Hiding a House in the Apocalypse

The sudden appearance of Prophet felt distinctly out of place, but one thing was certain—everyone here feared Jeokgodan.

To be more precise, words like hierarchy and subordination could be strongly felt in their overly timid and nervous demeanor.

Prophet spoke.

“I hear you're trying to take over that dam.”

Sim Yu-gyeong looked around furiously.

It seemed she was trying to identify the informant.

But then she covered her eyes with her palm and exhaled heavily, trying to cool her burning anger.

My first impression was correct.

The warlord group led by Sim Yu-gyeong was clearly a subordinate branch of Jeokgodan.

So of course there would be an informant reporting their every move.

In that uneasy silence, Prophet continued.

“Taking the dam is fine. We abandoned it, after all. But I heard you’ve been getting chummy with those folks from Seoul. I doubt Director Jeong would like that very much.”

Director Jeong.

Does he mean Jeong Dae-kyung?

“······!!”

Sim Yu-gyeong glanced at me.

As expected, there are complicated circumstances woven between these strange groups—ones we can’t fully grasp.

Feigning indifference, I turned my eyes to the speaker.

“······Well, since we’ve already pulled out, it’s not our place to dictate what you do. Still, as your neighbor, let me give one piece of advice: there’s nothing to gain by falling out of Director Jeong’s favor. I'm telling you this after checking things out myself in the Kingdom.”

A brief silence followed from the speaker.

Then Prophet spoke again.

“To be honest, it’s better to give up on the dam. It’s a bad angle. I think that Skelton guy might be on that train, but he won’t have any clever solutions either. How should I put it... it’s like a perfect storm. Bad conditions piling on each other until there’s just no angle left. That’s the dam’s situation right now.”

I excused myself from Sim Yu-gyeong and stepped up to the mic.

I hadn’t seen his face, and I didn’t know what he looked like—but I knew him well.

Why? Because we’d already exchanged messages online.

So I said,

“Are you the Prophet who’s been stirring up the forums lately?”

“······Who’s this?”

I chuckled and answered.

“Skelton.”

“Skelton······?”

“That’s all.”

I cut the comms.

Then I looked at my comrades.

“Briefing starts now.”

*

The dam's name was Cheongdo Second Hydroelectric and Wind Power Plant.

As the name suggests, there used to be a huge wind turbine at the mountaintop, but over half of it was destroyed in the war, and the rest had ceased operation.

Though it wasn't visible from our ridge, on the opposite slope stood a ridiculously massive wind turbine propeller, crashed into the mountainside, radiating an eerie presence that inspired fear.

The dam was a typical inter-basin transfer type power plant. Tunnels had been bored through the mountains to collect tributary streams into a reservoir, which was then held back by a dam built of cement, gravel, and sand.

Unlike the familiar image of Paldang Dam, the water here surged through a narrower channel. Although its volume was less than that of a large dam, the sheer drop in elevation made the water’s force more than sufficient.

“It’s okay. Savior Kang Han-min sent us here for this exact purpose. We follow Captain Park Gyu’s lead, not Committee Member Pyo Won-sang’s.”

The contingency to reduce mission risk was Regular Awakened troops.

Though we had requested help from Moon Yang-gyeong, it was Go Jun-hee who joined, thirsting for action in her specialty.

They were being commanded by the cult-favorite El-Miris, Cheon Young-jae.

“The others are fine, but going toe-to-toe with the Praetorian... that’s gonna be tough.”

According to Jeon Eun-ha, his secret to popularity was brazen shamelessness.

In other words, being completely unfazed.

Even after revealing his grotesque face, he kept broadcasting without shame, and many found that oddly endearing.

His average viewership had dropped to about 300—just 3% of his peak—but every remaining viewer was a diehard.

Jeon Eun-ha, one of El-Miris's diehards, described his appeal like this:

“In this horrific world, maybe what we need most is El-Miris’s shamelessness.”

I already knew Cheon Young-jae was thick-skinned.

And I knew he had the skills to test me.

Looking at my trusted junior, I spoke.

“I’m counting on you, Young-jae.”

Cheon Young-jae grinned.

“Be careful, senior. This whole marching home in glory thing... even the most loyal Chinese comrades called that shit crazy.”

I nodded, eyes fixed on the broken propeller tower standing tall beyond the ridge.

“There was a time when that kind of madness was the standard.”

It’s always like this.

The old generation used to pull off things the younger ones couldn’t even imagine.

And I, once eternally in my twenties, had now apparently become part of that old generation.

Well, people say I'm obsolete now, but I’m still an old-school Hunter.

Click—

Combat prep complete.

Target: the control room inside the dam.

Distance: about 500 meters.

A quick stroll.

But in that short, dense area, zombies and Annihilator-types were tightly packed.

Because of that density, people like Prophet believed this mission was impossible.

“We're going.”

I looked down toward the dam.

A jeep was approaching a mid-size type.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Provocation.

Cheon Young-jae was firing the shots, and Go Jun-hee joined with suppressive fire.

The sluggishly dying mid-size monster reacted.

The first to respond was an Annihilator type.

Its gaping maw turned toward the jeep—

BOOM!

A powerful shockwave burst forth, followed by a brutal shotgun barrage.

The kind of firepower that could tear through even a tank.

BOOM!

But we had our own trump card.

A godlike power.

As nearby structures were pulverized by the blast, a miracle unfolded around the jeep: untouched, intact.

In that instant, the reflected energy tore through the Annihilator’s upper body with shrapnel.

Its torso was shredded, and it collapsed—but not destroyed.

Then—

BOOM! BOOM!

The other mid-size types awoke.

As if to show off their revival, they all released shockwaves and began moving toward Cheon Young-jae's jeep.

“They're coming!”

Cheon Young-jae’s voice crackled through the comms.

Time to check.

Most important: weapons—and my body.

My physical condition and senses were honed back to peak.

Hoo...

I was a bit nervous.

But this nervousness turning into excitement—that's a rush only those of us who shake hands with death every day can understand.

I checked one more critical item.

The smartphone harnessed to my chest.

Battery status: Good.

And—

“Okay. Recording looks good.”

Came Emgu's voice through the comms.

Unimportant, but here came the usual cheer.

“Senpai~ fighting~!”

What the hell is Woo Min-hee up to?

I have a rough idea why she boarded the train, but her real motives are always a mystery.

She’s unreadable.

Maybe that’s her charm.

Right now, the only thing that matters is focus.

I checked my gear.

I hate wearing heavy equipment, but against zombies, I at least make sure to wear a neck guard.

Ahead, I saw the overflowing reservoir, the tall and narrow dam, and the zombies wandering nearby.

Step— step—

I walked through them.

I could feel eyes on me from behind.

Sim Yu-gyeong and her warlord troops—especially those who fought monsters—were surely watching my every move with intense focus.

Trying to pick up even a sliver of my technique.

I never thought of it as a grand secret.

“Uuuuugh—!”

One zombie approached.

I didn’t stop my brisk but unhurried pace as I waited for it.

“Uuugh!”

The moment it lunged, I pushed its chin upward and shoved it hard.

I walked past the zombie tumbling behind me.

I could feel the eyes of several more zombies.

Three reacted.

Step— step—

They staggered toward me.

I kept walking, measuring the distance.

And then—

“Uuuuugh!!”

Each time one came close, I shoved it away with full force.

The key was not losing balance.

Keep moving forward.

Maintain consistency.

When two lunged at once, I shifted my angle.

Instead of side-by-side, I made them line up one behind the other.

“SKREEEE!”

I shoved them both hard, making them trip over each other.

Soon, I reached the power station entrance.

No need to look around.

Zombies everywhere.

Some stared holes into me, some ignored me, and others began staggering toward me from afar.

This was the marching home in glory.

A direct recon into a zombie-infested zone—what later generations would call madness.

Power and skill were important, sure. But our old way always placed guts above all.

Darkness swallowed me.

Click.

I turned on the lantern fixed to my harness and stepped inside.

In the dim corridor light, dozens of gleaming eyes flickered in the dark.

Zombies.

“······.”

I pulled out the hammer on my back.

A sledgehammer.

The classic two-handed warhammer.

Axes are great, but against zombies, blunt weapons are unmatched.

No point dulling a precious blade on them.

Memorizing their positions, I moved forward.

Not fast, not slow.

Distance: about 52 meters.

I turned down a straight corridor.

Grrrrrr······.

Zombies that had been dormant in the dark noticed me.

This time, I’d try a different method.

Crunch!

Thud!

Knocked them down.

Priority was clean kills, but when possible, incapacitation worked too.

Thud!

Crack!

Smashed legs. Shattered jaws.

Of course, if multiple came at once, I’d fall back and regain distance.

Whack!

Crushed a skull. freewёbnoνel.com

Time was of the essence.

Crunch!

After knocking down around ten, I heard a buzzing noise.

A drone.

Most likely from Sim Yu-gyeong’s group.

A small drone hovered behind me, observing.

I ignored it and kept going.

Crunch!

Thud!

Fallen zombies began piling up in the corridor.

I had to finish quickly.

Thud!

I could see the control room ahead.

I remembered its layout from earlier reconnaissance.

Clang—

I dropped the sledgehammer and drew my secondary weapons.

One pistol. One axe.

Supporting the pistol with the axe hand, I entered the control room.

Something pale-gray lunged at me.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

It shattered mid-air and collapsed.

“······.”

The rumored Stone-type.

An Annihilator.

It scraped the ground with the sharp protrusions on its crotch as it faded into particles of light.

Weak. And disgusting.

But this was only the beginning.

I saw countless glowing eyes piercing the control room shadows.

Grrrrrr!

GRRAAAAHH!!

Zombies charged.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

I stepped back, planting .45 rounds in their heads, then pulled out my second pistol.

Bang! Bang! Ratatat!

Heads ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) exploded as I dropped the gun and drew my axe.

About seven left.

Crunch!

Not a difficult number.

A few swings—hardly even worth calling a fight—and it was done.

Neutralized.

I looked for the floodgate switch.

There.

Still lit, recently used.

As I stepped toward it, about to use the comms—

“Wow.”

A familiar voice behind me.

My self-proclaimed rival, Prophet.

Sure enough, a small drone at the control room entrance lit up and stared at me.

“······You’re Skelton, right?”

Chuckling, I activated the comms.

“Young-jae. Status?”

“Right behind you!”

“Opening the floodgates now. Move out of the channel.”

“Roger.”

I pressed the button and turned around.

The drone still watched me.

I spoke to it.

“Is that you, Prophet?”

The drone bobbed lightly.

“······So killing the General-type wasn’t just for show. To sneak in alone through that many zombies... I’ve learned something today. But I wouldn’t recommend going any farther south.”

“Why not?”

A hum began echoing from around us.

The howls of zombies.

They’d recognized the deaths of their comrades. Now they’d come like a storm.

I glared at the drone.

“Jeong Dae-kyung is more insane than you think.”

“I know.”

“He’ll kill you. Not just you—everyone on that train.”

I smirked.

Above me, the sound of thousands of feet pounding the ground.

I picked up the dropped pistol and sledgehammer and ran toward the lit exit.

The drone buzzed behind me.

Still watching.

I turned toward it and addressed the unknown Awakened surely observing me.

“If you can.”

The drone shot skyward and disappeared.

I exhaled softly and looked at the oncoming swarm.

Time for another round.