Hiding a House in the Apocalypse-Chapter 72.1: Unicorn18 (1)

Three years have passed since the war began.

The current temperature is -10°C.

In the old days, such weather would have dominated the headlines with news about thermal underwear sales skyrocketing and warnings about power shortages. By today’s standards, though, it’s practically warm.

For the first time in a while, I stepped outside to shake out my bedding and air it in the sunlight. Sipping on hot instant coffee, I surveyed the snow-blanketed wilderness surrounding me.

As always, it was an unchanging wasteland.

The stillness made it feel like time had frozen, a delusion broken only by the occasional sighting of a wild animal.

While the winter sunlight seeped into every corner of my bedding, I patrolled the perimeter to check its condition. After completing my rounds, I attached a trailer to the back of my motorcycle and headed down toward the valley.

Due to the frigid temperatures, the valley’s water had turned to solid ice. I pulled out the electric drill from the trailer, bore holes into the ice, and used a mallet and chisel to break it into manageable chunks. Then, I hooked the chunks with a chain and hauled them into the trailer.

These massive ice blocks would serve as my water supply for the day.

Although the water tank in my bunker had insulation to prevent freezing, the pipes drawing groundwater into the tank had succumbed to the subzero temperatures. As a result, I had to manually replenish my water supply each morning.

Lately, I’ve taken to listening to the radio while working. I flip between various frequencies, but my favorite is the Legion’s official broadcast.

It’s got music, stories, and a pleasant voice narrating it all.

"The weather is relatively mild today. According to the Meteorological Unit, this warm spell is expected to last about four days. Ah, how I miss the days of ‘three cold, four warm.’

"When I think of winter, I’m reminded of cold noodles paired with savory pancakes. I used to enjoy a bowl at this North Korean defector’s restaurant in Dongdaemun Market, rather than the so-called ‘Big Three Noodle Houses.’"

I don’t know who oversees the Legion’s propaganda, but they seem remarkably polished.

Instead of criticizing the Incheon government, they focus on subtly flaunting their wealth and comfort.

Listening to these broadcasts makes the horrors described on PaleNet about Incheon feel like tales from a distant land.

In Incheon, it’s no longer just protests; random shootouts occur regularly.

It’s not the military fighting civilians but civilians shooting each other indiscriminately.

Corpses litter the streets, and fires from burning bodies light up the cityscape.

It’s the “war of all against all” I once witnessed on Seoul’s outskirts, now playing out in Incheon.

Perhaps the collapse of hope has eroded the last shreds of humanity’s patience.

That hope was shattered the moment Jeju Island—the so-called “Island of Salvation”—was exposed as a mirage.

Although the city’s security is barely holding, PaleNet posts paint a precarious picture.

ㅇㅇ: “I’m young and pretty. Is there anyone who can take me in? (Photo included).”

ㅇㅇ: “Former idol trainee. Only looking for those with bunkers.”

ㅇㅇ: “I used to model. Is there someone who can come get me?”

MinjaePapa: “I’m so sorry to ask this, but is there anyone who can save my family? I’ll serve you for the rest of my life! Please, I beg you!”

ㅇㅇ: “I’m a former actress.”

People are selling themselves.

Even on our doomsday survivalist board—once the most mocked and despised community in Korea.

Lately, it’s made me reluctant to post anything.

SKELTON: (Skelton yawns) “Haaaah~”

Even this frivolous post prompted replies like:

MinjaePapa: “Skelton, where are you? I’m the father of a seven-year-old. My wife and child are dying. Please, I’m begging you—save my family! I’ll do anything you ask!”

It’s not just me.

Keystone: “We’re a family of four—me, my wife, son, and daughter. We’re good people. If you take us in, we’ll more than earn our keep!”

ㅇㅇ: “Anonymous458, where are you? Is your bunker close? How big is it? Do you have enough food?”

ㅇㅇ: “Foxgames, I’m sorry to ask, but where do you live? It’s so scary here. Could you please take my family in?”

Our board has become a haven for desperate PaleNet refugees to beg for salvation, calling out usernames like lifelines.

Of course, there are exceptions:

MMMMMMMMMM: (The Hope: Now accepting new residents) “Come on in~ Oiso~ Irasshaimase~”

DongtanMom: “Yum...”

But they are rare.

The overall atmosphere is so desolate and oppressive that it’s becoming impossible to post anything.

Frankly, it’s disgusting.

Did John Nae-non foresee this future when he connected our board to PaleNet?

CLUNK!

A thick slab of ice broke loose.

I hooked it with a chain and hauled it onto the trailer.

THUD!

No, I doubt John Nae-non anticipated this.

Unicorn18: “Enough already!”

For someone like Unicorn18—who seemed like they’d never care about anything, even during a war—it was shocking to see him lash out.

Unicorn18: “What is this? A refugee board?! Take your pathetic, filthy stories somewhere else! Why do we have to be responsible for your lives?”

Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

New novel chapters are published on freewёbn૦νeɭ.com.

I couldn’t help but add my voice to his righteous outburst.

SKELTON: (Skelton angry) “Exactly! I wholeheartedly support Unicorn18’s statement!”

But the tide was unstoppable.

Unicorn18’s cries were buried beneath an avalanche of even more desperate posts.

ㅇㅇ: “Skelton, I’m begging you! I have a car—just tell me your location!”

SKELTON: “My child is dying! If you don’t help, they’ll die!”

ㅇㅇ: “I swear on my life, I’ve never lied. Skelton, please—just help my family survive this winter. I’ll do anything!”

This couldn’t go on.

Our board was meant to prepare for disaster—sharing wisdom and resources to face the apocalypse. It wasn’t supposed to become a space where strangers screamed for salvation.

“Skelton, doesn’t the board feel so tainted these days?” Da-jeong said, clearly fed up.

“I think I’m going to take a break. I’ll focus on prepping for live content instead. Want to help?”

“No, I can’t appear in live broadcasts.”

“Why not? Someone like you would be a hit. Go hunt some Mutations—we’ll film it!”

“There’s... a reason I can’t.”

The truth is, I’m already 90% certain Woo Min-hee has figured out my identity. Exposing more of myself is too risky.

Even Woo Min-hee is annoyed by the current situation.

Gijayangban: “Look at what the board has become...”

A shared frustration was brewing among the board members.

Anonymous458: “Can’t someone block PaleNet already? This is so f**ing unbearable.”*

Anonymous1181: “Seriously. Those jerks who mocked us as lunatics before the war are now begging us to save them. Hilarious.”

Berkut_Break: “Our board is so broken it can’t function. Someone needs to tell Melon Mask.”

Unfortunately, Melon Mask was unreachable.

Anonymous458: “If Melon Mask doesn’t respond, can’t we contact another admin?”

Anonymous424: “I saw an admin during Live! Apocalypse!—wasn’t it VivaBot?”

Tntn_Orthopedics: “I just tried, but they’re rejecting messages too.”

RkkaRa: “So we have to wait until the next live broadcast?”

The next live broadcast was five days away.

Five days.

The five days leading up to the next live broadcast might not seem long, but in this freezing winter, with the board’s users glued to their screens all day, it felt like an eternity. And worse yet—

Defender: “Because of all those PaleNet users, we can’t even see our own board members’ requests for help.”

Defender was right.

Since summer, many of our members had been crying out about food and fuel shortages.

While some have likely joined DSIRAE, I wouldn’t know for sure—I’ve blocked them. I do know that nearby board users have been banding together to share resources and survive.

The value of a life—whether PaleNet user or our board member—should theoretically be the same.

But within the confines of our board, the equation is different.

We prepared for the apocalypse together, built bunkers or equivalent shelters, and shared years of knowledge, insights, and camaraderie.

If someone had to be saved, shouldn’t our board members take priority over the PaleNet refugees?

But in the current state of things, we couldn’t even support each other properly, let alone maintain our board’s function.

Someone needed to take action.

And if there was anyone with the means to do so, it might as well be me.

I’ve got my connections with Viva, after all.

Not to mention, that thieving bastard Melon Mask owes me a favor.

SKELTON: (Skelton's declaration) “I’ll go negotiate with the admins!!!”

No one replied to my post, but it did get a single heart.

Whether it was from Defender or Da-jeong, I wasn’t sure.

Having declared my intentions, I sent a message to VivaBot.

SKELTON: “Got a moment to talk?”

The response was quick.

VIVA_BOTO14: “Did you get your package?”

As expected, I seemed to be treated differently.

While others had reported being ghosted by VivaBot, it responded to me right away.

Let’s chalk it up to all the hardships I’ve endured and my contributions to humanity’s survival. I cut straight to the point.

I explained the situation in detail:

How a Korean user had connected Viva! Apocalypse! to PaleNet, letting in a flood of toxic users who were wreaking havoc on the board.

I admitted it was unfortunate to sever the bridge John Nae-non had built, but if left unchecked, it would destroy our community.

It might even lead to more of the infamous “user hunts” that had plagued Viva! Apocalypse! in the past.

Those posts from earlier—claiming to be former celebrities or idols—might very well have been written by armed men waiting to ambush responders.

SKELTON: “The situation is critical.”

After sending my lengthy message, I waited for a reply.

VivaBot remained silent.

I went to check on the water tank, and when I returned, there was a new message.

VIVA_BOTO14: “Interesting. We’ve actually received a similar request recently.”

“Hmm?”

Someone else had already raised this issue?

That didn’t make sense.

Both Melon Mask and VivaBot typically block random messages, only accepting them from registered users.

I’d gained message privileges due to a prior arrangement, but who else could have done the same?

Could it have been DongtanMom?

If so, it wouldn’t be surprising. As a beloved figure and one of the earliest contributors to Live! Apocalypse!, they would have that kind of pull.

SKELTON: “Was it DongtanMom?”

VIVA_BOTO14: “What? Why bring them up out of nowhere?”

SKELTON: “I mean, the person who reported the PaleNet issue.”

VIVA_BOTO14: “No.”

SKELTON: “Then who?”

VIVA_BOTO14: “Curious?”

SKELTON: “Yes.”

VIVA_BOTO14: “Why don’t you create some content for us? Maybe then I’ll tell you.”

SKELTON: “Content? Like what?”

VIVA_BOTO14: “You’re one of the twelve holders of the legendary Golden Fleece. Why not record yourself taking down a Mutation? It would help improve the quality of the live broadcast.”

SKELTON: “And if I do?”

VIVA_BOTO14: “Block PaleNet? Sure. Why not?”

“......”

This Woman, She’s Something Else

Could she possibly be an AI?

No, she’s human—I saw her with my own eyes.

Taking a deep breath, I calmed myself and asked her another question.

SKELTON: “I’ll think about it. Hunting, I mean. So who was it? Who else contacted you about this issue?”

Promises are made to be broken.

But—

VIVA_BOTO14: “Unicorn18.”

“Huh?”

The answer caught me completely off guard.

“Unicorn18...?”

Unicorn18 wasn’t your average user.

Their position in the community was similar to mine—lurking at the bottom of the boards.

They’d post incessantly about obscure anime no one cared about or ask bizarre, borderline absurd questions about finding pure women in a world where violence was as routine as breathing.

At one point, they even tried buttering me up with sycophantic nonsense.

But that same Unicorn18 was messaging VivaBot?

Surely, this had to be some kind of mistake.

I checked the spelling.

It was correct.

It really was Unicorn18.

Reeling from the shock, I asked VivaBot again to confirm.

SKELTON: “Unicorn18? Seriously?”

VIVA_BOTO14: “Yes, seriously. Why do you sound so skeptical?”

SKELTON: “That user? Sending you messages? Come on, they’re just a troll.”

VIVA_BOTO14: “That’s what I thought once, too. But you really don’t know?”

SKELTON: “Know what?”

VIVA_BOTO14: “Unicorn18 is a Golden Fleece holder.”

SKELTON: “...What?”

VIVA_BOTO14: “Are you serious? You really don’t know each other?”

I felt like I’d been punched in the back of the head.

Unicorn18, a Golden Fleece holder?

The Golden Fleece, the ultimate proof of being an S-class Hunter, was limited to just twelve in existence.

Three of those were allocated to South Korea.

One was mine.

The other two went to Kang Han-min and Na Hye-in.

In other words, they were also S-class Hunters.

Before their appearance, the concept of the “Awakened” didn’t even exist.

You could call it a kind of grandfather clause.

Shortly after Kang Han-min and Na Hye-in received their Golden Fleeces, the Hunter system was overhauled, and both the Golden Fleece and the S-class Hunter designation vanished like a mirage.

And yet here was Unicorn18—a user I knew well from the boards—holding one.

SKELTON: “What’s Unicorn18’s real name? Is it Kang? A relative of Kang Han-min?”

VIVA_BOTO14: “Nope. During their first live stream, they just flashed the Golden Fleece for a second and started acting so weird that we blocked them for 24 hours. I don’t know their name, face, or even their gender.”

Two possibilities came to mind.

Either Unicorn18’s Golden Fleece was real, or it was fake.

If it were real, then their identity narrowed down to two options:

Kang Han-min or Na Hye-in.

In my mind, Unicorn18 was more likely to be Kang Han-min than Na Hye-in.

Could it really be Kang Han-min?

Had he been on our board this entire time?

Spending three years in the same space as me?

My heart pounded faster.