As Mr. Curtis drew dots and lines, Mr. James began writing the alphabets underneath.
Thus, the message that appeared was:
[SOS SOS DE 75 POSITION CONCRD HTL]
“Requesting rescue, this is 75, located at the Concord Hotel… or something like that. How should we respond?”
There are several ways to make contact with Spearhead operatives.
You can reach out on the contact frequency in a city where Spearhead personnel are active.
Or you can set up a beacon and wait for the Spearhead operatives to discover it.
Or, as in this case, make direct communication from the very beginning.
“At least, it seems we need to secure them before they change the frequency.”
“…Are you asking for the settlement name?”
“That would be good.”
I wasn’t expecting to come up with a settlement name suddenly.
Moreover, everyone just stared at me, showing no intention of suggesting their own ideas.
“Do you have… any good suggestions?”
“Because of you, everyone got together. So, it’s up to you?”
“But I also came here through Mr. Xuan Woo.”
“And we have no objections to that.”
Sarah too.
Ms. Angela as well.
And the Newman family just nodded without a word.
No one seemed willing to propose a name.
Normally, an automatically generated name would be suggested, and we typically went with that…
“Since we don’t know how long they will repeat their communication, we should act fast.”
As he said that, a good name still didn’t come to my mind immediately.
It’s not like I’m talented at naming, after all.
“Unless you’re really struggling… how about Werkstatt (Bearcshutt)?”
Cautiously raising her hand among the group, Ms. Angela took a step forward.
“It means Workshop. Also, considering how we’ve been doing all sorts of crafting and making things, it fits.”
“Workshop…”
But Bearcshutt – the name seems too difficult.
And saying just Workshop might sound a little… what’s the word?
Something like a seminar?
“The name is a little complex. Is there another word you can think of…?”
“Atelier,” Lisa volunteered, raising her hand.
“Though it’s accurate… hum, the word…”
“Too pretty? Of course, we’ll start farming soon enough, but… an atelier sounds more like a flower shop.”
Lisa smiled awkwardly and lowered her hand – indicating there was likely no one else willing to suggest a name.
It seemed that we’d come to some kind of framework based on the suggestions so far.
During the time I was exploring job opportunities, there were many production facilities in the regions.
The word to describe those facilities is:
“Factory.”
“Factory?”
“Mr. James’ gun has the engraving ’75’ on it – ”
Mr. James’ gun naturally drew attention to the [01] marked in red paint.
“So perhaps, if we respond as F01, that would be clear enough, wouldn’t it?”
“A factory… It’s bleak, but in a way, it suits you.”
“It suits me?”
“Why are the others nodding?”
“Mechanical and… yeah.”
“You make good items.”
“You only know how to make things, after all.”
In the end, before I could say anything, Mr. James began drawing dots and lines on the paper.
Mr. Curtis, having read the message, started operating the Morse signaler, sending the message without any delays:
[DE F01 75 R 599 599 HC]
– This is F01. Message received by 75. The signal is good. Acknowledgement expected.
[DE 75 F01 R 599 599]
– This is 75. Message received by F01. Signal is good.
[SOS SOS QTH CONCRD HTL LAT…]
“Latitude… longitude… Sarah, the map.”
The Omen family gathered around a large map and marked the location. Soon, they turned to me.
“Is the hatch somewhere around here?”
“Somewhere?”
“Our entry point… is here.”
Sarah pointed to a spot on the map and then placed a red dot at a new location.
“And these two points aren’t that far from each other. About a three-hour walk.”
“Describe the surrounding terrain.”
“First…”
Blinking her eyes, Sarah tried to recall the scenery.
“There was flat terrain – in other words, a downhill road that led to a flat area where there were buildings. And behind us, there was an open field.”
“Flat terrain? A slope? And buildings…?”
Tracing with her hand, Sarah shook her head.
“There’s no flat area with buildings nearby. Are you sure it’s flat? Because…”
“Looking from the direction of the buildings, there should be a river.”
Mr. Curtis stepped forward ahead of Sarah, pointing to the Omen family’s entry point.
“No matter how much we wandered underground, it’s hard to believe we could stray too far from this place. And now it’s the freezing winter. Therefore…”
Mr. Curtis hesitated, then marked a few spots on the map with circles.
“I think it’s probably somewhere around here. If we’re right – with good luck, it’s two hours. With bad luck, four hours or so.”
“Two to four hours? Is the location accurate?”
“We can’t precisely confirm our position outdoors, and we don’t have a GPS either.”
Mr. Curtis sighed and then received the last signal recorded by Mr. James.
“All ammo, medical supplies, and food are gone. One casualty, one death, and two uninjured.”
“Only four people…?”
“The lack of other details suggests they expect us to come to the hotel.”
“…The outside is filled with radiation, right?”
“Since they’re scavengers, they probably assume we also have the capability. Or…”
“It’s their last hope.”
I looked down at my protective suit.
It was intact, and after going above ground, I hadn’t noticed any abnormal symptoms on my body.
Still, it was two hours on the surface.
Potentially up to four.
We had no idea of the level of radiation contamination, and if the route we take is heavily polluted, it might be impassable.
In this situation, is it right to rescue the Spearhead operatives?
– Tikdiddidi, tikdidi, tikdidi…
Mr. James had put his headset down a long time ago.
Mr. Curtis sighed.
Sarah looked far from cheerful.
“In any case, if you’re planning to rescue these people now – no, just… take off the gear.”
“…”
“Just listen to Sarah; it’s a different story from when she was rescued.”
I thought the same.
There were too many risks.
If only we had more spare protective suits and better detoxification equipment.
Rescuing injured people in an outdoor area where the location isn’t even confirmed is… isn’t that unrealistic?
“Still…”
As I began to unfasten the suit’s strap, Ms. Angela raised her hand again.
Her eyes shone with firm resolve.
“We can’t leave them. They’re still sending us signals now.”
As she said this, the signal device continued to emit its shrill beeping sounds.
There was no sign of it stopping, as it desperately clung to us.
“Haven’t we mentioned that having more people is better?”
“…These are people contaminated with radiation, Ms. Angela.”
” – Here.”
Out of her pocket, Ms. Angela pulled out something and showed it to me: blue pills.
They were Prussian Blue, the medication needed to combat radiation.
“I found these when I was organizing the medicine boxes. If the radiation exposure is too severe, it might be more humane to end it right there. But if there’s a chance for recovery, we can save them. It will require monitoring over time, though.”
“Doctor, this is about us risking contamination too. We can’t be sure the rescue mission will be over in a day. Even slightly heavier exposure might require shaving our heads.”
Ms. Angela touched her head thoughtfully at Mr. Curtis’ hesitation.
The beautiful flowing blonde hair, which stayed radiant even in such a situation.
But her hesitation was brief.
“To rescue people, I’m willing to give up this hair.”
“Even putting hair aside, do you think you’ll go alone? Moreover, I wouldn’t let you drag Xuan Woo along.”
“This is for the benefit of the community. More capable people. More…”
“Those who can’t be handled should be abandoned. And if you get hurt or die while going to rescue them? What if this is all a scam? Do you think it’s worth risking your life for these unknown 75 individuals?”
“…Especially since they might have encountered something we don’t know.”
Even Sarah and Mr. James opposed it.
The Newman family, as usual, only watched me worriedly.
But Lisa eventually opened her mouth slowly.
“We’re people who owe our lives to the kindness of others. Dangerous, and it shouldn’t be said, but… surely the rescued ones will be grateful. I… think…”
After saying this, Lisa quietly bowed her head.
Mr. Matthew also gently comforted her without saying much.
Clearly, the opinions were split.
In other words, the decision was mine.
– Pibbik, pibik, pibibik.
Whether to send part of our community members to rescue these people who are now requesting help…
Or to focus on immediate safety.
The choice was clearly, already decided –
“What are you doing -”
Suddenly, a shout rang out. Lifting my head, I saw Ms. Angela with a chunk of her long hair cut off.
“I came here because of your kindness, Mr. Xuan Woo. To put it simply, the day I abandoned everything and pinned my hopes on you… my standing here now is all because of your character that day.”
The once radiant hair now lay scattered on the ground.
“If you won’t go, I’ll leave you behind. But even if I die up there, I won’t ask for your help.”
“You’re insane! That’s irresponsible. What will the others do if you leave here and get hurt!”
Shrugging off Sarah’s grip on her wrist with all her strength, Ms. Angela cut her hair again.
“I’m here because of the kindness you’ve shown me! Yours too. People with more humanity than anyone else. People who refuse to give up their humanity. Wasn’t our goal to support each other, exactly that?”
…I never claimed to have that level of noble heart.
Frankly speaking.
We were just building a safe community based on each other’s needs.
And there wasn’t anyone in this room who hadn’t fulfilled their role.
“Omen family, risking your lives to save me. You, Mr. Xuan Woo, who took a life-and-death gamble on me. Newman family, trusting me, a complete stranger veterinarian, enough to let me tend to your injuries. I’m simply responding to that trust.”
Finally, all that remained before me was the German doctor, who had lost her beautiful hair and her elegance.
The knife fell lightly onto the pile of blonde hair.
“So I ask you this: since you’ve received a distress signal, I must go.”
Ms. Angela stared at me with desperation.
Sarah did the same.
There were nodding heads, and there were shaking heads before me.
“Please help.”
– Pibbik, pibbik.
The distress signal continued to ring.
