Chapter 40: Warrior (1)
Leaving behind the topic of the artifact, I opened the door and walked a little when a police officer ran up to me.
It was a young male police officer.
He was taller than me, with short hair and a neat appearance.
He saluted me, his voice trembling.
“Nice to meet you, sir. I am Constable Kim Soo-kyung, newly appointed as your secretary as of today.”
“Secretary?”
I questioned him, and he answered in a still awkward tone.
“Yes! That’s correct. The chief instructed me to assist you with your tasks.”
Kim Soo-kyung cautiously lowered his saluting hand.
His speech and actions seemed inexperienced.
He probably hadn’t been a police officer for long—a rookie, it seemed.
I looked beyond him, down the opposite corridor.
Police officers were still busily coming and going in the hallway.
Although Kim Soo-kyung called himself my secretary, he was likely assigned by the upper ranks to monitor me.
However, this worked out for the better.
To handle internal matters, I needed assistance from someone familiar with working in this place.
As he walked beside me, he spoke.
I had to look up at him to meet his gaze.
“If there’s anything you need, please let me know. I’ll do my best to assist you.”
“Sure, let’s do that.”
Even if he didn’t say it, I was already planning to work him to the bone until he begged for a break.
Things were about to get really busy from now on.
I walked along the corridor on the fifth floor.
Kim Soo-kyung stuck closely to my side.
Police officers were bustling about nonstop.
I checked my wristwatch.
It was just past 9 a.m.
The fifth-floor office space wasn’t just a place for police officers to eat and sleep.
In one room, I saw the doctor I had noticed in the meeting room earlier, along with a few female nurses.
They were medical personnel from nearby hospitals who had come here.
Though they couldn’t perform surgeries due to a lack of equipment, they were examining patients with medical supplies brought from pharmacies and hospitals.
Most of the patients shared similar conditions.
They were being treated for injuries sustained during patrols.
Nearby, ordinary citizens suffering from frostbite hovered around, but the police officer guarding the door showed no intention of letting them inside.
In another room, people were busy sorting and organizing the food supplies they had brought.
Meanwhile, several police officers with shovels were standing in the hallway.
They were part of the snow removal team, clearing snow from inside the police station.
There were various ways to melt the snow, such as using the cafeteria inside the police station, portable gas burners, and the bonfire at the main entrance.
The melted snow was then transferred into large basins or PET bottles to be used as drinking water.
Each police officer was spending their day busily.
Since they had to take on even tasks that citizens weren’t doing, they had no time to rest.
‘This is terribly inefficient.’
I observed their methods and thought to myself.
It wasn’t just the citizens; the police officers’ work processes were equally sloppy.
Everything needed to be overhauled.
Living arrangements, work schedules, administration, personnel, and organization.
After examining the fifth floor to some extent, I headed back to the staircase.
Kim Soo-kyung silently followed behind me.
From the fourth floor to the second floor.
These were the residential areas for the citizens.
“Cough… Cough!”
“Haa… Haa… Whew…”
As soon as I entered the residential area on the fourth floor, I was greeted by coughing and groaning from all directions.
The living conditions of the people were appalling.
The stench was unbearable, and the cold made ordinary life seem impossible.
The people’s appearances barely resembled those of living beings.
If I had to describe the scene before me in one word, only one came to mind.
Neglect.
It was as if chickens in a poultry farm had been left unattended for days during winter.
If this continued for a few more days, they might end up devouring each other.
This administrative structure was clearly on the verge of collapse.
Frankly, seeing this place made me realize that the setup, structure, and environment of the shopping mall were akin to paradise in comparison.
At least the people there weren’t just blindly waiting for rescue like a clueless herd.
That didn’t mean I had a perfect solution to turn this situation around.
I roughly organized the current problems in my mind.
The cold.
Food procurement.
Available workforce.
The most pressing issue was, of course, the cold.
The cold suppressed activity.
This applied to all animals.
In winter, even humans feel reluctant to leave the warmth of their blankets.
Ultimately, the first condition that Gil In-ho mentioned to me—resolving the cold—was the top priority.
What methods had humanity historically used to combat the cold?
‘In ancient times, there were bonfires and caves. In the medieval era, fur and basic heating. In modern times, coal boilers. And in the present day, gas boilers.’
Bonfires were feasible for a small number of people, but maintaining them required significant effort.
Coal?
In a world where even finding a single gas burner was difficult, searching for coal that had long disappeared in modern times was even harder.
And gas boilers were an even more challenging option.
The method I could think of was a basic one.
Using heated water to maintain warmth.
Filling a heating tank with water and using the heat generated to warm the building.
Such a method required a proper space to continuously supply warm water to the heating tank.
The first thing that came to mind was a bathhouse.
And here, in this place…
After some thought, I turned to Kim Soo-kyung and asked.
“Is there a bathhouse inside the station?”
“Ah, yes. There is one for duty officers… but I believe it’s not open for use.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s located in the basement.”
I looked away from him.
“How many people are here right now?”
“Ah, yes! Including the 21 survivors who arrived yesterday and excluding the 8 who left, we currently have 812 people.”
Out of 812, I needed to recruit skilled workers.
The addition of more people was good news in this dire need for manpower.
I looked back at him and asked.
“Your name is Kim Soo-kyung, right?”
“Ah, yes, sir. Please go ahead.”
Kim Soo-kyung stopped and looked down at me.
“Have you gathered information about the citizens’ previous occupations?”
“Yes. I believe it’s recorded.”
“Then find people with these professions and bring them to me.”
“Ah, yes! Please specify.”
I organized my thoughts briefly and then said.
“Boiler technicians, craftsmen, safety engineers, electricians, industrial technicians…”
“Wait a moment, sir.”
Kim Soo-kyung hurriedly pulled out a notebook from his pocket.
He quickly flipped through the pages, preparing to jot down notes.
“Yes, please continue, sir.”
“Boiler technicians, craftsmen, safety engineers, electricians… No, just bring me anyone who’s a technician. Tell them to gather on the first floor where roll call is conducted.”
“Yes, understood. By when should they gather?”
“As soon as possible.”
“Ah, yes! Understood.”
After diligently noting my instructions, Kim Soo-kyung ran off toward the opposite corridor.
‘I’ll have to gather the technicians first and figure things out.’
The next thing I needed was healthy workers.
Strong and robust individuals—different from Jin Jae-hee in another sense of strength.
In simple terms, I needed my own professional labor force.
It would be ideal if they also had combat capabilities.
Most of the citizens were like sickly chickens, barely clinging to life.
Assigning them to tough tasks seemed almost impossible.
I needed healthy men capable of enduring harsh labor.
At that moment, I felt gazes on me.
Turning to look at the residential area, I saw people staring at me.
“…”
“…”
They were definitely watching me.
Wrapped in blankets to shield themselves from the cold, their frail bodies trembled as they looked at me with sunken faces.
When I turned to meet their gazes, they quickly looked away.
After this morning’s roll call, they all knew I was the Administrator.
But for now, they only watched me with wary eyes.
Leaving their stares behind, I continued down the stairs.
A police officer standing guard at the basement stairs pulled out a telescopic baton.
“Step back. This is a restricted area for civilians.”
The constable, wearing his police cap low, pointed the baton forward, but Kang Sion steadily descended the stairs.
Seeing this, the constable gripped the baton tightly, preparing to attack Sion.
Not until recently, but up to two weeks before the station was sealed off, there had been attempts by some citizens to descend into the basement.
Those individuals had tried to break the rules and raid the basement storage, filled with police weaponry.
This made security in this area understandably strict.
“Hey! Didn’t you hear me say it’s off-limits!? If you come any closer, I’ll arrest you!”
The constable, shouting angrily with his cap pressed low, was stopped by another officer next to him, who took a closer look at Kang Sion’s face as he descended the stairs.
After recognizing Sion, the other officer paled and stopped his colleague holding the baton.
“Hey, hey. Isn’t that the newly appointed Administrator?”
“What…?! That kid is the Administrator?”
The constable holding the baton asked in shock.
“Put the baton away now. Didn’t you hear during yesterday’s roll call? The Chief said the city councilor personally appointed him. We don’t have the authority to control the Administrator.”
“A-Ah. I’m so sorry!”
The constable wearing the cap quickly retracted the baton and bowed his head.
Every day at precisely 10:30 a.m., the police conducted an additional roll call on the fifth floor.
This was to relay the Chief’s orders or rotate duty officers.
Just yesterday, the Chief gave one clear directive: assist Administrator Kang Sion and establish internal order.
Even though they had been informed of his appearance, the guard officers had forgotten it.
However, Sion didn’t blame them.
In fact, he didn’t care.
“Open the door, please.”
“Ah… Yes, understood.”
Clang, clunk—!
The constable with the baton hurriedly opened the door leading to the basement.
A wave of cold air blew out from inside.
Sion passed through the door and headed into the basement.
Once Sion was gone and the door was shut, the constable let out a sigh of relief.
“Haah… Damn it. I nearly got screwed.”
“You know what happens if the Chief gets upset with you. Remember Kim, the Team Leader from Team 3? During the first round… disobeyed orders and ended up locked in the holding cell. …The holding cell is literal hell. Hell.”
“I know, that’s why I’m saying this.”
“Just be careful, alright.”
The two young officers continued their conversation for a while.
Meanwhile, Sion walked through the dark hallway.
The basement, devoid of natural light, was almost as dark as a cave without electric lighting.
Even so, there were occasional police officers patrolling with portable flashlights.
Sion’s eyes caught sight of a holding cell with iron bars at the end of the dim hallway.
‘…….’
From the moment he stepped into the area, his nose was assaulted by a foul stench.
It smelled as if he had entered a sewer.
The police officers stationed there and the criminals in the cells, whose sentences had not yet been finalized, all seemed half-dazed.
Sion stepped into the holding cell area.
The interior was circular, with cells lining the walls and the entrance being the only way in or out.
Bang—!
At that moment, a man inside one of the cells grabbed the iron bars and began screaming.
“Let me out!!!!! Aaaaaaah!!! Aaaaaah!!!”
A police officer standing nearby immediately pulled out his telescopic baton and began striking the iron bars where the man was.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The clash of the baton against the bars echoed loudly.
Despite this, the man inside showed no signs of stopping.
He continued clutching the bars, shaking them violently.
“Just kill me already. Just kill me. Just kill me! What did I even do that was so wrong, huh?”
Sion slowly approached the scene.
Holding cells are facilities used to temporarily detain suspects without arrest warrants, those sentenced to short-term confinement, or detainees under court custody orders.
Therefore, being in a holding cell meant these individuals had committed some kind of crime.
Inside the holding cell area, there was truly nothing.
It was filled with filth, and people who were half-crazed were either passed out or wandering aimlessly.
It was no different from a pigsty.
Even the slightest movement left filth clinging to their bodies, and the stench was so overwhelming that staying for just 30 minutes could make someone vomit.
The argument between the supervising officer and the detainee continued.
“Why are you doing this… why!!! I’m telling you, I just got into a fight while drinking! Hey…? Sir. Please. Officer, sir.”
“Shut up!”
“J-Just tell me what’s happening outside. Please. This isn’t fair! Huh!! It’s freezing in here… at least give me… at least give me more blankets.”
“For fuck’s sake, will you shut up?! Can’t you just be quiet for a single day?! I’m fucking exhausted because of you guys!”
The man’s voice trembled even more.
“Hitting someone while drunk… is that such a big crime? Just send me to prison or let me settle it! Fuck, 10 million won? Fine, I’ll pay a billion! Just please let me live. It’s freezing to death in here, sir…!”
The detainees had no idea what was happening outside.
They were unaware of the monsters roaming the outside world or that snow was piled up to thigh height.
For the two weeks since the world had ended, these criminals trapped here knew nothing of what had transpired.
The only thing they knew was the League interface that had appeared before their eyes.
The police officers remained silent, while the detainees teetered on the brink of madness.
Sion quickly lost interest and turned away to continue his search for the bathhouse.
At that moment, a voice called out from deeper within the holding cell area.
“Hey— Mister. Don’t waste your energy and come here.”
Sion stopped in his tracks and looked toward the cell.
Sitting against the wall inside was a man.
Sion turned on his portable flashlight and shone it on the man.
He was wearing several layers of clothing, and his exposed arms and the tops of his feet were covered in tattoos.
His hair was long, reaching down to his shoulders, and his large muscular frame made him appear imposing.
His face was unkempt, with thick mustaches and a beard.
He was unmistakably a thug.
The thug was sitting just inside the bars, staring directly at Sion and the police officer.
His eyes weren’t those of a human.
They were the eyes of a beast.
With just his gaze, he completely dominated the atmosphere.
The police officer, making eye contact with the thug, stumbled backward in fear.
The thug spoke in a low voice, as if joking with a friend.
“When I get out of here… I’m going to kill you all… so shouldn’t I conserve my energy until then?”
Scratch, scratch.
The thug scratched his neck casually and chuckled.
At that moment, Sion smiled.
Because this was exactly the kind of perfect worker he had been looking for.