Ch.450Secret Base (3)

“Hey, we’re out of supplies. Let’s get some fresh air while picking them up.”

“No way. We need to write a report about our patrol.”

“How long could that report take? We can write it when we get back.”

“Don’t you know what happened to our predecessors? One of us has to stay behind no matter what.”

“Fine, I’ll go by myself then.”

Ben, who had just completed his surveillance mission, disembarked from the submarine alone.

The docking area where he stepped was as clean as the interior of a new ship.

The purpose of this docking area was to thoroughly disinfect anyone entering the base. Only after completing a full-body cleansing and changing clothes could one finally enter the facility.

He didn’t know why they maintained such strict cleanliness standards. Despite being from a Subcapital, he was granted very limited information.

Ben knew only two things: the base’s security system was pathologically strict, and the compensation provided to employees was extremely generous.

His job was to protect the base by operating a surveillance submarine. Though essentially a security position, he earned more credits than team leaders from Subcapitals in space cities.

Although underwater living was somewhat miserable, the hefty compensation left him with few complaints.

“Hey, Ben. Clocking out already?”

As soon as he exited the docking area, he was greeted by the hover shuttle platform. A shuttle management team member recognized him.

“We’re out of supplies, so I’m going to pick some up.”

“I see. Fill this out first and wait a moment.”

At this base, hover shuttles were mandatory for moving between areas. This was to control internal personnel movement and maintain security.

After quickly completing the travel authorization form, Ben stood on the platform.

The platform was relatively quiet, probably because everyone was on duty. It was just the shuttle management team member checking documents, Ben, and a few people who had arrived before him.

“Yaaawn.”

As he stretched and yawned, his eyes caught sight of other people.

A woman in a white gown and a group of men in work clothes were standing on the platform.

‘That’s the communications team, isn’t it?’

Ben recognized their uniforms. They belonged to the communications team that maintained the underwater base’s communication equipment. They had previously fixed his submarine when it malfunctioned.

The person with the communications team was someone Ben had never seen before. The gowned woman was speaking quietly to the team members. The atmosphere clearly seemed tense.

‘What are they doing at this hour—yikes!’

Perhaps he had stared too obviously, as the gowned woman turned her head toward Ben. Fearing confrontation, he quickly pretended to be looking elsewhere.

“Hey, you there…”

“Hover shuttle arriving. Hover shuttle arriving.”

Just as the woman was about to call out to Ben, the hover shuttle arrived. As soon as the shuttle doors opened, Ben immediately boarded.

Ben chose the rear compartment of the shuttle, deliberately avoiding the woman and communications team members.

“All passengers aboard. Departing now.”

Shortly after, with the shuttle manager’s announcement, the doors closed and the shuttle departed again.

Objects outside the window passed by quickly. Among them was the woman who remained at the platform.

“Phew. That was close.”

Seeing this, Ben sighed softly as he sat down. She clearly looked like a high-ranking superior, and he had nearly gotten into trouble.

“Well, back to work.”

He pulled out his terminal from his pocket to double-check the supplies he needed to collect for the submarine.

Just as he was about to turn on the device, the shuttle shook violently. Distracted by the device, Ben tumbled from his seat.

“What, what’s happening?”

The ceiling lights sparked and went out simultaneously. The compartment was instantly plunged into darkness. The only light came from objects frantically passing by outside the window. The hover shuttle was accelerating madly.

“Eek?!”

Ben hurriedly sat back in his seat and fastened his safety belt. Just as the buckle clicked into place, his body lifted off the seat.

A scream escaped Ben’s lips, but it was swallowed by the subsequent roar and impact. The floor and walls of the compartment tore like paper, and the seat he was holding onto broke away.

In a very brief moment, the storm-like commotion passed, and darkness and silence descended.

“Kuh, kuhek! Cough, cough!”

In the middle of the debris-filled ruins, Ben, buried in wreckage along with his seat, coughed painfully.

“What, cough, happened? Hack!”

As time passed and his body adjusted, he could see what situation he was in.

The malfunctioning hover shuttle had accelerated excessively and collided with the platform. As a result, the once hospital-clean platform was now in ruins.

The rear compartment he had boarded was fortunate. Unlike the shuttle, which was unrecognizable, it was only half-destroyed. If he had sat even slightly further forward, Ben would have died too.

However, that didn’t mean he was unharmed. Blood mixed with his coughs, and he felt severe pain in his abdomen. Without looking, he could tell he had sustained serious injuries.

“Cough, ptui, is anyone there? Please help me! Cough!”

His cry echoed through the ruins.

There was no sign of other people. It seemed that all the shuttle passengers and those at the platform had been caught in the accident.

Still, Ben didn’t give up. The underwater base had surveillance cameras installed throughout. By now, those above should have realized an accident had occurred. He just needed to stay alive until rescuers arrived.

As if answering his desperate prayer, a light appeared in the distance.

“There’s someone, guhk! Alive here! Alive…”

Desperately calling for help, he fell silent when he saw the approaching light.

The approaching light was moving unnaturally fast. At the same time, the gradually increasing metallic sound was somehow familiar.

Recognizing the sound, Ben froze.

That light wasn’t a rescue team’s flashlight.

The identity of the fiercely approaching light was another hover shuttle.

“Uh, uwaaaaah!”

His terror-stricken scream didn’t last long.

“Hmm?”

Ben’s colleague, who was writing a report, suddenly looked up. He had heard an unfamiliar noise.

“Did I hear wrong?”

As he was about to ignore it, the sound came again. It definitely came from outside. He got up and put his ear to the wall.

Among the familiar noises made by the submarine’s equipment was an unfamiliar sound.

It was the sound of human screams.

“!”

Realizing what the sound was, he was startled.

If there was one thing that should never be heard here, it was screaming. He hurriedly tried to contact the base.

“This is the submarine! Respond! Somebody answer me! Damn it!”

The signal was being sent, but all that came back was static. Trying to message Ben yielded the same non-response. This meant there was a problem with the base’s communication network.

‘Should I go out and check?’

As he was contemplating what to do, he heard a thumping sound. It came from the submarine’s door. Someone in the docking area was knocking.

Thinking it might be Ben, he checked the submarine’s external camera and saw different people. People in white gowns had gathered in the docking area and were trying to enter the submarine.

“What’s going on?”

“Hey! Quickly, bzzt, open the door! The base, computer, suddenly went crazy, bzzt, it’s dangerous!”

As he was confused by the unexpected visitors, a woman’s voice came through the communicator. The woman in the docking area was gesturing for him to open the door while holding a communication device toward the camera.

The people with her looked in very bad shape. Their gowns were dirty with dust, and their faces and limbs were covered in blood. They clearly looked like they had been in a major accident.

“Just wait a—huh?”

As he was about to open the door, another problem arose. The docking area’s cleansing system suddenly activated, locking the door.

“What, bzzt, are you doing! Open, bzzt, the door!”

“Wha-what? Why is this happening?”

Even when he tried to stop the system, it wouldn’t respond. The computer screen only displayed messages saying commands weren’t being transmitted.

Meanwhile, the cleansing facility activated and began spraying water on the people.

“Ugh, aaaagh!”

“Kyaaaah! It’s hot… bzzzzt, click.”

The water dispensed by the cleansing facility is usually cold. Cold enough that getting cleansed when drowsy would wake you right up.

However, what was happening beyond the camera now was far from normal.

Steaming hot water was pouring from all directions. The skin of those hit by the water turned red and then simply peeled off.

“Good Lord…”

Due to the steam, the camera screen was quickly obscured. The communicator also stopped working. Only the sound of knocking on the submarine door echoed.

And after a while, an ominously suffocating silence descended on the submarine. There were no more knocking sounds, no more screams.

A signal indicated the door lock had been released, but he didn’t dare open it. Instead of opening the door, he grabbed the control stick.

‘I need to escape now!’

People were dying due to machine malfunctions, and communications were down. There was still no response from inside the base. Similar incidents were clearly happening there too.

He needed to leave immediately.

The submarine, following his command, detached from the docking area and slowly submerged into the water. It passed through a short passage leading to the base’s surface and escaped into the deep sea.

The base visible behind looked no different from when he had entered. The only difference was that some areas had lost power. He didn’t even want to imagine what had happened in those darkened areas.

‘I need to get away from here quickly…’

At that moment, the submarine shook violently.

“Ughk?!”

The submarine he was currently piloting was accelerating at maximum speed, yet it wasn’t moving forward at all.

Thinking they might be caught on something, he checked the detection system. However, nothing but the submarine was displayed.

“What? There’s nothing… wait a minute.”

He had just departed from the base. At the very least, the base’s position should be showing on the detection grid.

In other words, something was interfering with the submarine’s detection system.

“……”

With pale hands, he pressed a button on the control panel.

Outside the reinforced glass covered with ship-grade shields, he could see a survey flare being launched.

The flare, which should have continued falling, stopped immediately. It had caught on something right in front of them.

The light flickered like a candle in the wind. Behind it, a massive shadow loomed.

It wasn’t an ice mountain rising from the deep-sea floor, nor was it another submarine piloted by someone else.

As the black curtain slowly dispersed, something pure white appeared. An immeasurably enormous entity was watching him.

Faced with this awe-inspiring horror, he couldn’t process the reality. An unconscious scream escaped his lips.

But deep under the sea, there was no one to hear his cry.