Hiding a House in the Apocalypse-Chapter 103.3: Struggle (3)
No matter how famous I was in the mainland internet world, in the new realm of Jeju’s intranet, I was just a newbie.
In other words, I was a nobody.
There was a time when I had spent years as an unknown.
Back then, just observing the thoughts and actions of other users was enough to entertain me and give me a sense of solace.
But as my time online stretched on, my ego could no longer remain a mere spectator or passive viewer—it wanted to be the star of the stage.
And so, SKELTON became a well-known name on both Viva! Apocalypse! and PaleNet.
But once someone rises to fame, they can never go back to being a nobody.
This chapter is updat𝙚d by freeweɓnovel.cøm.
That wasn’t something I heard from anyone else—it was my own realization.
Still, as a named figure on two major sites, shouldn’t I be treated differently from an ordinary user?
SKELTON: (SKELTON greeting) Fresh newbie SKELTON reporting to the esteemed Red Archive board seniors with the deepest respect~
It looked like a greeting, but it wasn’t.
This was groundwork—an attempt to imprint the name SKELTON into the minds of kids at least ten years younger than me.
I posted the message and monitored the board’s reaction.
Earlier, some guy named “Miyuki’s Pimp” had reacted to my first post. Would he respond this time as well?
After posting, I gave it five minutes before returning to my computer.
ProDisgracefulSon: Shit, immediate front-row attention (12)
Pangsik: My lil’ guy got stiff again...
Siheon: Looking for a bro to lend me Miyuki ver. 3 (1)
SKELTON: (SKELTON greeting) Fresh newbie SKELTON reporting to the esteemed Red Archive board seniors with the deepest respect~
Amaseka: If it’s 2582, can it avoid flooding? (3)
ㅇㅇ: Unexpectedly tasty side dish (9)
4.5Grade: So it got pushed back by Eris Misa and won’t see use? (1)
“Huh?”
No response.
Every other post had at least one reply—aside from the garbage posts about guys getting hard.
A cold, creeping sensation ran down my spine, and my fingers twitched involuntarily.
“....”
Was I being ignored?
Had they somehow figured out my age?
Even back at the dorms, I could tell the younger guys avoided me.
Same thing at the cafeteria.
In this world, where the 10s and 20s dominated, a guy in his 30s might as well be from another planet.
No matter how young I looked or how stylish and handsome I was, that fundamental barrier wouldn’t change.
Hell, when I was younger, even guys in their mid-to-late 20s felt like old men to me.
It was only natural they’d feel the same toward me now.
If I wanted to integrate into any group, I needed to understand its dynamics first.
The Red Archive board, as I mentioned before, was tied to a mobile game that launched before the war.
A so-called “cute girl gacha game”—where players used real money for a character lottery, collecting various figures to complete challenges and quests.
Gong Gyeong-min played this kind of game too.
Even during drinking parties at the dorm, he wouldn’t put his phone down.
That’s how I knew what kind of game it was.
One thing stuck in my memory:
During a drinking session, Gong Gyeong-min suddenly blurted out,
“Ah! I forgot my daily quest!”
Then he pulled out his phone and started playing some Chinese gacha game.
Surprisingly, he finished in just one minute and ten seconds.
“You’re already done?”
I usually didn’t ask about personal hobbies, but his behavior clashed so violently with my expectations that I had to say something.
“Yeah. It’s a bonsai game. With bonsai games, it’s more efficient to play for ten minutes a day than ten hours in one sitting. That’s how the devs designed it.”
I don’t remember the exact name of the game, but I do remember it was Chinese.
Strangely enough, the characters in it spoke Japanese.
Anyway, from what I could tell, the Red Archive board revolved around a similar bonsai game.
Unlike our old forums, this intranet was limited to Jeju Island, heavily monitored, but it had its perks.
It provided content on webtoons, dramas, movies, sports, and even niche hobbies—hell, there was even a live golf broadcast.
On top of that, many pre-war games were still running in nearly the same state as before.
Despite some controversy over their management style, Jeju, as the last remnant of the legitimate South Korean government, had gone so far as to relocate entire game companies to the island.
The studio behind Red Archive was one of them, and since the original devs were still around, the game was still receiving updates four years into the post-war era.
Maybe that was the bare minimum of lubrication needed to keep this highly controlled society running.
Well, as the saying goes, when in Rome, do as the Romans do.
If I wanted to blend in with the Red Archive users, I had to install the game.
Navigating through Intranet > Games > Mobile Games, I downloaded an emulator to run mobile apps on my PC, then started downloading the game itself.
...But man, even the cover art felt out of place for me.
Like I was stepping into some unicorn-colored fantasy realm.
Even though it was running through a wired connection, the network speed was garbage.
A 6GB file, and it was only downloading at 200MB per minute.
“Whew.”
Might as well do a quick patrol.
As much as my online life mattered, I never forgot where I was.
Just as I grabbed my firearm and was about to head outside—
A cheerful notification sound rang from my computer.
Slowly, I walked back to the monitor.
[Miyuki’s Pimp has requested a chat.]
“Miyuki’s Pimp?”
This board didn’t have a messaging feature, but apparently, it had a chat function.
I accepted.
Miyuki’s Pimp: Yo!
SKELTON: ?
Miyuki’s Pimp: You’re SKELTON, right? From Viva! Apocalypse!?
SKELTON: Yeah.
SKELTON: (SKELTON confused) And you are?
Miyuki’s Pimp: Unicorn.
SKELTON: What the hell is up with your nickname?
Miyuki’s Pimp: Shit happened. Anyway, what the hell are you doing right now?
SKELTON: ?
Miyuki’s Pimp: This place isn’t like our old board. Don’t try to pull the same stunts here. The generation is different. Different. That old forum had guys in their 30s, 40s, and 50s—this place is full of kids. Their way of thinking is completely different.
SKELTON: I get that.
Was it just because this was a different forum?
Or was it simply the change in interface?
The Unicorn I met here felt slightly different from the one I knew.
Something about it made our awkward distance feel a little closer.
It had been so long since I last saw Na Hye-in that even my vivid imagination couldn’t reconstruct her image anymore.
But this conversation brought a subtle warmth that settled deep in my chest.
Feeling that warmth, I tapped the keyboard.
SKELTON: So, what’s up with this board? Before I installed your program, all I could see were emojis. Now it’s like magic—I can actually read people’s messages.
Miyuki’s Pimp: Someone hacked the board and messed with the encoding. You can’t read it without the conversion program.
SKELTON: That kind of thing’s possible in Jeju?
Miyuki’s Pimp: Apparently. Been like that since the board was made.
Miyuki’s Pimp: Anyway, don’t draw attention to yourself here. Everyone just talks about the game. If you do anything out of line, they’ll block you instantly.
SKELTON: Harsh crowd.
Miyuki’s Pimp: If you’re gonna use this board, just talk about the game. No stupid jokes, no roleplaying, no gacha flexing.
SKELTON: ...What’s gacha flexing?
Miyuki’s Pimp: Bragging about your gacha pulls. If you post a 10-pull with a rate-up character, you get permabanned. No mercy.
SKELTON: Got it.
But aside from the board’s culture, there was something else between me and Unicorn.
Reality.
SKELTON: Any good news?
For all my chatting, my eyes never stopped scanning the outside world.
SKELTON: Something feels off.
For the first time, Unicorn hesitated.
Miyuki’s Pimp: ...Sorry, I can’t help.
“...”
The Na Hye-in I knew was a strong woman.
A woman of iron will, as strong as I was.
Even after suffering a crushing defeat that cost half her team, she returned to the battlefield the very next day with fresh recruits, hunting down the monster that had killed her comrades and slaughtering it to the last.
To break someone like her... just how many tragedies would it take?
I couldn’t even begin to imagine.
But at the very least, it wasn’t my place to judge.
I was the one who had fled the battlefield, who had settled into the safety of my own little world.
It was disappointing that she couldn’t help me, but I wouldn’t resent her for it.
SKELTON: Don’t worry about me. I’ll survive somehow.
Miyuki’s Pimp: Skelton...
SKELTON: But if things ever get really dangerous, I’ll reach out through Viva! Apocalypse!—so when that happens, you better do something to save my ass. Got it?
Miyuki’s Pimp: Uh... um...
SKELTON: I’m logging off.
I didn’t want to burden her.
Whatever the case, I should at least be grateful that I had found a brief respite and a new way to reconnect with Unicorn.
One Week Later
Supply shipments arrived once a week.
The quality was decent.
If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.
Basic necessities like toilet paper and soap, cleaning capsules, fresh meat, and a variety of other food supplies.
And every time they came, I begged for more ammo and weapons.
“This is what you requested last time,” the liaison officer said, handing me two grenades.
“Thanks. Just having these puts my mind at ease.”
There was no such thing as too many weapons.
But today, the officer looked more uneasy than usual.
“The fog’s thick today...” he muttered.
“It’s thicker than usual, yeah. But it’s the middle of summer—when is this fog ever going to clear up?”
“No idea. It’s been like this since before I was stationed here. No clue why they built an outpost in a place like this. But, well, it is a great spot.”
“Oh yeah?”
“You can’t see anything through the fog, but on paper, this location gives a full view of the rift and the terrain below. At least, that’s what the map says. But who could’ve predicted it would be foggy every single day?”
“Classic military decision-making.”
“That’s what I think too—ugh?!”
The officer flinched, recoiling as if something had startled him.
It was just the sound of pebbles rolling across the ground.
When I didn’t say anything, he straightened his uniform and tapped the driver’s seat, signaling that it was time to go.
As the electric vehicle hummed to life, the officer turned back toward me.
For some reason, his eyes were filled with pity.
“...Mr. Park Gyu.”
“Yes?”
“I know this is... not great news, but you still have two weeks left on your rotation, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m really sorry, but your replacement’s been delayed.”
“How long?”
“About a week.”
“...”
For a brief moment, Gong Gyeong-min’s face flashed through my mind.
Was this another one of his pranks?
No.
Would he really go this far?
Gong Gyeong-min had always been a cheerful guy, and while we didn’t always see eye to eye, he was never the kind of person who would deliberately mess with someone like this.
The officer continued speaking, unaware of my suspicions.
“And... be careful on days when the fog is thick.”
“Why? Am I supposed to expect ghosts or something?”
“Every time the fog gets thick, people go missing. It’s happened before. And the time before that.”
“...”
The officer glanced around nervously.
“I think it’s a person.”
“What is?”
“The Manhunter—the one behind all the disappearances.”
“What makes you think that?”
“Every time someone disappears, it’s the same. Not just the bodies—everything vanishes. Food, supplies, even their belongings.”
The vehicle began to move.
As they drove away, the officer shouted back at me.
“Don’t you think that’s weird?”
Before I could answer, he disappeared into the thickening fog.
“...”
Alone again.
I had already accepted this.
I didn’t feel anything in particular.
I just had to keep living, one day at a time.
I had come here to escape the exhausting uncertainty of life outside.
But maybe uncertainty was just my fate.
Thinking of it that way, I wasn’t particularly afraid.
Returning to my post, I sat in front of my computer.
There were a few more messages from Unicorn in the chat.
They were left under my last message before I had logged off.
SKELTON: I’m logging off.
Miyuki’s Pimp: Sorry I couldn’t help. ㅠ
Miyuki’s Pimp: But since you’re here, I’ll at least give you a few tips on how to be likable (in a good way).
Miyuki’s Pimp: (Cute crying girl emoji)
Miyuki’s Pimp: You need to use emojis properly. Honestly, if you were someone like me, you might be able to get away without them, but since you have that mature tone, using cute emojis will definitely help.
Miyuki’s Pimp: Also, when you write, keep it short. No long paragraphs—just short sentences.
Miyuki’s Pimp: Most important thing—act like a total newbie. Since the last supply ship got cut off, there aren’t any new users. So whenever a newbie shows up, everyone loses their minds and treats them well.
Miyuki’s Pimp: Summary: 1. Use cute emojis 2. Keep messages short 3. Act like a clueless ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) newbie.
Miyuki’s Pimp: If you follow these, you won’t be some famous named figure on the board, but at least you’ll fit in. (Smiling cute girl emoji) The best emoji to use is Bertelgia Con—everyone loves it!
“...Na Hye-in.”
So she was going this far for me.
The girl who once felt so distant—the one I watched the cosmos with—had hidden this kind of kindness inside her all along.
Well, I, Park Gyu, have a lot of talents.
And among them, my greatest strength is learning quickly.
Tap tap tap.
SKELTON: N-newbie here... (Shy cute girl emoji)
I paused, then checked the board again.
SKELTON: N-newbie here...>< (Shy cute girl emoji) (8)
“...Ho.”
Eight replies.
So this is how it works?
But then—
Clang! Clatter!
A loud noise rang out from the thick fog.
It was my makeshift alarm—cans strung together with wire.
Clatter!
This wasn’t just the wind.
There was an intruder.
Click!
A visitor at this moment?
How inconvenient.
But struggle never waits for the right time.
Regretfully, I left my unread replies behind and hurried up to the rooftop.
