Hiding a House in the Apocalypse Chapter 69.3

The lon Musk Space Bunker Plus Ultra consisted of five main modules and one empty reserve module. Its layout was roughly as follows:

Living - Hydroponics - Control (Tunnel) Empty (Tunnel) Power - Reserve - Workshop

As shown, the modules ford a ring around an empty central area, resembling a donut.

lon Musk was currently stationed in the Living Module, where fortunately, he retained system control over the other modules. This control extended to regulating temperature, ventilation, water supply, power distribution, and shutter operations.

However, the Workshop Module, where the escape rocket was located, could not be accessed or controlled from the other modules unless:

The Master Authentication Key was used.

Approval actions were executed at the system terminals in all four other modules.

This restriction existed to prevent soone from impulsively using the rocket to escape back to Earth, driven by a sudden bout of hosickness.

The Living Module and the Hydroponics Module were exceptions, but all other modules were filled with forr colleagues of lon Musk—now turned into zombies, floating weightlessly in zero gravity.

As for the Workshop Module, its situation could not be observed from other modules. However, lon Musk and Donald McGarry knew that zombies were present there, as they had encountered them during an earlier attempt to flee using the escape rocket.

Each module was equipped with its own ergency shelter and food storage to prepare for the destruction or loss of other modules.

The ergency rations and water supply in each module were of the highest quality, sufficient for over three months. There were also ample oxygen canisters for worst-case scenarios.

Securing just one module would drastically extend lon Musk’s precarious lifespan.

This sparked a flood of ideas from thousands of users.

Click-clack, click-clack.

A notification popped up:

[Alert!] SKELTON has been banned from the live channel!

- Ban duration: 23:45 remaining.

I had also posted an idea, but unfortunately, I was banned. My top-tier suggestion never saw the light of day.

anwhile, a glaring problem erged—too many cooks in the kitchen.

lon Musk recognized this issue and posted a notice:

LON_MASK:

Thanks for all the suggestions, but there are just too many. It’s getting chaotic. I appreciate everyone’s help, but please be more thoughtful before posting. And prank posts? I’ll be filtering them out using staff assistance.

For those watching the live broadcast, let clarify: the VIVA_BOT helpers are not AI. They’re loyal employees who stayed with the company after the war.

So, they were human after all. No wonder I felt the emotion behind the ban.

Soon, only suggestions that passed the strict screening by the VIVA_BOT team appeared in the central chat for selected participants:

Jekyll: How about using the shutters as weapons? They’re strong enough to sever a person’s leg, so they should easily slice up zombies.

desertfox: You’ve got oxygen tanks, right? Can’t you repurpose them as air-powered weapons, like the killer used in No Country for Old n?

BongoXL: You ntioned drones. A 16V battery might not carry a heavy oxygen tank, but in zero gravity? Equip the drones with modified air cannons and remotely fire at the zombies' heads.

VexHexSex: What if you reinforced the shutters with sh netting? You could lure zombies into the net, trap them, and crush them with the shutter like a guillotine.

mmmmmmmmm (Zombie Studies Expert): Zombies struggle on steep inclines.

These were solid ideas, even better than what I had thought of.

Zero gravity was an unfamiliar battleground for . As a hunter, I was accustod to using my skills and strength to kill zombies, mutations, and monsters—often effortlessly, like Cheon Young-jae dancing while dispatching the undead.

From the perspective of ordinary people, however, crafting practical solutions might seem daunting.

My idea involved attaching an oxygen-propelled rocket to an axe—a space adaptation of the Rocket Axe my ntor, Jang Ki-young, had invented.

LON_MASK: Thanks for the suggestions about air cannons, shutters, and nets. I’ll give them a try.

It was fascinating to watch a global celebrity show gratitude and grapple with survival challenges live.

While he worked, I made a bland but nourishing porridge from Femicon and boiled water. After a spoonful, I felt marginally refreshed and began grinding so of DragonC’s coffee beans.

Suddenly, my communicator buzzed—it was Rebecca, not Defender.

"Skelton!"

"Yeah, what’s up?"

"Are you watching Viva! Apocalypse! right now?"

"Yep."

"Why aren’t you submitting any ideas?"

"?"

"Yeah! You’re so strong—you’ve fought monsters solo. When I told Arican hunters about you, they thought I was lying!"

"Well, it’s just luck."

"It’s not luck! You’re really strong!"

Static crackled, and the voice switched—it was Sue.

"Skelton!"

Her usually calm and cynical tone was replaced with uncharacteristic excitent.

"Hurry! Submit your idea! You’re great at coming up with juicy ideas. Help lon Musk! Who knows? You might save his life!"

"...Ah."

I wanted to help, but how could I explain I was banned? I couldn’t admit that to Sue.

"The protagonist always appears last, right?"

"Like those who hide their strength?"

"Yeah, exactly."

"Okay! Skelton, I’ll be waiting!"

The transmission ended, leaving staring blankly into space.

Well, there’s still ti to contribute later. Many ideas already seed superior to mine.

Acknowledging others’ ideas and absorbing them was one of the rare solid teachings Jang Ki-young had imparted to us.

Unsurprisingly, the chatroom buzzed with people pooling their collective knowledge to aid lon Musk.

Aicus: The oxygen tank pressure is insufficient. Even if you rig an air cannon, it won’t do more than bruise the zombies. Better rethink this.

Defender: Why bother setting up a net? Just toss sothing to entangle them, tie up their limbs, and drag them to the shutter. Then, use it like a guillotine.

Kuntakinte’89: If you’re suggesting sothing like a bola, it could work. Even in zero gravity, centripetal force still applies. Let draw a diagram for you.

lon Musk wasn’t just being supported—his struggle for survival, broadcast live from space, beca a symbol of resilience and hope for all of us watching.

Ultimately, he chose Defender’s plan:

Spread a net in zero gravity.

Lure zombies into it and entangle them.

Use drones to haul the net and zombies toward the shutters.

Crush them with the shutter, guillotine-style.

Killing one zombie would secure lon Musk at least three months of survival. If he recovered his strength, he might even reclaim the Plus Ultra.

LON_MASK: How does this look? Pretty solid, right?

He frequently sought feedback, and experts guided him with precise advice.

In front of thousands—or millions—of viewers worldwide, lon Musk prepared his tools.

The drones were equipped with life-saving cables and a reinforced net to capture zombies. The whole world watched as he demonstrated the throw, his hands trembling but determined.

LON_MASK: Oh, like this? Toss the net so it fully encircles the zombie? Got it. Let try again.

lon Musk's throwing skills were steadily improving.

At the sa ti, our anticipation grew.

Even though I wasn’t directly involved, rely cheering for him filled with an excitent and hope I hadn’t felt in years.

Viva! Apocalypse! was worth every penny.

LON_MASK: Alright, I’m about to start. Wish luck, everyone. If I die here, well... it can’t be helped. But before that, let thank you all in advance. Viva! Apocalyptians, thank you so much!

Before launching his mission, lon Musk shared the live feed from internal CCTV caras set up in each module.

Six screens appeared:

The Living Module

The Power Module

The Water Module

The Hydroponics Module

The Reserve Module

The entry point to the Workshop Module

The Workshop Module, by design, could not be viewed internally. However, its entry screen displayed a circular, semi-opaque window in the door. Movent inside could theoretically be detected through the window, but at the mont, nothing was visible.

In contrast, the other modules were occupied.

Four zombies floated weightlessly in the vast spaces.

And then there was Bumpy, the mutated sloth, perched on the ceiling frawork of the automated hydroponics facility. Its razor-sharp claws were dug into the tal supports, keeping it perfectly still.

“...Huh.”

It was huge.

Easily over three ters tall.

Those sharp, curved claws were terrifying. No matter how slow it moved, getting struck by them would leave a person utterly pulverized—or more accurately, shredded to pieces.

There was already one zombie reduced to just a torso, its upper body twitching as it drifted aimlessly in the Reserve Module.

The other zombies seed intact, their dark surroundings making it hard to discern details, but at least their limbs appeared unbroken.

“Alright, let’s do this!”

Wearing his spacesuit, lon Musk embarked on the adventure of a lifeti.

The shutter opened, revealing the Water Module, with its transparent tanks filled to the brim. Air bubbles floated within, illuminated by the sterile, artificial light.

A zombie drifted aimlessly alongside the rounded globules of water, oblivious to lon Musk’s presence.

I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but sothing about that zombie felt off.

“...Hmm.”

lon threw the net.

His first attempt was clumsy.

Unlike his practice sessions, the net failed to spread properly. Frustrated, he reeled it back in and threw it again.

There was no need to exert much force. In zero gravity, even a weak throw wouldn’t result in the net falling to the floor.

Like a slow-motion scene, the net drifted through the air and perfectly wrapped around the zombie.

Direct hit.

However, the zombie remained motionless.

lon Musk boldly stepped beyond the shutter and shouted:

“Jas! Jas! I have to confess sothing—I slept with your wife!”

The zombie turned its head, baring its teeth.

It reacted.

Thrashing wildly, it lunged at lon Musk, its movents a frenzied blur. Whether the zombie’s rage was fueled by lon’s confession or just primal instincts, even I couldn’t say.

The important thing was that, just as Defender had predicted, the zombie was now hopelessly entangled in the net.

lon Musk deployed the drone.

The drone wasn’t powerful, but it was precise.

The mont it touched the thrashing zombie, lon used the remote control to secure the net with the attached hook, dragging the captured zombie toward the shutter.

The sight of the zombie floating helplessly, its limbs bound by the net, was oddly surreal, almost dreamlike.

When the zombie reached the shutter’s edge, lon spoke in a mournful tone:

“Jas, you’re fired.”

The shutter ca down.

CRUNCH!

The heavy shutter, which had once severed lon’s leg, now crushed the zombie’s skull like a potato.

HashireV4: He did it!

Anonymous101: Amazing!

dongtangmom: Good job!

Defender: Well done!

Thisaki: Wow!!!!

COOKIEMONSTER123: Great work!

Terry F: Nice!

Madisonbridge: lon! That was incredible!

mmmmmmmmm: Kyaaaahhh!!!!

The once-silent chat exploded with ssages, flooding the screen with praise.

I wanted to join in but, unfortunately, I couldn’t.

Instead, I focused on the zombie’s lifeless body beneath the shutter.

When I first saw the zombie, sothing had felt off.

Now I understood why.

As lon retrieved the net from the crushed zombie, I realized what had been bothering :

Other than its head, the zombie’s body was remarkably intact—far too intact for sothing that had encountered a savage mutation like Bumpy.

This wasn’t the work of the sloth mutation.

Unless Bumpy had a peculiar habit of killing humans with just enough force to leave their bodies otherwise unhard, this was the result of human intervention.

I reached for my communicator to inform Defender, but then I saw sothing strange on the live feed.

The CCTV for the Workshop Module showed sothing.

The once-empty circular window now displayed a dark, shadowy figure.

Soon, the shadow took shape.

Through the blurry glass, a face appeared—clear and unmistakably human.