Chapter 325
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 325
Chapter Title: 131. Ambition
Woo Min-hee made a request before leaving: let's have a gathering.
"Senior, it's been a while, so call up the folks from our board. We've known each other for four years now—don't we owe ourselves an official meetup?"
And just like that, an unscheduled official gathering was held.
As far as I remember, this was only the second official meetup for the Korean board of Viva! Apocalypse!, but it was different in nature from the first one.
The first had been a public affair where even inactive users showed up en masse to punish a toxic troll named Seonbi.
This time, the attendees were the "named" veterans who'd earned their stripes through long service and respect on the board.
The lineup was impressive, to say the least.
Reporter, M9, the Defender siblings, and even the legendary Twelve Square and fan-favorite SKELTON were there.
I considered inviting Kim Byung-chul, but he wasn't a true named user—he'd just forced his name into the spotlight with his influence—so I left him off.
Not that the guy would've shown up with his personality anyway.
Valentine came in his place instead.
Woo Min-hee reacted like he was some no-name nobody beneath us, but he was the successor to the legendary John_nenon and had made huge contributions to the Necropolis landing.
The venue was a warehouse in the back, stacked high with supplies stamped with massive government markings.
On the way there, I spotted a familiar face.
Kim Daram.
She'd come at Woo Min-hee's call, accompanied by people with faintly glowing eyes, and was chatting with Kim Byung-chul's crew.
She acted like she hadn't noticed us, but I saw through that.
Kim Daram had the widest field of vision of any past teammate in Team Professor—including me.
With her personality, she'd probably spotted us and pretended not to.
Anyway, makeshift seats had been set up with folding chairs amid the clutter, but Woo Min-hee's gaze was locked on Defender from the start.
Part of it was probably her liking his handsome looks, but the real reason she stared him down was that she knew who he was.
"Oh, you're Defender? You look perfectly fine. But you've got the face of someone who won't last long."
Woo Min-hee flashed a sly smile as she glanced around theatrically.
"Bet there's a fanatic or two mixed in here somewhere, right?"
Even a pitiless killer like Defender knew all too well he was powerless before Woo Min-hee.
"...When the time comes, I'll die."
He added with a wistful smile.
"I wouldn't even complain about it."
"Really?"
Woo Min-hee's eyes shifted to Dajeong.
"So you're the one."
Hidden behind Defender was another formidable killer, but even Dajeong was just a frog before a snake when it came to Woo Min-hee.
"Do I know you?"
Still, she was a brave frog.
Even a cold-blooded psychopath like Defender felt instinctive fear, yet here she was talking back.
"There was this video a while back where a girl came out on the SKELTON account and danced, right?"
"Ah..."
"I thought my senior had kidnapped some girl, shoved a gun in her face, and forced her."
"What?"
"You didn't know? That Park senior's exactly the type who'd do that."
Woo Min-hee whispered something in Hong Dajeong's ear.
Hong Dajeong stared right at me.
I was curious what she'd said, but soon the Defender siblings excused themselves.
"Sorry, we've got some private stuff to discuss."
They didn't look upset, so I'd just ask later.
Anyway, the reason Woo Min-hee had gathered us here stemmed from an unusually chipper motive on her part.
"Since we're all here together—board friends and all—thought it'd be fun to hear everyone's future dreams or survival plans."
Future dreams.
Who even said stuff like that these days?
A refreshingly old-school choice of words.
Survival plans felt more relatable.
"We'll just keep living here. What else can we do?"
M9 kicked things off, as expected.
He might be a bit low-tier, but his unflappable personality—never backing down, always cracking wise no matter who was around—stirred a twinge of envy in me.
"Oh right, you said you were sticking it out at The Hope, M9?"
Woo Min-hee added slyly with a mischievous grin.
"The Hope still on the upswing?"
M9 grinned back.
"Yeah?"
"In what sense?"
"I've got something going on lately."
I had to double-check my ears.
Something?
What did that mean?
Did he plant seeds on an island or something?
Woo Min-hee looked just as baffled.
By her picky standards—obsessed with guys' faces and proportions back in the day—our M9 didn't even make the candidate list.
"What're you talking about, M9?"
Woo Min-hee prodded, fidgeting with her hook-like nails.
"You didn't hear? New resident moved in next door to me."
"No way?"
Woo Min-hee asked with a rare look of genuine surprise.
"Hey, Reporter. You used to post all the time, but lately you're MIA."
"Been busy. Monsters keep coming endlessly, things are totally shot with Jeju, Gangseo's got people but no solid connections. Plus, the big Awakened monsters are on the rise."
Woo Min-hee let out a shallow sigh, twirling and untwirling her long hair with her fingers.
"So, M9, you're planning to stay put there?"
M9 shrugged.
"No other options. Community boiler's still humming along fine."
"Figures. They said reserves were tight, but whoever's on power duty there didn't half-ass the apartment link."
Woo Min-hee scribbled something on a sheet of paper and showed it to us.
M9 - Stay at The Hope forever
"What's that?"
I asked, eyeing the sloppy handwriting, and she waved the paper around with her hook hand.
"Isn't this part of the memories too?"
Woo Min-hee's gaze turned to me.
"My turn."
I had plenty to say.
But I'd already covered what I wanted with her earlier, one-on-one.
Still, if she'd set the stage, who'd I be to refuse? That's Park Gyu for you.
"Honestly, before the war, I wasn't into the internet or anything."
That was true.
I knew it was humanity's indispensable lifeline for communication and connection, but to someone like me, it was just a convenient daily tool—like electricity—nothing more.
I'd joined Viva! Apocalypse! not because I loved the net, but because its satellite internet system promised huge survival advantages down the line.
"...But once the war hit and the world we knew crumbled piece by piece, I realized how vital it was. Take this winter—word is it'll be harsher than last year's cold snap, but nobody knows. If the Legion faction were still around, they'd blast it on broadcasts, but anyone who's listened knows half their spiel is bullshit."
M9 nodded.
"Half water, half lies."
"I think the internet's humanity's most advanced communication tool. Woo Min-hee, you know the good Failnet did too, right?"
Woo Min-hee nodded.
"Without Failnet, the government could've toyed with people way easier."
A gulp came from right beside us.
Valentine.
His first reaction to the conversation.
I stared at my friend Valentine.
He was definitely excited.
Even Woo Min-hee rated Failnet highly.
Especially the part about it checking the government on ordinary folks—that had to strike a chord.
"..."
Yeah, credit where it's due—give him the spotlight here.
He had more to say on this than me.
"Valentine, care to add something?"
"M-Me?!"
The spotlight hit him out of nowhere, but with Woo Min-hee there, the vibe stayed mellow enough.
"Well, I'm just your average guy scrambling to survive."
With some encouragement from the side, he shook off the awkwardness and revealed the same fierce, quiet passion he showed at his monitor.
"...If I get the chance, I'd like to build a second Failnet."
"Hmm. A second Failnet?"
Woo Min-hee showed a flicker of interest.
"Yes. Bringing in the Necropolis was part of that plan. Still gotta figure out applications, but."
Valentine looked at me.
"With SKELTON's help, it feels doable, right?"
I nodded.
"Yeah. I'll do everything I can from the sidelines."
That was me and Valentine's "future dream."
Now only Woo Min-hee was left.
I nodded at her.
She nodded back, scanned everyone, then—
Kiiiiiiirrk—
Let out her signature nasty screech, scraping everyone's eardrums to grab attention.
As M9 winced, she leaned in with a sly whisper.
"You all know Lagrange points, right?"
"Lagrange points?"
I nodded.
Where planetary and satellite gravity balance out, perfect for parking satellites since nothing pulls them away.
"What, you don't know? Melon Mask's space station's up there."
Right.
I'd heard Melon Mask's orbital bunker was at the Earth-Moon Lagrange point.
But why bring it up now?
Amid the confusion from the sudden space term, I felt a spark of anticipation as I watched her scarred face.
Woo Min-hee met my gaze, then stared at the razor-sharp tip of her hook finger.
More for personal flair than combat, probably.
"You know people are still living in India?"
"India?"
India—a vast land with an ocean named after it, massive population, ancient elite producers—a true major power.
But that scale swallowed them whole.
India fell first among the big ones.
Eroded for a decade now, a lifeless wasteland.
People living there?
Didn't add up.
Even a Baek Seung-hyeon-level survival master couldn't last ten years unsupported in eroded land.
Not on motorcycle stunts alone.
Unless they turned monster themselves.
Yet Woo Min-hee delivered this wild tale with uncharacteristic seriousness.
"Rifts are spaced out like wallpaper patterns, right? Erosion spreads from each, blanketing the globe."
Common knowledge—even M9 nodded.
"But each rift's erosion reach is limited."
"Yeah?"
"Here's a question: what if each rift has a limit?"
Woo Min-hee smiled meaningfully, watching my reaction especially.
Rift limits.
Meaning untouched zones exist.
That implies...
"Lagrange point."
I echoed her cosmic term.
Perfect fit.
Think of Earth's countless rifts as planets—their erosion as gravity.
The balance zones they can't touch? Lagrange points, naturally.
"They found one in India recently."
"For real? Any word on closing rifts?"
"Not confirmed. India's remnant government isn't eager to verify. But green land between rifts, humans surviving there nearly ten years? That's fact."
Woo Min-hee wrote on the rolling paper.
Her message:
Mini - Find a place to live
"Mini?"
She shot me a glance.
"Whaaat~?"
"Nothing."
"Senior, nothing to write?"
"Didn't I say it with Valentine earlier? What I want."
"That was his take. Haven't heard your survival plan yet."
My survival plan.
I smiled unwittingly.
A question I'd asked and answered thousands—no, tens of thousands—of times.
Myriad thoughts swirled, impossible to sum up in one.
But my core survival method? Always just one.
I took the pen, wrote in the margin:
SKELTON - Hide
"Hide?"
Woo Min-hee peeked and chuckled.
"How?"
"Gotta hide well."
"Hiding's tougher and more nerve-wracking than you think, you know?"
"Maybe."
I edited it:
SKELTON - Hide the house
Woo Min-hee tilted her head at the words.
"Hide the house? Like, conceal the whole thing?"
"Secret base vibe."
"Kim Daram said your bunker's nothing special."
"How much in this world meets her standards?"
"Fair."
Woo Min-hee laughed and stood.
"Anyway, I'll call you all back this time next year."
"Next year?"
She stared at the rolling paper in her hook hand.
Lots of blank space, yeah.
Only three messages so far.
"Maybe invite Dongtanmom next year?"
"Her?"
"Don't like her either, but she's board-famous and alive."
Come to think of it, my senior Baek Seung-hyeon had posted an update recently.
He was refitting a massive ship from that abandoned-fleet island he'd told us about, planning to set sail for their paradise soon.
He didn't say where, but like Woo Min-hee said, he wouldn't go down easy.
Dongtanmom, huh.
Maybe test something.
As Woo Min-hee prepped to leave, I blurted,
"Hey, what about Unicorn?"
Clear contempt crossed her face.
"What, Unicorn...? That otaku?"
She doesn't know.
Even the great Woo Min-hee.
"Why invite her? She's not even famous."
Her glance at Valentine there said it all about her character.
"Nah, just think it'd be fun if she came."
"Your call, senior. Assuming we're all alive next year."
Woo Min-hee waved her hook hand.
"Alright, don't die. Live long."
Casual as a toss-off.
But in this dying world, what blessing could top it?
"..."
Hold out in a known stronghold? Seek new ground? Hide your turf and wait it out?
Just methods.
Survive.
That's what matters.
Winter is coming.