Hiding a House in the Apocalypse-Chapter 166.1: Nemesis (1)

Hiding a House in the Apocalypse-Chapter 166.1: Nemesis (1)

The urgent call came just before dawn.
A mid-sized monster stood on the frozen river.
I had warned them more than once about this possibility, but my successor hadn’t taken any action.
“Do you have any idea how much those things weigh? The estimated average weight exceeds 30 tons. That’s on par with a tank!”
But in the growing sunlight, those words began to lose their meaning.
The monster stood motionless at the center of the frozen river, not budging an inch.
“Captain Park Gyu!”
People called for me.
I immediately headed toward the riverside trench, where the monster had been spotted.
They weren’t panicked, but their tense and prepared expressions made everything clear.
It used to be soldiers guarding the river, but now it was a mix of random civilians.
Soldiers might not be that different when it comes to facing monsters, but at the very least, their readiness to stand on a battlefield is fundamentally different.
Shk-shk-shk—
One man was nervously pumping the Monster Punch—a pistol-like device that resembled a toilet plunger—up and down.
He was activating the inertial propellant.
I shot a glance at the hunter beside me to get him to stop, then entered the trench.
Unlike the biting wind outside, the inside of the trench was warm and cozy.
Though it was technically a “trench,” some civilian committee members sneered by calling it a luxury bunker—it was actually a semi-underground reinforced concrete building, warm and well-insulated.
All the windows were sealed except for a few observation ports, and steam radiators filled the space with a comforting hum and warmth.
These riverside trenches had long been ridiculed.
Why waste precious resources and manpower in a place monsters were unlikely to cross, given their aversion to water?
Now the answer had come.
Not the outcome anyone wanted, but it was bound to happen sooner or later.
From inside the trench, I observed the monster.
It had five legs like the base of a wheeled office chair, an upright torso, three arms that resembled a shield and a spear, and a head that looked more like a small lump protruding from the upper body than anything resembling a face.
“It’s a Centurion type.”
Just as there are old and new models among the small types, this one belongs to the older models of the mid-sized category.
It wasn’t particularly threatening.
At least among combat types.
While I silently observed it, a low rumble shook the ground, followed by the heavy drone of an engine.
The tank I had requested must’ve arrived.
Shortly after, the comms device confirmed its arrival.
I gathered the people inside the trench.
As expected, most of them were middle-aged men who looked far from combat-ready, along with a few women and boys.
Grim as it is, that’s reality.
In the plaza, younger, healthier people were out protesting.
Plenty complain, but few actually fight.
Leaving the monster to the tank unit, I headed for the Hunter Headquarters.
This time, I was going to confront Kim In-sik directly.
I was greeted by Kim In-sik’s secretary.
Impeccable, unblemished skin, healthy and untouched—her appearance stoked the rage I was barely suppressing.
Unaware of the fury boiling inside me, she spoke.
“Commissioner Kim In-sik is out on urgent business.”
When I asked where he’d gone, she said nothing.
So I told her:
“Then I’ll handle things as I see fit.”
“I don’t think I’m in a position to answer that,” she replied shortly, turning her head.
“Just deliver my words exactly as I said them.”
Boom! Boom!
The artillery unit began firing.
Their target: the frozen river.
The plan was to shatter the ice and restore the river as a natural barrier.
Of course, the monster standing on the ice had already been taken care of by the tank unit.
But everyone knew this was just a temporary fix.
The temperature had stabilized at minus 20 degrees Celsius.
By nightfall, the shattered ice would freeze again, thicker and stronger.
An uneasy atmosphere spread throughout the city.
Even though they tried to suppress media coverage, rumors of the monster standing on the frozen river had already spread.
People were now convinced this time, the city would truly fall.
But leaving wasn’t a viable option either.
The moment someone left the warmth provided by the power plant, their odds of survival plummeted.
If the temperature were 10 degrees warmer, maybe they’d stand a chance—but in this kind of deadly weather, even being at the front lines was pure suffering.
Kim Byeong-cheol knew this well and reduced the number of soldiers stationed along the eastern defense line.
“Even fanatics freeze to death.”
The only area that maintained full capacity was the riverside trench zone, mockingly dubbed the “luxury bunker.”
It had been built deliberately.
From the experience of two years of relentless cold, we learned that the cold is more terrifying than bullets.
So, despite being a bunker, it was fitted with operable glass windows, airtight insulation, and radiant heating systems to keep it constantly warm inside.
This wasn’t a bunker meant for anti-personnel combat.
It was designed so that soldiers armed with makeshift hunter weapons could wait in reserve, ready to act the moment a monster crossed the river.
Outside the trench, a pink line painted near the riverbank marked the boundary.
Sometimes the paint turned green—but either color meant the same: it marked the operational range of the trench’s reflection shield.
In other words, if I’m within the trench zone and a monster crosses that line, we’re authorized to fire.
Friends from Jeju had mocked the simplicity of my system, but work needs to be simple and clear.
People don’t like memorizing things.
After checking the trench, I headed back to headquarters.
There, I received an unexpected—but not entirely surprising—.
“Commissioner Kim In-sik has returned to Jeju for urgent matters,” said his secretary.
“You’re currently the acting highest authority.”
I let out a hollow laugh. It was just the tip of the iceberg.
Kim In-sik wasn’t the only one who had fled.
As soon as news spread that a monster had appeared via the river, most of the Jeju officials made a hasty exit from Seoul.
The only one who stayed behind was Gong Gyeong-min, my old friend, who had taken on the role of mayor.
That night, the mercury plunged {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} to minus 25 degrees.
*
We tallied the casualties overnight.
There were a few cases of frostbite but not a single death.
Compared to two years ago, when thousands froze to death daily, this was a monumental improvement.
White steam continued to rise from the power plant, delivering life-giving heat.
People wearing proper winter gear diligently cleared snow and kept operations running, preventing citywide paralysis.
Though some electrical and water systems were damaged, they had been rebuilt with ease-of-repair in mind—repairs were already underway.
The city was functioning perfectly.
But the real problem lay elsewhere.
Trying to avert your eyes from danger is a survival instinct for those who can perceive the future.
The river had frozen over again.
And then—
“Hey. What’s that?”
“Why is there fog only over there?”
A thick fog crept in from beyond the river, cloaking the ruins.
No doubt about it.
That fog—
It looked exactly like the one we saw in Jeju.
Right after the fog was detected, the regular Awakened began to intense headaches and anxiety.
No doubt.
It was him.
He had finally begun to move—truly, finally—ready to wipe us out.
“Senior.”
I received a call from Woo Min-hee.
Even over the line, I could hear her breathless voice.
“It’s starting now.”
The current temperature: minus 18 degrees.
The sun had risen, but the frozen air below zero made it feel as if even the sun couldn’t save us anymore.
Together with Colonel Kwak Sang-hoon and General Kim Byeong-cheol, we reviewed the final plan.
Though calling it a plan is generous.
Hold out, or die.
Leaving the city was never an option.
I’ve said this before: in temperatures that fluctuate between minus 15 and minus 25 degrees, you need more than just willpower.
Not everyone can be Amundsen.
Yet there were still people choosing to leave.
Kim Byeong-cheol stood in their way.
He was a warlord with an ego, but at least he had a sense of responsibility.
“If you go, you’ll die! I’m telling you—you’ll die!”
The one leading the group looked to be in his late thirties, at least ten years younger than Kim Byeong-cheol.
I didn’t know his name. I had intentionally avoided political circles and ignored their intel.
But I recognized him as a regular face in the protests at the plaza.
He always brought his young daughter with him.
This time was no different—he stood holding her hand.
He looked at Kim Byeong-cheol with tired, hollow eyes and spoke.
“This country fooled me twice. No—if you count before the war, I’ve been deceived countless times. Not just the country. Anyone with a shred of power deceives those beneath them. I won’t bring up tragic accidents. I just won’t be fooled again.”
He had a good voice, and his words flowed smoothly—the kind of man who led protests.
I hadn’t planned to speak.
But seeing the anxious girl clinging to her father, glancing around with fearful eyes, I found myself speaking.
“Haven’t you ever fooled someone yourself?”
I looked him straight in the eye.
He seemed to recognize me.
But he didn’t answer.
He stared at me with an unreadable expression for a moment, then walked past us with his daughter.
1,500 people left the city.
At least for now, their decision seemed rational.
By afternoon, monsters swarmed in.
They came for the bridges and the frozen river.
Boom! Boom!
Over 30 mid-sized monsters advanced in staggered waves.
The artillery unit struck down many with precise fire worthy of the Republic of Korea Army’s name—but they couldn’t cover every direction.
The ones crossing the river had to be dealt with face to face.
Boom!
The old junk tank opened fire.
But the MVP was the K-2 Black Panther.
Unlike outdated junk tanks, it didn’t even need modifications—just adjusting the shell composition increased penetration power, letting it slaughter mid-to-large monsters mercilessly.
The battle ended around 2 p.m.
No further movements from the monsters.
We confirmed the elimination of 31 mid-sized monsters—without a single injury or death on our side.
A perfect victory.
But the number of remaining shells—especially for tanks—had dropped to dangerous levels.
We’d used up 10% of our stockpile on the first day.
That gave us maybe ten days, arithmetically speaking.
That night—
An even worse cold snap arrived.
The mercury neared minus 40.
The cold reminded us of its cruelty.
*
At dawn the next day, the monsters resumed their assault.
The pattern was similar.
We used tanks and artillery to wipe them out.
But shell consumption rose, and something more ominous appeared.
Zombies and Caterpillar types started to appear.
The drone sent from the tech division transmitted footage from inside the fog—evidence of a Necromancer-type monster.
It had lured zombies even from Seoul’s eastern districts.
As zombies and Caterpillars appeared on the frozen river, public unrest surged again.
A self-declared civilian representative demanded evacuation supplies.
The quantity? Enough to feed, warm, medicate, and arm 30,000 people for 90 days.
Kim Byeong-cheol deployed soldiers.
At minus 18 degrees, protestors clashed with troops.
Three died. Many were injured.
The detained civilian rep threatened retaliation against Kim Byeong-cheol and Woo Min-hee.
As humans tore into one another inside the city, the monsters launched a new assault by nightfall.
Boom! Boom!
Flares exploded everywhere, lighting up the battlefield as shells struck designated coordinates.
Tanks and people met the enemy swarming across the river.
“They’re coming!”
Bang! Tatatatang!
We were there too.
Even a single extra fighter mattered.
The hunter team was the city’s emergency response squad.
Whenever a distress signal came, we rushed in and reinforced collapsing frontlines.
Shk!
I fought too.
While blocking waves of zombies and monsters, I scanned the battlefield for incoming combat-type monsters and shouted orders in real-time.
“Take cover!”
As expected, mid-sized monsters didn’t distinguish between us and the zombies—they bombarded indiscriminately.
Red lights blinked across the front. Casualties mounted.
The battle continued until the eastern sky began to glow.
Since the start of the enemy assault, this was the fiercest engagement.
“......”
Smoke rose across the battlefield, littered with zombie corpses and destruction.
“Captain.”
A hunter unit member approached with the results.
The assault was over.
All positions had been held.
We had won.
But there were casualties.
And beyond that thick fog still crawled hundreds of combat-types.
I passed the halls lined with wounded and entered the drone control room.
I found Hong Da-jeong.
“Did you find it?”
She looked at me with bloodshot eyes, then shook her head.
“No.”
The General-type still hadn’t been found.
But it was in there.
Hiding inside that cursed fog.
If we kept at it, we’d find it eventually.
No fog could fully obscure something that massive.
But we didn’t have time.
This last battle had cost us blood—and worse, resources.
Colonel Kwak Sang-hoon gave his opinion.
“If this level of combat continues, we can only hold out for a week at most. People may survive, but the supplies won’t.”
The situation was clear.
We were on the brink.
Maybe a week.
Possibly less.
We could stake everything on killing the General-type.
But that would be a gamble.
And a gamble without any leads is just another word for suicide.
At the very least, we needed to locate it.
But that would take time.
“......”
Clack, clack.
I sat down at the laptop.
Turned it on. Waited for it to boot. Opened the browser.
[ Welcome to Viva! Apocalypse! ]
I scanned the forum.
It was filled with grim posts.
Among the popular ones, Mgu was active.
mmmmmmmmm™: Please... help us. At this rate, I—and we—Hope too, will collapse!
mmmmmmmmm™: Save the new Seoul!
mmmmmmmmm™: Help!
He was fighting in his own way.
I’d fight in mine.
I wasn’t as well-known as Mgu in the real world, but since the war, I’d met many through this forum—through the internet.
I’d reach out to them now.
Clack, clack.
SKELTON: I have a request.
There’s something I can’t do alone.

Chapter 166.1: Nemesis (1)