In a disaster situation, anything can become a burden. On top of that, it must be annoying to look after the child of someone you normally hate. I understand how they feel, but we’re adults. You can’t just throw away something you don’t want to do simply because you don’t want to do it. It’s easy to put aside a bit of your humanity. But if we cast aside all those burdens and become light as a feather, could we really fly out of here as if we had wings? Gang Sujeong frowned when I said I would look after the child, but she didn’t say anything more.
Henry had been mumbling and eating his candy diligently, and he nodded at my explanation that he had to stay quiet. But soon, looking inside the dark Ophion, Henry asked something like, “Why don’t you turn on the lights?”
“We’re playing hide-and-seek with people holding guns right now. The game doesn’t end until we see sunlight. That’s why we’re trying to hide.”
Henry moved the candy to his other cheek, sighed, and said, “Why don’t you just watch TV and drink beer? You guys sure want to do some weird stuff.”
Hahaha. Little guy, whose way of talking is that? Leonard or Nevae? Henry seemed to want to walk around and look at things, but the adults were all sitting or standing in the dark room looking at their pads, so he seemed to give up on wandering around. Instead, he asked something difficult for the adults to answer. Seo Jihyeok had forcibly shoved a nearby rolling towel into John Doe’s mouth, and Henry saw that and asked.
“Why is that person tied up like that?”
“Mmph!”
How could I make a seven-year-old understand that this person believes in a strange religion called the Church of Infinity and had to be tied up because he might pose a threat to others? I thought for a moment for a good answer, gave up, and said roughly,
“…That person likes that kind of thing.”
“Mmph! Mmph!”
Listening from the side, it seemed both Gang Sujeong and Sin Haeryang had concluded they should go to Cheongnyong-dong. If they went to Hyunmu-dong, they could use the Hyunmu-dong elevator and the Hyunmu-dong escape pod—two options—but if they went to Cheongnyong-dong, they would have three choices: the elevator, the escape pod, and the submarine. That seemed to be why. Of those three choices in the past, I had only used the elevator. And even excluding the armed people, there had been a lot of incidents on the way to Cheongnyong-dong.
“Right. I heard the life support system in Cheongnyong-dong broke down. It was cold the whole way there.”
Both Gang Sujeong and Sin Haeryang looked at me, then back at the map. Gang Sujeong searched for something with a stressed expression on the engineer’s computer, then kept saying things like, “Nothing is working properly,” while looking at her team leader.
I recalled the person who died in the laundry room along with the broken life support system and started to tell the two of them, then hesitated. Not only because Victoria, who died from a gunshot to the thigh, was Gang Sujeong’s friend, but because there was a chance she hadn’t died this time. How much did the events of the previous loop match the present? I asked Sin Haeryang.
“Can you check the inside of the Cheongnyong-dong laundry room?”
“…Here it is.”
He showed me the CCTV footage illuminating the inside of the laundry room on the Roaker pad, but there was no one inside. All that could be seen were some unfolded clothes. Had Victoria not yet reached the Cheongnyong-dong escape pod? Or had she fled safely without getting shot? Please, I hope she didn’t die.
Some of the screens on the CCTV were facing different angles, while others showed nothing but pitch-black darkness. It seemed some engineers heading from Cheongnyong-dong to Baekho-dong, or some people who had been in Jungang-dong, had adjusted the CCTV angles or stuck something in front of them. Bases No. 1, 2, and 3 weren’t visible on the pad at all.
Sin Haeryang told everyone to get up. Seo Jihyeok, who had been lying on the floor during that time, rose to his feet. He reached out a hand to help I Jihyeon up, then playfully held his hand out to Baek Ayeong, who was sitting, only to pull it back before she could take it, and got kicked in the shin. *Ack!* Hearing Seo Jihyeok’s scream, I Jihyeon dusted herself off and asked Sin Haeryang,
“Where are we going?”
“We’re going to Cheongnyong-dong.”
Seo Jihyeok asked me again.
“Do we really have to bring this cultist? Leaving him here is also an option.”
“Then let’s untie at least one arm or leg before we go.”
“…I think we can bring him.”
Seo Jihyeok hoisted John Doe onto his back, climbed diligently over the exercise equipment, and dropped him feet-first from a height of about 2.5 meters. A thud rang out, followed by a suppressed scream. *Mmph!* …Watching Seo Jihyeok’s actions, it seemed that person had no human rights. It suddenly occurred to me that leaving him here might be the more respectful choice.
However, in order to escape Ophion, the people had to voluntarily climb over a mountain of steel desks and exercise equipment, actively forfeiting their own human rights.
In Henry’s case, he could slip out easily by squeezing through small gaps or twisting his tiny body. The adults had to become covered in bruises while skillfully dodging the hulks of metal. I slammed my calf into the pedal of a stationary bike and teared up slightly. By the time we reached the entrance of Ophion, people were sporting one or two bruises each. Seo Jihyeok grumbled as he passed the bench press.
“Who told us to stack these up like this?”
“You. You did.”
I Jihyeon said, bending down to avoid a protruding barbell bar. *Eek!* A scream rang out, and I saw Yu Geumi slipping forward while climbing over a treadmill. Gang Sujeong and Seo Jihyeok, who were below, caught her simultaneously and lowered her down. Tumanako said, climbing down a wall of exercise equipment.
“Since it seems safe here, wouldn’t it be better to just hold out inside? At least one military from the eight countries should come, right?”
I answered Tumanako, rubbing my bruised calf with my palm.
“The problem is I don’t think the underwater base will hold until they get here.”
“The underwater base is going to collapse?”
“It’s possible.”
“Come on. That’s ridiculous. How much money have the various countries poured into this place? It’s probably just some water leaking due to shock from a volcanic eruption or an earthquake. By tomorrow, the engineers will probably be busy repairing it.”
Baek Ayeong answered with a sigh.
“I hope so.”
Seo Jihyeok looked at John Doe squirming on the floor, untied the rope around his ankles, and spoke amiably.
“You’re welcome to try to run away, but even if you do, I’ll just catch you again.”
Then he lifted him up by the armpits and forced him to stand.
Beside the Ophion door, Sin Haeryang was holding something round and circular, and pitch-black. Wondering what it was, I saw a hole in the center of the circular disk. I didn’t really exercise, but could that really be a weight plate? Sin Haeryang was holding two of them; one had “10” written on it and the other “15.” …Those numbers couldn’t mean weight, right?
“Why are you holding those?”
“There are no decent weapons.”
So those are weapons instead? What are you going to do with them? Gang Sujeong was holding two pads in one hand—the Roaker pad and Sin Haeryang’s pad—and in her other hand, she held a kettlebell labeled “10 kg.”
After Gang Sujeong scratched her cheek, she set the kettlebell on the floor momentarily, and Yu Geumi, seeming curious, tried to lift it with one hand. She couldn’t even lift it from the floor. After straining with both hands to lift it, she managed to hold it in the air for a few seconds before meekly setting it back down. Henry seemed to find this amusing and tried to grab and lift the kettlebell, but it didn’t budge either. Gang Sujeong smiled for a moment at the two of them, then hoisted the kettlebell like a handbag and spoke to Seo Jihyeok.
“People should use what they’re used to. It’s awkward when you try to use something you’ve never used before, like scissors or whatever.”
“…No matter how much I think about it, I think that bastard Jeong Sanghyeon is out of his mind. Why does he snap at the deputy team leader sometimes?”
“You’re just the same.”
“Come on. But I’m much better, right?”
When Seo Jihyeok, holding a dumbbell, answered like that, Baek Ayeong looked at the three of them and simply assessed them as gorillas.
Baek Ayeong snatched the two pads from Gang Sujeong’s hands like a flying squirrel. Then she handed Sin Haeryang’s pad to I Jihyeon and took charge of observing the CCTV feed on the Roaker pad. When Seo Jihyeok grabbed onto the Ophion door, Sin Haeryang joined in. I pressed myself against the door and began pushing it sideways. The weight was no joke. Had they made the door out of solid metal?
After a minute, the door opened halfway, and Sin Haeryang, seeing Baek Ayeong’s hand signal, went outside Ophion. Then he checked the surroundings and said,
“You can come out.”
At those words, Henry was the first to dash out, startling me. Well, he could come out, but… I gave the child a stern warning.
“You have to stick with me.”
“Why?”
“You ate three candies without your mom knowing. I have to tell your mom that it’s okay, that I gave you permission.”
“…You said it was okay to eat them.”
Henry pouted. Once everyone had exited Ophion, Baek Ayeong looked at the pad and took the lead. Gang Sujeong and Sin Haeryang were next, the others stood in the middle, and Seo Jihyeok brought up the rear.
A short walk from the gym facility, and the Cafe [Agulhas Current] appeared. Ah. I think I know the way from here. In the brief moment of relief, someone suddenly ran out from behind the cafe.
I couldn’t see anything else properly; the first thing my eyes caught was the gun that person was holding. Sin Haeryang, standing next to Baek Ayeong who had her head down looking at the pad, reacted slightly faster. He threw one of the plates he was holding horizontally.
“Ack!”
The armed person was hit in the thigh by the plate and fell forward immediately. Her hair was so long that her face was barely visible, but when I approached, I could barely tell who it was. It was a woman named Uehara Sumire, who had previously visited the dental clinic; she was a member of Team Na in engineering.
Baek Ayeong threw the pads and whatever else behind her immediately, and I Jihyeon, who was following right behind, shrieked and dove to catch the floating Roaker pad in midair. Sin Haeryang grabbed the woman’s two hands to prevent her from using the gun, and Baek Ayeong snatched the gun away at once.
Seo Jihyeok did not join the fight. He seemed to be on guard, looking around to see if there were other people. Including Gang Sujeong, the others were in a dazed state due to what had happened in just two seconds.