Beacon of Light in the Dark Sea

While looking around the escape pod port, Zhu Shi’an kept the gun muzzle precisely aimed at me. Then she suddenly asked me abruptly:

“Did Shu Ran escape by escape pod?”

“…Shu Ran seems to be from Engineer B Team, but I didn’t see her.”

Not knowing what consequences my answer might have, I’m inwardly startled every time Zhu Shi’an asks a question. It would probably be safer if Zhu Shi’an and Shu Ran didn’t meet. Zhu Shi’an spoke as if displeased by Shu Ran’s absence:

“She was supposed to be here, but she’s not.”

Recalling the sense of liberation Shu Ran showed when she threw her gun on the floor in front of the Engineer A Team people, it seems she didn’t want to be here. Looking at the five corpses laid inside, I asked Zhu Shi’an:

“Why did you kill these people?”

When I first entered the escape pod port, I was carrying Henry on my back, so I was preoccupied with making sure the child didn’t see this scene, regardless of pronouncing them dead or not. Even after that, I couldn’t really help them because it was obvious they were dead, even without any medical knowledge. Two shots to the head each. They were laid on the floor in a way that made the shots to their foreheads clearly visible.

They seemed to be engineers from the dormitory, apparently executed by Engineer B Team. I could only recognize the face of one of them. Hong Tao, was it? This is the second time I’ve seen his corpse. Zhu Shi’an answered nonchalantly:

“Chinese people are too nice, so they’re seen as easy targets if they just stay quiet. They’ve always been patient, but this time they finally snapped.”

Seeing my seemingly dazed expression, Zhu Shi’an, perhaps thinking I was shocked by the corpses, spoke in a soothing voice:

“It can’t be helped for the greater good. The underwater base will soon stabilize, so don’t worry too much, doctor.”

All the curse words I knew rose to my throat. The only reason they didn’t come out immediately was my habit of not usually using profanity.

As soon as I got the feeling that Zhu Shi’an’s actions weren’t for personal grudges or benefits, she emphasized that all these measures were for the peace of the underwater base and the people of Daehan Island. She said it was natural for their superior people to hold hegemony over the North Pacific underwater base, and that the benefits obtained under it would be evenly distributed on their own, so there was no need to worry. After talking about the actual costs of drilling for oil and natural gas, and the unequal distribution of resources despite eight countries participating, she soon closed her mouth when she got no response from me.

As I silently looked at the dead people, Zhu Shi’an asked quietly:

“Were any of them close to you?”

“…No.”

There really aren’t any. How closely could I have befriended people while staying at a new workplace for just 5 days? However, the words “Even if there were, do you have the ability to save them?” lingered on the tip of my tongue. After hearing my answer, Zhu Shi’an spoke in a more generous tone:

“If we meet someone you like along the way, I won’t kill them and will let them go. I’ll just let them leave. Really.”

Then, just like before, I had to walk with the gun pointed at me. Maybe it’s because my head is heating up. Even though we were walking through the East District corridor, I didn’t feel cold at all.

“Where did you learn to use a gun?”

No matter how I looked at it, Zhu Shi’an didn’t seem to have learned hastily like me. In all of Zhu Shi’an’s actions, there was a sense of familiarity with handling guns. She didn’t tremble while holding the gun like Lee Jihyun or me, nor did she act like a snake was coiled around her body while just carrying the gun like Shu Ran.

“Everyone should know how to shoot a gun.”

She’d get along well with the American Republican Party. I disagree with that opinion. Walking with my hands raised, I threw a question towards my back:

“When will you let me go?”

“…I’m disappointed. I was starting to like you, doctor. We can just go together like this. We’ve already had tea together once. Think of it as making a friend in the underwater base.”

I’ve never made a friend who points a gun at my back. When I didn’t reply, Zhu Shi’an suggested in a soft voice:

“Have you ever thought about immigrating? I’ll put in a good word with Team Leader Li Wei. The New Sino-Federation Republic accepts professional immigrants with almost no restrictions. If I recommend you, there won’t be any problems.”

Suspicious of that confident tone, I asked:

“Do you have some connections related to immigration?”

“My parents are in the military.”

What does being in the military have to do with immigration processing? The fields of work are completely different. Thinking a bullet might fly at any moment, I declined:

“That’s the first time I’ve received such an offer. …I don’t want to suddenly change my nationality.”

If my family heard that their son, who excitedly left for a job at the underwater base, suddenly sought asylum in China after just five days, what would they think?

“Is that so? Think about it.”

I suddenly became curious about why Engineer B Team members were divided between West District and East District, so I asked:

“After hearing Shin Hae-ryang’s broadcast, why didn’t you go to West District with the other Engineer B Team members?”

“I did want to go see. I really wanted to see that handsome face get messed up. But Shu Ran and Hong Tao said they’d stay in East District, and someone had to protect them, right?”

It’s not protection, but surveillance and execution. They would also need to guard the secured escape pods. …My thoughts are becoming increasingly sharper.

I took a slow, deep breath. It wasn’t easy to find composure with a gun pointed at my back. If we take the East District elevator and transfer once in the middle to go to the second underwater base, we’ll be caught by the Infinite Bridge believers. But at least Zhu Shi’an isn’t staying in the fourth underwater base.

“Where are we going now? Are we heading to the second underwater base as you said earlier?”

“We’re going to the submersible port.”

“…Why?”

Zhu Shi’an spoke to me in a voice similar to when she worried about calories while eating bread:

“I was only gone for 15 minutes. I went to the dormitory for just 15 minutes, and Shu Ran, who was supposed to be guarding the escape pods, disappeared, and all four of our team’s escape pods are gone. And I met you, doctor, who was staying in West District. What do you think this means?”

“I have no idea.”

“It means we might be able to meet additional people wandering around East District. I’ll definitely kill whoever used my escape pod.”

How? The people who took your escape pods are rising to the sea surface. I suppressed the urge to mock her. A person holding a gun might look calm on the outside, but inside they’re full of tension. It’s similar to the sensation of continuously holding a burning pot. If Zhu Shi’an goes to the submersible port like this, it seems like something bad will happen. I spoke to try to change Zhu Shi’an’s mind:

“Wouldn’t it be better to go to West District instead of wasting time like this?”

“Even if I go there, there’s nothing I can do to help.”

Rationally speaking, Zhu Shi’an’s judgment is correct. I walked down the corridor, hoping she wouldn’t make the right decision. Even though the cold caressed my back and the nape of my neck, I didn’t feel alive. Is there no way to get Zhu Shi’an out of East District?

“Actually, I came from the submersible port, and there was no one there.”

It seems like I’ve been going around telling all sorts of lies since I came to this underwater base. The problem is that lying isn’t my main field.

“Really? Do you know how to operate a submersible?”

“No.”

If I could operate something like that, would I be working as a dentist? …Maybe I would.

“You’re saying that someone who can’t even operate a submersible went to the submersible port first instead of the escape pod port?”

Like a cat playing with a mouse, Zhu Shi’an was clearly enjoying my lie.

“I was planning to hitchhike. I thought I might try driving it if it’s easier than driving a car.”

“Did you meet anyone on your way here?”

“I didn’t meet anyone. I came alone all the way from West District to East District.”

Zhu Shi’an poked my back with the gun muzzle as my pace slowed, and said:

“…Looks like you were carrying someone on your back. Your clothes are wrinkled and there are bloodstains here and there. Ah, if you stop one more time or look back, I’ll shoot immediately, so keep walking.”

I mentally executed about 10 attempts to lunge at Zhu Shi’an and snatch her gun. And the conclusion was that I would fail no matter which direction I pounced.

The moment I turned and lunged, Zhu Shi’an would have already hit me with about two bullets. If I were an action movie protagonist, I would have already snatched Zhu Shi’an’s gun 11 times with ease. But applying all the gunfights I’ve experienced so far, the only scenario that came to mind was me dying within 3 seconds if I tried to grab the gun.

Moreover, Zhu Shi’an is someone who exercises regularly, while I’m someone who never does. There’s a limit to how much one can hope for luck. There was no way my reflexes, which I rarely used except for my wrists, fingers, and occasionally feet, would suddenly improve.

If sighs could make the ground collapse, the underwater base would have already crumbled. As I walked, getting poked in the back by the gun muzzle every now and then, I could see the entrance to the submersible port in the distance. But there was no one at the entrance. The anxiety and worry that had been walking with me all this time shook my shoulders violently.

Usually, either Baek Ae-young or Seo Jihyuk would always keep watch. If the Engineer A Team people had already left East District, there would be no problem. It would be best if they had successfully escaped on a submersible. But what if they’re all inside the submersible port and no one notices Zhu Shi’an coming? What if I’m bringing this person to endanger other people’s lives?

Zhu Shi’an skillfully used my height and build to hide herself. As we approached the entrance of the submersible port, someone spoke to us.

“Zhu Shi’an? Hi. Are you walking around after having lunch?”

Seo Jihyuk’s voice was heard, sounding unconcerned. In contrast, Zhu Shi’an, tense behind my back, took a deep breath and said:

“Jihyuk? Are your team members inside the submersible port?”

“Our team? They’ve already gone somewhere else. I’m alone here.”

Seo Jihyuk, saying this, wasn’t visible at all.

“Where are you?”

“Did your team shoot the submersible control panel?”

“Where are you? Come out!”

Zhu Shi’an asked, looking around while using my body as a shield. Seo Jihyuk wasn’t visible to me, so there was no way Zhu Shi’an could see him.

“Duck.”

Swear words don’t get translated. Similarly, dialects don’t get translated either. As soon as I heard it, I threw myself to the floor.

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