Hiding a House in the Apocalypse-Chapter 60.1: The Apostate (1)

Dies_Irea69: "The Combat Strength of a Collective Survivalist.jpg"

Dies_Irea, one of the board's most well-known collective survivalists, might have been the first to defect from the recruitment campaign for IAmJesus, but he's been incredibly active in other ways.

According to a post he shared, the apocalyptic group he leads, consisting of Viva! Apocalypse! Korean board members, recently clashed with a contingent of soldiers suspected to be remnants of the Legion faction.

The outcome? A flawless victory.

Remarkably, they eradicated every single soldier who attacked their community without suffering a single casualty or even an injury.

The photos he uploaded depicted the aftermath of a fierce battle, with scattered corpses littering the area.

Each of those corpses bore distinctive military insignias on their uniforms—soldiers of the Legion faction.

Dies_Irea69: "As individual survivalists often say, we're at a disadvantage when it comes to stealth against large-scale forces. But what are the chances those big factions will focus their full attention on a small group like us? Even if they do, let them come. Even in death, we'll stab a sashimi knife into their sides."

The next photo he uploaded showed men holding firearms, their faces obscured by sunglasses or masks, each striking a confident pose.

In the background, rugged mountain ridges stretched far and wide.

“...Hmm.”

Impressive confidence, no doubt.

But perhaps a bit too much?

Our board was no longer the exclusive domain of apocalyptic survivalists like us. Groups far more powerful, including our counterparts on PaleNet, were constantly lurking, watching us with predatory interest.

Dies_Irea had to know this. A figure of his stature couldn’t possibly be unaware. So why throw down such a blatant challenge?

Upon reflection, his motivations weren’t entirely without reason.

He seemed intent on crafting a new world—a realm shaped not by the internet alone, but by the harsh reality beyond it.

In pursuit of this, he'd even gone head-to-head with Defender. Their conflict fizzled out, with Defender appearing to withdraw.

But Defender had recently re-emerged.

Fueled, it seemed, by sacrificing a family.

Whether it was the sting of online backlash or a longing to reclaim his status as a "name" on the board, Defender's recent uploads had a polish that suggested careful effort.

Defender: "Drone Kill.avi"

The short video released by the sibling duo showcased a spectacle they'd once described to me.

A man armed with a rifle dashed frantically across a grassy plain while glancing skyward with panicked eyes. Something was chasing him from above.

Desperate, he sprinted harder, but the screen's upper portion was suddenly obscured by a massive object descending rapidly.

A brick.

The brick struck the running man square on the crown of his head. He stiffened like a marionette with its strings cut and collapsed in a heap.

Color photos bring more life than black-and-white ones, and videos draw even more attention than photos.

Defender's drone kill certification effortlessly trampled over Dies_Irea's "proof," soaring to the top of the board.

Perhaps the upbeat new-wave trot track Defender had added to the video contributed to its appeal.

Dies_Irea, true to his nature, remained silent, offering no reaction.

For someone who claimed to be indifferent to the board's popularity contests, but who clearly cared deeply about its opinions, this was classic Dies_Irea behavior.

The unspoken rivalry between the two seemed, fortunately, to fizzle out into mutual disinterest.

Defender uploaded yet another post.

Though he was my internet friend, I tried my best to avoid his “proofs.”

Despite my personal connection to the siblings, I could never come to terms with their penchant for using other people's deaths as fodder for internet content.

Still, this post had racked up an unprecedented 200 comments.

That number surpassed the total active user base of our board. Either PaleNet members had infiltrated, or a keyboard war had erupted—but the latter seemed unlikely.

I couldn’t resist the pull of curiosity any longer. Succumbing to the zeitgeist, I clicked on Defender's trending post.

The moment I saw the opening photo, I understood why it had garnered so much attention.

The corpse in the image was dressed in a Chinese military uniform.

*

Defender: Taking questions.

It seems these guys have some scars from their days as unpopular users. They’ve even set up a dedicated thread to answer everyone’s questions—very unlike them.

Defender: "It’s nothing impressive. The guy didn’t even have a rifle, just wandering alone like he was being chased by something when he entered my territory."

Defender: "Why is there no blood if I killed him? I used a hammer. Waited until he got close and crushed the back of his skull. If you want proof, I can send it to you privately."

Defender: "Am I not afraid of Chinese retaliation? If I worried about that kind of thing, how could I live in this world? Honestly, there are people on this board who seem to have more to worry about than I do."

Defender: "Even if the Chinese see this and get angry, what can they do? Drop another nuke? Anyone who trespasses in my territory—whether they’re Chinese, American, or Korean—gets no mercy from me."

I skimmed through Defender’s Q&A thread before going back to the post with his latest "proof" and left a comment.

SKELTON: "Wow..."

It’s no small feat to pack ten million emotions into two words and an ellipsis.

Still, the fact that he killed a Chinese soldier stuck with me.

Where had this soldier come from?

One thing was clear: Defender’s post had sparked a massive reaction on PaleNet, which had been slowing down in activity lately.

PaleNet Comments:

"That’s satisfying. Feels great to see a cockroach dead.""Why are they still alive and walking around?""Where is this? I want to kill a few myself.""Didn’t their main base collapse? How are they still around?""If it weren’t for those bastards, we wouldn’t be living like this.""It makes my skin crawl. They’ve never been of any use to Korea in its history."PaleNet’s reaction was pure rage. Their hatred and anger reminded me of the loathing I feel for monsters.

On the other hand, the atmosphere on our board was noticeably different.

Our Board Comments:

Berkut_Break: "Where do you think the Chinese guy Defender killed came from?"

Anon848: "Aren’t they the ones beyond Dangjin?"

Anon1131: "Could be from a newly landed unit?"

tntn_Orthopedics: "Maybe a deserter?"

Anon424: "I agree it’s probably a deserter, but I don’t think it’s a new landing force."

Unlike PaleNet users, who were venting raw anger, our board approached the situation with a more pragmatic, objective perspective—befitting a "professional survivalist community."

It reminded me of the early days of our board.

Truthfully, anti-Chinese sentiment on our board isn’t particularly strong. While the average Korean holds a negative view of China, the instigator of the Sino-Taiwan war that plunged the world into ruin, we don’t share PaleNet’s deep-seated hatred that spills over at the sight of a dead Chinese soldier.

Perhaps this stems from how society viewed us survivalists before the war.

If China hadn’t started the war, people like me, who spent their entire fortunes preparing for the apocalypse, would still be ridiculed endlessly on YouTube and broadcast television.

In fact, this Park Gyu might have ended up in prison.

Imagine: a so-called "professor" scamming people out of their money and serving time as a petty crook.

I didn’t reach out to Defender about this incident.

For one, his Q&A thread answered most of my questions. For another, the cheerful music he added to his drone video of smashing a fleeing man’s head with a brick deterred me from touching the communicator.

There was plenty to prepare for Rebecca’s move.

Thanks to her, we managed to build a decent cabin. But the boiler, wiring, insulation, and interior finishing were all on me.

Even Sue had her own requests.

Living with her mother was unavoidable, but she wanted a private space where she could maintain some semblance of independence.

Since the construction was already done, I couldn’t add walls, so I planned to create a separate room using plywood. Designing it turned out to be unexpectedly enjoyable.

I spent the day planning and working before heading to bed as usual. Just as I was drifting off, I heard distant barking.

It was probably coming from Gold’s territory—likely the mutated dogs making noise.

This content is taken from fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm.

The sound was far off, and exhaustion from the day’s work soon pulled me into sleep.

The following morning, after washing up and rinsing my mouth, I draped a towel over my shoulder and went out of the bunker to survey the area.

There was nothing unusual around the bunker. Same as always.

Beyond it, though, there was something different.

Down by the stream at the base of the hill, a man lay collapsed.

Usually, when I spot someone near my territory, my mind races through questions: Are they alive? If so, are they armed? If they’re armed, what are their intentions? Do they have allies?

But this time was different.

The moment I saw him, I clicked my tongue involuntarily.

How could I not? The man’s clothing was identical to the uniforms worn by the corpses in Defender’s photos.

He was Chinese military.

I cautiously scouted the surroundings with my rifle at the ready. No other Chinese soldiers were in sight.

Even so, I decided to wait for a day to be safe.

The man barely moved, remaining still where he lay.

Dead, perhaps?

No, not dead. His chest rose and fell faintly with shallow breaths.

A decoy?

When the war with China was imminent, the media demonized the Chinese, portraying them as monsters.

But I’d worked in China long enough to know their blood ran as warm as ours—sometimes even hotter.

Still, using a comrade as bait was a rarity.

Even if he were bait, surviving under the blazing sun by day and the biting cold by night in nothing but a thin uniform would be nearly impossible.

Hunters like me aren’t trained for endurance like soldiers are. If we need to endure, we rely on sheer willpower.

"..."

I approached the fallen soldier slowly, my rifle trained on him.

He wasn’t armed. At most, he might have a concealed handgun.

From the moment I revealed myself, my rifle stayed aimed at him. Even as I got close enough to touch him, I didn’t lower my guard.

I nudged him with my foot, rolling him over.

“Ugh... ugh...”

Clicking my tongue again, I sighed.

In that moment, I wished he had been dead.

Click.

If he wasn’t dead, I would have to kill him.

Not out of hatred for the Chinese, but because there was no reason to let him live.

What use is sparing a soldier from an enemy nation at war? He could only bring harm.

“Please... spare me,” he croaked.

His Korean was surprisingly fluent.

The only mercy I could offer was a quick death.

I aimed the rifle between his eyes and began to squeeze the trigger when he shouted hoarsely:

“Seoul is in danger! A nuclear bomb—they’re going to detonate a nuclear bomb!”

He gasped for air as though trying to force the words out.

“This country... it’s going to end...”

I didn’t spare him out of compassion.

It was morbid curiosity—an affliction I can’t seem to shake, even with age—that stayed my hand.