Hiding a House in the Apocalypse

Chapter 24: Belief

Belief is not exclusive to faith in God.

There are various kinds of beliefs.

Belief in love between lovers, belief in one's luck held by successful entrepreneurs, belief in a coach who persistently employs an underperforming player, and so on.

I once witnessed a similar belief in a real estate caf that I briefly joined when I was looking at land.

If I were to recall vaguely from a post written by someone who seemed to estimate a house as their entire asset:

Real estate always goes up - even in a war, even when missiles are falling, even if the country collapses - it always goes up.

That was the feeling I got.

Generally, I agree with that, but I don't think real estate will always go up even in extreme situations like a war.

There are also people in our community who hold similar beliefs.

mmmmmmmmm: (Breaking News) United States declares national normalization!

mmmmmmmmm: (News) Optimization of the Ichon-Yeoju food belt

mmmmmmmmm: A cargo ship has arrived in Busan!

This friend, who constantly spouts crazy nonsense, m9, didn't always have an obsession with the future.

He was a normal user with a very rational mindset and typical values, based on the forum.

m9 started to change after winning a lottery for a state-of-the-art apartment called "The Hope."

Up until then, m9 was just one of the regular users, but suddenly, he started selling the way of life he had chosen.

However, the users of our Viva! Apocalypse! Korean forum are not easily swayed.

Having nothing better to do, they spend all day on the forum and know very well how to deal with strange individuals.

Our chosen method is non-response.

Without the need for words or debates, we impose social sanctions by collectively ignoring the person.

Considering that the primary purpose of this forum is communication, collective ignorance is a medium punishment, akin to a death sentence.

But this is not someone else's story.

I am also in a little dangerous situation...

SKELTON: What should I have for breakfast?

Despite carefully crafting a post, even removing my own prideful thoughts from the title, no one left a comment.

The reason is the human hunter.

Previously, they had posted a flood of comments saying "I like Skeleton!" and that single act pushed my reputation down a notch.

A user who was friendly with me informed me of this fact via message.

Message from Kyle_Dos: Are you really close to Defender? Do you know what kind of image he has here?

I know.

Everyone dislikes him, but because his posts are distinct and provide a lot of content, it's necessary to just leave him be.

Now, that strange guy is trying to tarnish my image, and it's not impossible.

The role model is m9, as mentioned earlier.

M9, who received social execution as a group ignoramus, suddenly rose to prominence after breaking his long silence.

The users who had blocked him even unblocked him and began searching for his posts.

The catalyst was a recent post by m9.

mmmmmmmmm: "The Hope" has arrived.

The post had no explanation and included three low-quality videos.

In the first video, m9 held a selfie stick and skipped over his journey from the bunker to Seoul, with many edits.

M9's face on the screen looked older than mine, and for some reason, he was raising two dogs inside the bunker.

Welsh Corgi? French Bulldog? Probably one of those breeds.

"Now, this is the road connecting my bunker to Seoul. As you can see, it's very safe! The soldiers always protect it, you know? Thieves? There are none. But what's the use of good security? If you stay in the bunker, your body rots."

While my area was just starting to flourish as a pioneer, there were orderly columns of soldiers and armoured vehicles marching along the road near m9's bunker.

For some reason, the military was heading towards Seoul rather than the front lines, and it seemed like a good thing for m9.

"Now I'm going to reveal my new apartment! Antis! Wake up and see! You're dead now, and you'll never have a place like this!"

Perhaps due to having suffered a lot before, m9 vented his long-held resentment toward the camera in a refreshing manner.

However, this person.

"Especially this Skelton! You, this guy. What? You're saying it won't be built? What? A reliable source? Ha! How can someone be like that? Just curse, but don't touch people's hopes so insidiously!"

Why is he fixated on me?

Anyway, through the videos, I could understand the current situation of The Hope.

Given the times, the country had rapidly constructed not an entire complex but a pilot block for testing, where they would accept residents and test living conditions, using the data obtained there to develop the rest of the blocks.

M9 was one of the tests moving into that pilot block.

But something felt strange.

No matter how you look at it, even if it's just one apartment, it should take some time to build.

Selecting the land alone would easily take more than a year.

How on earth did they shorten the construction period?

The answer was in m9's video.

I doubted my eyes for a moment.

"Wow..."

It couldn't be helped because,

That apartment, it was leaning.

If Italy has the Leaning Tower of Pisa, then Korea has The Hope, which is tilting at such a severe angle that anyone seeing it would feel fear.

But m9 didn't seem to notice such a thing.

"Now, let me reveal my sweet home. The mold-infested bunker is over now!"

He had somewhat decorated it.

Built-in cabinets, a walk-in closet, a bathroom with a bathtub, a boiler, a well-functioning toilet, a sink and refrigerator, and laundry facilities.

But it was just for show; in reality, the interior of the apartment shown on the screen was full of defects.

The wallpaper seemed to be barely holding on, the bathroom walls had visible cracks, the built-in fridge didn't even turn on, and there was no water running in the sink.

Above all, what was impressive was when m9 accidentally dropped a pen, and it slowly rolled down the living room floor at a gentle angle.

The community's response was just a series of question marks.

Anonymous848: ?

Kyle_Dos: ?

Anonymous458: ?

DragonC: ?

unicorn18: ?

Defender: ?

Surivival_KING: ?

SKELTON: Huh?!

Anonymous118: ?

...

...

This was truly shoddy construction.

People who had won the lottery realized the reality and vented their dissatisfaction, posting nonsense and fake information.

An actual journalist based in Seoul brought accurate information.

gijayangban: (Leak) The Hope's pilot residents were not chosen by lottery but selected. About 2,000 people went, but when they saw the tilted apartments, they turned back. Despite the fact that the safety assessment results indicate it could collapse at any moment, the higher-ups cut corners and classified it as habitable. Currently, Seoul citizens are betting on when The Hope will collapse.

The online community that the journalist usually frequented was different from our Viva! Apocalypse! community. It used both wired and wireless internet connections, making the connection highly unstable, and even the servers would crash frequently. However, it had an overwhelming number of users, so its reliability and vastness of information were incomparable to ours.

I had previously obtained the last photo of Chairman Jepung Ho from this online community.

As much as there were rumours, the journalist had the vision to distinguish between fake and real, and with that ability, he had become a renowned user in a short time.

All the community users nodded in agreement with the journalist's words, except for one person who challenged them.

mmmmmmmmm: I read a novel well~ It seems like you live in the outskirts that are embarrassing to even call Seoul, so don't pretend and just go on your way~

Despite the harsh sarcasm, m9 became a popular user.

People were curious.

When would m9's apartment collapse?

When would m9 disappear from the forum?

After that day, each of m9's posts received more than an average of 10 comments.

The content was similar.

Anonymous118: Hey, are you okay, man?

unicorn18: Did your house shake today?

Anonymous458: Rumble, rumble!

Anonymous848: It's falling over~

...

...

While it wasn't something m9 had orchestrated, seeing m9, who had been a must-block user, receive so many comments gave me a strong stimulus.

I realized that even if I got blocked a lot, as long as there was fun involved, other friends would unblock me.

I had good material.

Specifically, the camouflage house construction I had planned from the beginning.

The plan itself was simple.

I would set up the container house I used to use in the collapsed bunker site and make it suitable for living with some touch-ups.

After a long time, I took out the forklift and moved the container to create a place where people could live. Then, I posted on the forum.

SKELTON: "The Fake Hope" Opening

The title wasn't very straightforward, so the number of views seemed low, and I reposted it with a different title.

SKELTON: "Skelton Second Condominium" Opening

The title wasn't the issue.

Many users just saw my post and disappeared.

Later, Defender, who was likely m9's brother, explained the exact reason.

Defender: What a shabby house. You left the bunker and chose to live here? Is your situation that bad?

The quality of the house itself was the problem.

To me, it was a camouflage house that I had quickly fixed up, but to other users, it was my house. Who would like a place that looks like a beggar's home?

My failure was not meeting the customers' expectations.

Leaving that aside, why was this guy sticking around like this?

Message from Defender: (Defender embarrassed) Should we team up???

Anyway, m9 continued to thrive.

Especially on the day he left the bunker and entered The Hope with military escort(?), he even boasted about receiving 122 comments.

To some extent, foreign users on overseas forums even came to ask what was happening.

As is the case with all things, the gossip surrounding m9 was quickly consumed and forgotten.

The bigger issue was that this small incident involving m9 was easily overshadowed.

The clue was already in the video m9 had filmed.

The army marching in formation toward Seoul.

They were the military units that had been guarding the eastern front.

As a group, they had revolted and turned their units around to "advance" toward Seoul.

Their justification was closely related to the truth.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the government of South Korea is lying to you. Already, all government officials, including the President, have moved all equipment, elite personnel, especially the hunters, to Jeju Island. They've abandoned us."

It wasn't just one army that entered Seoul.

Another army had entered Seoul from the west.

Their justification was valid as well.

"The duty of the Republic of Korea's military is to defend the territory and the people, as stated in the tattered constitution. Politics is an area that should not be interfered with, inspected, or touched by the military. General Lim Myungsoo will protect Seoul from all threats to uphold the Republic of Korea's citizens, the National Assembly, and the constitution."

Two armies confronted each other within Seoul.

The capital of a already divided country had now become split again into east and west.

Soldiers in the same military uniform stood face to face at crossroads, erected barricades, and prepared combat supplies.

The army supported by the National Assembly and the rebel army entered negotiations over their demands, but the likelihood of a successful resolution was not high.

Journalist Yang, who had experienced various incidents in Seoul, expressed his despair for the first time.

gijayangban: Choosing Seoul might have been a mistake.

At that moment, I tried to contact Kim Daram.

Kim Daram didn't answer my call.

Was she on a transport plane that crossed my area, or were there other reasons for not responding to my calls?

As Kim Daram's response was increasingly delayed, I read through the forum silently for a moment.

I noticed a conspicuous author.

mmmmmmmmm: The army coming is good news.

It was m9.

I searched for his posts after a long time.

mmmmmmmmm: (From the Seoul desk) Reasons Why There's No Civil War.txt

mmmmmmmmm: Don't touch "The Hope." Why? Generals live here!

mmmmmmmmm: (Negotiation imminent) General Apartments! The Hope!

mmmmmmmmm: When negotiations are over, our neighbourhood will skyrocket~

Even when everyone sensed a catastrophe, he was singing a hymn of faith.

I knew that m9 had blocked me, but out of pity, I sent him a message.

SKELTON: Do you really not know how dangerous this is?

I didn't expect a reply.

But a reply came.

And it came right away!

Message from mmmmmmmmm: I know. But what do you want me to do about it?

Plot twist.

m9 hadn't blocked me.

Moreover, he knew that his choice had been wrong.

Was that the reason?

As if he had been waiting for me for a long time, m9 sent me a message without hesitation.

Message from mmmmmmmmm: Alright. Skeleton. Defender's friend. You won't kill people, will you?

SKELTON: Don't treat me like those people.

Message from mmmmmmmmm: Skeleton, you keep showing interest in me. Hey, can I come to your bunker? Huh? Can I come with my two dogs? If you want, you can even catch and eat them.

SKELTON: Blocked

One day, two years and one month after the war began.

Still no contact from Kim Daram.

Civil war had broken out in Seoul.

Two armies wearing the same uniforms, speaking the same language, pointed their guns at each other, and the flames of anger engulfed them.

The civil war that lasted for a week turned most of Seoul into an inferno and created millions of refugees.

From within that hell, a photo emerged on the forum.

The photo depicted an apartment building standing alone against the backdrop of a sky that seemed to be on fire and actual burning ruins.

It was an apartment I knew.

The Hope.

A symbol of hope.

And one man's faith.

Only one generation had moved in, but the state-of-the-art apartment was still standing, leaning like a landmark of hope in a corner of Seoul at this very moment.

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