Free Web NovelIt’s been two months since the election began.
And yet, it still hasn’t taken place.
Endless issues—voting methods, candidate vetting, technical problems, district boundaries—kept piling up and delaying the process.
Among rumors circulating, the theory that the election’s true purpose was merely to buy time has started to gain traction. And amid that, I’m still waiting for a certain man’s reply.
SKELTON: I have something to say. If you see this message, please contact me.
I sent the message to Kang Han-min.
His only known hobby is the internet, so if anything, he might see my message. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
Any other method of contact likely won’t get through.
Kang Han-min is surrounded by followers so fervent that even he can’t control them.
Meaning, there’s a real chance he won’t even receive my request.
The hopeful part is that, since the moment I sent the message, he hasn’t logged in.
If he ever logs back into Viva! Apocalypse!, he’ll see it.
I believe he will.
But before Kang Han-min could even reply, an earth-shattering announcement rocked the entire forum.
MELON_MASK: After long consideration, I’ve decided to open Viva! Apocalypse! account registration to everyone.
“...?”
I knocked over my water glass without realizing it.
I wasn’t the only one who shot up from my chair at Melon Mask’s bombshell.
Opening accounts to everyone?
Is this what nobles felt like upon hearing the abolishment of class systems?
I’ll be honest.
Users who had accounts on Viva! Apocalypse!—who had nicknames and could use the messaging feature—were considered "gentry" even during the chaos when PaleNet and Necropolis riff-raff flooded the forum.
Sure, there were those equivalent to lowborn swindlers who bought their nicknames with stolen satellite access and shamelessly strutted around—but we, the pureblood aristocrats of the forum, simply ignored them.
And now he says he’ll grant Viva! Apocalypse! accounts to everyone?
Every pureblood forum noble is no doubt jumping to their feet right now.
Cheon Young-jae, who was lazing around in the office, grinned while scrolling on his phone.
“Whoa. What is this? Viva! Apocalypse! account sign-ups are open to anyone now? Does this mean we can sell our nicknames?!”
Seeing a rootless peasant so happy makes me think I finally understand how the nobles felt during the late Joseon Dynasty reforms.
But Melon Mask’s treachery didn’t stop there.
MELON_MASK: I’ve also solved the issue with nickname creation using only the Roman alphabet. Citizens of the world! You can now create your nickname in your own language! French, German, Spanish—yes! Even Japanese, Korean, Maya—whatever you like!
Now nicknames can be created in Hangul.
“...?”
This is a problem.
Anyone who’s stepped inside FoxCode from FoxGames could tell you that.
Anonymous424: Koreanized nicknames? I mean, maybe it’s a sign of the times, but... doesn’t feel very Viva.
Rkkara: Seriously, what the hell. What was the point of being mocked as doomsday preppers before the collapse if this is how it ends?
Anonymous781: It wasn’t an easy decision to pour ₩100,000 a month into this when we weren’t even sure the world was ending. How many people skipped even YouTube Premium to save cash?
dongtanmom: Nom nom... giving out accounts like candy... nom nom... feels like watching an online game right before it shuts down... 😂 nom nom...
Anonymous458: It’s been five years since the war began. Guess it was inevitable?
roka3218: I used to enjoy finding nickname-tagged comments among the dead. That fun’s gone now.
kimcic: Hangul nicknames? How utterly unrefined.
Denis_Oldman: I dunno~ 🤷
...
...
The public sentiment is... not good.
North America is probably reacting even worse.
But Melon’s will seems unshakable.
MELON_MASK: For the Viva! Apocalypse! of all! Cheers!
Melon Mask uploaded a photo.
Like the cosmic CEO he is, he floated in zero gravity, taking a bite from a wine-globule drifting through space.
From our long experience, whenever this man posts a photo like that, it means his decision is basically final.
How did it come to this?
Let’s ask VivaBot.
Message from VIVA_BOT014: Ah~ that? It’s because of a deal.
According to my internet advisor, VivaBot, this tragedy happened because of a behind-the-scenes agreement between the U.S. government and Melon.
Originally, Viva! Apocalypse! was a network service for a small elite.
The "doomsday preppers" who were ridiculed and scorned—that’s who the service catered to.
The U.S. government probably had no interest in a network that catered only to such a niche group.
VivaBot said what the U.S. really cared about was the vast, intricate satellite communication network Melon had built—not the forum that only a handful used.
But once Necropolis, a new type of network, emerged and merged with Viva! Apocalypse!, humanity suddenly regained a planet-wide internet with stability rivalling its golden age.
The portal to that massive network?
Viva! Apocalypse!.
Even the previously indifferent U.S. government started licking its lips.
Message from VIVA_BOT014: To sum up, the current plan is to convert all anonymous users wandering the system into formal account holders.
Message from VIVA_BOT014: Giving them fixed accounts allows for clearer understanding of their behavior and data patterns than letting them drift around as guest users.
It’s true that Melon Mask’s company has long cooperated with the U.S. government—but Viva! Apocalypse! was something he would never compromise on.
According to VivaBot, Melon Mask never once gave the government access to any backend controls of his final masterpiece—the forum.
But now, for the first time, Melon has opened the gates to the U.S. government.
Of course, control over private data like message logs and location tracking still remains with Melon Mask’s company—for now. But as with all things, it’s the first crack that matters most.
By next year, the U.S. might have far greater power.
Still, we can’t really blame Melon Mask too harshly.
It’s been five years since the war began.
Even running a forum for just one year after that would’ve been impressive. He kept it going for five.
And the price he demanded for opening up Viva! Apocalypse!?
We, who know him well, can only nod in understanding.
Message from VIVA_BOT014: The U.S. government will launch a rocket. Yes. They’re bringing Melon back. There’s an emergency rocket in his space shelter, but after a detailed review with the forum members, we concluded it was unusable.
In early August this year, Melon Mask is set to return to Earth.
About half a year remains.
Whether it will go well or not, I hope this eccentric genius of the satellite internet age finds some good fortune.
Anyway, all accounts will become available to everyone this coming weekend.
In a way, an era is ending.
Maybe that’s why.
All users with nicknames gathered in one place, as promised.
The creek board.
An old Native American forum where the original speakers are long gone, now filled once more by the founding members—regardless of race, nationality, or language.
No advertisements. No invitations.
Yet users flocked in from North America, Europe, East and Southeast Asia, South Asia, Africa—even one claiming to be from the edge of Antarctica.
It’s deeply symbolic that the main topic of discussion—just like in the forum’s earliest days—is “survival.”
The term “doomsday prepper” was originally an insult.
We became immune to mockery, and since the phrase oddly rolled off the tongue well, we began calling ourselves that. But before being labeled preppers, we called ourselves survivalists.
In that sense, survival and this forum are inseparable.
We signed up and built bunkers for one reason: to survive.
And to some degree, we’ve already succeeded.
Five years into the war.
A North American user calculated that our forum population dropped from about 837,000 to 292,000.
Roughly one-third.
Of course, this varies by country. Nations like ours, densely packed with high populations, have lower survival rates. Japan—uniquely hostile to preppers—saw its survival rate drop to one-tenth.
But that drop doesn’t necessarily mean failure.
Let’s hear from the North American user who did the math.
coax’87: Don’t despair. While Viva users dropped to 35%, the global population shrank from 8.1 billion to under 800 million.
coax’87: That’s a survival rate of less than 10%.
coax’87: And even that 800 million is probably optimistic. Our choices were right.
coax’87: We were not wrong.
I agree.
This forum has been, in many ways, our lifeline.
Would I still be alive without it? Probably. But would I be alive, healthy, and sane? Doubtful.
So what now?
Most are optimistic.
Anonymous113: We’ve made it this far. We’ll probably keep surviving.
Em’drong: Only four people passed through my area in the past five years. All but one kept moving.
minesota1133: I’ve adjusted. Being both a producer and consumer is the new normal. Unless things change drastically, I can keep this up.
status_quo: I live near a city. It’s well-managed. Supply distribution is smooth, and limited trade is active.
...
...
Then one user posted something that caught the attention of oldbies across the globe.
Crunchroll: Even after the end, cities still rise.
King had logged in.
We hadn’t heard from him since the Nemesis war, but no news is good news. That strong bastard will likely outlast us all.
Anyway, King proudly uploaded photos of the city of Sejong, which he personally built.
There’s visible improvement every time I see it.
The city, which absorbed those who couldn’t—or didn’t want to—go to Seoul, now unmistakably had the feel of a real city.
It left a strong impression on users worldwide.
phoenix_KP: I’ve seen communal settlements before, but never a full-blown city.
CrookedOne: Looks like a city that took a few nukes, but hey—civilization rises even there.
happycanister: Judging by the signs, looks Korean.
RLox: How many people even live there? This isn’t a community, it’s a country.
Moda0runi: Feels like it has more people than all of Canada.
...
...
Everyone’s praising him.
King didn’t respond further, but I’m sure he felt immense pride.
Indeed, over the past five years, we’ve proven ourselves in some way.
Three years.
That’s the average stockpile duration for forum users.
It means we learned how to win the race against time.
But that alone doesn’t guarantee our future.
lion482: (photo)
One user uploaded a picture.
It shattered our pride more brutally than a million words.
“...”
An erosion zone.
What looked to have once been a farmstead, now entirely turned to ashen gray.
lion482: This happened in just three months.
lion482: It was fine at first, but starting last month, people around here began disappearing.
lion482: Mom went first. Then Dad vanished. My little brother left to find Mom a week ago. No word since.
lion482: What should I do?
Not many could answer that.
But we remember.
We remember when we, the users of Viva! Apocalypse!, came together and saved one man.
A bit annoying, but a classic forum user spoke up first.
mmmmmmmmm: (Captain M9) What the hell is everyone doing? Get your heads together!
Can our collective intelligence save our five-year friend once again?
We could only watch with interest. frёewebnoѵēl.com
There wasn’t much else to do—and with the forum about to enter a massive transition, repeating a past miracle felt like a symbolic way to divine the future.
lion482: Will you all help me?
Six days until Melon Mask’s full account liberation of Viva! Apocalypse!
The mission to save lion482 has begun.
