Hiding a House in the Apocalypse - Chapter 444



Only Noblemtl

4 177. Worship (1)

I have never been religious.

Therefore, I do not know about the impatience of religious people.

Idolatry and taboos.

It was on a lazy spring afternoon that values ​​that seemed completely unrelated to me came to me.

*

A familiar face came to see me after a long time.

“It’s been a while, Skeleton! It’s really been a while!”

This is Pilkrum, a popular webtoon artist from back in the day.

His face was thinner than when I first met him, but his complexion itself looked much better than when I was in Jeju.

“I knew you were here, but I just couldn’t find any way to meet you. I searched the internet but couldn’t find any information, and when I asked around, everyone I knew just said they didn’t know you.”

It was only relatively recently that I learned that room 803, where Cheon Yeong-jae and I spend our days in vain, is a security facility equivalent to a confidential facility.

Cheon Yeong-jae grumbles that it is the work of Jeju Islanders, but my thoughts are complex.

It may be their intention to hide me from the public, but at the same time, their concealment is a means of protecting me from potential assassins, the fanatics.

“You better be careful, Skeleton. The fanatics have taken your hand. The ones around here aren’t doing anything special, but I’ve heard that the religious sect in North Korea is taking action after hearing rumors about you.”

The defender warned.

His talent for “murder,” which had been evident since his days on the bulletin board, blossomed after he arrived in the new Seoul.

“Team Defender,” named after his nickname, is the only one that has maintained its independence while all other hunter organizations are being consolidated and reabsorbed under the national government, and is recognized by the Jeju government, receiving more powerful equipment and support to focus on anti-fanatic activities.

“I’ve heard that there is a large religious sect in the Geumgangsan area. I’ve never seen it, but from what I’ve heard, the top religious leader there has extraordinary powers and has protected the beautiful mountains and rivers from being eroded.”

Defender’s information was reinforced by Ham Chun-ok’s testimony.

Even in North Korea, which has already been completely eroded, there is a Shangri-La.

Ham Chun-ok said that there is an uneroded “holy land” in the Geumgangsan and Gapsan areas.

It is ironic that Shangri-La, which should be a paradise, is filled with fanatics who desire destruction more than anyone else and want to become one with monsters, but it has become clear that Shangri-La, a zone resistant to erosion, is a territory that only the strongest human groups can occupy.

Anyway, even the large religious sect living in Shangri-La is targeting me, so the surveillance and vigilance that the Jeju kids are currently putting on me is actually protecting me.

“Please take a seat.”

I was the one who invited Philcrum.

I was logging into my skeleton account, which I rarely use these days, and looking through my inbox, which was filled with unread messages like a pre-war spam mailbox, when I came across a friendly nickname and gladly sent him a way to meet me.

If not, Pilcrum might have been beaten to a pulp and thrown out of the building, not to mention in front of room 803 where I was.

“Oh, is this Mr. Pilkrum?!”

As expected from Cheon Yeong-jae, who learned current affairs through the Internet, he is ignorant and uninterested in real-life bulletin board names, but he seems to know most of the famous things on the Internet from the good old days.

Pilcrum88, a famous webtoon artist, was no exception.

“I’m a huge fan! The Return of Superman! I used to look forward to reading every single episode. Even now, when I think about the scene where the main character orders the punks to lie down and beat them up, I get goosebumps all over my body······.”

“Youngjae.”

“huh.”

“I’ll think about it later. The author is here on something else right now, isn’t he?”

“Ah. Right. I’m sorry, Mr. Pilkrum!”

There was a double intention.

One of them is to get to the main point quickly, but the other is that I didn’t want to see Cheon Yeong-jae talking about a work in which I wasn’t even the main character.

While Cheon Yeong-jae went to get in the car, they talked for a while about what had happened to Pilkrum.

“Life in Jeju? It wasn’t as good as I thought. But it was better than living in Seoul or Incheon. At least I didn’t have to hear gunshots while sleeping at night, and I didn’t have to be afraid of people passing by.”

It is said that Pilcrum serialized several works, including Dragon C’s last work.

It is said that what he wanted to serialize was Dragon’s last work, but he was required to serialize the works requested by the government.

“It wasn’t that difficult. Until I met him.”

Pilcrum looked into space with a bitter smile.

“There was someone there who was a fan of mine.”

“Isn’t it great if you’re a fan?”

“That’s not necessarily the case.”

They say there was a man named Kim So-wook.

I don’t know who he is, but he’s one of the members of the Jeju Committee.

“Ah. That guy.”

I’ve heard of Cheon Yeong-jae before.

He was said to be one of the top figures of the “Seoul government” that used to be in Seoul and whose whereabouts are still unknown.

“I’ve seen it a few times when I used to live on Hunter Street. I went to see Chief Woo, or rather, Senior Woo Min-hee.”

As for that friend, let’s hear from Woo Min-hee later.

He’s a guy who comes whenever he gets a chance even if I don’t call him, so I guess I should find a place to use him even at times like this.

Anyway, this gentleman named Kim So-wook made Pilkrum draw his cartoon.

“It was a cartoon titled ‘Last Day in Seoul.’”

The cartoon, which probably took its title from the novel The Last Days of Pompeii, is said to be a story about the people who stayed in Seoul after the war started and ran the city.

I don’t understand it, but it’s a glorification of the most irresponsible people who devoured Seoul and drove countless people to death.

It may sound absurd, but in fact, there were plenty of cases of glorifying criminals even before the war.

Even in our neighboring country, Japan, whenever they get bored, they produce a ton of cartoons and movies praising Pacific War war criminals.

Who can stop Jeju’s powerful friends from making it?

There is only one thing I am curious about.

“But has that cartoon ever been a problem?”

Even if Jeju is a closed society, it seems a bit difficult to glorify a tragedy that happened only 1-2 years ago.

“Oh, that’s right. It’s never been made public on the intranet.”

“is it so?”

“Yes. They were just passing it around among themselves. That’s why there are no manuscripts left. They had the work done in a security office they designated.”

I think he had at least a modicum of conscience.

It seems that they also know that their backs are dirty.

“Well, that’s all in the past. It’s just something we do to survive. I don’t care about that, but today I came to see you, Skeleton, because I really want to draw a cartoon.”

Pilcrum’s eyes are more lively than ever.

“What kind of cartoon do you want to draw?”

I asked, feeling, to borrow the expression of my respected role model, John Nae-non, a “tingling sensation around the buttocks.”

As expected,

“Of course it’s Mr. Skeleton’s electric comic!”

“······.”

How should I put this?

I had a feeling that what was coming had come.

I’m already a living legend on the internet.

The days when internet popularity leads to real-life popularity are over, but he is still a living legend.

I was hoping that some form of praise or encouragement would come to me.

The first batter was Pilcrum, who even Cheon Yeong-jae, who learned current affairs through the Internet, knows.

“······Are you talking about the temple?”

He asked in a restrained voice.

“Of course! Is there anyone as great as Mr. Skelton in Korea, or even in the entire world? Although the quality is low, I thought that the scene where Mr. Skelton commanded and moved his troops in Seoul, defeated monsters and fanatics, and finally confronted and defeated the giant monster one-on-one was the climax of human history!”

“······.”

Is this what it felt like?

I can vaguely see the path my role model, John Nae-non, took.

Yes, this is the path that legends walk.

Legend Road.

“Mr. Skeleton?”

“senior?”

I took a deep breath and apologized.

“Oh, I was just thinking about something else for a moment.”

I got into the philharmonic and the main body seriously.

“I’m fine. If Mr. Philkrum could draw my life story, I would be happy to help.”

Philcrum is a proven writer.

He may not have Dragon’s insight and philosophy, but he has outstanding fundamentals and the sprout of a sponge-like talent that can absorb things based on those fundamentals.

This can be seen just by looking at Pilcrum’s version of Dragon’s last work, “The Remnants,” which was contained on a USB drive that Pilcrum brought with him when he visited the office.

“Wow. This is incredible.”

Cheon Yeong-jae continued to praise him highly.

But like a friend who learned current affairs through the Internet, he adds useless words.

“But there is no Julppatta scene.”

“What on earth is a Julppatta scene?”

“Oh, that. The main character makes the bad guys lie down and then hits their butts with an aluminum bar······.”

“Is that fun?”

Cheon Yeong-jae’s expression hardened.

I know it sounds offensive, but let’s make this clear.

“You drew it for the kids. Isn’t that right, author?”

“Haha······ It was definitely a scene aimed at middle and high school students. I was also in my early twenties when I drew it.”

“No, I just have to have fun. What does age matter?”

I guess we were a little noisy.

The door opened and Woo Min-hee came in.

The moment he saw Woo Min-hee, Pilcrum’s face turned pale.

He seems to have a rough idea.

The notoriety of the legendary Woo So-jang.

“who is this?”

Even if you don’t know her, there is an eerie aura surrounding her that even normal people can sense, as she is an Over 10 Level Awaken.

For sensitive people, they may feel unfounded anxiety or panic.

I briefly explained the current situation to Pilcrum and Woo Min-hee.

“Oh, this is author Pilkrum, and he came here to ask permission to draw the story of his senior, right?”

Woo Min-hee nodded and gave a small bow to Pilkrum.

“Please take care of me.”

Judging from the fact that he didn’t say his name, it seems like he doesn’t intend to be very friendly.

It doesn’t seem like Woo Min-hee reveals her name very often, though.

But, I’ve been feeling it for sure lately as I’ve been running into this issue often that Woo Min-hee has her own work to do.

“But how are you going to draw it? Can’t you just draw it?”

To put it precisely, after working in a position where I was asked to do something for a long time, I have an incredible ability to read the psychology of people who are trying to ask me for a favor.

“Ah. Yes.”

Pilcrum smiled bitterly.

“Actually. I know it’s a bit odd to suddenly ask you something like this······.”

Cheon Yeong-jae looked at Woo Min-hee with slightly surprised eyes.

I’ll admit it this time.

Woo Min-hee understood at a glance the inner thoughts of Pilcrum that even he could not see through.

“I need support. I think that a work like Skeleton’s life story will be a monumental work not only for me but also for the nation. Rather than just working on it alone, I would like to get some support? Something like that.”

The story is that Pilcrum did not come to me with pure good intentions or feelings of worship.

Well, it’s a common story.

A webtoon artist who was in Jeju returned to Seoul.

Although the new government is attempting to unify through various political means, including elections, people from Jeju must have felt that the new environment was worse than Jeju.

In a world with low expectations, the dissatisfaction will be limited to the bare minimum of food, clothing, shelter, and living expenses, and so Pilcrum thought of me and sent me a message.

“What kind of support do you need specifically?”

It seems like the roles have been reversed, but let’s leave it to our minis here.

The rumor was true.

Unlike what she looks like, Na Hye-in is weak-hearted and cannot speak harshly to her juniors or colleagues, so Woo Min-hee steps in and says what Na Hye-in wants to say.

It’s called “bad news”, but I think bad news is necessary.

“Ah, that is… Let’s have a workroom where the computer can work well and three, no, two, assistants.”

“Is that all?”

“Excuse me, I’m really sorry, but the place I live with my family right now is not conducive to sleeping. Due to lack of sleep and the resulting stress······.”

“A new house that’s a little better than the current one. And?”

It’s like cutting a case with a knife.

After the story was almost finished, Woo Min-hee summarized and told me what Pilcrum had asked for.

“······This is what the writer needs.”

Pilcrum’s face was slightly flushed.

I think it can’t be helped.

I wanted to wrap it up and say that I was doing it with pure intentions, but Woo Min-hee tore that wrapping up with his sharp hooked fingers.

But, eventually, the packaging will be torn off.

It’s a difference in order.

The point is that in the end, everything will be revealed.

Some people make a fuss about the order, calling it formality, but for someone like me who only cares about the visible results, that order is a good thing.

“Is there anything else you need besides this?”

Unlike Woo Min-hee, he spoke softly.

Pilcrum, who seemed to have been encouraged by me, said softly,

“Oh, and by the way. As you know, I did Viva! Apocalypse! for a bit, but it was only a bit. I used it for a bit when I was in Jeju, but it was immediately confiscated. That’s why I don’t know much about Mr. Skeleton’s character on the internet. Luckily, when I came to Seoul, I heard there was a way to access Necropolis, so I went in and guess what? All of Mr. Skeleton’s posts were gone. But I can’t judge it by looking at Captain Mgu’s posts······.”

“okay.”

This part is genuine.

Yeah, the character is important.

Currently, my footprints are hidden on the bulletin board under the name of secret post.

There’s no way for a regular user like Philcrum to know.

At best, the information he can obtain is a fabricated text written by Emgu, and it is terrifying to imagine that he could reconstruct Skeleton using such slanderous text.

“Oh, there’s also something called AI Skeleton. It was created by a named user named Foxgame.”

“Fox game?”

I ordered him to show it to Philcrum.

Indeed, it exists.

[ Chat with AI SKELTON by FoxGames ]

The cover featured a cool looking character, probably AI-generated, with a slightly shaded face and an axe, who looked completely unrelated to me.

“Is this it?”

Pilcrum nodded with a bitter smile.

“Oh, yes. But this also seems a bit strange to me.”

I tried connecting once.

Instructions appear.

– The AI ​​SKELTON™ of this chat is the content generated by the 4th generation chat CPT algorithm by analyzing and learning the activity history of SKELTON who has been active on the Viva! Apocalypse! bulletin board to date using big data.

“hmm.”

That sounds plausible.

“Hey, Mr. Skeleton. It looks to me like you’re better off not doing that. That seems a bit odd.”

Although Pilcrum tries to dissuade him, Woo Min-hee, who is standing next to him, smiles and tells him to try.

“What? What do you think? You have to lose to win. Even if Fox Games is a crappy developer, it’s true that they worked for a large company, right?”

I tried connecting.

-Please enter your nickname

“······.”

Knock knock

[ Mini (20 years old) ]

“What is that?”

Woo Min-hee kept complaining next to him, but he ignored it and went ahead with it.

Soon a conversation began with a skeleton I didn’t know.

SKELTON(AI) : (Skeleton)

“what.”

Cheon Yeong-jae stared at the screen with a dumbfounded expression.