Apocalypse Shelter Administrator

Management (1)

Despite utilizing additional underwater drones for the exploration, we ended the operation without much success. The only meaningful information we obtained was that the massive creatures roaming the sea gained energy through filter feeding.

It turns out that the manta ray-like creature wasn’t pointlessly swimming around with its mouth open. As of now, there’s no way to deal with those giant monsters, and there are no signs that they intend to attack this land. As long as the city isn’t under threat, that’s enough for now. Right now, we need to focus on stabilizing the city.

[I've prepared a speech!]

At that moment, Kiz came to me.

"A speech?"

[There’s no better way to leave a lasting impression of who the ruler of the city is than with a speech. And it’s a guaranteed 100% viewership speech, a privilege only the ruler of the shelter can enjoy!]

Earlier in the morning, she said she had something to report and sent me some materials to my PDA.

“Is this really necessary?”

“Sophia and Seyoung are the only ones.”

And I haven’t even met them face-to-face yet.

[That can’t continue. True order begins when everyone knows exactly who their ruler is. Why do you think powerful people obsess over making statues of themselves and hanging their portraits in schools? But Artemis would say making statues is a waste, and there are no schools here anyway. So at least give them a brilliant speech!]

“You’re not wrong.”

I’m not interested in idolizing myself, but I agree that order is built on a solid chain of command.

With that in mind, I looked at the speech Kiz had written.

"Welcome to the shelter. You have either chosen or been chosen to be part of one of the few remaining great cities… Wait, this is plagiarism!"

There’s no way I can deliver this as is.

[Oh? You recognize it? That masterpiece!]

It’s from one of my all-time favorite games. Of course, I’d know it.

[But no one else will realize it’s plagiarism. Just go with it.]

“No, let’s put this on hold.”

I do agree that I need to show my face and voice to the new residents at some point. Over the past few days, all the new residents have been given basic education. They all know about what happened in the city, the recovery process, and that I’m the last human left here. However, my face and voice haven’t been revealed yet.

I won’t be hiding in the VIP residential area forever, so it’s only a matter of time before I meet them. While I’ve given lectures and briefings to soldiers in packed auditoriums during my active duty, speaking to thousands of women—prisoners, no less—is a whole different challenge. I couldn’t help but ponder deeply.

***

In the afternoon, I had a meeting scheduled. It could be called an interview or a listening session. It was a meeting with several leaders representing the residents.

Since we’ve taken them in, I need to assess their living conditions personally, and we also need to select individuals who will serve as so-called "ward leaders." It would be inefficient for us to handle all the control directly.

The meeting took place in a small building near the temporary housing facility for new residents. There was a meeting table with chairs set around it. On the desk in front of me was a digital paper listing the profiles of the prisoners in detail.

[Scanning complete. No weapons detected. Let them pass.]

I heard the security robot’s voice outside the building. Peeking through the foldable curtain by the window, I saw the security robots and full-body scanners conducting inspections at the entrance. Today’s meeting was with only a few select individuals.

Soon after…

Knock, knock!

“Come in.”

The first woman who entered was Sasha. Before the rescue, she held the most influence over the prisoners at the offshore prison.

As soon as she entered, she greeted me politely with a bow, similar to how flight attendants do. Although it was her first time seeing me, I had already observed her several times through the rescue team’s cameras.

With a polite smile that didn’t quite match her decadent beauty, she stood quietly, showing no concern for the two security robots behind me, each armed with shotguns.

“Ah, take a seat.”

“Thank you.”

The way she quietly pulled out the chair and sat with poise could serve as a textbook example for interview etiquette. However, she didn’t maintain complete composure.

Gulp— Before Sasha was a simple selection of drinks and snacks.

“Feel free to eat.”

“Then, I won’t hold back.”

Without hesitation, she reached for the ABC chocolate. Considering the terrible meals she had in the offshore prison, not to mention the fact that even the food here was mainly health-focused, it wasn’t surprising she was craving something sweet.

As soon as she unwrapped a small piece of chocolate and popped it into her mouth, the composed expression she had been maintaining melted away.

Slurp— She took a sip of café au lait and her face lit up, as if she was strolling through paradise. I wondered if eating those together wasn’t too sweet, but it didn’t seem to matter to her.

Two.

Three.

Four.

The chocolates quickly disappeared.

“Ahh…”

Once the sweetness faded, Sasha seemed to regain her composure and looked at me. She then glanced at the empty chocolate wrappers in front of her with her face slightly flushed.

“It’s alright. I’ll give you more to take with you when you leave.”

“Thank you…”

In contrast to this warm moment, her criminal record listed in her profile was quite remarkable.

“Assault, inciting assault, pimping, intimidation, bribery, and running a glory hole? A glory hole in Korea?”

Despite her long list of charges, her expression remained calm.

“With this many offenses, your sentence wasn’t that long. You must’ve had a good lawyer. I bet it cost you a fortune.”

“You’re right. All the money I had saved was completely drained.” Sasha smiled faintly and continued to speak, “If I hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t be getting out until after I turned 40. All I have is my body, and if I left prison as an old lady, it would’ve been over for me. Money can be earned again, but a woman’s youth never returns.”

“But I see fraud isn’t on the list?”

If she had committed fraud, I wouldn’t have brought her here, no matter how competent she was.

“No matter how rough my life was, I’ve never swindled anyone.”

“Do you think Sophia would agree with that? She seems to have a lot of grievances with you.”

Sasha let out a short laugh. “I’ll say it again, I didn’t cheat anyone. I clearly stated the amount of money and the work that needed to be done. A woman who ruins her life by getting blinded by the money and thinking the world is easy, then blames others for it, has no one to blame but herself.”

Sasha didn’t seem to have any genuine feelings of remorse toward her.

“Well, fine. You did contribute by leading the people during the rescue, and at a glance, you seem to be quite capable. That’s good enough for me.”

“You’re right. I’m a fairly useful woman, aren’t I? I can do anything you ask of me, whether it’s managing the women or whatever else. Just tell me.”

Looking through her profile, I could roughly guess why she was being so cooperative. In a large enough prison, there are always so-called influential figures. In most cases, they hold sway among the prisoners, but in places where the system is lax or corruption is rampant, like in some foreign countries, they wield considerable influence in various ways.

Through collusion with guards, they get better rooms or easier work assignments. They even smuggle in prohibited external goods through various channels. Some take advantage of the connections or work opportunities they had in society to manipulate others when they land in prison, especially those who can’t lead normal lives.

Sasha used a combination of these methods to maintain her power within the prison. But all of that collapsed. The foundation that supported her authority vanished with the global disaster.

The police and officials she had bribed, the crime bosses who had courted her, the gangsters who had called her big sister—all of them were gone. Now she had to maintain her influence solely with her own strength, without money, social connections, or the support of men.

If she failed, she would be thrown into the lower levels, and before that, she would likely face severe revenge from her enemies. So, she had no choice but to cling to a new authority like me. She was quite useful to me as well, so our interests aligned.

The AI-based surveillance system was airtight, but having a human informant within would make it even more foolproof. The best informants are those who are sufficiently ruthless yet sufficiently loyal—just like Sasha.

After that, the conversation shifted to the future plans and the movements of the prisoners. She was a woman with a wealth of knowledge and skills. It was almost puzzling how someone like her ended up in such a situation. Not only did she know a lot about the prisoners, but she also had extensive knowledge about the guards that wasn’t in any of the official records, which was very helpful.

Sasha never asked for anything or complained about difficulties. She simply expressed her gratitude for being taken in and kept emphasizing that she could do whatever was needed.

“Let’s meet again. It was a pleasure talking with you, and you were very helpful.” I handed her a handful of ABC chocolate, and she left after bowing politely.

After she left, I operated my PDA to check the menu for the past few days. Nutritionally, it wasn’t bad, but there was no sweetness. It was practically a military diet. The only sweet thing had been the sweet corn from the special meal on the first day.

“Artemis.”

I called for Artemis on the PDA.

[What’s up?]

“Keep the residents' diet free of sweetness, like it is now.”

[That was already the plan.]

Her voice had a somewhat sinister tone.

[The human brain is a slave to sweetness. Just dangle sweetness in front of them, and you’ll have plenty of people willingly turning into loyal dogs. In some ways, it’s easier than training those dumb mutts.]

It’s said that in Europe during the mid to late stages of World War II, there were women who would give their bodies for a pair of stockings or a bar of chocolate.

After the communication with her ended, two unfamiliar women entered. One was too timid to have a meaningful conversation, and the other had too many demands without offering useful information, so I sent them off at an appropriate time.

After they left, all that remained were piles of chocolate and caramel wrappers. I threw them in the trash and called in the next person.

The one who came in was a muscular woman, Ha jisoo. I remembered her because she had referred to the security robot as ‘officer’ the first time they met. She must be a woman with excellent adaptability.

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