Chapter 43

31. The Man of Light (3)

The emotional turmoil seemed to have affected his already weakened body, and Jonnaen was demanding rest.

A man in a protective suit, wearing glasses, was attending to him.

From the way he was frequently coughing up blood and convulsing, and clutching the arm of the man in the protective suit, it seemed that Jonnaen's time was not long.

After administering a sedative and allowing him to catch his breath, the man in glasses approached.

"I'm sorry. I made you come such a long way and waste your precious time."

"What happened?"

The man in glasses hesitated.

After a moment, he spoke in a resigned tone, calmly recounting what had happened to Jonnaen.

"......Jonnaen tried to introduce a new type of nuclear battery."

"Nuclear battery?"

"Yes, the Neo Alpha. While traditional nuclear batteries prioritize stability and longevity, the Neo Alpha can produce power almost equivalent to a small power plant. However..."

The man's face contorted.

"It was extremely unstable. Eventually, an accident happened during the power installation. Jonnaen was directly exposed to a large amount of radiation."

As I listened, a question arose.

Electricity is indeed a necessary resource for a human-like life.

But a power plant level?

Would someone living in the post-apocalyptic era need that much electricity?

"Do you really need that much electricity?"

I asked abruptly, waiting for him to finish speaking.

The man stared at me and answered with certainty.

"Yes, we do."

Jonnaen stood up and looked in my direction.

It seemed he was ready.

I approached him.

Due to the backlight, his face, which had become grotesque, was not clearly visible, but his eyes shone in the darkness like those of a wild animal, fixed on me.

"I know you."

Jonnaen said with difficulty.

The shift from formal to informal speech didn't bother me.

He was speaking not as Jonnaen but as the elder Hunter Goo Sanghyo.

"I saw you in Chorwon. Yes, it must have been around the time I was first deployed to the front after completing my specialized training."

Chorwon.

Was it during the period when I returned to Korea and was making a lot of money?

There was a time when I risked my life in a fight there.

"I saw you from a distance. You were fighting two monsters. One was a Dancer, and the other was a Spider, I think."

"......"

He must have seen that scene.

How ironic.

"I had never seen anything like that before. I've seen videos and simulations, but in reality, they were something that humans couldn't handle. Why? They seemed to lack souls, something that even dogs and cats have. Do they have even a fraction of a soul, like a worm on a fishing hook?"

I think they do.

Compared to humans, their souls are so faint that they might as well be a mere shell.

"There were a few newly deployed Awakens there. But they couldn't do anything. They were terrified. There was......"

Jonnaen extended his hand.

As if trying to grasp a past that would never return.

"You were the strongest from the school. The rest were nothing."

His eyes, which had been fixed on the past, began to shake violently.

I could feel the intense emotional turmoil from his trembling pupils and hands.

Jonnaen turned his head slightly to the side, still looking into the distance.

As the darkness brought by the backlight lifted, a hideous face with red spots became faintly visible.

"Awakens."

Jonnaen bit his lower lip with his toothless gums.

"I see them as monsters. Their strength is identical to that of monsters, isn't it?"

"......"

"Upward waves or downward waves. They claim to have theories, but to me, they're just monsters. Or perhaps they're human mutations."

He looked at me.

At the same time, the darkness brought by the backlight covered his face.

"I wanted to know who you were, so I begged the young Awakens to tell me your callsign."

"......Is that so."

I responded because I wanted this conversation to end quickly.

I was getting tired.

Not only was my body fatigued, but I had experienced similar situations many times.

"At that meeting, I ignored you."

"I'm not that special. I deserved to be ignored. By the way, I want to check the equipment......"

"Even after seeing the idol."

Jonnaen nodded, interrupting me.

"Yes, you were my idol."

The man's eyes, which had been shining in the darkness, became bloodshot.

His voice, which had been faint, gradually faded.

"......"

In this uncomfortable silence, I didn't know what to say.

Jonnaen spoke again.

"......I heard a story about almost closing a rift in India."

His tone changed.

Hunter Goo Sanghyo had returned to being the user Jonnaen on the forum.

"What? In India? Isn't that place already destroyed?"

"They gathered the best elites on a small, isolated island and attempted to tackle a low-intensity rift. After many trials and errors, they discovered the true nature of the rift and found a way to close it."

Though hard to believe, Jonnaen's story bore a striking resemblance to events in Korea.

The image of Jeju Island and Yoo Sangho's face naturally came to mind.

And the words he had said to Kim Darum about possibly betraying me.

"Where did you hear this information?"

Words can be said by anyone.

I needed proof.

Jonnaen lowered his head, revealing his face.

A faint smile was on his face.

"The sea of information left in this world is not limited to Viva! Apocalypse! There are other sources as well."

Jonnaen turned his body.

"I have something to show you."

The man in glasses supported him.

Behind Jonnaen's bedroom was another door made of lead.

A Geiger counter next to the door was pointing to a dangerously high level.

Jonnaen opened the door without hesitation.

Thud.

Beyond the door, a hot air that could dispel the pervasive cold, countless flashing lights, and a multitude of connected wires and cables greeted us.

Though I have almost no knowledge of IT, it seemed to be some kind of computer system.

Data storage, servers, and the like.

Jonnaen bent down and entered the room, gesturing for me to follow.

"Come in, Skeleton."

About four to five years ago?

I became a fan after reading Jonnaen's posts.

The man who once captivated me had unknowingly pulled me into the swamp he created.

"Come on."

Drawn by his call, I bent down and entered the room filled with countless lights.

There was more than just computer equipment.

A bright light that momentarily blinded me enveloped me.

It was a wall covered with numerous monitors.

I looked at the monitors.

User1: Why is the server breaking down this morning? Master Jon. Where are you?

User2: I'm in Busan. What's in the sea? .jpg

User3: Is it true that the president is dead?

"......What is this?"

No doubt.

It's an internet site.

And the posts are being updated in real time.

I looked at another screen.

Jongnam: I've successfully set up the communication equipment. It really works. Nice to meet you.

Byeonggangsoe: Nice to meet you, Jongnam.

HydraRisk123: Kaaaaa (meaning "nice to meet you, Jongnam")

This is also an internet site.

I looked at another screen.

Anninghaseyo: Mom picked some ferns;;; So delicious;;;

ChocoPuppet: Isn't the server breaking down too often these days?!

YauMyungYau: Is it true that Information Hyun and Ban Seol-a broke up??

This is also an internet site.

What is going on?

An internet, in this world, besides Viva! Apocalypse!

I turned my eyes from the numerous screens to Jonnaen.

The flashing lights from each monitor and communication equipment now appeared and disappeared like stars on his pale, ashen face.

Jonnaen extended his emaciated arms.

"A community for the failed."

The face of a man introducing himself confidently at a makeshift barbecue suddenly overlapped with the face of the dying man.

"PaleNet!"

With a relieved expression, Jonnaen subtly turned to look at me.

"I created it!"

That's right.

There was another forum.

A forum that exists in the post-apocalyptic era, where a journalist often posts information, different from Viva! Apocalypse!

Unlike the closed, satellite-based internet of Viva! Apocalypse!, it is a place where anyone can post their thoughts and opinions without being restricted by location, as long as they have the means to connect.

"......When I was kicked out of the forum, I had many thoughts. I could make a grand return with a jaw-dropping event, or I could remain a lurker and just watch. But neither option felt satisfying."

Jonnaen stared at the large power facility marked with a radiation symbol in the room with bloodshot eyes.

"So I thought, why not create a site that can rival Viva! Apocalypse! Like Melon Mask."

The man in glasses, who was standing beside him, nodded strongly and added.

"PaleNet is currently giving hope to many people in despair. Many have been saved and found hope thanks to PaleNet. Now that the government and organizations have irresponsibly fled to Jeju Island, PaleNet is the only remaining internet refuge for the Republic of Korea."

Tears welled up in the man's eyes.

"But at the cost of Goo Sanghyo being severely injured...... Honestly, I think Goo Sanghyo is better than Melon Mask. Would that fraudster go into a room full of radiation to turn off the power to protect the equipment and the people who might be harmed by it?"

Jonnaen gestured to the man.

"Jungmin, stop and give him that."

In the room now filled with light, only two people remained.

Jonnaen looked around his room with a nostalgic gaze.

"......I wanted to show you this."

He smiled and looked at the countless connections made in the monitors he had created.

Sometimes light, sometimes frivolous, and sometimes trivial, but the evidence that people are still alive was vividly evident through the rapidly scrolling text.

"Amazing."

An honest and straightforward impression.

I couldn't have imagined it.

This person, this somewhat frivolous and materialistic person, creating a world.

"And one more thing. This is actually the main purpose."

Jonnaen lightly tapped his machine and let out a pleasant laugh.

"I will soon take revenge on Viva! Apocalypse!"

"Revenge?"

"Yes, on those Korean forum users who kicked me out without any gratitude."

"?! "

"They will probably be confused, but I wanted Skeleton to understand. About the revenge of Jonnaen that will soon begin."

He didn't tell me what the revenge would be.

Jonnaen's follower brought me the equipment.

The equipment was perfect.

Before leaving, I looked at him.

Jonnaen was standing with his arms outstretched, immersed in the strange aftertaste of the world he had created.

The room was so dark, or perhaps my eyes were blurred, that Jonnaen and the light surrounding him were indistinguishable.

*Every time I face a monster, I feel the old hatred inside me burning like a dry piece of coal.

"......"

The small monster in front of me now - a Dancer type - is specialized in close combat.

A monster that hunts hunters.

Despite its massive size, reaching 6 meters in length, it moves with the agility of a dancer, appearing and disappearing unpredictably, and turns hunters into mush with its two spear-like arms.

Without equipment, it's almost impossible to win.

But with the right equipment and the ability to react to its chaotic movements, it's not impossible to kill it.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

As I faced the grayish-white enemy that filled my field of vision, I needed the resolve to die.

More precisely, the will to land a proper blow even if I die.

Click

The monster's spear rose into the sky.

It was going to stab me from above.

Like my fallen comrades who were cremated on-site because their bodies couldn't be sent back.

But I won't let that happen.

Feeling the eternal flame of hatred, I pulled the trigger.

Bang!

With a powerful explosion that sent my body flying backward, a massive harpoon shot out and pierced the monster's body.

A direct hit.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The explosives inside the harpoon detonated in a chain reaction, tearing the monster apart from the inside.

In the end, the monster was split in two and began to disintegrate into a colorful ash.

"......Phew."

With this, my territory was secured.

Outside the forest, the mother and daughter snipers were waiting for me.

"Hey, how did you do it?! Skeleton Hunter? Hunter Yuse?!"

"Well, something like that."

"Skeleton!"

They seemed deeply impressed.

Especially Su, who couldn't take her eyes off me, wide-eyed.

I gently patted her head and left.

"......If you have more of these, let me know."

"Okay!"

"Ah, and Rebecca."

"What?"

"Don't post about today on the forum."

"Why?"

"Don't post it if I say not to. Before the internet is cut off."

"......"

Carrying my exhausted body, I returned to the forum.

I had a lot to talk about.

About Jonnaen, especially about his revenge.

I decided to give a brief heads-up to Defender first.

Defender.

What expression would he have if he knew about Jonnaen's recent activities?

With a tired but cheerful smile, I logged into the forum.

"Huh?"

The scene that greeted me was like I had come to the wrong place.

User1: Viva Yayohou~! Viva Yayohou~!

User2: I'm from PaleNet. I'm from PaleNet. I'm from PaleNet. I'm from PaleNet. I'm from PaleNet.

User3: Hahaha

HydraRisk123: Kaaaaa (meaning "nice to meet you, Viva people")

HoduMom: You guys were having such a fun time, weren't you?!

User4: I'm from PaleNet. I'm from PaleNet. I'm from PaleNet. I'm from PaleNet. I'm from PaleNet.

...

...

What is this?

Why is the forum like this?

Unknown people have taken over our forum.

After a moment, I understood why.

Foxgames: I've been noticing the traffic increasing strangely, and it turns out it was a sign of an invasion. They're right. They all came from PaleNet. But it's not all bad.

Foxgames: If they can invade, we can invade too.

Foxgames: The world has expanded.

Reading that post, I smacked my forehead.

Who could have imagined such a brilliant revenge?

I said with respect.

"Jonnaen."

He was my role model.

My role model apparently saw me as his idol.

Now, I also see him as my idol.

Creating a world and connecting it to another world, he is a person who deserves it.

What kind of relationship is it when each sees the other as an idol?

A chain of idols. I thought of the ouroboros, the snake that bites its own tail.

The symbol of eternity, but within it, there are large and small elements.

The large is the head, and the small is the tail.

I want to give the glory of the head to Jonnaen.

The man who became one with the light in the dimness.

John_nenon: (Jonnaen) Here's today's lunch 呵呵

I read his post.