Hiding a House in the Apocalypse-Chapter 98.2: Mausoleum (2)

I’m not particularly interested in Jeju Island.

From everything I’ve heard, it’s not an ideal place to live. The environment is harsh, and survival isn’t guaranteed.

But in uncertain times like these, the more cards you have, the better.

The mention of a position "reserved for me" piqued my interest, I won’t deny that.

More than anything, I have time.

And for someone like me, having something to focus on might just be the thing that keeps me going.

So, it was only natural that I, Park Gyu, decided to make plans to explore John Nae-non’s mausoleum.

*

John Nae-non’s mausoleum is located in southeastern Seoul—an area that Kim Byung-cheol has yet to reclaim.

I’ve heard enough about the dangers from M9, and I’ve seen it with my own eyes.

During the last monster surge, the Legion faction managed to wipe out most of the mid-sized monsters, but killing monsters also means releasing their alien matter—the mutation particles—into the atmosphere.

It’s no coincidence that areas where many monsters have been wiped out show high levels of erosion.

The parts of Seoul still outside human control are likely suffering even more severe erosion now.

And that means more hostile monsters and mutations.

There’s also the possibility that fanatics opposed to the Legion faction are scattered throughout the area.

Rumors suggest that the Legion faction cracked down on these cultists mercilessly, slaughtering them in the territories they seized.

The problem is, their numbers were overwhelming, and they had hidden bases all over the place.

Despite Kim Byung-cheol’s suppression efforts, they weren’t wiped out completely. Instead, they slithered into the shadows, becoming even more troublesome insurgents.

It’s a situation where South Korea could end up fighting both monsters and zealots at the same time, just like China.

And right in the middle of this nightmarish gray zone lies John Nae-non’s mausoleum.

That alone would make this mission a near-impossible challenge.

To make matters worse, John Nae-non’s mausoleum is a literal death zone, blanketed in radiation.

For more details on the mausoleum’s current state, let’s hear it from John Nae-non’s successor, Ballantine.

Message from Ballantine:

"I haven’t been there since the last monster invasion. I wouldn’t even dare. Actually, after the Legion faction arrived, I tried to approach the server facility once, but I turned back before I got close. It was always a desolate place, but now... it’s different. It feels like a place no human should ever step foot in. The soldiers and hunters I was with were all experienced people, but even they got spooked halfway through."

Message from Ballantine:

"On top of that, the server’s condition is extremely bad. The nuclear battery was already overloaded before John Nae-non passed away. I’m no expert in that field, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s in full meltdown by now. Even with protective gear, you wouldn’t last more than a minute. Hell, you might be dead before you even get close."

In short, this mission is virtually impossible.

But Ballantine also mentioned that an unidentified user had uploaded a massive amount of data onto Failnet.

Message from Ballantine:

"This [N O V E L I G H T] happened before you showed up, Skelton. One day, a huge amount of data was suddenly uploaded from Seoul. The files were encrypted, but not heavily—it was low-level encryption, something that only required minimal effort to crack. The real problem was the sheer volume of data. I even suggested blocking the user because of the traffic overload, but John Nae-non shook his head. He said, ‘If someone is desperate enough to leave records here, shouldn’t we at least let them? Maybe this kind of data exodus is exactly what Failnet was meant for.’"

So the data exists.

Some unidentified Chinese scientist uploaded information that both South Korea and China desperately want.

But just because the data exists doesn’t mean I have a way to retrieve it.

Even with protective gear, I can’t just move an entire server or extract its contents.

If it were stored on a single disk, maybe.

But realistically, the data is likely spread across multiple servers. There’s no way I can handle that alone.

So, I need another approach.

Back when I was a team leader, I preferred finding alternative routes rather than brute-forcing my way through impossible obstacles.

Relying on luck and repeatedly grinding through low-success-rate missions was inefficient.

It was always better to find a workaround—even if it meant hitting dead ends along the way—because preserving manpower and achieving a solution was more valuable than stubbornly charging in.

Of course, the most important thing here is what that workaround is.

How do I bypass this obstacle?

Instead of focusing on John Nae-non’s mausoleum itself, I turned my attention to the Chinese scientist who uploaded the data.

No one has mentioned his whereabouts, but he’s probably dead.

The Chinese never let traitors live.

But the biggest key to this situation is still that Chinese scientist.

I asked Unicorn about him.

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Message from unicorn18:

"Typical industrial spy. He was a professor in the U.S. before moving to China. But when he got there, he must have hated the place his ancestors came from. So, before the war, he defected to Korea and went into hiding. Then, he uploaded his research data here. That’s all anyone knows."

Unicorn probably isn’t the one directly handling this case.

Most likely, he got the information from his superiors or colleagues and passed it along to me.

For more details, I’ll have to rely on my own network.

Message from Ballantine:

"You mean the guy who uploaded the data? Any personal records?"

If John Nae-non was aware that someone had dumped a massive amount of data onto his server, wouldn’t he have tried reaching out personally?

The John Nae-non I knew was just as curious as I am.

Even if he didn’t understand the data’s full significance, he would have recognized that it was important.

And if some Chinese scientist had barged into his kingdom, he would have at least left behind a few questions.

SKELTON:

(serious tone)

"Look, this is between us, but this is a critical issue. The Legion faction is watching, and even the Chinese have their eyes on it."

I made sure Ballantine understood the gravity of the situation.

Right now, in terms of "workarounds," he’s the only reliable connection I have.

Whether we find a solution or not depends entirely on how much hell he’s willing to go through.

"What? You want to go to Jamsil?"

I also made sure to secure a combat support unit for my trip.

"That place was a warzone when the Legion faction and the Parliament faction were still fighting. Sure, there aren’t any people left, but that place is cursed. Radiation levels are abnormally high, too."

Despite his reluctance, I managed to convince Cheon Young-jae to accompany me if I end up heading to John Nae-non’s mausoleum.

He didn’t have much of a choice.

It’s just another form of “tax” for living in my territory.

Of course, I wasn’t going to make him do it for free.

I agreed to his request to bring in some new people.

Static buzz—

The 18th-generation survivors, including Cheon Young-jae, are much better with radio signals than the internet.

Recently, Cheon Young-jae managed to track down an old contact from the Hunter District.

"Remember Ha Tae-hoon?"

"The guy who refuses to be called ‘senior’?"

"Yeah. He’s still in Incheon."

"Incheon?"

"He went back to the abandoned Hunter District and started living off the grid. I already told him he could come here if he wants."

"What’s his specialty?"

Asking about someone’s specialty might seem redundant for an old-school hunter, given that we all constantly dance with death.

But the truth is, even among us, everyone has their own unique skill set.

Take my pain-in-the-ass junior, Kim Daram—he’s an exceptional sniper and acrobat.

Cheon Young-jae is a beast in close-quarters combat.

Even among the old-school hunters, everyone is their own distinct individual.

"Ha Tae-hoon is good with drones."

"Drones?"

One face immediately came to mind.

Da-jeong, who was probably undergoing surgery by now.

"You mean piloting?"

"Not really. More like fixing and handling them. Even broken ones turn brand new in his hands. Apparently, he learned the FM way from the Chinese when he was there."

"Hmmm."

A drone mechanic.

That’s actually a pretty damn useful skill.

The importance of drones in both individual and large-scale battles can’t be overstated.

As Cheon Young-jae said, if an old-school hunter were to establish a community, someone with drone expertise would be an invaluable asset.

"So, is he coming here or not?"

"Not sure yet. I’m working on it, but he seems attached to Incheon. Keeps refusing to leave."

"Incheon native?"

"No, but he had a fiancée there. They were supposed to get married."

Cheon Young-jae smirked bitterly, lighting a cigarette he had rolled himself.

"She dead?"

"Yeah. The night they had a fight, she ran into some gangsters. It... didn’t end well."

"And the gangsters?"

"Killed them all. Me and Jung Ho-wook—may he rest in peace—took care of them. But killing them didn’t bring her back, did it?"

"So that’s why he’s still in Incheon."

"It’s been a long time, so you’d think he’d have moved on, but the guy’s got a fragile mentality. If we push him hard enough, he’ll come."

Cheon Young-jae exhaled a stream of smoke and got to his feet.

"If we’re heading to Jamsil, Ha Tae-hoon’s help would be useful. Better to have recon drones than to go in blind into a zone that might be crawling with zealots, don’t you think?"

"...Yeah, not a bad idea."

Ha Tae-hoon, huh?

Yeah, he’d definitely be useful.

When I returned to the bunker after wrapping up with Cheon Young-jae, I found a new message from Ballantine.

Message from Ballantine:

"Found it!"

*

This was back when John Nae-non was still alive.

His once-mighty physique had withered due to radiation exposure, and his failing health had left him with only a limited time to live.

But even then, his mind remained sharp, his heart still beat with vigor, and he devoted himself wholeheartedly to managing his ideal kingdom—Failnet.

For the millions of abandoned Seoul citizens who had nowhere to go and no voice to be heard, he had created a platform where they could connect.

For a man like him, every day was a miracle—a time filled with ceaseless discovery and self-affirmation.

Although he had yet to reveal the truth to his original home, the Viva! Apocalypse! Korean board, he was planning to one day make a grand announcement about how great he truly was.

But then, one day, something strange found its way to him.

It all started with an automated system alert—Failnet was experiencing an unusually large data upload.

John_nenon:

"July 22.

Massive traffic spike detected on the outskirts of Seoul, likely originating from Eunpyeong District.

Currently, Eunpyeong is a depopulated ‘cleared’ zone.

Someone has restored a local network and is using the entire regional communications infrastructure to upload a massive amount of data to Failnet’s dummy board."

According to Ballantine, John Nae-non kept a journal right up until his death.

Even in his personal diary, he stuck to his signature format. That unwavering consistency of his was both admirable and, in a way, terrifying.

Slurp—

I took a sip of the corn silk tea I had brewed myself.

For the first time in a long while, my heart was racing as I read through the records left behind by my role model.

John_nenon:

"July 23.

The uploads continue. Meanwhile, that troll ‘SingSing’ keeps manipulating votes to push his history-related posts onto the hot board.

Why are Aspergers so obsessed with history?

The guy’s clearly an idiot, but even low-IQ Aspergers crave validation?

I mean, even someone like Skelton has a need for validation, so I guess it makes sense?"

"...?"

John Nae-non mentioned my username.

I had to take a long moment to analyze why.

After a deep and careful consideration, I concluded that there was no malice in his words.

I moved on.

But damn, my role model still posted a lot of nonsense.

John_nenon:

"July 24.

Had a can of peach preserves. Couldn’t taste much, but at least the sticky sweetness reminded me of the old days."

John_nenon:

"July 25.

Used a second account to post an old bodybuilding pic from my prime. Got a lot of upvotes."

John_nenon:

"July 26.

Won’t forgive those damn otakus."

After sifting through several shitposts, I finally found what I was looking for.

An entry that detailed his encounter with the mysterious Chinese scientist.

It wasn’t in his journal.

It was buried in an untitled folder that seemed more like a private memo than a diary.

Carefully, I opened the record left behind by John Nae-non.

John_nenon:

"Made contact with an anonymous user who calls himself ‘Wang Shibo.’

This guy is the one uploading massive amounts of data to our Failnet server using an entire regional network.

To my surprise, he’s a mainland Chinese."

John_nenon:

"What he told me was difficult to grasp.

He said the entire world could change.

That kind of weight is too much for a mere forum administrator like me.

But after reviewing some of the files Wang Shibo uploaded, I don’t think he was lying."

John_nenon:

"I backed up his data onto a separate disk.

One day, if someone comes looking for it, I want them to be able to find it without trouble.

I didn’t check the contents.

No—I had a feeling I shouldn’t."

John_nenon:

"The data is stored in a lead-lined box, inside the bottom drawer of my desk.

If someone is searching for it and I am no longer alive, I hope this record helps them retrieve it."

"..."

The data exists.

And John Nae-non left behind a way to collect it all at once.

The mission has come full circle.

John Nae-non’s mausoleum.

I have to go there.

If I can just get past the lead-sealed radioactive zone, the forbidden records will be mine.