Apocalypse Survival Guide

Chapter 6. Destruction of Daily Life (6)

Whoosh—

The fire clinging to the half-broken shuttle flickered in the harsh wind. The flames, though precariously flickering, showed no signs of dying out easily.

It seemed that the materials within the shuttle, which were supposed to preserve heat, were burning away.

Wheeee—

The sound of a whistling wind raged relentlessly. Without protective gear, small ice particles brushed against my skin. Every time they did, it felt like being cut with a knife.

"Cough, cough...!"

I struggled to ignore the persistent ringing in my ears as I scanned my surroundings. The pieces that made up the shuttle were scattered everywhere, revealing their unsightly cross-sections, while the cold of the ice-covered moon consumed my body.

I forced my sluggish mind to figure out what had happened. Or rather, I tried to figure it out. I merely remained dazed amidst the increasing chaos.

After barely extracting Nadia and Carry from the snow, the scene of the mine base Heaven engulfed in flames came into view. There was even an eerie feeling as if I could faintly hear strange screaming sounds.

'What on earth...'

It felt unreal, like a dream, but this situation was undoubtedly real. Since it's reality and not a dream, the actions I needed to take were clear.

To survive, I had to move. I couldn't afford to remain in a daze like this.

"Cough! Cough...!"

Choking on another cough, I felt the need to enter the burning shuttle, where flames were spreading, after propping Nadia against a wall.

As I steadied my staggering steps, heading toward where the wind gathered, the crackling sounds melted into the flames.

This ice moon wasn't fully terraformed. To breathe, a helmet to filter out fine toxins was necessary. Even though I could breathe in this state, I couldn't last long.

For a typical adult male, the time one could endure without a helmet was roughly 10 minutes. Exceeding that limit would result in vomiting the contents of one's stomach or losing consciousness due to toxins in the bloodstream.

I didn't know exactly how long I had been unconscious, but the blurring of my vision suggested that it was approaching or had already exceeded 10 minutes.

Nadia's unhealthy complexion further confirmed my suspicions.

Feeling the icy wind freezing my lungs, I scoured the wrecked shuttle interior.

Seats detached from the floor, wedged into unintended places, jaggedly torn hull, the acrid smell of smoke.

And crushed, burst pieces of flesh wedged between a crumpled hull and seats.

Squelch....

A sudden sticky sound emanated as my hand touched hardened blood now stuck to my glove, emitting an unpleasant noise. I suppressed the nausea that surged up momentarily.

Looking at what once was a human, I realized that only Nadia and I survived the crash.

It was because I had boarded late this morning, needing to gather as much credit as possible, so there weren't many onboard.

Though most people headed to the mining zone, apart from us, about six others had boarded. During the crash, they were all ejected out or got stuck in their seats and died.

'... Had I not been lucky.'

I was lucky. Nadia and I survived, and it could only be defined by that one word. Whether or not we had our seat belts on didn't matter here. Not in this ramshackle shuttle.

With seats potentially coming loose or the hull tearing apart like now, there was no solution.

Ignoring the clotted blood and the chill through worn gloves, I continued feeling along the shuttle's inner walls.

'It should be around here...!'

As I forcefully manipulated it, the seat frames embedded in the wall creaked and grinded. At the end of increasingly desperate gestures, I sensed something catch at my fingertips.

Without hesitation, I grasped and pulled it. What I found was the respiratory mask. I brought it immediately to my face.

Whoosh, the air hissed out as the mask automatically attached to my face. As I inhaled the filtered air, my blurry vision slowly sharpened.

"Haah...!"

Exhaling heavily as I caught my breath, I quickly placed the spare mask over Nadia's face. Fortunately, it wasn't defective, and her complexion seemed to improve immediately.

Having barely overcome one hurdle, I placed Nadia, still not fully conscious, into Carry's transport box. Thankfully, she wasn't too big, allowing her to fit perfectly. Otherwise, I would have had no choice but to carry her myself.

'I must get away.'

Staying near the shuttle was dangerous. A fire meant it could explode at any moment.

Though the snowstorm had yet to hit, the winds were becoming stronger, so I needed to find shelter from the wind, too.

"Carry! Wake up! Carry!"

【Σ(°ロ°)】

Tapping Carry's monitor gently, it lit up, showing a startled expression. It seemed the first time external impact had forced the power off, leaving it shocked.

"Listen carefully, Carry. Nadia is currently in your transport box."

【ヽ(ﾟДﾟ)ﾉ】

"Nadia just lost consciousness, no visible injuries, so don't worry. What's crucial is that the shuttle crashed, and we need help. We must get away as soon as possible, as there is no telling when the shuttle might explode. Got it?"

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌ )】

Momentarily frozen due to the sudden scenery change, Carry quickly snapped back to its usual self, giving a thumbs up, instilling a sense of trust.

"Great. Very reliable. Let's go now."

Feeling overwhelmed alone, having Carry by my side somewhat calmed my turbulent mind.

I moved toward the chaos outside, leaving the sparking shuttle behind. Carry, carrying Nadia, followed.

***

Upon noticing the mine base Heaven slightly closer on the horizon, I took refuge in a nearby rock crevice. A brief break was necessary.

"Huu... Huu..."

White breath marked the air and dispersed. I yearned to rush to the base, but my body wouldn't permit it.

Perhaps due to internal injuries from the crash, my breathing wouldn't calm. I was short of breath.

'The energy consumption is too vast.'

In the snowy field, where feet sank deeply, each step naturally led to labored breathing. Had Carry not been a following model, I would have collapsed, exhausted by now.

Though the base was visually close, the remaining distance was still considerable.

Skipping occasional breaks in the windy snowfield was a direct path to death.

If our ability to make rational decisions were to diminish, our chances of survival would, too. Walking, like mining through perseverance, required appropriate energy distribution to reach the destination.

I did not want to end my life in this snow-covered wilderness.

"... Carry, is the communication with the base still down?"

Hearing my shivering voice, Carry displayed a sullen expression on its monitor, emitting a beep. Noticing the failure of my suit's temperature regulator, it clung tightly to me, activating its heating function.

Though the effect wasn't significant, it lifted my spirits considerably. Calmed by the faint warmth, I fiddled with the bracelet to check the connection with the base.

On the small hologram screen created appeared my name, Hyun-woo Lee, and my rank, low-rank worker. Lucky, I suppose, the connection with the mine base Heaven wasn't severed.

This bracelet inherently linked to the base, monitoring the life signals and tracking the location of everyone wearing one.

The location wasn't normally tracked actively, but here, in this special Blue Crystal mining and refinery zone, they applied overt scrutiny to prevent illegal mineral smuggling.

Surely they would have noticed our unstable life signals and the shuttle crash. I hoped to believe so.

".........."

Even though I kept sending distress signals, the base remained silent, and I had a faint guess why.

Something fired from the base had shot down the shuttle Nadia and I were on, and when I woke from the crash, I saw the base engulfed in flames.

Though I didn't know the exact cause of the fire, I suspected violent turmoil had erupted. Perhaps clashes between pureblood supremacists and workers.

Seeing the base in that state suggested they may lack the capacity to send rescuers, or perhaps they're expending all their resources to control the situation.

Normally, waiting here would be the protocol, but time was scarce.

Sharp, pointed shuttle fragments had torn my work suit, stripping away its insulation, and Nadia was still unconscious.

As a beastwoman, Nadia's senses were particularly keen, meaning she processed large amounts of information at once.

Now, Nadia lay unconscious, overwhelmed by the shock. We needed the warmth of the base, not this snowfield's cold.

Never before had I longed for its usually unpleasant heat as much as today.

Returning to the residential area wasn't entirely impossible, but it was an impractical choice. Reaching the base itself seemed daunting enough. How could we possibly reach the residential area?

'At least we need an orbital vehicle.'

Just as I sighed inwardly.

"Mmm..."

Nadia, lying in Carry's transport box, showed signs of regaining consciousness. Perhaps thanks to being a beastwoman, she recovered quickly despite the shock endured.

Opening her eyes, Nadia had a moment of dazedness before seemingly recalling the events before the crash, letting out a scream and abruptly rising.

Or would have, had I not held her shoulder to steady her.

"Nadia, it's fine. We survived."

"... Hyun-woo?"

Her confused, trembling eyes focused on me. Her pupils, once wide with caution, gradually contracted upon hearing my voice.

"Yes, it's me."

"We, we definitely crashed, the shuttle suddenly spun around..."

"Your memory is accurate. Now, we're slightly away from the crash site."

I told her to stay seated to avoid dizziness and briefly explained the situation from when I first awoke to now.

"... They all perished."

"The auxiliary armor of the shuttle failed to deploy. That's why it split in half."

Had the shuttle been less of a wreck, had it been properly maintained, the auxiliary armor, which would unfold during emergency landing procedures, would have prevented the shuttle from shattering.

Nadia, seemingly experiencing dizziness coupled with a headache, emitted a pained sound as she clutched her forehead.

Suddenly gasping softly, she anxiously asked me.

"Hyun-woo, are you alright?"

"Me? I'm okay. That's how I made it here."

"... Liar."

Nadia's gaze scanned over me. Almost simultaneously, she frowned upon seeing the torn work suit with insulation exposed.

Quickly recovering from her earlier dizziness, Nadia wriggled out of Carry's transport box, and circling me, sniffed as though investigating.

"Look, it's just a minor tear-"

Before I could finish my excuse, Nadia grabbed my arm, speaking up.

"Come on, Hyun-woo."

"... Where to?"

I couldn't help but reflexively ask at the curious assertiveness.

"Where else? We have to head to the base. We need to buy a new suit from their store before we freeze to death. Should I lend you the one I'm wearing instead? I can manage a bit longer even without a suit."

"I'll just take the gesture."

While it was cold, I was sturdy enough. Even if the initial size of a suit was generous and not specifically gendered, I didn't want to take away what Nadia wore, knowing it wouldn't fit.

"... You saved me again, Hyun-woo. Thank you."

Speaking softly, Nadia carefully surveyed the surroundings. The wind, now rapidly intensifying with its cutting chill, made her ears perk.

Her tail, though still slightly trembling, no longer curled between her legs and now unfurled properly.

Whoosh—

Wind carried ice particles along the ground, driving them towards the mine base Heaven, as though pointing us in the direction we needed to go.

"........."

"........."

Meeting each other's gaze, we silently nodded. Having explained the situation and considering the environment around us, Nadia drew the same conclusion as I did.

Soon, with Carry, we began moving towards the dying flames of the base.