It had been a long time since I cooked ramen.

    Ramen isn’t something I eat often.

    It’s been at least two years since I last had it.

    The reason is simple: despite its reputation as a preserved food, ramen has a relatively short shelf life.

    Though the noodles are fried in oil to extend their expiration date, the oil itself has a shelf life.

    Manufacturers generally estimate that ramen lasts about a year.

    Even with frying, vacuum sealing, and additives, it seems ramen is not immune to the inevitability of deterioration—perhaps a metaphor for its destiny.

    I used to have a stockpile of ramen, but after the war began, I prioritized eating through it.

    Now, there’s barely any left. Just five packs of wing-packaged ramen stored in the freezer.

    Today, I took one of those out and cooked ramen for the first time in ages.

    Bubble, bubble.

    Ramen always looks its best when it’s cooking.

    Why ramen all of a sudden?

    For one, the warm and slightly spicy dish pairs well with the cold, snowy weather.

    But more than that, ramen reminds me of John_Nae-non, the creator of PaleNet, which is now offline.

    Our John_Nae-non wrote about countless topics, one of which was ramen.

    John_Nae-non’s Post: "On Long-Term Storage of Ramen"

    It caught me off guard.

    At the time, I had always thought of John_Nae-non as a European masquerading as a Korean, living a distinctly Western lifestyle.

    His writing habits, choice of terms, and the environments he described seemed more American or European than Korean.

    Even his examples of ingredients reinforced this impression.

    While other users discussed Korean staples like rice, ramen, grilled pork belly, Spam, lettuce farming, or kimchi-making efficiency,

    John_Nae-non would bring up oatmeal, lentils, chickpeas, wine, cheese, bacon, ham, thyme, basil, and shallots instead of onions.

    Back then, I was still naive—my experience on the internet was limited.

    It never crossed my mind that our John_Nae-non might have been plagiarizing posts from French survivalist forums and passing them off as his own.

    So naturally, I assumed he was someone who had lived abroad.

    But then, out of nowhere, John_Nae-non began discussing a distinctly Korean topic: ramen.

    Specifically, ramen, a topic that had been the subject of heated keyboard battles.

    I couldn’t help but feel intrigued.

    What unique, expert-level "Korean" insight would our resident sage, John_Nae-non, bring to the table?

    I clicked the post with high expectations.

    The content was, to put it bluntly, ridiculous.

    "Just put it in the freezer. ????"

    That was it.

    A single, unimpressive sentence in a post I had eagerly clicked on with high hopes.

    "...Huh?"

    It was probably the first time my faith in John_Nae-non faltered.

    Still, given his vast knowledge and sense of humor, I chalked it up to a failed joke and moved on.

    Shortly after, I left the board to focus on finishing construction and dealing with the ever-tightening financial noose of reality.

    By the time I returned, John_Nae-non had been exiled into obscurity.

    Now, it was time to test his hypothesis.

    Slurp—

    "Fuck!"

    The taste of spoiled noodles was indescribable.

    I forced it down, but I had a nagging feeling it would ruin my mood for the rest of the day.

    It’s a petty complaint, I know—one I can afford because I live relatively well.

    But eating that spoiled ramen brought back memories of John_Nae-non and his creation, PaleNet.

    PaleNet is much like spoiled ramen.

    Its "manufacture date" was when John_Nae-non sealed the PaleNet server room with himself inside.

    Since then, it has deteriorated, eventually becoming inedible ramen.

    But it was good ramen while it lasted.

    Considering the difficulty of maintaining server facilities capable of handling immense traffic without upkeep for months, it was no small feat.

    With PaleNet’s demise, the election for the board moderator has lost its meaning.

    Yet VivaBot, lazy as ever, has remained silent for three days since PaleNet went down.

    It’s likely the election will simply fizzle out without any updates—classic VivaBot style.

    But then, an announcement appeared from an unexpected place.

    171cm54kg13cm:

    "Hello, everyone. I’m the second administrator of PaleNet."

    The announcement wasn’t posted on our board—it came from PaleNet itself.

    Since PaleNet was down, the admin posted the message on our board.

    To summarize: PaleNet isn’t dead.

    Some servers had gone down, but with fewer users, it was still operational.

    John_Nae-non’s disciple had even remotely upgraded the software and optimized the system.

    The problem lay outside.

    The antenna installed on the rooftop of the old mansion housing the server had been damaged.

    Heated seats.Handlebar covers.A windscreen.

    VROOOOOM—

    It’s been a while since I last headed to Seoul.

    Thanks to the thorough preparations, I don’t feel the cold at all.

    If anything, it’s so warm I’m tempted to take off some layers.

    How long has it been since I last felt this carefree riding down the road?

    The air is sharp as a blade, and countless people are dying in places I’ll never see.

    Yet, the snow-covered world feels so still, so peaceful, it’s almost drowsy.

    *

    "Skelton!"

    In the desolate, ghost-like streets of Seoul, a figure approached me—a shadow against the forlorn skyline. It was John Nae-non’s subordinate.

    Wearing glasses, his body hadn’t changed much since we last met, but his face looked pale and unhealthy.

    His skin had taken on a sickly, blotchy hue—like that of someone who’d destroyed their liver through excessive drinking.

    We retreated to the basement of an abandoned apartment complex, where he showed me drone footage of the PaleNet’s antenna.

    One of the transmission antennas had been clearly damaged.

    "The main transmission antenna went down," he explained. "The receiving antenna is fine, but without the transmitter, PaleNet can’t send signals. Even if someone enters commands, it won’t respond."

    Standing there, I decided this man needed a new title.

    Back when John Nae-non was around, this guy had been little more than a sidekick. But now, he was the de facto operator of PaleNet.

    A title befitting his role was in order.

    "I have a complex about my real name," he admitted. "Could you just call me Valentine?"

    Judging by the smirk he gave, it was likely a name inspired by alcohol.

    "Thirty years old, I presume?"

    "More than thirty," he said with a chuckle.

    We got down to business.

    While we’d gone over most of the situation online, humans have an innate tendency—whether conscious or not—to hide information that might be disadvantageous to them.

    It’s not inherently malicious; it’s just human nature to conceal weaknesses.

    And, as expected, Valentine revealed something he hadn’t mentioned before.

    "This... was captured accidentally. What do you think?"

    He played a portion of the drone footage, showing a pale, humanoid figure moving amidst the ruins.

    Even Valentine, who clearly didn’t know what it was, seemed aware of its danger.

    Anyone would be unnerved by a creature of that size—nearly human in shape yet disturbingly alien—stalking the streets.

    Worse still, I recognized it.

    Not from personal experience, but from Dongtanmom’s livestream.

    It was one of the creatures that had relentlessly pursued her, along with hordes of zombies, during her harrowing escape.

    And now, it was here in Seoul.

    I let out a sigh.

    "This... won’t be easy," I muttered.

    My rule is simple: never engage an unknown monster.

    It’s a philosophy I developed as Professor, not Jang Gi-young.

    I’d seen too many allies die—unable to use even half their skills—because they faced an unfamiliar creature without preparation.

    New species should only be handled by the best hunters.

    Elite hunters can figure out the optimal strategies with minimal loss and share that knowledge with others.

    But that was a principle I upheld during my active years.

    Now, I have no intention of risking my life for PaleNet or the people of Incheon.

    As I considered the situation, something else caught my attention—the fire Valentine had lit.

    "Hey, even if this is Seoul, isn’t it risky to have a fire going like this?"

    "See that vent? It’s fine. I’ve lit fires here many times without any trouble."

    "No, I mean... are you sure there aren’t dangerous people around? I didn’t see any smoke on my way here. In a place as deserted as this, lighting a fire is like painting a target on your back."

    Hearing my concerns, Valentine hurriedly extinguished the flames.

    But it was too late.

    Footsteps echoed from the entrance.

    "Is someone there?"

    It was a young man’s voice—calm but cautious.

    I exchanged a quick glance with Valentine and took cover, weapon at the ready.

    "Lower your weapons, please," the voice called out. "We’re not enemies. We’re part of a search party from the National Commission."

    His words were measured, but trusting a voice alone is a fast track to an early grave.

    Moments later, more footsteps approached.

    "Oh?"

    This time, it was a woman’s voice.

    Just as I began to think her tone sounded vaguely familiar, a cry of joy echoed through the stairwell.

    "Sam!"

    That voice. That name.

    I broke cover to find myself staring at a woman whose radiant eyes were brimming with tears of recognition.

    There was no doubt.

    It was her—my former student of two weeks, Song Yoo-jin.