Chapter 38

29. Cold Snap

The collapse of the system means not being able to receive the services we take for granted.

Weather forecasting is one of them.

Though they are often criticized for being wrong, who else would analyze and judge the weather besides them?

The past three days had been warm.

By the calendar and the seasons, it was a perfect spring.

But the world changed in a single day.

A sudden, unannounced northern wind froze everything overnight.

The external thermometer pointed to minus 32 degrees.

The air-raid shelter had turned into a giant refrigerator.

The water in the toilet, located in the center of the first floor of the shelter, was completely frozen.

If Duchamp, who became famous for his urinal exhibit, saw this, wouldn't he title it "Frozen Spring"?

I waited for the sun to rise and then went outside.

It was so cold, but there was not a single snowflake.

The sky was absurdly clear, and the air was so crisp it was almost painful.

"......"

What should I do?

The battery charge was almost gone.

We had passed the beginning of spring, and the temperature had been rising, so I had several opportunities to run the generator, but I didn't.

The fuel in the reserve tank had dropped below half, so I needed to start conserving, and since it felt like spring, I didn't run it, but the severe cold had arrived.

I needed to run the generator even in broad daylight.

The benefits of running the generator include preventing pipes from freezing, reducing the risk of frostbite, and decreasing the chance of freezing to death by 99%.

However, running the generator at midday would inevitably produce exhaust fumes.

With the exhaust reduction facilities, the fumes wouldn't be visible from far away.

At night, they would be almost undetectable unless the moon was very bright.

But it was daytime, and the air quality was excellent.

If a thin plume of smoke rose from this desolate, abandoned land, it would be more visible than I imagined.

The choice is simple.

Should I hide and face the cold, or risk being discovered by an unknown hostile presence and run the generator?

I didn't consider starting a fire inside the shelter. That would be suicide.

"......"

My initial choice was to face the cold.

I thought I could survive this cold with only primitive equipment and my own body heat, without electricity.

But even primitive people didn't endure winter naked.

They had fire.

I have a small fire in the form of a hand warmer, but the temperature of a campfire is 1300 degrees, while a hand warmer is only 40 degrees......

Beep beep beep

The battery was drained.

The temperature of the heated mat in the tent dropped rapidly, and the cold lashed at my heart with every moment.

I thought about drinking to endure, but drinking only makes the blood circulate faster; it doesn't light the internal furnace to fight the cold.

Many people froze to death even before the war.

"......Shit."

I wiped my nose and cursed without realizing it.

I would freeze to death like this.

Monsters, bullshit, and looters—before any of that, I would freeze to death.

Around 11:00 AM.

I finally decided to run the generator.

It was the only conclusion I could think of to survive.

But I wouldn't do it in a normal way.

I opened the air-raid shelter door and faced the knife-like cold, heading towards the field on the other side of the territory.

The field, overgrown with weeds last year, now looked like withered straw.

I threw a piece of cloth soaked in synthetic oil I received from Ji-Young-hee and lit it with a match.

The wind was strong, and the fire went out several times.

When do people curse?

Everyone has their reasons, but in my case, it's when my body is tired.

"Shit! Damn! You made this with oil?"

I cursed involuntarily and repeated the same task.

By the time the sensation in my hands and feet was almost gone, the field was on fire.

The wind carried the fierce flames, which threatened to engulf me as well, but I stood there for a while, staring at the violently dancing flames.

By the time I returned to the shelter, the flames had grown and were burning the field.

I watched the black smoke rise into the sky and started the generator.

Whirrr---

I climbed the ladder to the first floor, watching my most valuable asset, which pulsed like a heart, come to life.

The shelter was still an ice cave, but it already felt warmer.

The heating system I mainly use consists of a heating tent and a heated mat, a set that provides maximum efficiency at minimal cost.

But there's one more.

Sssss-

The radiators installed throughout the shelter received hot water from the boiler, which was heated and circulated by the generator's power, emitting a fine mist to warm my room.

This is the true heating system I, Park Kyu, have hidden.

Not just heating the floor, but a luxurious heating system that warms the entire air.

It's a secret weapon I only use on special days like Christmas or New Year's.

The radiators working properly not only means the air is warm but also that the plumbing has withstood this severe cold.

I took off my parka, which I had wrapped tightly around me, and watched the thermometer rise.

The temperature was rising.

I started preparing a meal.

I suddenly wanted curry.

My kitchen is next to the toilet.

People are always surprised and ask why the toilet is in the middle, but it's unavoidable.

I installed it in the center for the optimal design of the water supply and drainage pipes.

If I felt like it, I could have made it like an apartment with three rooms and two bathrooms, with walls in between, but what does the location matter if I'm the only one using it?

Most importantly, a ventilation duct is located above the toilet.

This means the smell can be quickly eliminated without a separate exhaust fan.

Thud thud thud

I sliced the half-frozen carrots, onions, and potatoes into measured pieces.

The water was boiling in the pot on the induction cooker, and the Japanese solid curry blocks were waiting to be thrown in kamikaze-style.

Naturally, the temperature inside the shelter rose quickly.

Even in the severe cold of minus 28 degrees outside, the thermometer approached 15 degrees.

This is almost a spring day.

I could turn off the generator now, but the battery isn't fully charged yet.

Since I took the risk to turn it on, I should get the most out of it.

The abundant hot water I secured was collected in a wheeled bathtub next to the toilet.

After washing and shaving, I got into the bathtub.

"......Wow."

It feels like coming back to life.

I'm already alive, but it feels like a new life is entering my body.

The warmth of the bathtub not only melted my frozen body but also my heart.

I relaxed lazily, watching the thick steam escape through the ventilation duct above the toilet.

Who could enjoy such luxury in this apocalypse?

A warm smile crept onto my face, and I let the rare, satisfying moment pass.

In the kitchen, the curry was simmering and becoming more flavorful.

Yes, days like this are necessary.

Before sunset, I checked the surroundings.

The western field was blackened and emitting white smoke.

There were no people around, and the air was still cold.

The outside temperature was minus 28 degrees.

It's a temperature that could freeze zombies to death.

*

I asked the sniper about their well-being today, following yesterday.

"Ugh, it's cold. So cold. Fucking Korea!"

The sniper and their family seem to be fine.

The fact that they post on the bulletin board regularly, even on such a cold day, is evidence that they are doing well.

In fact, not many posts have been made on the community in the past two days.

There are a few posts about freezing to death, but that's all.

Among us survivalists, it's rare for someone to freeze to death.

But typing on a keyboard in the severe cold that turns the shelter into a refrigerator is not an easy task.

No one wants to get frostbite and cut off their fingers while using the community.

After filling my stomach with the curry I made yesterday, I went out for morning reconnaissance.

The air was still cold, but it was minus 18 degrees, definitely better than yesterday.

The air was still clear, and there was no snow.

I blew out a white breath and looked towards the golf course.

A subtle change was detected.

There was a black dot I hadn't seen before at the bottom of the gently sloping hill of the golf course.

It looked like a person, but it didn't move.

I gathered my weapons and approached cautiously.

As expected, it was a frozen corpse.

He was kneeling, head bowed, and the direction he was looking at was, ironically, towards my shelter.

I recovered the gun he was carrying.

A K-2, a domestic rifle, with a full magazine.

In his pockets were condoms, cold medicine, and, for some reason, mosquito repellent, which I all took.

His clothes were similar in size to mine, and the parka he wore was an imported, expensive one, so I felt tempted to take them, but I left them.

After gathering the items, I thought about what to do with the body.

Should I burn it or bury it?

Neither option appealed to me.

Burning it would be noticeable, and burying it would require digging in the frozen ground.

It would be better to throw it somewhere out of sight.

When the weather warms up, I'll decide whether to bury or cremate it.

I dragged the body by the feet up the hill.

I didn't know much about golf, but this was a country club, not a public course.

Only members with expensive membership rights could enter.

I had heard from an old man that the membership rights for this club were traded for about 18 billion won.

It's true that many expensive cars used to come and go.

While I was exhausted from building the shelter, I often saw cute carts rumbling over the hill.

Each time, I wondered:

What's beyond that hill?

What kind of different world is there in a country club with 18 billion won membership rights?

After the war started, I crossed the hill and looked beyond the empty golf course.

There was nothing.

The short grass, now burned, and unknown trash, and collapsed bungalows only faintly hinted at the place being a gathering spot for the upper class of South Korea.

I crossed the hill again, dragging the body by the feet.

My intention was to throw this body beyond the hill.

Just moving it there would make it invisible from my shelter.

This not only improved the view but also meant that wild animals wouldn't disturb my sight by attacking the body.

"Huff."

I climbed the ridge of the hill, feeling like I had reached the summit.

I was speechless.

There were more bodies.

Dozens of them.

All frozen to death.

Some were armed, but others looked like civilians.

The man I dragged also wasn't in a military uniform.

A refugee?

Or a pioneer?

I wanted to believe they were looters, but there were more old people, children, and women.

The frozen bodies were lined up in a straight line, and the line pointed directly to my shelter.

"......"

I paused, lost in thought.

The man I dragged was also looking at my shelter.

Could he have seen the smoke I made and come here?

In the cold of minus 30 degrees?

There was smoke from the field, so why did they come this way?

Could my smoke be visible from so far away?

Did the smoke from my generator look more beautiful than the rough, demonic black and red smoke from the field?

I felt an inexplicable frustration as I looked at the bodies.

"Why did you come here......"

I wished I could talk to the dead.

I wanted to grab their spirits and ask why they came to me on such a cold day.

Why did they ruin my good mood like this?

My anger was not connected to the fire.

I left the unfinished intruders and left the golf course.

There were unfamiliar footprints in my territory.

I remembered the armed bodies I saw at the golf course.

They all froze to death miserably, but their weapons were in good condition.

Seven automatic rifles.

I couldn't take them all, so I only took the ammunition and left the guns.

Could there be more?

Another group that found my shelter but didn't reach it?

"......"

I felt my blood run cold as I put down the captured guns and slowly approached the shelter.

The footprints disappeared halfway, replaced by dragging marks.

There was a discarded gun near the fourth dummy shelter.

The dragging marks became more chaotic and shallower.

They led to my main shelter.

At the entrance of my well-hidden and camouflaged main shelter, a man was kneeling, collapsed.

There were no signs of life.

The burdock needles stuck to his clothes like tumors suggested he had crossed a mountain.

Was that why our paths diverged?

The discarded gun, the chaotic dragging marks, and the lack of a specific awareness that my main shelter was here suggested he reached the entrance of my territory by vague impulse and instinct.

Looking at the face of the man, who appeared to be in his early 20s, I unknowingly said coldly:

"Hole in one."

This cold snap seems to have frozen not only the sky, the earth, and unknown people.

*

Defender: What's with that dejected look?

Defender: The cold snap protected you?

SKELTON: (Skeleton grinning) Really?

Defender: Want to team up with us?

I was about to type "YES!" when:

"......"

My joy turned cold.

I realized halfway that what I was seeing was a dream.

It had been 10 days since contact with Defender was lost.

People whispered that even the great Defender couldn't survive this apocalypse.

"......"

When I opened my eyes, I was greeted by familiar darkness.

Complete, pitch-black darkness where nothing could be seen.

Without thinking, like a blind person, I remembered the location of objects and fumbled to turn on the computer.

There was no reason.

I just wanted to see someone.

I wanted to pour out something.

Even if no one responded to my words, I wanted to see them alive and moving.

There was a message.

Message from Defender: Skeleton, did you miss me? You didn't freeze to death, did you?

A few simple sentences can stir emotions.

"......Shit."

I felt something hot streaming down my cheeks.

It was a bittersweet feeling.

This Park Kyu, to be on the verge of tears over such a guy.

But the hot tears streaming down my cheeks were real, not a dream.

Tap tap

I typed with my frozen fingers.

SKELTON: Long time no see.

Message from Defender: That's it? Nothing else? You were waiting for me, right?

"Huh."

Why is this guy so thick?

Is there a clever way to express the joy of reunion without hurting my pride?

A sentence I had seen somewhere flashed through my mind like a dream.

Tap tap

"Ho."

I blew on my fingers and sent the reply.

SKELTON: (Skeleton denying) N-no, I didn't really miss you?

Message from Defender: Wow......

Message from Defender: I've noticed before, but aren't you really bad at the internet?

SKELTON: !