Hiding a House in the Apocalypse-Chapter 103.2: Struggle (2)

I fortified the entire outpost.

I gathered materials from the storage room, the barracks, and the piles of trash scattered around the back. I stretched wires across the main entry routes at ankle height, hanging empty cans from them.

Useless during the day, but at night—the most dangerous time—it would act as a motion sensor.

I also dug pits.

One near the entrance of the outpost. Another behind it. Several more in the open area between the last cover point on the approach and the outpost itself.

The pits weren’t deep, but I filled them with shattered metal scraps and glass.

Enough to cripple anything, human or mutation, that stepped inside.

Every hill or structure that could provide cover in the open area was removed. Instead, I fortified the rooftop, where the solar panels were, making it my defensive stronghold.

For the last line of defense, I built a makeshift barricade using stones and debris I had collected over time. From the entrance, it forced an attacker to turn sharply at a right angle to proceed.

A design meant to block mutations and funnel human threats into close-quarters combat.

I worked during the day, limiting myself to six hours a day.

If I overexerted myself, it would only weaken me for the following days.

Ten days passed.

Nothing happened.

Not a single sign.

On the seventh day, the same military vehicle that had dropped me off returned.

But rather than taking me out of here, they gave me a small supply of food and water.

It was a disappointing outcome, but I kept my frustration to myself.

“Do you have any spare ammunition?”

“Something was prowling around two nights ago. I got scared and wasted some bullets.”

They gave me 90 rounds.

It was a win, technically.

But it also shattered my hopes.

Three more days passed.

No sign of rescue.

No message from Unicorn.

Outside, the landscape was desolate.

The ashen fog hanging over the mountain’s base unsettled me more than anything.

But fear wasn’t my worst ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) enemy right now.

It was boredom.

While I was busy fortifying the outpost, I had tasks to keep my mind occupied.

But now that I had finished, all I could do was wait and stay vigilant.

And boredom—more suffocating than the fog below—began to tighten its grip on my soul.

There were ways to kill time.

Viva! Apocalypse! was one of them.

But for some reason, I didn’t feel like logging in.

I checked my messages from Unicorn, but that was it.

I didn’t browse the boards, didn’t even glance at the popular posts.

Even when I had nothing else to do, I didn’t scroll mindlessly.

When I tried to analyze my own feelings, the reason became clear.

It was the change in location.

I was still Skelton, and Viva! Apocalypse! was still Viva! Apocalypse!.

But since I was somewhere else, not in my territory, the board felt... distant.

And then there was Foxgames.

A self-important mini-moderator parading around, announcing updates like he owned the place.

Foxgames: Alright, today’s patch is live! Look forward to it! A brand-new area! A brand-new story! And of course, a brand-new fortress!

That was just one more reason to stay away.

I was preparing for yet another day of fighting boredom when—finally—Unicorn messaged me.

Unicorn18: Skelton! You’re still alive, right?!

Anonymous144: (Skelton Jumps Up) Of course I am.

Unicorn18: Did you apply?

Anonymous144: Apply for what?

Unicorn18: Rotation request. If you last a month, you can get reassigned.

Anonymous144: No, not yet.

I wasn’t an idiot.

By the time we reached this point in the conversation, I already felt a bitter taste in my mouth.

She was beating around the bush.

She was asking for something.

And that could only mean one thing.

I let out a long sigh.

“Haa...”

Unicorn.

No—Na Hye-in.

She hadn’t done anything.

She had never left her house.

More accurately, she had failed to contact anyone willing to help.

Which meant one thing.

Kang Han-min.

Unicorn18: No monsters or anything, right?

“......”

I hesitated for a moment, then placed my fingers on the keyboard.

Anonymous144: Yeah. Nothing.

I decided to pretend I didn’t know.

I was the one who said I would endure.

No point in complaining.

No reason to resent her.

The only thing that had changed was that I had to survive for a month instead of a week.

That was all.

And I wanted to end this conversation.

But instead of cutting it off abruptly, I let it fizzle out naturally.

Anonymous144: But yeah... I’m kinda bored.

Unicorn18: Why don’t you visit the board? You haven’t been active there either.

Anonymous144: Got tired of it.

There was nothing more hollow than a meaningless conversation.

I felt a sense of emptiness and exhaustion.

It was time to wrap this up.

So what was next?

There was only one answer.

I had to survive this outpost and get on the ship to Busan.

I wouldn’t think beyond that.

One thing was certain.

Park Gyu does not belong on this island.

Unicorn18: Bored, huh?

Unicorn18: If you’re feeling bored, that means you have the luxury to be bored.

Unicorn18: That’s good! Better than being terrified, right? Right?!

I stared at the screen, expressionless.

Then, I typed.

Anonymous144: Sorry, I’m logging off. I probably won’t be back for a few days. I’m getting tired of this board. Besides, things are getting tense outside.

I closed the board and turned off Ballantine’s program.

“......”

Suddenly, the outpost felt dark.

It was strange.

Unlike my bunker, which was underground, this place was above ground.

The observation deck I was in had large windows on all eight sides.

As long as the sun was up, light should be pouring in.

But somehow, the air inside felt heavy.

Still—

In the broadest sense, this outpost and my bunker were siblings.

Click.

I checked my rifle and stepped outside.

I needed to dig another pit.

*

Fifteen days had passed.

Still, nothing hostile had been detected in the area.

- No abnormalities during duty.

After updating the duty log on the computer, I ate a simple meal.

As I ate, I looked out the window.

Maybe it was because of the summer heat, but I realized something—I hadn’t looked down once since arriving here.

This outpost was designed to overlook the plains below, not just sit idly in the middle of a mountain slope.

Yet, for some reason, I had never looked at the ground beneath me.

Inside this outpost, time moved slowly.

Foll𝑜w current novels on fɾēewebnσveℓ.com.

I glanced at the computer.

It had been a while since I last logged into Viva! Apocalypse!.

Ever since I learned the truth about Unicorn, I hadn’t logged in.

I simply didn’t feel like it.

Even though boredom was gnawing away at me, I had no desire to enter a virtual world filled with realities I didn’t want to face.

Still, I needed to confirm I was alive.

I decided I’d log in, send a single message, then log out.

With that in mind, I accessed the board.

There was a message waiting for me.

I checked it.

“......”

It was from Unicorn.

Unicorn18: You’re tired of this place, right? Then why not try something different?

Unicorn18: Do you remember the Red Archive board? That time, the ‘Skelton’ who showed up—was that you? I have no idea what you said back then.

Unicorn18: (Attachment) Install this and connect through the intranet. You’ll see my favorite board in a whole new way!

Unicorn18: You didn’t log in yesterday either... Are you really alive? Please reply when you see this.

Unicorn18: ?

I read through her messages carefully.

Then let out a shallow sigh and replied.

Anonymous144: Don’t worry. I’m alive. But the Obelisk’s condition is unstable.

Seconds later, a rapid reply came.

Unicorn18: !

Unicorn18: You’re really alive.

Unicorn18: Did you see my messages?

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

Anonymous144: Yeah, I read them all.

Unicorn18: Did you check the attachment?

Anonymous144: Not yet.

Unicorn18: You HAVE to install it and read the guide! I like this board too, but my true home is over there!

For some reason, I could faintly picture Na Hye-in’s excited expression.

But it didn’t match the image I had of her.

She had always been calm, enigmatic—a person who carried an air of mystery.

In three years of school and the long years on the battlefield, I had never once seen her excited.

Anonymous144: I’ll check it out. Talk to you later.

Before closing the board, I inspected the attachment Unicorn had sent.

It looked similar to the one Ballantine had given me.

The file name was:

magic_glasses.apk

Magic glasses?

I opened the guide.

- A tool for fully experiencing the Red Archive board! Install it and you’ll see the truth!

- Put on the magic glasses! Right now!

I installed the program.

It was lightweight, so even this rotting old computer handled it quickly.

Once installed, I connected to the intranet.

Since I had visited the Red Archive board before, finding it was easy.

But I remembered what it had been like.

Back then, it was nothing but an endless flood of emojis.

No words. No real conversations.

Just emoji after emoji.

It was a bizarre place.

Like a chatroom where monsters were trying to communicate, yet we humans had no way to understand them.

I had no idea what this "magic glasses" program was supposed to do.

Still, I logged in.

“......”

A sea of emojis filled the screen.

Just like before.

What was I supposed to do with this?

Could Awakened users communicate through emojis alone?

As I was lost in thought, a new window popped up on my screen.

[ Magic Glasses Activated / ]

- Please wait.

"Hmm."

I sat back and waited.

A moment later, the wall of emojis started to shift and transform.

What had once been meaningless symbols turned into text.

Or rather, text mixed with emojis.

Pangsik: My lil’ guy just got rock hard...

ㅇㅇ: Gigantic chest Ryze.jpg

ㅂㅊㄴㅌㅁ: That asshole who bullied me in school came back crippled from a rift. LOL.

Cherka: I’m doing a Sartoth Nightmare run. Any tips?

Bisu Saltzen: Weren’t they supposed to release the new content this summer?! What the hell is Kim Hak-chul even doing?!

Gugugu: 1,000 credits per stomp.

“?”

I couldn’t believe my eyes.

That bizarre, incomprehensible board had suddenly become readable.

How was this even possible?

Had the users been writing this all along?

Did they not realize their words were being hidden?

Was this some kind of coded system?

Regardless, it had happened.

For the first time in a long while, I felt excitement as I browsed the board.

The first thing I noticed was how young everyone was.

The age demographic was lower than any other board I had visited.

The name "Red Archive" referred to a Korean mobile game.

A game filled with anime-style girls speaking Japanese, wildly popular among teens and young adults.

Now that I thought about it, Gong Gyeong-min used to play games like this.

Not Red Archive, but some weird Chinese game.

As I scrolled, I understood why I had grown tired of my old board.

It was too familiar.

Sure, Foxgames was an annoying presence, but the flow of conversations, the topics, the discussions—it all moved in a predictable rhythm.

And predictability breeds boredom.

Maybe that was why I had left my bunker in the first place.

Maybe I had grown tired of that familiar, suffocating world.

Click.

With one hand, I held my rifle.

Tap.

With the other, I gripped my mouse.

Two objects that should never belong together.

Yet, I juggled between watching for threats and scrolling through the board.

A genuine smile crept onto my face.

"Unicorn, you little bastard..."

That ridiculous otaku persona.

She had borrowed it from this board.

This place was filled with people like her.

“......”

And despite everything—despite the horrors of Jeju—they were having fun.

The situation here was terrible.

Yet, they were talking, laughing, sharing their thoughts—as if the world outside didn’t matter.

It reminded me of the early days of Viva! Apocalypse!.

The first year after the war.

Back when everyone was trying to become an influencer.

Thunk.

I set my rifle down.

Then, I placed my fingers on the keyboard.

Right now, my life was in danger.

At any moment, I could die.

And yet, for some reason—

I wanted to chat with these kids.

Such impulses weren’t easily ignored.

For the first time in ages, I felt the corners of my mouth curl into a smile.

Tap, tap, tap.

SKELTON: (Skelton) Bangabanga~

MiyukiPillarHusband: ?