Apocalypse Survival Guide

Chapter 10. Destruction of Daily Life (10)

To cut to the chase, she failed at bypassing the safety lock on the tool.

She got as far as disassembling it, but her current tools just couldn't manipulate the circuitry.

Nadia sighed as she looked at the mess she had created, clearly disappointed. Her confident demeanor hadn't produced the results she expected.

"I thought this would work..."

"Don't worry too much. Even like this, it's still decent for defense."

I picked up another tool that was still intact, unlike the one Nadia had tampered with to a point beyond repair.

The sensation in my hand was heavy yet reassuring. Designed to withstand the emission wavelengths of blue crystal ore, this was a plasma cutter.

The plasma pickaxe that had been blocking the door had already met its end at Nadia's hands and was thus unusable.

'I thought today would be the last.'

I had assumed I'd never need to handle a plasma cutter again after today, as I was planning to return to Earth starting tomorrow. However, due to the incident that occurred at the Heaven mining base, it seemed like I'd be indebted to this tool for a while longer.

After gathering a few more backups in case of an emergency, I found myself staring at the upper half of the monster sprawled in front of the door. Its suit had torn in several places due to forced bodily expansion, exposing the blue crystal within.

"Hyun-woo, this isn't refined, it's raw ore, right?"

"Oh, yeah."

The blue crystal, as if grown from inside the body, wasn't the refined kind Carry usually consumed. It emitted waves that disrupted nearby electronic devices.

Fortunately, the amount visible to us shouldn't have a significant impact. At least, not for the time being.

The waves emitted by the blue crystal ore affect not only electronic circuits but also the human mind. It wasn't a good idea to stay in the same space for too long, so there was a necessity to leave this place.

Nadia shivered, her body and tail trembling as she looked at the protruding blue crystal. The small hairs on her ears stood on end.

"If this grew from its body... Could it possibly... grow in ours?"

She frantically patted herself down, letting out a small sigh of relief when she found nothing abnormal.

"..."

It hadn't even been a century since this special mineral, brimming with energy, had been discovered. Yet, those who recognized its value mined blue crystal exhaustively.

Or rather, there was a strong movement to mine it. As a result, much of its information could be preserved, and today, it had become an indispensable resource for society.

But there were still unknown aspects remaining. Blue crystal, which still left unexplained traces, led me to think it might somehow relate to the terror incident at the base.

'The pureblood supremacist terrorists wouldn't have just set off bombs for no reason.'

I wasn't defending them. I believed there must be another reason pushing the pureblood supremacists to such actions. As much as they were a group of lunatics, they weren't foolish enough to challenge the government.

"It's best not to touch it recklessly. It might be contaminated—or rather, I'd bet it is."

"... Okay."

Nadia stepped back with an uneasy expression. Having watched the playback of the bracelet's records with me, she also knew that the pureblood supremacists were deeply connected to the cause of the base's current condition.

"A bombing..."

"It can't just be that. Monsters like this wouldn't appear just from setting off a bomb."

"Monster..."

Nadia mulled over the word. The distorted form in front of us could only be described as a monster.

They say that zombies, creatures that rise after death, were once a popular concept. People intrigued by immortality studied this concept, but every experiment ended in failure. Death, it was concluded, could not become a new beginning.

Now, it felt like the base was overrun not by zombies but by mutants. These didn't simply move with decaying bodies; their bodily tissues were wildly deformed.

"Hyun-woo, I saw it earlier. That monster blocking you was regenerating—no, recovering at a rapid pace."

"Regenerating?"

"Yeah. That monster crawled out from under the shuttle wreckage. As it emerged, its body was growing visibly—live, in real-time."

"So attacks might not work. Even if they do, it would quickly recover."

"That's what I think. So it seems wise to not engage directly. While you, Hyun-woo, might be able to hold your ground, I surely can't."

Nadia hoped not to encounter them again until we found a way to unlock the tools or a better weapon. Her eyes looked up at me, as if pleading.

We didn't know what this monster was. Was it a figment-of-imagination zombie, a mutant, or something in between? We couldn't define it.

The one sure thing was that we needed to get out of the base, regardless of what these creatures were.

"I agree with you. Let's try to move while avoiding them as much as possible."

Frankly, I wasn't confident we could do that with the base's systems down, but I chose not to voice this thought. Nadia was just as aware of our situation as I was.

"Are the ones outside all gone?"

"Yeah, I can't hear anything."

"Then let's get ready to leave. Staying here longer is suffocating."

The lingering scent of blood numbed my sense of smell, but the sight of the bloody massacre still assaulted my vision, increasingly unsettling my mind.

Each breath felt like hitting a wall, and afterimages lingered in my vision with every glance, as though my surroundings were moments from collapse.

Staying here any longer could mean falling into the psychological disorder warned about in the base announcements.

'Maybe I'm already suffering from it.'

In any case, Nadia and I discussed our next move through silent but deep sighs.

"We agree on heading back to the residential area, right?"

"Yeah. I do think it's the best option, but..."

Nadia hesitated, gauging my reaction before she continued. Her next words prompted another sigh from me.

"What if it's not safe there either?"

The entire base was in such disarray that her worry wasn't unfounded and had already crossed my mind.

If only Heaven mining base had been affected by the incident, military bases surrounding it should've quickly arrived for aid to control the situation.

However, it was highly likely that not just us, but also these military bases had gotten caught up if pureblood supremacists acted simultaneously. If so, the chance of the residential area remaining safe wasn't high.

In fact, it could be an even bigger hell than here, especially if those monster-infused blue crystal creatures appeared there too.

'The residential area has an even larger population.'

Nonetheless, there was a clear reason to head to the residential area.

"Even so, we need to go. The shuttle to Earth will arrive there."

"You said it's unmanned, right?"

"Yeah. It moves based on pre-set commands, so it was supposed to arrive here unmanned. Oh, and it'll leave unmanned too unless manually operated."

A broker who trusts machines more than people. She once mentioned in passing how her distrust of people stems from money's pervasive influence over them.

Whether the broker managed to advance the shuttle's schedule smoothly remains unknown; now, however, we were left with no choice but to stake our hope in it and make our way there.

"Then we need to leave right now."

"The time is tight. If the schedule changed, there's less than a day left."

Given the distance between the base and the residential area, we didn't have much time to spare. Exiting through the door only required Nadia to manipulate the circuits linked to it.

The only problem was what we'd do once we were outside—specifically, how we'd navigate to the residential area.

"We shouldn't bother with the shuttle station anymore. The warning announcement said there aren't any spare shuttles left."

"That only applied to the shuttles that travel between the residential area and the base, right?"

"Sure, maybe shuttles heading to other areas exist. But can we operate those?"

I held up my gray-toned bracelet. A low-rank, then a mid-rank worker. No matter how you combined them, they were merely workers.

Without having the status of an officer capable of operating shuttles or an upper-tier worker ranking up to that degree, the shuttle was useless even if it stood right before us.

The shuttles that transported between the residential area and the base were the types of transit we, as worker classes, could use, and hadn't the warning stated that none were left?

"... That's true."

Nadia's tail drooped. Shuttle operation wasn't something circuit manipulation could override.

While messing with it wouldn't outright cause an explosion or anything, persistent interference by one without authority would trigger loud alarms.

In this silent operation, loud alarms would act like bait, luring all sorts of monsters in the vicinity right toward us.

"Not only does it need to be something we can operate with our credentials and durable enough to reach the residential area, but it also has to seat at least three..."

We both wrestled with our thoughts until, abruptly, an idea struck us simultaneously.

There was one means of transit that met all those conditions.

"A cargo orbital vehicle..."

During ore extraction, considerable byproducts accumulated that needed clearing to extend the tunnels. For this purpose, a orbital vehicle similar in function to Carry was used.

These vehicles weren't for mere travel within the tunnels but were designed to transport piled byproducts from the entrance to waste disposal sites. Therefore, they were equipped with sufficient engine power and sturdy caterpillar tracks fit for exploring outside the base.

Most importantly, a mid-rank worker could operate them. Although I was low-rank, Nadia was mid-rank, and we could use it with her authority.

"How many orbital vehicles were there near the tunnels?"

"That's something to check onsite. At least one should be functional."

Upon realizing our means of survival, we nodded with visibly brighter expressions.

As long as it could move, that was enough. As long as it allowed travel to the residential area, nothing else mattered. With these thoughts in mind, we felt that it was time to open the door and head out.

"I'll open the door now."

"Alright. I'll shove anything that jumps out, so just focus on manipulating the circuits."

"Yeah, I trust you."

Nadia's eyes widened with determination as she forcefully pulled off the monitor beside the door. Beneath it lay a tangle of wires and a connected circuit board.

After a shallow, tense breath, Nadia carefully pulled the circuit board outwards. She then began delicately tapping the circuitry while monitoring the door's reactions.

【☆٩(｡•ω〈｡)و】

Beside her, Carry cheered Nadia on. Encouraged, Nadia resumed her work on the circuit board with renewed vigor.

I wasn't entirely sure, but I felt something was happening. A message appeared on the monitor.

【Manipulating circuits is a serious crime. You may be penalized under SSTC Criminal Law Article 5.】

"..."

Despite unease bubbling inside me, I couldn't ask if everything was going well. Nadia was making a completely focused expression.

After some tense moments of trusting her, the door, firmly sealed, suddenly jolted and shook. The lock had been released.

【A malfunction has occurred in the door. Please contact the maintenance team immediately.】

"Done! See? I still got it!"

"I didn't say anything."

"But you looked at me like you doubted it."

It seemed her beastly senses picked up on my gaze. Admitting it would only hurt the situation, so I acted like I hadn't heard and assumed a defensive posture with my tools.

Realizing it wasn't the time for jokes, Nadia swallowed her pout and, after stuffing a small toolbox into her belt pouch, rose to her feet.

The storeroom fell eerily silent. Stepping from a place of relative safety into an outside world filled with dangers made tension eat away at my nerves.

"..."

"..."

Maintaining silence to avoid attracting any nearby monsters, we decided to open the door. At Nadia's command, accompanied by a grinding metallic sound, the door began to open.

Screeech...

Normally insignificant, this noise now felt piercingly loud and jarring.

The warmth from our sheltered corner dissipated, scattered by the cold draft from outside, leaving only chill in its wake.

All that remained was the biting cold.