Hiding a House in the Apocalypse-Chapter 151.1: Sincerity (1)
Miracles don’t just fall from the sky.
What humanity often calls a “miracle” usually comes from the synergy of gear, resources, and tightly disciplined organization.
That’s how the pyramids were built—and countless other “miracles” since.
Even Seoul itself stands atop such a miracle.
As the power plant relentlessly spews thick white smoke into the sky 24/7, the new city begins to take on a true urban shape, changing visibly by the day.
“Forward! A little more!”
“Yeah, set it down there!”
In this new Seoul, there’s no such thing as surplus manpower.
Anyone who ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) can move, works.
And at the forefront of it all stands Kim Byung-cheol.
He’s former military, a man who managed a city built by the Legion faction. His general-level leadership is efficient and uncompromising—pushing through impossible tasks at impossible speeds.
That’s also why Woo Min-hee appointed him head of the city’s reconstruction.
But the most important thing? The hearts of the people following him.
Thankfully, most are on board with building this New Seoul.
Maybe right after the war, people would’ve grumbled—but by now, they all understand:
They won’t get another chance like this.
They’ve also learned—there’s no paradise to be found elsewhere.
Sure, a handful of refugees protested and left, but they’re the minority.
Most stayed. And they built a city.
With sweat, with suffering—and just a little hope.
Of course, we Hunters aren’t resting either.
Working with the military, we’ve secured the city’s perimeter and seized control of the surrounding high ground overlooking residential zones.
Hidden threats have been quietly rooted out one by one. Now, most known dangers south of the Han River have been dealt with.
The final threat? A zombie zone controlled by necromancer-types.
That’s being reclaimed now—using resources and manpower that rival the best days of old China.
FWOOOSH—
Flames incinerate the zombies as soldiers swiftly secure sniper vantage points. Once the trap is laid, we Hunters move in to finish it.
Honestly? It’s going better than back then.
THUD!
Now, we’ve got Awakened in the formation.
No need for risky stunts like Intimidating. They activate their reverse fields right up front, neutralize the monsters’ aura—and then we go in for the ruthless kill.
Of course, that first shot still takes some flair.
BANG!
The flair’s my job.
“Reverse field neutralized. Attack!”
At my order, the Hunters behind me open fire like they’ve been waiting all day.
RATATATATAT!
BOOM! BOOM!
Under that merciless barrage, another monster dissolves into ash.
Now, no monster factions remain south of the Han River.
Even the gray-tinged erosion zones will soon return to their original colors.
It’s well known that the frontline in the war against monsters isn’t humanity—it’s Earth itself.
In fact, you could say Earth is doing almost all the fighting.
The very environment we take for granted is a death trap to monsters—without erosion zones, they can’t survive more than a week.
Some researchers even argued that if we just left the rifts alone, they’d eventually seal themselves—or even be devoured by Earth in return.
Their proof? The detection of rift-borne viruses increased over time—viruses that didn’t exist when I first traveled through the rifts.
The problem? Earth’s final “victory” would take an optimistic 200,000 years.
Can humanity last that long?
More importantly, would people 200,000 years from now even be us?
Even now, someone clearly not us stands before me, staring me down.
“Captain!”
It’s been a while since I last saw Kim Hanna.
To my relief, she looked bright and energized.
She’d even put on a bit of makeup, subtle but noticeable.
“How was I?!”
Success really is the best medicine.
The girl who used to walk with slouched shoulders and a timid gaze now beamed like a flower in full bloom.
I gave her a thumbs-up.
“Skelton-Chu.”
“...Sorry?”
“Means ‘Skelton recommended.’”
“Ah... okay.”
For the first time in a while, I felt a shadow in my heart lift.
“You still hearing the voices?”
“Sometimes.”
Her smile faded. A tinge of loneliness flickered across her face.
“But it’s not just me anymore. And besides...”
“Besides?”
“Kang Han-min is here now, isn’t he?”
“Yeah. Holed up on Ganghwa Island, probably playing cards.”
“Cards?”
“Never mind. What about him?”
Kim Hanna blinked, then said it outright.
“They say when he’s around, people stop getting pulled in by the voices.”
“...Really?”
“Yeah. Nobody knows why—but it just happens. That’s why the elites, the high performers, they all try to stay close to him.”
When she said “elites,” her eyes flashed with a shadow of old fear.
“Elites...”
Woo Min-hee told me.
The First Corps.
Among the many Hunters operating on Jeju Island, they were the best—veterans, results-driven, and ruthlessly efficient.
Hard to believe, but apparently, the First Corps were just as capable with old-school tactics as us old-school Hunters.
A perfect blend of offense and defense.
Judging by how the regular Awakened behave these days, that’s clearly the main line now.
Even though they cooperated before, once Kang Han-min arrived, the regular Awakened clearly shifted into overdrive, desperate to prove themselves.
Where there are people, there’s always hierarchy.
Even among Awakened.
Same goes for the internet.
Foxgames: What? You didn’t get the invite? That can’t be. I gave the list to Dongtanmom.
The tall poppy gets cut.
Top-tier users always get pushback.
Dongtanmom’s clearly trying to box me out—only invited “Originals,” left me out on purpose.
Foxgames: I swear I didn’t tell her to leave you off. Don’t get mad, we’re good now, right? We even share secrets now, haha ^^
I checked out the group—Foxcode.
Rkkara: Tempting, right? It is Kang Han-min we’re talking about.
Anon781: Who knows. All the Jeju guys are probably in on it.
Anon424: Even if we stay, what’s the plan? Anyone got supplies left? I’ll last through winter, but after that, I’m screwed.
berkut_break: Same. Even started farming to stay alive, but I’m lonely as hell.
Dies_irae69: Go to Seoul, just to be one of them?
tntn_Orthopedics: At least doctors are still in demand...
Anon458: To everyone wondering whether to go to Seoul.txt
roka3218: If they lied once, they’ll lie again. Better we stick together.
kimcic: stick stik stik stik
Denis_Oldman: Dunno, man~
...
...
There they were.
Forum users—buried under the dead, hard to see until now.
Some familiar, some new, but all long-time players.
It was nostalgic, but also grim—seeing how rough things had gotten for them.
Four years since the war began.
They’ve lasted longer than anyone thought they would.
I want to post. But now’s not the time.
There’s work to do.
SKELTON: Captain M9. When are you posting the Ganghwa report?
I’ve been poking Mgu about it, trying to time it right.
I’ve got a prank planned.
As soon as he posts, I’ll copy it, delete his post, block him temporarily, and repost it under my name.
Of course, I’ll later credit him and thank him once the views roll in.
Just a harmless little prank.
A refined pleasure—something only a forum admin can enjoy.
The key is knowing exactly when Mgu will post.
So I keep playing nice, asking him when he’s “about” to upload.
Usually takes 1–3 days to edit and prep.
mmmmmmmmm™: Should be up by tomorrow. I’m compressing the pics so the Necropolis folks can view ‘em too. You know how big iPhone pics get, right?
SKELTON: (Skelton amazement) Incredible...!
mmmmmmmmm™: ?
SKELTON: (Skelton confusion) ...?
mmmmmmmmm™: Why do you keep asking about my upload schedule lately?
SKELTON: (Skelton bewildered)
mmmmmmmmm™: You’ve asked seven times already. Even the dumbest guy would start getting suspicious.
SKELTON: Maybe I’ve been... feeling lonely lately...
mmmmmmmmm™: Smells fishy. Real fishy.
SKELTON: (Trustworthy Skelton) You don’t trust me?
mmmmmmmmm™: (M9’s foreshadowing) We’ll see about that, won’t we? lol
SKELTON: ?
What the hell?
This guy’s acting a little too confident.
Does he know something I don’t?
He better not have admin powers too...
No way. No freaking way.
Even if he’s a known name, there’s levels to this.
I’m a DoubleSquare—a legendary name.
He’s just a petite name.
There’s a fourth-dimensional wall between us.
—
He posted.
The long-awaited Ganghwa Island coverage.
He didn’t even tell me—posted it at midnight, when everyone’s asleep.
But I’m not “everyone.”
Ding~
The “Watched User Alert” I’d maxed out on my earbuds blared in my ears and snapped me awake.
I bolted to the computer.
mmmmmmmmm™: (M9’s Real Report) Visiting Kang Han-min’s Island (1)
He posted. Just as expected.
Smart move trying to post in the dark, but you’re still inside the Buddha’s palm.
View count: 3.
Hardly anyone’s seen it.
Probably because the Necropolis bums feel weird clicking on posts by real Viva veterans.
Clicked.
Ctrl+A, Ctrl+C.
Full copy. No need to read.
Pasted it into WordPad.
Activated admin privileges.
[ Delete this post? (Y/N) ]
“...”
This is for Mgu’s own good.
Don’t trust anyone—that’s the key lesson of the apocalypse.
This is tough love. Justice of the blade.
Pressed delete.
“?!”
Didn’t work.
A new warning popped up.
[ Admin privileges temporarily suspended by another administrator. ]
“...What?”
Even I said it out loud.
What the hell?
My admin rights got suspended?
By someone else?
“...”
Tried to compose myself. Fingers flew—700 keystrokes per minute—writing up a complaint to VivaBot...
When I got a message.
mmmmmmmmm™: Knew it. I knew you’d try this lololol
SKELTON: ?
mmmmmmmmm™: You little shit. Asking me about my post seven times. Planning to copy, delete, block, and steal credit. Caught you red-handed.
How did he know?
No—how the hell does he know?
Admins are supposed to be secret. Only royal users in Viva! Apocalypse! get access.
mmmmmmmmm™: Your VivaBot is cracked, huh lol
SKELTON: No idea what you’re talking about. Just a misunderstanding.
mmmmmmmmm™: Misunderstanding my ass. Admin logs don’t lie lol
“...”
Gulp.
I didn’t even know admin logs existed.
Guess that’s what I get for doing all the grunt work myself.
mmmmmmmmm™: Have you forgotten what it means to be human, Skelton?
mmmmmmmmm™: You were one of us once... you had a heart...
SKELTON: My cat did it.
mmmmmmmmm™: What cat—whatever, man. VivaBot’s gonna judge this, and you better be ready lol
SKELTON: Want me to put in a good word with Ji Young-hee?
SKELTON: I know her, you know. That new girl in your building.
mmmmmmmmm™: Screw off, you bastard lolol
“...”
Tap tap tap
SKELTON: (Skelton tremble) What a great read. Skelton-Chu!
Left a glowing comment on his post.
I’m sure Mgu will understand the genuine remorse behind it.
One of my greatest achievements lately?
Forgetting fast.
I’ve matured to the point where I can pretend not to know even when I do.
Back to bed.
Time to sleep.
But sleep didn’t last long.
Ding~
Still had my earbuds in.
That was a message alert, not a post.
Mgu again?
Dragged myself back to the screen.
And the message read:
gijayangban: Senpai, you free right now?
gijayangban: Let’s grab a drink.
“....”
This is dangerous.
In more ways than one.
Th𝗲 most uptodate novels are published on free(w)ebnov(e)l.𝒄𝒐𝙢
