As soon as I stepped out of the room where the cat was, I saw someone jump out, seemingly startled by the alarm. It was Vladimir, who was staggering out of Room 65, possibly drunk. The man, upon seeing the water up to his calves, pressed something on his wrist pad. All the doors opened simultaneously, and the wailing alarm now made a buzzing sound. It was deafening. Didn't Vladimir say he was the team leader of the Russian engineering team? A woman with blonde hair tied up emerged from the room Vladimir had just left.
"What's going on? Oh... this is crazy."
The woman, seeing the cold water up to her calves, spat out a Russian curse. Vladimir shouted at her.
"Nikita! Get to the escape pod right away!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Nikita grabbed Mr. Yoo's wrist and started running, and Mr. Yoo, taken by surprise, began to run along. The floor was flooded, so they couldn't run fast, and as they slowly moved away, Mr. Yoo shouted, "Mr. Muhyun!" I waved my hand, signaling him to go ahead. Then, as I scanned Room 66, Vladimir was looking at Room 67.
"Mr. Vladimir, aren't you coming?"
"Our kids are all drunk and asleep. They won't wake up even if you kick them."
In Room 67, a man who smelled of alcohol was sleeping amidst the loud alarm. As soon as Vladimir entered the room, he slapped the man's face with his large hand. From outside, I thought his jaw might have been dislocated, but the man finally woke up.
"Nicholai! You stupid bastard, wake up!"
Hearing Russian curses from behind, I found a person lying on the bed in Room 68. Before entering, I noticed the name "Sofia" next to the door. She was sleeping without a shirt. I called out her name from the doorway. Of course, she wouldn't wake up amidst the alarm. I picked up the blanket that had fallen to the floor and threw it over her, then yanked the pillow from under her head.
"Ms. Sofia!"
Seeing Sofia wake up with her eyes half-closed, I ran to Room 69. In Room 69, a man, about two meters tall, was sleeping naked without a blanket. Vodka bottles were scattered around the bed. I read the name on the plaque next to the door: Viktor Basilevich... or something like that.
I pressed the back of a pen on the desk to remove the ink cartridge and then used the pen tip to scratch the man's bare foot from top to bottom. He twitched and lifted his head. His face was flushed from alcohol.
"Get up! Hurry!"
Vladimir had already gone to Room 72, but no one was there. As I was about to run to Room 73, someone grabbed my shoulder from behind, nearly making me fall.
"Dentist! You need to get to the escape pod."
The seawater was already up to my thighs. Only then did I realize I was shivering. The water was extremely cold. Was the seawater this cold? It felt warm when I played in the sea. I pointed in both directions with my fingertips, looking at Room 74.
"I haven't checked yet!"
"Then you can check and die!"
Vladimir said this and started running towards the central staircase next to Room 40, splashing through the water. The other Russians followed him towards the central staircase. Is this the best option? I hadn't even seen Rooms 1 to 37. To check all the way to Room 80, I still had six rooms left.
Each room was about 2.5 meters long. With the water up to my thighs, I would have to walk at least 21 meters and then return. Something moved on my back. I was momentarily startled but realized it was the cat in my bag.
...If I hadn't seen them, I couldn't save them. I decided to act quickly and ran in the opposite direction. I won't be late. I won't be late! I chanted this to myself while splashing through the water and checking Rooms 74 and 75. No one was there. In Room 76, I found a long snake. What the hell!
Without thinking, I grabbed the snake with my bare hands and stuffed it into my bag between the candy and chocolate bar, then zipped it up. Rooms 78 and 79 seemed empty. I splashed through the water to Room 80. It was difficult to walk. Please, no one. Please, no one.
In Room 80, a boy was sleeping. I was about to lose it. The alarm was buzzing, but he didn't wake up. In a situation where my brain felt like it was shutting down, I carefully placed the medicine box from the table into the bag with the cat and slung the bag with the snake in front. Then, I picked up the boy and put him on my back.
By the time I reached Room 76, I had no thoughts. The only thing on my mind was to move quickly. I followed the path others had taken, touching the walls. The water, which had been up to my thighs, quickly rose to my waist.
Walking in the water was extremely difficult. It felt like I was kicking the water to move. The cat in the bag twitched occasionally, and the boy, whose feet were submerged in seawater, didn't move at all. As I splashed through Rooms 74 and 73, I kept telling myself, "Almost there, almost there." I couldn't let fear overwhelm me. If I let fear take over, it would be the end. I can get out. Stay calm.
...I can't fall. If I fall, it's over. I need to walk quickly, but I can't fall. I supported the boy's bottom with one arm and bit the bag with the snake to keep it from sinking. The buzzing alarm was deafening.
As I left Room 80, I finally realized where the water was coming from: the staircase next to Room 80. Did the Russian team leader know this and deliberately go to the central staircase? Is the central staircase safe? It must be safe, that's why he went that way.
Damn it. If the central staircase isn't safe, what will I do? I'm already halfway there. Why do these crazy people in the underwater base keep pets they're not supposed to? And why is there a child?
Only authorized personnel could be in the underwater base. Minors were not allowed to enter the Fourth Underwater Base at all. The boy on my back, who looked about seven years old, didn't seem to be essential personnel. Why is there a child here?
After cursing profusely, I finally reached the central staircase next to Room 40, but the water was already above my waist. I was out of breath from walking through the water.
I slipped twice while climbing the stairs, but each time I grabbed the handrail with one hand and hung on with all my might. With the boy's bottom supported by one arm, a bag in my mouth, and one hand on the stairs, it was a nightmare. As I climbed out of the water, something blocked the stairs.
I saw that the stairs were blocked by a door. I realized they could block the stairs like this. They must have blocked it to prevent the water from reaching the escape pod and other parts of the base. As soon as I thought this, my vision went dark. I climbed the stairs and pounded on the door, shouting.
"Open the door! There's someone here! There's someone here!"
The water was already chasing me up the stairs. Even standing on the top step, the water was rising from my toes to my ankles. The thought of dying hit me like a wave.
"Hey, you bastards! You're locking the door and running away to save yourselves! There's someone here! Open the door! Open it quickly!"
I started crying.
"Open the door! Are you going to run away and save yourselves? How can you do this to people! Open the door! Kids! There's someone here! Save us!"
After shouting so much, my vision started to blur. I thought I was still screaming, but then I heard a noise from outside the door, and a hand reached in.
A large hand reached in from outside the door, lifted me, and threw me into a corner. I realized it was Viktor, a man over two meters tall, who had thrown me. He closed the door before the water could flood in and locked it, then destroyed the panel next to the door. I asked, dazed.
"Aren't you going to the escape pod?"
"Don't know."
He picked up the boy lying next to me with one hand and put him on his back, then started walking towards the escape pod.
Only then did I realize this man had come back from the escape pod to the dormitory for me. Just taking the boy off my back made me feel lighter, like a steel beam had been lifted. I finally realized how heavy my wet clothes were.
My adrenaline was wearing off, and each step was a struggle. I quickly wiped my tear-streaked face with my sleeve. Suppressing the urge to throw away everything soaked in seawater, I walked towards the escape pod.