted.

“I will stop that.”

Soon after, I heard that someone from Jeju had taken my place.

2. Pride

The number of citizens who fled the city has exceeded 50,000.

As Woo Min-hee said, no charges or investigations were conducted against me.

Instead, I was confined to a small compound and was only allowed to roam around a narrow area surrounding the compound.

The person who took my place is a friend I met before named Jang Hyeon-jin.

He is said to be one of the key members of the Jeju Committee, but some say he has more power than Mayor Gong Gyeong-min.

As for the defense of the most important cities, things are going well.

It’s not because Jang Hyun-jin is competent.

This is possible because there was a kill zone created through sweat and negotiation over a long period of time.

Across the river, dozens of monsters roam the eroded terrain created by the giants, but in the grand scheme of things, nothing has changed.

They still had to cross the bridge, and skilled artillery and well-constructed defenses reduced them to particles of light before they could even get on the bridge.

In the meantime, the new year has arrived.

At a New Year’s event, Jang Hyun-jin showed his face in a square filled with tens of thousands of people and shouted that Seoul would not fall.

But that day, the mercury dropped steadily, reaching minus 15 degrees Celsius.

Although it was just a single day of sudden cold weather, I had a very ominous feeling and relayed this to the relevant department through Cheon Yeong-jae.

Unfortunately, I did not receive an answer to my question.

3. Jealousy

Emgu posted a video on the bulletin board about dealing with the Screamer type.

Contrary to my concerns, Emgu honestly revealed my performance through editing that took considerable effort.

My face and voice were mosaic-processed.

This is the matter I requested.

Even if I show my face, I’ll just become a target for fanatics like Defender.

Still, I asked them not to do any unnecessary mosaic processing.

I ordered Emgu to appropriately compromise on my sharp charm, including my jawline, as well as my charisma, which cannot be hidden even with mosaic processing.

It seems that learning editing from Dongtan Mom was not an empty promise, as Emgu expressed me as a sharp and thorough true hunter even though he mosaic-processed me in the video.

There is only one problem.

This is the content of the subtitle that comes up below every time I come out.

[ Hunter P ]

It’s not a skeleton.

It’s Hunter P!

Dead38211: Is this guy not joking?

Dead8821: Something looks really cool?

Deadman821: Why do you hit everything you shoot? It’s over 400m away.

Dead Man 551: The woman behind is no joke either, but the one who stands out is that person.

Deadman43282: Every single movement is cool? There’s a sense of rhythm.

Dead311: I think he’s handsome

SKELTON: Hmm······.

…

…

The reviews on the internet are good.

That’s only natural.

But why not a skeleton?

I immediately raised an objection with Emgu.

SKELTON: Mgu. Okay.

SKELTON: Who is Hunter P?

After a while, a reply came from Emgu.

I know what the intention is.

You probably didn’t want to see me become a real named person.

Let’s see what they have to say.

A message from mmmmmmmmm™: It’s all for you. Skeleton~

SKELTON: ?

Message from mmmmmmmmm™: Are you saying that you are being politicized by the citizen committee bastards who are now in league with the Jeju guys?

A message from mmmmmmmmm™: He’s already trying to eat you, so what if your exploits are honestly revealed?

SKELTON: (Skeleton confused) Isn’t that a good thing…?

Message from mmmmmmmmm™: Oh my! One thing I know, two things I don’t know!

SKELTON: (Skeleton question mark)

Message from mmmmmmmmm™: This is when it happens. It’s a subtle push. This is the kind of person I am. If you guys keep harassing me, I can open up about this. This is a more sophisticated way to let people know.

“······.”

I’m angry, but I find Emgu’s words convincing.

Message from mmmmmmmmm™: Anyway, the reporter agreed, so bear with it.

Message from mmmmmmmmm™: Things are getting better, but why don’t you just release it in a mosaic-free version? Right?

SKELTON : ······.

Well, that’s what Emgu says, so let’s just assume that’s the case.

It’s not really an important issue.

But this surprise “Screamer Hunting Report” by Emgu set fire to the hearts of unexpected people.

Jang Hyun-jin and his friends.

Another “Jeju Committee member” I didn’t know well, Bae Dong-min, suddenly announced a hunt.

He boldly declared his ambitions to the entire nation on the radio – which we are free to use.

“······The root of all evil. I intend to eliminate the General type. He is the leader and chief of the monsters. If we can just defeat him, our city will be safe, and furthermore, we will be able to return to our former self.”

There has been no news since then.

4. Anger

A large-scale self-propelled artillery battery sent from Jeju has arrived.

They suddenly knocked on the east side, not across the river.

The noise of airplanes, which was heard for the first time in a long time, made citizens look up to the sky.

The bombing and shelling began.

It’s not about hitting monsters.

It is to strike at the fanatics and warlords who appeared in the east.

In fact, the artillery fire and bombing seemed to have shattered the advance guard of the warlords who had taken up positions in the east.

But it is questionable why they attacked an innocent warlord instead of a monster at this time.

Soon the radio answered that question.

“Today, the government forces deployed a large number of artillery pieces to the east of New Seoul and detected advance signs of the remnants of the Legion faction planning to bombard New Seoul, so they launched a preemptive strike······.”

According to the Defender, all the Legionnaires have are a few old cars and a few machine guns.

5. Stingy

The temperature ranged from minus 10 to minus 15 degrees Celsius.

The decision has been made about my fate.

According to him, all investigations and prosecutions have been suspended at the review stage.

The seat also returned to its original position.

He became the “captain” of Seoul again.

But the reality is different.

While I was away, my authority was diminished.

The regular Awaken side immediately moved to the newly created department.

And that’s not all.

Almost every request I made was ignored.

I was still the “captain” of the new Seoul, but the authority I once held had been transferred to a low-level Awaken from Jeju with the mysterious title of “acting general manager.”

I requested a conversation with the problematic person named Kim In-sik.

Instead of refusing to be interviewed, he responded by asking them to put their demands in writing.

We presented our demands in writing.

My requests were ignored.

The only thing they accepted was a box of coffee mix to be distributed to the break room.

6. Lust

One of the citizen commissioners who imposed my suspension is now under investigation for rape and sexual assault.

The other party, a 21-year-old woman, said she started dating him after being told he would give her a better job and better accommodation, but she was raped in return for nothing.

This unfortunate incident is nothing more than a common, frowned-upon crime that occurs around us, but the perpetrator and timing of the crime had painful consequences for the new Seoul.

The city is buried in trivial issues at a time when it should be most vigilant.

7. Laziness

A month has passed since the Screamers were defeated and a horde of monsters settled across the river.

People are returning to a city where 50,000 people once left.

As the weather became extremely cold and the situation seemed to be stabilizing, the groups that had quietly left returned.

But to me, the total collapse of this city seems imminent.

It’s been 10 days since the Han River froze over.

The extreme weather, where even on warm days the temperature never rose above -5 degrees Celsius, was making the dangers I had been worrying about a reality.

Despite discussions with the upper echelons about the issue, the new Seoul government was buried under the scandalous citizen commission issue.

Although it seemed like a previous fight, their goals were clear.

While Jeju is trying to use the rape incident as an excuse to control the disobedient civil forces and tie them up under self-control, the civil forces are trying to maintain their autonomy and secure their iron rice bowls.

Destruction was coming and I warned of it, but no one listened to my voice.

“······.”

The moment I thought it was time to take my clothes off, the phone rang.

This is Woo Min-hee.

“Can we talk for a minute?”

*

“What will happen if this city is destroyed?”

Woo Min-hee’s question is one that people who work with me have asked several times.

The answer is clear.

This time, most of them will not escape death.

Even if we don’t get killed by monsters, the bitter cold is threatening us from all sides.

The rapidly decreasing number of operational vehicles also reduces the chances of survival.

The civilization’s achievements made with pre-war technology have been faithfully functioning for quite some time since the war, as if to show off the technological prowess of mankind in its heyday, but now even that has reached its limits.

Vehicles, generators, and cell phones all screamed, but in particular, the operating rate of vehicles with many essential consumables fell as much as the depreciation rate.

The phenomenon of extremely low survival rates without vehicles was already proven common sense one or two years after the war.

“Probably, half of them will die and disappear.”

Woo Min-hee smiled sadly.

She seemed to know too.

After all, she too had witnessed the destruction of many others in this perishing world.

Destruction manifested itself equally in the real world and on the Internet.

As the number of people in the real world decreases, the number of people in the Internet world also decreases.

It may be a fact that not only I but almost all users know that even though measures like PaleNet and Necropolis are forcibly binding people to the Internet, there is not much left.

The device called the mobile phone itself is now reaching the end of its life.

There was a time when repairs were possible, but now there are no replacement parts and even the replacement parts have fallen apart over time.

If the users themselves disappear like this, the Necropolis will remain as an echo of the dead forever, just as its creator intended.

“Do you remember what I said before?”

The Han River was frozen.

The frozen river was like a mirror, containing the stars of the dark night sky like a painting.

I flinched slightly at the cold wind that blew and stared at her.

Her eyes, with long eyelashes that would probably have captivated countless men, were looking not at the Han River itself, but at the gray-white land beyond it.

Even now, at this very moment, something eerie and grayish-white can be seen moving beyond the ruins.

She was looking at the monster.

I felt something heavy weighing on my heart.

I tried to ignore the emotion and answered her.

“If I become a monster, are you asking me to kill you?”

Woo Min-hee nodded with a faint smile.

“I have no one to leave it to except you. No, there is no one I want to leave it to.”

I don’t think it’s necessarily the duty of a living person to prepare for destruction.

As an atheist, for me, life ends when I die, so the world after that is probably good.

But that’s why I think this world gives us a reason to work hard.

“If it’s your wish.”

A shallow sigh escaped Woo Min-hee’s mouth.

She continued, looking at the frozen river, just a little further away than she could see.

“But resist with all your might.”

Woo Min-hee looked at me.

“I will also try my best to resist.”

My thoughts changed after talking to Minhee.

I will stay in the city.

It’s a city full of rotten sin, but still, I will protect this disgusting world.

Because I too am a being steeped in another sin called hatred.

Above all, this city is the only means of solving my unquenchable hatred.

He is close.

I won’t give up until I kill that bastard.