Hiding a House in the Apocalypse

Jeju Island is a perfectly controlled society.

Not just the internet but even the smallest aspects of daily life fall under surveillance and regulation.

Walking through the streets, you can see security cameras installed everywhere.

Ironically, those cameras were Chinese-made.

They were the same model as the notorious machines I had seen in China—capable of recognizing a person’s face and tracking their every movement.

Roll calls were conducted through those cameras. A designated spot was marked in front of each residence, and as long as a person stood within the frame, the camera would automatically register their attendance.

If someone failed to show up, a government official would visit before noon.

As suffocating as the omnipresent surveillance was, the scarcity of basic necessities was even harder to endure.

The Jeju government only provided half of what people needed.

Food and essential supplies were barely enough to scrape by, and medicine was only available in limited quantities through public health centers.

If you wanted more than your allotted rations, you needed credits—a currency recorded on the card issued at the community center. But earning those credits was no easy feat.

The only way to accumulate a significant amount was to work in combat zones or take on elite-level jobs equivalent to frontline duty.

Ordinary people had no choice but to survive on the meager rations provided.

Fortunately, my card held 948,000 credits.

Considering that a factory worker pulling two shifts a day for 10 hours only earned 15,000 credits per month, this was an immense sum.

For reference, a box of instant noodles at the market cost 10,000 credits.

I personally felt I was being treated poorly, but from the perspective of the Jeju government, this was them showing me goodwill.

However, having a fortune in credits didn't exempt me from labor.

Time slipped away as I idled in this unfamiliar environment. Before I knew it, a week had passed.

"You're Park Gyu, correct?"

I was called to the Employment Center, located next to the community office.

Like most of the government workers here, the employee in charge was a young woman—she barely looked like she was in her early twenties.

"I reviewed the résumé you submitted earlier, but... hmm... It doesn’t seem like you have any special qualifications."

"…"

I was too tired to even explain anymore.

The lucky Awakened who had taken over this island dismissed everything that Old School Hunters like me had done.@@novelbin@@

There was no point in arguing. No reason to raise my voice.

On this island, I was nothing more than an outdated relic of the past.

The employment official flipped through my file and eventually spoke.

"I searched for jobs that fit your circumstances. There's only one option left."

"Where is it?"