BLDS Chapter 139

While I was imagining all sorts of negative scenarios, like the people who entered the escape pod port getting shot in both legs instead of just one, the East District escape pod port door opened much faster than expected.

It seemed to take less than 5 minutes. Seo Jihyuk was trudging out of the escape pod port entrance. As soon as I confirmed who it was, I couldn’t help but look at his legs first. Just as I was about to heave a heavy sigh, Seo Jihyuk, without a single injury, looked around at everyone and said:

“Everything alright? There’s no one inside. Let’s go in.”

Seo Jihyuk, who lightly jerked his chin towards the inside of the escape pod port, quickly approached Lee Jihyun. Lee Jihyun, who had been pressing her cheek against the gun with the stock firmly against her shoulder, aiming at the corridor, took a deep breath in that exact posture. As soon as Seo Jihyuk put his hand on Lee Jihyun’s shoulder, her posture crumbled instantly. Seo Jihyuk asked as he took the gun from Lee Jihyun:

“How was it? Weren’t you scared? Is that posture more comfortable than low ready?”

“…Yeah.”

“Wow, you’re brave.”

“I was terrified.”

Hearing Lee Jihyun’s honest voice, Seo Jihyuk grinned and said:

“You held up well. The gun’s heavy, right? Your arms don’t hurt?”

“…The responsibility was heavier than the gun.”

“You did well. Our Jihyun protected everyone here today. See you later.”

Then Seo Jihyuk lightly tapped Lee Jihyun’s trembling arm with the back of his hand. Lee Jihyun heaved a deep sigh and moved away as if she didn’t even want to look at the gun anymore.

Seo Jihyuk slung the gun strap over his shoulder and lowered the muzzle, waiting for people to pass by him. As I was passing in front, Seo Jihyuk looked at me and said, feigning distress:

“Don’t scare me so much. It’s terrifying.”

“I’m glad nothing happened.”

Judging by Seo Jihyuk’s attitude, it doesn’t seem like he was scared at all. I was more scared waiting in the corridor. Phew. To think that in my life, I’d end up worrying about the legs of a man over 190cm tall – what an earth-shattering turn of events.

Fortunately, I was just starting to wonder where the engineers who had been inside had gone. As soon as we entered the escape pod port, a strong smell of warm blood hit us. Several people were haphazardly piled up in a corner, not moving and covered in blood. …It seemed like the Engineering Team Ra people had been waiting in the escape pod port and shot at those who came in.

Seo Jihyuk said there was no one, but this isn’t “no one,” is it? Did he only count the living? Yoo Geum-yi and Tumanako were horrified at the sight, Kang Soojung frowned, and Lee Jihyun quickly made the sign of the cross. Even after confirming that everyone had entered, Seo Jihyuk didn’t come into the escape pod port.

Inside, Shin Hae-ryang and Baek Ae-young were busy checking the remaining escape pods. If the front panel occupying one wall was displayed correctly, there were a total of 4 usable escape pods. It seemed that either Hong Tao or Zhu Xuan hadn’t used an escape pod to leave.

Most of the launched escape pods, except for one or two, had already entered the epipelagic zone (0-200m) or were already floating on the sea surface. Shin Hae-ryang and Baek Ae-young called out completion checks for each pod in turn. As I approached an escape pod, Shin Hae-ryang, wearing gloves covered in dust and unidentifiable liquid, said:

“Please wait until all four have been checked. We’re checking in case it’s a trap.”

I guess he can’t trust it until he sees it with his own eyes. Shin Hae-ryang seemed worried that getting into the remaining escape pods might turn out worse than not getting in at all. The nearby engineers quickly swarmed the escape pods.

If I read the underwater base guidebook correctly, you’re supposed to stand in the escape pods. I shook Henry awake. As the child woke up, he waved his arms and legs around, apparently having completely forgotten that he had been on my back before falling asleep. Henry yawned, barely able to open his eyes after waking up. I pointed at the escape pod and said to the 7-year-old child with scattered attention:

“You’re going to ride that now. Have you been to an amusement park?”

“Yes.”

“Where did you go?”

“…Disneyland.”

“This will be much more fun than any ride you’ve been on there. If you ride this and wait, your parents will come soon.”

Although I’ve never ridden an escape pod before, the lies came out smoothly. If Henry doesn’t get on the escape pod now, we can’t guarantee when he’ll be able to escape from the underwater base. We can’t miss this opportunity.

The child pouted with sleepy eyes. He didn’t seem to believe me. …I guess the effectiveness of candy and the authority of a dentist are starting to wear off. Children respond immediately to visual stimuli. An adult male stranger like me is not a good candidate for building short-term trust with a child. If I were Henry’s parent, I would have taught him to ignore everything an adult male says while offering candy. Moreover, Henry and I are of different races. If I were Henry, I would have clung to Jennifer’s ankle and followed her when I met her in the movie theater.

Honestly, whether it’s Nevada or Leonard, they both get zero points as parents for leaving a young child alone in a place like this. Even if they manage to escape the underwater base alive and reunite with their family in tears, I won’t overlook what happened today.

If this were Korea, I would have reported Henry’s parents for child abuse to the police until my phone battery died. Would Australia and the United States accept child abuse reports from foreigners? …I’ll make sure they have to. If I get out of here alive, I’ll go around with a megaphone, spreading the story of our escape from the underwater base across the five oceans and six continents.

Shin Hae-ryang, Baek Ae-young, Kang Soojung, and Lee Jihyun quickly called out completion checks for the remaining two pods. Seo Jihyuk hadn’t entered the escape pod port, perhaps keeping watch.

Shin Hae-ryang looked at the people and called Lee Jihyun. Lee Jihyun stood on a circular mark drawn on the floor and pressed the button next to her shoulder with her elbow, as if familiar with the process. There was a light beep.

“I’ll see you later.”

Kang Soojung waved at those words. Lee Jihyun lowered her arms to her sides, stood at attention, and closed her eyes. The nearly spherical escape pod enveloped her like an egg and was launched into the sea as if flying.

Yoo Geum-yi was next. After hesitating for a moment, she quickly took off my cardigan she was wearing and handed it back to me.

“You can wear it.”

Yoo Geum-yi smiled slightly and said:

“They said the weather is warm today. I’ll return it to you.”

Yoo Geum-yi forcefully draped the cardigan over my shoulders and stood in the circle, pressing the button.

“I’ll wait for you up there, so come quickly!”

As soon as Yoo Geum-yi stood at attention, the escape pod disappeared in an instant. Tumanako gently waved both hands towards where Yoo Geum-yi had vanished.

Now it was Henry’s turn, who had been watching everyone’s actions. When Shin Hae-ryang told Henry to step into the circular mark on the floor, the child hesitated, then cautiously stood in the designated spot. Shin Hae-ryang looked at Henry for a few seconds, then pulled him out of the circle. He then went to a corner for a moment and brought back a life jacket from somewhere.

Shin Hae-ryang took off Yoo Geum-yi’s cardigan that Henry was wearing and put the life jacket on him. He quickly fastened all the buttons on the life jacket and tightened the loose chest strap. He pulled out the lifeline hanging at the hip, hooked it in front between the crotch, and tightened the strap as much as possible.

…Is it because it’s an adult-sized vest? Even with the straps tightened to the maximum, it looked somewhat loose on the 7-year-old child, like wearing clothes that were too big. There was an unsettling feeling that it might slip off if he was unlucky. Shin Hae-ryang, who was checking the life jacket Henry was wearing, seemed to have the same impression and used his wrist parachute cord to further secure the life jacket to Henry’s body. Then he said to Baek Ae-young:

“Ae-young. Scissors.”

Baek Ae-young, who had been watching the launched escape pods, was about to throw the scissors to the team leader but stopped when she saw Henry. She then slid them across the floor to the distant team leader. After cutting the parachute cord to an appropriate length, Shin Hae-ryang knelt down and said to Henry:

“Everything is automatic, so just stay still. Don’t touch anything. The escape pod capsule will keep floating in the sea. …You need to pull this after you get out.”

Shin Hae-ryang stopped Henry, who was about to pull the cord connected to the life jacket. The child asked in a carefree tone:

“Can’t I do it now?”

“No.”

I, standing nearby, came to the rescue:

“Henry. You pull this when you can see the sky. Got it? You have to pull it when you look up and see the sky. When do you pull it? When you see the sky! Henry, when do you pull it?”

“When I see the sky!”

Even with my repeated instructions, only Henry’s fingers will know if he’ll actually pull it when he sees the sky. Shin Hae-ryang placed Henry back in the designated circle. No matter how I looked at it, the escape pod seemed too big for a child to ride alone, but awkwardly small to fit both the child and an adult.

When I asked Kang Soojung if it was okay for the child to ride alone, she said the escape pod was originally designed for one adult and sighed heavily, seeming frustrated herself. The child, who was waving his arms around as if uncomfortable in the life jacket, stood straight when I exaggeratedly stood at attention while patting my thigh.

“Let’s never see each other in the underwater base again.”

As Kang Soojung delivered this farewell, she pressed a button out of Henry’s reach. As soon as the hemispherical part enveloped Henry, it was launched in an instant. I watched the circular capsule-shaped escape pod fly away.

I heaved a sigh of relief as I looked at the spot where Henry had disappeared. It felt like my insides were being emptied out. As the tension released, it felt like all the strength was leaving my body. If I could sit or lie down right now, I’d want to sleep for 30 minutes doing nothing.

When Shin Hae-ryang handed Yoo Geum-yi’s discarded cardigan to Tumanako, she quickly wrapped herself in it while shivering. I also gave my cardigan to Tumanako. Sumire, who had been quietly watching this scene, asked Shin Hae-ryang:

“There’s one escape pod left, who’s going to ride it?”

Shin Hae-ryang’s gaze moved from Kang Soojung to Tumanako to Shu Ran in order, then finally looked at me and said:

“If it’s alright, I’d like Moohyun to go.”

Now what’s this about?