Clack.

    There’s a price to pay for everything.

    I might have felt that the era of fighting for grand ideals and the fate of the world had long passed, but if those ideals intersect with my survival, isn’t that reason enough to fight for them?

    I checked my weapons and examined the snares.

    I stripped other tools down and modified them to match the lethality of my death traps, ensuring my bunker was thoroughly fortified.

    Preparing for battle is essential.

    Not because I intend to use my base as a defensive stronghold.

    It’s because if the National Assembly faction troops can’t drive away that other group—likely from the Legion faction—then the fallout will inevitably land on me. That much is painfully obvious.

    When that time comes, there’ll be no talking my way out of it.

    They’ll likely bear down on me mercilessly, searching every corner, and possibly even resorting to torture.

    While coating the steps leading to the main bunker with wax to create another defensive layer, Ji Young-hee came to see me.

    I moved to the decoy house to meet her.

    "The blood test results are in," she said. "I tried contacting you via radio, but you didn’t respond."

    "My health suddenly took a turn," I replied casually.

    "A cold, perhaps?"

    "Something similar, I think."

    "You’d better recover quickly. Oh, by the way, Hunter Park, are you planning to stay here indefinitely? It feels like such a waste for someone as capable as you to live in seclusion like this."

    "I’m fine here. Honestly, my knees aren’t in great shape. I can’t walk too far anymore."

    Effortless lies slipped from my tongue as I studied her face.

    Still the same composed, mechanical expression.

    Beautiful, but in a way that seemed devoid of humanity—like a doll.

    There was something about her that felt diluted compared to the past, like the faint humanity she once had when she subtly resented her father was now gone.

    Even without facing extreme hardship, war had left its mark on her too.

    Ji Young-hee, standing just inside the shadow of the house, spoke again.

    "Do you have any interest in the Legion faction?"

    "No. I’m not interested in any group. I’d say I’m just tired—exhausted, really. Besides, I’m not suited for organizational life."

    "I see. I’m thinking of going there myself."

    She handed me the blood test results.

    Everything was normal.

    Rebecca and Sue had no major issues either, although Rebecca’s liver function wasn’t in the best shape. A bottle of pills to improve liver health was included with a note advising one pill per day after meals.

    Soon after, trailers and trucks packed up and left the area.

    Though the large vehicles disappeared, the airstrip remained abuzz with workers repairing the runway and technicians tinkering with airplanes.

    Amid all the activity, my eyes were drawn to one thing: a stunningly beautiful white plane, incongruously elegant in this wretched world.

    It looked poised, ready to take off gracefully at any moment.

    For a moment, I wondered.

    If I could board that plane, where would I go?

    It was a question I once discussed with Park Cheol-joo.

    Maybe India?

    I’ve heard they’ve managed to close the Rifts there.

    But even if I went, I’d still be an outsider.

    India’s caste system, in some ways as cruel as the monsters we face, would categorize people by rank. With my foreign appearance, I’d probably be no more than a talking monkey in their eyes.

    What about the Ogasawara Islands?

    I had no particular thoughts about them until Park Cheol-joo mentioned the place.

    But even there, the situation likely wouldn’t be much different.

    I can’t speak a word of Japanese. I’d still be an outsider.

    If I’m already an outsider in Korea, is there anywhere I truly belong?

    I stared blankly at my fortified bunker before my eyes fell on an old, dusty laptop shoved in a corner.

    I opened it.

    Viva! Apocalypse! Korean Forum

    I scrolled through the mundane posts trickling in.

    "...Hmm."

    Yes. Here.

    This is my paradise.

    If you can call it that.

    Because thinking about it too deeply would only drive me insane.

    *

    Early in the morning, the radio crackled noisily to life.

    “This is Colonel Cho Sung-yong of the 21st Pioneer Corps. Do you copy? This is Colonel Cho Sung-yong of the 21st Pioneer Corps. The area you are unlawfully occupying has been allocated to our Pioneer Corps. We hold exclusive rights to its use, income, and disposal. Once again...”

    I quickly washed my face and checked outside.

    “...Shit.”

    A curse escaped my lips at the sight of the disappointing force that had arrived.

    It was the Pioneer Corps.

    Woo Min-hee... What the hell are you thinking?

    Sending such trash when the other side is suspected to be from the Legion faction?

    The core strength of the Legion faction isn’t their equipment.

    It’s the seasoned soldiers who form their backbone, those who’ve been through hell and back.

    Every so-called bodyguard of Park Cheol-joo’s that I’ve seen has been a battle-hardened veteran.

    They probably aren’t just bodyguards.

    “Retreat! Retreat!”

    The survivors scrambled in panic, trying to flee, but the shells followed their movements as if calculating their escape paths.

    Out of ten vehicles, only two managed to escape.

    The rest left behind a scene of craters, blackened ash, and unrecognizable remains.

    “Those insects really had the nerve.”

    Kim Pil-seong’s voice came through, his tone now measured and calm.

    “Park Gyu. Are you there? Can we talk for a moment?”

    I didn’t respond.

    There was no need to.

    Answering would only confirm my presence.

    As far as anyone knew, I, Park Gyu, had left this place.

    Vanished without a trace.

    Drones began to rise into the sky.

    They carefully scanned the area around my decoy house.

    “Park Gyu. Are you listening? Come out. Maybe you ratted us out, huh? That’s okay. I’ll forgive you. Just let me punch you once, alright? Just once. I swear I won’t kill you. Why would I kill you, Professor?”

    “...”

    “Join us. Come to the Legion faction. We can thrive there too. They have Awakened, sure, but they don’t hunt monsters. That’s where we come in. You probably don’t understand, but the world’s changed. Who knew so many North Koreans would flood over?”

    Kim Pil-seong rambled on.

    I just listened.

    I would only listen.

    Until this storm passed.

    The soldiers soon reached my territory.

    They ransacked the decoy house, overturning items and kicking at the container walls.

    “Be careful. There might be booby traps around here,” Kim Pil-seong warned, his voice coming through the listening device.

    He was close.

    My old comrade, who once sparred with me in melee combat, was now searching for me nearby.

    Aside from the explosives in the decoy bunker, I hadn’t set up any visible traps.

    No artificial contraptions.

    The true defense of my territory lay in its concealment.

    I checked the tripwires on the Claymores and double-checked the connections to the remote detonator.

    The motion sensors blinked steadily, covering all directions.

    “Nothing here.”

    “We’ve checked for vents and found nothing.”

    “No signs of life near the sewer either.”

    Their conversation filtered through the listening device.

    Then Kim Pil-seong’s voice came back.

    “What about the drones?”

    “They haven’t found anything yet.”

    “He’s probably hiding in the brush. He couldn’t have gone far without gear. Focus the search around this area.”

    Moments later, the radio buzzed again.

    “Park Gyu. Do you know Kim Daram?”

    “...”

    “That arrogant woman who used to be a commissioner. Oh, wait—she’s a colonel now.”

    “...”

    “Colonel Kim’s the one who planned this. She bought nukes from the Chinese to take out those bastards who used us and discarded us. All her idea.”

    I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

    Was it just my imagination, or do bad scenarios and wild guesses always seem to come true?

    My mind flashed to the face of my subordinate, who had once marveled at the toilet in my bunker while bringing her family here.

    Why did she make that choice?

    Could there have been another way?

    Would she have done the same even if the toilet hadn’t been here?

    The listening device crackled with Kim Pil-seong’s sharp voice.

    “Get Kim Daram on the line. What? She’s busy? Stop with the bullshit. Tell her Park Gyu ratted us out and put her on now!”

    After a brief silence, the radio crackled again.

    “Hey, Park Gyu.”

    “...”

    “You’re here, aren’t you?”

    “...”

    “Kim Daram said you built a bunker and live here, right? Should we play hide-and-seek?”

    I exhaled the last breath left in my lungs and opened my eyes.

    Then, I spoke.

    “...I’m here.”

    A rule drilled into me by Jang Ki-young during hunter training flashed across my mind.

    Face death with composure.

    I’d say it differently.

    I won’t die disgracefully.

    I won’t let myself be captured and slaughtered like a pig.

    I’ll fight until the end, taking down as many of them as I can.