CH 13

As I stepped out of the room where the cat was kept, a man jumped out at me. It was Vladimir, and he seemed to be drunk as he stumbled out of room 65.

He saw the water rising up to his calves and pressed something on his wristband, causing all the doors to open at once. The alarm, which had been blaring loudly, now sounded like a whimper. It was tearing at my eardrums. A blonde woman emerged from the room where Vladimir had come out.

“What’s going on? Oh, damn it all!” The woman swore in Russian, looking at the water that had risen up to her ankles.

Vladimir shouted at her. “Nikita! Go straight to the escape pod!”

As soon as Vladimir spoke, Nikita, the woman, grabbed my companion’s wrist and ran. My companion stumbled after her, caught in the ice-cold water. “Run ahead without me,” I shouted, waving my hand to urge them on. Then, I searched room 66, where I found Vladimir looking at room 67.

“Aren’t you leaving, Vladimir?”

“Our boys are all pa*sed out drunk. They can’t even stand up.”

In room 67, a man who smelled of alcohol was sleeping amidst the loud alarm. As soon as Vladimir burst into the room, he slapped the man’s cheek with the palm of his hand. I thought he had knocked the man’s teeth out, but he woke up with a start.

“Nikolai! Wake up, you idiot!”

I heard Russian curses behind me as I entered room 68. I had noticed the name Sophia on the door before I went in. She was sleeping in her undershirt and didn’t stir despite the alarm. I picked up the fallen blanket and threw it on her, followed by her pillow.

“Sophia, wake up!”

As Sophia opened her eyes halfway and began to rise, I ran to room 69. A man who looked like he was at least two meters tall was sleeping naked without even a blanket, surrounded by empty vodka bottles. I read the nameplate on the door. Was it Viktor Vasiliyevich or Lev Vasiliyevich?

I pressed the back of a ballpoint pen to remove the tip and scraped his foot with it. He twitched and moved before lifting his head. His face was red with drunkenness.

“Wake up! Quickly!”

Vladimir went as far as room 72, but no one was there. When I was about to run to room 73, someone grabbed my shoulder from behind. I almost fell over.

“Dentist! We need to get to the escape pod.”

The seawater had risen up to my thighs, causing my entire body to shiver uncontrollably. The water was icy cold, not like the warm water I had experienced when playing in the ocean. As I pointed both ways with my fingertips, indicating that I had not yet seen everything, I heard Vladimir’s taunting response.

“You might as well die trying to see it all!”

With that, Vladimir dashed towards the central staircase next to room 40, rather than the one adjacent to room 80. The other Russians followed suit. Was this really the best course of action? I hadn’t even seen rooms 1 to 37. To see all the way up to room 80, there were still six rooms left.

Each room was roughly 2.5 meters long. With the water rising up to my thighs, I had to walk at least 21 meters before turning back. Something squirmed on my back, making me jump in surprise. It was my cat, which I had put in my bag.

I had resolved to do this, so I needed to hurry. I sprinted in the opposite direction, scanning rooms 74 and 75. They were empty. In room 76, I spotted a long snake. Were there really all sorts of crazy creatures here?

Without a second thought, I grabbed the snake with my bare hands and shoved it into my bag between candies and chocolate bars. I quickly zipped it up. Room 78 seemed empty, and room 79 was as well. As I scurried towards room 80, I could barely walk anymore. Please, let no one be there. Please, let it be empty.

But when I reached room 80, a boy was sleeping soundly. This was insane. Despite the blaring alarm, he didn’t even stir. Even in this near-death situation, I meticulously put the medicine bottle on the table-cum-desk into the bag with my cat and the bag with the snake in front. Then, I hoisted the boy onto my back.

As I rushed past rooms 74 and 73, I could barely think. All I could think was to hurry. Do not succumb to fear. Do not let fear take over. I can make it out. Stay calm.

Walking in water was incredibly difficult. It felt like I was walking by kicking the water with my feet. The cat wriggled around my belly, and the sleeping boy’s feet were submerged in water, yet he remained still. As I pa*sed rooms 74 and 73, I kept repeating to myself that I was almost there. Do not succumb to fear. If I fall, it’s over. Move fast. Do not fall.

I supported the boy’s bottom with my arms and pushed the bag with the snake into his chest. The alarm was blaring, and my ears felt like they were about to burst.

As soon as I left room 80, I finally realized where the water was coming from. It was flowing down the staircase next to room 80 like a bird flying south for winter. Did the Russian leader know this and take the central staircase near room 40 instead? Was it safe there? Maybe that’s why he went that way?

Damn it. If the central staircase wasn’t safe, what were we going to do? We had already come halfway using it. Why did these crazy people keep pets that were prohibited from entering the underwater base? What were they thinking?

Cursing in my head, I finally arrived at the central staircase next to room 40, but the water had already risen up to my waist. It was difficult to breathe, having walked all this way through the water.

Gasping for breath, I climbed the stairs, nearly slipping twice. Each time, I clung onto the staircase railing with one hand, my entire body weight hanging on for dear life. I balanced the child on my hip with one arm, clamped a bag between my teeth, and held onto the staircase with my other hand, struggling to ascend. As I finally reached the top of the stairs, something blocked my path.

It appeared as if the staircase itself had been sealed shut by a door in the middle, preventing me from going any further. They must have shut it off completely to keep the water from flooding the area, including the escape port and other bases. Just as this realization dawned on me, darkness enveloped my vision. I pounded on the door with my entire body weight, shouting at the top of my lungs.

“Open the door! There’s someone here! Open up!”

The water was already seeping onto the stairs, and even though I stood at the top step, it was already rising up to my ankles. The thought of drowning sent shivers down my spine.

“You cowards! You locked the door and ran away, leaving only yourselves to survive? There’s someone here! Open up! Hurry, let me in!”

I screamed so loudly that my vision blurred. Suddenly, a hand emerged from outside the door, yanking me out of the way and throwing me into a corner. It belonged to Viktor, a man towering over two meters tall. He had been following me up the stairs and had managed to break down the panel next to the door. He slammed the door shut before the water had a chance to pour in.

“Do you know if they took the escape pod?” I asked him, shivering.

“I don’t know,” he replied. He lifted the child off my arms and onto his back, making the feat seem effortless. We started walking towards the escape port.