Chapter 36

28. Seonbi (1)

It is often said that humans are deceitful creatures.

I am not much different from others.

Once the toothache disappeared, I fell back into a swamp of boredom, endlessly refreshing the bulletin board, browsing popular posts, and wondering why I couldn't succeed, while wasting time as if it were homework.

The recent hot topic on the bulletin board is undoubtedly the revived Seonbi.

That guy, who used to speak in strange ways, has now started to speak like a normal person.

SUNBI: I was wondering why my writing was so strange, and it turns out the keyboard was set up strangely. What's this three-stroke system? What the hell? It seems old people use keyboards in strange ways.

While one person's death may not be better than another's, Seonbi's death can be interpreted in various ways depending on the perspective.

However, no matter how it is packaged, the fact remains that a woman was involved in Seonbi's death.

Is that why?

SUNBI: Hey, guys, how are you?

Seonbi has turned into a woman.

In the dimly lit air-raid shelter, the face in the blurry photo taken at the so-called "best angle" was that of a girl in her late teens, still retaining a youthful innocence.

SUNBI: Guys, are you AIs or something? Are you real people?

The bulletin board was in an uproar.

Recently, it had been peaceful with a ceasefire and no new pioneers, and we had spent a quiet winter.

Moreover, the new Seonbi was a user who knew how to draw attention.

SUNBI: Seonbi is putting on makeup~

SUNBI: Seonbi is hungry

SUNBI: Where is Seonbi from? Want to come and see?

SUNBI: Seonbi lives around Pyeongtaek. Any guys or uncles nearby?

If it had stopped there, it might have been better.

The board's reaction wasn't too bad.

unicorn18: Seonbi-chan~ Show us more of your face. Any more photos?

Anonymous848: I'm also around Pyeongtaek (hint)

DragonC: Hmm.

keystone: Today's lunch verification (feat. beef)

Anonymous458: Seonbi is ugly

...

...

For some reason, I didn't find this topic particularly interesting.

While drinking a cup of coffee, I quietly thought about it and soon felt I understood the reason.

It was antipathy.

I didn't like the sight of someone who hadn't prepared for the collapse, unlike us who had been silently preparing while facing societal criticism, casually freeloading in the hall of doomsday enthusiasts.

DentistKim, whom I met recently, probably contributed to this thought.

I wasn't the only one who felt antipathy.

No, there was someone who truly felt antipathy.

It was Seonbi herself.

Seonbi soon revealed to us who she was.

SUNBI: You guys are really f*cking bastards, lol.

The photo contained several people.

Three men and two women.

All of them had the youthful faces of teenagers.

SUNBI: The country is collapsing, and you don't even fight, you don't help others, you just dig holes like rats to eat, wear, and burn, and spend your time leisurely on the internet?

They were outsiders.

From the beginning, they were different from us, and even when they met us, they mocked and cursed us, beings who could not mix with us.

The age difference also fueled the collective sense of alienation.

The only measure the bulletin board users could take against this outsider was collective ignoring.

But collective ignoring is a sophisticated language of the bulletin board users that the outsider doesn't understand.

SUNBI: Today's discovery of a frozen corpse (feat. a happy family)

SUNBI: Hanging corpse.jpg (feat. the Legion)

SUNBI: Look at this cute baby

SUNBI: Family with a dog

...

...

The outsider plastered the board with photos they had taken, regardless of the collective ignoring.

Each had its own title, but the content was the same.

Death.

The photo of a cute baby was of a frozen baby's corpse, and the family with a dog was of the corpses of people with dogs.

His photos contained only miserable deaths.

SUNBI: A woman who was gang-raped and killed and her husband who hanged himself.jpg

I happened to see one of them.

"......"

The new Seonbi must be showing us more than just revolting corpses.

What he truly wants to show us lies beyond the corpses.

Things we are familiar with but don't want to know, things we don't want to see.

The specific realities of the collapse, in other words.

SUNBI: You disgusting bastards. People are dying, and you're just chatting here, lol. Is it fun? Is the world's collapse fun?

The actions of this outsider truly set the users' hearts on fire.

Dies_irae69: Who's going to kill Seonbi?

What Seonbi revealed was not just the truth we had turned a blind eye to.

The new Seonbi exposed our true nature.

Anonymous848: Should I join in a bit?

Anonymous458: M9 was at least cute. This one needs to be killed.

ROKA_hun: I usually just lurk, but can I come too?

keystone: I want to go, but there are still a few people outside. Most of them are frozen, but it's still disturbing.

chouchou: I've only been lurking, but I'll gather the courage to write. What about the women?

...

...

The true face of us, the doomsday enthusiasts hidden behind pleasant nicknames.

*

The community's atmosphere, which had been flowing in different directions and clustering with similar ones, formed a single massive current with the appearance of one outsider.

Foxgames: The fake Seonbi says he lives in Pyeongtaek, but it's hard to believe. From the previous posts, the real Seonbi lived in Gwangju, Gyeonggi-do.

Anonymous242: It's probably Gwangju. The cherry blossom photo Seonbi took before was from the new town area. It might be the forested area below that neighborhood.

ROKA_hun: I'll bring some ammo. About 100 rounds should be enough, right?

What made them so actively step forward?

I have a vague idea.

Is it a sense of belonging, or a more sophisticated term, a sense of solidarity?

The antipathy I felt when I first saw Seonbi might have been one of those collective consciousnesses.

Why? Because I like this community and value its users.

Anyway, the bulletin board was filled with a scorching heat, hotter than a summer day, at the end of a quiet winter.

Because the outsider had latched onto the most prestigious user on our bulletin board.

SUNBI: Is this even a manga? You drew it so badly. What? Remnant? You're shitting your pants.

SUNBI: I can draw better than you, kid.

"?"

Why are they imitating me?

Could they really be people who can't distinguish between 'nath' and 'nath'?

Anyway, Seonbi's actions poured oil on the already tense board.

Anonymous424: There are some suspicious movements of soldiers in our area, so I can't provide direct support, but I'll cheer you on.

tntn_Orthopedics: These young kids are really crossing the line. I think I know where Seonbi lives.

berkut_break: Materialistic people have given birth to soulless, terrifying creatures that resemble themselves. Even without war, they would have walked the same path. They are products of a failing factory.

Even users who were usually uninterested in the community's topics or rarely wrote posts condemned the new Seonbi.

Now, the tide cannot be stopped.

Seonbi must die.

That is the will of the community.

Many users expressed their willingness to participate, and a line of verification photos showcasing their firearms, muscles, and equipment followed.

I stood a step back in this torrent.

I observed the situation with a mix of slight surprise and interest.

I suddenly thought,

What would Melon Mask say if he saw this?

He foresaw that the community would not function as he intended and would use it as a pastime.

When the satellite equipment was activated and the welcome video was provided, Melon Mask didn't forget to add that even if the world collapses, enjoy it to the fullest.

But even he, with his excellent insight, couldn't have imagined that his community would be used as a platform for collective punishment.

Even as the noose tightens around his neck, the new Seonbi continues to mock us.

SUNBI: What, are you f*cking bastards getting stronger by banding together? You're talking nonsense. Come here. I'll strip you naked, spray water, and kill you without a fight.

SUNBI: Verification1.jpg

SUNBI: Verification2.jpg

SUNBI: Why are you all silent? Are you all scared?

I joined this movement not to kill Seonbi.

I had a request from Defender.

Message from Defender: Sorry, but there are soldiers loitering in my area these days. Can you go instead?

SKELTON: Me? Can't you go? I don't want to be involved.

Message from Defender: To be honest, it's a bit dangerous. The Legion guys are pretending to be Seonbi in Seoul, but the auxiliary units have already turned into looters.

Message from Defender: Be careful. We are two, but you are alone.

Defender's message, devoid of any humor, painted a bleak future.

Looters disguised as soldiers.

Is there a more realistic fear than this?

Defender promised to provide the information he gathered after this was over.

Perhaps that information, obtained by interrogating captured soldiers.

SKELTON: Don't do anything dangerous.

Message from Defender: Well, if I don't hear from you in a week, assume I'm dead and pray for my soul.

"......"

A peaceful winter.

It seems it was just my illusion.

The collapse of the world was steadily progressing in this silence.

Doing what needed to be done, one by one, while we were unaware.

Perhaps this collective action of our community is also a sign of collapse.

I checked the community before leaving the air-raid shelter.

SUNBI: When are you coming, f*cking bastards?

SUNBI: Why are old people so full of lies? Kids who got beaten up in school all the time seem to have become brave as they got older?

iamjesus: If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also (Matthew 5:39)

SUNBI: Should I just find you? I'll search and kill you one by one from now on~?

...

...

Seonbi was still mocking us.

But the intensity and frequency of the insults seemed to have increased, suggesting it was more than just mockery.

They seem to have vaguely noticed.

That this community they stumbled upon is not an easy target.

That many adults are willing to leave the air-raid shelters and risk their lives to kill these reckless teenagers.

I don't deny that I am one of them.

Even if I don't intend to kill, I have joined the group that will.

If it turns out that the Seonbi gang is actually a group of skilled looters who have set a death trap for us, I will gladly join in killing them.

That's what Defender asked me to do.

I gathered my equipment and headed to the assembly point.

At the assembly point, people with various firearms and equipment were already gathered in small groups.

Though they were many, they were armed, so when I appeared, a few people who had arrived earlier looked at me and some even put their hands on their weapons.

"Nickname."

A man with a large scar on his cheek and a thick beard glared at me with sharp eyes.

"Skull."

"Ah, you're Skull?"

"Who are you?"

"I'm DS69, but just call me DS or DS69. To be honest, I'm not very active, and it's a nickname I made without much thought."

DS69.

He was the one who proposed the collective punishment.

He didn't seem particularly interested in me.

What he was interested in was my firearm.

"Wow, Chinese-made. Where did you get it?"

"Just happened to. You could say it's from the dark market."

"I see. Do you have much combat experience?"

"Not much."

"Then just stay back and watch. We'll take care of it."

As I waited, users kept gathering from various directions.

Each time, DS69 personally verified their identities.

If there's a traitor, they might be the first to die, but he has a lot of nerve.

All the users came from the west.

More precisely, from the southwest, and not a single person came from the east.

They gave their nicknames when DS69 asked for their identities.

"Anonymous848."

"ROKA_hun."

"Chouchou."

"Anonymous1001."

Some were familiar faces from the bulletin board, and some were not.

Their ages ranged from their early 30s to their early 60s.

There were almost no 20s, and not even a face in the mid-20s.

They were probably in their 20s when they prepared for the collapse, but now, two years after the war started, they are all in their 30s.

Like me.

The total number of users gathered on the scene was ten.

It's not a small number.

Honestly, I didn't expect so many to gather.

The new Seonbi had truly hit a nerve.

But there's one more thing.

There's a sense of presence that can only be felt on the scene.

It is a gathering to beat up Seonbi.

But there was something else.

The constant probing gazes.

The polite yet cautious inquiries about each other's condition.

The shared suffering, especially the loneliness and the growing sense of threat.

The numerous metaphors for groups and organizations.

DS69 clearly defined the nature of this gathering.

"Everyone, let's exchange information after this. We all gathered here for that, right?"

The organizer himself confirmed the hidden purpose of this strange gathering.

Bringing the bulletin board connections into reality.

That must be another purpose of this strange gathering.

"Alright, let's kill Seonbi first, then?"