Free Web Novel“But big brother, there’s one really important thing.”
“Hm? The most important thing?”
Baek Hail, spooning up the spicy fish stew, tilted his head.
“You remember the scale of the shelter I told you about, right? And about how many people would be living there.”
“Yeah. What was it, around twelve to fifteen? You said even at most it wouldn’t go over twenty.”
“Right, exactly. But as you can see, the site is pretty big, isn’t it? We’re going to build multiple warehouses here, a workshop, and even greenhouses.”
Even if he stocked decades’ worth of food, that still wouldn’t solve everything perfectly.
Of course, in the apocalypse, plain white rice and meat alone counted as luxury.
But to stay healthy over the long term, vegetables were absolutely necessary.
Just filling calories wasn’t enough to meet the standard of the shelter Junho dreamed of.
That was why he was planning to use the athletic field to build greenhouses.
And not just one or two, either. He was planning on five, with fallowing and crop rotation in mind.
In those greenhouses, he intended to grow not only the vegetables they ate regularly, but also survival crops like potatoes and sweet potatoes, along with relatively easy fruits like berries.
Of course, he also planned to stock seeds for rice, wheat, barley, and the like for several years after the apocalypse began, but for now, they only needed to grow survival crops and side dishes.
“Now, let’s say we get every facility set up exactly like the plan. Can fifteen to twenty people really manage all of it? Especially when four or five of them would always have to be out scouting or standing guard?”
“Ah... right, there was that problem. Then what do we do?”
Baek Hail’s expression grew somewhat serious, and Junho answered in a meaningful tone.
“There’s a solution. An AI computing system. We use that to manage the shelter as an integrated whole.”
“What? AI?”
Even if Baek Hail still occasionally went out to job sites while running a hardware store, AI was far outside his wheelhouse, even if he knew computers a little.
More than anything, the Baek Hail Junho had known before the regression had lamented more than once that he should have studied computers harder.
“Yes. We’re going to introduce an AI computing system into the shelter. Once we do, the AI will handle the shelter’s overall operation and management, starting with power. Of course, we’ll still need people. AI isn’t magic. But it cuts the workload down by a huge amount. Especially...”
Junho pointed a finger at the athletic field that was slated to become greenhouse land.
“For farming, just a few people would be enough. It monitors temperature and humidity, supplies water, handles ventilation—almost everything is automated. I saw it with my own eyes.”
During the apocalypse, Junho had once encountered a survivor group that farmed plastic greenhouses powered by solar generation.
Of course, their system had been less automated and much smaller in scale. More like semi-automatic, really.
But even that had been enough.
The potatoes and other crops produced by just two semi-automatic plastic greenhouses had been a significant help to that group of about twenty people.
“Ah, I get what you’re saying. There’s a greenhouse farm over in Gimhae that runs something kind of like what you’re talking about. The upfront investment’s pretty big, but I heard you make your money back after running it four or five years.”
“Right. Then you know what I mean. They don’t use many people there either, do they?”
“Yeah. During harvest season they bring in a bunch of foreign workers, but most of the time they say it only takes a few people.”
“Exactly. That place runs on a simple AI computing system too. But we’re not just going to do that for the greenhouses—we’re going to run the entire shelter that way. And even with the technology available right now, that’s completely possible.”
“Really? Ha! Man, the world’s gotten good. Better and better. AI and all that—I figured it’d never have anything to do with me my whole life. Hah, seriously...”
That was how ordinary people thought about it.
Truthfully, until Junho had seen a system like that himself during the apocalypse, he had felt the same way.
“Right, and that’s why I’m bringing it up. Our shelter has to be built with the AI computing system in mind from the design stage. Which means we need the right company for that starting now.”
“Yeah, that makes sense. But what do we do? I know laborers and construction guys, but AI and computers and that kind of stuff? I don’t know a damn thing. Ah, should I ask Urim? Maybe they’d know.”
“I know who we need. The company—or rather... the person—who can handle the AI computing system for our shelter.”
“Oh yeah? That’s great, then. Who is it?”
To the visibly brighter Baek Hail, Junho gave the name of another expert—someone who would be just as important as Baek Hail, and another colleague destined to play one of the biggest roles in the shelter.
“Yoon Youngsu. He’s a computer expert. Graduated from KAIST.”
“Oh, really? Must’ve been insanely smart.”
“Yes. Smart enough to choose KAIST over med school. But there’s a problem.”
“Huh? What now?”
“I’ve got a rough idea, but I don’t know exactly where he is right now.”
“Damn... then what do we do?”
“I’m going to head back up and check the company where he’s most likely to be working right now. My gut says fifty-fifty—no, honestly, there’s a pretty good chance he’s there.”
“Well, that’s something at least.”
Baek Hail relaxed again, then immediately asked with an expectant look,
“So then, Yoon Youngsu? You gonna reel him in the same way you did me? Start talking about his past and all that? Throw in some prophecy too?”
Maybe because of how uncanny his own experience had been, Baek Hail seemed to assume Junho would persuade Yoon Youngsu the same way.
But Junho shook his head.
“No. I’m not going to tell Yoon Youngsu about regression or prophetic dreams.”
“What? Then how are you gonna do it?”
“I’ll handle that part myself. For now, big brother, just settle on the design firm and the construction company, and lock down the equipment and facilities side first.”
“Well, if that’s how you’re saying it... all right.”
As Baek Hail shrugged and went back to digging through the spicy fish stew, something occurred to Junho and he spoke again.
“Oh, and one more thing. Once the loan money comes in, don’t forget to buy Stella coin when I tell you to. I’ll tell you when to sell too.”
“Oh, right. But that...”
Baek Hail glanced around, then lowered his voice to a whisper.
“That thing really is gonna go up, right? I checked, and if I take out a secured loan, it’ll run me more than five million won a month. If I lose the principal on this, I’m seriously screwed. Hell, before that, if Sua finds out, she’s gonna bite my head off. That girl—she’s my daughter, but she’s got one hell of a temper.”
Junho paused.
The Baek Sua he had seen in the apocalypse had always worn a blank, doll-like expression.
It was hard for him to picture her getting angry.
But Junho quickly smiled and said,
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you clear at least twenty percent. First, get signed up with a crypto exchange.”
“Oh, I already did that a while ago. Anyway, all right. Hoya, I’m trusting only you here.”
“Yes, big brother. Just trust me.”
To a survivor who had never lost his humanity even in that brutal apocalypse—and not just one of the shelter’s key members, but a responsible head of household—Junho nodded with confidence.
***
After wrapping up everything he had to do in Busan perfectly, Junho left for Bucheon again on Sunday morning.
On the way down, his feelings had been a little unsettled, but maybe because things had gone more smoothly than expected, the trip back felt much lighter.
In just a single day, Lee Dongcheol had finished analyzing the Haneul Forest Campground property and sent over an action plan aligned with the next auction schedule.
His judgment was that after winning the property at auction, they could secure the cooperation of Namyangju City and the city office of education—the actual parties with practical control over the site—by paying back part of the former owner’s debt.
He confidently said that if both the city and the office of education could recover not only the site through the auction but also part of the debt, it would greatly reduce the chances of later disputes, so they would actively cooperate.
He also reaffirmed that keeping the business registration as a pension and campground would be far better for utilizing the land.
Baek Hail had advised the same thing, saying that if they wanted to build new warehouses on the property and install various machines and facilities, a business registration would be necessary anyway, so Junho told them to handle that part as they saw fit.
Even though it was still only March, Junho readily prepaid two hundred million won in advisory fees for the second quarter, and also left tax handling and notarization procedures to Lee Dongcheol.
A man who handled corporate litigation naturally ought to have a network for that sort of thing too.
Of course, Junho wasn’t naive enough to leave everything entirely in Lee Dongcheol’s hands.
In practice, aside from himself and his younger brother Junhyeok, the person he trusted most was Baek Hail, so he separately asked Baek Hail to hire an accountant.
A man like Baek Hail—who had worked on numerous construction and industrial sites to a degree that made it hard to see him as just an ordinary neighborhood hardware-store owner—would obviously have long used an accountant specialized in that kind of work.
Baek Hail and Lee Dongcheol were the kind of people who mixed like water and oil.
But precisely because they were that way, Junho expected things would actually work better.
No matter how slick Lee Dongcheol was, it wouldn’t be easy for him to treat Baek Hail lightly—a man who had spent years working in the construction world, a place crawling with gangsters and punks, as Baek Hail himself put it.
Anyway.
As a result of the Busan trip, the foundation for building the shelter had been laid smoothly.
But Junho didn’t let his guard down.
Right now, this was still only the preparation stage. The project called building the perfect shelter had only just entered its proper track.
And on top of that, he still hadn’t even met the person who was just as important as Baek Hail.
“Yoon Youngsu...”
A true computing systems expert Junho had personally seen and dealt with, just like Baek Hail.
Only in this case, unlike with Baek Hail, the time they had spent together had been very short.
Even so, if Junho couldn’t get Yoon Youngsu to join the shelter, his plans were going to become a headache.
Of course, it wasn’t as if he couldn’t build the shelter without him, or couldn’t introduce an AI computing system at all.
But it would mean moving forward in a way that felt much less secure while preparing for the apocalypse.
Still—
“Money. This time too, if I throw money at the problem, I should be able to solve it.”
And not just money.
A lot of money.
Of course, that didn’t mean directly paying Yoon Youngsu some outrageous sum.
Why?
Because Yoon Youngsu was a completely different case from Baek Hail, who had clawed his way up through hardship since childhood.
He was the son of a wealthy family.
Not on Kang Baekho’s level as a third-generation chaebol heir, but he was still someone with a silver spoon in his mouth, with parents whose assets were worth billions of won—maybe even more than ten billion.
Of course, that was his parents’ wealth, not his own, but even so, he wasn’t the type who would start drooling over a few hundred million won the way Lee Dongcheol would.
“There’s still a way, though. Well... no idea if it’ll work a hundred percent.”
Fortunately, Junho at least had a rough idea what kind of person this next target was.
And even if it was only rough, it was a very decisive piece of information.
***
Woowooowoong! Woong!
The moment Purdy saw Junho for the first time in nearly a week, he came charging over like a maniac and practically launched himself into Junho’s arms.
Judging by the little bit of pee he had leaked, he must have really missed him.
Watching Purdy whine, rub himself against him, and lick him all over, Junho felt something tighten in his chest. So this was why people kept dogs.
“All right, all right. Here. Catch.”
Calming Purdy down, Junho tossed him the dolphin plush he had bought in Busan.
“Oh, hey, bro, you’re back...?”
Junho, who had been busily petting Purdy after the dog snatched the doll out of the air like lightning, looked up. freewёbnoνel.com
Junhyeok came dragging his slippers over, yawning lazily, wearing sweatpants with the knees all stretched out.
“Man, your brother comes home for the first time in a week, and... you’re worse than the dog.”
“But that’s what real brothers are like.”
Junhyeok answered shamelessly, grinning as he walked up {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} to Junho.
“But where’s mine?”
“Where’s what, punk?”
“Purdy got a present, so where’s mine? My present.”
“You think I owe you one?”
“Yep. I know you got something. Hurry up and give it to me. No, hurry up and give it to me, sir. I’m getting dizzy over here.”
“You little shit.”
Laughing like he couldn’t believe this idiot, Junho slipped a hand into the inside pocket of his coat.
“Huh! No way...!?”
“Here.”
“Huh?”
Thinking it might be cash, Junhyeok held out his hand with sparkling eyes, but the moment he received the thin envelope about the size of his palm, his expression went flat.
“What the hell is this?”
“Open it and find out, idiot. Purdy, let’s go inside.”
Sounding annoyed, Junho picked up his things and headed inside, and Purdy, carrying the dolphin plush in his mouth, trotted right after him.
Unable to hide his disappointment, Junhyeok opened the envelope.
“Come on, man. If you went all the way to Busan, huh? You should’ve brought back some decent present, huh? What is this, some kind of complaint letter or a heartfelt note or some shit, and why the hell is it so complicated? Why is there more stuff inside the envelope— holy shit?”
Muttering under his breath, Junhyeok’s eyes widened.
From inside another decorative sleeve the size of his palm came a rectangular card embossed with gold.
“Pentium Private Gold Card...?”
Tilting his head, Junhyeok searched the card name on his phone.
“Issued to the immediate family of a Pentium Black Card holder... annual fee three million won... limit, one hundred million!?”
Private airport check-in lounges, limousine service—
Things like access to department-store private lounges and one complimentary night twice a year at top-tier hotels like Aman or Four Seasons didn’t even register.
“Brooo! Broooother! You know I love you, right?”
“Ugh, gross. Get lost, idiot.”
“Hehehehehe! Ow! Hehe, that’s right, I like it even when you hit me!”
“Jesus... anyway, use it carefully. You know what happens if you start swiping it around recklessly, right?”
“Heheheh! Yessir!”
Letting out the cackling laugh of a shameless little toady that didn’t suit his size or looks in the slightest, Junhyeok snapped off a salute even sharper than the ones he used while still in uniform.
