Guide 1 - Dumpster

 Apocalypse Survival Guide – Ep 1. Destruction of Daily Life

 

Clank- Clank-

The hull shakes like a train running along the tracks. Defying gravity, the ship soared through the sky, carrying many passengers.

Though they differed in age, gender, personality, and even preferences, they all had one thing in common:

They were all utterly exhausted. Very exhausted at that.

People with sunken eyes, as if they had stayed up all night doing something tiring, were dozing off, finding stability in the ship despite the violent shaking.

And I am one of them.

[☆٩(｡•ω<｡)و]

"Stay still for a bit, Carrie. You're the reason I'm always on my guard."

I whispered quietly as I looked at the little robot with a square body shaking at my feet. I couldn’t understand what was so exciting about going to work.

[( ´▴` )]

It displayed a sad, downcast expression on its screen, clearly showing its dejection. This thing was a type of transport robot – to put it simply, a carrier. I named it by taking the first few letters.

I named it thinking it might develop some affection, but I secretly regretted it every time it acted up. If I hadn’t gotten attached, I would’ve traded this tin can for a pack of cigarettes without a second thought.

Just as I finished securing Carrie in place, which went into sleep mode at my scolding.

"Hey, Lee Hyunwoo. You bring that thing again?”

A man with a thick beard spoke to me. His clothes, stained with the unremovable black soot characteristic of miners, indicated him as a fellow miner of mine.

"What choice do I have? With this guy around, I can at least earn a little more daily wage."

“Didn’t a new model come out recently? If you switch to that, your daily wage will double. Have you consider upgrading?"

"Don't speak nonsense. Do you have any idea how expensive that is? A whopping ten million credits. Ten million."

I repeated to emphasize the amount. Ten million credits sounded like a lot, but it was half of what I had managed to save up so far.

I still had a long way to go to reach my target of fifty million credits, so buying a new model is out of the question. I didn't have the luxury, nor did I want to.

‘Besides, that’s just for the base model.’

I've also seen the advertisement for the new carrier model. However, the reason I gave up on my greed immediately was simple. Once you start adding in all the options, the belly button will become bigger than the stomach. (minor aspects overshadow the primary or main elements)

But buying only the base model without the options is a foolish act that would make me deserve being called a sucker without any excuse. 'For that price, I'd rather…' With that, hell would unfold, but once was enough.

So for me, Carrie, who’s practically an antique but still feels familiar, is more than enough.

"I'll save as much as I can and get out of here as soon as possible. I’ve had enough of this place. And…"

"And?"

"This guy’s still better than your runaway wife, man. Even if it does get a bit noisy.”

"No, this bastard?"

I stood up to avoid Philip’s glare as he shot daggers at me. Even without his beet-red face, it’s about time to get up anyway.

<We will soon arrive at the temporary mining base, Heaven.>

An announcement flows from the speaker attached to the wall. That familiar announcement, paired with the monotonous tune, was something I had heard enough to form calluses in my ears.

<Our Heaven is a medium-sized base that could accommodate up to 50,000 people. Even at this very moment, we are expanding the area through extension construction...>

<We are committed to coexistence and harmony as our mission...>

<We operate various systems so that those who work hard are fairly compensated without discrimination and oppression...>

<A sentence of 20 years will be imposed on those who attempt to smuggle Blue Crystals without permission, and a reward will be given to anyone who reports the culprits...>

<Try your luck with Ball! The 1st prize is the new security robot powered by Blue Crystals! Opportunities are always open to everyone!>

It’s an announcement that no one really cared about. But it has enough force to wake up the exhausted people from their drowsiness.

Before long, I felt a tingling sensation of weightlessness. The ship was gradually coming to a stop.

Stretching my stiff body, I gave Carrie, who was pretending to be in power-saving mode, a couple of taps with my foot.

[∑ (°口°)]

At almost the same moment, Carrie displayed a startled expression on its screen with a beeping sound. It quickly flashed an angry face at me, but I paid no attention.

I simply adjusted the seams of my gloves in preparation for the snowy field that awaited us.

"…I'm so tired I could die. Let’s go, Carrie."

It's time to head to work.

***

"Ah, Hyunwoo! Here, here!"

A woman was bouncing up and down while waving her hand at me. It looked like she had been waiting outside for quite some time since the tip of her nose was rather red.

"Nadia, why are you out here in the cold? I told you to go inside if you’re going to wait."

I touched her reddened nose lightly, pretending to be sorry for her. Her nostrils twitched at the stimulation, sniffing.

"You smoke if I stay inside. I hate the smell."

"I told you I quit smoking."

"Liar. You can't lie to my nose."

A silhouette flickered past behind Nadia. It was a fluffy tail, directly connected to her body.

"Can’t lie to what? Here, go ahead, sniff me. Do I smell like cigarette?"

I was confident because there’s no lie in my words. Sure, my clothes might smell of cigarettes, but that was beyond my control.

In the residential area, with all sorts of people indulging in primal pleasures, what could I do about it? If anything, the smell of cigarettes is the most gentlemanly scent among them.

“...No, you don’t."

"Because I didn’t smoke. I’m not lying."

I gently pushed Nadia, who was perking up her half-cut ear, forward. There wasn't any rule that said 'first come, first served,' but there was no point in going in late either.

“Let’s just line up for now.”

"We don’t have to! After working with the Power Loader last time, they said I could just go in without queuing!"

“That’s you, not me.”

When I shook my head, Nadia waggled her tail in frustration. Since I wasn’t moving, she stood next to me, as if saying she wouldn’t go without me.

Even though this satellite had undergone partial terraforming, the bone-chilling cold typical of an ice satellite remained vicious. The cheap temperature control function built into my work suit was barely enough to make it tolerable.

Why couldn’t she just go inside and warm up first? I have no idea who she inherited that stubbornness from.

If there's any consolation, it seemed like our turn would come quickly since the waiting line wasn't long today, unlike usual.

The people ahead of us were each waiting with their equipment. Some worked alone, while others, like me, were waiting in teams.

One thing they all had in common was a faint, grayish bracelet on their wrist. The bracelet served as a form of ID. Depending on the color emitted by the bracelet, a person’s status was determined.

In the beginning, it may be the person who chooses the color of the bracelet, but from the moment they put it on, the bracelet defines them.

'I've heard there are other colors, though.'

Since the moment I opened my eyes in this place, I’d only ever seen the gray color. Gray is the color of miners. It's the color that low-level laborers like me can have.

Whoooosh...

Nadia's tail curled between her legs as the icy wind mixed with snow cut through the air. Even for a beastkin, this level of cold seemed to be too much.

Without a word, I nudged Carrie with my foot. As soon as the little guy powered up with a soft hum, I chinned toward Nadia, and it clung to her leg.

Feeling the warmth radiating from Carrie—not because of any built-in function but because it was old and overheating—Nadia let out a giggle, squatted down, and hugged the warmth.

The people ahead of us had dwindled, and finally, it was our turn.

Unlike us, standing outside, the supervisor glanced over at Nadia and me inside the heated steel booth. His expression, initially bored, turned slight interest as he looked at Nadia but went back to indifference when his gaze landed on me.

“I thought I told you that there’s no need to wait in line anymore?”

“You did!”

“Then why—never mind. I'm asking for nothing. Go to Tunnel 8. That’s where you’ll be working today.”

The supervisor typed on the keyboard while looking at the monitor, seemingly indifferent. That rapid typing noise determined where we would work today.

“Tunnel 8? Isn't that a recently dug area?"

“Correct. Any issues?”

“...No, sir. We do as told.”

I swallowed a sigh. The numbers attached to the front of the tunnels increase as they go back, indicating recently dug areas, and naturally, recently dug areas have more work to do.

Not only did we have to dig our path, but there was also the chance of the ceiling collapsing if we were unlucky. Even if that did happen, as long as I wore my work suit properly and have Carrie, I wouldn’t die.

Still, the fact that I have to pay a lot for hospital bills is a no-no.

‘Having to work manual labor in this day and age.’

If it weren’t for the Blue Crystal’s negative effects on electronic devices, the job would be a bit—no, a lot easier.

I've heard there's something called planetary mining, but they're not doing it because they fear it might disrupt the areas where Blue Crystals were buried. Then why even mention it?

“Hyunwoo, today’s going to be tough, huh!”

“What’s there to be so cheerful about? I’m already exhausted.”

I started heading toward the entrance of tunnel 8, just as the supervisor had instructed, while taking in my surroundings.

A sky painted in deep gray, adorned with not just snow,

but also murky air,

and sound of machines excavating the ground.

The people entering the dark holes.

Along with the announcements that played on repeat.

<Do not stay in the dark for too long. You may experience disorientation due to the influence of Blue Crystals.>

<Please avoid being alone as much as possible. Cosmic Madness begins with solitude and isolation.>

<Our medium-sized mining base, Heaven, spares no support for its workers.>

“...Bullshit.”

I muttered to myself as I pulled out the miner-exclusive equipment from the container where the gear was stored. It had already been three years since I suddenly regained consciousness at this base.

Yet, every time I came here, I felt as if I was being dragged to a slaughterhouse. The only reason I able to suppress that feeling was that I had to work myself to the bone to afford a spaceship ticket to another satellite.

Perhaps I’m already suffering from Cosmic Madness. With that thought in mind, I checked the condition of my equipment.

‘Battery is good, nozzle is in decent shape.’

Plasma Cutter—an indispensable piece of equipment for any miner. Most of the ground here was made of metal, so it wasn’t something you could just dig through with mediocre equipment.

It was only thanks to this cutter, which ran on a small amount of Blue Crystal, that we were able to dig at all.

“Nadia, is your equipment alright?"

“Yep! It’s working perfectly—or not, but I think it can last a day!”

“Good. That’s enough.”

It’s rented equipment anyway, so long as it lasts the day, there’s nothing to worry about. Even more so since Nadia, who’s an expert with tools, vouched for it.

Just then, I heard some commotion from the rear. When I turned my head to check, I saw a group of people swarming around, stirring things up everywhere.

I frowned as I recognized the symbol engraved on their uniforms.

‘Why are the Purists here…?’

They might not be setting off bombs, but they were practically a terrorist organization. Why have they come to this remote base?

The Purist Organization was established after the beastkin were introduced by a research institute that claimed to create better human.

Their slogan professed love for the pure labor of pure human, but conversely, it meant they despised anyone who wasn’t a "pure human" like them.

It wouldn’t end well if they crossed paths with Nadia, who’s a beastkin. They're the unpredictable type.

The only fortunate thing is that security was incredibly tight in this Blue Crystal mining base and refinery. The security robots would handle them before any trouble started.

"Hyunwoo, what's wrong?"

“No, nothing. Let's hurry and go in."

"Un!"

Behind me, who was leading the way, followed a beastkin with a fluffy tail and Carrie, a transport robot.

|Note

Beastkin (獸人/수인) . Prime example would be beastkin from Tower of God. I didn’t read it but they seem to use the same term.

 

Fun fact. Ganymede and Titan, a satellite of Jupiter, is bigger than planet mercury.

 

I thought this is a poem but I can’t wrap my head around it so I only do the minimal. I can’t even do poetry anyway kekekkek.

A sky painted in deep gray, adorned with not just snow,

but also murky air,

and sound of machines excavating the earth.

 

Lastly, this.

“In the beginning, it may be the person who chooses the color of the bracelet, but from the moment they put it on, the bracelet defines them.”

It’s quite difficult to interpret this sentence. It could be that the author suggest something related to the world building, or they just hinting at social problem with the analogy. Could also be both though.

I like the sentence actually. Something that was your freedom to choose become something that define you just because the society says so.