Chapter 99

54. Local Areas

I remember reading that before the war, issues in local areas were not a big deal.

For example, even if the same flood hit, the local area would only get a one-line news report, while the capital region would have special broadcasts by all three major networks and other commercial stations, live 24/7.

I think it's inevitable.

After all, out of the roughly 50 million people in South Korea, about 30 million live in the capital region.

If you make a fuss, more people will join in, and the journalists will naturally pay attention to where there are more views.

Even now, with the population of the capital region reduced to a tenth, the issues in local areas still don't get much attention, just like before the war.

You can tell from the reactions of PaleNet users.

User: Yangsan? Where's that? If something happens there, will it affect us?

User: We're about to die ourselves.

User: Isn't it right to pull the soldiers guarding the local areas and use them to protect here?

User: What else is there in the local areas besides warlords? It's practically a warlord-controlled area.

User: We should just abandon them. We need to save the capital region first. I'm not being disrespectful, but it's a fact that people in the capital region are, on average, better than those in the local areas, right?

...

...

The ratio of local area users on our forum isn't particularly high.

There are various reasons, but I think the biggest issue is accessibility.

The headquarters of "StarGen Korea," which handles the satellite equipment for Melon Mask's Viva! Apocalypse!, was in Seoul, and they had seven branches only in the Seoul and Gyeonggi regions, with only one branch in Busan.

I remember seeing complaints about the Busan branch being small, the staff being unfriendly, and there being almost no equipment to try out, but I didn't pay much attention.

Checking the forum, it was clear that the local areas had poor accessibility.

Still, at least in the early stages of the war, there were quite a few local area users.

Especially in the Gyeongsang region, the number of users was significant, and while the number of users in the Honam region was less than in the Yeongnam region, the quality of content created by excellent users was not much worse.

One user from the Jeolla region, who focused on seasonal foods they made by hand, was a pretty good user that I and Anonymous337 used to frequently visit during our lurker days.

However, like other local area users, he gradually stopped uploading and eventually disappeared.

He wasn't the only one.

At some point, users who could be considered local area users were no longer visible.

While my indifference is part of it, the fact that local area users, who once made up at least 20% of the forum, disappeared is undeniable.

One question came to mind.

Is survival more difficult in local areas than in the capital region?

I don't think so.

Looking at the damage from the war, the intensity of the rifts, and the presence of civil wars, the capital region suffered much more.

I've heard that fanatics have appeared in the southern regions, but even if they are competent, I don't think they could eliminate the entire local area in such a short time.

Where did they all go?

While sitting in a cabin built for summer retreats, I posted a casual message while enjoying the fan's breeze.

SKELTON: (Skeleton Question) Where did all the local area friends go? Why don't I see them anymore?

I thought I had reached a decent level of anonymity, but no one commented.

I had no choice but to use my secret weapon.

SKELTON: (Skeleton Video) Skeleton's Tanktop Zero Two Dance.msi

- Sorry for the bait, but where did all the local area users go?

Unlike the previous post, several comments appeared.

unicorn18: Tsk tsk...

User: Damn this guy

Dolsingman: I really want to curse

mmmmmmmmm: (Pureblood Seoul Citizen) Tsk tsk

gijayangban: ?

...

...

There were only curses, and no helpful content.

To be honest, there aren't many helpful people on our forum.

There used to be a lot more.

That afternoon, I received a notification for a comment on a post that had already sunk to the bottom.

Someone had commented on one of my old posts.

I checked it out.

Busangalmaegi: Do you want to know where the local area users are?

This user is a PaleNet user.

The easiest way to distinguish between PaleNet users and our forum users is to click on the nickname; if the "Send Message" function is active, they are a forum user, otherwise, they are a PaleNet user.

But this user...

Just from the nickname, you can tell they are from Busan.

Since they commented on my post, I tried to start a conversation by commenting at the end of the post.

SKELTON: (Skeleton Positive)

Since we weren't messaging directly, but rather commenting on each other's posts, it would take some time.

Only I would receive notifications for the comments.

But Busangalmaegi was watching my post.

Busangalmaegi: Do you have any NationalNet cash?

They commented immediately.

But they mentioned a concept I had never heard of.

SKELTON: (Skeleton First Time Hearing) What is NationalNet?

Busangalmaegi: Where do you live? You're not a bumpkin, right?

SKELTON: (Skeleton Privacy) Gyeonggi

Busangalmaegi: Is it far from Incheon?

SKELTON: ㅇㅇ (Yes)

Busangalmaegi: Ah, it won't help.

SKELTON: What exactly is NationalNet?

Busangalmaegi: It's a new website the government opened to compete with PaleNet. If you have NationalNet cash, they say they can exchange it for various things offline.

SKELTON: Really? If I can get NationalNet cash later, I'll give it to you.

Thinking about it, this Busangalmaegi seems to live in Incheon.

So shouldn't they be called Incheon Galmaegi?

Busangalmaegi: Go to the Mayan language board.

Busangalmaegi, in a condescending manner, informed me about an unknown domain.

The Mayan language board?

I've heard of the Mayan Empire, but it seems to be the Mayan language.

But is there even a speaker of that language?

Anyway, I trusted Busangalmaegi and accessed the Mayan language board.

For someone who can't even access the English board, it was a long journey.

I munched on a melon I had grown myself, skin and all, while waiting for it to load.

Soon, the Mayan language board appeared before me.

null: (Busan) Is this a monster?

null: (Gwangju) It's a giant monster. Where did you take this?

null: (Busan) In the Dongnae district. Martial law is currently in effect.

null: (Pohang) It's still safe here.

null: (Jeonju) There's an essential industrial zone there. Are there still soldiers?

null: (Pohang) Only around the steel mill. The rest is abandoned.

null: (Gwangju) They're taking our food to the capital region again. Verified.

null: (Daegu) We send all the oil we make up there.

...

...

At first glance, I felt like I had come to the wrong place.

There's nothing to add or subtract.

It's a Korean board.

All the posts are in Korean.

But there are a few clear differences from our board.

All posts use the same nickname "null" and indicate their location in the header.

I clicked on one of the nicknames, but it was also "null."

This board seems to be a half-finished project.

The space was prepared due to Melon Mask's whims, but it was left incomplete after being pushed back in the development queue.

Some of our forum users found this empty space and are using it as a second board.

However, the number of posts is not high.

The number of users is clearly low.

The fact that a post from two days ago is still visible on the board indicates that it's a small, active group.

Still, they are actively engaging.

null: (Gwangju) A military transport plane took off from the airfield, heading south.

A fresh post appeared as soon as I refreshed the page.

This made me wonder.

Why do these people leave our board and come to this remote place to continue their activities?

While the number of PaleNet users has increased, it's probably not more than a thousand.

Excluding lurkers, the number of active users is less than a hundred.

null: (Skeleton) Why are you active here instead of on the Korean board?

I asked directly.

If they don't comment, they don't comment.

But the atmosphere of the board changed rapidly after I posted.

I know it sounds silly, but as a veteran Viva! Apocalypse! user, I could sense the change in the board's atmosphere.

null: Skeleton? That boring psychopath?

As expected, they came out strong from the start.

But I'm not the type to back down.

null: (Skeleton) ?

I boldly showed my face.

null: Why are you here? This is a playground for bumpkins.

null: (Skeleton) I don't see many posts about local areas on the board.

null: To be honest, there's nothing worth reading on the Korean board.

null: (Skeleton) Why?

null: I only go there to check popular posts, but they only talk about things unrelated to our survival.

While I couldn't see the nicknames, it was clear that there were at least a few Mayan language board users.

Soon, several posts appeared one after another.

null: Always talking about Seoul this and Incheon that. Honestly, it's not helpful.

null: I joined this service to exchange information, but all I hear is news from places a million light-years away from my home.

null: We do use the Korean board, but we mainly monitor this one. There's not much to gain from the other one, where only nonsense and irrelevant posts appear.

From their stories, I understood why they left the Korean board and moved to this forgotten language board.

Just skimming through the old posts, it was clear.

This board is for pure information exchange.

It strictly excludes idle chatter and diaries, sharing real-time regional information from Viva! Apocalypse! users outside the Seoul region.

One anonymous user accurately described why they left.

null: The quality was already getting worse, and it got even worse with the influx of PaleNet users. To be honest, I didn't like it even before, but now it can't provide what we need.

In short, the board's quality has declined.

I agree.

As someone who remembers the scholarly era when the board was a place for high-minded gentlemen to exchange information, I can't help but agree.

null: (Skeleton Gratitude) Thank you for the explanation.

This is probably my last post on this board.

As I fell silent, the Mayan language board users returned to their daily activities.

Unlike our board, where posts scroll endlessly, I took in the slowly appearing posts by refreshing the page.

null: (Busan) The giant monster has disappeared.

null: (Busan) From a different angle.

null: (Busan) Is Yangsanman dead? Why hasn't he posted since that day?

null: (Daegu) Is the Gochang rift okay?

null: (Gwangju) It seems there's no problem here, but who knows.

null: (Daejeon) I'm planning to move to Gwangju by car. Is it safe?

null: (Gwangju) Don't come. The warlords and local lords have been in control for a long time.

...

...

Watching the posts slowly fill the board, I was reminded of our board in the past.

I remember it had a similar atmosphere in the early stages of the war.

Everyone was watching their surroundings day by day, worrying, and exchanging information to survive.

I'm not saying I dislike the current state of our board.

There are times when I frown, but it's the last refuge for lonely and cornered people to find comfort.

The problem is that too many people are seeking comfort.

"..."

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

However, I don't think this board will last much longer.

null: (Yangsan) It's over here. The soldiers are fleeing. Now it's every man for himself.

Local areas are disappearing.

This means that the end of this country, which has barely held on, is drawing near.

The impact of the Mayan language board's message quickly spread across PaleNet, but as usual, it didn't cause much of a stir.

A more significant event had started, overshadowing the collapse of the largest industrial base in the southeastern region.

User: [Celebration!] The second Jeju evacuation fleet is about to set sail!

An evacuation fleet that can only carry a few citizens is being treated as more important than the collapse of a region that once supported the entire industry.

It's an absurd story, but it's not hard to understand.

For people who have tasted despair to the point of exhaustion, a handful of hope tastes better.

However, it's an era where even that hope is questionable.

User: The reality of the first Jeju evacuation fleet.txt

A user publicly released a satellite image on PaleNet.

The image showed a port in the Shandong Peninsula of China.

At the boundary where the blue sea and the grayish-white world overlap, a cluster of ships was stranded on the dock like waves.

When I zoomed in on the ships, the words on the deck were clearly visible.

[Republic of Korea]

If this photo is real, none of the 200,000 people who boarded the first evacuation fleet reached Jeju Island.

They all died.

On a foreign shore, not even in Korea.

"..."

A storm is about to break.