Volk
"Yun Yeong-su? An AI expert?"
"Yeah. Here's how it goes..." Jun-ho explained to Jun-hyeok how he had met Yun Yeong-su during the apocalypse and why the man was absolutely essential for the shelter.
"...And remember how I told you before about a survivor who did all kinds of crazy things using drones and RC cars? That was Yun Yeong-su."
Before the regression, Yun Yeong-su had taken over a single-building apartment complex on the outskirts of Songpa. He had transformed his personal workstation into an AI computing system, utilizing drones, RC cars, the apartment's CCTV cameras, and various other electronic appliances to build an impregnable little fortress.
He powered the place using solar panels on the apartment roof and electric vehicle batteries, and even farmed in several vacant units alongside about ten other residents.
"Whoa... He's a legit genius. But if it was an apartment, how did they get water?"
"At night, he flew a modified drone over to Seokchon Lake to scoop it up. They had so much water left over that the rooftop water tank was always filled to the brim."
"That is absolutely insane..."
Just as Jun-hyeok said, Yun Yeong-su possessed a talent that was crazy in the best possible way. If one of the residents hadn't betrayed them, he and the other survivors in that apartment would have lived comfortably there for a very long time. Perhaps Jun-ho himself might have settled down there.
But due to a betrayal by one of their own, Yun Yeong-su's little fortress collapsed in an instant, and he was captured by raiders. Given his exceptional skills, they probably hadn't killed him, but his fate certainly wouldn't have been a pleasant one.
"Wow, are all KAIST graduates like that? I assume he majored in computer science?"
"Yeah. He was originally going to go to medical school but chose KAIST instead. Anyway, once Dow Computing dispatches him to our shelter, that's when I start building up his favorability."
First, Jun-ho would grant him full, unrestricted access to the shelter's AI computing system—which Yeong-su would build himself—and prepare a top-of-the-line personal workstation for him. Furthermore, once he liquidated his Nvidia stock in March or April of 2024, he planned to allocate about 2 billion won of the profits directly to Yeong-su, giving him sole discretionary authority to spend it however he wished on upgrading the shelter's AI computing system.
For Yun Yeong-su, whose mind was entirely consumed by Eternal Galaxy's AI, Akina, and developing an AI computing system modeled after her, the shelter would feel like paradise. And Jun-ho, the owner of the shelter, would seem like his ultimate benefactor—a real-life Daddy Long Legs.
"So that's about five billion won in total. Does an AI really require that much money?"
"If we were only planning for a year or two, it might seem excessive. But we have to think ten, twenty years down the line. Honestly, we might end up spending even more than five billion won. We can't afford to be stingy about this."
Of course, after the apocalypse began, they could always scavenge and 'farm' data centers operated by various research institutes or corporations. However, the best-case scenario was to complete all upgrades and secure spare parts and backup equipment beforehand. To achieve that, five billion won was the bare minimum. That was Jun-ho's firm conclusion.
"...Anyway, if we secure Yun Yeong-su and prepare to that extent? It's game over."
"That is insane... But Hyung, what about his family?"
At Jun-hyeok's question, Jun-ho's expression stiffened slightly as he replied.
"He has one. And his entire family consists of doctors. From his parents to his older brother and sister."
"Whoa... That must be an incredibly smart family. But why didn't he go to medical school? Wouldn't he have been even more successful as a doctor?" Jun-hyeok tilted his head in confusion.
Jun-ho hadn't heard the exact details from Yun Yeong-su back then, but he decided to share what he had deduced.
"Yun Yeong-su's family is incredibly wealthy."
"Well, yeah, they're a family of doctors, so that makes sense."
"Right. But Yun Yeong-su... he doesn't live with his family. He lives alone in a studio apartment. From what I can tell, he was either kicked out or walked out on his own."
"Wait, really?"
"Yeah. Right now, he seems to be living on the floor above the Dow Computing research facility, but during the apocalypse, he was living in a rented apartment funded by a bank loan. He didn't receive a single cent of help from his parents."
"I see. But couldn't it just be that his family is strict? You know, like how some rich parents make their kids live independently to build character."
"He didn't have a single family photo."
"Ah. Oh..."
A sympathetic sigh escaped Jun-hyeok's lips.
"I think his parents gave up on him when he abandoned medical school for engineering. And since he didn't drop out, graduated, and even got a job at an IT company, they probably cut ties with him. Or at least, half-cut them."
"That's sad. But Hyung, don't we need a doctor in our shelter anyway? Wouldn't it be great if we helped them reconcile?"
Jun-hyeok made a surprisingly sharp and plausible suggestion, but Jun-ho shook his head.
"No. I know Yun Yeong-su to some extent, but I have absolutely no idea what kind of people his family members are. Just because they're doctors, we should blindly let them into the shelter? When their relationship is so bad they've practically disowned each other? It would only cause friction. Not just for Yun Yeong-su, but for us too."
"Ah..."
"And while a doctor is absolutely necessary, we have to be extremely cautious about who we bring in."
"Really?"
"Of course. Imagine if we let in some weirdo and they harbor hidden motives. What do you think would happen? Anyone can get sick or injured."
"...We'd be... wait, no, we'd be totally screwed."
"Exactly. They could easily get rid of any of us under the guise of a checkup or surgery. I'm not saying Yun Yeong-su's family would do that, but what if they harbor resentment over their son? What if they hold your health, my health, or the health of other shelter members hostage to threaten us? What if the rest of his family bands together against us, excluding Yun Yeong-su?"
As Jun-ho continued, Jun-hyeok's expression grew increasingly grim.
"See? The risk is too high. So, no."
"I completely get it. Man, we really can't just let anyone in."
"Exactly. The members of our shelter must be people I've personally verified, or a select few that you or Baek Ha-il Hyung can guarantee. But of course, the most important factor is utility."
"Utility..."
Jun-hyeok muttered softly, nodding slowly. Ever since he had heard about the apocalypse from his brother, Jun-hyeok had also been striving in his own way over the past few months to become a useful person. Above all, he had clearly witnessed how his older brother, Jun-ho, never wasted a single day, working himself to the bone and running around tirelessly.
That was why he understood. It was a harsh truth, but in a world destined for ruin, survival was nearly impossible for those without 'utility.' Especially in the shelter his brother was planning, every single member had to pull their own weight. When even the 'owner' who had conceived and built the shelter from scratch worked without rest, it would be incredibly shameless for others—who had essentially lucked into a free ride—not to prove their worth.
"Anyway, I'll handle the situation with Yun Yeong-su, so you don't need to worry about it. Oh, and don't forget your Krav Maga class this weekend. Next month is the hunting license exam. We only have a few weeks left."
"Don't worry. I'll pass the exam on the first try, no question! Let's go! Let's go!"
Woof! Woof!
As if responding to Jun-hyeok's burst of energy, Purdy barked.
"Aww, are you cheering for your hyung? Who's a good boy! Yes, you are!"
Woof!
Shaking his head at the chaotic duo of man and dog, Jun-ho made his way down to the basement.
As soon as he stepped into the basement, Jun-ho checked the security camera monitors out of habit before opening the solar power monitoring program. Today's generation was 12.4 kilowatts. Throughout the winter, the days when daily generation exceeded 10 kilowatts could be counted on one hand, but now, as long as the sky was clear, hitting 12 kilowatts was effortless.
"To think standard panels—not even bifacial ones, and without any reflective concentrator flooring—could generate this much..."
The numbers weren't far off from his pre-installation estimates, but obtaining confirmation through actual, verified results was what truly mattered. Ultimately, this data would serve as a direct reference for designing the power supply system of the main shelter.
"Whew..."
Jun-ho opened a small notebook. Perhaps due to a habit formed during the apocalypse, he found it more comfortable to write by hand rather than using a tablet. The notebook was filled with memos he had jotted down whenever he had a spare moment since his regression. Turning to the very last page, he saw four names written there.
Lee Jun-ho, Lee Jun-hyeok, Baek Ha-il, Yun Yeong-su.
These were the core four individuals he had deemed most critical since first conceiving the shelter. Excluding Jun-ho himself, these three were people who absolutely had to be by his side.
"It's finally complete..." Jun-ho muttered, drawing a circle around Yun Yeong-su's name. While there were still other personnel needed for the shelter, the core framework was now established. At the very least, this meant construction on the shelter itself could finally begin. Now, all that was left was to flesh it out.
Scribble, scribble. Beneath the names of the core four, Jun-ho wrote down two more names. First, Lee Dong-cheol, and right next to him...
"Viktor Volk Choi..."
A mixed-race Russian-Korean mafia member. He was the very person who had gifted Jun-ho the Glock 17 he used to end his own life just before his regression, as well as a young executive of the Volcano Group, a mafia syndicate based in Far East Russia.
And Lee Dong-cheol maintained a covert relationship with them, serving as the legal advisor for the front companies operated by the Volcano Group's Busan branch. One could say it was the inevitable result of a struggling lawyer who couldn't afford to be picky about his clients. In any case, Jun-ho hadn't hired Lee Dong-cheol on a whim. It wasn't just because he had served as a prosecutor in Namyangju, where the shelter was to be built.
No matter what anyone said, the most critical factors for surviving the apocalypse were food and energy. But to Jun-ho, who had survived for over two years in that hellscape, there was one more element just as vital as those two. It was military force. And in an apocalypse where law and order became a sick joke, formidable force...
"Firearms..."
Undeniably came from guns. And for the Volcano Group, trafficking those very firearms was one of their primary enterprises.
"Well, it won't be easy right away."
They were a mafia syndicate, after all; there was no way they would sell guns to some young punk they had never seen before. Especially in a country as sensitive to firearms as South Korea, they would vet even someone introduced through a secret network two or three times over.
Moreover, what Jun-ho wanted wasn't just handguns. He needed submachine guns and semi-automatic rifles—equipped with suppressors as a baseline, and fitted with Picatinny rails to mount accessories like red dot sights and scopes. Honestly, for a civilian to acquire such firearms in South Korea was practically impossible.
Yet Jun-ho was certain he could obtain them through the Volcano Group—specifically, through Viktor Volk Choi. He knew this because not long after the apocalypse began, those exact weapons had started circulating. They were distinctly different from the ones used by South Korean special forces; instead, firearms sold in the civilian markets of the United States, Europe, and Russia had spread from Busan through the southern regions before eventually making their way up to the capital.
And the Volcano Group's Busan branch, to which Viktor Volk Choi belonged, was the most powerful Russian mafia organization operating out of Busan. It was obvious to anyone that the weapons had leaked from them.
"Viktor..."
Jun-ho repeatedly circled the name "Volk"—Viktor's nickname and the moniker he preferred to go by. If he went through Lee Dong-cheol, he could probably secure a meeting. However, if he were to mention the Volcano Group to Lee Dong-cheol right now, the lawyer would undoubtedly abandon his retainer, halt all work related to Jun-ho, and go completely off the grid.
Therefore, he had to arrange a meeting as naturally as possible, disguised as a mere coincidence. Furthermore, bringing up firearms during their very first encounter would likely get him killed by the mafia long before the apocalypse even arrived.
"I'll have to build trust by purchasing other smuggled goods first..."
He needed to establish himself as a reliable client first. Of course, one might ask why a Russian mafia syndicate would trust him enough to open a trade channel, even for ordinary smuggled goods. But once again, Jun-ho had a way.
The mixed-race Russian-Korean wolf, Volk, whom Jun-ho had helped during the apocalypse. As of right now, Jun-ho was the only person in the world who knew exactly who had betrayed him—the traitor who had spent years meticulously planning a coup from within the organization.