Hiding a House in the Apocalypse

Chapter 30: Sea Monkey Papa

I've never raised animals.

I spent a long time in a place where I couldn't raise animals and frequently encountered mutations, so I couldn't develop a fondness for animals.

In fact, among the hunters with war experience, there is no one who raises animals.

However, in our community, a few users do raise animals.

They actively nurture animals, choosing a communal survival approach.

Anonymous424: Our dog handlers

Dies_irae69: Look at our dogs

These friends who gather with like-minded individuals or family members tend to dominate a fairly large area, focusing on exposed houses rather than bunkers.

Since they talk a lot, food reserves cannot keep up with consumption, so they need to farm, which inevitably requires a large amount of land.

Well-trained dogs help secure a large area.

They can set boundaries, intimidate wandering outsiders, and even be used in combat when necessary.

But their love didn't last long.

Dies_irae69: Our dogs... I killed them all...

It's inevitable.

Not killing animals that have started to mutate is no different from suicide.

Raising animals during the apocalypse requires determination.

Either a willingness to kill mutated animals or a greater determination to embrace them.

Here, there is someone with greater determination.

He raised Sea Monkeys.

I learned about SeamonkeyPAPA when I was getting used to life during the apocalypse and starting to accept the apocalypse as part of my life.

In the early days of the war, I was quite on edge.

Even a suspicious shadow on the horizon would make me hold my gun for hours in a defensive posture, and I would check my equipment almost obsessively, close to developing PTSD.

It was my first experience of the apocalypse as an individual, not as a hunter, so I was frozen in fear.

As time passed and I became accustomed to the changing situation and gained experience, I became more relaxed.

I started writing on the community forum as a lurking user.

At that time, SeamonkeyPAPA was an unpopular user with a similar personality to mine.

He worked hard on creative activities, trying to gain attention, but his efforts didn't get much recognition.

In my case, it was just bad luck, but SeamonkeyPAPA had taken the wrong approach from the beginning.

Who in the world would feel cuteness or emotion when they saw something like Sea Monkeys?

Most people who first saw his posts clicked on them out of curiosity about what Sea Monkeys were, and when they found out that these creatures were like tiny fleas that couldn't even be seen properly in their tanks, they clicked the back button without a second thought.

The official name for Sea Monkeys is brine shrimp, creatures similar to shrimp.

They are hardy, easy to raise, and active, so they were popular as novelty pets at the end of the 20th century, but they quickly lost popularity and became disposable creatures that children briefly raised or flushed down the toilet before they died.

<Sea Monkeys are swimming very actively! They can survive in high salinity water, and they have even been found in the "Death Sea"! However, if you raise them in freshwater, they will die!!! Even if they don't die right away, they will eventually die!>

SeamonkeyPAPA had experience in video editing, and for each video he uploaded, he put a lot of effort into explanations and care information, trying to widely promote the existence of Sea Monkeys, which we didn't know much about.

He used exclamation marks frequently.

Of course, he knew that he was at the bottom of the popularity ladder, but SeamonkeyPAPA had something in mind.

He prepared a masterpiece despite the odds.

It was a combination of various laborious technical tasks.

Feeding them fluorescent food to make Sea Monkeys shine even in the dark, adjusting the lighting meticulously so that even a weak camera wouldn't blur their appearance in the dark, beautiful New Age-style classical music, Sea Monkeys glowing, multiple angles, slow motion, painstaking subtitles, and an excessive number of exclamation marks.

These elements were combined to create a labor-intensive video that was posted on the forum.

SeamonkeyPAPA: A magnificent and grand nocturnal performance by Sea Monkeys, "danse en groupe."

I clicked on his post to see what he was about to post around the same time, and Sea Monkey Papa said he had invested 18 hours in shooting and preparing the video, adding a proud remark.

Eighteen hours.

My video barely took one minute.

It was an astonishing dedication.

As always, reality is harsh.

If I were to recreate the scene at the time, it would feel something like this.

unicorn18: Red Archive Hotaru-chan.jpg

SUNBI: The thrilling buttock valley of a mysterious Western woman

SeamonkeyPAPA: A magnificent and solemn group dance "danse en groupe" by self-illuminating Sea Monkeys

Defender: Certification

Anonymous118: Super Maria No-installation Execution Version

SKELTON: (Skeleton Video) Skeleton's Beatboxing (3)

Just looking at the titles, it doesn't seem much different from the present.

But when you click on the view count feature, the dark truth is revealed.

unicorn18: Red Archive Hotaru-chan.jpg (22 views)

SUNBI: The thrilling buttock valley of a mysterious Western woman (93 views)

SeamonkeyPAPA: A magnificent and solemn group dance "danse en groupe" by self-illuminating Sea Monkeys (8 views)

Defender: Certification (232 views)

Anonymous118: Super Maria No-installation Execution Version (1,023 views)

SKELTON: (Skeleton Video) Skeleton's Beatboxing (3) (5 views)

That's right.

SeamonkeyPAPA's long-awaited masterpiece has only 8 views.

Only 8 views.

After investing 18 hours, he only received 8 views, which implies that fewer than 8 people clicked on his post, considering that one user can click multiple times.

Even if I were SeamonkeyPAPA, I would have been in despair.

Let's assume that Defender or Anonymous118, you could lose to him.

But now, compared to the vulgar buttock valley that the late SUNBI uploaded after searching for about 10 seconds in some erotic folder, it's unacceptable that the view count is lower than that.

Nevertheless, he managed to beat Skeleton, but that won't be much of a consolation.

So why?

SeamonkeyPAPA seemed to be overwhelmed by a deep sense of frustration, and he hardly posted anything after that.

He only occasionally reacted to DragonC's comics.

As time passed, it is now Christmas approaching.

SeamonkeyPAPA suddenly created a popular post.

SeamonkeyPAPA: The Sea Monkeys have grown!

The moment I saw his post, I muttered without realizing it.

"He's still alive."

But what's with the title?

Out of curiosity, I clicked on the post.

"...?"

What I saw was an unbelievable sight.

The location was a reservoir.

It looked no different from the reservoirs around my area, but in the dark and murky water, there was something with red eyes, a white, long tail, and a large, white body wriggling around.

SeamonkeyPAPA: At some point, my kids suddenly grew so big that I couldn't handle them anymore, so I put them in the reservoir. But before I knew it, they grew like this.

I saw it for the first time.

A mutation in primitive animals like Sea Monkeys.

There's a description in Kyle_dos' webtoon that prawns turned white, but that's probably just a fictional exaggeration. To human eyes on a white ground, everything will appear white.

Mutation is a phenomenon that only occurs in higher animals with brains, spines, and lungs.

I've seen giant rats, cats, dogs, and pigs in China, but I've never seen giant cockroaches or ants.

But that common belief was shattered by a single photo.

There is no doubt about the identity of the creature, which swims in the reservoir with several disgusting legs and a long tail like a young child.

It's a mutated Sea Monkey.

"...?"

I hesitated for a moment.

Whether to disclose this shocking discovery or not.

The fact that mutations can spread to such lowly animals is a matter thousands of times more serious than fissures or monsters.

Perhaps it means that humans could be wiped out by mutations before the fissures or monsters.

Right now, I only have one contact: Woo Minhee.

I don't really want to get involved, but this is not a matter for the authorities.

Personal identification number: REDMASK

This is the first time I've contacted her using a personal identification number since Kim Daram disappeared.

Unlike before, Woo Minhee answered the call immediately.

I guess that's one of her few good qualities, made up of flaws.

"Oh, Senior. What's going on? You're contacting me from your side. I thought you'd never contact a bad kid like me. Why? Did you run out of food to eat?"

She still had that knack for getting on people's nerves.

"...Mutations have occurred in invertebrates."

"Invertebrates?"

"Yes, invertebrates. Like shrimp larvae."

"Sea monkeys?"

"!!!"

For a moment, a very dangerous assumption crossed their mind.

"...How did you know?"

"How did I know? I was just guessing. I used to raise sea monkeys when I was in elementary school. They all died, though. But I suddenly remembered. By the way, is there a problem with sea monkeys?"

"I discovered that the sea monkeys have grown giant. It's a mutation, no doubt. Mutations are occurring in invertebrates too."

"Oh, really? I appreciate you telling me, but I already knew that."

"You did?"

I knew my knowledge gap was significant.

But it seems that gap was larger than I thought.

The fact that my shock had become a matter of course for her shows that.

"Anyway, I have something to do right now."

Through the speaker, a dull sound of waves could be heard.

Is she at the dock?

I wonder what she's doing, but it's not a time for personal conversation.

Our relationship is strictly speaking, a fateful one.

"Merry Christmas."

"Senior. Isn't it a bit early? There are still three days left."

"When else would I contact you?"

"Fair enough. Merry Christmas to you too, Senior."

After ending the call, I took a moment to catch their breath.

I recalled the conversation they just had.

Above all, Woo Minhee's immediate response when she said "Sea monkeys?" stuck in his memory.

"..."

Surely, it's just a coincidence.

It must be.

I want to believe that.

But I can't let my guard down.

Woo Minhee has always been fond of online communities and such.

In contrast, I'm a person who doesn't even participate in group chats.

Yet during my contact with Woo Minhee, the online forums seemed to be in an uproar.

Defender: No, just kill them all. It's obvious they're dangerous, right? They're mutations.

SeamonkeyPAPA: Shut up, you motherless murderer! What do you know, you lower-class bastard who grew up without parents! What right do you have to tell me what to do with my sea monkeys? My sea monkeys!

Defender and SeamonkeyPAPA.

Two users who had no connection were now causing a clash.

Watching their keyboard battle, I was puzzled.

I don't know.

It's a bit unsettling.

I've always thought of SeamonkeyPAPA as someone who simply liked sea monkeys, a quiet middle-aged gentleman, and maybe a professional in his early 50s. His voice was polite, and he exuded an easygoing atmosphere.

But the true nature of SeamonkeyPAPA that was revealed during the keyboard battle was completely different.

It was more childish than disgusting.

He spewed out vulgar and obscene insults so extensively that he wouldn't want to put them into words. 30% of those insults were slang referring to genitalia, and the remaining 30% insulted other people's parents. The rest were exclamation marks that SeamonkeyPAPA seemed to like.

SeamonkeyPAPA: You ****!! You ****!!! Damn ******! ******* ******, you!! ********!!

It changes like this.

On the other hand, Defender responded calmly, but it's a well-known fact that his patience isn't very high.

Defender: I'm saying this out of concern. If you want to die, go ahead. But what about the insults to my parents? Can you take that back?

Defender: I'm thinking about the reservoir in your picture. I know that reservoir. I think I know where you are.

In an instant, the icy glare of Defender, especially the brother, came to mind as if it were drawn.

This seems a bit dangerous, doesn't it?

I'm sure everyone on the forum felt the same way.

Right now, Defender is sincere.

If I were SeamonkeyPAPA, I would have apologized or at least taken my hands off the keyboard.

But SeamonkeyPAPA didn't do that.

SeamonkeyPAPA: *********!!!!

"Ah."

Defender: You want to die?

SeamonkeyPAPA: You ******!!!

SeamonkeyPAPA: You ********!!!!

"This is too much."

This goes far beyond crossing the line.

No matter how much Defender doesn't physically harm the forum friends, this is not right.

I immediately sent a message to SeamonkeyPAPA.

SKELTON: Even though its Defender, his words are correct, it's dangerous. Apologize and end it. Why are you fighting like kids?

It's my own way of mediating.

If SeamonkeyPAPA wanted, I was willing to calm down Defender.

I didn't want another colleague and forum user to disappear like the Mina incident.

A while later, I received a reply from SeamonkeyPAPA.

Message from SeamonkeyPAPA: *******!!!!

Is it because of a profanity filter?

Or is it because what happened to him and the change in his image is too significant?

The user who messaged me didn't seem like anything more or less than Sea Monkey.

Message from SeamonkeyPAPA: *******(Random characters)

SKELTON: *********

Defender: Verified

Two days later, the post that Defender put up was filled with horror and mystery, reminiscent of a horror movie.

Defender used the reservoir as coordinates to find SeamonkeyPAPA's residence.

Whether he was sincere or saying it to make the situation better, Defender intended to shake hands and SeamonkeyPAPA apologized.

Defender easily found the bunker.

The door inside the bunker was open, and inside, there were SeamonkeyPAPA's belongings, an old notebook, and various other equipment.

However, SeamonkeyPAPA's presence was nowhere to be found.

It wasn't just SeamonkeyPAPA.

Inside the bunker, the shadow of poverty and destitution cast a melancholic veil.

Defender: That guy, he was almost out of food and supplies. Judging by the boiler's condition, it seems he hasn't lit it or used heating for a long time. Posting on the forum itself is a luxury for him.

The food that Defender found with SeamonkeyPAPA was a moldy week-old bread, two boxes of soju, and an open half-bottle of whiskey from 17 years ago, all scattered on the floor.

Defender recalled the post SeaMonkeyPapa had posted and drained the water from the reservoir.

All in an effort to kill those abhorrent mutations.

When all the water had been drained, there wasn't a single Sea Monkey left.

In the slimy puddle, a skeleton corpse lay in a salute, like an exclamation mark.

The post that painstakingly explained how Sea Monkeys would die if placed in freshwater casually came to mind.

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