Chapter 45

Chapter 45

The warmth and softness on my back felt comfortable. Whether it was because it was tame, or if cats were naturally like this, I was surprised that the first one I met didn’t try to bite or scratch me. I had forgotten to let the cat go, but someone must have taken care of it. Don’t animals also need water? What do cats eat? Do they eat rats?

What about snakes? Don’t they eat rats as well? Do they both lap up water to swallow it? Since I’ve never raised an animal before, I’m uncertain. My only experience with snakes eating is from watching animal channels on TV, where they hunt rats in the wild.

Do we even have rats in this underwater base? Could I even catch one for them in this situation? I don’t even know if it’s venomous. What should I do once we escape? Who keeps cats and snakes? I got them on the spur of the moment, but now I realize there are more than one or two things to consider. But I couldn’t just leave them to die in that seawater.

Baek Ae-young shined the flashlight around before it landed on the cat sitting on my stomach. She then changed the direction of the light. It looked like she had been the one carrying the cat around all this time.

“Does anyone in East District own a cat?”

There was silence in response to this question as well. I figured it wouldn’t be a big deal if I asked again, given that everyone already knew about the cat and a snake wouldn’t make things any worse.

“Or does anyone own a snake?”

“A snake? Isn’t it... poisonous?”

Seo Jihyuk seemed exhausted, lying down without moving. It was difficult to answer. I couldn’t ask the snake whether it was poisonous.

“I don’t know. I picked it up from a cage while escaping from the East District’s dormitory.”

“Where is that snake now?”

At Shin Haeryang’s voice, I pointed to my bag beside me, then realizing it was too dark for anyone to see, I yawned and then finally said, “It’s in a small pouch in my bag.”

“Have you been bitten?”

“No... Actually, I’m not sure. If I were bitten, wouldn’t I be dead by now?”

“The venom might not be neurotoxic. Hemotoxic venom can cause death in as quickly as 20 minutes, or usually takes around 2 hours.”

Shin Haeryang had a knack for making hearts skip a beat with just a single sentence. I couldn’t believe how anxious I became in just a few seconds. I might have put my hand in and out of the bag after I found the snake. Had I felt pain? I couldn’t remember. I was too preoccupied. Climbing the stairs had made me so tired, I felt like I’d be okay even if I died from snake venom right now. A voice sounded in the darkness. It was Yoo Geum-yi’s.

“What happened to the other people?”

“Which other people?”

“The ones who took the central elevator. Like Henry, Jennifer, or Gayoung unni, or the Russians. Those who escaped using the escape pod or those who took the submarine. Also the people at our research center.”Gett your favorite novels at no/v/e/lbin(.)com

“They could be dead or alive. Escaping, or captured by a cult. Or caught and killed. We can’t really afford to think about others right now.”

At the sound of Seo Jihyuk’s sluggish voice, Baek Ae-young stood up, stretched her back like a cat, and let out a caustic laugh.

“We don’t have that luxury either, injured.”

“... Geum-yi-ssi, I take back my previous statement. I beg of you to keep an eye out. No, think hard about others as well. Life is precious. Everyone is someone’s precious family, friend, or lover. Helping someone can change the future for them.”

Listening to Seo Jihyuk talk like a public service announcement made me chuckle. I heard Yoo Geum-yi’s laughter in my ear.

I dragged the bag with the snake across the floor, and three pieces of candy fell out. I handed one each to the two women, and approached where the men were sitting on the floor. I asked who among the two would eat the remaining candy.

Looking bothered, Shin Haeryang shook his head and said, “Please gag Jihyuk’s mouth. I’m fine.”

“You know you can still talk with candy in your mouth, right?!”

The last bit of food went to the injured one. Since Baek Ae-young first took out cups of fruit from her bag during our initial rest and declared, “You must eat to be able to go up! No refusal. If it’s given, you have to eat!”

Everyone nodded in agreement. Since then, everyone ate whatever was shared immediately.

I realized why we were fed as we climbed. We wouldn’t have been able to climb all these stairs on an empty stomach. We had become stair-climbing experts.

We should be arriving at the second underwater base soon. I was hopeful that Shin Haeryang might give even a brief speech. Something like, “We’ve climbed well so far. We will soon arrive at the second underwater base. This is the result of everyone’s actions. We’ve climbed more than half the way.” However, he only uttered a low word in the darkness,

“Alright, next question. What is an animal with no teeth?”

“Are there animals without teeth?”

At Seo Jihyuk’s question, I nodded my head. How childlike. His question was identical to what elementary school students often asked. Speaking of which, how old is Seo Jihyuk?

“Yes. There are three. Teeth and claws may be their primary weapons, but these animals can live without teeth.”

“Is it an anteater?”

I was so surprised that I almost stopped climbing the stairs for a moment. I had thrown a lot of questions, but this was the first time an answer had come back. Normally, I pose the question and tell the patient to think about it while administering treatment. When I ask for the answer after the treatment, most either forgot the question due to pain or screaming, or they answered incorrectly.

“Ding-dong-daeng-dong. Yes. One is an anteater.”

“Anteaters don’t have teeth, Team Leader?”

Shin Haeryang replied with a sigh.

“Given the name, it sounds like they’d only have a tongue.”

“Yes, that’s correct. They don’t have teeth, just a tongue. What about the other two?”

“Koala!”

“Wrong!”

“Elephant?”

“Wrong!”

My voice must have been loud, as Yoo Geum-yi, who was standing on the tall stairs, asked.

“What are you three doing?”

“We were discussing animals without teeth. Do you happen to know any?”

“Armadillo.”

Yoo Geum-yi said without hesitation. It’s such a privilege to be able to gather with people more knowledgeable than me, especially in challenging situations like this.

“Ding-dong-daeng-dong. Correct! Armadillos don’t have teeth. Only one more left!”

Seo Jihyuk began to list all sorts of animals in frustration.

“I have no idea. Camel?”

“Wrong.”

“Giraffe?”

“Wrong.”

“Panda!”

“Nope.”

“Sloth?”

“Yes, correct! It’s a sloth!”

The blue light on the necklace illuminated Seo Jihyuk’s face, which looked as pleased as a child. At least he got one right. Makes me want to give him a toothbrush or dental floss as a gift.