Chapter 20: Release from the Restricted Area
*
“I wish we could at least say goodbye to Wolf.”
“…….”
Satoshi, with a gloomy expression, pouted at Gang-ho, who seemed particularly heartless.
“But still, Wolf was one who obeyed only you, Lieutenant. He only looked at you and followed you. I’ve always been with him, so I know.”
Watching Satoshi struggle to express his feelings, Gang-ho thought to himself how this heavy-hearted guy really had no talent for words.
‘I’m not any less sad than you are.’
Gang-ho lightly tapped Satoshi’s hand, which he was holding onto. Then, he turned around and walked toward the place where Wolf had leaped.
“…….”
He closed his eyes and lowered his head.
‘Wolf. Even without saying anything, without showing tears, I believe you understand my heart.’
Thinking as if he were conversing with Wolf, memories of their first meeting up to this moment flashed before his eyes like a movie reel.
‘Comrade. More than that.’
For no particular reason, one of his shoulders felt heavy. Unconsciously, Gang-ho slightly clenched his fist. He took a short deep breath and opened his eyes.
“Rest in peace.”
Having concluded his brief moment of silence, he turned around to see Reina, Lisa, Satoshi, and everyone else behind them joining in the tribute.
With his heart pounding, Gang-ho made an effort to calm himself and began browsing through the Disaster Manual.
‘Those alive must continue their work.’
He then found the emergency code to open the hangar doors.
Whoooosh.
Clank!
The colossal entrance door, three stories high, opened wide. This revealed a grand space that resembled an airport.
“Wow.”
“I didn’t realize it was this big when we were passing through!”
Cheering and exclamations began to mingle together.
Indeed, the sight of sunlight pouring in through the skylights of the hangar ceiling tugged at their hearts. It felt like they were receiving a blessing. Their emotions were heightened since they had just escaped from the brink of death moments ago.
“I thought I’d never see this again.”
“Me too.”
A few watery voices quickly spread tears among the group. While some hugged and comforted each other in small clusters, Gang-ho checked not the ceiling but the floor.
The transport vehicles heading to the surface all appeared to be intact. The large lift that would take those vehicles up was also clean.
‘It would’ve been great if there were an aircraft. But, oh well. Tactical vehicles and armored cars must be somewhere. Let’s not let our guard down until the end, and hurry up.’
That was a reminder he gave to himself.
*
When they arrived at the first basement level, there were a total of 63 people.
These were the survivors who had managed to cling on, led by Gang-ho’s group. However,
11 fatalities.
9 injuries.
Final survivor count: 52.
All the casualties occurred in the last basement hangar. A vehicle had exploded after being struck by collapsing debris from the entire floor crumbling down. Eleven people aboard had tragically perished.
Fortunately, everyone had kept their cool amidst that terrifying situation, minimizing the damage.
Finally, the lift reached the hangar on the ground floor. A few vehicles that the group had boarded started moving along the conveyor belt to the entrance.
Bzzzzzz.
In that brief moment, Gang-ho checked his own status.
[Name]: Han Gang-ho
[…]: …….
[Specialty]: Thunderstorm / Area-specialized.
[Level]: Lv.14
[Enhancement]: 70%
[Attribute]: Plasma. Electromagnetic field.
[Special Skill]: Gas discharge. Controlled thermal nuclear fusion.
[Basic Effect]: Contamination resistance (poison immunity).
[Auxiliary Skill]: Manual – Exclusive Library (Ver.2). Threat.
[Limited Effect]: Leap.
[Title]: Leader (S).
[…]: ……….
Several items had changed in the details. A new item appeared under auxiliary skills.
[Limited Effect]: Leap.
This ability had some restrictions on its usage, unlike the basic effect. Restrictions like reuse time and environmental requirements. In other words, while the basic effect was passive, the limited effect could be seen as an active attribute.
‘Leap, huh.’
As he recalled Reina’s leap from her auxiliary skills, her form soaring like a dragon filled his vision.
With that admiration, he naturally made a guessing leap of his own.
‘Attribute, or perhaps ability transfer.’
It seemed that when he caught Reina as she fell from being electrocuted by the Dark App, there was a strange sensation he felt in his body. As he absorbed the electric current surrounding her, it felt like one of her abilities was absorbed with it.
The reason such a guess was possible was that the Dark App was an energy transitory device that both absorbed and reflected. Reina had been electrocuted by the electric power he emitted to defend against her physical prowess, and that served as a medium transferring her abilities to Gang-ho.
‘Of course, this is all just speculation.’
While pondering this question, the conveyor belt carrying the vehicles came to a halt in the large lobby on the ground floor.
“Ah. Finally.”
“We’re alive!”
“Oh, dear God.”
All the survivors were shedding tears as they embraced each other.
‘Have we finally passed the crisis?’
But for some reason, Gang-ho felt uneasy deep inside. Whether it was because of the countless people buried underground with the World Species Repository or his intuition sensing danger, he couldn’t tell.
He gulped down the bottled water that Lisa handed him and pressed his lips together tightly.
“Alright, let’s head out.”
*
[World Species Repository]
– 2027~2050.
: Established in 2027, it is the world’s first and largest humanity preservation project that extends down to 10 underground floors.
: Each floor spans the size of one district in Seoul, making it a vast facility comparable to an underground city.
: In 2050, all facilities were buried due to an explosion accident and self-closure for security reasons.
: Currently, only the hangar on the first basement level remains preserved.
: Hangar operational. Other facilities are unavailable.
Gang-ho quietly observed the explanations of the Disaster Manual displayed on his status screen. The introduction to the Species Repository that had been there just before had changed, leaving him dumbfounded.
And below it, the percentage was continuously moving toward 100%.
[Disaster Manual Expansion Patch (Ver.3) synchronization in progress]
[Reflecting updated geographical and environmental information]
[Progress: 48%]
Gang-ho shifted his gaze away from the status screen and looked around.
“……”
He was at a loss for words.
No matter how many times he looked, the endless ruins stretched before him, unbelievable to see. The feeling of uncertainty now was more overwhelming than the incredulity and emptiness he had felt when he first exited the hangar.
The area around Baekdu Mountain had transformed into a massive urban city compared to the past. After the collapse of the North Korean hereditary dictatorship during the 2026 Ice Age and the reunification of the Republic of Korea, remarkable advancements had taken place.
Especially under the leadership of the Invasion, the World Species Repository had been established, turning it into a sophisticated city.
Yet the ruins laid out before him seemed impossible to believe as the same location.
“What happened here?”
Reina asked Gang-ho about his thoughts.
Just then, Lisa, who had been tending to the injured, approached with her questions.
“Why didn’t the Species Repository mention the situation outside even once until it reached this state?”
Satoshi chimed in with his thoughts on that.
“That’s strange. By the looks of it, doesn’t it seem like this place has always been like this? Just look at those lush plants.”
As Gang-ho, who had been quietly listening, finally spoke up.
“Plants can cover the world in just a day if the environment suits them.”
He meant that the current state wasn’t impossible at all. After all, the greenery covering the rubble was mainly just weeds and moss; there were no beautiful ancient trees with long lifespans apparent.
“I entered the Species Repository a year ago.”
“Then, no matter how long this state has lasted, it wouldn’t even be a year in total.”
“It would likely be even shorter. Probably.”
Lisa crossed her arms and pondered with a serious look on her face. After a brief moment of thought, she continued.
“It took us about 30 days to escape. This also coincided with a period cut off from external information.”
Everyone nodded in agreement as they listened.
So, what had happened outside during those 30 days?
“It’s true that the buildings were destroyed, but there’s no sign of direct force applied.”
Reina mumbled to herself while touching her chin.
Satoshi, who heard that, turned to Gang-ho and asked,
“Could it have been a nuclear explosion?”
Gang-ho shook his head while keeping his gaze fixed on the ruins.
“There’s no trace of external shocks as Reina said. No signs of gunfire or bombing.”
“Ah.”
Satoshi nodded, taking another look at the ruins.
Intact high-rise buildings that neither leaned nor collapsed.
Yet they were in a dilapidated, corroded state with no maintenance whatsoever.
Roads with no signs of destruction.
It definitely didn’t seem to point toward war or explosions as the cause.
And the lush plants entwined seamlessly with the city seemed to obscure any direct sense of time passing.
Ding.
[Disaster Manual Expansion Patch (Ver.3) synchronization complete.]
[Update complete.]
[Restricted Area Lifted.]
Just then, the patch was completed. Gang-ho looked at the Disaster Manual, which had changed its table of contents.
‘… Huh?’
[Jurisdictional Reassignment]
[…]: ……
[5th Dimensional Gate]
[Location/Jurisdiction]: Seoul / Republic of Korea.
[…]: ……
As soon as he clicked to check part of the content, Gang-ho turned to Dr. Inder.
However, he was still unconscious and had not regained his awareness.
‘They said they succeeded in terraforming, but could it possibly mean a dimensional gate…’
With no one to ask, he speculated alone.
Then he had to make a decision.
“Everyone, get in the vehicles. We’re moving south.”
For now, there was no other choice but to forge ahead.
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