Hiding a House in the Apocalypse

It’s common knowledge, but Viva! Apocalypse! was created in the United States.

The U.S. and China went to war.

To be precise, China invaded both Taiwan and the United States simultaneously, which triggered mutual defense treaties and dragged numerous allied nations into the conflict.

Even if Taiwan was the first to be struck, there’s no denying that the true target was the U.S.

In fact, before the war even officially began, Taiwan had already been half-consumed by a swarm of sleeper agents, and Korea, too, was no longer the shard of glass lodged in China’s throat, now that everything north of the Yellow River and North Korea had been completely eroded.

Japan once used crude strategic weapons delivered by balloon against the U.S., but China blanketed the entirety of the U.S. mainland with strategic nuclear warheads.

They even hit Yellowstone National Park with nukes—there’s no need to guess how deep China’s hatred ran.

And naturally, as much as China hated the U.S., the U.S. loathed China in return.

Before the war, the doctrine of political correctness had swept across America, but the truth is, Anglo-American racism comes with a long history, deep tradition, and a proud track record.

Viva! Apocalypse! supports languages from all over the world—there’s even a board for Egyptian hieroglyphs—but there is no Chinese board.

Thanks to the later addition of full translation features, we know now that, in the early stages of the war, many Chinese users had been active on the English board.

As always, Chinese users believed their language held the same international validity as English and posted in Chinese—but their posts were swiftly deleted by the moderators, and repeat offenses earned them long-term suspensions.

Those who retained a Chinese identity usually kept it to their surnames. They never created content or posts in Chinese.

Once the world’s most populous nation and one that wielded that population as a weapon, China has now become as rare as the pandas they cherished.

There are still a few Chinese individuals in Korea.

In fact, we once clashed in front of John_nenon’s shrine, but aside from such exceptional events, the chances of running into a Chinese person in real life are slim.

They mostly stick to their ocean-connected strongholds.

There’s evidence they’re using submarines to transport things, but at this point—where most things have lost their meaning—it doesn’t really matter what they’re up to.

And yet, here one was. A Chinese person had appeared before us—vivid and alive.

Not in reality, but in the place that mattered more than reality: the internet.

In the early hours of the morning, a post appeared on the board.

caocao: To my Korean friends,

Hello, I am Chinese bung-woo

I want talk about China discrimination problem in Long Live! Doomsday!

Chinese understand good manners and culture of friendly nation

Use Baido translation program so can talk Chinese-Korean no problem

Why English Admin kick Chinese?

Chinese user can control anger more than Korean user

Whether this person was really Chinese, no one knew.

Even if our board is better managed than PaleNet, there’s no denying we still have plenty of trolls.

Still, even the most China-critical among us would agree: the Chinese are excellent merchants.

The real reason this mysterious Chinese user posted was advertising.

caocao: We want trade and exchange with Korean friends.

He attached a photo with a meticulously organized item list.

It had clearly been edited with software only Chinese users favored. The list included firearms, ammunition, medicine, electronics, drones, industrial chemicals—a massive inventory.

The biggest obstacle—direct contact with the Chinese military—was circumvented thanks to their most carefully developed asset: drones.

Every transaction, the post claimed, would be handled via drone. No face-to-face contact unless the other party tried something shady.

The board’s reaction was mixed, as expected. But no matter the situation, there are always a few brave souls willing to test the waters.

Anonymous1883: Transaction report with dageu.txt

One new user had dared to go through with a deal.

— You agree on the terms and pick a meeting spot. The Chinese pull up a car nearby and send a drone your way—that’s how it works. I’ll admit I was nervous when the drone showed up. Even more so when it took off with my goods. I was sure they were gonna ghost me. But they didn’t.

Once they confirmed my stuff was legit, they handed over the agreed-upon items.

It was a solid deal. Honestly, smoother than anything I’ve done in the marketplace.

As an oldbie, I don’t jump on every bandwagon a newbie rolls in with.

Us long-timers are the backbone of the board—we’re the reason it still stands.

But after similar reports started coming in from Necropolis, it became harder to dismiss the idea that the Chinese from Dangjin were making a serious push to trade.

Recently, my beloved laptop has been acting up.

It was used to begin with, and now it’s finally succumbing to time. It’s dying, slowly.

It’s not like I’d be totally cut off without it, but the portability and flexibility of a laptop—being able to lie down, change positions, go online anywhere—losing that would make my internet life a lot rougher.

I’ve got a spare: a gaming laptop.

But I hate gaming laptops.

Coincidentally, the Chinese user’s post—still not taken down—had a laptop on the list.

Same brand, same product line as mine.

It was originally an American brand, later acquired by China, and mass-produced there. No surprise they’d have plenty in stock.

Deadman142 (KOR): Those Chinese bastards are assholes, but they do deals real smooth. Took five minutes what usually takes an hour in the market.

Deadman882 (KOR): No idea what their game is, but they’re clearly unloading a lot right now. Might as well jump on while it’s hot.

Deadman341 (KOR): Heard the girl in that car is hot.

Deadman211 (KOR): You mean the one with the weird weapon?

Deadman1052 (KOR): Thinking of trying it myself. If I die, my friends will tell the tale.

...

Necropolis was reacting favorably.

No one fully trusted the Chinese, but a wave of posts was going up from people who, in a nostalgic return to their stock-trading days, had bet on risk—and were coming away with solid gains.

If one or two people said it, you could dismiss it as viral marketing. But in this world, when dozens say the same thing, it’s probably the truth.

Pop—

The laptop shut off again.

Like a person dropping dead, the power cut out suddenly.

It rebooted and showed the familiar boot screen—but there was no denying it was on its last legs.

I stared at the gaming laptop in the corner with heavy, resentful eyes.

“...”

No. Screw it.

I’ll just use that one.

It’s loud, heavy, the keys suck—but it’s better than watching this one croak.

And just like that, a deal with the Chinese—something I never expected to actually happen—was back on the table, thanks to an unexpected message.

Message from iamjesus: (Photo)

The true ruler of the “City of the Dead,” iamjesus, had sent me a picture.

In the image, one of the items from the Chinese user’s list was circled in red.

*

The item iamjesus picked was a game console—and a game.

A retro console, from thirty years ago.

Message from iamjesus: I suddenly want to play this. Really bad.

That bastard.

He’s been lurking on the board all along.

Well, makes sense. There’s only so much time you can spend playing with zombies.

Imagine it.

What can you even do with a zombie?

You can’t have a real conversation. Maybe go on a walk?

Sure, there’s a thrill in commanding them.

But beyond that?

Maybe play volleyball over a net?

Back in the early days of the war, there were a few lunatics bragging about sleeping with pretty female zombies—we all know how their stories ended.

Anyway, a rare guest had reached out.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Maybe it’s personal friendship. But considering he’s an Awakened over Level 10, this isn’t someone you just ignore.

SKELTON: Alright. I’ll help you.

Sure, it’s a bit transparent—but having someone like iamjesus on your side is never a bad thing.

Even Defender, who can’t stand Kim Daram, was willing to follow Woo Min-hee after seeing her power with his own eyes.

People like to say strength isn’t everything in this world—but let’s be honest. It’s almost everything.

Maybe not 100%, but 90%? At least.

And if you want to argue that, you’ll first need to convince the countless souls who died pathetic deaths for no other reason than their lack of strength.

Besides, iamjesus is connected to another powerful online friend of mine.

Message from CrunchRoll: Oh? Really? He reached out to you?

King of Sejong, King, needs iamjesus.

Building a relationship with King is decent insurance, especially in an era where new powers are springing up like weeds.

Message from CrunchRoll: Good. If you need anything, just say it. I’ll support you with whatever.

And hey, some extra perks might fall my way too.

Just like that, the long-discarded issue of dealing with the Chinese suddenly kicked into high gear.

caocao: To my Korean friends...

The Chinese merchant was still advertising on our board and in Necropolis.

This time, I took a closer look at the item list.

The game console and software iamjesus wanted were still listed.

The issue was what the Chinese wanted in return.

According to the post, the Chinese user welcomed trades involving anything of value, but at the bottom of the list, they had included a “preferred items” section—goods they were willing to pay extra for.

Here’s a short selection from that list:

- TIG welder or electron beam welder

- Radiation-resistant robots

- Karl Fischer moisture analysis equipment

- Gyroscope

- Corrosion-resistant reactor

- Corrosion-resistant agitator

- UAV equipped with sprayers

- Synthetic graphite

- Maraging steel

...

...

“......”

No need to read further.

These are all parts and equipment used to make missiles.

Are they still living in the middle of a war?

Even if they were building missiles, where would they even fire them? How could they make them in a place like Dangjin, which doesn’t even have proper production facilities?

Maybe, like the already-obliterated North Korea, they’re clinging to the very act of making missiles as a way of maintaining their system.

Anyway, the items I wanted to trade didn’t fall into the preferred list, but they were still valuable enough to negotiate with.

To be sure, I sent a message.

SKELTON: (Skelton Tinghao) I want to trade.

The translation function in Viva! Apocalypse! is legendary, but due to all the reasons mentioned earlier, the Chinese translation has been deliberately disabled.

So, the quality of our conversation would depend entirely on the Chinese side’s Baido translator, which—based on what I’ve seen—isn’t very good.

That meant it would be more considerate of me to write in a way that was easier for the translator to process.

I still clearly remember the reason often cited for why Korean literature hasn’t won the Nobel Prize: that its delicate emotions—like the meaning behind words such as nureukkirihada or parrani—can’t be captured in other languages.

SKELTON: (Skelton Malatang) Items wanted: SNES, 1995 model + FF6. And Lenovo ThinkPad Gen 13.

No embellishments—just the game console and software iamjesus wanted, plus the laptop I was after.

Soon, the Chinese user replied.

Message from caocao: Okay.

This guy.

Does he not know how to do business?

Or is he doing this on purpose?

“......”

Click click click

SKELTON: (Skelton Tanghulu) Your price? What do you want?

As far as I remember, even in China, fixed pricing was strictly enforced.

I’ve been shopping in Shanghai more than a few times—I know how it works.

Message from caocao: Oh, sorry.

Message from caocao: For the items you offer...

Message from caocao: We offer around 600g of silver.

Silver?

That’s something I don’t have.

Message from caocao: Also accept items from the preferred list.

Same problem—I don’t have anything from that list either.

But our King probably does.

Message from CrunchRoll: Silver? Of course we’ve got silver. We’ve got gold too.

That’s what makes the leader of a massive faction so reliable.

I arranged to meet with King and set a date.

I knew the area well, and since my friend iamjesus doesn’t do well around strangers, I decided ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) to go alone.

But it wasn’t going to be that easy.

“Skelton. Where are you sneaking off to this time?”

Sue had been getting really bored lately.

Rebecca had gotten quieter since they moved into our territory, and she wasn’t exactly getting close with the others either.

“I’m bored out of my mind! Take me with you this time!”

What should I do?

It’s not particularly dangerous.

At most, I’d be risking things during the exchange with the Chinese.

And at this age, kids are impossible to control anyway.

No harm in letting her blow off some steam.

If I brought her here just to lock her in a cage, that’d be disrespectful to both Sue and Rebecca.

Besides, I was planning to stop by Sejong. Leaving Sue with King for a bit wouldn’t be the worst idea.

Our King is a far more gentlemanly man than people give him credit for.

“Alright.”

I answered with a smile.

“But you need your mom’s permission.”

For transportation, I picked Baek Seung-hyun’s motorcycle.

I wasn’t hauling anything heavy, and in terms of fuel efficiency and maneuverability, nothing beat it.

Soon after, Sue showed up.

With two rifles slung across her back.

“What’s this? We’re not going to war, you know.”

“Mom said to trade them in while we’re at it.”

“Oh, so you’re making a trade too?”

Sue blinked and nodded.

Of course. Rebecca would think that far ahead.

I gave a crooked smile and climbed onto the motorcycle.

The seat felt familiar—it had been a while.

Sue got on the back.

She’d grown a lot, but she was still small and light. I could feel it clearly when she shifted her weight onto the seat.

“Alright, let’s go.”

Leaving behind my comrades working on the winter shelter, we headed out—into fields still tinged with summer green, now beginning to wither fast.