CH 14

As we walked, I noticed that several people had already gathered at the escape pod station. Nikita, Yukumi, Carlos, and the Russians were all there. I wrung out my shirttails as I walked and wished I could strip off my damp clothes and wring them out before putting them back on. Then, a man sitting nearby turned around, and I was struck speechless.

His face was so handsome that it took my breath away. He had a strong jawline and a perfect nose, and even though his forehead was partially covered by a few strands of wet hair, he still looked stunning. I realized that if I had a face like his, I could make a living just by sitting on a street corner and letting people pay to look at me. It was like looking at a work of art.

He stood up and approached me, scanning me from head to toe with a gaze that made me feel like I was being X-rayed. “My name is Shin Hae-ryang. Are you injured?”

His voice was deep and resonant, and his lips and teeth were also incredibly handsome. Unfair. If God were fair, he wouldn’t have made this man so perfect. I stared at him dumbly for a moment before answering.

“No, I’m fine. My name is Park Mu-hyun. Why haven’t you evacuated yet?”

“I was waiting for our new dentist to arrive. All the undamaged escape pods have already been deployed, so we were considering our options.”

It was one of the three most spine-chilling things I’d ever heard in my life. I looked around and realized that there were quite a few people there, including Shin Hae-ryang, Seo Ji-hyuk, Baek Ae-young, Yu Geum, the Russian team of five, Carlos, and a child. Was there really not a single escape pod left that could take us?

The 42 escape pods that had been ejected were raining down on the surface like missiles. As I stared blankly at the monitors, I asked, “What about the damaged pods? Are they unusable?”

“There are 13 damaged pods, but it would be better to move to another part of the living quarters than to try to escape in one of those.”

As I was lost in thought, I noticed that everyone else was staring at me. I had a sinking feeling.

The air was chilly, not just because of the wet clothes drenched in the cold seawater, but also because of the Siberian wind that seemed to have blown through. Minors were not allowed in the underwater base. If I were caught with the two animals, it could ruin the already tense atmosphere. I quickly turned my two bags around to hide any movement from the snakes or cats. Shin Hae-ryang projected a 3D diagram of the underwater base on the screen and pointed to it with his hand, explaining their plan.

“My team and I will move to the closest Hyunmu-dong and look for the escape pods there.”

Escape pod 75 for Hyunmu-dong was displayed on the screen. Then, Vladimir pushed the diagram aside and pointed to another residence.

“I saw Hyunmu-dong being flooded earlier. Why not go to Jujak-dong instead?”

Engineer Baek Ae-young shook her head.

“Going to Jujak-dong is dangerous.”

“Why?”

“Our team came in from outside doing wall repairs, and we saw the entire Jujak-dong research center disappear.”

“Jujak-dong is the largest facility in the Fourth Underwater Base. How did it disappear?!” Researcher Yu Geum, who was listening, bit her lip before speaking. “Wouldn’t it be safer to take the central elevator and go up to the surface? There are a total of 14 elevators, including those under construction. Can’t we take one that’s in good condition?”

Hearing this, Shin Hae-ryang disagreed.

“You could get hit with another shock in 20 minutes or if something goes wrong with the elevator, it’s all over. It’s much safer to take the escape pods.”

As everyone discussed their escape options, I stood to the side, observing the engineers talk. After all, I didn’t know anything about the underwater base, so even if I tried to swim out, it was probably best to follow their lead. I couldn’t argue against someone who had worked here for years. Even a dentist like me who had only been here for a week would know less.

I had been listening to the engineers’ conversation a bit removed from the group when Baek Ae-young, who had been staring at her team leader like a lost puppy, turned to me.

“Um…what do you want to know?”

“I, uh…There was something that I was curious about from earlier. Sorry, but could I ask you something?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“Like Yu Geum mentioned earlier, wouldn’t it be best to take the direct central elevator to the surface? Isn’t that the fastest way to escape?”

Baek Ae-young didn’t mock me for being ignorant and instead just looked at me before turning to face the location of the escape pod for Hyunmu-dong that Shin Hae-ryang had pointed out.

“Do you know how far underwater we are?”

I nodded my head in agreement, waiting for Baek Ae-young to explain to me in simpler terms. She hesitated for a moment, as if unsure how to explain it to someone who knew nothing about the subject, before speaking slowly.

“The elevator system that runs from our location at -3000 meters to the sea level at 0 meters consists of a total of 14 elevators. Only two of them operate straight up and down. One is the central elevator, and the other is a freight elevator located inside the main research center.”

During my stay at the underwater base, I had only used the central elevator for entering and leaving. But that was to be expected, as it had only been five days since I arrived and I still found it challenging to navigate between the Baekho-dong housing complex, the restaurant, and the dental clinic.

Although waiting for the central elevator often took more than 10 minutes, it was still a time saver compared to taking the subway or bus. Besides, being in front of the elevator meant I met all kinds of people, which wasn’t bad for exchanging greetings, learning names, or engaging in small talk. Baek Ae-young continued her explanation.

“The other 12 elevators move the distance in sections, so there are three elevators that move from 0 meters to -50 meters, three elevators that move from there to -200 meters, three elevators that move from there to -1000 meters, and three elevators that move from there to -3000 meters. There is also one elevator under construction at the deep-sea station.”

It was easy to remember. Three elevators to the First Underwater Base at 0 meters, three to the Second Underwater Base, three to the Third, and three to the Fourth, totaling 12. If we added the two elevators that went straight up and down the entire distance, it made a total of 14 elevators. But was that a lot of elevators or too few? I wasn’t sure, and my expression seemed to show my confusion. Baek Ae-young made it simpler for me.

“Imagine that we are at the rooftop of a skyscraper as high as the one that would cause an earthquake if it were to happen. Do you think it’s safe to go down on an elevator if such an earthquake occurred? Don’t you feel scared or endangered during those 10 minutes you spend on the central elevator?”

As I listened to Baek Ae-young’s words, I nodded along, as if agreeing with her point. Typically, an elevator would move 600 meters per second, but it wasn’t the case for this elevator. Going down to the Fourth Underwater Base, which was located 3 kilometers below, took around 10 minutes. From the perspective of someone taking the elevator, it was much slower.

So, if one were to take the central elevator during such situations, would it not feel like risking their lives for 10 minutes? Or, is the staircase a safer option? I, myself, used to live in a 250-story building on land, and if anything were to happen such as an earthquake, I would take the stairs instead of the elevator to escape.

However, if the building was as high as 3 kilometers, walking down all those stairs would be impossible. Maybe it would have been better if there were more elevators that went straight up and down. Would it have been safer to ride an elevator that was less likely to malfunction? Is the escape pod safer?

I carefully voiced my question to Baek Ae-young. “Please excuse my ignorance. Could there have been more elevators installed when building this underwater base?”

Baek Ae-young smiled faintly, not once criticizing my silly question.

“This is also an expansion. …Anything used underwater is expensive. Just the cost of dental treatment in a dental clinic would make the teacher gasp.”

The cost seemed to be much higher than the regular clinic fees. Standing there, my legs ached, and I had to sit on the ground. I wasn’t the only one, even the man named Nikolai was also sitting on the ground. But no one paid attention. Sitting on the ground, I felt pain around my tailbone, as if I had hit it wrongly when I fell off the bed in shock.

“Do you think this is because of the earthquake?” I asked, remembering the situation when I woke up suddenly.

At that moment, as Baek Ae-young opened her mouth, Nikolai, who was half-standing on the ground, pointed his finger at Baek Ae-young, Shin Hae-ryang, and Seo Ji-hyuk, and then at the escape pods.

“What about repairing those? There are three engineers here who haven’t been drinking.”

After pointing to the escape pods with a finger indicating that they had red warning lights, he waved his hand towards Nikolai, who was half-lying on the ground, and Baek Ae-young answered coldly, “Is it a good idea to fix those?

“Why don’t you fix it yourself?”

It seemed that not all Russians who are engineers can fix everything they see.

Seo Ji-hyuk, one of the three engineers, raised his head. “The outer shell may have warped or the pressure device may have malfunctioned, causing the power outage. I can repair it somewhat with my bare hands, but when we arrive on the ground, Nikolai could be at death’s door.”

Nikolai and Seo Ji-hyuk exchanged a meaningful glance, as if they knew each other well.