Chapter 220
Chapter 220
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 220
Chapter Title: 95. Signs (2)
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The Republic of Korea government and the Chinese government agreed to end the war. At the same time, the Chinese government handed over the Manchuria region to the ROK government as compensation for the damages caused by the war.
This was the rough outline of the war termination plan orchestrated by Kim Byung-chul.
On paper, it was no exaggeration to call it a perfect victory for Korea.
Just looking at the territory secured, it wouldn't be an overstatement to rank Kim Byung-chul alongside King Gwanggaeto the Great.
But anyone could see how hollow that rhetoric was by simply glancing north from the National Assembly building.
Monsters were everywhere, and mutations had dug in deep.
The Seoul area controlled by the Legion Faction was barely 25%—not even half.
In such a situation, I had no idea how they planned to reclaim North Korea, let alone conquer Manchuria.
It was all just a show.
Nothing more, nothing less.
I met the other actors in this spectacle two days before the event.
A Russian helicopter landed near the National Assembly.
For Kim Byung-chul, whose political fate hung on this crucial event, a simple rehearsal was held.
I attended as expected, and hearing the chaotic Chinese chatter from all around for the first time in a while brought back memories of my days in China.
Looking back, those days had been perilously hellish—no exaggeration—but in another light, they seemed brighter than now in every way.
Back then, no one thought the world was on the brink of total destruction. People believed humanity would find a way, as always.
Even when we went out with colleagues to bustling spots like Shanghai, we could still see streets alive with revelry and crowds overflowing with laughter.
"Failnet?"
Several people were dealing with the Chinese delegation, including my junior, Kim Daram.
Perhaps because Auntie Bitech's wounds had been so deep, she hadn't spoken to me once beyond an initial greeting. But now she approached.
"Senior. Mind if I ask you one thing? What's Failnet?"
"Failnet?"
"Yeah. I figured you'd know. You spend a ton of time online, right?"
She used the internet too, but like anyone narrow-minded, she showed no interest in sites beyond her own bubble.
I spoke to her with utmost reverence.
"Failnet is the fully open anonymous internet site created by John_nenon, the developer with unyielding will."
"John_nenon? Who's that? A foreigner?"
"Korean. And a truly great man."
"Greater than Jang Ki-young?"
"Don't compare him to some lowly hack."
"Anyway, the Chinese have been asking for Failnet's server location for months now. How the hell would we know?"
"Why are they so curious about the Failnet server location?"
"Something about needing to find stuff there. They won't say what."
Come to think of it, I'd heard before that the Chinese were scouring for the Failnet server.
Maybe they'd backed up some classified data there.
I knew where the Failnet server was, but no need to tell them.
It was inside the tomb of my role model, John_nenon.
I had no clue what amazing records the Chinese hoped to dig up from that server, but I couldn't in good conscience let them desecrate John_nenon's grave just to help them out.
"Sorry, no one knows the Failnet server location. John_nenon passed away long ago."
"I see. But Senior, aren't you worshipping this John_nenon guy a bit too much?"
"He deserves worship."
Someone stood behind Kim Daram.
A Chinese woman, by the looks of her.
Kim Daram noticed them and stepped aside.
The woman hidden behind her came into view.
She was slim, around 160-something cm tall.
Generously, she didn't look a day over mid-twenties.
She stared right at me and rattled off something in Chinese.
I said nothing.
I'd never responded in Chinese back in China—let alone now, after its fall.
I ignored her torrent of words and just stared silently until she smirked and switched to fluent Korean.
"Why pretend you don't understand Chinese?"
Her Korean was remarkably smooth.
Strip away the "Chinese" label, and it could've passed for native.
"Lack of culture?"
"Who are you?"
In response to my question, she stared piercingly at the golden ram badge on my lapel, then pointed to the far more ornate, sparkling one on hers.
It depicted a dragon ascending to heaven in gold, with jewels for the eyes and the pearl in its claw.
But I had no idea what it signified.
As I stayed silent, she spoke first, exasperated.
"Five Dragon Sect. Never heard of it? Even a professor should know."
"Are you a member of the Five Dragon Sect?"
"Yeah."
She extended her hand.
"Yu Tong."
One question popped into my mind.
At her age and build, I couldn't buy her being in China's top hunter tier.
Monster hunting was grueling work.
The hunt itself was a tightrope over death, but the prep was torture too.
Even Kim Daram, who could chew up most men, complained about her physical limits. How could this ordinary-looking woman be elite?
A rumor I'd heard flashed through my mind.
Top Chinese hunters used combat stimulants—drugs dubbed battle triggers.
For them, "strong hunter" meant how long you could endure the drugs, not pure skill.
Maybe this slight woman fought on drug power alone.
Awakening Stones were off-limits in China, so unethical methods were their only shot against monsters.
"Do you use a glaive as your weapon, by any chance?"
"Glaive? You mean the crescent blade? That's someone else."
"Did you take down that mutation dog pack?"
"That was me."
So it was her.
The one who'd attacked the Gold Pack, wiping them out and driving even the Gold to death.
Unaware or uncaring of my hostility, she smiled brightly and chatted amiably.
"I heard professors use axes."
"Old news."
"Old news?"
"In a world where Awakening Stones rule, what choice does an old-school hunter have but to hang it up?"
The Chinese hunter gave a sly smile.
"By the way, doesn't this land have too many fanatics?"
I didn't respond, so she turned away.
"They cause problems. Always."
As she left, Kim Daram returned.
"That woman seems to like you, Senior."
"Really? Didn't feel that way."
"Last time I went to their base, she wouldn't even look at me properly. Total snob. I don't care if it's Five Dragon Sect or whatever—no one internationally recognizes their little club, but they strut around like they own the place. Even she acted all meek in front of you."
Kim Daram eyed my golden ram badge.
"Well, you were a big deal back in your prime."
"Ancient history."
The first rehearsal wrapped without incident.
48 hours until the main event.
Not much time if you're short on it, plenty if you think long.
Thankfully, the lodging— a refurbished old hotel—was comfortable enough.
Food was decent too.
The problem came from the machine I'd momentarily forgotten.
Beep- Beep- Beep-
The K-Walkie-Talkie signaled an incoming personal ID call.
Woo Min-hee.
"Hey, yeah. Min-hee."
"Senior."
"Last time there was a lot of noise."
"Yeah, must've been. The surge was massive."
Her flat, humorless voice already spelled bad omens.
And sure enough.
"The lighthouse went dark."
"The lighthouse went dark?"
"Means monsters are heading for Seoul."
*
The reason the lighthouse went dark was absurd.
While the kids were lined up atop the walls to light it, shells rained down on them.
Someone had opened fire.
The lighthouse defense chief pegged it at no more than four 60mm mortars.
Not impressive firepower by modern standards, but deadly against a lighthouse.
A lighthouse was just kids—Awakeners, sure, but untrained for combat.
Under bombardment, all they could do was hunker down in concrete.
The lighthouse stayed silent all day, and the monsters advanced unhindered.
This incident highlighted the gulf between anti-monster and anti-human warfare.
The approaches, tactics, and solutions were worlds apart.
When Korea was intact, soldiers and hunters complemented each other seamlessly. But now, with the country in ruins and the remnants split, coordinated defense was a pipe dream—leading to disasters like this.
Woo Min-hee's warning soon reached the Legion Faction camp.
"Monster surge confirmed from the front! Scale: immeasurable!"
The event had to stop.
Without a kill zone, the classic way to handle a massive monster horde was to "cede territory and buy time."
Monsters naturally dissipate over time.
Small infiltration types might evade that, but their combat power paled against mid-sized bruisers built for battle.
How much ground to yield depended on the monsters' endurance, but it minimized casualties and let you reclaim the lost area later.
Sure, small types might lay eggs or erode zones during occupation, but it beat clashing with an overwhelming horde—thousands of times wiser.
Of course, bit by bit, territory erodes, and humanity loses in the end.
Even when Korea and China were whole, open-field battles against large hordes offered slim odds.
The Chinese army once lost elite troops and gear in a field fiasco due to some incompetent general—rumored to be the top leader's brother.
The infamous Third Battle of Beijing.
A winnable fight ruined by his stubbornness, hastening doom.
The same future loomed here.
Our Legion chief Kim Byung-chul seemed just as glory-hungry.
I sought out Kim Daram immediately.
She already knew about the horde, greeting me with a haggard face.
"Coffee?"
"No thanks."
"What's up?"
"You know."
No matter how strained things got, old teamwork didn't fade easily.
A blessing once, a curse now.
Reading each other's minds perfectly wasn't pleasant for either of us.
Still, I had to say it.
"Cancel the event."
Kim Daram squeezed her eyes shut and sighed.
"Knew you'd say that."
"Your answer?"
"No."
She shook her head.
"Impossible."
"You haven't forgotten Beijing, have you?"
"...The monsters might turn elsewhere. We can cancel after."
"If spotted near Paju, it'll take half a day to reach here."
"The chief's been banking on this. Accepting China's surrender on Memorial Day..."
Her response sparked uncontrollable rage first.
She'd always followed my lead, flattering when needed, but spoken her mind when it mattered—a straight shooter.
We'd even sparred verbally, sharp but small.
The old me, Professor-era me.
Now, she groveled like a beaten dog.
By then, rage turned to pity and disappointment. She had family to protect, I recalled.
"I see."
But they weren't mine.
I had zero intention of dying for a glory hound like Kim Byung-chul.
"I'm leaving. You can allow that much, right?"
"Stay."
"Nah, don't wanna die."
"Senior."
"You saved face in front of the Chinese already."
"If you do this, it might be hard for me to protect you."
My junior looked smaller by the minute.
The scar by her eye made her seem tougher, but I could tell.
Current Kim Daram was weaker than before.
The old one never resorted to petty threats.
I stared her down.
"Stay here, and we're all dead. Forgotten how few survived Beijing?"
Even if she'd grown brazen, she was never a good liar.
She raised no further objection and didn't stop me.
Leaving Kim Daram, I exited the assembly hall.
Only then did I realize I had no transport back to my turf.
As I pondered while walking, a familiar voice called from the side.
"SKELTON!"
None other than my first internet friend, Defender.