Beacon of Light in the Dark Sea

Chapter 90

Fiddling with the damp towel on my head, I imagined the water draining through those tiny holes at the bottom. Whether the peoples hard work diving underwater to open the drain was worth it would be revealed from now on. Looking at the water that had reached my ankles, I thought about the streets and ruined cities currently submerged. Its not like those cities were submerged due to a lack of drains.

The Arctic glaciers have already mostly melted. The glaciers that mostly floated around in the Arctic Ocean didnt raise the sea level much when they melted. The biggest problem is the Antarctic glaciers. Unlike the Arctic, the Antarctic has a massive chunk of ice sitting on top of the continent. As the Antarctic glaciers melted, the sea levels continuously rose, and quite a few cities were submerged.

The land prices of coastal cities, which used to be quite expensive, hit rock bottom. It was because as the water levels rose, they became breeding grounds for bugs and trash, or the land and buildings were submerged.

With the damp towel on my head, I approached the railing to watch the water drain. The water that had been lapping at my ankles just a while ago was now barely reaching the soles of my feet, continuously receding. I could feel the water that had been encroaching on the 3rd floor slowly disappearing. Licking the saltiness left on the corners of my mouth, I felt a small sense of relief.

The elevator might work properly now. A glimmer of hope flickered in my mind like a lightbulb. At that moment, Carter approached me and called out.

Dentist.

Yes.

Whats in your bag?

What else could it be? Theres a cat and a snake in there. Come to think of it, under the whale plush that the cat was lying on, there should be a flashlight and a family photo that I had completely forgotten about. The sugar-free candies and chocolates that I had tossed in haphazardly, and a water bottle that was half-full. Now that I think about it, unlike in my dreams, I didnt often share candies with people.

At Carters remark, I looked around and realized that among the people, I was the only one wearing a backpack. I answered nonchalantly.

Nothing much.

Whats in there that youre carrying it around like that?

I was about to say there was a cat, but then I realized that animals were prohibited items inside the undersea base and closed my mouth that I had opened to answer.

In the case of Kim Ga-young, Yoo Geum-yi, and Jihyun, they knew that I was carrying animals in my backpack, and they were people who were willing to invest their time and risk their lives in a situation where they could die, trying to release marine creatures that had nothing to do with them.

How would this person react to animals? I sensed an unknown, unsettling vibe from the other persons tone, so I spoke to Carter again. It didnt seem like anything good would come out of getting caught with a cat.

Theres really nothing much.

Hand it over!

Then Carter reached out his hand towards my backpack. Surprised that he was trying to snatch the entire backpack away, I stepped back. After taking a few steps back, Carter spoke to the person behind me.

Take the bag!

At that moment, someone grabbed the backpack on my back from behind. While pushing Carters shoulders and arms with my arms as he lunged at me from the front, I glanced back at the person clinging to my back. It was Benjamin. Benjamin was trying to take the bag off my shoulders. As I tried to shrug the straps that had slipped down to my forearms back onto my shoulders, I got annoyed at Carter in front of me.

What are you doing?!

I heard Yoo Geum-yi, who had been sitting on the drained floor massaging her waist and legs, scream. Kim Ga-young shouted at us.

Let go of that person!

At that moment, my left leg was suddenly lifted into the air. As I was grappling with Carters arms with both my hands, Benjamin had grabbed my left leg with one hand while holding the backpack with the other. Benjamin ordered Carter.

Grab the other leg!

No way. Carter let go of his two arms that I was holding and tried to grab my remaining right leg, but I didnt let go of Carters two arms. I leaned against the railing and tried to maintain my balance as much as possible. Benjamin lifted my one leg and as I struggled like a caught fish, he lost his grip on my left leg as well. As he reached out his hand to grab my leg again, I fiercely kicked it away with my foot.

Aargh! Fuck!

At Benjamins scream and this commotion, Kanu and Logan, who had been sharing cigarettes in the corner, were watching our bizarre scene. Kanu approached and leisurely asked me.

What are you doing?

His voice lacking any tension made me feel like all the strength was draining from my body.

These guys are trying to take my backpack!

I shouted before the two guys could speak first. Kim Ga-young, who had been shouting from across the corridor, ran towards us but spectacularly slipped and fell due to the wet floor. I could see Yoo Geum-yi, who had barely managed to walk over, struggling to help Kim Ga-young up. Jihyun, lacking stamina, was sitting on a chair, unable to move, just raising her head to watch this spectacle.

Carter still had both arms grabbed by me, and Benjamin was tugging on my backpack. Kanu exhaled cigarette smoke and then asked Carter a question.

What are you doing?

What else?! Look, only this guy is wearing a bag! Hey! Whats in your bag?!

I shouted angrily.

What are you going to do with that information?! This is my bag! Get your hands off! Wont you fuck off?!

You little shit! This guy! He never takes the bag off his body except when going in the water! Who knows how much hes hoarding, let me see! Whos trying to take it?!

Flabbergasted, I struggled and yelled.

Youre already trying to take it, you brainless bastard!

As Carter and I were shouting, Kanu sighed again, grabbed the backpack, and pulled the waistband of Benjamins jeans from behind as he was aiming kicks at my ankles. Since Kanu approached Benjamin from behind, he could easily grab and pull the belt loops with his fingers. As Benjamin moved away from me, he had no choice but to let go of my backpack.

Logan was just giggling with his hands in his pockets, watching our spectacle. Now only Carter and I were in a standoff, holding each others arms. When he tried to headbutt me, I timed it and turned my head to the side or back. Watching that scene, Kanu spoke in a slow voice.

Show us whats inside the bag. Kid.

Is he talking to me? Did he just call me kid? Considering my age, Kanus words were enough to render me speechless, but at those words, Carter let go of the tension in his arms and distanced himself from me with a displeased expression. Benjamin was also somewhat distanced from me now. Panting heavily, I managed to calm my breathing that felt like it would burst. I was ready to run in the opposite direction if either of them lunged at me.

Seeing that they didnt attack even after a few seconds, I slowly took off my backpack, frowning and glaring at the two men alternately. Then I placed the backpack next to my feet and unzipped it. When the backpack was partially unzipped, I reached in with both hands and lifted out the cat inside.

Theres no need to specifically mention the snake, right? I was just holding the cat by the chest area, but its body stretched out like cheese. As I was somewhat blankly surprised by its strange body structure, Carter approached me. He then peered into the bag where the cats lower body was and got annoyed.

Theres nothing much in here!

I have no idea what this bastard was expecting. Did he want me to be carrying around a bag full of money? Doesnt the fact that I got a job make you think I dont have money? And how much money would a recently employed guy have? Moreover, did he think Id be carrying around a useless commodity like money in this disaster situation? What a pathetic bastard. I let out a big sigh.

Theres a cat, you see.

Take a good look. As I calmly replied, Carter made a condescending face and backed away. I tried to put the cat I was holding back into the backpack. But someone snatched the cat from my hands at lightning speed. Benjamin threw the cat over the railing towards me while cursing at me.

For a moment, I couldnt comprehend what I had just witnessed. Without any thought, I immediately threw my body over the railing. Ill catch it! I reached out and grabbed the cats waist tightly with both hands like grabbing a basketball. I saw the cats face in midair, eyes wide open in surprise. My body, left floating in the air, was dropping straight down.

Before hitting the water, someone grabbed my ankles and calves. I couldnt even make a sound as I hung in midair. Worried that the impact would make me drop the cat, I tightened my grip, but no matter how much strength I used, the cat felt like a furry water balloon that would slip out of my hands if I relaxed my arm strength.

After stably placing the cat between my chin and arm while hanging upside down, I raised my head and saw Kim Ga-young and Yoo Geum-yi holding my ankles, and Kanu holding my calf on the opposite side.

Kim Ga-young groaned loudly and pulled my left calf with both hands. Yoo Geum-yi, her lips pale, grabbed my clothes with her wet hands. As the two of them pulled on my thighs and stomach area clothes with all their might, I finally began to comprehend in my head what I had just done.

I was quite startled, but falling into the seawater itself wasnt that big of a danger. It was because the water level had only risen up to the 2nd floor as the drainage was progressing slowly.

Even if I fell like that, it would have been like diving into water from about one floor higher for me. If the cat had fallen alone, wouldnt it have been a tremendous shock for the cat, smaller than me?

It was when Yoo Geum-yi and Kim Ga-young had grabbed and pulled on the clothes on my chest and forearms, and my lower body had almost fully reached the 3rd floor.

A loud scream was heard to my left. Looking to the side with my upper body barely hanging over the railing, I saw Benjamin flying over the railing and plunging down.

Aaaarrrggghhhh!

And he fell into the water with a splash. Kanu must have thrown him.

The cat, tightly nestled between my neck and shoulder, let out a low meow as if displeased. As soon as my feet touched the ground, I immediately put the cat back into the backpack. And I zipped it up. Glancing to the side, I saw Sam and Jason standing next to Kanu, dusting off their hands. Only after putting the backpack on my back did I finally let out a deep breath from my tensed-up body.

Kim Ga-young sat on the floor, completely exhausted, and Yoo Geum-yi hung onto the railing, exhaling shallowly.