Hiding a House in the Apocalypse-Chapter 116.2: Target (2)

VIVA_BOT014: Early yesterday morning, an unidentified armed group seized control of one of our data centers affiliated with the main headquarters in Arizona. Since this center primarily handles backups, there won’t be any immediate disruptions to our community operations, but the situation remains extremely serious.

VIVA_BOT014: These are dark times. I hope everyone finds their own meaning and hope to endure this long, cold winter.

This was the announcement posted by VivaBot.

But this alone wouldn’t satisfy me.

Although I’m still just an ordinary user on the forum, behind the scenes, I hold a secret authority, sharing a significant number of classified matters with VivaBot.

Tap, tap, tap.

SKELTON: (Skelton panting) Just saw the announcement. What’s going on?

One of the privileges of authority.

It didn’t take long for VivaBot to reply.

Message from VIVA_BOT014: Ah, Skelton.

Europe, which once claimed to be America’s ancestor, was swallowed whole by the open rifts and vanished in an instant. China, which had once positioned itself as America’s rival, also crumbled under the weight of the rifts and war.

As for Japan, America’s ally, their information control is so strict that it's impossible to get an accurate read on their internal situation. However, from the scattered bits and pieces of information that do come through, it seems they have no real countermeasures—just stalling for time while staring down inevitable collapse.

Korea? Well, you already know.

The so-called Jeju government still exists, but the remaining population is left to fend for themselves within their respective domains.

America, on the other hand, despite being in the throes of destruction, managed to maintain its national framework for a long time. The rifts that emerged all over their vast land were kept under control.

The fact that they were still operating a nuclear aircraft carrier fleet as recently as last year is proof enough of how powerful they were.

But even that giant has reached its limit. The collapse of the international trade network, the endless surge of monsters—it was too much.

Tensions between state governments, which had already been fraying for some time, finally snapped. America, despite its claim of being a "melting pot of nations," never truly unified its diverse ethnic groups. Historical regional animosities, deep-seated hatreds that had surfaced even before the war, all erupted at once.

And so, the country was plunged into full-scale civil war.

Of course, at its core, the real cause was the monsters.

Their invasion shattered what little remained of the human system that had barely been holding together.

Now, those flames of destruction have reached the heart of Viva! Apocalypse!

The central infrastructure of Viva! Apocalypse! is located in two distant but temperate regions—Arizona and Florida. Of these, the Arizona facility is in extreme danger.

Message from VIVA_BOT014: For now, both regions still have functioning state governments, so the community won’t collapse immediately. However, there will be significant disruptions to our operations. In fact, due to ongoing restoration efforts, I won’t be able to manage the forum as actively for the time being. That’s why, Skelton, considering your consistent efforts in handling problematic posts and your symbolic presence in our community, I’d like to grant you additional authority.

In short, they were offering me even more power.

“Hm...”

But timing is everything.

That applies to positions of power as well.

If you were the mayor of a city with wealth, a booming population, and thriving corporations, that position would be worth holding.

Even if you did nothing, the city would grow. Young people would flock to it. Tax revenue would pour in, and the city could be polished into something even more dazzling.

But what about being the head of a municipality filled with nothing but old people, mountains, and farmland, with no companies in sight?

That would be a miserable job—thankless, exhausting, and riddled with criticism, despite all the effort put in.

And right now, that’s exactly what our forum looks like.

The number of "model users" like myself has plummeted, while the number of lunatics has surged. The few normal users who remain are leaving for greener pastures.

Or, as Dajeong put it, our forum is on a "fast track to disaster."

"Agh, this is so boring. The activity rate is in the gutter. And why does that guy keep posting pictures of his face? If you ask me, I think our forum's reliance on Obelisk, that massive power-consuming system, is part of the problem. The new users we get—sure, some are decent—but most either stole their equipment from someone or bought it from a thief. So, of course, the quality is going to be bad. I mean, they’re probably murderers. The kind of people who stole or looted their gear to get here!"

Honestly, Dajeong wasn’t in a position to make that argument.

If you really think about it, Defender and Dajeong also killed the original owner to get their hands on satellite equipment.

But even they had to agree—our forum was in a dire state.

"There’s nothing more pointless than holding power in a dying community. You just become a scapegoat, cleaning up messes until you disappear. Sure, there’s no real alternative right now, but if things continue like this, maybe it’s better if the forum just ceases to exist altogether."

Dajeong wasn’t a fan of me accepting this new authority.

And she had a point.

But even if I planned to turn it down, I should at least hear what exactly this new power entailed.

The ball was back in VivaBot’s court.

Message from VIVA_BOT014: Wondering what changes come with this new authority?

SKELTON: (Serious Skelton) If you’re as sharp as I think, VivaBot, you must have noticed my average login time has significantly dropped.

Message from VIVA_BOT014: It’s down by about an hour.

SKELTON: (Startled Skelton) That can’t be right. I’ve cut down way more than that.

Message from VIVA_BOT014: That’s the monthly average. Recently, your login time has dropped noticeably.

SKELTON: That’s the situation.

Message from VIVA_BOT014: It’s true—community enjoyment comes from its members. I’m also aware that toxic users have increased drastically. So, I was thinking... maybe I should grant you a blocking function.

SKELTON: A blocking function?

Message from VIVA_BOT014: Yes. °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° Of course, I’ll be monitoring everything from behind the scenes.

SKELTON: Hm...

To be honest, I wasn’t sure.

In an active forum, sure, moderation tools would be useful.

But in a dying forum, what good would deleting posts or banning users do?

At this point, there were only three major problem users left anyway. If I banned them, that would be the end of it.

Message from VIVA_BOT014: Not interested?

SKELTON: It’s not that I don’t like it. I just don’t see the point of these powers at this stage.

Message from VIVA_BOT014: Is there something else you’d like to bring up? Perhaps about that Twelve Square incident...?

SKELTON: That was unfair, sure. But my biggest issue is...

Yeah. I might as well say it.

This kind of complaint was fair to voice.

SKELTON: There aren’t enough people.

A short, sharp statement.

VivaBot remained silent for over a minute after seeing that message.

A full minute—short yet painfully long.

Then, she finally replied.

Message from VIVA_BOT014: It’s sad, but maybe that’s just our fate in these times.

She wasn’t wrong.

I wouldn’t deny that.

But—

SKELTON: Is there really no way to bring in more people?

At the very least, we could extend the forum’s lifespan.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

John Nae-non had proven that.

Message from VIVA_BOT014: How?

SKELTON: By allowing people with ordinary satellite equipment to access our forum.

Message from VIVA_BOT014: Hmm.

Message from VIVA_BOT014: That’s... an extremely radical idea.

SKELTON: It is.

Message from VIVA_BOT014: I do agree that our dwindling user base is a problem, but we’d have to consult other members first. As you know, the people who applied for our service before the war... they were heavily stigmatized.

SKELTON: Yeah.

Message from VIVA_BOT014: It’s unfortunate that our forum is losing members and becoming stagnant, but do you really think those who once dismissed and ridiculed us should now be allowed to enjoy our services? You might be open to it, Skelton, but do you think the other users would accept it?

“......”

I wasn’t wrong.

But VivaBot wasn’t wrong either.

If anything, their argument was more persuasive than mine.

The fact that I found the forum dull was purely subjective.

Someone else might still be enjoying it.

There was no need to reiterate just how much we doomsday believers had endured—the mockery, the scorn—long before the war. That tale had been told far too many times already.

Message from VIVA_BOT014: But, Skelton...

Just as our conversation was about to fizzle out in indecision, VivaBot sent another message.

Message from VIVA_BOT014: I believe you could persuade them.

SKELTON: Not as Skelton, but as Twelve Square?

Message from VIVA_BOT014: It might not be what you want to hear, but as you know, Twelve Square is the most influential figure our community has ever produced. Your exploits have been distributed across North America through Necropolis—on CDs and DVDs, no less.

SKELTON: Hm... Is it really that widespread?

Message from VIVA_BOT014: I apologize if it sounds like I’m pushing content creation on you, but... if you uploaded something—anything—as Twelve Square, perhaps even our most hardened anti-survivalist members might actually listen to your proposal.

SKELTON: Those were life-threatening recordings. I have no desire to go through that again.

Message from VIVA_BOT014: I’m not forcing you. It’s just my opinion. You might have guessed, but I don’t exactly hold a high rank within the company.

SKELTON: Is that so?

Message from VIVA_BOT014: I owe a lot to people like you, Dongtanmom, M9, and others. There are so many talented individuals in Korea that I’ve managed to keep my job—I haven’t been discarded yet.

SKELTON: ...Ah.

I hadn’t realized.

I never considered that VivaBot had its own struggles.

Message from VIVA_BOT014: Over half of my colleagues have left. And when someone leaves this place... it’s a permanent farewell.

Message from VIVA_BOT014: On top of that...

VivaBot sent me a photo.

A vast, open plain.

At first glance, it looked like a generic foreign landscape. But upon zooming in, a grim detail became unmistakable.

Beyond the rolling green hills, the land was bathed in a pale, ashen gray.

Erosion had reached the very heart of Viva! Apocalypse!

Message from VIVA_BOT014: This is our situation. Who knows? Maybe these conversations with you, Twelve Square—no, Skelton—won’t last much longer. :)

“......”

Doom comes for everyone.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s a global superpower or a nameless backwater state.

The rifts slowly consume our world, and all life that once flourished upon it will be eradicated.

The research stating that not even a single microbe exists in the atmosphere of the otherworld... That could soon be our reality.

As I stepped out of the bunker, the low-hanging sunset stabbed into my eyes like a hook.

I squinted, clasping my hands behind my back, and surveyed the area.

Life still unfolded around me.

A deep-set pipe in the center gushed muddy water.

In the open clearing between bunkers, hunters huddled around a long wooden platform, disassembling the corpse of a mutant cat.

In the corner, a solar generator greedily absorbed the last rays of sunlight, while nearby, a middle-aged woman toiled in a small plot of land, tirelessly preparing the soil for new life.

Two drones soared in from the west, their dark silhouettes darting past the setting sun.

Further up the gentle slope, Bang Jae-hyuk limped along, a brace supporting his leg as he carried a large rifle up the hill.

Everyone had a role to play.

They worked. They lived.

Maybe it was naïve, but I didn’t think our community would fall so easily.

From the very beginning, I had recruited the best people possible.

Sure, we weren’t large, but there weren’t many enemies capable of crushing us outright.

We had enemies, yes.

But we also had strong allies.

And at the very least, my territory wasn’t a battleground for petty squabbles over resources. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

We could hold out.

For a year, at the very least.

And yet... even one year felt far too long to me now.

How many people would still be alive by then?

"Viva! Apocalypse..."

I had a bad feeling.

Maybe my second home was about to disappear forever.

“......”

I wanted to do something.

"What? Who created Necropolis?"

"If I could reach them, maybe I could find a clue."

I wanted to save our forum.

To bring in more users.

To recreate the vibrant, thriving community we once had.

I didn’t need some utopian, lawless place where anonymity and chaos ruled.

But I wanted a forum where good users outnumbered the bad.

Just once more.

"The identity of Necropolis’s creator is a major topic inside the system itself," Ballantine said. "I’ve searched through frozen archives myself."

"And?"

"All I found was a nickname—Death_Lord98."

"That’s... a hell of a name."

"He’s not the type to show himself easily. He’s an incredibly elusive figure." Ballantine sighed. "Right now, he’s arguably even more influential than Melon Mask."

"So, he won’t respond to just anyone."

"No. Only someone with serious clout could even get his attention."

"Twelve Square."

My other self.

A legendary identity, entirely separate from Skelton.

At least, within our forum.

"What?"

"Tell him that Twelve Square is looking for him."

Because I am both Skelton and Twelve Square.

Would the call reach him?

I had no idea.

But I would try everything I could.

I was a responsible user of Viva! Apocalypse!

I had a goal.