When you walk around the back of the convenience store, a straight bridge leading to Cheongryong-dong appears. I only went to Cheongryong-dong once, just to check what was there when I first entered the underwater base. As I turned the corner of the convenience store building, I lightly tapped Baeg Ae-young's shoulder, who was at the very back.
"Let's go into the convenience store. We need to get some water."
As the footsteps of the people walking behind slowed down, Seo Ji-hyuk, who was leading the group, stopped. Shin Hae-ryang, after a 3-second deliberation, nodded. We had backpacks, and I, Baeg Ae-young, and Shin Hae-ryang were carrying them. Seeing the two backpacks strapped to my back, Seo Ji-hyuk said,
"Give me one of the backpacks. I'll go and come back."
I found it hard to decide which of the two bags, one containing a snake and the other a cat, to give. Moreover, the snake was a very small one, while the cat weighed about 6-7 kg, filling up one backpack. If I gave him the bag with the snake, it might bite. Of course, the fact that it hadn't bitten me yet suggested it was either tame, didn't bite people, or was already dead. It seemed to be one of the three. I couldn't give a backpack in such a state to someone else.
"Let's go together."
Surprisingly, Seo Ji-hyuk nodded readily. Seo Ji-hyuk, Baeg Ae-young, and I quietly entered the convenience store. Baeg Ae-young started counting numbers as soon as we entered: one, two, three, four. The convenience store was overflowing with snacks. Chocolate bars, cookies, candies, chocolates, and high-calorie items were all gathered there. They were all free, but could only be consumed within the underwater base.
I went to the beverage fridge first and opened the snake bag to grab a few bottles of water. Upon closer inspection, the snake had moved into the inner pocket of the backpack, curled up in a ball. I carefully put two 1.5L bottles of water into the bag. Then, while drinking a bottle of water, I scooped up candies, chocolate bars, and chocolates and stuffed them into the bag.
The others were doing something similar. Baeg Ae-young put two bottles of sports drink and one bottle of water into her bag, and Seo Ji-hyuk also put two bottles of water into his bag, filling the remaining space with chocolate bars and nut bars. Baeg Ae-young pushed pudding and fruit cups into the empty spaces of her bag. Fifteen. Sixteen.
Seo Ji-hyuk, noticing Baeg Ae-young counting, suddenly pushed the back of the beverage fridge and pulled something out. I thought it was a drink, but it turned out to be a 50-year-old Valentin. A 50-year-old bottle. I had never seen one before. The alcohol was older than me. Since the two bottles of water and the 50-year-old Valentin wouldn't fit into the backpack at once, Seo Ji-hyuk struggled with the zipper. Baeg Ae-young, who was counting, called out to us softly.
"Let's go!"
"Just a moment!"
"What do you mean, 'just a moment'? Let's go!"
Baeg Ae-young, annoyed, dragged Seo Ji-hyuk out. I followed them, but stopped when I saw something lying about 10 meters away from the convenience store. It was a person lying down.
"Huh?"
I thought I had stopped for a moment to look at the person, but Seo Ji-hyuk, who had returned, grabbed my arm and pulled me. His strength was so great that my feet were dragged along. Shin Hae-ryang, who had been waiting behind the convenience store, immediately moved as soon as we caught up.
For some reason, we could hear continuous popping sounds, like popcorn or large footsteps, from nearby. Before we completely left the central area, Baeg Ae-young kept signaling us to be silent. She mimed with her hands, as if threatening to tear our mouths or pull out our tongues if we spoke. When we reached the bridge leading to Cheongryong-dong, Shin Hae-ryang, looking around, said,
"Now you can talk."
I sighed in relief. After seeing the armed person, Yoo Geum, who seemed anxious, glanced back and said,
"Phew, what a scare. At least we haven't run into anyone with guns like before."
Seo Ji-hyuk opened his mouth to say something but closed it again when he saw Baeg Ae-young shaking her fist behind her. I hesitated and then spoke to Seo Ji-hyuk.
"Earlier, there was a person lying next to the convenience store."
Seo Ji-hyuk answered reluctantly.
"Yes."
"Was it just a faint? Did they get shot?"
From a distance, I couldn't see any significant injuries. If they had been shot, wouldn't blood have splattered everywhere? Baeg Ae-young shook her head.
"They were shot in the back. They are either dead or will die. Do you have any medical knowledge about gunshot wounds?"
"No."
If there was bleeding in the mouth, I could try to do something. But the only part I could possibly treat, even in the best case, was the head. Of course, whether it was the head or the mouth, a gunshot wound was beyond my knowledge. What could I do with just two backpacks containing animals?
"Perhaps they were shot when we were moving from the movie theater to the cafe."
Hearing Baeg Ae-young's words, Yoo Geum, with a frightened expression, asked me,
"Did you see their face?"
"No. They were lying face down. ...Their hair was orange, short, and they were a male, East Asian, with a shark tattoo on the back of their hand—"
"......Hong Tao. He's an engineer in Team L and is from Taiwan."
Shin Hae-ryang said. Was he the person who had given me a face massage with his fists before?
"Do you know him?"
"I only know his face and name."
Oh, I see. Seo Ji-hyuk suddenly exclaimed and clapped his hands.
"That... That guy... He used to steal salt from the restaurant at midnight to make salt coffee, setting off the alarm at 3 AM."
Yoo Geum also nodded, recognizing him.
"Wasn't he the one who used to post recipes on the underwater base bulletin board to make something to eat?"
It seemed there were quite a few people who relieved stress by eating in the underwater base. Baeg Ae-young, who had been listening, said,
"It seems more engineers have survived than expected..."
"But the person we saw earlier was dead, right?"
To my incredulous question, Baeg Ae-young rubbed her lip, which she had bitten from stress, and shook her head.
"Engineers usually move in teams when working. If the person we saw wasn't the only one, the other team members are likely still alive."
As Yoo Geum walked onto the bridge leading to Cheongryong-dong, she rubbed her arm several times with both hands.
"Cheongryong-dong feels a bit chilly. The indoor temperature seems lower."
"Indeed."
I had entered and exited the water twice, so my body temperature had dropped significantly. I didn't think it was particularly cold until I heard Yoo Geum's comment, but suddenly I felt a chill. It seemed that the adrenaline that had been pumping through my body while we were in the central area had been completely used up. Seo Ji-hyuk, who had been walking through the underwater base as if on a stroll, suddenly stiffened. He scratched his head while looking at the pad and said,
"Indeed. I usually don't feel the heat or cold, and our team's suits provide some protection against both, so I didn't notice. It seems the life support system is malfunctioning. The temperature is normally maintained at 24 degrees, but it's now at 21 degrees."
It seemed like a very important system had broken down. Just the name sounded critical.