Chapter 231
Chapter 231
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 231
Chapter Title: Surviving the Ice Age Broadcast
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8
Let’s take a quick look somewhere else.
SG Net.
The cozy hideout of warmhearted Awakened.
As befitting the place that held the title of “Korea’s one and only community,” SG Net was always radiating a gentle warmth.
-Anonymous: This guy’s obviously a modded noob who hasn’t even cleared 200 meters in the Inunaki Tunnel lololol
└Anonymous: What’s this fake Saintess who’s never tasted anything but Americano her whole life yapping about? lol
└Anonymous: Lololol I’ll be sipping a café latte at 600 meters tomorrow, come if you’re confident^^
It felt a bit too warm at times.
For starters, that “one and only” title was the problem.
Back when civilization was intact, the internet shut-ins who’d carved out their own territories had all been rounded up into forced labor camps.
Community identity?
No such thing.
Just look at the members: ages from under ten to over ninety, Inunaki Tunnel ratings from 100-meter newbies to 1,000-meter veterans, all jumbled together.
Like the old murim saying “Beware the old, the young, and women,” on SG Net you had to watch out for everyone. The only exception was the operator, Seo-gyu.
A true age of warring factions!
In this hellish reality, one misstep could send you straight to ruin.
(Forget a sprained ankle—Goryeo Jang Villain had lost everything below the waist, yet how and why she still had her head was SG Net’s greatest mystery. It was why the “Goryeo Jang is Korea’s Strongest” theory occasionally got serious traction.)
Today too, everyone was glued to their screens, grinding away at community posting, and no one questioned why they had to go that hard—perfectly reasonable and sensible in the circumstances—when one post went up.
-Anonymous: [Live Feed] Surviving the Ice Age Day 1: Current Status of the National Highway Management Corps on Northern Expedition.avi
It was a video I, the Undertaker, had posted anonymously.
I didn’t use my usual nickname ZERO_SUGAR because I was the type who managed my posts very carefully.
A peek at my member info showed my post list packed with [Shocking! Was Lü Bu Really Seen as a Loyal Hero of His Time?!] [Celestial Emperor? Connections? A Cold Analysis of Chin Mi’s True Abilities in Romance of the Three Kingdoms] [Why Yuan Shao Failed/Managed His Factions], and so on.
Even in the apocalypse, it was filled to the brim with high-quality, educational material.
Just like YouTubers managed video genres for algorithms, as a man of knowledge, I had a duty to keep my post quality pristine.
Views? Likes? I didn’t care.
Would Nietzsche have whined “Wahh… not enough sales……” after writing *Thus Spoke Zarathustra*?
The wisdom of prophets and sages being ignored was humanity’s fate. He accepted it, foolishness and all.
-Anonymous: ?? What’s this?
-Anonymous: Is that No Do-ha and Yoo Ji-won?
-SuperFanKing: Wait, Team Leader Yoo, I hadn’t seen her in Busan for a while, turns out she was on long-term Void dispatch? Lol;;
-Anonymous: Even Undertaker-nim’s there lol
-[Baekhwa]HighSchool6thYear: Hooee >_<;;
On the flip side, views on my video were climbing fast.
Regressor editing skills mixed with aberration distortion. No pro film crew, so footage wasn’t abundant, but that gave it a thick found footage vibe—delicious.
Like a slightly horror-tinged documentary. Think *The Blair Witch Project*.
-Anonymous: But where is that? What raid team is this super luxury all-star lineup? Has the Corps Leader ever personally joined a Void subjugation before?
└[Three Thousand]MeteorIsIceLaw: No Great Witch or Baekhwa Girls’ High cosplay girl, so not quite all-star
-Anonymous: Still, first time seeing Corps Leader in a live feed yeah...
└Anonymous: ?? That’s the Corps Leader? Where’s my shady tall mustached black-ops Corps Leader??
└dolLHOuse: I keep saying, the National Highway Management Corps Leader is a woman, short, wears black gloves and a monocle.
└Anonymous: Why is that actually true???
└[Baekhwa]NewspaperClub2: Wow, hate to say it, but she looks nothing like the image...
Most of all, members were shocked that Iron Marshal No Do-ha had appeared.
Surprisingly, No Do-ha’s face wasn’t well-known.
Cross into Busan and the overwhelming majority wouldn’t recognize her.
How could anyone ID a workaholic holed up 365 days a year in a dim back room at National Highway Management Corps HQ, shuffling papers?
Unlike Dang Seo-rin, who occasionally posted selfies on SG Net (mostly bragging shots), or Cheon Yo-hwa (mostly pics of her tying people to campfires and cheerfully V-signing in front), No Do-ha was an inhuman who didn’t even log in.
Members who’d only heard rumors and secretly doubted she was real had no choice but to devour my video.
-Anonymous: No Do-ha aside, Ice Age aberration? Looks pretty high danger?
-Zhao Yongzhu: Judging by the Statue of Liberty in the video, location’s definitely Sinuiju. Got reports recently of bizarre statues popping up there.
-Anonymous: Fr, with -120°C AoE ice field plus mind control, isn’t that just a mobile mega-Void? Heard the Corps Leader’s basically powerless, she good going in there?
└Goryeo Jang: Sinuiju’s near the Northern Saintess, so if she doesn’t die she’ll get revived lol
└Anonymous: That’s why it feels like she might...
-Anonymous: Kyaa death row inmates one-shot wiped sss
I uploaded one video per day, over three days total. Combined runtime: 120 minutes of premium content.
Enough volume and substance to devour every SG Net hook, line, and sinker.
-Anonymous: Wtf;; half the Corps members just got vaporized in one hit??
└[National Highway]BannedBooksDept17: That lady, Cha Jae-hee, was picked as top ace among Leader’s cohorts afaikㅠ
-Anonymous: Seeing them dragged off by ghosts gives me trauma; one of our guildies got dragged like that, only his wrist came back lol
└Anonymous: Ours too….
-[Baekhwa]NewspaperClub2: Baekhwa Girls’ High members, don’t reply with nicknames, log in as guests only. Directive 004, don’t reply here either
-LiteraryGirl: Kyaaaa No Do-ha Undertaker NoJang combo appeared aaaakㅏㅏㅏㅏ
└Anonymous: ?
└LiteraryGirl: Look at this precious black-hair black-hair chemistry everyone, this is why I’ve lived, suddenly feel life wasn’t wasted, so emotional ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
└Anonymous: ?
└Goryeo Jang: ?
└Anonymous: ??
└Anonymous: Why’s this author suddenly freaking out?
└dolLHOuse: -_-
└[Three Thousand]WitchTrialChief: Hmm….
-Anonymous: Who’s that light blue-haired Awakener in the corner? First time seeing her. Corps member?
└[National Highway]BannedBooksDept17: Nah? Seems like local collaborator
Deeper in, survivors dwindled rapidly.
Already down to ten on Day 1, Corps members grew increasingly delirious. Ghosts grabbed wrists for self-harm, or they smashed bunker supplies themselves.
-Anonymous: Wondered why Corps elites went to Sinuiju outta nowhere, but with that aberration, makes sense they’d respond
└[Three Thousand]MeteorIsIceLaw: Fr
└Anonymous: Thought it was luxury lineup, now it’s getting worrying...
SG Net exploded with posts like “Let’s objectively assess Ice Age aberration danger” or “Why the Ice Age raid team is totally screwed.”
By evening Day 2 in video time, only four survivors left: No Do-ha, Yoo Ji-won, Saintess, me.
As anxiety spread that the raid might actually fail—.
Meanwhile, holed up inside the Statue of Liberty, we were.
“All set. Now let’s call Dok-seo and A-ryeon for evac.”
“Yes.”
Already casually prepped to escape.
9
As I said, the Ice Age aberration was otaku type.
It treated “imagination” and “reality” equally, without distinction.
Thus, my SG Net videos… *Surviving the Ice Age* series weren’t mere fiction to the aberration. They were stone-cold truth.
It definitely recognized that it had killed the National Highway Management Corps members. Even though I’d turned off the camera and airlifted the wounded out of New York one by one.
So from the Ice Age’s perspective, two “truths” now existed.
A. Corps members weren’t dead, just evacuated beyond the blizzard line.
B. Corps members annihilated, remaining survivors soon brainwashed and dead.
With these truths coexisting, I edited and uploaded live feeds to SG Net.
Instantly, “belief in B as truth” multiplied exponentially.
No crackdown from Corps side, and the aberration looked too real to be faked.
Skeptics questioning authenticity were minority.
A believers: maybe twenty max. B believers: over a thousand easy.
“This lets us manipulate the aberration’s perception.”
Camera off, I explained to the rest.
“SG Net works fine in this Void where the Ice Age descended. In other words, the aberration perceives SG Net as reality too.”
“…So what SG Net members—real people—accept as truth becomes truth to the aberration.”
“Exactly, Saintess.”
I smiled.
“The Ice Age must be thrilled right now. Well, it doesn’t feel emotions, just a figure of speech. Anyway, it thinks it’s cornered No Do-ha, actual ruler of Korea, the Constellations, and me—the Undertaker?”
“Yes.”
“So it’s the perfect ending for the Ice Age. Add our deaths, and it’ll recognize reaching flawless finale—trapped forever in video, not reality.”
“…I see.”
Reason I edited and posted publicly.
Trick this mad weather aberration—bringing -120°C mid-summer winter—in just three days.
Lure it into its sweetest dream, then seal it there eternally.
Strategy complete.
“Now just upload final ending video. Before that, two of you ‘attempt escape but go missing,’ one stays with me to ‘freeze trapped in bunker.’”
“Ah. Then I’ll…”
“I’ll take it.”
No Do-ha cut off the Saintess.
“The one staying till the end.”
“No Do-ha-ssi, you mean?”
The Saintess asked, slightly surprised.
“Yeah. If Yongsan Lady stays last, most SG Net viewers’ll find it weird. No one knows my identity…. Plus, ditching others to flee would tarnish Corps Leader image…”
“Ah. True.”
“Not that I care about image politics. But showing high command lingering in danger longest—this chance is good…”
No Do-ha’s monocle flicked my way.
“Right, Awakener Undertaker…?”
“Hm.”
(Note: Despite last night’s drunken heart-to-heart, we didn’t mention it.)
(As if nothing happened.)
(Natural, really. We’d both known it all along; just transcribed aloud that night.)
I nodded.
“Makes sense. Camera on, Yoo Team Leader and Saintess exit.”
“Yes.”
“Act like searching for missing, bewitched by aberration.”
Thus, only No Do-ha and I remained in the Statue bunker.
Tough braving the blizzard outside, but Saintess and Yoo Ji-won could manage.
Filmed their exit through the main door, edited for heroic flair. Now truly just final ending shot.
“…….”
“…….”
Silence.
Bunker that bustled with over twenty now held two; the frozen air felt icier.
“So how do you plan the ending scene…?”
“Ah. Collapse the Statue first. We get trapped in debris, slowly freeze.”
“Hmm. How to fake freezing…?”
“I’ll control my aura. Keep warmth cycling internally for senses and organs, but frost delicately on skin surface.”
“Guess I leave the aberration to you as usual…”
“Yes. You handle smartphone filming. My hands’ll be busy.”
Roles assigned.
I toppled the mini Statue of Liberty model on the world map with a *tok*.
Added to the pile with Paris Eiffel Tower, London Big Ben, etc.
*Ugrrr rumble-.*
Sure enough, the Ice Age—recognizing the Sinuiju statue as “real”—went berserk.
Blizzard-whipped, shaking the whole Statue with the bunker inside.
Like a massive quake.
In under ten seconds, outer walls tore off, *boom, kuguugu boom*, crashing to ground.
“Don’t step outside my aura range from now.”
One arm around No Do-ha’s shoulder, I swatted falling debris. *Boom! Kboom!* Deflected rubble instantly buried us.
*Kururrr….*
Statue perfectly collapsed. We two wedged between debris like quake survivors, barely alive.
Cramped, dark crevice.
Soon, dust settled.
No Do-ha’s face nearly touching mine. No injuries—good.
“Filming okay?”
“Decent, I think. Never done this, so…”
“As long as it records. Editing’ll handle rest. Speak up if hurt or cold.”
“Yesss…”
No Do-ha *hmph*-ed at her palm. Position had her forearm across my nape.
“Amazing. Real frost-like ice, but no real cold…. Seeing this miracle makes me wanna learn aura again…”
“Impossible without me. Corps Leader has zero talent anyway—keep giving up.”
“Aha.”
No Do-ha’s eye half-lidded.
“If Awakener Undertaker drops aura even briefly, I’d freeze from skin inward, dead quick…?”
“…….”
No Do-ha placed palm on my heart. Chest perimeter chilled.
Then she said nothing. Just rested hand feeling my heartbeat, gazing up into my eyes.
*Shwaaaaa-.*
Snow flurried beyond debris.
Gazing into her eyes reflecting me, my skin too was frosted. No Do-ha and I both sheathed in fake chill, guarding heart’s warmth.
“Not bad.”
After dozens of minutes filming—enough now—No Do-ha finally murmured at the end.
“Not bad at all….”
10
Short epilogue.
That day, I edited our “freezing deaths” and uploaded to SG Net.
Debris already cleared. We sat perched on rubble like stone walls.
Sipping warm coffee beside me, No Do-ha said.
“By the way, people’ll freak thinking we’re dead for a bit. You okay with that…?”
“Told Dang Seo-rin and Yo-hwa, so worst is teacup tempest. Two days later, Constellations message ‘All staged-’ anyway.”
Smartphone check: SG Net in chaos post-final video.
Korea doomed, Busan finished, Corps what now—pure end-times vibe.
Fishing success!
“Leave views climb, then lock all videos as ‘private.’”
“Hoo…”
“Trap it from outside contact, Ice Age aberration sealed in private videos. Urban legend living only in footage. Seal complete.”
“Using internet as aberration prison…”
Of course, deleted all other footage besides SG Net posts.
How to put it.
The Ice Age aberration was now literally “immortalized online.”
Unviewable as private.
“Now we wait for views to rack up.”
“Hmm.”
No Do-ha sipped coffee.
“Meaning, officially dead humans for next two days at least…”
“Yes. Long-overdue vacation. Anywhere you wanna go?”
“Hmm…”
No Do-ha stretched arms high. Somewhere in her fingertips, winter was ending.
She glanced at my hand.
“Subjugation done, put smartphone away. Fidgeting’s distracting…”
I shrugged, powered off.
From here, off-record.
Just note: Korea’s busiest duo finally enjoyed empty vacation.
11
“Hey, Undertaker? Long time.”
“Oh. Dang Seo-rin. Thanks for holding Busan during Ice Age commotion.”
“No prob. But that video.”
“*Surviving the Ice Age*?”
“Yeah. In final ep 3, right before Corps Leader and you die, you kiss—what was that?”
“Ah.”
…Convincing her it wasn’t real “truth” but aberration-edited “imagination” took grueling effort.
-Frozen Dead. End.
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