NOVEL NEXT Chapter 138
Warning sirens blare! “A nuclear bomb is about to drop! Everyone needs to evacuate to the Banggongho!”
“Is that so?”
“This isn’t the time for idle chatter! You have 60 seconds to gather everything you need and get into the shelter!”
“That’s too short…”
It’s the perfect moment to start a new game. Lately, I’ve been so focused on EOW that winning today just isn’t exciting. I wanted something light and fun, and luckily, a viewer had recommended a suitable game on the game suggestion board.
Survive the nuclear war. It’s a survival simulation game you can comfortably enjoy alone. Since it started overseas and made its way to the domestic scene, the chat room reactions were pretty good.
[Nuclear war ㄷㄷㄷㄷ]
[Seems like this person likes to survive]
[Survival expert over here]
[wow, nuclear survival? lol]
[Even the rats think it’s good!]
“I just need to save this family, right?”
I knew about the game but had never seen a live playthrough or played it myself, so this was my first real experience.
It’s a family of four: dad, mom, daughter, and son. Just your typical nuclear family. Surviving a nuclear war with a nuclear family is just perfect!
Before starting, I learned the gameplay through a short tutorial.
“Looks like I gather necessary supplies with dad or mom. But does it matter? Dad can carry more because he’s stronger, right?”
[Yeah, he can carry up to 4 items at once!]
“Then what about mom?”
[Mom is faster than dad!]
“Oh…”
I thought it over for a moment. Overall, mom might be better. In the limited time of 60 seconds, it’s about who can quickly grab items and put them away. Sure, dad can move more items at once, but he’ll still have to go back and forth.
“I’ll play as mom.”
But when I switched to mom…
“What? They’re the same!”
Contrary to what the viewers said, mom could also move 4 items at a time, and there was no speed difference in her movement compared to dad.
[You got tricked! lol]
[Did you really trust the trolls? lol]
[Can’t resist this!]
[Real talk, when else would there be a chance to trick someone?]
“I’ll let it slide just this once. No mercy next time.”
It was also my fault for taking their advice at face value—basically a mutual mistake. There’s an old saying in the broadcasting world, isn’t there?
Half of those giving advice have never played the game, while the other half is too busy hijacking others’ chats. It’s a well-known saying that emphasizes not to trust viewers.
After realizing there was no real difference between dad and mom, I switched back to playing as dad.
The reason? The family members also count as items that the player must carry. If I moved mom with mom, it would take up 3 inventory slots, but moving mom with dad only took 2 slots, making playing as dad more advantageous.
“But seriously, why are they so calm when nuclear bombs are dropping? They’re just reading books while I’m the only one running around!”
[Haha, it’s a game!]
[Maybe they think the bomb dropping is no big deal!]
[But honestly, I’d probably freeze too if that happened.]
[Right? Deciding to panic may be the better option…]
[Not everyone survives in the apocalypse!]
Complain as I might, I packed up the supplies and gathered my family.
Canned food and water—super important. Guns? Nice to have. An axe and a gas mask too. No idea what they’ll be used for, but we should definitely have these at home.
Also grabbed items like a radio for external news and a flashlight. Now I just need to toss the family in.
[Usually, people throw the family in first and gather supplies, but this player does the opposite!]
[Haha, I guess if things go south, he can just ditch the family!]
[For real, this family is chilling while he’s panicking. Why bother helping them?]
“Got to get the wife, then the son… Wait, where’s the daughter? Why is she so heavy? She’s the same weight as dad!”
[Oops!]
[Oh no!]
[Strong-arming here!]
[Looks like a little tank!]
[Is she a future commander or what?]
[Big shot over here!]
[Thud thud thud!]
[They might start leveling the ground…maybe?]
“Calling it how it is. It’s heavy, and attempting to sugarcoat it is pointless. In a world in chaos, you can’t say a thing without getting into trouble, right? Nowadays, even variety shows have become boring as everyone is too careful.”
Once I finally gathered everything, I jumped into the Banggongho.
Surviving the nuclear war, Day 1 had begun.
*
Day 1
We all made it into the Banggongho just before the explosion. Now that we’re all inside safely, we should be able to manage from here. We will survive.
“Is this a diary? It feels a bit like Anne Frank’s Diary. Looks kinda like a survival journal.”
-The Banggongho was filled with disorganized supplies. With piles of stuff everywhere, there was no space to unpack our bundles. Usually, I’d reflect on my laziness, but this time was different. Who knew this laziness would come in handy!
Chessboard +1
“A chessboard? Doesn’t seem that useful. What’s it for? Oh, it helps manage mental health. Well, if you’re living only in a Banggongho, I guess you’d need such things. I hadn’t thought of that.”
[Susu’s live in the Banggongho daily, lol]
[Do you need chessboards? Just scratch your belly and watch broadcasts…you don’t even need to go outside!]
[For real, if you gave me internet and food, I could stay in for years!]
[How is there even internet after a nuclear explosion, you dummies?]
-It’s time to distribute meals. Luckily, the canned food and water are still plentiful.
“I have to manage this smartly. Once we hit Day 100 or 200, we might not get to eat at all!”
Right now, I have 5 cans of food and 6 bottles of water. Alone, I could stretch this a month, but for a family of four, it’s ridiculously insufficient.
[You can go out to gather supplies later!]
[Just send someone on an expedition!]
[What if they can’t come back and die out there?]
“We can gather supplies, but we could lose the entire family in the process…there’s more luck involved than I thought. But that also reflects reality.”
How much of life doesn’t involve luck? Just being born, I had to beat such low odds to exist!
Even in a game, nuclear wars erupting, wandering in an apocalyptic world for food, or meeting a mugger and losing your life—all of that is just luck.
<RadiatedMoleSoup donated 1000 won!>
“Teacher, please open the door! I brought food!”
“Leave it at the door. Thank you! We’ll enjoy it.”
No way! If an apocalypse ever happens, I know exactly how I’d act. Not opening the door for someone ambiguous is a basic rule!
Besides, even beyond these situations, even kindergarten kids know not to open doors for strangers.
Day 2
It’s time for surface exploration. Expeditions are dangerous searches. You can find supplies, but you might also lose your explorers forever. It’s best to send someone healthy and well-fed, don’t you think?
Should I send someone out on an expedition? (You can select a member. You can skip this step.)
“Just as I said earlier, we have four people, so sending one is probably the most efficient… Who should I send?”
I scanned my candidates carefully. Anyone could be sent out, especially since we have gas masks.
“I’ll send the daughter. Commander, go out and bring back lots of food!”
[Our little girl is so strong!]
[Haha, Commander’s got nothing to worry about!]
[She’d be able to defeat any mugger easily!]
[Feeling secure!]
[Almost like a porridge level!]
After distributing the food, daylight broke once again.
Day 3
We’ve spotted an unidentified creature inside the Banggongho. A small furball resembling a rat zoomed around until it got caught by the son. That’s right, it’s a hamster! The boy was delighted. For kids, there’s no better playmate than that. And you were happy too. Food is practically walking up to the door!
What should we do? Should we eat the hamster?
[You gotta eat it, right? No food means all kinds of creatures are on the menu!]
[What the heck; that’s gross!]
[Imagining it makes me queasy!]
[Would eating it mess with the kid’s mental health?]
[This is a nuclear war; kids turn into adults fast!]
The viewers’ opinions were split right down the middle. I paused, contemplating, before continuing.
“I have a feeling the hamster isn’t that clean. You could wash it before eating? Nah, still sounds dirty. In a situation like this, washing a hamster feels ridiculous. If I eat it, there’s a chance of food poisoning. If I got sick now, I couldn’t even make it to the hospital. So, unless I’m in a position where I feel I’m going to starve to death, I won’t eat it. There’s still food for now.”
I added one more thing.
“If I store it well, it might fatten up later on. Maybe eating it later would actually yield more benefits?”
[Oh no!]
[That’s really cruel; don’t do it!]
[Is this person a psychopath?]
[You sound way too serious; terrifying!]
[What you said is true, but it’s a bit…]
[The viewers are really getting worked up!]
Leaving the whiny viewers behind, I decided not to eat the hamster—for now. Who knows what will happen later?