Chapter 42: Surviving Winter (1)
Sion climbed up from the first floor, step by step, following the stairs.
On the first-floor lobby, around thirty people summoned by Kim Soo-kyung were gathered.
Each of them had haggard faces, trembling from the cold, and no one dared to speak recklessly.
The entrance, made of glass doors, allowed the chilling wind to constantly seep through the gaps.
The breath from the gathered citizens resembled the thick haze of a smoking area.
"Is everyone here?"
Sion approached Kim Soo-kyung, who was lining up the people, and asked.
Kim Soo-kyung, while arranging the group in rows, nodded and replied.
"Ah, yes. Everyone with the professional skills you requested is here. Additionally, the individuals you circled have been positioned on the left side in one line."
He treated Sion with utmost respect, as if addressing a superior at work.
This place, however, was no ordinary workplace.
It was nothing more than a small survival community, struggling to stay alive.
The people here couldn’t easily shed the remnants of their former world.
They still dreamt of a life where, after overcoming all this hardship, spring would return, they’d head to work, go to school, and enjoy outings with their families on weekends.
But such a life would never come again.
Jin Jae-hee was proof of that.
Among these hundreds of people, only Kang Sion and Jin Jae-hee were fully aware of this truth.
Sion glanced at the chart in his hands and called out a name.
"Lee Jong-chul."
"Yes, that’s me."
Lee Jong-chul, a professional boiler technician, raised his hand in the middle of the line and walked forward weakly.
He was the only professional technician who knew how to handle boilers.
As he stepped forward, Sion asked.
"You know how to handle boilers, right?"
"I do, but…"
"Follow me over there."
"……."
Lee Jong-chul glanced at the direction Sion indicated and then called out to him.
"Excuse me, Administrator. What exactly is going to happen to us now?"
The police chief had assigned an administrator here, claiming that a specialist capable of solving the current situation had been placed.
For the people here, at least, the chief’s orders carried absolute authority.
From those who had been here since the first round to those who arrived later.
Humans instinctively show loyalty and obedience to the ones protecting them.
This had been proven throughout the history of humanity, dating back to the formation of ancient kingdoms.
But the newly appointed administrator, who stood before them, appeared far from trustworthy to the workers.
Sion looked far too young and seemed to lack social experience.
And such a person was now tasked with overseeing their survival.
Even if the chief acknowledged his capabilities, it was unlikely Sion inspired much confidence in them.
"Hey, Administrator."
Lee Jong-chul called out to Kang Sion again, but Sion was busy examining his chart.
Of course, Sion had heard him.
But he had no intention of engaging in idle chatter with individual workers.
There wasn’t any leisure for casual conversations.
Time was too short to survive the winter.
Every minute was precious, and Sion was focused on what he had to do.
When Sion didn’t respond, Lee Jong-chul bit his chapped lower lip hard.
The cold had left his lips dry and cracked.
‘This guy is no different from the chief. They’re all the same, people who’ll get us all killed!’
Holding onto their power, dictating as they pleased—such authority.
Lee Jong-chul was one of the many who harbored dissatisfaction with the chief’s control and management.
Without much choice, he walked weakly toward the designated spot.
"Next, Choi Se-hun."
Sion continued to classify people based on their labor value.
The core labor class—those critical for the winter survival work—was sorted as the highest tier.
Below that were assistants and general laborers.
The classifications followed two main criteria.
The first was heating specialists related to boilers.
The second were skilled craftsmen requiring dexterity.
Under Kang Sion’s administration, boiler-related specialists were positioned at the highest rank.
Sion planned to provide them with appropriate rewards.
Without incentives, work efficiency would plummet.
After sorting most of the groups, Kang Sion headed to where Lee Jong-chul stood.
"Lee Jong-chul."
"Yes."
Upon hearing Sion’s call, Lee Jong-chul weakly raised his hand again.
Several people sat helplessly on the ground nearby, and Sion’s gaze swept over them.
Sion then spoke to Lee Jong-chul.
"We’re going to restart the boiler. Can you do it?"
Everyone present was shocked by Sion’s words.
Even Kim Soo-kyung, who stood by his side, was surprised.
It wasn’t something that could be easily considered.
In a world where everything had changed, with no electricity, water, or gas, and even securing one meal a day was difficult, restarting the boiler sounded absurd.
And Lee Jong-chul, more than anyone else, understood just how unrealistic it was.
Lee Jong-chul stared blankly at Sion before finally letting out a faint laugh.
He found it ridiculous.
"Don’t joke around, Administrator. Without city gas or electricity, what boiler do you plan to run? Besides, the police station’s heating isn’t built into the floors but relies on heating equipment."
"There’s no need to lay pipes throughout the entire floor. We’ll only focus on the residential levels for now."
Sion responded immediately to his remarks.
To which Lee Jong-chul also quickly replied.
"That’s nonsense. It would require ripping up all the cement flooring. We don’t have the manpower, equipment, or time for that. And look at us—can’t you see our condition? We’re citizens so weak we can barely move a finger."
"Who said we’d tear up the entire floor?"
"What?"
Cutting him off, Kang Sion tapped the floor of the police station with his foot.
The station’s flooring was made of cement and steel plates, and removing it manually would be an enormous task.
Even in normal times, such work would count as heavy labor.
However, the method Sion envisioned didn’t require tearing up the entire floor.
"We’ll lay the pipes on this floor and cover them with plywood. And we don’t need to cover the entire floor with pipes; three lines per floor should suffice for insulation. If necessary, we can skip the plywood altogether. We’re not aiming for apartment-level heating but just enough warmth to prevent people from freezing to death."
"…On top of this?"
"Yes. We’ll collect pipes from nearby apartments. The heating tank will be installed on the first floor. I’ll also recruit a separate collection team to gather pipes. As for plywood, it won’t be hard to find around the Manan District. There’s plenty of plywood lying around."
Sion’s plan was simple.
The boiler worked by heating water to produce steam, which traveled through pipes to warm the floor.
By maintaining a steady indoor temperature this way, they could endure the winter.
If the pipes were laid under the floors of the police station—specifically the areas where the citizens resided—it would serve as a temporary heating solution.
Sion’s plan was undeniably appealing, but there were two major issues.
And Lee Jong-chul pointed them out precisely.
"The pipes are fragile. If an adult steps on them even slightly, they’ll dent or burst, making heat retention difficult. And the biggest issue is the heating and the pump."
"……."
Everyone, including Sion, focused their attention on Lee Jong-chul.
"How do you plan to heat the pipes? There’s no gas, and there’s no energy source capable of boiling that much water. And even if you somehow manage to heat it, the pump works on electricity. Without power, the pump won’t function. Without a pump, the boiler is useless. I’ve thought about these things while staying here but… it just seemed impossible, so I kept quiet… sigh…."
Lee Jong-chul exhaled heavily after finishing his sentence.
He seemed out of breath just from speaking a long sentence.
His physical strength was almost completely depleted.
But Kang Sion had already prepared for this as well.
The simplest and most straightforward method.
"People will do it. Insulation, heating, and pumping—all of it."
"…?!"
Everyone was shocked by his words.
It sounded utterly impossible.
Even if it was possible, it wasn’t something that could realistically be accomplished under these circumstances.
"How many people do you think it would take for that kind of work? Dozens, dozens for just one boiler."
"Yes, we’ll do it. Even if it takes hundreds."
Kang Sion cut him off.
Sion understood better than anyone else.
Tilting his head slightly to the left, he overwhelmed everyone gathered there.
"…Or, freeze to death."
Sion made it clear to them.
If they couldn’t resolve the heating issue, everyone here would ultimately die.
So, even if running one boiler required dozens—no, hundreds—of people, Sion would still push forward.
After all, they were already deploying dozens of people just to secure water for the restroom.
And that was using only the police forces.
If they could allocate additional manpower to the boiler, they would be able to make it work.
That was Kang Sion’s plan.
Redirecting manpower assigned to useless tasks toward something meaningful.
And while he’d need to discuss the finer details with Lee Jong-chul, who stood before him, he had already devised a general boiler system that could be operated manually.
Looking at the workers staring back at him, Sion spoke firmly.
"If we can’t do it, then what? We have to give it our best shot. I don’t believe any of you fail to grasp the reality of our situation.
We will survive. In this building, in this city.
To do that, we have to act.
We’ll shovel snow, heat it to make water, connect the pipes to the boiler, and extend those pipes to the heating tank.
Once the boiler is completed, it will provide heating, protecting us from the cold.
And through this process, we’ll unite.
That’s how we’ll make it through this winter."
Sion, who hadn’t relaxed his expression even once, took a step back after delivering those words.
At that moment, he bowed his head.
Not just a slight bow, but one that was nearly a full 90 degrees.
Kang Sion earnestly pleaded with the workers.
"Please. I desperately need your strength."
Even without bowing like this, Sion was in a position to issue orders to them.
He could have acted like the police chief and simply imposed his will, but he didn’t.
What Sion wanted wasn’t the lukewarm labor that came from coercion.
What he sought was passionate labor born from a will to survive, unity, and trust in him.
And Kang Sion’s approach was correct.
"Ah…"
"Haah… What is this…"
The sincerity in Kang Sion’s words began to open the hearts of the workers, one by one.
No, in truth, they had already known.
If they did nothing, they would truly lose everything.
What they needed now was a driving force to guide them into action.
And Sion became that driving force.
A man who had been silent suddenly stood up and spoke.
"Jong-chul, let’s give it a try. This doesn’t sound so bad, does it? Remember what you said to me last time…"
"The plan. The plan, you know."
As one person spoke up, voices began to erupt here and there like a dam breaking.
"That’s right. Didn’t Jong-chul mention he had a bit of a boiler plan worked out?"
"Yeah, it’s not entirely impossible. Doing something—anything—is better than doing nothing, like that student said."
"We can’t all die here! Let’s try it, just like the student said, okay?!"
"How much longer are we going to wait for rescue teams, or keep blindly trusting the police?! Yeah, let’s give it a shot!"
"We can’t freeze to death! Isn’t that right, everyone? Come on, let’s get up!"
One by one, the citizens stood up and shouted.
Even amidst the growing clamor, Kang Sion kept his head bowed.
Lee Jong-chul looked around at the citizens who were gathering their resolve.
Then, he turned his gaze back to Kang Sion, who still had his head lowered.
"Hah…"
Lee Jong-chul sighed, running his dry lips with his hand as he thought.
To be honest, everything Kang Sion had said to him couldn’t be dismissed outright as impossible.
If it truly were impossible, Lee Jong-chul would have rejected his suggestions from the start.
But if Sion could propose reasonable solutions to the issues he had identified, then Lee Jong-chul was willing to reconsider.
With this kind of back-and-forth exchange of ideas, the plan would undoubtedly become more refined.
In truth, Lee Jong-chul felt frustrated.
Watching the citizens suffer from the cold, he had been helpless to do anything.
But now, at this moment, meeting Kang Sion made that pent-up frustration seem to dissipate.
The people around him, one by one, unable to contain themselves, began standing up.
At the center of it all was Lee Jong-chul.
And Kang Sion, still bowing his head.
Lee Jong-chul couldn’t bring himself to resist any longer.
"…Alright. Let’s give it a try."
Sion finally raised his head.
As planned, everyone united and rose together.
They abandoned the old police-centric methods and pledged full support for their new leader.
Right now, it was just the few dozen people gathered here.
But the moment the boiler was completed, Sion’s approval rating would skyrocket.
Of course, resolving the challenges of activating the boiler came first, but gaining their support was also crucial.
Watching the workers shouting with resolve, Sion smiled inwardly.
"Good."
The fight to survive the winter had just begun.
And it began with Kang Sion.