Chapter 54 Tree(8)
- Hold on for a moment.
I raised my hand to stop Kyle, who was approaching with repair tools. The shuttle repair work should only begin after we thoroughly checked the inside. No matter how urgent things were, some things simply needed to be done first.
Inside, after stepping on the door crumpled outward by a force pushing from the inside, we found splattered bloodstains and broken equipment everywhere. Although it was hard to tell the exact situation without finding the bracelet, it was easy enough to guess what had happened.
- Looks like the mutation happened inside.
Nadia perked up her ears, pointing to the emergency bed where the patient must have lain. Exhausted by the never-ending engine noise from the facility, one of her ears sagged and folded in half.
Perhaps the straps were for securing the patient. I saw the strap, connected to the bed, drooping down. The tough strap had a coarse, torn edge and was stained dark red, as if it had been forcibly snapped by brute Strength.
The medical supplies stocked in the shuttle, whether scattered by the crash impact or by the monster's rampage, were no longer in their places and lay strewn across the floor. The cockpit was also littered with shards of broken glass scattered everywhere.
All of these traces seemed to extend outward from the emergency bed we were currently looking at. This must be the origin of the disaster.
'Creepy.'
Even though I had seen similar scenes many times, I could never get used to it. The smell of death muddled my mind. The metallic scent—so close to the smell of blood—stimulated my nose.
After checking the interior, we found nothing of real value. Still, we checked everything thoroughly. A ghoul could've been hiding somewhere, after all.
I knew that what can be seen isn't always everything there is. Since it wouldn't hurt to be cautious, I opened every single storage compartment, one by one.
'There might be some records left on the shuttle.'
The shuttle was in better shape than I expected. The cockpit didn't seem all that damaged either. The power wouldn't come on, so I couldn't check for sure, but checking that would be Kyle's job, not mine. No reason for us to touch something when there was an expert ready.
Soon enough, after finishing our inspection, Nadia and I stepped out. Pointing to the shuttle, we addressed Kyle, who approached as if waiting.
- Do you think it'll be fixable?
- That's what I'll check now. Was there power in the cockpit?
- I didn't touch anything, worried it might mess things up. The power was off, but I don't think anything was majorly damaged.
- Hmm... When I looked from the outside, it didn't seem too hard, either... I'll go check the cockpit and diagnose the damaged areas, so could you collect any scrap metal outside?
What Kyle meant by 'scrap metal' wasn't just ordinary junk. Sometimes, rare metals or circuit boards considered unusable could be among the discarded materials. He'd asked us to get things that can't be found in the level 1 store.
- Isn't it dangerous to split up? Is it urgent?
- If we find anything, the array antenna will get finished faster. We could substitute other metals, but efficiency drops. I don't want any of you to be in danger, so only collect if you find anything nearby.
- Got it. We'll look around, since we need to check the area anyway.
- Please do.
With that, Kyle said he'd begin the actual shuttle repairs, promising to call if anything happened.
We only watched him for a moment before turning to the presence we sensed nearby. It was Eric.
- Unloaded everything, so now we need to divide up the roles again. If we're to find what Kyle asked for, we'll have to collect metal cubes. How about this: we divide the area?
Eric suggested splitting up. He would scout outside, while Nadia and I explored inside. Roxy was to stay with Kyle at the shuttle in case something went wrong.
'Splitting up isn't ideal.'
But I knew why Eric made this suggestion. He wanted to look for Celestia's missing family somewhere out there. While I honestly thought the possibility was slim, it would be weird to ignore the matter altogether after coming this far. From Eric's perspective, anyway.
For Celestia and the Myosotis group, this was important enough to even ask me separately.
- Will you be alright on your own?
- I'll move very carefully, and if I spot a ghoul or any monster, I'll retreat straight away. I can handle myself.
- ... Keep the comms open at all times.
- Of course.
Eric nodded slightly and set off to the outside. Despite my worries, his stride was steady and determined.
- Hyun-woo, it's fine. I'll keep watching through the cameras, so you don't have to worry. Eric is really good at fighting.
- ... Are you watching right now?
- Nope. The cameras aren't working—how could I? It just feels like things will work out.
- .......
On the other end of the comm, I could imagine Celestia giggling and Licorice scowling for some unknown reason. Pushing that aside, I searched around the shuttle for the unseen Roxy.
Thud, thud—the sound of a giant metal cylinder; a press compressing the byproducts heated by power lines; and an antigravity pipeline transporting the metal cubes thus created.
The Medivac medical transport shuttle had crashed at the boundary dividing inside and outside. Normally, the shield barrier should have stopped it halfway through, but a malfunction in the barrier generator caused part of the shuttle to end up inside.
At least it was fortunate the area with laser defenses wasn't disturbed. If it had been, there'd have been more than just an angle gone askew.
Inside, the heat generated was enough to forget both the metallic screams and the outer cold in an instant. The lasers weren't just for cutting debris—they also heated byproducts as they traveled through antigravity pipelines, making processing easier.
Naturally, their power was on a completely different level compared to the multipurpose laser Carry handled. In terms of output, it was a notch above plasma cutters. I quickly stopped Roxy, who seemed interested in the lasers.
- You better not touch them. If you even brush against one, it'll take more than a burn.
At my warning, Roxy obediently lowered his stretched-out arm and shrugged.
- I know at least that much. Just got a bit nostalgic, that's all.
- Nostalgic? For the lasers?
- The laser isn't the main thing. It's this facility I'm nostalgic for. Or actually, rather than nostalgia, should I say old memories just popped up.
- So you worked at a similar place?
- You could say that.
Roxy took in his surroundings. According to his brother Kyle, he'd had an incurable wanderlust since childhood and never settled anywhere. Having drifted here and there, doing various jobs, Roxy's life was far more eventful than mine, who remembers nothing but this place.
As Nadia and I led Roxy toward the shuttle, I asked,
- How'd you end up here anyway? You don't seem the type to stick around.
- There was this shuttle I really wanted. But, you know, you add options and the price gets ridiculous. Didn't really have any savings left. That's when the boss lured me in. Promised to buy me the shuttle I wanted if I worked for five years. So now I'm stuck in this situation.
Turns out, Roxy was stranded on this ice moon Titan because of a broker's proposal. His whole demeanor radiated gloom.
One shuttle for five years. Considering Roxy's piloting skills, that didn't seem like a good deal. Even though I'd never want to ride with him a second time, his skill was certainly unquestionable.
She—the broker—was known for her precise credit calculations. I figured someone like her wouldn't cut an unfair deal. I believed it... but I couldn't help but wonder.
- Hyun-woo, why that face? People will think I forced him into slavery or something.
- ... You're not actually watching now, right?
- Just probing. I know you well, don't I?
Licorice smugly continued over comm as I looked startled.
- And Roxy, how could you not mention the most important part? It's not the five years that matter, but the price of the shuttle. It wasn't even five years at first—the contract changed after he heard the price.
- How much was it?
- 900 million credits. With options, it's another 100 million.
- ...900 million credits? Add the options and a billion? For a shuttle? Is it a warship?
I stared in shock at the unimaginable price. Nadia also gasped, and Carry did a midair flip in surprise.
All the credits Nadia and I had worked three years to scrape together were only about 50 million. Even considering the low pay for the risk, a sum like one billion credits was simply astronomical.
A billion credits over five years. That meant earning 200 million a year. Licorice, who proposed the deal, must have been sure she could recoup more than that annually.
On this harsh ice moon, earning that kind of money?
'I knew brokers were rich, but...'
She operated dozens of security robots. Thinking by my standards simply wasn't accurate. Who was the real hustler after all? I didn't know. But what was certain was—they were both impressive.
- Haaa, don't look at me like that. Racers are always expensive. And now, the boss has sold me to Myosotis. Maybe that's why, sometimes I miss that feeling...
- Stop getting sentimental over a shuttle and watch over Kyle.
At my gesture toward the shuttle, Roxy chuckled and walked over.
- Oh, my brother Kyle! Is the repair going well?
- Yeah, going smoothly. Luckily, we've got power. If I can fix the engine and thrusters, this shuttle should work again.
- There's nothing that goes smoothly in this world, brother. There are always twists and turns. Just like my life.
- Huh? Are you making fun of me? Not even going to help? Just get out!
- Hmph. Thrown out, again.
Left speechless at Roxy's indifference, I heard Licorice sigh softly through the noise.
- ... Just let us know if you need anything for Kyle. Nadia and I will go check out the control room.
Roxy waved us on and told us to hurry. As we closed our mouths, I suddenly figured out why Licorice had gotten prickly, maybe even why she'd sold Roxy.
- The control room doors are locked, but just go on ahead. I'll unlock them. Will you check the access way to the maintenance area beyond the control room?
- No, we won't go that way.
- Good thinking. I would've stopped you if you had.
- I've only got one life.
The waste disposal area was connected to the maintenance area by a corridor. Currently, the maintenance area's systems were down again. We figured the cause was an energy surge.
If our guess was right, entering there would be a bad idea. No telling when the surge that wrecked the facility might hit us.
If we opened the emergency-sealed corridor and abnormal energy leaked into the waste disposal area, it would be catastrophic. The warning signs on the tightly sealed door were there for a reason.
We activated the lift leading to the control room and pressed the 'ascend' button on the floating hologram window.
〈Waste Disposal Area – Processing Control Room〉
【Access forbidden except for authorized staff.】
After a brief mechanical roar, Nadia and I arrived at the control room door.
The sensors recognized our approach and flashed a red warning—"Insufficient clearance: Access denied"—but the door opened as Licorice overrode the security.
All hail Licorice.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
All hail Licorice!
【٩(^ᗜ^ )و】