Chapter 187
Chapter 187
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 187
Chapter Title: Unknown Number (1)
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Back when I was a kid, I used to get calls from unknown numbers all the time.
I harbored this faint hope in my innocent young heart that the caller might be someone dear I'd forgotten about.
But then internet phishing and spam ads exploded, and people started communicating more through SNS or messengers than phone calls. Unknown numbers gradually faded from my life, and by the time I returned to Korea, I almost never picked up.
Most of the time, it was pointless stuff like ads or surveys. Occasionally, there'd be shady offers that skirted treason or crime.
Even people who shouldn't know my personal details—protected as top-secret—somehow got hold of my old number.
Chinese agents or brokers they hired. They'd call from my old line with cookie-cutter pitches about visiting China.
But it never caused me much trouble.
Like a pro debtor, I juggled three phones. The one with my old number stayed powered off, and most of that junk came to it anyway.
So what would it feel like to get an unknown number call in the apocalypse?
It was yesterday evening. I'd just showered and was rehydrating some dried rations for dinner.
An unknown personal ID pinged in.
Personal ID: 7_CORP_CMD
I didn't answer.
Unlike pre-war days, pinpointing someone's identity from just a personal ID is nearly impossible now.
Suppose there's this guy. He knows Park Gyu from my professor days but not SKELTON-era me.
He doesn't even know I use the internet.
Now imagine this unknown person trying to reach Park Gyu via a K-walkie with personal IDs.
He'd probably call out "PROFESSOR," right?
If no response, he'd tack on numbers—like my birth year or school class rank.
But no way he'd guess my ID is SKELTON.
Same goes for me.
Impossible to ID someone from an unknown personal ID alone.
Unless they flaunt it like Kim Daram.
That's why I have no clue who this 7_CORP_CMD suddenly contacting me is.
But the ID itself seems meaningful.
Translated to Korean: 7th Corps Command.
The 7th Corps was hastily formed during North Korea's fall to secure key strongholds. Mostly reservists and contract soldiers.
Even the DS I blocked was probably 7th Corps.
They swiftly took abandoned Pyongyang and Kaesong but retreated with survivors as the destruction was too severe. The now-useless corps disbanded.
So why was a disbanded corps' radio specifically calling my personal ID?
No good vibes here.
I thought of my junior, Kim Daram.
One of the few who knows my ID, and tied to the military.
Maybe she got an unused radio from her Corps Faction connections and reached out that way? Highest probability right now.
Beep-beep-beep.
The radio buzzed again.
Distinct tone for personal ID calls.
Checked the sender.
Personal ID: 7_CORP_CMD
Same one.
My conclusion: Don't answer.
Best way to shield myself from Kim Daram? Pretend I'm dead.
That's why I dug dummy bunkers to throw off Se.
Beep-beep-beep.
It persisted like before.
Stopped once, then resumed after a pause.
Beep-beep-beep.
Maybe power it off?
As that thought hit, the sender used a forgotten K-walkie feature.
Beep-beep-beep-beep beep--- beep-beep beep---
Morse code.
K-walkies support Morse for mic failures—and even decode it on-screen for the Morse-illiterate.
The long signal translated to:
Reading that, I doubted it was Kim Daram.
The Kim Daram I know wouldn't Morse-beg if ignored—she'd show up or hold a grudge.
Beep-beep-beep.
Again.
What to do?
Even if it was her, this persistence meant she'd hunt me down anyway. Better answer?
She might even be in my zone.
Scoped the perimeter first. Nothing, no traces.
Finally, I grabbed the silence-breaker and accepted.
The radio erupted the instant I did, voice booming like it shook the device.
"What the hell? Why didn't you pick up?"
A middle-aged man's voice—irritated, angry, but sturdy and resolute.
Definitely unknown. Never heard it before.
"Who are you? Why keep calling?"
A baffled reply echoed back.
"Who the hell are you?"
"Huh?"
"Forget it! Put Yu-kyeong on!"
"Yu-kyeong?"
"Not Jeon Yu-kyeong?"
"No."
Absurd. Wrong number.
In the apocalypse, with alphanumeric IDs no less.
I smirked, waiting.
"How'd a random guy answer? Where's Jeon Yu-kyeong!"
He raised his voice.
I stayed calm—no point yelling back.
"Who are you? Calm down and explain. Seems like a misunderstanding. Let's clear it up."
He paused, breathed, then responded evenly.
"I'm Major General Bang Su-byeon, 7th Corps Commander."
7th Corps? Bang Su-byeon?
Didn't know the name, but knew it disbanded.
"7th Corps disbanded."
"Revived by Corps Faction. You know them, right?"
"Yeah, I do."
"Anyway, I gave my rank and name. Your turn—including why you're on Yu-kyeong's radio."
"Baek Seung-hyeon. Freelance hunter."
Sorry, Baek, but you're safe from Corps Faction reach.
Real guy, too. And his internet fame? Partly my doing.
Shamelessly continued.
"No idea who this Yu-kyeong is. I earned this radio fair and square."
"You expect me to buy that?"
"Believe it or not, it's true. What now? Who's this Jeon Yu-kyeong? Wife? Daughter?"
"Not daughter."
"Wife?"
"Doesn't matter."
He trailed off, but I got the vibe.
Mistress, probably. Heard Corps Faction generals treat concubines like fashion.
Anyway, he sounded puzzled too.
"How'd a freelance hunter—old-school, pre-war—no Korean-issue walkie get one?"
I briefly explained my old Seoul connections, the favor for the radio, and ID from a National Crisis Committee contact.
Swapped Kim Daram for Lee Sang-hun.
"Lee Sang-hun? Ah."
He knew him.
"That cocky bastard."
"..."
"Hold on."
Pausing to recall.
"Scarlet, was it?"
I chuckled.
"Doesn't seem Skeleton-related."
"Dunno why, but familiar phrase. I'll try Scarlet anyway."
He cut off abruptly.
Corps Faction "generals" strut high, and Bang seemed average in arrogance.
Soon, the bunker-disrupter struck again.
Really didn't want to, but answered.
"You're SKELTON, right?"
"Nah, he says no. Push it, and I'm Yu-kyeong?"
"Tried Scarlet—no response. Sound pattern says either no ID or powered off."
"Didn't think powered off?"
"No way. Yu-kyeong's not like other women. Devoted to me alone, listens intently, always earnest. Unlike unreliable subordinates, venomous wife, or her brainwashed kid."
"I... see."
Confirmed.
Jeon Yu-kyeong: Bang's mistress.
Obsessed enough to curse family.
Explains the persistence.
At least not Kim Daram.
"Be straight: Baek Seung-hyeon. Yu-kyeong there?"
K-walkies have a feature: triangulate distance from signal via formula.
Mostly public bands, but useful for randos like him.
We're mid-range: 50km+ apart.
He knows.
"You check distance on walkies?"
"Yeah. Knew and called."
"If you won't believe an innocent man, bring your goons to my place or hers. General, right? Got lackeys? If I'm there, grill or bury me—no grudges. Check yourself, damn it!"
Meant to stay polite, but snapped.
Whether my curse or his regret, he softened.
"Baek Seung-hyeon. Hunter Baek."
"...What?"
"I know it was rude. Apologies. But seriously sorry—you're a real hunter, right? Guard Academy, not some Awakened fake."
Sweet-talk: wants a favor.
Classic. Waited silently.
"Can you check Yu-kyeong's hideout for me? Wanna go myself, but can't now. You're not far by distance. I'll reward you. Swear on Bang Su-byeon."
Bingo.
"...Sent a female soldier there. Loaded with lifetime supplies: luxury goods, cars, wine, food, meds, electronics, fuel. Enough till monsters rift back."
"..."
"Not hard: go to the hideout I describe, confirm she's there. Alive? Dead? Or..."
"If another guy's there?"
Petty question, but realistic.
He didn't rage, continued.
"Report it. I'll go. Reward you in person. You just scout—nothing else. Not military zone, just one lady guard.
No monster nests or gang dens nearby. Total wasteland."
Sounds low-risk.
Not chasing rewards, but Corps Faction general ties? Tempting.
Could deter Kim Daram.
His Morse hinted trouble, though.
Details during the job.
"Where?"
Beats rotting in bunker.
[87. Unknown Number (1)] End