Dies_Irea69: "The Combat Strength of a Collective Survivalist.jpg"

    Dies_Irea, one of the board''s most well-known collective survivalists, might have been the first to defect from the recruitment campaign for IAmJesus, but he''s been incredibly active in other ways.

    According to a post he shared, the apocalyptic group he leads, consisting of Viva! Apocalypse! Korean board members, recently clashed with a contingent of soldiers suspected to be remnants of the Legion faction.

    The outcome? A flawless victory.

    Remarkably, they eradicated every single soldier who attacked their community without suffering a single casualty or even an injury.

    The photos he uploaded depicted the aftermath of a fierce battle, with scattered corpses littering the area.

    Each of those corpses bore distinctive military insignias on their uniforms—soldiers of the Legion faction.

    Dies_Irea69: "As individual survivalists often say, we''re at a disadvantage when it comes to stealth against large-scale forces. But what are the chances those big factions will focus their full attention on a small group like us? Even if they do, let them come. Even in death, we''ll stab a sashimi knife into their sides."

    The next photo he uploaded showed men holding firearms, their faces obscured by sunglasses or masks, each striking a confident pose.

    In the background, rugged mountain ridges stretched far and wide.

    “...Hmm.”

    Impressive confidence, no doubt.

    But perhaps a bit too much?

    Our board was no longer the exclusive domain of apocalyptic survivalists like us. Groups far more powerful, including our counterparts on PaleNet, were constantly lurking, watching us with predatory interest.

    Dies_Irea had to know this. A figure of his stature couldn’t possibly be unaware. So why throw down such a blatant challenge?

    Upon reflection, his motivations weren’t entirely without reason.

    He seemed intent on crafting a new world—a realm shaped not by the internet alone, but by the harsh reality beyond it.

    In pursuit of this, he''d even gone head-to-head with Defender. Their conflict fizzled out, with Defender appearing to withdraw.

    But Defender had recently re-emerged.

    Fueled, it seemed, by sacrificing a family.

    Whether it was the sting of online backlash or a longing to reclaim his status as a "name" on the board, Defender''s recent uploads had a polish that suggested careful effort.

    Defender: "Drone Kill.avi"

    The short video released by the sibling duo showcased a spectacle they''d once described to me.

    A man armed with a rifle dashed frantically across a grassy plain while glancing skyward with panicked eyes. Something was chasing him from above.

    Desperate, he sprinted harder, but the screen''s upper portion was suddenly obscured by a massive object descending rapidly.

    A brick.

    The brick struck the running man square on the crown of his head. He stiffened like a marionette with its strings cut and collapsed in a heap.

    Color photos bring more life than black-and-white ones, and videos draw even more attention than photos.

    Defender''s drone kill certification effortlessly trampled over Dies_Irea''s "proof," soaring to the top of the board.

    Perhaps the upbeat new-wave trot track Defender had added to the video contributed to its appeal.

    Dies_Irea, true to his nature, remained silent, offering no reaction.@@@@

    For someone who claimed to be indifferent to the board''s popularity contests, but who clearly cared deeply about its opinions, this was classic Dies_Irea behavior.

    The unspoken rivalry between the two seemed, fortunately, to fizzle out into mutual disinterest.

    Defender uploaded yet another post.

    Though he was my internet friend, I tried my best to avoid his “proofs.”

    Despite my personal connection to the siblings, I could never come to terms with their penchant for using other people''s deaths as fodder for internet content.

    Still, this post had racked up an unprecedented 200 comments.

    That number surpassed the total active user base of our board. Either PaleNet members had infiltrated, or a keyboard war had erupted—but the latter seemed unlikely.

    I couldn’t resist the pull of curiosity any longer. Succumbing to the zeitgeist, I clicked on Defender''s trending post.

    "That’s satisfying. Feels great to see a cockroach dead.""Why are they still alive and walking around?""Where is this? I want to kill a few myself.""Didn’t their main base collapse? How are they still around?""If it weren’t for those bastards, we wouldn’t be living like this.""It makes my skin crawl. They’ve never been of any use to Korea in its history."

    Beyond it, though, there was something different.

    Down by the stream at the base of the hill, a man lay collapsed.

    Usually, when I spot someone near my territory, my mind races through questions: Are they alive? If so, are they armed? If they’re armed, what are their intentions? Do they have allies?

    But this time was different.

    The moment I saw him, I clicked my tongue involuntarily.

    How could I not? The man’s clothing was identical to the uniforms worn by the corpses in Defender’s photos.

    He was Chinese military.

    I cautiously scouted the surroundings with my rifle at the ready. No other Chinese soldiers were in sight.

    Even so, I decided to wait for a day to be safe.

    The man barely moved, remaining still where he lay.

    Dead, perhaps?

    No, not dead. His chest rose and fell faintly with shallow breaths.

    A decoy?

    When the war with China was imminent, the media demonized the Chinese, portraying them as monsters.

    But I’d worked in China long enough to know their blood ran as warm as ours—sometimes even hotter.

    Still, using a comrade as bait was a rarity.

    Even if he were bait, surviving under the blazing sun by day and the biting cold by night in nothing but a thin uniform would be nearly impossible.

    Hunters like me aren’t trained for endurance like soldiers are. If we need to endure, we rely on sheer willpower.

    "..."

    I approached the fallen soldier slowly, my rifle trained on him.

    He wasn’t armed. At most, he might have a concealed handgun.

    From the moment I revealed myself, my rifle stayed aimed at him. Even as I got close enough to touch him, I didn’t lower my guard.

    I nudged him with my foot, rolling him over.

    “Ugh... ugh...”

    Clicking my tongue again, I sighed.

    In that moment, I wished he had been dead.

    Click.

    If he wasn’t dead, I would have to kill him.

    Not out of hatred for the Chinese, but because there was no reason to let him live.

    What use is sparing a soldier from an enemy nation at war? He could only bring harm.

    “Please... spare me,” he croaked.

    His Korean was surprisingly fluent.

    The only mercy I could offer was a quick death.

    I aimed the rifle between his eyes and began to squeeze the trigger when he shouted hoarsely:

    “Seoul is in danger! A nuclear bomb—they’re going to detonate a nuclear bomb!”

    He gasped for air as though trying to force the words out.

    “This country... it’s going to end...”

    I didn’t spare him out of compassion.

    It was morbid curiosity—an affliction I can’t seem to shake, even with age—that stayed my hand.