The Barren Battleship
"Yadong, let's get out first."
You can't explore jack if you can't see shit, and with nothing visible, there was nothing to do. Yadong growled, then there was a swishing sound beside me as it tried to open the door again. The transparent light appeared like before, and only then could I make out the surroundings a bit.
"No wonder it was so dark."
The walls and floor were all black. No, they looked like black metal. With the lights off, and the walls, floor, even the ceiling all pitch black, there was no way anything was visible. And with the lights out, it was only natural.
Han Yaseong stepped into the transparent light and headed outside first. Seeing the bright scenery out there, he finally felt like he could breathe.
"Grab the flashlight, some drinks, and snacks too."
Who knew if they'd finish exploring in a day or two? They needed emergency rations. Worst case, they could get stuck somewhere and not get out for a while. Rushing in without prep had been a mistake. The beast had suddenly opened the door, and he'd gone in on impulse. He should've prepared properly, steeled himself, and gone in with a plan.
Back at the lodging, he cooked up some food first. Gotta fill the belly to have energy. Not much in the way of ingredients, so he threw everything together and boiled up some budae jjigae. He could've hunted for meat, but scouting the battleship came first—no time to waste.
He and Yadong scarfed it down, then packed weapons, the flashlight, and even some torches just in case. They were made by wrapping cloth soaked in beast fat oil around the end of a wooden club—lit up bright and handy. He stuffed a bunch of snacks in the bag too, and finally headed to the battleship with Yadong.
"Let's go in."
Once Yadong opened the door and the entrance formed, he flicked on the flashlight and plunged right in. Still pitch black like before, but the flashlight beam lit up the surroundings nicely. It felt like staring at some ancient machine device—the corridors inside were grand and sleek. Nothing Earth tech could pull off.
The passage was about five meters high and wide. Spacious, but empty, which gave it a creepy vibe.
"Yadong, scout around."
No clue which way was which, so he needed the beast to guide him. But Yadong seemed lost too—it growled and poked its head around hesitantly, wandering. Han Yaseong kept shining the flashlight on the walls and decided to just pick a direction.
"Let's just go. Something's gotta be here."
Flashlight in left hand, hand axe in right, he trudged down the wide corridor. For a split second, he regretted not asking Reina to grab him a pistol. Being American, she'd snag one easy. Next time, he'd give her cash for a few Berettas. A rifle would be nice too. Machine gun. Semi-auto rifle. Hell, have her buy a bunch. Ten grand should cover it. He'd heard you could get a revolver for a hundred bucks in the States.
He and Yadong kept walking the dark passage. Nothing. No movement. Like a dead temple or something. Not a sound. Just his footsteps echoing.
Han Yaseong started tense, but after thirty minutes of boring corridor, the edge wore off.
"Nothing here. All dead?"
Just an empty house—no fun in exploring. Needed something to poke at. And it was all corridor, no side rooms. Well, there were doors, but Yadong couldn't open them. He'd scratched patterns on them with his claws, no dice.
Han Yaseong went from bored to fed up.
"What the hell? Nothing here. Lights won't even turn on."
Would've been nice if the corridor lit up, but no. No fun sightseeing in the dark. Nothing to see, interest tanking. All that suffering digging for two years, just for this? Hollow as hell.
Flashlight wasn't cutting it, so he lit a torch. Flames roared to life, brightening his view big time. The surroundings sharpened.
Yadong wandered off, sniffing for entrances. Han Yaseong poked around with the torch, tracing patterns on door-like spots with his fingers. Nothing.
An hour passed, nearing two, and the thrill died completely.
"Fuck, what is this shit."
Inside the battleship, and that was it. Felt like breaking into an abandoned house—not just empty, but cleared out. Nothing to do, just endless wide corridors. Doors he couldn't open, no one around. Soul-crushing.
"Thought finding it was the hard part... more bullshit."
He'd figured snagging the battleship ended it. Nope. Exploration was just starting. Uncover its secrets. Might take a lifetime. Giant's code or whatever. Easier digging it up than this.
Yadong tried doors too, no luck. Password protected, probably. Like a computer needing a PIN to boot. Yadong wouldn't know. Giant set it. Entrance opened, but flight controls? Separate code, likely. Can't have anyone flying it. His personal passcode. Dead end. No way to know it. Probably never.
He was about to quit in defeat when Yadong stared and growled.
"What? Gold bar?"
It growled like try it. But how?
"Where's a gold bar? No proof it's in me."
When the monster bird attacked, gold bar melted into his heart... just a guess. No proof. How the hell was a gold bar supposed to help? Bewildering.
Yadong growled insistently, like you do it. Pissed it couldn't, shoving blame. Looked hangry, so Han Yaseong tossed it candy from the bag. It snapped it up with its paw and crunched away. Must've been frustrated too, failing at doors.
While Yadong suckled the candy docilely, Han Yaseong pondered the door. Could a gold bar actually work? If it really melted into his heart or body, maybe. Not impossible.
Nothing to lose, he figured. Worth a shot.
"Yaap!"
He slammed his chest against the door and yelled. Nothing. Just trying.
Then it was trial and error nonstop. Head to the door, back, ass—chanting spells.
"Open up!"
The black metal slab didn't budge. No sign of opening. Pointless.
Frustrated, he whipped out his dick and pissed on it.
"Fuck this, I'm out!"
Bit of the anger eased. Yadong, pissed too, shit on the next door panel. Two of them marking territory—piss stench filled the air. No purification or vents working. Just a big, old, busted-ass battleship.
No fun, no thrill—time to bail.
"Gonna go home and fuck Senior Eugene's pussy."
Euna's too. Better than flailing in here.
Trudging back to the entrance, massive regret hit. Two years digging through hell to get in, and zilch? Too fucking empty, ridiculous.
"Hey, what the hell is this, you bastard Yadong!"
Anger boiled over. Mistake trusting the beast. Thought digging was it—bigger hurdles ahead.
Yadong growled back, like didn't see this coming, getting pissy itself. No cracking the secret right now. At least only Yadong could open the entrance door—safe from intruders. So he had Yadong teach him the trick. Tracing the intricate patterns on the door with a paw—password motion. Like unlocking a smartphone. Easy to remember.