You are now the moderator of Viva! Apocalypse! Korean board!

    "..."

    Without even a cheer, I quietly clenched my fist.

    I had finally done it.

    I had clawed my way to the position I so desperately coveted.

    As memories of all the struggles to secure this armband flashed before me, I suddenly became acutely aware of the pervasive darkness of my bunker. Three years—three long years—I had lived in this silence and shadow.

    Alone.

    No one by my side, no hope for the future, no faith in anything.

    I just existed.

    Not because I wanted to, but because I didn’t know how to do otherwise. It was easier to endure this empty existence than imagine another life.

    Deep down, what I truly wanted was something else entirely.

    But it was something I could never have.

    Wishing for it would be like a human yearning for wings.

    And if real wings were impossible, I thought, then even fake ones would suffice.

    I turned to the board.

    Messages poured in, but I didn’t read them.

    I half-heartedly scrolled, catching glimpses of negativity in nearly every post.

    One word stood out repeatedly, as if it were the natural conclusion to every sentence: “rigged.”

    Even with blurry eyes, certain usernames were unmistakable.

    dongtanmom: Are you kidding me?

    mmmmmmmmm: What is this? Rigged?

    berkut_break: A ruler without legitimacy becomes a tyrant.

    The losers'' opinions didn’t matter.

    VIVABOT014: The detailed voting results are below. Feel free to share your thoughts!

    The vote counts appeared.

    berkut_break: 1 votedies_irae69: 33 votesdolsingman: 6 votesdongtanmom: 287 votesmmmmmmmmm: 42 votesSKELTON: 302 votesAnonymous424: 8 votesAnonymous1031: 9 votes

    "...Phew."

    It was a narrow victory.

    Having prepared 300 spare accounts turned out to be the winning move.

    If I had followed Ballantine''s original plan of only 10 accounts, the result would’ve been unthinkable.

    But why 302 votes?

    The extra two votes nagged at me, but I brushed it off.

    What mattered was that I had the armband.

    Minor details didn’t need my attention. After all, human endeavors were prone to error.

    Shortly after the results, Ballantine, the mastermind behind my victory, sent me a message.

    [Message from Ballantine: Congratulations, Skelton!]

    SKELTON: (teary-eyed) Thank you. If you ever need anything, just ask. I’ll be there, no matter where it is!

    [Message from Ballantine: I appreciate that. But I do have one concern.]

    SKELTON: Concern? What kind of concern?

    [Message from Ballantine: To wear the armband, you must let go of many things.]

    SKELTON: Huh?

    [Message from Ballantine: You need to separate yourself from the board. I’m saying this as someone with experience managing large sites.]

    I understood the intent behind her words and chuckled lightly.

    SKELTON: I’m Skelton.

    I set Ballantine’s advice aside and marked the occasion with my first announcement as the board’s moderator.

    SKELTON: (announcement) Captain Skelton speaking!

    "..."

    My heart...

    It felt full.

    The Role of a Moderator

    I admit it—I didn’t earn the armband through honest means.@@@@

    Yes, I used underhanded tactics.

    But my reasons for becoming a moderator weren’t purely selfish.

    They were for the greater good.

    Would you like to delete this post?

    Click.

    Would you like to ban the user “??” for 72 hours?

    Click click.

    I can post six messages per second.

    That means I can delete just as many.

    The world is gripped by an unbearable cold, and chaos seeps into every corner of society. I don’t need to explain this in detail.

    And with that chaos, scum from PaleNet have flooded into the board, spreading filth everywhere.

    When PaleNet reopened, it was once a place of quality discourse. But that was short-lived.

    Soon, it became overrun with beggars—users posting desperate, insubstantial drivel.

    Only I can clean up these messes swiftly and efficiently.

    Would you like to delete this post?

    Would you like to ban the user “??” for 72 hours?

    "...Phew."

    But the duties of a moderator don’t end there.

    Among the PaleNet invaders are depraved souls who post abhorrent content:

    Those hinting at prostitution.Necrophiles posting images of corpses.Perverts uploading explicit photos.Sadistic lunatics showcasing evidence of their heinous crimes—rape, cannibalism, torture.

    Deleting and banning these posts and users is my job.

    I’ve seen the worst atrocities humanity has to offer, so such things don’t faze me.

    But not everyone is like me.

    Even rare, silent users have complained about the growing volume of grotesque images.

    Anonymous 1844: Can you take it easy? Poor M9.

    ??: Jeez.

    Defender: ...

    There are plenty of complaints, but they’re all anonymous.

    Freshly created accounts, at that.

    That just proves how afraid they are of my watchful eye.

    But there’s always a clueless idiot who doesn’t know when to shut up.

    dongtanmom: Yum-yum... just a loser who finally got a badge and— thinks they’re someone now...

    “...?”

    Click-clack.

    SKELTON: Who just made a “yum” sound?

    The fact that I didn’t even bother to prefix this with “Notice” should make it clear how angry I am.

    Dongtanmom, despite being strange, seemed to have some awareness of the situation.

    dongtanmom: ...Nyum?

    SKELTON: Banned!

    Would you like to ban Dongtanmom for 72 hours?

    “...”

    SKELTON: (Notice) Dongtanmom has been banned for 72 hours due to malicious trolling. Please adhere to board rules.

    Let’s see how the board reacts.

    ??: Wow...

    Anonymous 458: Skelton, isn’t this too much?

    unicorn18: Eek!

    Anonymous 1844: Whoa...

    ??: He’s a tyrant, an absolute tyrant...

    Defender: ...

    ...

    ...

    I am the sole law and order of this board.

    No one can stop me.

    Why? Because I worked so hard to earn this badge.

    Even after becoming a manager, I’ve worked harder than anyone else to serve this board.

    Is this too much to ask in return?

    Since we’ve come this far, let’s take it a step further.

    SKELTON: (Notice) Skelton’s beatbox, “THE FINAL,” will be uploaded soon.

    SKELTON: (Notice) Don’t forget to like and comment on “THE FINAL.” Anyone who doesn’t will be tracked down and banned for 24 hours.

    If not now, when else would I get the chance to do this?

    Before I’m ousted from the manager position, I should savor this ultimate authority.

    My ambition, however, was crushed immediately after posting that announcement.

    Your manager privileges have been revoked by VIVA_BOT014.

    “?!”

    The announcement from VivaBot came right after I lost everything and was kicked out.

    VIVA_BOT014: Sigh. I had my doubts, but it seems I was right. Giving ordinary users managerial powers was a foolish idea. I just wanted to test it, but this is the result. For this reason, the board manager system will be discontinued effective immediately.

    VIVA_BOT014: Users who were unfairly banned by Skelton will be reinstated immediately. As for Skelton... you know what comes next, right?

    “...”

    I guess I’ll have to write an apology letter.

    "Senior~."

    While pouring my soul into writing my apology letter, Woo Min-hee contacted me.

    "Yeah, Min-hee, what’s up?"

    Could it be that she’s calling to nitpick about my live stream earlier?

    Feeling a slight twinge of annoyance, I responded to the call.

    "Senior, do you have any heavy vehicles or anti-tank weapons at home?"

    "What? No, why? What’s going on?"

    "There’s news about a new type of raider showing up in Chungcheong Province."

    As always, our unpredictable Ms. Woo tossed out another unexpected piece of valuable information.

    "They’re operating in snowmobiles, targeting isolated survivors or small groups in the dead of night."

    "...Is that so?"

    This was the first I’d heard of it.

    Then again, it’s no wonder I hadn’t. If everyone who encountered these snowmobile raiders was killed, there’d be no one left to post about it online.

    "Where did you hear about this?"

    "One of our informants got caught. They were stationed in a territory under the Legion Faction’s control, but they were killed shortly after a communication.

    They were a seasoned soldier who’d been active on the front lines, yet they didn’t stand a chance. From what I gather, these raiders are a well-trained, professional military group."

    "That’s serious."

    Raiders in snowmobiles, preying on survivors in this sub-zero, unforgiving world.

    It’s a simple yet brutally effective strategy.

    In a world where failing to maintain heating means death, these raiders hunt for any signs of warmth to locate their targets.

    Attacking at dawn—the cruelest and most vulnerable time of day—shows just how deliberate and ruthless they are.

    "When the weather warms up, I’ll have something for you to handle. I don’t want you dying this winter, senior. That’s why I’m telling you this."

    "...Thanks."

    For a moment, I’d completely forgotten.

    Caught up in the thrill and distraction of being a board manager, I’d momentarily lost sight of the fact that the world we live in is far from forgiving.

    A single lapse in vigilance can lead to death and ruin—something I’d briefly forgotten.

    "..."

    But for now, I need to finish this apology letter.