Apocalypse Survival Guide

Chapter 3. Destruction of daily life (3)

The outside was bustling not just with workers from Tunnel No. 8 but from all the tunnels. Their faces showed signs of bewilderment, as if this was something they were experiencing for the first time.

Clearly, judging by their reactions, it seemed no one had received any prior notice.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know. Maybe some big shot is visiting?"

"Well, things like this happen. We still get our day's wage, so there's no loss."

"That's true. We might as well return to the Residential area and grab a drink since it's come to this."

I paused to listen to the passing workers' conversation, then turned towards where Nadia was.

"Nadia."

"Hyun-woo...!"

Due to the crowd of people, Nadia, who had hidden where there were fewer people, timidly peeked out.

As a beastman who drew considerable attention, she felt uncomfortable with those stares, and so she disliked crowded places. That's why we divided our roles and remained here.

Her tail, stiff from tension, started to wag as soon as she saw me. I asked her, as she now smiled.

"Did you subtly ask the supervisor?"

"Yes. But he didn't know either. He said this early dismissal wasn't planned."

"He didn't know either?"

"Yeah!"

Nadia giggled, saying it was the first time she'd seen the supervisor flustered. Meanwhile, she began to tidy up Carry's transport box.

The one that was now emptied of the rubble mixed with blue crystals and metal had entered power-saving mode, acknowledging that the work was completely over.

'If even the supervisor doesn't know...'

It indicated that someone slightly higher up intervened.

No matter how diligently one worked, if they failed to meet the assigned quota, their original day wage would also be significantly cut. Everyone working at the medium-scale mining base, Heaven, was filled with those sorts of people.

But you get to leave early and still receive the same pay? There must be some other reason for this, and that thought wouldn't leave my head.

Of course, nothing changed just because I thought so. All that happened was that a canine beastman with a wagging tail and a workaholic antique stared at me.

"Let's wait here for a bit before we go. Even if we leave now, there'll be a long wait for the shuttle."

"I don't mind at all!"

The excavation area and the residential area were quite far apart. Walking was nearly impossible. This ice moon's terrain was so rugged that a shuttle was essential to get anywhere. If not, then at least an orbital vehicle was necessary.

Even though there were shuttles commuting between here and the residential area, there weren't enough to accommodate this many people at once, so we decided to move once the crowd thinned out a bit.

"Carry, gather some energy and get up. Isn't it good you don't have to work for long?"

At my words, Carry turned off the power-saving mode as a formality. The monitor remained turned off.

"Could it be hungry?"

"Hungry? If it's hungry, is the battery already depleted?"

In response to Nadia's comment, I checked the battery status and nodded. Only about 30% of the power was left.

Carry's power source was refined blue crystal shards. To get that, we took it to a nearby store.

Stores were unmanned vending machines installed not only in the residential area but throughout the excavation areas. There were stores run by people, but they were only in the residential area.

I raised my wrist with the bracelet and held it against the front of a metal booth.

【User: Lee Hyun-woo】

A holographic window popped up, displaying my name and worker class as a low-rank worker.

【Would you like to use it?】

I pressed the yes button displayed on the hologram, and soon, with a metallic sound, the booth opened. The unmanned store was also referred to as a general store. But for that name to be valid, a precondition had to be satisfied.

'For those with high ranks.'

Only when this condition was met would the unmanned store become a general store selling everything. Until then, one could only purchase items suitable for their rank.

As such, my store selection was quite poor.

The best I could buy were simple food items to fill my stomach, cigarettes with prices varying by zone, and low-rank medicines. There were other things too, but they weren't worth looking at, just things that were a waste of credits to buy.

I momentarily looked at my credit balance, slightly over twenty million, and purchased a small amount of refined blue crystal shards. As soon as the purchase was confirmed, the hologram turned off with a pop, and the booth closed.

The sound of something moving inside was brief, and then the booth opened again, revealing a hastily packaged product.

"Carry, it's feeding time. Open wide."

As soon as I said that, Carry looked delighted and opened the lower part monitor intake. The blue crystal it was consuming now was a shard smaller than a fingernail, and low in quality at that.

But the price was quite significant solely because it was refined. It wasn't that I begrudged the money. Without Carry, our day wage would drop significantly.

There simply were no other choices. If we fed it the unrefined blue crystal that we mined, it could either malfunction or, at worst, explode.

I've seen many people die trying to illegally smuggle out mined crystals as batteries to save hundreds of thousands of credits. And when that happened, the dead person wasn't the only one who faced consequences.

"I feel like smashing this store and taking all the goods. Then I wouldn't have to worry about feeding it."

"No matter how strong you are, Hyun-woo, you can't do that. When store destruction is detected, it'll enter emergency shutdown mode. It won't open again. You'd also get a bounty on your head."

Nadia, speaking in a spooky voice as if telling a scary story.

"I was just saying. I wasn't seriously considering it."

I muttered quietly and pushed her face away. Just because it was an unmanned store didn't mean it was possible to secretly steal from it.

If you tried, the store, detecting abnormal impacts, would call in all the nearby security robots, which would grab and restrain you, announcing your emergency arrest according to some criminal law articles.

"Aren't you buying anything else, Hyun-woo?"

"If there was anything to buy, I would."

What they sold here was so unappetizing that it felt like sustainable survival food. I still vividly remember forcing myself to eat something once, holding back tears because the credits spent on a whim seemed a waste.

"Then I'm going to use it now!"

Nadia brought her bracelet to the store, and similarly, her name and rank appeared on the holographic screen.

A mid-rank worker. Nadia, having a rank one step higher than mine, hummed a tune as she expertly touched the screen. Casually tapping here and there, she did it as if she had done it numerous times before.

What she finally held in her hand was chocolate. It seemed that mid-rank allowed for snacks to be added to the store offerings.

Nadia, her eyes sparkling, took a big bite of the chocolate and held it out to me as well.

"Hyun-woo, try this too! It's really tasty! Super sweet!"

"Thanks."

Coincidentally, I was craving something sweet. Not one to refuse offered treats, I made sure to avoid where Nadia had bitten as I took a bite. Her slightly puffed tail twitched once to the left, then twice to the right.

The cheap taste spread all over my mouth. Yet it was enough for my tongue to feel a deep satisfaction.

"It's good."

"Right?"

"Yeah. But are you sure you should be eating that? It is chocolate."

"... Am I not supposed to eat it?"

Nadia abruptly stopped her mouth, which had been happily chewing. Her trembling eyes looked at me. Her tail's wagging ceased.

"I'm asking because I don't know. You've been buying and eating it frequently, right?"

"... Yeah."

"Then it should be fine."

I was merely asking because she was a canine beastman. Since she'd been eating it with no issues, she should be fine continuing to eat it. Surely, she would know better than I would.

My words reassured Nadia, and she resumed chewing. Her tail, which had been stiff, started moving again.

While sharing bites of chocolate bought from the store, Nadia and I headed to the shuttle station. Seeing the once crowded scene now deserted, we quickened our pace.

"Look, there's the shuttle-."

The moment Nadia saw the shuttle attempting to land and looked at me, I quickly covered her mouth and hid us behind a column.

Surprised, Nadia let out a muffled "uhm" sound as I silently pointed forward with my eyes. She quietly let me guide her. After all, the shuttle landing in front of us wasn't the old shuttle we usually took.

Next to the shuttle, which was slowing down while emitting a blue light from its engines, was the emblem of the Pureblood supremacist group that we had seen that morning.

To avoid drawing attention, we quietly retreated while keeping our eyes on the shuttle.

For Nadia, who had trauma related to them, being noticed by those guys wouldn't be good. Nor would it be for her to see them.

"Hy-Hyun-woo..."

"It's okay. I'm right here."

To prove it, Nadia wrapped her tail between her legs in fear. Her tightly closed eyelids quivered.

I had never spoken or asked about it, but I could easily guess that Nadia fainting in the back alley had something to do with that Pureblood supremacist group.

While reassuring Nadia with a pat on her back, I watched as the shuttle doors opened. From the seemingly luxurious model of shuttle emerged a group, led by a woman exuding a cold demeanor. They resembled nobility and their entourage.

I confirmed the color of the bracelet on the woman's wrist. The light emitted from her bracelet was the symbol of blood, a red color. A rank as precious as blood that only a few could possess in this world.

'It seems she's really from a high-ranking noble family.'

Judging by her attire and appearance, that seemed highly likely.

"She will be somewhere in this base. Make sure to find her."

"Has her appearance been specified?"

"No. But they said you'll know immediately when you see her. So report anything peculiar right away."

"Yes."

The Pureblood supremacist group had a brief, suspicious-sounding conversation as they headed toward the excavation area.

And they were heading in our direction. As their voices grew closer, Nadia's trembling intensified.

I felt one of their gazes upon me, seeing Nadia biting her lip with a pitiful look.

'We're hiding in the corner, so they shouldn't know we're here. Or shouldn't know.'

Contrary to my thoughts, it seemed someone had noticed us. As I lifted my head, our eyes met, hers reflecting a blue sky.

"......"

"......"

Our silent gaze exchange, each of us watching for different reasons, was interrupted by a third person. A man in military attire approached, seemingly intrigued. He was highly alert as if to prove he was a soldier.

"Lady Celestia, is something wrong? If there's any problem, just tell me. I'll solve it right away."

"No, it's nothing. Let's proceed. We're running late."

"Yes."

Fortunately, the woman overlooked our presence and passed by. Whether or not she really saw Nadia and me was unclear, but it was fortunate nothing happened as she passed.

Eventually, I released Nadia, who I had been hiding in my arms.

"It's okay. They're gone. You don't have to worry anymore."

"Yeah..."

Only moments ago, we were sharing a chocolate and laughing. Now, it was hard to find any trace of that smile.

Looking at the shuttle heading toward the residential area, I comforted Nadia.

"Let's head home. You should rest well today."

"... I'll sleep with you tonight, Hyun-woo."

"Shall we eat dinner at Uncle Robert's diner? I heard there's a new menu."

"Let's buy it and eat at home. I'm scared to see people."

"Alright, alright. We'll buy the Jumbo Set to-go."

Only then did Nadia regain some stability and smile faintly. Her tail didn't wag.