Beacon of Light in the Dark Sea

Chapter 156

Seo Jihyuk spoke as if making an excuse to the gazes of Tumanako and me.

“Being hungry is just being hungry.”

Well, to maintain that physique, he probably needs to eat a lot. Moreover, it seemed that Engineering Team A had woken up at the crack of dawn to work. Baek Ae-young and Shin Hae-ryang seemed used to Seo Jihyuk being like this. Maybe they’re hungry too but not saying anything.

Seeing someone starving right before my eyes, why does it make me feel so sorry for them? I took out all the candies in my pocket and handed them to Seo Jihyuk, who accepted them with an expression like a beggar receiving alms.

“It feels like I’m sucking the liver out of a flea.”

“What if the guide eats the customers?”

“I’ll eat you last, doctor.”

Is that supposed to be considerate?

“How very kind of you.”

“Please choose hats that look most similar to the ones worn by Muhanikyo believers.”

Following that request, I carefully looked around the hat store. I grabbed as many black brimmed hats as I could and laid them out in the center of the hat store, but there weren’t any that looked exactly the same. I picked out six dark black and navy hats with no patterns, removing ones that were too bright or had large text emblazoned in the center.

“They’re similar, but not exactly the same.”

“It doesn’t matter. As long as they can deceive the eye for a moment when seen from afar, it’s fine.”

Even if we deceive like that, it would be exposed when seen up close, so I’m not sure how they intend to use them.

Baek Ae-young adjusted the hat size to fit her small head and handed it to Seo Jihyuk. Distracted by unwrapping and putting candy in his mouth, Seo Jihyuk fumbled twice trying to put on the hat handed to him from the side. Then he glared at Baek Ae-young and expanded the size of the brimmed hat before putting it on.

As people were amicably sharing the dark-colored hats, I also put a hat on John Doe’s head. Then I pulled a hat down tightly on my own head.

It feels childish and awkward wearing something like this after so long. As I looked around the store wearing the brimmed hat, I spotted yellow and white hard hats covered in dust on the wall. Those look like the ones used at construction sites, but they sell them here too.

“Can hard hats stop bullets too?”

If it’s possible to block bullets with hard hats, wouldn’t it be safer for people to wear hard hats around? Baek Ae-young, who was fiddling with the brim of her hat, answered my question:

“No. They’d get a hole right through them if hit by a bullet. Even bulletproof helmets barely stop bullets, what could a hard hat do?”

Hearing that answer, a question arose. If bulletproof helmets barely stop bullets, why wear them? If it’s called a bulletproof helmet, shouldn’t it stop bullets well?

“Then why do people wear bulletproof helmets?”

Shin Hae-ryang, who was looking outside, answered simply:

“They’re worn to block shrapnel and fragments.”

“Ah.”

At those words, the image of a certain person flashed through my mind instantly. I didn’t even have time to tell my brain not to do that. I tried to focus on the scenes before my eyes rather than the image that had popped into my head. Shin Hae-ryang added casually:

“If you’re worried about bullets, it’s better to wear a motorcycle helmet than a hard hat.”

Hearing that, I started looking for motorcycle helmets with my eyes. There were a few dark red motorcycle helmets with bizarre patterns hanging on the store wall. They were covered in dust, probably an unpopular item. According to Shin Hae-ryang, motorcycle helmets must be much stronger than hard hats. But looking around at the people nearby, no one was trying to wear a motorcycle helmet. Even Shin Hae-ryang, who had said that, was just wearing the black hat he’d received from me.

“Aren’t the others wearing motorcycle helmets?”

Seo Jihyuk said with a small smile, rolling the candy in his mouth:

“If someone suddenly appeared wearing a bike helmet while walking down the street? … Teacher, if it were me, I’d aim for their body, not their head.”

Ah… I see. Right. That was a stupid question. I too touched the brim of my hat while laughing awkwardly.

The place closest to the hat store was an accessory store, and if I saw correctly, the store name was written as [Sea Snail]. I really don’t know what these store owners are thinking when they name their stores. I gave up thinking about it when I realized that the dental clinic where I work is named after a famous great white shark, and the beauty salon where Tumanako works is named after a two-headed snake deity.

I can understand stores for clothes, shoes, and hats, but why does there need to be a store selling accessories in an underwater base? While I was alone in such doubts, the guide and the trespassers seemed to have judged that this accessory store would also likely be locked.

After about 10 seconds of discussion bordering on an argument about whether we should go to the accessory store or pass by it, they concluded to go. Again, Seo Jihyuk and Baek Ae-young went first. Shin Hae-ryang remained beside Tumanako and me. While Baek Ae-young was picking the lock, Seo Jihyuk seemed to be covering Baek Ae-young’s back.

As soon as Baek Ae-young checked the door, the two immediately entered the accessory store and gestured towards us. It seemed the door wasn’t locked. Again, Shin Hae-ryang sent Tumanako and me first. He came out of the hat store last. Judging by his actions so far, it seemed he was erasing traces of our stay and following us.

Entering the accessory store, it looked like it had been hit by a bomb. Chairs were toppled here and there, and some of the display cases inside were broken. There were quite a few empty spaces where necklaces and earrings made of raw stones seemed to have been, possibly stolen. Dozens of cheap $5 earrings that people didn’t seem to have stolen were hanging on the wall.

“Looks like thieves got here before us. Watch out for glass shards.”

Baek Ae-young said as she looked around the accessory store. I hadn’t noticed from outside, but several windows were broken too. The interior was considerably larger than I had expected. Baek Ae-young swept away the glass in front of her with her sturdy-soled shoes and led the way in. Several mirrors were also broken, with sharp pieces scattered on the floor.

It seemed that people had entered the accessory store and grabbed handfuls before escaping on the escape pods. … I don’t understand. Hearing my thoughts, Seo Jihyuk nodded and said:

“These raw stones are all cheap stuff. Not worth taking.”

“It’s not about the price, … never mind.”

Tumanako walked in absently and was staring at one spot with a very serious expression. Although this was my first time here, judging by Tumanako’s familiar footsteps, she seemed to have visited before. There was a necklace made of raw stones there, and judging by her expression, she seemed to be fighting with herself about whether to take it or not. She had probably seen that necklace before but didn’t buy it.

Meanwhile, Shin Hae-ryang gently pushed aside a CCTV camera that was in the way with his foot. The CCTV camera, which should have been hanging from the ceiling, was now rolling on the floor, broken by someone. I wonder if the previous visitors broke it.

Shin Hae-ryang saw some neat handkerchiefs displayed in a corner and casually put them in his pocket. He didn’t even look at the earrings, necklaces, or bracelets scattered around. Then he kept watch on the surroundings.

He seemed to think this place would be visited by the most people. Among the three, Shin Hae-ryang was the one who said not to go, but Baek Ae-young and Seo Jihyuk had insisted that we must visit here. Shin Hae-ryang kept watch with a reluctant expression.

Baek Ae-young approached without hesitation and examined the safe located in the farthest corner. She seemed to know well what was placed there. There was a small safe there. It was a mess with knife marks and clumsy traces of graphite sprayed on it, as if someone had tried to steal it. It looked like they had made several attempts but fled without success. Baek Ae-young snorted at the sight of the safe.

Baek Ae-young emotionlessly pressed the safe’s password numbers one by one. It was impossible to tell whether she knew the password in advance or figured it out from the fingerprints there. When the safe opened, there seemed to be things like gold rings and necklaces inside, but Baek Ae-young very naturally swept them into her pants pocket.

She also took out all the cash there (there was currency from all sorts of countries) and stuffed them into her other pants pocket. Neither Seo Jihyuk nor Shin Hae-ryang said anything seeing Baek Ae-young’s actions. Tumanako was still contemplating the necklace, and I let out a big sigh.

Seo Jihyuk skillfully rummaged through some drawer and took out disinfectant and gauze, putting them in his pocket. I wondered why those things were here, but it seemed this store also did piercings while selling jewelry. Looking inside, there were tons of tattoo-related stickers, and next to them were an incredible variety of nail stickers and nail polishes for sale. It seemed they were selling everything here except clothing items.

I’m a bit skeptical since I don’t do these things, but other people might spend their boring time in the underwater base decorating themselves with these items and finding enjoyment. I asked the person who looked the most leisurely but seemed the busiest:

“Do they do tattoos here too?”

“No. They only sell stickers.”

After hearing Shin Hae-ryang’s words, I looked around for a place to set down John Doe, whom I had been carrying on my back. The floors in other stores were clean enough to put a person down and rest, but here it was a mess with footprints and glass shards.

I tried to sit John Doe on a fallen chair that I had propped up against the wall. As I carefully tried to lower the person I was carrying onto the chair, his body tilted backwards, and since the chair had no headrest, John Doe’s head hit the wall.

“Ugh.”

Startled by that sound, I approached John as soon as I put him down. John Doe had groaned but didn’t wake up. His head might have a bump at most, but wasn’t seriously injured. I let out another big sigh.

Navigate to Other Chapters

• BLDS Chapter 0
• BLDS Chapter 01
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• BLDS Chapter 11 Part 1
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• BLDS Chapter 12
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• BLDS Chapter 91
• BLDS Chapter 92
• BLDS Chapter 93
• BLDS Chapter 94 - Elevator (3)
• BLDS Chapter 95 - Elevator (4)
• BLDS Chapter 96 - Elevator (5)
• BLDS Chapter 97 - Elevator (6)
• BLDS Chapter 98 - Elevator (7)

• BLDS Chapter 99 - Elevator (8)
• BLDS Chapter 100 - Elevator (9)
• BLDS Chapter 101 - Elevator (10)
• BLDS Chapter 102 - What One Wishes For (1)
• BLDS Chapter 103 - What One Wishes For (2)
• BLDS Chapter 104 - What One Wishes For (3)
• BLDS Chapter 105 - What One Wishes For (4)
• BLDS Chapter 106 - 19% (1)
• BLDS Chapter 107 - 19% (2)
• BLDS Chapter 108 - 19% (3)
• BLDS Chapter 109 - 19% (4)
• BLDS Chapter 110 - 19% (5)
• BLDS Chapter 111 - What Needs to be Done (1)
• BLDS Chapter 112 - What Needs to be Done (2)
• BLDS Chapter 113 - What Needs to be Done (3)
• BLDS Chapter 114 - What Needs to be Done (4)
• BLDS Chapter 115 - What Needs to be Done (5)
• BLDS Chapter 116 - Value (1)
• BLDS Chapter 117 - Value (2)
• BLDS Chapter 118 - Value (3)
• BLDS Chapter 119 - Spark (1)
• BLDS Chapter 120 - Spark (2)
• BLDS Chapter 121 - Spark (3)
• BLDS Chapter 122 - Spark (4)
• BLDS Chapter 123 - When Unharmed (1)

• BLDS Chapter 124 - When Unharmed (2)
• BLDS Chapter 125 - When Unharmed (3)
• BLDS Chapter 126 - When Unharmed (4)
• BLDS Chapter 127 - John Doe (1)
• BLDS Chapter 128 - John Doe (2)
• BLDS Chapter 129 - Preemptive Strike (1)
• BLDS Chapter 130 - Preemptive Strike (2)
• BLDS Chapter 131 - Preemptive Strike (3)
• BLDS Chapter 132 - Preemptive Strike (4)
• BLDS Chapter 133 - Escape (1)
• BLDS Chapter 134 - Escape (2)
• BLDS Chapter 135 - Escape (3)
• BLDS Chapter 136 - Escape (4)
• BLDS Chapter 137 - Escape (5)
• BLDS Chapter 138 - Escape (6)
• BLDS Chapter 139 - Escape (7)
• BLDS Chapter 140 - Escape (8)
• BLDS Chapter 141 - Compassion (1)
• BLDS Chapter 142 - Compassion (2)
• BLDS Chapter 143 - Submersible Port (1)
• BLDS Chapter 144 - Submersible Port (2)
• BLDS Chapter 145 - Submersible Port (3)
• BLDS Chapter 146 - Submersible Port (3)
• BLDS Chapter 147 - Submersible Port (4)
• BLDS Chapter 148 - Engineering Team D (1)

• BLDS Chapter 149 - Engineering Team D (2)
• BLDS Chapter 150 - Engineering Team D (3)
• BLDS Chapter 151 - Interrogation (1)
• BLDS Chapter 152 - Interrogation (2)
• BLDS Chapter 153 - Interrogation (3)
• BLDS Chapter 154 - The Third Undersea Base (1)
• BLDS Chapter 155 - The Third Undersea Base (2)
• BLDS Chapter 156 - The Third Undersea Base (3)
• BLDS Chapter 157 - The Third Undersea Base (4)
• BLDS Chapter 158 - The Third Undersea Base (5)