Hiding a House in the Apocalypse-Chapter 99.1: The Four Axes (1)

Screeeeeech—

The rise of drones as a dominant force in human warfare became indisputably clear during the wars that broke out between humans immediately after the Rifts opened.

China’s original strategy, backed by its formidable drone force, had been to deploy a massive wave of troops onto the Korean Peninsula first and then swiftly subdue the Korean military using drones and other advanced weaponry.

However, that grand strategy never came to fruition—because before their forces could even land, they were all turned into fish food beneath the waves.

There was a brief period when drones were considered highly effective against monsters—so much so that they were even hailed as the natural enemy of the creatures.

Academics might deny that monsters evolve in response to human strategies, but those of us on the battlefield accepted it as an undeniable truth.

When firearms became a problem, monsters developed the ability to detonate guns. When drones became a problem, they gained the power to knock them out of the sky.

Before the erratic, unidentified waves that radiated across vast areas, drones became nothing more than expensive scrap metal.

For those of us staring death in the face, there was no reason to doubt it.

In fact, Western nations, including the United States, abandoned drone development for monster warfare altogether, throwing their full weight behind the Awakened system instead.

The only ones foolish enough to cling to drones were China and North Korea.

That’s probably why they collapsed so quickly.

However, in wars between humans, drones remained an effective weapon.

“I got them.”

As soon as Ha Tae-hoon muttered those words, a flash of light erupted from the road.

Boom!

A sharp, staccato explosion.

Where the black smoke dispersed in agitation, only blood-soaked corpses remained.

“One of them is still twitching. Yeong-jae,” Ha Tae-hoon said, checking the enemy’s condition on the infrared screen.

Bang!

“Tango down.”

Cheon Young-jae’s cold voice crackled over the speakers.

“I set up the retrieval net ahead. Go down and collect it.”

Together with Ha Tae-hoon, I descended to the lower floors.

Sure enough, an enormous pile of green netting was heaped up near the road.

“Damn. Where did you get so much of this?” Ha Tae-hoon asked.

Cheon Young-jae sighed. “There was a golf driving range.”

“Golf again.”

“Aren’t you good at golf, Ha?”

“I can play, but I don’t enjoy it.”

A metallic scraping sound came from Yeong-jae’s speaker.

“Damn. These guys tied this thing tight. I’ll just cut their arms off.”

Rip!

A dull tearing sound, followed by the clinking of lightweight metal tags hitting the ground in quick succession.

“I’ve collected all their dog tags.”

The insignificance of that light metallic jingle, contrasted against the weight of a soldier’s life, suddenly left me feeling empty.

After hauling the netting back up to the third floor, we set to work.

“Check the enemy’s situation. I’ll set this up.”

“Got it.”

We began wrapping the entire skeletal structure of the building in the netting.

Thunk! Thunk!

Climbing up a discarded ladder, I draped the net over the frame and secured it to the pillars with a nail gun.

This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.

Since this was a golf-course-grade net, it was large enough that we didn’t have to worry about running out, making the work proceed quickly.

The purpose of this netting was to counter self-destruct drones.

In the daytime, you could shoot them down, but at night, they were harder to detect, and having a solid barrier provided psychological reassurance.

Surprisingly, such primitive barriers were effective against small kamikaze drones—even mosquito nets had been known to stop them.

After all, a drone’s propulsion depended on the battery power it carried.

A golf-course net was a solid enough defense.

After all, these nets were designed to stop golf balls traveling fast enough to crack skulls.

As we hurriedly secured the netting, Ha Tae-hoon cursed.

“Ah, shit.”

“What?”

“Drones. They’re coming this way.”

“...Should we relocate?”

“No. If we move now, it’ll disrupt the scout drone’s communications.”

“Well, then, we don’t have a choice.”

Click.

No one wanted a fight, but battles rarely unfolded the way you wanted.

Which meant we had to be prepared to operate under the worst possible conditions.

But for us old-school hunters, fighting under the worst conditions was nothing new.

“Yeong-jae.”

“Yeah.”

“We’re heading outside to greet them.”

If the battlefield demanded a fight, we had no choice but to fight.

“Let’s stop them before they reach their main base.”

As I stepped outside, I glanced back.

A pale gray area came into view.

“...”

I wasn’t the gambling type, but desperate situations sometimes forced my hand.

“Hey. The drones are pulling back,” Da-jeong’s voice came through.

“I’ll start advancing.”

“Can you approach without triggering combat? If we engage now, the drones heading for us might turn toward you.”

“It depends on how that stationary unit behaves. But I’ll take my chances, banking on it being ‘Made in China.’”

“Our gear is made in China too.”

“No wonder. Ah, don’t worry. I’ve handled plenty of Chinese drones. I know their strengths and weaknesses.”

“Alright. I trust you.”

“Okay~.”

The comms cut off, and Ha Tae-hoon’s voice followed.

“The QBX-22 is up. These guys are serious.”

“The QBX-22... that floating kamikaze drone carrier?”

“Yeah. That big, plate-shaped bastard.”

“How many people?”

“No ground forces in sight yet.”

“Figures. They lost four already. They’ll send drones ahead. Give me a detailed rundown of their forces and positions. Yeong-jae and I will hold them off.”

“Understood.”

I joined Cheon Young-jae, and we observed the path ahead.

Tatata! Bang! Bang!

Gunfire rang out in the distance.

Maybe someone ran into zombies.

Taking a deep breath, I focused my hearing.

Apart from the occasional gunfire and explosions to the west, the surrounding silence was absolute—so much so that even the smallest sound stood out.

Not the best conditions for drone operations.

Sure enough.

Whiiiirrrr—

The characteristic hum of small drones carried through the wind.

Darkness didn’t only hide us—it hid them as well. We had to track them by sound.

“Drone spotted,” Cheon Young-jae said first.

“Take the shot.”

The moment I gave the order, gunfire cracked from the opposite building, followed by a soft impact as something hit the ground.

“One toy down.”

“Do you see anything else?”

I was curious.

“No, nothing mechanical.”

“I see.”

We exchanged idle words as another buzzing sound approached.

Drones were notoriously difficult to hit with small arms due to their compact size, speed, and three-dimensional flight maneuvers.

At least, that was the common belief.

But for us, honed by battles against monsters where a single mistake meant death, drones were easy targets.

At least, missing a shot wouldn’t get us killed.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Estimating the drone’s speed by eye, I aimed ahead of its trajectory and fired.

The second shot hit.

The third brought it down.

“Two down.”

Before the drone even crashed into the ground, I reported the kill.

“Damn, professor. You never miss more than three shots against a drone.”

“What model were they?”

“Recon-combat hybrids.”

“What caliber?”

“5.8mm.”

“Assault rifle rounds.”

The Chinese army had a massive arsenal.

Given that they operated in radioactive zones, it seemed like they’d scraped together every last drone they had.

But no matter how many toys they threw at us, they weren’t going to win.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

From the cover of darkness, we continued to hunt down the swarm of drones buzzing toward us like flies.

“This is Defender. I found John Nae-non’s house.”

Da-jeong’s voice came through.

I hadn’t heard gunfire from the west, but I asked just to be sure.

“Any combat?”

“No. Passed through everything.”

“Oh.”

“There was a narrow alley. A bit of jumping and climbing, and I was through.”

“As expected.”

“But there’s one guy guarding the entrance. Same type as me.”

“Hold for now. What’s the radiation level?”

“Manageable. But it’s pretty bad—strong enough that I couldn’t last an hour. How the hell did John Nae-non survive here for years?!”

“It wasn’t like this from the start.”

“Okay~.”

I was waiting for the inevitable disaster that would unfold shortly.

Bang! Bang!

More drones fell from the sky.

Five down already.

No matter how many drones the Chinese military had, losing five—especially in this world—was a significant loss. The possibility of suffering even greater casualties would undoubtedly unsettle them.

“Finally, the main course,” Ha Tae-hoon’s voice came through.

“The Chinese are coming. Damn, they’re swarming in. And there’s a Bai Tou with them.”

“Defender.”

I called out to Da-jeong.

“Yeah.”

“Move in ten minutes. Use any means necessary.”

“Okay~.”

After giving Da-jeong her orders, I turned to Cheon Young-jae.

“For now, we withdraw.”

“Got it. But, Park—”

“Yeah?”

“If the Chinese are coming, that means that Bai Tou guy is coming too, right?”

“In a monster battle, maybe he’d be a problem, but in a fight between humans, a Hunter is no different from any other soldier. He’s just the first target we need to take out.”

“What’s the plan?”

“I have something in mind.”

We headed toward the building where Ha Tae-hoon was hiding.

But we didn’t go in immediately.

I stopped in front of a half-collapsed shopping mall, just short of the hideout.

Even without turning my head, I could sense the ominous pale-gray zone emitting a dim glow in the night.

“This is a monster house,” Cheon Young-jae muttered, staring at the entrance with a confused expression.

“How many are inside?”

“Hundreds of minions, packed tight.”

“Can you identify the type?”

“No, I can’t see through walls.”

“Make an educated guess.”

“Hmm...”

Cheon Young-jae narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing the shopping mall.

“...Feels like a necromancer. Judging by the way the minions are positioned.”

“I see.”

“They’re obedient zombies, huh? Didn’t even react to the gunfire.”

“The unruly ones were probably wiped out by the Chinese.”

“Fair point.”

The Chinese military hadn’t only been a problem in this area.

They had, at least, cleaned out most of the wandering monsters and zombies.

If anything, that worked in our favor.

Thinking about the long-gone, greedy apartment residents, I pulled out a grenade.

“What are you planning?” Cheon Young-jae asked, eyeing the grenade warily.

“Let’s wake them up.”

“The monsters?”

“Yeah. You know what they say—the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

“But Ha’s right next to them. You sure this is a good idea?”

“Would you rather fight forty Chinese soldiers head-on?”

“...Fair enough.”

Let’s break it down simply.

Da-jeong needed time to find the disk at John Nae-non’s shrine and get back.

Meanwhile, we had to delay the Chinese army and survive.

By any means necessary.

“There are four vehicles heading this way. I don’t have an exact count, but I’d say at least twenty soldiers.”

“Let’s assume more than thirty.”

The Chinese had the numbers advantage.

From what I had seen on the battlefield, they preferred overwhelming their enemies with a full-force strike, bringing as many troops into action at once as possible.

A trick to make their forces seem even larger than they were.

They’d likely sent every available combat unit except for the minimum required to guard their main base.

“Thirty guys in just four vehicles?”

“I’ve seen them cram more than eight people into a single sedan in China.”

“China magic, huh.”

“What’s the distance?”

“They’re moving fast. They’ll be on us in five minutes.”

“Ha.”

“Yeah.”

“You can handle a few zombies, right?”

“Obviously.”

“Good.”

I checked the time and monitored the approaching headlights from the west.

“Young-jae, find a good ambush spot.”

“Roger.”

“The trucks didn’t seem to have heavy weapons, right?”

“No, but I did spot a real doll. No idea why they brought it.”

Ha Tae-hoon chuckled over the radio.

“A good °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° luck charm.”

“This guy’s lost it too.”

“Well, it’s not like you can stay sane in this world.”

“There are still people like Park who manage to.”

I didn’t respond to Cheon Young-jae’s comment.

“...”

The fight was nearly upon us.

“This is Defender. Moving out now. Can I start shooting?”

“Blow them to hell. Just like your brother.”

“I’ve killed more people than him, you know?”

“...Seriously?”

“Just kidding.”

Da-jeong let out a playful laugh just as gunfire erupted from the west.

We had reached the most crucial moment.

The approaching headlights grew closer.

“Two vehicles are turning back.”

“Defender, you heard that? The Chinese might double back.”

“Doesn’t matter. They can’t get in here anyway. Do you even know how much radiation is in this area? It’s already over 30 sieverts.”

“Still, don’t let your guard down. The Chinese have a habit of throwing bodies at a problem.”

“Okay~.”

Even as I spoke with Da-jeong, the headlights continued to advance.

“Hey, Park. That Bai Tou guy is here too. One of the trucks has a Qinglong Yanyue Dao strapped on top.”

I didn’t know much about Bai Tou.

But judging by the way he insisted on carrying a completely impractical weapon for human combat, he seemed to have a strong sense of pride as a Hunter.

The image of Kim Pil-seong’s Bakdo, the blade that had fallen from his hand when I killed him, suddenly flashed through my mind.

Beep—

A high-pitched whistling sound, reminiscent of a fireworks display, cut through the night.

Then—

BOOM!

The darkness was torn apart by a brilliant explosion of light.

Illumination rounds.

Beep—

Three of them, drifting down slowly, bathing Seoul in a blinding glow.

At the same time, the headlights grew even brighter, signaling that the enemy was closing in.

Normally, I’d feel drowsy under such lights.

But my mind was crystal clear.

Step.

I walked into the pale-gray zone.

As soon as I stepped past the boundary, an eerie noise echoed from within the shopping mall.

The monsters and their minions had sensed my presence.

But this alone wouldn’t be enough to lure them out.

I pulled the pin from the grenade and hurled it through one of the mall’s shattered windows.

KABOOM!!!

An explosion.

Then—

Thud-thud-thud-thud!

A flurry of frenzied footsteps.

I turned and sprinted.

When I glanced back, zombies were pouring out of every crack in the building.