Chapter 351
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 351
Chapter Title: 143. Broadcast
After a long discussion with Foxgame, we agreed not to publicize what we'd seen.
The agreement came surprisingly smoothly, considering how much we'd talked.
Even Foxgame's shady ambitions and attention-seeking personality were left speechless by the overwhelming weight of the reality we'd witnessed.
He only asked me one question.
The answer was clear.
Nothing was certain.
There were rumors that limited human survival might be possible in areas where rift erosions didn't overlap—places some called Shangri-La—but erosion had never once behaved as we expected.
Shangri-La as a safe zone might just be a pipe dream.
Islands were the same story.
They claimed erosion wouldn't cross the ocean, but we'd seen it casually ford rivers and stain lands far beyond their banks, time and again.
Salt content, depth, water pressure—I'm no expert, so I couldn't counter with specifics, but as I said before, erosion defies prediction.
Being on an island didn't guarantee survival.
At best, you'd last a bit longer than most.
If we're talking realistic options, heading to the moon.
Sounds straight out of sci-fi, but isn't it better than a planet doomed to total erosion?
It's got about one-sixth of Earth's gravity, after all.
Unicorn's messages arrived at intervals of 3 minutes, 7, sometimes 30, and it was easy to see she was in a state of total chaos.
Which made sense.
According to the classified docs Foxgame and I found, they planned to evacuate everyone from Jeju—home to about 100,000 people—except for 1,000.
To prevent new rifts from opening in response to population size, they said. But moving 100,000 people in this world? Easy?
And where to?
Feeding them was a mystery, but convincing Jeju residents to return to the mainland? Unimaginable.
"Everyone, gather up. Got something to say."
I'd been holed up in the bunker for days decrypting those classified files.
For the sake of my comrades who'd shouldered the load in my stead, I needed to lay out the truth.
As I shared what Foxgame and I had uncovered, the initially lighthearted mood—with casual jokes—grew visibly heavier as the story progressed.
"Rifts can be closed, huh."
"Regular Awakenings? Meaning level 5 and up? So they gathered kids with all those lies for two years... and lost them all?"
"......"
"What happens to us now?"
They'd vaguely known good days would be outnumbered by bad ones ahead. But having such a bleak future confirmed like this? The shock was inevitable.
Hell, even I—who'd long thought humanity's era was ending—was stunned. Theirs must've been worse.
"So what do we do now?"
As everyone sank into despair, Rebecca voicing her will to live felt just like her.
"What do we do to keep surviving?"
I couldn't answer a question I didn't know the answer to.
But snuffing out hope outright wouldn't look good either.
So I shared what few insights I had.
"Heard of a place called Shangri-La."
"Shangri-La."
"Yeah."
I explained it.
The intersection of areas untouched by each rift's erosion.
People surviving in those ultra-limited zones.
Sightings from India, China—already fully eroded—suggested it wasn't total fantasy.
Maybe one could even form on the Korean Peninsula.
But honestly, it probably wasn't some pure paradise, true to its mythical name.
A haven sustaining only a few, while masses fought over it?
Like that musical chairs game we played in rec time.
Except with guns—way bloodier than schoolyard stuff.
"Shangri-La."
Still, just the idea could reassure some.
"Where is it?"
"No idea. Korea's still eroding, so we watch and wait."
I had zero intention of seeking out Shangri-La.
Obviously, others felt differently.
"Heard Jeju folks are coming back here."
Click.
Ha Tae-hoon checked his pistol, subtly showing his resentment.
"The nerve."
He looked around at us.
"If those Jeju bastards come back, I won't let 'em off easy."
Ha Tae-hoon was among the more moderate in our group, but that didn't mean he held no grudge.
Like anyone who couldn't get to Jeju, he hated it.
His hatred just ran deeper than most.
"......Army, wherever. I'll join up. But those who mocked us while leaving us behind? Can't stomach them showing their faces."
His rank was below mine, but he was the seniormost in our school crew.
When he bared his true feelings, even Cheon Young-jae—who always cracked jokes with a grin—kept a straight face, saying nothing.
"Me? Just wanna live long with Mom."
Bang Jae-hyeok, who'd been wincing from leg pain all day, broke the heavy air.
"This place is fine, but that Shangri-La? If it's real, might check it out."
Bang Jae-hyeok was a hardcore survivalist.
Whatever happened to the world, his motto was outlast it.
What set him apart: survival always included his mom.
A real filial son.
Rare in these times.
"Me? Gotta stick by Park sunbae."
With Bang Jae-hyeok shifting the vibe to sharing ambitions, Cheon Young-jae glanced at me, gave a wry smile, and spoke up.
"Owe Park sunbae a ton. So as long as he needs me......"
"Don't read my mood. Do what you want."
Cheon Young-jae was a top fighter, but I wasn't into binding anyone with debts.
Not my style.
World changed fast—find your own path.
I wasn't deciding or taking responsibility for that.
"Yeah?"
My words apparently sounded harsher than expected; Cheon Young-jae pouted and revised.
"Then I'll head to the bunker where my deadbeat dad's at."
"That one in the mountains?"
"Facilities are solid, right?"
True, not as good as mine, but he'd sunk more cash into it.
Money often buys good bunkers, but not always.
Passion, care, knowledge can make one ten times better than a pricier flop.
Like mine.
Next up: Rebecca and her daughter.
"We're staying here."
Rebecca eyed her still-awkward comrades with blinking eyes, speaking in her blunt, halting tone.
"Waiting for my husband."
Bang Jae-hyeok and Cheon Young-jae gave wry smiles at "husband," but she ignored them.
"Still searching, but he's alive for sure. He'll fly in. Melon Mask's drones are scouting the world, right?"
A pipe dream to some, but I supported Rebecca's hope.
People need hope to live.
Anyway, my turn.
Despite Jeju's catastrophe, my thinking hadn't changed.
As I looked around at my comrades to voice my steadfast views—
Beeeep—
The K-walkie-talkie suddenly sounded.
Not just mine.
All our radios blared the reception tone in unison.
No ordinary signal.
"Radio broadcast?"
Cheon Young-jae, radio-savvy, ID'd the frequency quick.
"Huh? Government band?!"
Static—
In the sudden silence, every radio spat the same voice.
Signal from Jeju.
The word "Jeju" echoed, and we exchanged glances heavy with our own emotions.
Government was finally making their statement.
We listened in silence.
I pondered the speaker.
Young voice.
Unknown to me.
Not Gong Kyung-min, Na Hye-in, or Kang Han-min.
The broadcast continued.
Cheon Young-jae finally spoke.
"Gas?"
He looked at me.
I shook my head.
Lies.
Around then, I stood up.
No point listening further. Pointless drivel.
Not all lies, but truths twisted to prop up the deception.
They'd gathered people to Jeju for survival, now evicting them back to the mainland.
Jeju would hold only the committee that ousted Yang Sang-gil and their handful of lackeys.
Hinted Kang Han-min was returning? Doubt they had the pull.
"I'll take watch today."
Grabbed my gun and stepped out of Winter House.
Chilly wind and snow-blanketed white earth greeted me.
Current temp: 2°C above freezing.
I climbed the familiar patrol path to the hilltop.
From the observation post shrouded in white camouflage netting, I scanned the surroundings.
Smoke rose faintly in the distance.
"......"
I stood guard in silence, staying vigilant.
Winter brought not just people, but mutations prowling too.
Shocked, my comrades inside Winter House stayed still for quite a while.
Probably still tuned to the broadcast or debating next moves.
Four years into the war.
A true massive shift.
One to shake our futures for sure.
Our boards and Red Archive were likely flooding with hundreds of posts per minute.
Intriguing, but no need to check.
We knew the full story.
Duty lasted till dusk.
As twilight cloaked the snowfields, footsteps approached.
Soo's.
She held a thermos.
"SKELTON."
Soo handed me the thermos.
"Drink this."
"Thanks."
Unscrewed the lid: cocoa.
Tasted it.
Bitter.
Sugar's scarce, so just a pinch.
"How is it?"
"Drinkable."
Soo watched me sip the bitter cocoa, then— as I met her gaze—spoke like she'd been waiting.
"What're you gonna do now, SKELTON?"
"Me?"
"Yeah. You haven't said your plans yet."
Come to think of it, true.
I hadn't shared.
Well, government broadcast interrupted right as I was about to.
I gazed at the darkening snowfields with a faint smile.
"I'm staying here."
"Here?"
"Yeah. This is where I live."
"No hometown for you?"
"I have one, but can't choose it."
Tap tap.
I rapped the protruding rock forming part of the post.
"This is the place I chose."
I nodded.
"Yeah. Could be my grave someday."
Even if erosion claimed this area and everyone left, I'd defend it.
No need to think beyond that.
"But Soo."
"Yeah."
"Gonna live it up as much as possible till I die."
Every moment matters.
Static—
Contact from my junior, Woo Min-hee, came a day after the Jeju government's broadcast.
"Belatedly, sunbae."
Her voice unusually chipper.
"Don't you wanna climb to a spot that suits you better?"