Chapter 3

3. Mentor

Everyone has their own plans.

Even we, the doomsday enthusiasts, share the same broad ideology, but often have different ideas about the specific methods of implementation.

For example, whether to interact with the world after the apocalypse, whether to adopt an extreme isolationist stance, whether to form a group, or whether to survive with only a small number of family and friends.

The doomsday enthusiast community I joined, "Viva! Apocalypse!" for a monthly fee of $100, often saw debates among its members.

I was more of an observer than a participant, and from what I observed, constructive debates were not very common.

Most debates were tedious keyboard battles that ran parallel, ultimately devolving into a competition of wealth.

The gist was, "I have more money, I've spent more on excellent facilities, and I have better weapons, so I'm right."

It was a distasteful scene, but the claims of those boasting about their wealth weren't necessarily wrong.

More money undoubtedly allows for better preparation.

For instance, the nuclear-powered self-sustaining power plant I really wanted was something I could never afford, but for Donald Auris, an American, selling just one of his yachts would cover the cost.

Of course, money isn't the only thing that carries weight.

An individual's strength, experience, and abilities can often be more persuasive than wealth.

Take this one man, for example.

Community ID: John_nenon

Commonly known as Johnnenon, he is Korean.

There's nothing particularly special about him.

Johnnenon is a professional hunter.

A hunter is a guardian who protects humanity by hunting monsters at the entrances to their lairs, known as rifts. Becoming a hunter requires passing extremely stringent qualifications and exams.

In other words, not just anyone can become one.

Moreover, hunters possess far greater combat capabilities than ordinary humans and have access to more confidential information due to their profession.

However, there are different ranks within the hunter profession, and Johnnenon has never revealed his rank.

What he has verified is his professional hunter license.

In a community of doomsday enthusiasts, that alone is absolute proof.

When a wealthy friend who was arguing with Johnnenon saw his hunter verification, he immediately backed down.

The reason I mention Johnnenon is not just because of his hunter certification.

Johnnenon and I shared almost the same survival philosophy.

Especially in terms of establishing large-scale survival facilities in remote areas that are accessible to major cities but off-limits to people, aiming for permanent survival.

He was someone from whom I could learn a lot.

When my underground bunker, which I had spent a lot of money on, became a breeding ground for mold due to groundwater infiltration and condensation, his posts on how to remove mold, why cement putty is better than lime putty for floor construction, and how to manage groundwater based on the type of aquifer provided me, a novice carpenter, with invaluable knowledge.

His idea of creating multiple decoy shelters instead of relying on a single bunker for long-term survival also aligned with my thinking.

Especially the idea of installing remotely detonatable explosives or traps in the decoy shelters to easily eliminate intruders by pressing a button from the main bunker was so brilliant it made me slap my forehead.

Add to that his exceptional knowledge, his courteous responses to questions, and the aura of being a professional hunter.

It was no surprise that Johnnenon became a popular figure in the community, especially among Korean users.

However, he was not perfect.

He always prefixed his posts with "[Johnnenon]."

For example:

[Johnnenon] The necessity of fuel reserves for long-term survival (3)

[Johnnenon] The omakase I just ate ㅎㅎ

[Johnnenon] (Top Secret) The current situation on the Chinese front in 2023

[Johnnenon] Dinner tonight ㅎㅎ

I couldn't understand why he did this, but his posts were of high quality and professional.

However, he gradually changed.

First, the community itself changed.

As the signs of the apocalypse became more visible, the number of people, especially Koreans, in the community increased, and strange things began to happen. People who envied Johnnenon's unique popularity and influence in the community started to appear.

At first, a few people subtly criticized Johnnenon, indirectly attacking his information by presenting alternative perspectives.

The man I thought shared the same thoughts as me acted differently.

Perhaps feeling a sense of belonging to the community, he started to be mindful of public opinion and eventually revealed his face.

The reason for revealing his face was clear: to stop the criticism.

However, his appearance was surprisingly gentle, unlike his muscular body.

Perhaps because of this, the community's reaction became even colder, and people openly attacked him.

The main point of attack was Johnnenon's hunter rank.

While it's true that Johnnenon is a professional hunter, he is a D-rank hunter, the lowest rank among professional hunters.

Some even spread his real name, which, according to them, is Goo Sang-hyo.

Already a community star, Johnnenon tried to maintain his position by going on the offensive.

He organized a meetup for Korean users of the $100 monthly fee doomsday enthusiast community, "Viva! Apocalypse!"

I attended the meetup to seek advice, as I had just finished an important project and was planning a new one.

Ten people attended the doomsday enthusiast meetup.

The age range was diverse, but I remember that there were quite a few people in their 50s who had both financial means and energy.

The largest group was the 30-40 age range, with many professionals.

There were a few people in their 20s like me, but they seemed to have joined the community out of curiosity rather than serious preparation for the apocalypse.

It was late autumn, and the weather was quite chilly, but Johnnenon was wearing only a thin tracksuit.

It seemed to be two sizes too small, making it look like it might burst, but it revealed his impressive muscles that he often boasted about.

Introducing himself to everyone, Johnnenon said, "I am a professional hunter, Goo Sang-hyo."

Four out of the ten attendees clapped, and I was one of them.

The meeting place was not particularly impressive.

It was a cheap meat restaurant where the quality of the meat was secondary to the price.

Johnnenon, the organizer, ordered nine servings of all-you-can-eat pork belly.

He said he was on a diet and wouldn't eat, but when the owner said everyone had to order at least one serving, he reluctantly ordered one for himself.

Despite talking about his diet, he drank and ate more than anyone else.

The meat came from various countries like Belgium, Germany, and Chile, and it tasted as expected for an all-you-can-eat restaurant.

The 40-50-year-old members who seemed to have some money left early.

Johnnenon didn't mind.

On the contrary, he looked pleased, drank a shot of soju, and began to share the stories he had prepared.

"A war is coming. China will start it. The party is trying to control it, but the situation inside China is a mess. They are evacuating cities due to the numerous rifts, and the party is divided, making it impossible to control from the center..."

Johnnenon's information was at the level that any professional hunter would know, and it was about six months behind.

It was estimated that he didn't have the connections or authority to access core information.

Still, it was a good thing.

I had other expectations from Johnnenon.

"Mr. Johnnenon, I have a question."

I was a long-time supporter of Johnnenon, always liking his posts.

"Who are you again?"

"My nickname is SKELTON."

"SKELTON? Ah, I see."

Johnnenon's gentle face broke into a bright smile.

"You want to build a fuel reserve? I know a good contractor. Want an introduction? What level are you looking for? Gas station level?"

All the effort I put into supporting him paid off.

Johnnenon not only answered my question seriously but also introduced me to connections who could help with illegal construction.

Despite his casual appearance, he was a decent person.

Thanks to Johnnenon's connections and information, my hideout made a significant leap forward.

For Johnnenon, the first meetup was a big success.

Users who interacted with him wrote positive reviews, and his reputation improved.

I also joined the praise.

SKELTON: Mr. Johnnenon, you have even more charisma in person. Your wild charm was so overwhelming that I almost fell for you!

Johnnenon liked my post.

There were a few more meetups after that.

They were more like fan meetings.

Johnnenon's reputation continued to rise, and the number of participants increased exponentially.

At the last fan meeting I attended, over 80 people gathered.

During the final meeting, I saw Johnnenon sitting in a corner, talking to people I didn't know.

Feeling there was nothing more to learn and a mountain of work to do, I decided this would be my last fan meeting.

When I was about to leave, a slightly drunk Johnnenon approached me and gestured for me to follow him outside.

"Mr. SKELTON."

Johnnenon looked at me with wobbly eyes.

I was curious and waited for him to speak.

"Are you a hunter?"

"Me?"

"I feel like I've seen you somewhere."

"Really?"

I hesitated for a moment.

Should I tell the truth or lie?

"Um, to be honest..."

Before I could finish, a group of people rushed out of the restaurant, pushing past me and surrounding Johnnenon.

"Bro, what are you doing? The TV station called!"

"A reporter wants to interview you!"

They were Johnnenon's new enthusiastic fans.

As drunk as Johnnenon, they alternated their gaze between me and him.

"Bro, do you have something to talk about with this person?"

One of the men looked at Johnnenon and asked.

Surrounded by his fans, Johnnenon looked at me.

"..."

His lips seemed to part slightly, but then they closed tightly.

Johnnenon went back into the restaurant with his fans.

That was the last time I saw him.

After that, I didn't meet him again and rarely logged into the community.

I only logged back in a year before the war started.

"Hmm?"

While drinking coffee and looking at the monitor, I tilted my head.

I couldn't find any of Johnnenon's posts.

They were all deleted.

Dozens of information posts and thousands of diary-like posts had vanished.

Soon, I found out why.

After I stopped attending meetups, a new group began attacking Johnnenon.

Unlike the previous subtle and blunt attacks, the new attackers wielded a fatal weapon.

Anonymous338: Johnnenon, you copied and pasted the information from the European board.

The vast knowledge Johnnenon boasted of was not his own.

He had stolen the posts of a French user from the French board and passed them off as his own.

His actions went unnoticed when the community was small, but as it grew and more discerning people joined, Johnnenon's deception was exposed.

The higher he rose, the harder he fell.

Johnnenon, once the king of the community, experienced a terrifying downfall.

A torrent of criticism poured in, and his fans turned their backs on him.

I looked at the posts from that time.

RokaGG: I'm disappointed, Johnnenon...

RKKArA: I saw your lies, Mr. Professional Hunter.

Anonymous82: Aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh