Chapter 14: Choices Are Free. Do as You Please.
*
It took five days to escape the 9th basement floor.
This was because they had to wander through the entire shelter with all exits to the upper levels completely blocked off.
Of course, the reason the exits were blocked was due to a shutdown measure.
However, there was a difference in method compared to before.
Unlike the 10th basement, there was no time limit for the lockdown.
Instead, it was a sudden closure carried out without any warnings or notifications.
And unlike the explosion that had taken out the entire floor, this one blocked access to the upper levels.
“My goodness, can you believe it? They just blocked all the elevators without any warning!”
Lisa kept repeating her disbelief.
But Han Gang-ho remained unfazed as usual.
He silently led the group towards the north, east, and south elevators.
‘After all, emergencies are treated like this.’
In a situation where the automatic recovery system was not operational, the decision to close everything meant they had no intention of saving the personnel.
It was a political trait he had naturally learned after nearly a decade with the Counter-Terrorism Team.
It wouldn’t be any different in the World Species Repository.
– Sacrificing a few for the many.
An age-old debate of humanity.
Gang-ho had no intention of blaming the outdated argument.
However, whether that choice was the best or truly unavoidable was up for debate.
He might not know who made the closure decision, but at some point, he resolved to confront them.
“Wow, it’s true. Just as you expected, all the passages are closed off, Gang-ho.”
When they finally arrived at the last southern elevator, Lisa muttered in a weak voice.
She, along with Reina and Satoshi, were filled with despair.
‘But what if it’s Gang-ho?’
‘Doesn’t the Commander know a way out?’
Indeed, they could only rely on Han Gang-ho.
And he lived up to that faith.
Using the updated disaster manual, he found a unique escape route that wasn’t even on the blueprints.
Of course, they couldn’t avoid numerous skirmishes along the way.
Fortunately, there weren’t as many mutants or mutated beings as they had feared.
And at least, they didn’t ignore the shelters along their evacuation route.
They made efforts to save survivors, and as a result, their group grew to 42 people.
*
Han Gang-ho’s secret escape route—
The passageway to the 8th floor was none other than the sewer.
This was a conduit that disposed of wastewater and sewage without any filtration or treatment.
Naturally, it was a violation of regulations, so it wasn’t indicated in any official structural or blueprints.
“Haah, ahhhh…!”
“W-We made it!”
The people shivered in joy at being alive.
They survived by crossing a river of foul muck, avoiding former colleagues who had turned into monsters.
A cacophony of emotions washed over them, from devastation to gratitude.
However, they couldn’t rejoice freely.
Kiyaaaak!
Grurrrr.
“Eek!”
“No, no!”
As soon as they emerged from the sewage treatment shelter, sentinels with four arms lunged at them, baring their saw-like teeth.
“The 8th floor is connected by four passages just like the 10th. We must move through the right passage!”
While Gang-ho, Reina, and Wolf faced off against the multitude of grotesque beings, Lisa and Satoshi escorted 38 ordinary researchers to the next shelter.
There were only four awakened individuals, including Wolf, so this was the most efficient approach.
They traversed through six shelters.
Fortunately, no one in the party died, got injured, or fell behind.
There were no special abilities among the monsters like the ragged golems they had encountered on the 10th floor or the creatures on the 9th.
But it was a harrowing journey for the non-awakened individuals.
Still, thanks to Han Gang-ho’s group, they reached the 7th floor alive and made their way to the 6th floor in the same manner.
“It’s too quiet, isn’t it?”
“But it’s clean. There are no signs of damage or impact.”
They exited the emergency passage on the 6th floor to find a vast white kitchen.
Yet, no one could relax easily.
They had climbed up drenched in blood, having witnessed horrific sights the entire way.
Gang-ho attempted to ease the tension among the group.
“You can move with a bit more ease now. According to the disaster manual, there shouldn’t be any living beings here.”
He was right.
Every shelter they entered afterward was just as the first kitchen had been.
There was no danger, and no mutated beings in sight.
“Wasn’t this place originally called ‘Las Vegas of the World Species Repository’?”
Reina, who knew the structural composition of each floor of the repository, questioned with a puzzled look.
Gang-ho nodded.
“Exactly. It was called that because it housed various rest and entertainment facilities.”
Satoshi chimed in.
“That’s right. I used to spend a lot of time here after coming up. But when and why did it become like this…?”
No one knew when the entire floor’s facilities had changed.
Gang-ho quickly checked the new facility guide from the manual.
“The reasons stated were a decrease in population, wastage of space and power, and overlap of shelter functions leading to a change in usage.”
The new usage was ‘manufacturing plant.’
From various foods and daily necessities to machine parts needed for maintaining the World Species Repository.
The floor was filled with factory shelters and auxiliary power generation facilities for manufacturing.
“Ah, so that’s why it’s all humanoids!”
Automation.
The 6th floor was a place that required no human management or labor, quite literally.
The only things wandering around were humanoids.
Thanks to this, on the 6th floor, they could comfortably move towards the elevator leading to the 5th floor, guided kindly by the humanoids.
However, even on the 6th floor, the central information system and communication could not be used.
‘Blocking information and communication is the most basic measure for control and enforcement.’
As time passed, suspicions were solidifying into certainty.
Nevertheless, Gang-ho allowed for minimal rest and repairs for the exhausted group.
He was certain there wouldn’t be any other places that maintained the original tranquility like the 6th floor.
‘Probably.’
On one hand, that tranquility strongly stimulated humanity’s desire to settle into comfort.
“Can’t we just stay here? If we go up to the 5th floor and it’s like the lower levels…”
It was someone’s suggestion that stemmed from worry and concern.
This was as they gathered, having finished their promised day of rest to head up to the 5th floor.
But Gang-ho shook his head.
“This place won’t be safe for long, either. Eventually, every floor will be sealed off.”
“Why? What’s the reason?”
“No one can tell what will happen next. We can only move towards the option with the higher survival probability.”
“……….”
Seeing the expressions and attitudes of the people, Gang-ho felt they had already made some sort of decision amongst themselves.
Sure enough, they began nitpicking to create excuses.
“Are you saying we should go up aimlessly without a clear plan?”
“Every time you give orders, I thought you had some grand plan up your sleeve.”
“If that’s the case, I guess I’ll stay here. I don’t have to die playing along with a captain who can’t even take responsibility for uncertain judgments.”
Gang-ho was left speechless.
Only a few days ago, they had thanked him for saving their lives.
In truth, he would have understood their position in the past.
He might have even blamed himself for his own imperfections.
But now,
‘I am no longer the head of the Counter-Terrorism unit, diving into danger to rescue hostages.’
Gang-ho scanned over the people confrontationally standing against him.
“Team captain, huh… Did I drag you all here against your will?”
“Well, that’s not it…”
“Choices are free. Do as you please.”
With that, Gang-ho turned on his heel and walked away.
As he left, Reina shot a disdainful glare at the remaining people.
“If it weren’t for him, would you all even be alive right now?”
She snorted and followed after Gang-ho.
“Hmph. You trash.”
At Reina’s harsh and cold demeanor, the people began to curse.
“What?! You’re the one mutated into a freak due to electromagnetic exposure!”
“Monsters that aren’t even human!”
Caught off guard by their absurd denunciation, even Lisa, who had remained calm, finally had to say something and turned her back.
“I’m just thankful we became these mutations instead of becoming zombies or creatures. Well then, good luck.”
Satoshi watched the situation from a distance, whispering to Wolf the entire time.
“Wolf, go ask him.”
In the end, 15 people remained on the 6th floor.
Only 27, including Gang-ho’s group who had been together since the beginning, moved up to the 5th floor.
And unfortunately, just as Gang-ho had predicted, the 5th floor was already in ruins.
All facilities and equipment had been destroyed, and there were no survivors in sight.
On the bright side, there weren’t any creatures, mutants, or zombies.
The reason was that, without oxygen supply being cut off, there couldn’t be any living creatures that required breathing.
“Thanks to Dr. Lisa’s judgments.”
Someone admired and expressed gratitude for Lisa, who had chosen a spacesuit-like protective suit equipped with an oxygen supply device.
“Thank Gang-ho for that. He predicted the situation here based on the disaster manual.”
As she said, Gang-ho had assumed the worst-case scenario for the 5th floor.
His reasoning was that the 5th floor was where living quarters were concentrated.
The greater the number of people, the greater the potential for damage.
Yet there was one thing that even Gang-ho hadn’t anticipated.
‘There are no corpses.’
A chill ran down Gang-ho’s spine due to some unshakeable anxiety.
This was the possibility that all those people had turned into mutants.
In any case, there were no hindrances, so it was easy to ascend to the upper levels.
Unexpectedly, they could view the 6th floor status from the 4th floor’s situation control room, where the information system and communication were still operational.
“What’s happening?!”
“Oh, my God.”
“Goodness.”
It appeared as if the people left on the 6th floor were being hunted down by humanoids as if in some utopia.
“Why?!”
*
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