The Regressor Only Protects Me [EN]: Chapter 40

#40. Warrior (1)

After leaving the artifact discussion, I opened the door and walked a short distance when a police officer hurried toward me.

He was a young officer.

Taller than me, with short hair and a handsome face.

He saluted, his voice trembling slightly.

“N-nice to meet you. I’m Kim Su-gyeong, a police officer assigned as your aide, starting today.”

“Aide?” I asked, surprised.

“Yes! That’s right. The chief instructed me to assist you with your duties.” Kim Su-gyeong carefully lowered his hand from the salute.

His speech and movements seemed awkward, like those of a rookie still finding his footing.

I glanced past him at the hallway, where officers were still moving purposefully back and forth.

Kim Su-gyeong said he was my aide, but he was likely assigned by the higher-ups for surveillance. Still, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

I could use the help of an officer familiar with the inner workings of this place.

He stood beside me, and I had to look up slightly to meet his gaze.

“If you need anything, please let me know. I’ll do my best.”

“Yes, I intend to.” I was planning on it, even without his offer.

I intended to keep him so busy he’d be begging for a break.

Things were about to get hectic.

I started walking down the 5th-floor hallway, Kim Su-gyeong trailing closely behind.

Police officers continued to bustle about. I checked my watch; it was just past 9:00 a.m.

The 5th-floor office space wasn’t just a place for the police to eat and sleep.

In one room, I saw the doctor from the meeting with several nurses. They were medical personnel from nearby hospitals.

They couldn’t perform surgeries due to the lack of equipment, but they were examining patients with medical supplies brought from pharmacies and hospitals. Most of the patients had similar injuries, sustained during reconnaissance missions.

Nearby, civilians suffering from frostbite lingered, but the officer guarding the door didn’t seem inclined to let them in.

In the next room, people were busy sorting and organizing the donated food.

Several officers with shovels stood in the hallway; they were the snow removal team, melting the snow inside the station.

There were several ways to remove snow, but they were melting it in the police station’s cafeteria using portable gas burners, and in a bonfire at the main gate.

The melted snow was transferred to large basins or plastic bottles for use as drinking water.

Every officer was spending the day working tirelessly, taking on tasks that civilians couldn’t or wouldn’t, leaving them no time to rest.

‘This is incredibly inefficient,’ I thought, observing their methods.

It wasn’t just the civilians; the police officers’ work was also disorganized. Everything needed to change: living conditions, work processes, administration, personnel management, and overall organization.

After surveying the 5th floor, I headed back to the stairwell, Kim Su-gyeong silently following.

Floors 4 through 2 were the actual residential areas for the civilians.

“Cough…! Cough!!!”

“Haa… haa… hoo…!”

The moment I stepped onto the 4th floor, I was met with a chorus of coughs and groans.

The living conditions were appalling. A foul odor permeated the air, and the cold made a normal life impossible.

The people looked barely alive. If I had to describe the scene in one word, it would be: Neglect.

It was like a chicken farm in winter, left unattended for days. If left much longer, they would likely start turning on each other.

This administrative structure was clearly on the verge of collapse. Frankly, compared to this, the shopping mall felt like heaven.

At least the people there weren’t passively waiting for rescue.

However, I couldn’t immediately devise a perfect solution. I roughly summarized the immediate problems:

1. Cold.

2. Food supply.

3. Available labor force.

The most pressing issue was the cold. It stifled action, affecting all living beings.

The feeling of wanting to stay in bed and do nothing in winter was a powerful deterrent. In the end, Gil In-ho’s first condition – solving the cold – was the top priority.

What methods had humanity used to combat the cold throughout history?

‘In ancient times, bonfires and caves; in the Middle Ages, fur, fire, and rudimentary heating; in modern times, briquette [compressed coal] boilers; and in contemporary times, gas boilers.’

Bonfires were feasible for small groups, but required significant labor to maintain.

Briquettes? It was already difficult to find a single gas burner in this world, let alone briquettes, which had largely disappeared in modern times.

And finding a gas boiler was an even more daunting task. That left me with one option: the most basic method – maintaining heating using hot water.

A system of heating the building by circulating hot water from a central tank. This required a suitable space to continuously supply warm water to the heating tank.

The first thing that came to mind was a bathhouse. And there was one here…

After a moment of thought, I turned to Kim Su-gyeong.

“Is there a bathhouse inside the station?”

“Ah, yes. There’s one for the officers on duty, but… I don’t think it’s open.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s in the basement.”

I looked away from him again.

“What’s the total number of people here now?”

“Ah, yes! Including the 21 survivors who arrived yesterday and excluding the 8 who left, the current number is 812.”

I needed to recruit technicians from that pool of 812. The arrival of additional manpower was welcome news, given the desperate need.

I turned back to him.

“Kim Su-gyeong, right?”

“Ah, yes, Manager. Please, go ahead.” Kim Su-gyeong stopped and looked down at me.

“Did you record previous occupations in the citizen registry?”

“Yes, it’s included.”

“Then find people with the following occupations and bring them to me as soon as possible.”

“Ah, yes! Please tell me what you need.” Kim Su-gyeong hurriedly pulled out a notebook and pen.

“Boiler technicians, jewelers, safety engineers, electrical engineers, industrial engineers…”

“W-wait a minute, Manager.” Kim Su-gyeong flipped through a few pages, ready to write.

“Yes, please repeat that, Manager.”

“Boiler technicians, jewelers, safety engineers, electrical engineers… no, just gather all the technicians. Tell them to meet on the first floor where roll call is conducted.”

“Yes, I understand. By when should I have them gather?”

“As soon as they’re ready.”

“Ah, yes! I understand.” Kim Su-gyeong diligently wrote down my instructions and hurried down the hallway.

‘First, I need to gather the technicians and assess the situation.’

The next thing I needed was healthy workers – someone strong and capable, separate from Jin Jae-hee, someone with different strengths.

Simply put, a reliable worker. Ideally, someone with combat skills as well.

Most of the civilians were frail and weak. It seemed almost impossible to put them to hard labor.

I needed a healthy man who could handle demanding tasks.

Just then, I felt a gaze. I turned my head and saw people watching me from the residential area.

“……”

“……”

They were definitely looking at me, shivering under their blankets, their faces gaunt.

As soon as I made eye contact, they looked away. After this morning’s roll call, they all knew I was the manager, but they still regarded me with wary eyes.

I ignored their stares and continued down the stairs.

* * *

Si-on descended to the basement where the bathhouse was located, his footsteps echoing in the stairwell.

A police officer guarding the basement stairs pulled out a baton.

“Step back. This area is off-limits to civilians.” The officer pointed the baton forward, but Kang Si-on continued his descent.

The officer gripped the baton tightly, preparing to strike. Until recently, before the station was sealed off, some civilians had tried to raid the underground warehouse full of police weapons.

That’s why security here was strict.

“Hey! Didn’t you hear? It’s off-limits! If you come down any further, I’ll arrest you!” The officer shouted, while the officer next to him examined Kang Si-on’s face.

Recognizing him, he startled and stopped the one holding the baton.

“Hey, isn’t that the newly appointed manager?”

“Huh…?! That young kid?” The officer with the baton looked surprised.

“Put the baton away. Didn’t you hear what the chief said at the roll call? The city councilor specially appointed him. We don’t have the authority to stop the manager.”

“Ah, ah. I, I’m really sorry!” The officer immediately lowered the baton and bowed his head.

Police officers conducted additional roll calls on the 5th floor every hour on the half-hour to receive the chief’s orders or deploy officers on duty.

Just yesterday, the chief’s order was clear: assist Manager Kang Si-on and establish internal order.

He clearly outlined the description, but the security officer had forgotten. But Si-on didn’t blame him; he didn’t care.

“Please open the door.”

“Ah… ah, yes. I understand.”

Clang, clatter-!

The officer hurriedly opened the door to the basement. A wave of cold air rushed out.

Si-on stepped through the door and into the basement. Only after he disappeared and the door closed did the officer sigh in relief.

“Haa… damn it. I almost screwed up.”

“You know what happens if you get on the chief’s bad side. Remember Team Leader Kim from Team 3? In the first round… he’s locked up in the detention center for disobeying orders. The detention center is real hell.”

“……I know, that’s why I’m saying it.”

“Anyway, be careful.” The two young officers continued to talk for a while.

Si-on walked down the dark hallway. With no natural light, the basement was like a cave. However, some officers patrolled with portable lights.

Si-on noticed a detention center with iron bars at the end of the hallway.

‘…….’

From the moment he entered, a disgusting smell assaulted his nostrils. It was like being in a sewer.

Both the officers working here and the criminals in the cells seemed half out of their minds.

Si-on entered the detention center. The interior was circular, with detention cells surrounding all but the entrance.

Thud-!

A man grabbed the bars of his cell and screamed.

“Let me out!!!!! Aaaaaaack!!! Aaaaah!!!”

The officer pulled out a baton and beat the bars.

Clang-! Clang! Clang!

The baton struck the iron, filling the air with a deafening noise. Still, the prisoner didn’t stop.

He continued to shake the bars wildly.

“Just kill me! Just kill me! What did I do so wrong? Huh?”

Si-on slowly approached. The detention center was for suspects awaiting warrants, those sentenced to detention, or those awaiting court hearings.

In any case, they were all people who had committed crimes. The cells were bare, and the inmates were half-crazed, surrounded by filth.

A pigsty would have been cleaner. Even slight movements smeared feces on their bodies, and the stench made one want to vomit after only 30 minutes.

A constant argument raged between the guards and the prisoners.

“Why are you doing this… why!!! I just fought after drinking, okay? Huh…? Mister. Please. Officer.”

“Shut up!”

“P-p-please just tell me what’s happening outside. Please. This isn’t fair! Huh!! It’s too cold here… at least a blanket… at least a few blankets.”

“Damn it, won’t you shut up?! Please be quiet for just one day! I’m having a hard time because of you guys, too.”

The man’s voice trembled.

“Is hitting someone after drinking… such a big crime? No, just send me to prison, or I’ll settle! Damn it, 10 million won? No, I’ll give you 100 million won! Please just save me! I’m freezing to death, Officer…!”

They didn’t even know what was happening outside. The criminals trapped here for two weeks since the world changed had no idea about the monsters and the snow piling up outside.

All they knew was the League’s interface that appeared before their eyes.

The police were silent, and the prisoners were on the verge of madness.

Si-on quickly lost interest and turned to find the bathhouse. At that moment, a voice came from inside the detention center.

“Hey, mister. Don’t waste your energy and come here.”

Si-on stopped and looked inside. A man sat against the far wall.

Si-on turned on his portable light and shone it on the man. He wore several layers of clothing, and tattoos covered his arms and feet.

His hair was long, reaching his shoulders, his muscles were large, and he had unkempt mustaches and a beard.

He was obviously a gangster. The gangster stared at the officer and Kang Si-on outside the bars.

His eyes were not human, but those of a beast. His gaze alone dominated the atmosphere.

The officer hesitated and stepped back. The gangster said in a low voice, as if joking with a friend.

“If I get out of here… I’m going to kill you all… so shouldn’t I save my strength until then?”

Scratch, scratch-.

The gangster scratched his neck and smiled nonchalantly. At that moment, Si-on smiled, because he had found the perfect porter he had been looking for.

(Continued in the next episode)