“What's happening?” Seong asked.

Minjun replied, “Hwan here ate food without permission and then when I was asking him about it he told me to lower my tone.”

“Is that true, Hwan?” Seong asked, a bit disappointed.

Hwan answered, “I just ate one can. Why are you acting like it's the end of the world?”

“Not only did you make a mistake, but you also have the guts to comment on how people act,” Minjun said.

Seong said, “Hwan, you made a mistake. Go and apologize.”

“What if I don’t?” Hwan challenged, standing in front of Seong's face.

Seong kept his hands on Hwan's shoulder and said, “You know, I accepted you into this group. If you do anything to put this group at a disadvantage, it would be considered my fault,” with eyes that made Hwan feel like nothing more than an insect to him.

Frightened, Hwan's confidence weakened under Seong's intense gaze. "How does he have so much strength with only a few weeks in the gym? What kind of monster is he?" Hwan wondered. He stammered, “I am sorry. I won’t repeat this. I was just starving. I will go and apologize to everyone.”

“Good,” Seong said. “Bring the can opener, Minjun,” he added, turning to Minjun, who seemed stunned by how Seong handled the situation.

“Minjun, are you here?” Seong asked when he didn't get a response.

Minjun snapped out of his thoughts and said, “Yeah, I brought it.”

Both of them headed to their tunnel, while Hwan went to apologize.

"You're back. What were those noises?" Ara inquired.

Seong cryptically replied, "You'll find out later."

"Okay," Ara responded with a confused expression.

Minjun interjected, “I’ll tighten the screws." He lied down on the floor, went underneath the train, and tightened the screws. Although not as tight as a normal tool could achieve, it was sufficient to make the train function for a bit.

Minjun got back up and said, “Start it.”

Alejandro clicked the train, and after a few moments of nothing happening, the train finally started to move. However, what they didn’t realize was where the train tracks were headed.

"Guys, I think we should head out; that train is going to ram into the barricade!" Alejandro yelled out.

All of them hurried into the tunnel and heard a loud bang as the train engine stopped. "I think it stopped," Ara said.

"Let's check it out," Alejandro suggested.

They all returned to the room, noticing that half of the train was stuck in the wall it had broken. The electricity in the room was fluctuating significantly.

"We should head out as fast as possible this might collapse," Minjun urged.

"Yeah, let's just check what's in there and leave," Seong agreed, pointing to the broken wall.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Seong and Alejandro ventured into the broken wall, while Ara and Minjun stayed back. The only light source in the wall they had entered was the light coming in from the other room. The wall that the train had broken into revealed a hidden room, but it was quite empty, containing only a few carts and a mineral known as krnight.

"There is nothing in this room," Alejandro reported.

Seong said, “Collect this,” showing him the krnight in his hand.

“Why?” Alejandro asked.

Seong responded, “Just do it.”

Alejandro followed his orders and gathered as much as possible. Both of them then exited the room, and Ara asked, “Why are you carrying out krnight, that worthless mineral?”

"You'll find out later," Seong replied.

Annoyed, Ara said, “Will you say that for everything?”

“Just wait a bit,” Seong said, and then all of them exited the room and left.

When they made it out of the tunnel, Jin Ae, Amelie, Eun-Jeoung, and Hwan were sitting there. “What do you think we should do about Hwan?” Amelie asked.

Ara, confused, asked, “Do what about him?”

“Haven’t you told them?” Amelie inquired.

Seong explained, “I thought it would be better for Hwan to explain it first.”

Hwan then went in front of Ara and Alejandro and said, “Please forgive me for eating without anyone knowing.”

Ara and Alejandro were upset but could also understand his perspective. “I think we just let him off the hook this time,” Ara suggested.

Amelie chimed in, “I think you're too nice. I believe he deserves to have a day without food.”

“I agree with Amelie,” Eun-Jeoung added.

Hwan looked distressed and thought, ‘This is what I get. I should have just made Minjun shut his mouth.’

Seong said, “I think you're too harsh. He ate a can, so he should not get two portions of food. I think that's fair.”

‘This guy, I listen to him and apologize, and now he wants me to starve for half a day,’ Hwan thought.

“I think that's fair too,” Minjun agreed.

Jin Ae said, “What Seong said is right. He ate one can, so he should pay for that. But just because we made you pay for what you ate doesn’t mean it would be the same next time.”

“Okay,” Hwan answered, still annoyed.

Seong said, “Now that's over, how did your day go in your tunnel?”

Jin Ae proudly declared, “We solved it.”

“What did you have to do?” Seong asked out of curiosity.

“There was a large clock that wasn’t working, and we had to fix it,” Jin Ae said in the simplest way possible.

Seong asked, “Did you get anything?”

“Lithium,” Jin Ae said.

Upon hearing that, Seong's eyes lit up, but Ara's eyes reflected fear. “What about you?” Eun-Jeoung asked.

“Krnight,” Alejandro said.

After Amelie heard that, she knew what would happen and said, “Seong, you're not going to do what I think you are going to do.”

“Depends on what you're thinking,” Seong answered.

Jin Ae said, “You're going to create an explosion in tunnel three, aren’t you?”

"Krnight," Alejandro said.

After Amelie heard that, she knew what would happen and said, “Seong, you're not going to do what I think you are going to do.”

“Depends on what you're thinking,” Seong answered.

Jin Ae said, “You're going to create an explosion in tunnel three, aren’t you?”

Seong replied, “I couldn’t think of any other alternative.”

“But still, it could cause this shift to collapse and kill us. How about we just stay here for the rest of the assignment and leave,” Hwan suggested.

Seong firmly replied, “No risk, no reward.”

“Our lives are worth more than this reward,” Hwan shouted.

“We'll do a vote. Those on my side, raise your hand,” Seong said.

Jin Ae, Alejandro, Eun-Jeoung, and Ara raised their hands.

“I’ve got the majority, so I think it's decided,” Seong said.

Hwan replied, “Do whatever you want. I am leaving,” and he took a few cans of beans and jerky and left back to the start mineshaft.

“What about you two?” Seong asked.

Amelie said, “If this was anybody else, I would have left too, but I will trust you. You better not get us killed, or I will haunt you in the afterlife.”

“Me too, I trust you too, so I will stay,” Minjun said.

Seong reassured, “I won't get you killed.”

Seong headed into the third tunnel alone after receiving the minerals from Jin Ae. He went to the carts they had moved out and started to pour the Zime on the floor and the statute. Then, he made a trail leading to the exit of the tunnel and took out the krnight and lithium, pouring them all on the floor before running out.

Loud bangs continued to reverberate inside the tunnel. “Is Seong safe?” Ara said.

“He’ll live,” Eun-Jeoung said. Then the mineshaft began shaking, and they heard something collapse.

After a few minutes, the explosions stopped. “Let's go and see if Seong is safe,” Jin Ae said.

They all headed into the tunnel. Each step they took heightened the fear in their hearts, but no one said a word. They all maintained hopeful faces as they continued until they reached the room the tunnel led to.