Chapter 253
Chapter 253
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 253
Chapter Title: Beyond the Fog (3)
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It's been ages since I last logged into our board.
I'd popped in occasionally before, but I never bothered browsing the posts or checking the hot threads.
I only used it for "business," like hunting down Valentine or Unicorn.
The board looked much the same as ever when I returned.
The usual suspects were posting their usual stuff.
I'd once grown sick of that familiarity, but coming back from another world, it felt like returning home.
I'd love to lounge in bed, link my tablet to the screen, and leisurely scroll through, savoring each one.
But time was short.
I needed to message Unicorn.
Asking her for help over and over was embarrassing, but with solid proof like this, she could act without much burden.
Of course, that didn't erase the debt I owed her in my heart.
If there'd been another way, I'd have taken it.
Tap tap tap.
The message was already drafted.
Once the files were sorted, I'd send Park Seungsu's voice recording along with it.
"Hoo."
I let out a shallow sigh and checked my phone's upload status.
That's when certain words jumped out at me on the board, repeating endlessly.
...
The keywords were "live" and "Dongtanmom."
Two seemingly unrelated words had revived the board's festival that I'd long forgotten.
"......"
No, that wasn't the only thing I'd truly forgotten.
In this crumbling world, transcending borders and races, it was the gathering of survivors sharing the theme of survival.
That was the essence of our board.
I glanced at the small Live! Apocalypse! window at the top of the screen.
The moment I saw it, I pictured our board—the prodigal son returned—spreading its arms wide in welcome.
Our Viva Bot was as prickly as ever.
But she was the one who'd broadcast my voice to the world.
I felt a pang of nostalgia even in her sharpness as I typed.
Tap tap tap.
My phone was scorching like charcoal from uploading data. I lifted it to the camera, showing my face.
Silence from the other end.
Then Viva Bot continued.
Boom! Rumble rumble boom!
Thunder rolled from beyond the mountain.
Right after, raindrops pelted the outpost roof and windows like bullets.
In the downpour, the fog at my feet swelled like storm clouds.
Feeling the moment had come, I stared into the camera and spoke clearly.
"This might be my last fight."
Viva Bot was prickly, but sharp and knew what truly mattered.
I gave her a short, precise report on Jeju events.
My training in dry, factual reporting—low on emotion—proved useful here.
Shocked reaction from Viva Bot.
"Hm."
Hard to swallow, honestly.
Me, Park Gyu, outshone in buzz by Dongtanmom and Foxgame?
"......"
That too.
My reputation.
Fine then.
Tap tap tap. I hit the keys harder than usual.
I left the chat as is.
No point closing a dedicated Live! Apocalypse! application room anyway.
The key was preparation.
I donned my poncho and climbed to the roof.
Nothing visible.
Night's darkness, thick fog, and pounding rain turned the already chaotic view into pitch black.
Sniper risk meant no lingering; I stuck to cover.
Descending, I shook off the rain and checked my spoils from the last raid.
Plenty: reinforced riot shield, machete, four pistols, three domestic rifles, one shotgun, and more.
Screech screech—
I rigged simple booby traps with them.
Wire from the shattered door lock to the shotgun trigger.
Crude, low odds of killing, but it'd alert me to entry.
In a rooftop brawl, someone breaching from below through the rain would be trouble.
Added a gimmick to the searchlight too.
Simple wire and spring, but could be my magic trick if needed.
Rumble rumble boom!!
Thunder cracked overhead, shaking the whole outpost.
Annoying weather, but with perks.
Lightning flashes lit the dark vista in bursts.
No enemies yet.
Last meal: two synthetic chocolate bars and some water.
Not wise to eat big before battle.
Full stomach plus gut shot equals instant death.
Swallowed my usual caffeine capsules dry.
Rumble boom!
Time crawled.
No clue what Park Seungsu was plotting.
Massing troops?
Unsure if he had that pull.
National Crisis Committee "members" weren't like loud politicians flapping around.
"Member" meant shorthand for their department head.
Kim Daram was officially "Veteran Hunter Oversight" member.
Managing old-school hunters was her gig.
Roles had shifted some, but framework likely same.
Given events, Park Seungsu was probably "Low-Level Awakened Oversight" or similar.
Tricky powers, but combat weak—as past fights showed.
Kill the elites, the rest were slaughterhouse sheep.
Details once they showed.
Final preps done, back to the computer awaiting battle.
Monitor showed a gray cityscape.
Shanghai.
Sure enough, a small window in the corner tracked Melon Mask's live reactions.
Melon Mask spoke.
Real-time translation below, with user chats flooding in.
Screen showed a vast deck from the bridge of a massive ship, countdown timer at center: 04:21, ticking to zero.
What was this?
Low speaker hummed a foghorn.
Chat check.
...
No hype.
m9 was one tough bastard.
Spamming in a global chat he never did before.
Hundreds per minute; that frequency screamed macro.
Or hand-macro.
Sure enough, Melon Mask warned.
Melon Mask panned to a murder mutation munching grass beside him.
I took it as a warning.
Especially flashing that sloth's hideous claws at the end.
Familiar voice from the deck-only screen.
Viewers baffled.
Makes sense.
Dongtanmom never showed face or voice before.
But I knew the owner.
Baek Seung-hyeon.
Baek Seung-hyeon spoke.
Hoooooooonk—
Mighty foghorn amid his hand slashing forward like a command.
Then,
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Lights blazed across the deck.
Intense engine roar throbbed through speakers.
In light and roar, Dongtanmom declared,
The ship inched forward.
No doubt.
Gray harbor receding ever so slowly.
The Hope, carrying hundreds of thousands' hopes yet delivering only despair, finally broke free toward blue seas.
Regrettably, I couldn't witness this historic moment.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gunshots rang.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Bullets cratered the bulletproof glass, spiderwebbing cracks.
Battle imminent.
I messaged Viva Bot immediately.
Baek Seung-hyeon waged his own war.
Once my junior, now I saw him differently.
Another survivor in this apocalypse.
I admitted his tale was top-tier content, rivaling mine.
His time now.
Mine hadn't started yet.