Chapter 16 – Acid Rain
Oh oh oh oh-!
A cry of pain erupted that thundered through the shelter. But to me it felt like a heavenly chorus.
[Can you see? The way that dirty grime is being washed away in every nook and corner.]
It was as Artemis said. All kinds of disgusting organic matter in the hydroponic cultivation facility, the flesh of the giant nest, and the roaming infectious agents were melting in an instant.
It is a scene where you can feel the coolness beyond cleaning the yellowed bathroom wall with bleach.
[Kee-eh-!]
Infectious organisms frantically struggling in the cultivation facility. They waved their arms as if they were attacking an imaginary enemy that didn’t even exist, but it was pointless.
It didn’t take long before it collapsed on the spot, exposing its skeleton and internal organs. No, I think the expression pouring down would be more appropriate.
“Melting everything! It is very refreshing.”
The solution pouring from the sprinkler reacted with the organic matter, and steam rose like a sauna.
However, the surveillance cameras were high-end models that could see through steam, so the view was not obstructed.
[Exactly. It’s a very nice sight. I think I know roughly how a human feels when drinking a soft drink. The only punishment worthy of them is execution.]
Said Rose.
The scene where her peace officer wipes out her infected in one fell swoop would be hilarious. She seems like a tougher type than her first impression.
Goo oh oh oh oh-!
Even in its death, the giant nest screamed incessantly. If it resonates inside, it will be very noisy outside.
Numerous infected objects can be seen wandering around on the cameras in each area.
They seem to have instinctively recognized that an important being in their ecosystem is in danger, but there’s nothing they can do about it.
[The work is almost finished.]
Contaminated tissues and infectious agents attached to the walls and floors have all melted away, and all that remains is the heart of the nest.
It was also half melted, so I could see all the organs and blood vessels inside.
Nothing like blood or bodily fluids flowed, because everything they tried to spill was melted and scorched by the acid rain. Could it be said that hemostasis continues indefinitely?
Pieces of meat resembling the inner arteries of the heart lost their strength and poured outward. It seems that he doesn’t even have the strength to keep his shape any longer.
Gluck. Gluck.
Even though strong acidic purifying fluid was constantly pouring from above, because the arteries were so thick, a huge amount of blood poured out from the cross section and filled the floor.
Guaaaaah
The giant nest met a complete death with a scream of evil in what seemed to be the final scream.
“With this, my biggest worry is gone. There will be no more explosions, and the infected will go into hibernation one by one.”
The horse is in hibernation, but it does not mean that it does not use nutrients at all, so it will die someday.
[It takes too long to wait for that. Let’s use a more effective method.]
Artemis said.
The screen shown this time was a ventilation control program. It circulates and purifies the air in the shelter and adjusts the atmospheric condition.
If necessary, it can increase the labor capacity of workers by increasing the oxygen concentration in the atmosphere, or, conversely, it is also used to impede activity in riot situations by lowering the oxygen concentration.
[How about this?]
With Artemis’ words, the animated pictures in the shape of small ventilation fans began to rotate all at once.
That propeller fan is only a visual image, and in reality, various mechanical devices manage the atmospheric conditions.
What matters is that the command to lower the air concentration to the limit has been executed.
[Warning. The number you entered is the lowest point for maintaining human life activity. In order to lower it above this level, approval of the administrator’s authority is required.]
The manual sent out a warning message.
[I need your approval to disregard that standard and lower it. Then the disgusting creatures outside will suffocate and die.]
Artemis’ words reminded me of the command window I had seen earlier.
Approve and cancel.
Even if you go into hibernation, your breathing will greatly decrease, but you will not stop breathing at all. Cut off the air and they will be annihilated.
I am reminded of a newspaper article I had clipped.
‘They breathe too!’
It is true that the last order given by the government was unlimited chemical warfare, and it produced considerable results.
The outside world could not control the air, so poison gas had to be sprayed, but in a closed place like a shelter, blocking the air would have an absolute effect.
“Then win…”
Inadvertently trying to issue an approval order, I stopped. Before that, there was one thing that must be done.
“Artemis, cutting off the air will come later. I have work to do before that.”
[Are you talking about survivors? Unfortunately, there are no survivors. The chance of survivors remaining in the shelter is less than 0.0000001%. I’m talking about it after checking all the areas already.]
Perhaps Artemis is right. She has a personality that despises humans, or creatures to be precise, but she is not a slayer.
She would have done a lot more cross-validation than me.
You’ve gone through surveillance cameras, newly updated sensors, usage records of communication lines, operational records of streetcars and vehicles, and every other means you can recognize.
For her, her investigation meant only total investigation.
“It’s roughly the same odds as the lottery.”
Are the odds of winning the lottery 1 in 8 million?
“But, it’s human beings who want to bet something on such ridiculous odds.”
I ordered a cancellation.
“Just give me two days.”
[Do whatever you like. It’s about 2 days compared to the last time I endured. Anyway, the activity level of the infected will be greatly reduced, so there is no risk of breaking through the barricade.]
Unexpectedly, Artemis took a step back.
“Rose.”
[Yes, Administrator.]
“Prepare the recording. To be sent out throughout the shelter for two days. The kind is an emergency crowd control broadcast.”
[All right.]
As Artemis took control of Shelter, a certain level of access was granted to Rose, who was limited to the security sector.
[You can tell me now. After recording, you can add or remove content as you wish.]
“Whoa.”
I took a deep breath and opened my mouth in front of the microphone.
After a while, a broadcast was broadcast simultaneously from the speakers throughout the shelter.
[This is Shelter Command, Systems Administrator Jinsu Seo.
After difficult attempts, they finally succeeded in regaining control of the entire facility.
Everything will be back to normal.
The monsters roaming our facility will be cleaned up.
A large-scale cleanup operation is about to begin.
If anyone is still alive, please follow our instructions.
Go to the nearest surveillance camera or fire detector.
If your video shines even for a moment, we can figure it out.
It’s also good to make a phone call or turn a light on and off.
We can track the flow of electricity that occurs when using artificial electronics.
After 48 hours all air in the shelter is purged.
The few monsters that survived the suffocation operation will be wiped out by mobilizing security robots.
We don’t want you, survivors, to be caught up in this unrestricted cleanup.
If anyone is alive, please respond to us.
We will guide you remotely to a safe place where you can survive.
Currently broadcasting on all frequencies within Shelter.
This broadcast will repeat every two minutes.]
The broadcast ended here.
[Can this work?]
“You have to do everything you can so you won’t have any regrets later.”
I sat in the watchman’s chair and drank hot coffee.
I still don’t feel very successful.
“I think I can rest in peace when I finish this. Should I say it’s the relief that I finally finished all my duties?”
I manipulated the panel and looked around the front of the government building. The number of infected that were making a fuss in front of the barricade had decreased considerably.
Everyone rushed to the hydroponics room, but it seems that they took it as if an intruder would come and destroy the nest.
Since they don’t have a clue what a sprinkler is, they must have rushed to repel an intruder.
[It must have been established there because the abundant organic compounds in the hydroponic cultivation room became good nutrients. But in the end, it’s like tightening your own lifeline.]
Most of the gases the nest exhaled were dissipated by the powerful intake system. The risk of explosion is gone, and I am safe now.
The remaining work is not a life-and-death battle or infiltration, but reconstruction work such as repairing and normalizing damaged facilities.
That’s mostly Artemis’ business, and I don’t think I have to do anything special.
Slurp.
Even though I’m drinking coffee, I’m slowly falling asleep.
It feels like standing up with the tiredness that I put off here and there all at once.
Slurp.
After emptying the last sip, I buried myself deep in the chair.
“Everything will be alright. Right?”
Artemis seemed to answer something, but I couldn’t hear it.
My consciousness sank deep below the surface.
