WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Alyo
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Surviving Among the Anomalies ◈
Chapter 36: Useless
──────
“You little punk! Is that any way to speak to a superior...?”
“6th Division Commander, I’m speaking right now. Stay quiet.”
The Minister of National Defense stopped the officer who had tried to restrain me, then sat on a bunk and asked,
“So, you’re accusing me? On what grounds?”
I told the minister everything I had experienced.
“Exactly as I said, negligence in management and lack of competence.”
Sergeant Lee Hyeong-seok’s uncle, a colonel in the Defense Security Command.
The tyranny I witnessed as soon as I arrived at my assigned unit, and the company sergeant major who had indirectly witnessed it but chose to look away.
The transport department sergeant’s daytime drinking and having others drive for him, and the major incident it caused in the regiment.
Finally, the ongoing abuse between soldiers, along with the company commander, regiment commander, and division commander who had turned a blind eye to these incidents and covered them up for the sake of promotion.
“It is clear that officers ranked division commander and below have neither the will nor the ability to resolve these incidents. There is a common belief that a Defense Security Command colonel’s influence is comparable to that of a corps commander, so I saw no possibility of improvement by any means.”
“And that’s why you’re accusing me?”
“Yes. Even though you came here to inspect the situation, you knew nothing about it until I brought it up. That calls your competence as a commander into question and shows negligence in management. Therefore, as a citizen before I am a soldier, I wish to accuse you.”
“Hmm. I see.”
The Minister of National Defense took my hand.
“Alright. I heard you.”
The barracks fell so quiet that even the sound of breathing seemed to die away. The Minister of National Defense was the only one smiling.
“Thank you for your valuable opinion.”
＊＊＊
‘I can’t find out this part even here.’
Afterward, I continued waiting in the barracks. Even the people assigned to watch me disappeared. I ate alone without a battle buddy, returned to rest, and was not even called for roll call.
“We are the Military Police. We will now begin an investigation.”
Several days later, the Military Police arrived and began investigating the Barracks Abuse. They did not investigate me, so I did not know what had happened, but I learned through the soldiers’ chatter that Sergeant Lee Hyeong-seok and the others from his intake had disappeared somewhere after returning from their final leave.
‘The other officers are gone too.’
Neither the company sergeant major nor the company commander was around. I lived like an outcast in the unit, with no one looking after me. A few days later, I boarded a vehicle that had come to the unit and headed to division headquarters.
“We will conduct several examinations.”
While filling out a questionnaire to check for mental problems, I looked around the barracks.
[Commanding Officer: 6th Division Commander, Major General Park Min-hu]
The 6th Division commander had changed. I always watched the news on the barracks television, but I had never heard of a division-level commander being suddenly replaced.
‘Not just the division commander, but the regiment commander and company commander must have changed too.’
Perhaps the battalion commander caught in the middle had been replaced as well. Maybe the corps commander above the division commander, or even the other regiment commanders.
‘Quietly remove only what could become a problem and bury the rest. The Minister of National Defense was no different.’
If even the military’s highest authority was like this, the whole thing was hopeless. I considered how I could change the military any further, but I no longer had the chance.
“You need a medical discharge. You have serious mental problems.”
The psychiatric evaluation I received immediately declared there was something wrong with me, and I was forcibly given a Medical Discharge.
‘It’s over.’
That was my military service. If I had just had a little more time, if I had not been medically discharged, I might have been able to change the military. Unfortunately, I had become a civilian, so I had no choice but to give up.
“Ah! The new division commander wants to see you. Let’s go see him before you leave.”
Then something happened that I did not remember.
“Loyalty!”
“...Loyalty.”
The new division commander I met had a very familiar face.
“Excellent. While many useless soldiers forget what they did and romanticize their military service, you remembered everything.”
It was the very man who had asked me to fill out the survey.
“Now, I will return you to your original world...”
“Wait. There is something I would like to say.”
“What is it?”
Maybe this was a good opportunity, so I made a request.
“Could I do it one more time?”
“...”
“I want to try making various choices I could not make in the past. For example, this time I could report it to the Military Police. Or I could speak directly with the Defense Security Command colonel and enlighten Sergeant Lee Hyeong-seok. I also want to find out whether the military can change if I report it to the regiment commander or division commander.”
After a long silence, the man spoke.
“So, you want to go through military service one more time?”
“No, not once. I want to do it several times.”
“You only spent a month here, but even though changing the course of events could make your stay much longer, you still want to experience more?”
“Division Commander.”
An Anomaly really was an Anomaly. He could not understand the human heart.
“All humans have an intellectual curiosity rooted in their instincts. They wonder, ‘What if I had done that back then?’ People commonly call that regret, and your space is the ideal place to satisfy it.”
I gave it a try because opportunities like this were rare, but the Anomaly’s tone changed.
“So you want to do military service over and over?”
“Yes.”
“Wow.”
The space warped.
“Crazy bastard.”
When I came to my senses, I was back in the very place where I had first taken the survey.
“...What a waste.”
There had been so much I wanted to do.
＊＊＊
I spent around a month in the 「Reserve Forces Survey」, but only one day had passed outside.
“I resolved it. Go to the place where the missing people were last seen, and you will find them.”
“Really?”
A few days after I told Officer Lee, who had requested I take the case, I received news about the missing people along with a plaque of appreciation.
- It is all thanks to you. The missing people are not in good condition, but they all returned safely!
Apparently, they were all suffering from severe delirium.
[Heehee! Hehehe! Did I hear that wrong?]
[Discharge me. Please, discharge me...]
[Sob... Even when my discharge date comes, I can’t go home. Mom, Dad...]
‘In my experience, one month there equals one day outside.’
I hung the plaque of appreciation on the office wall.
‘The first missing person disappeared three months ago. So they spent at least ninety months, seven and a half years, in military service without being discharged.’
Lucky bastard. I did not want to envy anyone, but I could not help feeling a little jealous.
‘This time, rather than confronting an Anomaly, I feel as though I traveled back in time.’
It was not just a feeling. That was what had actually happened. I had not faced some extraordinary existence beyond the range of human perception. I had only experienced my military service one more time.
“It feels like I just got back from leave.”
The Anomaly called 「Reserve Forces Survey」 had not disappeared, though.
‘Someone else might be abducted.’
For the next few days, I regularly checked the news.
[No meat side dishes, yet 8,000 won. Reserve Forces lunchbox corruption?]
[Reserve Forces dog-food controversy, even forced conscription was not this bad.]
[Military Mafia among active-duty and retired generals, military procurement corruption totaling one trillion won.]
Nothing in particular came up, but then the police came looking for me again.
“Fixer, there is another disappearance!”
I immediately took out my military uniform.
“I will go now.”
＊＊＊
“Sir, you are saying you came because you wanted to receive Reserve Forces training?”
“Yes.”
“Um, depending on the circumstances, people medically discharged from service do not receive Reserve Forces training.”
The active-duty soldier investigating the matter glanced at my epaulettes.
“And you are even a repeat offender.”
“I had no intention of going in early.”
“Yes, we did let you in because we thought you were someone who had arrived late. So our side is more at fault, but... Sir, are you really saying you just entered because you wanted to receive Reserve Forces training?”
“Yes.”
“...Do not ever do this again. Understood?”
As I left through the Reserve Forces gate, I let out a sigh to ease my disappointment.
‘If I’d stayed a little longer, it would’ve been firearms training.’
As I was leaving the unit, I ran into someone.
“Excuse me, could you please fill out a sur...”
It was the face of a man I had never seen before, but I knew exactly who it was.
“...”
“Hello?”
He deeply furrowed his brow.
“Ugh...”
Then he disappeared without even conducting the survey.
‘What was that?’
A little later, I received a call from the police.
- Fixer! The missing person has returned!
“...That is good.”
After that, I never received another report of a missing Reserve Forces trainee.
＊＊＊
I had likely resolved 「Reserve Forces Survey」 permanently and returned to my daily life. It was highly likely that it had gone to another dimension or another country, so there was nothing more I could do.
“Then I will see you next week.”
“Yes! I will study hard! I will learn survival knowledge too, and study science as well!”
We changed our policy to gather Otherworld Transferees once a month before sending them off. We had sent so many people already that we were beginning to run short on people, so there was no major problem with that.
[I finally finished one semester at Final School! Now I only need to complete six more semesters to graduate!]
[Congratulations. Have you decided what you will do after graduation?]
[No, I am going to make easy money while trading with Mr. Lee Seung-hoon.]
[There is slang about making easy money there as well.]
[What? You do not have easy money there? Easy money is a grass that produces truly fantastic honey when you suck it. It is sad that you do not have any.]
I also spoke with Shingu Hoerang.
[Anyway, I will graduate soon. Six semesters will pass quickly, and the semester break will arrive soon too, so let us trade again then!]
[Understood. I am curious what you learn there, though.]
[Should I write down some formulas and send them to you?]
Shingu Hoerang sent a reply containing several formulas. The numbers, symbols, and equations were the same as Earth’s, but the formulas themselves made no sense at all.
[1+17∈/27*3333℉(÷55)Ω5=Yay!]
[99/99*99⦡Thought∋Concept∑Freedom=Constraint]
[【Gravity】+【Expansion】/Killing Intent∞1 km=Reversal]
I asked her to explain them, but I still could not understand.
[The first formula is Partion’s greatest achievement, the 「Terraforming Equation」! After that equation was created, the cost of terraforming decreased to one trillionth of what it had been.]
[The second is Ramada’s famous 「Proof of God Equation」. Thanks to that equation, religious and scientific circles were able to unite.]
[The last formula is the 「Gravity Manipulation Formula」 of Seomjeon Gunan, a scientist the Unified Asian Union is proud of! After the Gravity Manipulation Formula was created, all sorts of colonies became possible!]
It was interesting, but impossible to reproduce in our world, so I decided to keep them as souvenirs.
“The office is getting more and more prosperous.”
After framing the formulas from Shingu Hoerang’s world and arranging them on my office desk, I returned home with Rubber Rubber Duck.
[Hello.]
The Dial TV in the living room lit up.
[I am Announcer, the news anchor for Dial TV for You News.]
It was a prophetic news broadcast from Dial TV for You, activating for the first time in a long while.
‘It was a good thing I laid out snacks in advance.’
I sat on the sofa and opened a bag of snacks alongside a zero-sugar cola. As though it were alive, Dial TV did not begin the news until I had finished all my preparations.
[Now for our first story.]
Let’s watch the news and see what future awaits.
Footnotes:
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