Chapter 99
Chapter 99
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: 54. Provinces
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I remember reading somewhere that before the war, problems in the provinces never really made headlines.
For instance, even with the same flood damage, the provinces might get a single line in the news, while the capital region would have all three major broadcasters—not to mention the commercial channels—running 24-hour special live coverage.
Well, can't be helped, I suppose.
Out of Korea's roughly 50 million people, a whopping 30 million were crammed into the capital region.
Make a fuss, and more people would fuss right along; the media naturally focuses on where the views are.
Even now, with those 30 million dwindled to just three million, provincial issues still aren't getting much traction. No real difference from before the war.
You can tell just from Failnet users' reactions.
Provincial users make up a pretty small share of our board.
Any number of reasons, but I figure the biggest issue is accessibility.
Melon Mask's Viva! Apocalypse! handled satellite gear through “Stargian Korea,” whose HQ was in Seoul, with seven branches just in the Seoul-Gyeonggi area—and only one in the provinces, in Busan.
I vaguely recall complaints about the Busan branch being cramped, staff rude, barely any gear to demo.
Not that I cared much myself.
Scrolled back through the board history, and yeah—provinces really got shafted on access.
Still, early in the war, we had a decent number of provincial users.
Gyeongsang region especially had a solid count, and Honam users lagged in numbers but punched above with quality content.
One user who seemed from Jeonnam, posting homemade seasonal foods as content—he was a favorite back in my lurking days, right up there with Anonymous 337.
But like the others, uploads trailed off... then vanished.
Not just him.
At some point, provincial users just... disappeared.
Maybe my own apathy plays a part, but these were users who held at least 20% of the board's activity.
One nagging question hits me.
Is survival harder in the provinces than the capital?
Nah.
War damage, rift intensity, civil war presence—capital took way worse hits.
Saw stories of fanatics popping up in the south, but even if they're competent, no way they wipe out the entire provinces that quick.
So where'd they all go?
Lounging in my recently built vacation cabin, fan breeze on my face, I tossed up a casual post.
Figured it'd hit semi-name status, but no replies.
Had to pull out the secret weapon.
(Skeleton Video) Skeleton's Tank Top Zero Two Dance.msi
—Sorry for the bait, but seriously, where’d all the provincial users go?
Unlike the last one, replies poured in.
Lots of bile, zero help.
Honest truth: our board's short on helpful folks.
Used to be plenty, though.
That afternoon, a notification pinged for a reply on an old post, long buried.
This guy's a Failnet user.
Easiest way to tell: click nickname, “Send Message” enabled? Our board. No? Failnet drifter.
This one? Nickname reeks of Busan dude.
Since he posted on my board, I replied there to chat.
Not DMs—board replies mean it'll take time for alerts, since only I get ‘em.
But BusanGalmaegi was watching the board.
Instant reply.
Throws out some unfamiliar term.
Mulling it over, this BusanGalmaegi seems to live in Incheon.
Incheon Seagull, then?
Busan Seagull drops knowledge like a generous tip.
Maya board?
Heard of the Maya Empire, so probably that language.
Do speakers even exist anymore?
Anyway, trusted the guy and hopped over to the Maya board.
A trek even farther than the English board I rarely visit.
Munching a homegrown oriental melon—skin and all—while waiting for load.
Soon, the Maya board unfolded before me.
First glance, felt like I’d wandered into the wrong spot.
Nope. Nothing fancy.
It’s a Korean board.
All Korean.
But clear differences from ours.
Everyone’s “null” nickname, prefixing posts with their location.
Clicked one—yep, “null.”
Looks like an abandoned half-built board.
Melon Mask carved out the space on a whim, but dev priority tanked it—left unfinished.
Some of our users sniffed it out, turned it into Board #2.
Post volume’s low, though.
Userbase tiny—you feel it.
Posts from two days ago still on the front page.
Basically a small club for a handful.
Still, they’re active.
Hit refresh—fresh post pops up steaming hot.
Watching them sparked a curiosity.
Why skip our board for this backwater hole?
Sure, Korean board got busier with Failnet traffic, but still under a thousand actives tops.
Lurkers aside, posters? Under a hundred.
Tossed the question out.
No replies? Fine.
But right after I posted, the board's vibe shifted—fast.
Silly to “feel” a digital board's mood through my skin, but call it vet intuition from Viva! Apocalypse!
And boom—hostile from the jump.
Not backing down, this Skeleton.
Shoved my face right in, shameless.
Structure hides nicks except mine, but multiple Maya boarders posting—clearly more than one.
And sure enough, posts flooded in.
Listening, I get why they ditched Korean board for this dead-language relic.
Skim old posts—obvious.
Pure info exchange board.
No chit-chat, no diaries—just real-time regional intel from Viva! Apocalypse! users outside Seoul.
One anon nailed the exodus reason.
Short version: board water's gone murky.
Relate hard.
As someone who remembers the scholarly era of refined gents swapping intel, hits extra close.
Probably my last post here.
Went quiet, and Maya users snapped back to routine like nothing happened.
Unlike our board's endless scroll, posts trickle up slow—refreshed and absorbed them.
Watching them steadily fill the board at a deliberate pace, memories of our board's early days hit me.
War's dawn—we were like this. Everyone scanning surroundings, hearts pounding, swapping survival scraps amid the chaos.
Not hating our current board.
Sure, stuff that wrinkles the nose sometimes, but it's the last refuge for the lonely and desperate.
Problem is, too damn many seeking comfort there.
…
I'm one of ‘em—no denying.
But this board's days seem numbered too.
The provinces are blinking out.
This country's fragile endgame just stepped closer.
Maya board ripples hit Failnet, but as usual—no big splash.
Southeast's prime industrial hub crumbling? Overshadowed by a hotter event.
A piddly evac fleet for a few citizens trumps a whole region's demise.
Absurd on paper, but makes sense.
Folks glutted on despair find a scrap of hope tastes divine.
Even that hope's dubious these days.
One user dropped a satellite pic on Failnet.
Captured a port on China's Shandong Peninsula.
Where blue sea meets gray-white world, ships beached like waves on the dock—a cluster wrecked.
Zoomed in: deck markings crystal clear.
[Republic of Korea]
If real, zero of those 200,000 on the 1st fleet touched Jeju soil.
All dead.
In foreign dirt, not even Korean.
…
A storm's brewing.