Apocalypse Survival Guide

Chapter 13 - On an Ice Satellite (1)

"......!"

After seeing the message sent by the broker, I couldn't help but look around. Of course, doing so didn't reveal the broker.

【Kiaaaak!】
【Warning. Cease your activity immediately. Pillaging and murder are not allowed.】

The only things visible were the monsters screaming as they ran through the streets and the security robots firing suppression waves to stop those creatures.

The security robots were soon destroyed miserably by monsters clinging to their frames. Metal fragments scattered in all directions were trampled on by the monsters who had lost interest.

Buildings burnt black as if caught in a blast, the screams of humans mixed with the roars of monsters, and the traces of destruction hidden among the blazing flames.

And also the armed shuttles flying in the sky, trying to suppress the situation by force.

These weren't military shuttles or models capable of breaking through the atmosphere and navigating space, but the shuttle hovering over the residential area was shooting the guns on both sides, trying hard to protect its safety.

Emergency fire suppression systems were activated, and water spewed out everywhere to put out the flames. The water that poured out fiercely made the ground muddy and washed blood away into the sewers.

The residential area, which was soon to become hell, was telling me it wasn't over yet.

- I'm still alive!

I quickly connected the communication and hid in the nearby debris with a wide-eyed Nadia. The cold metal sign, which was once a neon sign attached to a building, chilled the air breezing from beyond the shielding.

While Carry entered alert mode, Nadia whispered to me softly.

"Hyun-woo, did you get in touch with that woman?"

"Yeah. She contacted us first."

"...... How did she do that? Mine's still dead."

"Well, she must have a special technology."

I neither knew her name, age, nor appearance but I was aware the broker wasn't an ordinary woman. Just the fact that she dealt in creating fake identities for credits was far from ordinary.

I believed that maintaining a connection with her was our way to survive. If things went well, perhaps we could receive her help — that was the thought I nurtured.

- I heard the base was completely devastated, yet you survived. Impressive.

- Impressive, my ass. I almost died.

- How did you make it out alive? The shuttles must have all been wrecked by the Pureblood Supremacists.

- On a cargo orbital vehicle. Luckily, one that was still intact was left, allowing us to make our return.

Hearing what the broker said, it seemed she had a rough idea of the current situation. No, she probably knew it in more detail than we did.

- How are you communicating right now? Other places aren't working at all.

- Who do you think gave you that bracelet you're wearing?

I glanced at my bracelet. It was a kind of ID that the broker had specially created for me. It seemed to have some special measures in place.

- No matter, do you know the situation now? We desperately need help; can you assist us? Even just until the shuttle arrives.

- Help, huh....... If you can make it here, helping you isn't hard. I can give you a ride on my shuttle, too. You have paid your fair share.

"......."

I understood what the broker was implying. If I couldn't reach her location, I couldn't board the shuttle. She confirmed it as if to solidify that fact.

- I'm currently at the top of the central tower in the residential area.

- ...... You changed the shuttle landing spot.

Originally, the shuttle I paid for was scheduled to land on the outskirts of the residential area. However, caught in the sudden situation, the broker had changed the landing site to escape from the ice satellite.

- Right. I thought you were dead. It happened suddenly, and there wasn't another way. I had to survive first, don't you think?

- The thought of stopping by where we're hiding after your shuttle lands, ...wouldn't even cross your mind, right?

- You know me well. I can't take that risk. I received information that some Pureblood Supremacists are still alive. That's why I'm in the highest place possible. It's less dangerous here, at least.

As I was about to respond to the surge of emotion rising inside me,

【Keeeee.......】

A group of monsters, seemingly drawn to the sound of the wind, made their appearance. The sound of blue crystals protruding like tumors scratching against each other made Nadia's tail hair stand on end.

The same went for our nerves. They sharpened like thorns, making our senses even keener.

The creatures were still a bit of a distance away. If we didn't make much noise, we might be able to hold on a bit longer. But that wouldn't hold true for long; if we stayed here, it was clear we'd be discovered soon.

I fixed my eyes on the central tower, where the broker was located. The tower served as an internal watchtower and was tall enough to be seen even from the outermost part of the residential area.

The central tower was the only place emitting normal light as far as I could see. Though it was distant, I presumed the security robots she always carried around were guarding the tower.

That meant the central tower was the safest place in the entire residential area.

- Wait. Don't cut the communication.

The swarm of monsters approached faster than I had anticipated. No, strictly speaking, the swarm changed direction, but one creature broke off and was heading towards us.

Survival, not communication, was our priority. I gestured to Nadia and Carry to move, and we began to stealthily creep away, making sure not to make any noise.

Huff......

The air inside the shielding was purified, but respiratory protectors were still necessary. We needed to filter out the black smoke that filled the residential area.

【Kiaaaak!】

"Don't! Please don't! Spare me— Gah......!"

Not far away, the sound of people being mercilessly killed echoed. The noise of destroyed facilities came as a bonus.

In this situation, even a cough could cost us dearly. We were already being chased by a monster; what fool would dare act recklessly?

With Carry and Nadia on alert, I quickly continued communication through the bracelet. The tightening situation made my voice grow naturally urgent.

- As you know, things aren't good right now. We barely escaped from the base only to return to a hellish residential area. We're being pursued, so it's only a matter of time before we're discovered.

- Yes, I'm observing. So?

- I just thought I'd ask, do you plan to send your security robots to help?

- I have no reason to go that far for you. The amount you paid covers the shuttle use, and you lack the capacity to pay for additional aid.

I almost wrote her off as a credit-crazed woman but stopped myself. Annoying her wouldn't help.

Threats were impractical, and appealing to her humanity was not an effective option either. She wasn't a woman swayed by such things in the first place.

And the broker and I were similar in nature. Wasn't it also difficult for me to help others easily? Despite the boiling frustration, venting my anger was a thoughtless action.

- I'll be honest. With our current gear, reaching your location is impossible.

It was painfully obvious that more monsters would be active as we headed toward the residential area's center. Though security robots and armed shuttles were trying to suppress them, the outcome would be anything but successful. The power difference was too stark.

Security robots were torn to shreds and spat out metal fragments, while the armed shuttles drifted aimlessly in the sky, helpless without resupply, before being shot down unexpectedly.

Security robots armed with suppression wave emitters and armed shuttles couldn't even defeat the monsters. Heading to the residential area's center with a dormant tool in hand would be suicide.

We survived by sheer luck so far, but it wouldn't last forever. I needed to find a way to live urgently.

- Once more, I won't send my security robots. Unless you can pay 10 million credits.

- ......2.5 million credits. That's all I have. I'll give you all my remaining credits. Can you help unlock the tool's safety feature? If you do that, I'll find a way to survive.

- .......

A response didn't come immediately. Perhaps she was weighing whether 2.5 million credits were too little.

The surroundings became increasingly dangerous, with the broker remaining silent. From the start, she must have known that I didn't have 10 million credits. I had already spent all that I possessed to pay for the ticket.

Putting forth such a price was her roundabout way of saying no. It was the broker's irritating way of refusing without wanting to say it outright.

If the broker was saying no, she had good reason. It seemed her situation wasn't favorable either.

'Not that it matters....'

My immediate situation was critical. Since the broker was the only one I could rely on, I had no choice but to lean on her.

I knew waiting for the broker to find a solution was wiser than appealing to emotions based on our shared past. So I endured, taking in the chaotic surroundings with alertness.

Meanwhile, Nadia couldn't wait any longer and gently tugged on my arm. It indicated that we needed to move again.

【Squeeeee.......】

The squelching sounds of footsteps in the viscous mush approached nearby. Nadia, tensed and pale, clutched her tool tightly like cradling it.

Some creatures, engulfed in persistent flames, moved as if feeling no pain, only to collapse while carrying out their destructive acts to the very end.

- Typically, I wouldn't handle hack tools like that. Though it's only a safety feature, the base system manages it directly. It's a painful lesson from a civil disturbance staged early in the colony's construction.

A hologram window hovering in my field of vision relayed the broker's words. The monsters drew nearer. My palms were wet with sweat, and my breathing grew increasingly labored.

- Fools think they can bypass it with specialized circuits. Then, they disassemble the tools and end up empty-handed, caught by system surveillance, punished.

Setting up for a fight, Carry extended auxiliary arms, ready to fire cutting lasers if necessary. From here, it was unlikely Carry could continue functioning after confronting the creature.

- Overseers carry dismantling keys, but that doesn't concern you, right? You're classified differently as worker class according to my setup. Despite that, I like you; you're unlike the others. Same goes for your dog.

Seeing her carelessness even as lives hung in the balance irritated me. All I wanted was for her to cut the chatter and aid us promptly.

Right then.

- Prove your worth.

Finishing with a remark to settle payment upon our next encounter, the broker ended the communication. Almost simultaneously, a warning message appeared on my bracelet's holographic display.

【Warning. A non-approved program has been transmitted. Do you wish to download?】

Without hesitation, I pressed 'Yes'. Then, the plasma cutter, despite numerous attempts to activate it, finally reacted. Merely downloading the program the broker sent had disengaged the tool's safety mechanism.

The faint vibration felt in my hand was a familiar sensation from the previous three years, driving me to immediately turn the tool to full output. The plasma emitted from the nozzle traced blue afterimages according to my gestures. The wavering blue energy resembled a blade.

"Huff...!"

Before the creature could spot us, or sense our presence, I thrust the plasma cutter forward like a spear. The mining tool plunged beneath its jaw and pierced straight through its head.

The ultra-high-temperature plasma stripped its vocal cords so instantaneously that the grotesque mutant couldn't even let out a cry. Despite its skull being completely perforated, it didn't die right away.

Sizzle...!

The sound of combusting bones and the bubbling of an unknown substance became background noise. Fortunately, this sound was drowned out by the buildings burning in the surroundings, preventing it from carrying far.

【Gggggh......!】

For a brief moment, the monster glared at me with spite-filled eyes, but the arm it extended to harm me trembled, then fell limp. Its entire body followed suit.

Its weight collapsed effortlessly, as if disappointedly feeble. Maintaining full plasma cutter output, I finished cleaving it in half.

What was once solid rock-like flesh, along with the blue crystals protruding from its body, were utterly shattered. The plasma light, buzzing through the air, gradually faded.

Something spilled out from the monster's corpse, accompanied by a terrible stench. The odor was so foul that Nadia began dry-heaving while plugging her mouth, and I was gasping for breath beside her.

Seeing the lethally threatening creature fall without uttering a sound under our ambush, I muttered aloud without realizing it,

"...... There was a reason for the safety feature."

"Hyun-woo, are you insane...? Ugh...."

"I'm not insane yet. Let's move to a new location — it's no safer here. I'll explain everything once we're there."

I cast a quick glance at the additional message. Here's what appeared in the hologram window:
- There are 12 hours left until the shuttle arrives. Just get here within that time.

Twelve hours. The journey to the central tower was expected to be perilous. Panic would lead to careless mistakes, and mistakes were directly tied to crisis.

We had taken a brief rest in the cargo orbital vehicle, but our stamina hadn't yet recovered.

"Hyun-woo, where should we go? Where do we need to be?"

"... Let's head home. Given our current condition, we can't go far. Even if we move, it should be after we've regained some stability."

Though not the safest place, our home on the outskirts of the residential area was the nearest refuge available to us now.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Lightsaber unlocked.