Of course, there was no way Shin Haeryang, who had been carrying Seo Jihyeok, could have flown the distance we had run until we were out of breath; they say he was caught midway. They say Hai Yun started shouting that it was an order to just let them go.
There had been employees who rebelled against Hai Yun being the team leader, and if what I heard correctly through Seo Jihyeok's cursing was right, Li Wei, Hao Ran, and Wei Qi were especially severe. Since she was a woman team leader, they ignored her orders at every turn and their relationship was usually a mess; but when Li Wei made a remark asking if she was letting them go because she liked Shin Haeryang, Hai Yun answered that it had nothing to do with that, and after that, the gun muzzles started turning toward each other.
"Especially Shuran—maybe because she's friends with Aeyeong—she was telling them not to shoot, asking if they had agreed to go easy on someone they knew, but those crazy bastards cackled and fired at Great White Shark. Seeing that, Shuran too must have lost it."
I looked at Baek Aeyeong in surprise.
"Were you hurt?"
Baek Aeyeong frowned and shook her head.
"He shot at my feet. To scare me."
"Shuran screamed that she didn't want to kill people anymore, and starting with shooting that crazy bastard Hao Ran, it turned into a complete mess. The blackout was truly a godsend. I really thought the heavens were helping us."
So everyone had a different situation. Heheheh. When the elevator stopped because of the blackout, I really thought I was going to die.
"The moment the power went out, our Aeyeong threw a knife at Wei Qi's neck and ran for her life to the elevator; Shuran collapsed; Team Leader Shin grabbed me and ran while Hai Yun covered our rear."
Baek Aeyeong said with an agitated expression.
"When we reached the elevator, the elevator that should have been stopped at Undersea Base 3 had, by chance, come down almost all the way to our floor. I thought that was fortunate at first. Because the elevator easily stopped bullets due to water pressure. After that, it's the same as what you two saw."
Shin Haeryang, who had been listening quietly, let out a heavy sigh and spoke.
"Shuran probably didn't survive. I saw her get hit twice in the lower abdomen. So Hao Ran and Li Wei are the ones left. Since only Li Wei ran over to shoot, it seems Hao Ran was injured in the leg too."
"Zixuan! Zixuan!"
At Seo Jihyeok's voice, Shin Haeryang silently said, "Yeah. Three." Baek Aeyeong looked at Seo Jihyeok, who was scrunching up his face with considerable strain, and asked.
"Is that Wei Qi guy definitely dead?"
"I guess it's because you didn't check. I saw clearly. I didn't make a mistake."
"Okay."
The moment Baek Aeyeong answered, the elevator suddenly stopped and the lights went out. Yu Geumi let out a soprano scream, and I shrieked too. The other three didn't even scream. The only thing that rang out was Seo Jihyeok's curse.
Shin Haeryang said calmly.
"If you wait quietly, the standby power will activate within five minutes."
Yu Geumi took the pad from me and activated the alarm. Everyone seemed to be waiting for the five minutes to pass. Only Seo Jihyeok's groans were barely audible. Being in the dark with five people and one corpse was unsettling, but surprisingly, it wasn't any scarier than being with Yu Geumi. While listening to Seo Jihyeok's story, I asked the thing I was most curious about first.
"Why are Taiwan and Hong Kong lumped together with the Chinese?"
To my question, Shin Haeryang's voice came from the quiet darkness.
"Hong Kong and Taiwan didn't have the means to provide undersea base development funds every year. Although China collapsed and became a federation consisting of eight provinces, as they say, even a ruined rich family lasts three generations; they still have money, so I understand the three countries are cooperating regarding the undersea base. It seems they divided the engineer and mining team positions among themselves as well."
"Huh."
Then Seo Jihyeok butted in abruptly.
"That's why Shuran from Hong Kong and Hong Tao from Taiwan can't stand being lumped in with China, singing 'I'm not Chinese' all the time. Hong Tao would make milk tea and salted coffee every day and pass them around the base, and Shuran, seeing that, went and signed up for Miss Gayeong's baking class saying she wanted to try making egg tarts. It was quite the spectacle."
I let out a long sigh. The undersea base is a way bigger mess than I thought.
We waited in the dark, and within five minutes the lights came back on, but the elevator remained stopped. Wait, had we been in the dark for less than five minutes? It had felt like twenty.
As soon as the lights came on, Baek Aeyeong touched the panel under the elevator buttons again. Meanwhile, Shin Haeryang grabbed his water bottle and blew into it like a horn, and Seo Jihyeok put another candy in his mouth.
The moment Baek Aeyeong took her hand off the panel and snatched Shin Haeryang's water to drink, the elevator began to move upward again. Yu Geumi and I looked at each other and let out sighs of relief. Freed from the thought that I was going to die in the elevator, I finally grew curious about the cause of the blackout. Watching Baek Aeyeong drink as if to empty an entire bottle of water, and Seo Jihyeok barely quieted thanks to his candy, I asked Shin Haeryang.
"I'm asking because I'm curious about the blackout—how does the undersea base receive its power supply?"
Shin Haeryang answered simply.
"Cogeneration."
At those words, Yu Geumi's face started turning pale white.
"No... then. We..."
"Yes. We have to escape quickly."
The engineers seemed to already know. I was reminded once more that the more information I obtained about the undersea base, the worse it was for my mental health. Imagining my face turning as deathly pale as Yu Geumi's, I asked. The word "cogeneration" sounded scary, but at least it wasn't nuclear, so it should be better than that. I wouldn't be exposed to radiation. I looked at Shin Haeryang and asked.
"What is cogeneration?"
To my question, Seo Jihyeok spoke first, mumbling around his candy.
"Explain it in detail, Team Leader. In detail."
Shin Haeryang glanced at Seo Jihyeok once and spoke to me.
"The undersea base regulates electricity and temperature through ultra-compact cogeneration power. It uses natural gas extracted from the seabed to run gas turbines and produce electricity, and uses the heat generated in the process in boilers. Because it simultaneously produces electricity and thermal energy from natural gas alone, energy efficiency is high, and stable power can be obtained."
It was a good explanation. Even a layman like me could roughly understand it. But that wasn't what I wanted to hear.
"What's the downside?"
"The equipment costs are high. And if you can't supply natural gas, it's no different from scrap metal."
"...Besides that. If you were to give me a few worst-case scenarios?"
"Although it's ultra-compact, it depends on how badly the cogeneration system is damaged if it breaks. Gas or pollutants could leak, and if pipes burst, you could be drenched in high-temperature medium-temperature water. In the worst-case scenario... if we are unlucky and it explodes due to the natural gas, not only the connected mining pipes but the entire 4th Undersea Base could blow away. Since the other undersea bases are also connected via the central elevator, they would be in danger as well."
Shin Haeryang spoke matter-of-factly, but the details were nothing short of terrifying. A chill ran down my spine. We were using something this dangerous?
"Didn't they consider using alternative energy other than cogeneration?"
"Here, in these waters?"
I was at a loss for words. Right, what do you use to supply electricity at the bottom of the sea? I couldn't even guess.
"Uh... right. If you build a base 3km under the sea, what on earth do you use to supply electricity?"
"There have been continuous proposals to use nuclear fusion power through small nuclear reactors or geothermal energy, but nuclear fusion was rejected because it hadn't acquired enough stability to be installed at such a deep seabed. As for geothermal... in the situation where undersea bases had to be built, it was difficult to find a location with suitable volcanic activity for geothermal use without suffering earthquake damage, so it ended up this way, as I understand it."
At least it's not nuclear. That's a relief. Someone like me would have been absolutely opposed. Or maybe not? I don't know. Seeing my expression, Shin Haeryang explained a bit more simply.
"Simply put, undersea bases must be built near countries like New Zealand or Japan; if eight countries were to say they would unilaterally extract the natural gas and oil from nearby waters of those countries, one has to wonder whether those two would have participated in development; they likely would have committed terrorist attacks instead. ...First, the 1st Undersea Base and Daehando receive their power from wind generation, but Undersea Bases 2, 3, and 4 each use their own cogeneration power systems. ...I hope this is temporary."
Shin Haeryang trailed off uncertainly. At the end of his gaze as he spoke was the deceased Hai Yun. Because I had laid Hai Yun straight and placed her hands neatly by her sides, she looked as though she were merely sleeping. As if she would get up immediately if awakened. Without realizing it, I asked Shin Haeryang.
"Were you two... dating?"
Shin Haeryang turned his gaze to look at me, then shook his head.
"No."
I opened the snakeskin bag with my blood-soaked, sticky hands. Then I took out the towel I had used to dry my hair in the laundry room. It was slightly damp from the water, so it was soggy, but I spread the towel out as straight as possible and covered Hai Yun's face with it.
Silence prevailed. Only the elevator rose quietly. The atmosphere was at rock bottom. Seo Jihyeok, who had been chattering away until now, was quiet. Baek Aeyeong, who had been leaning still against the elevator wall, suddenly sprang up as if having a seizure, shouting, "I should have thrown it at that bastard Hao Ran!" startling everyone.
"Agh, damn it!"
Baek Aeyeong couldn't hide her fury, hissing through her teeth, but realizing everyone was staring at her, she slowly leaned back against the elevator wall and covered her face with both hands. The cat that had been curled up quietly in the corner started in surprise and was staring only at Baek Aeyeong. I could even hear the agitated sigh of Yu Geumi beside me.
Now that I looked, the people sitting or lying all over the elevator floor looked haggard. I was reminded of the atmosphere at my home three years ago and swallowed a sigh. Someone's stomach rumbled audibly. Seo Jihyeok, lying down and staring at the ceiling, spoke.
"Am I the only one hungry?"
It seemed that chocolate bars, candy, snacks, and the like weren't enough to fill one's stomach. Beside Seo Jihyeok, Yu Geumi nodded with puffy eyes. Yu Geumi had always liked bread.
"...I know. I'm hungry."
"I hope we can grab some bread as we pass Undersea Base 3. Or stop by the convenience store next to it."
When I said that while looking at Seo Jihyeok's leg, his face, already enduring pain, grew even more pitiful. He would need to fast before surgery. But there was no telling when we would escape in this situation.