Anonymous1523: Stop talking about games!

    Anonymous1523: Anyone want to come hang out at my place?

    Anonymous1523: Just shot someone. Yep.

    Anonymous1523: Where’s the game server? I’ll go destroy it right now. Yep.

    Anonymous1523: My dad says he’s shutting down the server. Enjoy it while you can.

    Anonymous1523: Photos I took back when I was in Jeju. Memory.

    Anonymous1523 hasn’t changed.

    Still yelling, screaming, and pouring out his negative emotions at everyone around him.

    But there’s a saying: even the toughest fighter has no chance against the unbeatable.

    No matter how much he yells, provokes, or lashes out, the consistent lack of response is clearly starting to wear him down.

    Maybe that’s why?

    The post he titled “Photos from Jeju” contained something utterly unexpected.

    Jeju Island.

    The so-called paradise—its true nature was suddenly revealed amidst the sea of garbage posts that flooded the forum.

    “...”

    I might have been the only one to see those photos.

    When I clicked the post, its view count was still zero, and by the time I refreshed the page, the post had been deleted.

    In other words, Anonymous1523 impulsively uploaded those photos from his time on Jeju, and before he could regret it and delete them, I, Park Gyu, was the sole person who saw them.

    There was a good reason for his haste in erasing them.

    The images showed a Jeju Island entirely unlike the one we knew—or the one the government had so proudly promoted.

    Gone were the lush natural landscapes, the exotic volcanic terrain, the sunlit sea, and the towering Hallasan Mountain that encapsulated the word paradise.

    Also missing were the large-scale romantic residential communities by the sea that the government had advertised.

    The island had turned into a gray wasteland.

    The forests were burned to ash, the volcanic terrain buried under concrete fortresses, and a colossal wall hundreds of meters high divided the island into sections like a pie chart.

    The lone mountain rising behind that wall was the only faint reminder that this place was Jeju Island.

    Could those photos be the true face of Jeju?

    A far cry from paradise—a desolate warzone.

    And yet, for Anonymous1523 to long for that island... Perhaps it was not the place itself but the company of peers he missed.

    Most of the photos he uploaded featured boys and girls who looked like high schoolers—youthful, carefree, their smallest gestures radiating dreams, like sunlight in the summer.

    The desolate reality of Jeju’s true appearance was visible only in the background of one landscape photo.

    “...”

    I glanced at the group photo I had hung on the wall, reserved for my occasional dealings with Woo Min-hee.

    The faces I once avoided looking at directly, I could now meet with open eyes.

    Kang Han-min and Na Hye-in.

    What are they witnessing on Jeju Island, and what battles are they fighting?

    Transforming the entire island into a massive military base—what kind of war could warrant such measures? As an outdated hunter, I couldn’t comprehend it.

    But now, I feel like I understand why Woo Min-hee is risking everything to maintain the Awakened supply while holding together a fractured nation on the verge of collapse.

    They’re fighting a battle for survival, just as we are.

    Not just for Korea, but for humanity’s existence.

    A notification popped up.

    One of my bookmarked users had posted again.

    Currently, I have only one user in my bookmarks: Anonymous1523.

    Anonymous1523: Monster Park is bullshit. Dumbasses. You haven’t been to Jeju, have you? As if you losers could ever set foot there. Yep?

    Anonymous1523, again.

    I still feel a resistance toward him.

    But after seeing his photos, that resistance now seems no more than childish.

    Taptaptap.

    I sent a message.

    SKELTON: What’s Jeju like now?

    Even if he ignores me, it doesn’t matter.

    But deep down, I was certain he would respond.

    Message from Anonymous1523: Who are you?

    Exactly as I expected.

    He must be bored.

    He must be lonely.

    Even the photos with people, I crudely Photoshopped to erase the figures and save just the scenery.

    But the more I looked, the more I found myself drawn to the people.

    Six of them appeared in the photos: three boys and three girls.

    All of them wore uniforms, resembling those of a new school.

    Which one was Anonymous1523?

    One boy stood out—tall, curly-haired, with gentle eyes so kind and warm that even I, were I a woman, might fall for him.

    The girls’ gazes all seemed to gravitate toward him.

    He couldn’t be Anonymous1523.

    If he were, his posts would’ve been far kinder.

    Another boy was shorter, with a buzz cut and an energetic, confident air that practically radiated from the photos.

    I didn’t think he was Anonymous1523 either.

    His online persona was nothing like this guy.

    That left one option.

    The thin, slightly awkward boy always standing off to the side, with an unremarkable appearance and a timid stance.

    He must be Anonymous1523.

    His gaze, in the photos, was directed at one of the three girls.

    Not the stunningly beautiful one who caught everyone’s eye, but the one beside her—a modestly dressed, ordinary girl who seemed to take pride in her appearance.

    However, her gaze never once turned to him.

    Not even once.

    “...”

    Beep-beep-beep.

    The K-walkie broke the silence in my dark bunker.

    It was Woo Min-hee.

    “Senior, I think it’s almost done. Just hold on a bit longer. We might be able to deal with Yang Sang-gil before winter.”

    The brief transmission ended.

    I stared at the face of the boy in the corner of the photo.

    The shy boy, glancing at the modest girl, rather than the prettiest one.

    His expression felt oddly out of place.

    *

    I once came across something called Hyman Minsky''s model.

    It’s often cited to explain market crashes or the sudden collapse of values, like stocks or similar assets. It’s so well-known that anyone who spends even a little time online or watching the news has probably heard the name.

    Roughly, it goes like this: enthusiasm → greed → emergence of a new logic → denial of reality → fear → despair → compromise.

    The villains who pop up on our forum tend to follow a similar trajectory.

    When they first appear, they go wild, wreaking havoc without limits. But as the users of the forum respond with indifference, they begin to deny reality, gradually reducing their toxic behavior. Eventually, they settle down and return to being just another ordinary user.

    Take M9, for example. He’s a regular contributor now, but he went through a similar phase. Even DongtanMom, who is no longer with us, followed a comparable pattern before being killed by raiders.

    Given that Anonymous1523 has no real strengths other than being Yang Sang-gil’s son, it’s only natural that his behavior aligns with this standard model. It’s as predictable as the basic curses he spews out.

    Anonymous1523: Anyone want to game with me? Yep?

    Anonymous1523: I’ve leveled up to 15, now what do I do? Yep yep.

    Anonymous1523: Finally killed that damn Angel of the Path! LOL.

    He’s starting to feel lonely, reaching out for interaction.

    And since the forum’s purpose is to ease loneliness, it makes sense that he’s trying to connect.

    In fact, posts of his that previously had no comments or even views have started to get a few replies.

    ??: Build a Heavy. In the current patch, Heavy’s better than Awakened.

    ??: Congrats. But Angel of the Path is just a gatekeeper. The next boss, King Dulgok, is 100 times harder. It’s got flight abilities.

    The replies probably came from FailNet users who don’t know much about Anonymous1523.

    But if he keeps reaching out like this, maybe even that slightly pitiable guy will find his place in the forum before he’s gone for good.

    I don’t feel particularly fond of him, but knowing what lies ahead for him, I decided to extend a hand.

    SKELTON: Hey. Wanna game together?

    Message from Anonymous1523: Why the hell would I play with someone like you? Yep?

    SKELTON: (SKELTON Proud) Because I own a super special luxury account, that’s why.

    I showed him the perks of my account.

    Message from Anonymous1523: Fine. Log in. Yep yep.

    The reply came quickly.