Apocalypse Shelter Administrator

Rescue Operation (2)

Vroooom— The boat cut through the waves as it sped along. The sky was dark, and the sea was rough, causing the boat to sway from time to time.

Watching it all on the giant screen and hearing it through the booming speakers in the central control room gave the scene a cinematic quality. It felt like watching a movie about American troops landing in Normandy, but with two key differences.

First, this wasn’t a game. If the operation went wrong, there would be no restart. It wasn’t just the life of one player at stake but the lives of many people. Second, the soldiers on the boat weren’t showing any signs of tension at all. Sitting across from each other with the butts of their guns resting on the boat's floor and the muzzles pointed toward the sky, they were as still as statues, evoking a scene from a religious ceremony.

There were no stereotypical scenes of a grim-faced sergeant with a cigar in his mouth or a nervous rookie trembling with fear. On the upper part of the screen, information was displayed: a satellite map, the distance to the target pier, the estimated arrival time, the boat's speed, the squad members’ status, and their remaining ammunition.

It resembled what would be shown in an actual operations command center during a special mission, but instead of vital signs, the operational efficiency was displayed for each squad member.

If a human soldier lost an arm during a mission, their vital signs would immediately go haywire. But for these soldiers, it was just a matter of reduced shooting accuracy. What mattered was how much of their operational efficiency remained to contribute to the mission.

Slurp— A warm yet bitter taste spread through my mouth and sharpened my senses. I wasn’t particularly fond of bitter flavors, but at the moment, anything other than bitterness seemed like a luxury.

[Administrator, there’s a communication request from the offshore prison.]

Beep—

[It’s a pleasure to speak with you. The warden informed me about you. Should I address you as Administrator Jinsoo?]

The voice that came through wasn’t from the acting Warden Lee Seyoung. Although the speaker's Korean was fluent, there was a slight, almost 2% foreign accent. I guessed she was a foreigner.

“That’s right. Who are you, and where’s Warden Lee Seyoung?”

[I am Sophia, the representative of the east wing. Seyoung is resting. I will be handling negotiations with you from now on.]

I recalled the noise in the background at the end of my last communication with Seyoung.

“And I’m supposed to believe that? Let me guess. The warden’s probably in a panic inside a cell right now. Don’t play tricks—bring me the warden. I’ll only talk to her.”

[I have no intention of deceiving you. The east wing has been under our control from the start. Yesterday’s communication was just a brief moment where we allowed the guards to handle things. Since the situation is progressing normally, we’ve decided to take over the negotiations.]

“I’ll say it one last time. If you want to resume communication, bring the warden. If she’s dead or unable to communicate, I’ll order the rescue team to turn back. We’re already taking on a lot of risk. Why should we proceed if this continues?”

[Wait a moment…]

I heard Sophia shouting something in a foreign language from the other end of the line.

“Bring her here right now! Not that one, the one in solitary, you idiot!” – Ukrainian

The real-time translation appeared on the status screen. So, she’s wearing a mask of politeness, huh?

“Damn it…” – Ukrainian

Even the faintest sigh was caught by Artemis with pinpoint accuracy. This woman clearly hadn’t mastered the technique of covering the receiver with her hand, something even Korean reservists know as a basic skill. ŘÀŊỖ𐌱Ɛᶊ

After a brief moment.

[This is Warden Lee Seyoung. Can you hear me?]

“I’ve been waiting. It seems like you were locked in solitary. What’s the situation?”

I heard a sharp intake of breath from the other side of the line.

[The truth is, the east wing isn’t under the guards’ control. The prisoners have taken over this area too.]

“That’s news to me. In our communication yesterday, it seemed like the guards were in control.”

[I had no intention of deceiving you. We’re in desperate need of rescue, and I only provided the essential information at the time. If you’re upset, I apologize.]

Come to think of it, she never explicitly said the guards controlled the east wing.

“Deception includes deliberately leaving out certain information, don't you think?” I took a sip of coffee.

[Are you listening? I really had no intent to deceive you! If you want, I’ll beg on my knees! Just don’t cut the communication!]

“Calm down. I was just drinking some coffee. I’m not cutting the line.”

It seemed my brief silence as I drank the coffee made her think I was angry. I didn’t appreciate the lack of information, but this mission wasn’t born out of sympathy in the first place. Regardless of who controlled the offshore prison, it didn’t really matter, since we’d have to subdue and control them with force anyway.

[Thank goodness. And… coffee…]

I could hear her gulp even from here.

“Explain the situation. I’m curious about the so-called representative of the east wing and the status of the guards. It looks more like a master-servant relationship than cooperation.”

[Two weeks after we were isolated here, a rebellion broke out. It started in the west wing and quickly spread, engulfing the administrative building. While we were resisting in the east wing, a revolt broke out here as well. Since then, the guards have been imprisoned, and the prisoners have taken control.]

“Two weeks, huh…”

That escalated quickly.

“Are the prisoner groups from the West and east wings in opposition?”

[You could say that. There are always numerous factions in prisons. Thankfully, the east wing has relatively moderate leaders.]

“There’s something I didn’t ask yesterday. Why are you only now resuming communication? I find it odd that you waited until you were on the brink of starvation before requesting rescue.”

[In the chaos caused by the rebellion, the communication equipment was destroyed. The prisoners didn’t care about it at all. In fact, they were pleased that news of the rebellion wouldn’t reach the outside world. After that, the prisoners fought among themselves, trying to get a larger share of the limited food supply. It’s no surprise, really.]

Slurp— The sound of coffee being gulped down reached the other person through the mic, and I could sense a slight flinch on the other end.

"So, when the food ran out, did you call in the prison guards to fix things because you thought you'd all die if it kept going like this?"

[That's right. The prisoners don't have the skills to repair and adjust the communications equipment. Honestly, I thought it was too late, and I didn't expect much, but as it turns out, there’s no law saying you just have to die—uh, Sophia keeps asking to switch, is that alright?]

"Sure, put her on. She probably knows the situation better than you, seeing as you've been locked up the whole time."

The sound of a chair scraping could be heard for a moment.

[Sophia speaking. Do you speak my language?]

"No. My assistant does."

On the screen, Artemis showed a displeased expression.

"So, what do you want to say?"

[There’s a rescue team on the way, right?]

"Yeah. Three squads of combat troops are heading over on boats."

[Boats? That won’t be enough. Do you know how many people are here?]

"We'll stop by the dock, seize a ferry, and bring it over. If we squeeze people in, we can get everyone out in one go. It'll be uncomfortable, but you’ll have to deal with it."

[Squeeze in?]

"It means packing it full."

[Ah.]

A small gasp.

[Then we’ll have to mix with the women from the west wing, and that's…]

Shortly after, she spoke in a voice filled with uncertainty.

"Is this really the time to be picky? Who knows what could happen if we try to make two trips."

[You're right. I hadn't thought of that. Thank you for your help.]

"There’s no such thing as a free lunch. Once you're out, you'll have to pull your weight."

[I understand.]

"What’s the situation with your food supply? I heard you’re running out."

[We haven't eaten anything since yesterday morning. The women in the west wing probably still have some left, though.]

"What about the guards? If you’ve gone a day without eating, the guards must be on the verge of dying."

[That won’t happen. We've been distributing the food fairly.]

That was surprising. The prisoners who started a revolt were sharing food with the guards?

"That’s unexpected."

[We’re not planning on staying here forever. You always have to account for the worst-case scenario, and for that, it’s better if the guards are alive. At the very least, it's better not to make enemies. That’s how we’ve managed to survive so far.]

"Aren’t the other prisoners upset about that?"

[For now, I can still handle it. I have a certain… reputation.]

She did seem tough when speaking in her native language. And it seemed she had the foresight to think ahead.

"Any other questions?"

[Is your supply situation stable? I heard about it from the warden, but I’m concerned. I used to be in the distribution business, so I know how quickly supplies can run out when you’re dealing with hundreds of people. In a closed-off city like that, it could all be gone before you know it.]

How should I ease this needless worry?

"What do you want to eat the most right now?"

A moment of silence.

[Beer. I’d be happy if I could just have one sip of beer.]

Beer, huh…

"Can we do a video call? There’s something I want to show you."

[Video call? Hold on a moment.]

Seyoung responded instead of Sophia. After a short wait, we could finally see each other’s faces. Sophia was a Slavic beauty with a gentle demeanor, probably in her mid-20s. She had the look of a foreign model you might see in a women’s lingerie commercial on home shopping channels.

"We can see you clearly on this end. How about you?"

[You look great.]

"You don't need to flatter me. Now, take a look at this."

While the video call was being set up, I grabbed a can of beer from the central control room’s fridge and shook it in front of the camera. There, engraved on the side, was a glorious name.

Kloud.

I could see Soohia's eyes trembling uncontrollably on the screen.

Pshh— Ah, the refreshing sound of a can opening.

"Mmm." I savored the first burst of beer aroma that wafted out. The fizz and sharp fragrance filled my nose.

"Gulp.”

Was that sound coming from my throat? Or was it Sophia from the screen? I couldn't tell. The sweet taste, only achievable by 100% pure fermented liquid without water, filled my mouth completely.

"Ahhh… That's the stuff! I'm not a big fan of beer, but this is amazing every time."

[Are you mocking me? We've been surviving on just dry biscuits and water!]

Sophia forgot her own predicament and snapped at me. She must have misunderstood my reason for requesting the video call, thinking I was teasing her.

"No, that’s not what I wanted to show you. Artemis, connect the warehouse feed."

By now, Sophia, over at the offshore prison, was no longer looking at my face but at something entirely different.

[Th-this is…!]

Her voice trembled in shock.

"What you're seeing is the food storage area here. And that's only a small part of it. What do you see?"

[Is… is that all beer?]

"That's right."

The footage Artemis was transmitting to her was also being relayed to my PDA. Stacked like mountains in one section of the vast warehouse were boxes of beer.

"About 200,000 cans, give or take. I hope Kloud is to your liking."

I had been wondering how I was ever going to drink all of that on my own, but now it seemed like perfect timing. I wasn’t about to hand it out recklessly, but giving it as a form of reward might help keep the prisoners in check.

[Like it? It was the best-selling beer at my store!]

"If there’s that much of a non-essential item, I don’t need to explain how plentiful our supplies are, do I? We can even produce some of it ourselves."

Sophia’s composure had largely faded from her face on the screen. No matter how tough a person is, when they’re pushed to the limit, even small pleasures can shake them. Especially when Kloud is a cloud brimming with the storm of pleasure.

[We're almost there. We'll begin landing shortly.]

Rose reported in.

"Sorry, but we'll have to cut off communication here. The rescue team has reached the coast. Chat time's over."

With Sophia’s final words of good luck, the communication with the prison was cut off. On the central control room’s screen, I could see the port facilities gradually coming into view beyond the dark night sea. Covered entirely in concrete, paving stones, and buildings.

[Commence landing. From now on, switch to silent communication mode.]

With Rose’s words, a small chatbox-like frame appeared at the bottom of the screen. This was one of the advantages of having machines as the key operatives in this mission. As I operated my PDA, the large scene from the field was split into four sections.

Rose.

Alpha Squad Leader.

Charlie Squad Leader.

Echo Squad Leader.

The visual feeds from each unit were being transmitted into the four-way split screen.

The world had undergone a cataclysm, yet the sound of waves lapping the shore remained unchanged.

With small noises as the sand was displaced, the boats touched the shore. The screen resembled a return to the primeval night of ancient times, with not a single light visible. Only the red eyes of the security robots glowed as they faced each other.

The view from the squad leaders lightly bobbed up and down, and then the horizon gave way to the sight of the ochre-colored beach as they stepped off the boat.

Thud— The firm feet of the machines dug deep into the sand.

It was the outside world. A world where the concept of a simple walk had vanished. A world where every step could lead to death. For the first time since the outbreak, they set foot on that land.

I hope luck is on their side.

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