Chapter 249
Chapter 249
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 249
Chapter Title: 103. Struggle (5)
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Regardless of the forum's popularity, the desperate fight for survival at 1,200 meters above sea level raged on.
Two days after the attack from the unknown Awakened, a vehicle unlike any I'd seen before climbed the slope toward the outpost.
It was like an armored car styled to look like a sports car.
The vehicle, which seemed electrically powered, was a model completely unfamiliar to me.
Probably a new model.
Two people stepped out of the vehicle.
Both wore white uniforms I didn't recognize.
They appeared to be around the same age, but with one acting like an attendant, the other had to be someone important.
"I'm Committee Member Park Seung-su of the National Crisis Committee."
A committee member of the National Crisis Committee.
Indeed, a big shot.
His face gave off a strong vibe similar to Jeong Ho-kyung from Gyeonggi Province—polite on the surface, but inwardly wary of me for some inexplicable reason and constantly trying to belittle me.
Another golden spoon who hit the jackpot in these times.
As I ran my own physiognomy analysis and database on him, Park Seung-su spoke up.
"I've read the report carefully. On a foggy night, a group appeared, threw javelins at you, fled when you retaliated, right?"
"Yes."
I presented the evidence I'd prepared in advance.
A roughly forged shard of metal, but perfectly crafted as a tool for murder.
Lightweight, and for some aerodynamic reason unknown to me, it made less noise when thrown.
The tip, sharpened from a metal shard, wasn't comparable to my axe, but it was more than sufficient to pierce human flesh.
My knowledge of poisons was limited, but I confirmed an unidentified, sinister-looking mucus coating the tip.
"This is..."
Park Seung-su examined the javelin, frowning, and scrutinized it with that expression for a while.
He finally looked away from it and stared at me.
"Where did they come from?"
I led them to the primitive alarm I'd set up.
A thick fog still blanketed the mountains below, but it hadn't reached our altitude, so visibility was good.
Still, we couldn't let our guard down on that ridge below the rocks.
The Man Hunters had taken guns and ammo among other things.
"Hmm. Footprints."
Park Seung-su gravely examined the fading footprints.
Unlike me, he hadn't been trained to discern numbers and conditions from footprints alone, so he looked away quickly, unlike with the javelin.
"...The Man Hunters have been the unknown threat dominating this ridge. We've sent people and machines multiple times, even deployed detection ability users to comb the area thoroughly, but found no traces. There were even jokes that the Man Hunters were the fog itself down there, impossible to dispel."
Park Seung-su gave a wry smile as he gazed wistfully at the black javelin shaft he held.
"And yet, they're people..."
"The numbers match the report, but there might be more companions."
My feelings toward Park Seung-su were neutral.
Or slightly negative, to be precise.
These guys were the ones trying to erase us old-school hunters from history.
Frankly, I despised them.
But even so, he was the boss here, a bit younger than me.
As a higher-up, he'd probably listen better than the soldiers I dealt with over the phone.
I spoke calmly to him, lost in thought.
"I applied for a shift change, but it's been delayed repeatedly. They told me to hold out another week. I requested reinforcements, but no word on those either. I can't survive like this. It's no different from telling me to die."
As I voiced my complaints, Park Seung-su shot a sharp glance at the attendant-like man his age.
"You heard him?"
"Yes, Committee Member."
"Handle it as quickly as possible."
Park Seung-su looked at me and held up the javelin.
"If you don't mind, can I take this?"
"Sure, go ahead."
Something felt off, but I had no other choice.
They held the hilt of the sword, so no reason to make enemies.
At least he was pretending to help me with his words.
Whatever came of it, I'd have to wait and see.
Suddenly, he looked around with nostalgic eyes.
"Still the same here."
"Were you stationed here before?"
"Yes, briefly. Before the war broke out. It was a backwater post back then. There were even roe deer on that slope."
Park Seung-su turned to me.
"Well then, I leave it to you. This outpost is Jeju's frontline and one of its most critical points. We have no choice but to station people here despite the constant disappearances—it's that important."
Park Seung-su bowed his head and left.
His attendant glanced at me, nodded slightly, and followed his superior.
I watched the small armored car depart, tilting my head.
Come to think of it, he never once called me by name.
*
Unlike my real life of walking on thin ice, my forum life was steadily heading toward name recognition.
Others might call it freeloading.
It wasn't like putting effort into beatbox videos or laboriously translating foreign masterpieces like John_nenon—just clicking the emoticon window and dropping one.
But this was no easy task.
Take today's example.
I browsed the lively Red Archive forum, evoking pre-war life, and clicked on a post.
This post from KangdongMermaid, who had a small clique on the forum like past Kyle_Dos, made my brow furrow.
She wasn't quite name-level, but known enough.
Her post was just that image with a mindless comment slapped on without a second thought.
It was cringe-worthy.
But overcoming such disgust was the role of the reborn SKELTON.
"..."
Click
I attached an emoticon matching the post title, image, and content.
This wasn't easy.
I had to react as if I were the beautiful girl in my vast emoticon collection.
No spouting the typical line from men my age:
"Dumbass, study instead of freaking out over pictures. Tsk tsk."
This torment brought its rewards.
True favor stacked up.
While building my fanbase on the forum this way, I also had to filter out the disliked users branded as public enemies.
Just as our forum once had its Four Great Eyesores, this one had plenty of toxic users.
QuantumBoom, now spamming the board, was one such villain.
But I couldn't react to him.
Associating with the universally hated would get me finger-pointed too—true across time and cultures.
"..."
I ignored QuantumBoom and left an emoticon on a normal user's mindless post right above him.
That was my "message" to QuantumBoom.
As I thus gained mental peace energetically today, Unicorn messaged me.
"Hm?"
What was the problem?
What had I done wrong?
Wasn't she the one who led me here?
Regardless of whether she was better or worse than me, her backseat-driving my forum style wasn't pleasant.
Half sincere, half resentment.
More importantly, time to mention that earlier encounter.
Unicorn's hunch proved spot on.
Park Seung-su, who acted like he'd pull me off the ice immediately, did nothing.
"Pardon? No orders from Committee Member Park Seung-su on shift change? Sorry, first I've heard. We're still recruiting volunteers. Hang in there a bit longer."
His inaction was confirmed over the phone.
And another fog began enveloping my territory.
Now, only one person I could ask for help.
Life here was far more perilous and crisis-filled than my bunker days—embarrassingly so.
Strangely, my mood wasn't bad.
Darker than the bunker's gloom enveloped me, yet it didn't weigh on my shoulders. Above all, no more nightmares.
Like the mindset of those who sense fate and resign.
Coming here, I'd accepted that endless struggle was my life's essence.
Click—
I'd vented to Unicorn, but no intention of dying here.
On the contrary, I was plotting boldly.
Today, I'd kill at least one attacker.
Use the corpse as evidence.
Clang—
The aggressively repositioned alarm signaled their intrusion.
"This is Outpost 328. Multiple unidentified intruders confirmed. Request urgent support."
I knew no reinforcements were coming.
Just laying groundwork—incurring debt on them.
Recording ammo for later use against those who pushed me into this hell.
I climbed to the rooftop.
No cover except the antenna.
At least when I was assigned.
They probably expected the same clear rooftop.
Bang!
Gunshot rang out.
About 60 meters.
Hard to dodge if a skilled marksman aimed.
Of course, no divine gifts like barrier fields for me.
But.
Thud—
I had enough strength to alter my surroundings.
I stood behind dirt sandbags stacked to adult male height.
My personal barrier, prepared for this.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gunshots continued.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Their precise shooting was clear, but precision doesn't pierce impenetrable mediums.
Hearing bullets meant for my torso bury into the bags, I tossed my gun aside and feigned collapsing.
"Got him!"
A young voice from the fog—not quite adult.
But no mercy.
Shing—
Pretending a limping fall, I drew my axe.
Today's blade looked sharper than usual—not just my imagination.