Hiding a House in the Apocalypse-Chapter 131: Ambition

Before she left, Woo Min-hee asked to hold a gathering.

“Senior. It’s been a while—shouldn’t we call the message board people over? I mean, we’ve known each other for four years now. We should have at least one meetup, don’t you think?”

And just like that, an impromptu gathering was arranged.

To my recollection, this would be only the second official meetup for the Korean-language board of Viva! Apocalypse!, but it was very different in nature from the first.

That first gathering was public and open—mostly organized to deal with the toxic user Sunbi. Even users who weren’t active showed up for that one. In contrast, today’s gathering was made up of veteran “name-brand” users who had earned respect and recognition within the community.

Just look at the list—it’s pretty impressive.

In attendance: the Reporter Guy, Emgu, the Defender siblings, and of course, the legendary TwelveSquare and beloved user—me, Skelton.

I did consider inviting Kim Byung-cheol, but he wasn’t what I’d call a true name-brand. He was only ever known because of his authority and power. So I didn’t call him.

Not that he would’ve come even if I had.

Instead, Ballantine was present.

Woo Min-hee seemed unimpressed, calling him a nobody, but in truth, he was the successor to the legendary John Nae-non and played a crucial role in the arrival of Necropolis.

The gathering took place inside the warehouse behind the bunker, stacked with supplies stamped with massive government logos.

On the way there, I spotted a familiar face.

Kim Daram.

She seemed to have come in response to Woo Min-hee’s call. Accompanied by people with subtly glowing eyes, she stood talking to those aligned with Kim Byung-cheol.

She pretended not to see us—but I knew better.

Kim Daram had the widest field of vision among any member of Team Professor. That includes me.

Knowing her, she likely saw us and chose to act otherwise.

Anyway, the setup was haphazard—folding chairs and such—but it was enough. From the moment we sat down, Woo Min-hee’s gaze was fixed on the Defender.

Maybe it was because of his looks—Min-hee always had a thing for good-looking guys—but more likely, it was because she already knew who he was.

“Oh, so you’re Defender? Not bad-looking. But you’ve got a face that won’t live long.”

Woo Min-hee said this with a sly smile as she glanced around dramatically.

“Feels like there’s at least a couple of fanatics mixed in here too, doesn’t it?”

He might be a cold-blooded killer without pity or remorse, but even the Defender knew full well that, in front of Woo Min-hee, he was powerless.

“...Guess I’ll die when the time comes.”

The Defender gave a bitter smile.

“Don’t think I’d mind going, to be honest.”

“Oh yeah?”

Woo Min-hee turned to Da-jeong.

“So it’s you?”

Even Da-jeong, a killer in her own right who often stood in her brother’s shadow, was like a frog before a snake in front of Woo Min-hee.

“You know me?”

Still, she was a brave little frog.

Even a stone-cold psychopath like Defender wouldn’t talk back to Woo Min-hee—but his sister did.

“There was that one time a girl danced on a video using the Skelton account, remember?”

“Ah...”

“I figured maybe our dear senior kidnapped someone and forced her at gunpoint.”

“Excuse me?”

“You didn’t know? Doesn’t it sound like something Park would do?”

Woo Min-hee leaned in and whispered something in Hong Da-jeong’s ear.

Da-jeong stared at me.

I wanted to know what she said, but before I could ask, the Defender siblings quietly left.

“Sorry. We’ve got something we need to talk about.”

Judging by their expressions, things weren’t too bad. I’d ask them later.

Anyway, the reason Madam Woo Min-hee had gathered us here was surprisingly... cheerful.

“Well, since we’re all here—message board friends and all—I thought we could share our dreams and survival plans for the future.”

Dreams?

Do people still use that word these days?

Survival plans felt more relevant.

“We’ll just live here, right? What choice do we have?”

As expected, Emgu spoke up first.

He might lack a bit of polish, but his unshakable confidence and the way he jokes without ever flinching—even in front of anyone—sometimes makes me envious.

“Oh right, Emgu, you said you’re still living in The Hope?”

Woo Min-hee added with a teasing grin.

“Still trending upward, huh?”

Emgu grinned back.

“Hmm?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I’ve got a little somethin’-somethin’ going on these days.”

For a second, I thought I misheard.

Somethin’-somethin’?

Like... sowing seeds on an island?

Apparently I wasn’t the only one confused—Woo Min-hee looked baffled too. She’d always been picky about men’s looks and proportions, and Emgu didn’t even make her list.

“What are you talking about, Emgu?”

She twitched her claw-like nails as she narrowed her eyes.

“You didn’t hear? We’ve got a new tenant next to me.”

“Wait, really?”

Min-hee’s surprise was rare and genuine.

“What happened, Reporter Guy? You used to be on the board every day, but now you barely show up.”

“Been busy. Monsters never stop showing up, I’ve completely fallen out with Jeju, and the Kaeseong side seems to have people, but no solid contact. Plus, the number of high-tier Awakened monsters is growing.”

Min-hee sighed lightly and began twisting and untwisting her long hair around her finger.

“So, Emgu, you plan to just stay there permanently?”

Emgu shrugged.

“Not like I have much choice. The community boiler still runs fine, anyway.”

“No wonder. I heard reserve power was leaking—must’ve been some lazy worker who never cut the power connection to that building.”

Min-hee scribbled something on a piece of paper and showed it to us.

Emgu – Staying in The Hope

“What’s that?”

I asked, looking at the half-hearted scrawl.

Min-hee picked it up with her clawed fingers and flapped it in the air.

“Think of it as a piece of nostalgia.”

Then she turned her gaze to me.

“My turn?”

I had plenty to say.

But honestly, I’d already said most of what I needed to earlier when we were alone.

Still, if she’s setting the stage, I might as well take it. That’s how I do things.

“To tell you the truth, before the war, I didn’t care much about the internet.”

It was true.

I knew the internet was an inseparable tool of communication for humanity, but to me, it was just like electricity—a convenient, natural part of daily life.

I didn’t join Viva! Apocalypse! because I liked the internet. I joined because I calculated that the satellite internet system it used would offer a huge survival advantage in the future.

“But once the war started, and we started losing all the things we used to take for granted, I began to understand how important the internet really was. Like right now—there’s news that this winter will be colder than the last, but no one knows about it. If the Legion faction were still around, they’d be broadcasting it nonstop. But let’s be honest—anyone who’s listened to them knows half of what they said was nonsense.”

Emgu nodded.

“Half water, half bullshit.”

“Honestly, I think the internet is the most progressive form of communication humanity ever created. Woo Min-hee, you know how valuable PaleNet has been, right?”

Min-hee nodded.

“If it weren’t for PaleNet, it would’ve been a hell of a lot easier for the government to toy with people.”

I heard someone swallow hard right next to me.

Ballantine.

It was the first time he’d responded to this conversation at all.

I looked at my comrade, Ballantine.

He was clearly moved.

Even Woo Min-hee was giving PaleNet high praise.

And especially the part about it serving as a crucial check against the government’s abuse—that must’ve hit him deeply.

“...Yeah.”

Let’s give him some credit here.

At least in this domain, he has more to say than I do.

“Mr. Ballantine, would you like to say something?”

“M-me?!”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

He was caught off guard, but the mood was surprisingly light—even with Woo Min-hee here.

“Well... I’m just a regular person trying to survive, really.”

But with a bit of encouragement, he shook off the awkwardness and began to reveal that same quiet, burning passion he always showed in front of a monitor.

"...If I get the chance, I'd like to create a second PaleNet."

"Hmm. A second PaleNet?"

Woo Min-hee showed a hint of interest.

"Yes. Bringing in Necropolis was part of that goal. How we’ll apply it moving forward... that still needs thought."

Ballantine looked straight at me.

"Since Skeleton is helping me, I think it’ll be possible somehow."

I nodded and replied.

"Yes. I’ll do everything I can to help."

That was Ballantine and my "future ambition."

Now the only one who hadn’t spoken was Woo Min-hee.

I gestured toward her.

She nodded slightly, scanned the group around her, then—

Screeeeech---

An ear-piercing noise only she could make clawed through our eardrums, pulling everyone’s attention toward her.

Emgu grimaced as she softly spoke in a conspiratorial tone.

"You all know about Lagrange points, right?"

"Lagrange points?"

I nodded.

The spots where the ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) gravitational pull of a planet and its moon balance each other out. Ideal places to park satellites or space stations.

"Don’t give me that look. Melon Mask’s space station is parked at one, you know?"

Oh, right.

Melon Mask’s orbital bunker—also located at a Lagrange point between Earth and the Moon.

But why bring that up now?

A sudden reference to outer space, out of nowhere. Confusing, but also strangely intriguing. I quietly studied Min-hee’s scarred face.

She stared at the tip of her own razor-sharp clawed finger.

Too sharp to be for battle—probably just an extension of her flair.

"You know there are still people living in India?"

"In India?"

India—land of its namesake ocean, enormous population, and centuries of producing elite minds. A major global power by any measure. But that same vastness and density had swallowed it whole.

It was the first major nation to collapse.

It had been eroded for over a decade now, a land of death devoid of life.

And now someone’s living there?

I couldn’t believe it.

Even if someone like Baek Seung-hyun were surviving there, lasting ten years with no support in that infested terrain seemed impossible.

Motorcycle acrobatics alone wouldn't cut it.

Unless they became a monster themselves.

Yet Min-hee, in a rare moment of sincerity, told us this insane story with a straight face.

"You know how the fissures spread like wallpaper, spaced at regular intervals? Each one releases erosion that spreads outward and blankets the Earth."

Everyone knows that.

Even Emgu, who lacks hunting knowledge, nodded.

"But apparently, each fissure only has a limited range of erosion."

"Really?"

"Yeah. So here’s a question: what if each fissure has a limit—an edge?"

Min-hee smiled knowingly, clearly watching my reaction.

Each fissure’s limit...

If there’s a boundary to the erosion, then that means there are zones untouched by it.

And that means—

"Lagrange points."

I echoed her earlier term.

No better way to describe it.

If we imagine each fissure as a planet, and the erosion as its gravitational pull, then the areas where these forces cancel out—areas untouched—are, effectively, Lagrange points.

"A Lagrange point was recently discovered in India."

"For real? What about news of them closing a fissure?"

"That’s not confirmed. The Indian remnant government doesn’t seem eager to verify anything. But what is true is that there’s a patch of green land between fissures, and someone’s been living there for nearly ten years."

Min-hee wrote something on the rolling paper and held it up.

Her message:

Mini – Find a place to live

"Mini?"

She gave me a sharp side glance.

"What~?"

"No, nothing."

"Aren’t you gonna write something too?"

"Didn’t I already say what I wanted? When I spoke with Ballantine."

"That was his answer. You haven’t told us how you plan to survive, have you?"

How I plan to survive...

I couldn’t help but smile.

It’s a question I’ve asked and answered myself thousands—no, tens of thousands—of times.

So many thoughts swirled in my head that I couldn’t narrow them into one idea, yet my core method of survival had always been the same.

I took her pen and wrote my answer in the margin of the rolling paper.

Skeleton – Hide

"Hide?"

Min-hee saw it and let out a dry laugh.

"How are you gonna do that?"

"By hiding well."

"You know hiding takes more effort and energy than most people think, right?"

"Maybe."

I edited my message on the paper.

Skeleton – Hide the house

Min-hee tilted her head.

"Hide the house? You mean, like, literally hide your base?"

"Something like a secret bunker."

"Kim Daram told me your shelter sucks, by the way."

"Name one thing she does like in this world."

"Touché."

Min-hee chuckled and got to her feet.

"Anyway, I’ll call you all again this time next year."

"Next year?"

She stared at the rolling paper in her clawed hand.

There was still plenty of empty space.

Of course—only three people had written on it.

"Maybe I’ll invite DongtanMom next time too."

"Her?"

"I’m not a fan either, but still. She’s a well-known name on our board—and she’s alive."

Come to think of it, my senior Baek Seung-hyun recently posted an update on the board.

He’s still on that island made of wrecked ships, rebuilding a giant vessel, and said they’re setting out soon to find their paradise.

He didn’t say where this paradise was, but like Min-hee said, that guy’s not the type to die easily.

DongtanMom, though...

I felt like testing something.

As Min-hee was getting ready to leave, I called out.

"Hey, should we invite Unicorn too?"

Min-hee's face twisted in visible disgust.

"What, Unicorn...? That damn otaku?"

So she doesn’t know.

Well, of course—even she wouldn’t know this one.

"Why invite him? He’s not even that famous."

And then she glanced toward Ballantine—that’s all you need to know about her personality.

"Just thought he’d be fun to have around."

"Up to you. Assuming we’re still alive next year, anyway."

Min-hee waved her clawed hand.

"Alright, don’t die, everyone. Live long."

Casually thrown out words.

But in a world where everything is dying—what better blessing could there be?

...

Whether to remain in a known place and hold out, or find a new land, or disappear and wait for everything to pass—

Those are just methods.

The important thing is—

To survive.

Winter is coming.