The World Is Not Equal
At some point, reports began to emerge from all over the world that plants in people's backyards were growing unusually fast. Of course, the organization overseeing Project C.E. had an explanation for that. The IBRA—the International Biosphere Recovery Authority—firmly dismissed the concerns. Their stance was that Project C.E. was being strictly managed, and whatever was happening outside the project's designated execution zones had nothing to do with them. By nailing the door shut with such denials, they only drove people to work harder to find connections and gather evidence. But that wasn't an easy task. It wasn't something that could be proven in the short term, either.
While such minor commotions were taking place, I was focusing on something else. The data Dr. Lee had passed on to me contained fairly detailed examples of the potential side effects that could occur once Project C.E. was underway, so it wasn't difficult to look into them. The first thing I checked was the incidence rate of respiratory diseases. In truth, it was hard to determine that with meaningful numbers. I wasn't a hospital official, after all. No, even if I were, it would be difficult to grasp that global trend. So, I simply calculated it based on the volume of mentions. The search volume for respiratory illnesses mentioned every year before and after Project C.E. began. It had definitely increased. It was clearly different from the increase in mentions due to the development of media. There were undeniably more people talking about it. There were also quite a lot of reports from people who had never been sick in their lives catching mild colds or respiratory ailments.
This was one of the areas Dr. Lee was most concerned about. A biological disaster. There is nothing more terrifying than that. Especially respiratory diseases that are invisible and highly contagious—those are even worse. We’ve already experienced it once, haven't we? Under the name of the "Wuhan Pneumonia." But this was even more serious. The biggest factor causing respiratory ailments was the increase in the concentration of pollen and spores. Since that wasn't something you could just stop if you wanted to, it was inevitable.
In the United States, where Dr. Lee was, they started collecting things that triggered such allergic reactions right away to begin developing treatments. It was possible because they had dozens of PhD-level personnel. That was what they had gathered for in the first place. Fortunately, they said that for now, over-the-counter drugs could cover it to some extent. And they said that as long as there were no special mutations in the future, there was a high probability that there wouldn't be any major danger as long as those drugs were available. Therefore, my task was clear: stockpile a large quantity of antihistamines. But there was no need to start right away. The shelf life of antihistamines is, at most, about three years. Of course, it doesn't mean they become "unusable starting today" once three years pass, but their efficacy would decline. So, there was no need to hoard them from now. I could just buy a ton when the moment required it.
That pollen and spores had increased compared to before could also be confirmed by other things. The consumption rate of filters had accelerated. In other words, the sales of companies that made such things had skyrocketed. That was easily verifiable just by looking at their quarterly operating profits. A clear increase. But they probably didn't even know why their sales had gone up. No, would they know? It's a bit much to look down on those people. There must be tons of people there smarter than me. What was certain was that the concern about pollen and spores in Korea wasn't that great. These were people who had already suffered enough from yellow dust and ultra-fine dust. Moreover, the winters here are harsh. It's difficult for such things to run rampant in Korea. It meant half the year was safe. Anyway, that was the situation.
Problems with Project C.E. were clearly emerging one by one. Therefore, I, too, began to move slowly. To find my own way to survive. In fact, it was still too early to act. Even though problems were appearing, it wasn't to the extent that the world would end. However, it would be too late after confirming all of that. There are things that must be prepared in advance. So, I had to make a decision. Do I invest for an uncertain apocalypse? Or do I trust in human wisdom, hoping everything ends as a mere happening, and maintain what I have? My parents' inheritance and their death insurance money. It wasn't a small amount of money. It was in the billions of won, at least. If the world doesn't end, it's enough money to live well in the future. But if the world ends, it becomes nothing more than paper of the same volume. The money in my bank account would just turn into digital numbers and vanish.
The moment to bet had arrived. Of course, I didn't agonize over it. I had decided long ago to bet on the side that the world would end. Ever since the moment Dr. Lee left for the United States. That was why I took action without hesitation. The first thing I did was buy a mountain near the capital area. The reason for buying a mountain was simple. If the world went wrong, the most necessary things would be water and electricity. And I would need a hideout that no one knew about. I intended to avoid places with many people. Useless competition only causes the consumption of resources. So, I was looking for a place where I could avoid competition. To do that, I needed a place that wouldn't be easily discovered by people. That's why I bought the mountain. A mountain in Yongin. A total of 280 million won. And I decided to build a building there.
If I had my way, I would dig into the ground and build an underground bunker, but that was too eccentric. It wasn't easy to find people who would build it like that. Besides, I might be worrying for nothing, but if I built a bunker like that and the world ended, I didn't think I would be able to use that bunker in a leisurely manner. I had a worry: wouldn't the people who built the bunker be the first to come and raid it? So, I had to make it so that even the builders wouldn't know at all that this was a hideout prepared for a disaster. And, as expected, the important thing was water. A stable supply of water is more important than anything else. So, I bought a place where groundwater drilling was possible. Specifically, so that I could drill through the bedrock and draw water from deep underground. It would be frustrating if I went through all the trouble of developing groundwater only to find it contaminated and unusable. So, I didn't spare the money and had them dig deep underground. It cost tens of millions of won, but that was fine. Since I had decided to do it, there was no need to be stingy with money. I just had to calculate how thriftily I could use it.
So, I was busy for a while. I was out of my mind, entrusting the blueprints to an architectural firm and looking for a construction company. The architectural firm showed signs of being quite puzzled while looking at the proposal I had suggested.
"This... is quite modern, isn't it?"
Hmm. This person had sense. To package this as "modern."
"I'm going to cut into the mountain here to make a retaining wall. And build the building right up against it. Hmm... exposed concrete... Are you not doing any exterior finishing? If you do it this way, it might be a bit... unsightly compared to how it looks."
And they were even honest. Usually, they wouldn't say things like this.
"It's fine. I have something in mind."
"Might I ask what it is? Because I have to take all those parts into account to design it."
"Ah. Just in case. I think I'll be expanding it later. So, I'm planning to do the exterior finishing after the expansion is decided."
"Ah. Is that so? Still... hmm..."
"Please let the exterior finishing part go. That's something to think about after the building is constructed. So, please just pay attention to the load-bearing or this side. Because there will be a lot of things going up on top of this."
"Haha. Is that so? Then do as you wish... And this, there are too few windows, is that okay? It will be very stifling like this. You should secure more windows or balconies for lighting and ventilation."
"Ah. That's also fine. It's a place where soundproofing and brightness control are important."
The architect raised several issues like that, but it couldn't be helped. Since I couldn't dig into the ground to build a bunker, I was going to cover the building I built with soil. So that it wouldn't be easily known from the outside. To make it look like there was originally nothing here. So, there would be no such thing as an expansion. It was just an excuse to cover it with soil. That was also the reason there was no exterior finishing. It was going to be buried in dirt anyway.
Anyway, I finished talking with the architectural firm like that. Those people are the kind who do as you ask, anyway. They would take care of the things that were truly problematic on their own. Once the design was completed, I found a construction company. Since they said it would take about a year if you include the permits, groundbreaking, and completion, I would just have to come and check on it from time to time during that period. I was free anyway, right? That much, well, I could do as much as I wanted. The biggest worry was a major problem breaking out before the house was even completed. But the situation wouldn't deteriorate that much in just a year. Even at this moment, plants were growing and spreading scarily somewhere in the world, but that doesn't happen in a single day, right? So, there was still time. There was still plenty of leeway.
Time passed like that again. Since I had a lot of work to do, it wasn't that difficult to pass the time. Rather, I thought more often that I wished I had more time. Because I didn't want to regret it later, saying... "I should have prepared more back then..."
The thing I put the most effort into was the data I could get from the internet. Information. Information is always a great power. And the data online is like a mirage. What if society collapses? So, what if I can't access it online? Therefore, data backup is essential. So, I backed up all the data I could get by mobilizing every possible method. Public papers, dumps of things like wikis, open textbook materials, and so on. Things like that.
Around the time I was preparing one by one like that, evidence that Project C.E. was failing appeared again one by one. Signs that the world was heading toward catastrophe. Omens. I laughed while watching such things. I don't know why I laughed. I could only say that I was... happy. It was actually like that, too.