The Legendary Newbie of the Ghost Story Labyrinth - Chapter 80

WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

The Legendary Newbie of the Ghost Story Labyrinth

[Translator – Aren]

Chapter 80 - State-of-the-Art Military Base (1)

A brilliant flash of light.

"...?"

For a moment, my mind went blank.

Then a booming voice rang out from beyond the door.

"Company 1, rise and shine!”

Company 1…? What was that supposed to mean? I couldn’t make sense of it immediately. And yet, the words sent a violent tremor through my chest.

Anxiety? Panic?

An overwhelming feeling that I couldn’t stay like this surged through me. I sprang out of bed, jumped down from my bunk, and hurried over to the light switch by the door.

My body moved on pure reflex as I shouted,

"1st Squad, rise and shine!”

The room flooded with light, and the men of the squad began climbing out of bed at their own pace.

Cold sweat streamed down my face.

'That was close… Way too close.'

I was the youngest member of the 1st Squad. When the final fire-watch shift announced the wake-up call for the entire company, the youngest soldier had one simple job. Leap out of bed like the wind, switch on the lights, and relay the wake-up call to the squad.

For some reason, though, I’d frozen for a few seconds. The squad had remained in darkness.

If I’d been even a little slower, all hell would’ve broken loose.

But I wasn’t out of danger yet.

Because Corporal Lee Jaehyeok, nicknamed ‘Relentless Demon’ for the way he hounded the squad day and night, was glaring at me like he wanted me dead. Without making a sound, he mouthed the words,

'Park Minho, we’ll talk later.'

I couldn’t help sighing inwardly, but there wasn’t time to waste. My duties as the youngest soldier weren’t over just because everyone was awake.

I grabbed the mop bucket and sprinted straight for the shower room. There were three faucets there that could be used to wash the mops. The problem? Our company had four squads.

Which meant every single morning, four junior soldiers raced there to wash their mop.

While three got to do it, the fourth had to wait. And once that happened, every task that followed fell behind schedule.

It was a faucet layout that felt like something the devil himself had designed.

A system engineered to guarantee that every morning, someone would fall behind.

"Ah......!"

By the time I reached the shower room, all the faucets were already occupied. Considering how fiercely everyone competed for them and the fact that I’d wasted those few precious seconds spacing out, it was hardly surprising.

"Looks like 1st Squad’s got it easy these days.”

Private Oh Sanghun, one of my fellow recruits, chuckled as he scrubbed his mop. The smug bastard. Sometimes the guys who enlisted with you were even more irritating than your seniors.

"Shut your mouth.”

I’d already gotten on the Relentless Demon’s bad side first thing in the morning. Now I was behind on washing my mop, too. Just imagining the nonstop chewing-out I’d get for the rest of the day made me feel sick.

Just then, an upbeat voice tried to reassure me.

"Private Park-nim! I’ll be done in just a second! I’ll hand it over to you right away!”

It was Private Nicola, his blond hair swaying as he worked. He was the youngest soldier in the entire company. Officially, that meant he had to be at least 17 to serve, but for some reason, he looked like an elementary school kid.

Still, with his cute appearance, eager attitude, and the unique status of being the unit’s absolute youngest member, everyone tended to dote on him.

"I’m done here.”

Taking Nicola’s place as soon as he stepped away, I shoved my mop under the faucet. Ignoring the water splashing all over my face, I scrubbed the filthy blue rag with all my strength. Just looking at it was enough to make me want to puke.

"Haah......."

A sigh escaped me. Ever since I enlisted, I’d found myself thinking the same thing every single day.

Where am I? And who the hell am I?

* * *

After lunch.

Corporal Lee Jaehyeok, the Relentless Demon, called in three people behind the boiler room. Me, Private First Class Yoon Cheol, my immediate senior, and Private First Class Ma Sohyeok, the senior above him.

"You idiots have gotten way too comfortable lately. You haven’t been keeping your junior in line, have you? Why don’t you just sleep all damn day while you’re at it, huh?”

He’d spent the entire morning glaring at us because I’d been a few seconds late turning on the lights. The moment lunch ended, he’d made his move.

The three lowest-ranking slaves of 1st Squad lowered our heads and kept our mouths shut.

"Oh? Giving me the silent treatment? I asked if you’re ignoring me?”

"No, sir.”

The military was seriously bullshit. One of its unwritten rules was that you weren’t supposed to say, ‘I’m sorry.’ So when you got chewed out, there were only a handful of acceptable responses. It was an absurd system seemingly designed so your senior should yell at you for as long as they pleased.

"Alright then, hands up. Let’s wake you boys up with a nice liver shot.”

Ever since the Relentless Demon had read some boxing manga called The Boxer, he’d been obsessed with this crap.

"Here comes your liver shot~.”

-Pow!

With a dull impact, Private First Class Ma Sohyeok, the senior directly above us in the slave hierarchy, collapsed to his knees.

"Guh......!"

Drool dribbled from his mouth. Watching him, I couldn’t help but admire the performance.

'His acting just keeps getting better every day!'

The key to surviving these situations was making the Relentless Demon feel like his liver shots were devastating. The bigger the reaction, the happier he was.

Honestly, Relentless Demon himself was a scrawny little guy with barely any strength. If we’d met out in civilian life, I was confident I could’ve flattened him in under 10 seconds, but this was the military. He was a corporal, while I was a private.

That was all that mattered here.

-Pow!

The second liver shot landed. Private First Class Yoon Cheol was sent sprawling backward.

"Uugh!”

He flopped onto the ground in what looked like an over-the-top Hollywood stunt. A little too theatrical.

"Look at this guy.”

Sure enough, the Relentless Demon’s expression twisted. The bastad genuinely wanted to believe his punches were that powerful. Whenever he caught someone obviously exaggerating, he’d spend the rest of the day making their life miserable.

In an instant, the air behind the boiler room turned ice-cold, as though the wrath of a god-tier entity had descended.

Hm? Wait?

God-tier entity?

The thought had barely crossed my mind when it felt like a ball of fire slammed into my side.

-Pow!

"You little shit! Spacing out while I’m talking?!"

"Urk!”

I’d zoned out for just a moment, and Relentless Demon's furious punch caught me completely off guard.

I hadn’t even had time to tense my stomach. It landed as a perfect critical hit.

"Ghk……!”

For a moment, I couldn't breathe. I collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air as my face turned deathly pale. Even then, the Relentless Demon wasn't satisfied. He drew back his foot to kick me.

Seeing that, the two privates who’d been hamming it up earlier hurriedly stepped in to stop him.

"Corporal Kim-nim, the rookie’s gone completely pale.”

"Corporal Kim, please… He’s seriously going to die!”

Still riding the high of his anger, the Relentless Demon unexpectedly took their words as proof of his own strength.

"Really? He’s dying? Was my pinch that good? Hehehe…!”

Since I couldn’t even answer, he puffed out his chest and raised his chin proudly.

"You weak little punk. Get this idiot back to the barracks. I’m heading out first.”

"Yes, Corporal!”

Only after the Relentless Demon left did the other two help me to my feet.

"Hey, you alright?”

"This lunatic’s gone completely off the rails. Why the hell were you spacing out? Pay attention, idiot.”

Despite the words, they sounded genuinely worried. The three of us, the squad’s slave trio, had developed our own kind of camaraderie.

"But did it actually hurt?”

"That bastard Demon hits like he’s wearing pillows. It’s harder pretending it hurts than getting punched.”

I managed to answer between breaths.

"I almost died……”

The two of them burst out laughing.

"He landed a critical hit, huh?”

"Holy crap, that’s hilarious, Keke.”

Just then, Private First Class Coon Cheol suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, right! The Sergeant Major said after lunch, each squad has to send two people to the company office.”

"Really? Then let’s go. The rookie should rest for a minute. Take your time and come after us.”

Thankfully, the two of them looked out for me and hurried off toward the administrative office.

"Whew......"

I figured I had enough time to sneak in a quick cigarette before heading over.

Just as I was putting one between my lips, someone walked up beside me.

"Mind giving me a lighter?”

I looked over. It was a corporal I'd never seen before. When I gave him a puzzled look, he smiled.

"I’m with the second company. Relax. No need to be so stiff.”

He belonged to the same battalion, so he wasn’t exactly an outsider, but people from different companies generally had a more relaxed relationship.

"Here you go.”

"Thanks."

The name on his uniform read ‘Corproal Ma Ilho.’ It was my first time meeting him, but something about him made him instantly likable. We quickly got to chatting.

"Military life’s rough, huh?”

"Not at all, sir.”

"Hah, sure it isn’t. Well, it’ll be over before you know it. I’ve already been in for a year.”

"I envy you, sir.”

From that day on, I became friends with Corporal Ma Ilho. Whenever we ran into each other around the base, we’d always stop and chat for a while.

There was just one thing about the man that struck me as odd.

Every single time we met, he’d ask me the exact same question.

"What’s for breakfast today?”

"What’s on the lunch menu?”

"How about dinner?”

It wasn’t exactly a secret, but one day my curiosity finally got the better of me.

"Why are you so interested in the mess hall menu, anyway?”

He merely smiled, but never answered. Days passed, then weeks. Yet he kept asking the same questions over and over.

By that point, even I began to feel that something was off.

"Today’s menu?”

It was simple.

Curry, so awful everyone called it ‘Phlegm’ instead of curry.

Kimchi.

Fish cutlet.

Steamed rice.

And a chunk of Russian-style pork fat known as 'Salo.'

"......That’s it, sir.”

"Ah, thanks."

Even after Ma Ilho was promoted to sergeant, becoming what everyone called a ‘Flower Sergeant,' he continued asking.

"So, what’s for lunch today, Private Park? Oh, and congratulations on making Private First Class. Took you long enough, didn’t it?”

"Huh? Ah, thank you, Sergeant. It’s phlegm, I mean, curry, kimchi, fish cutlet, rice, and salo. Hm……actually why does the Korean military even serve salo?”

"Who knows? But isn’t there something even stranger?”

Only then did I realize it.

Phlegm, kimchi, fish cutlet, rice, and salo……

The cafeteria menu was always exactly the same.

That couldn’t be right. Sure, military food sucked, but there were still nutritional officers planning meals and making sure the soldiers got proper nutrition.

The food tasted terrible, that was all.

The ingredients themselves were generally decent, but every meal managed it be uniquely awful in its own way. There was always some variety.

So what the hell was this?

I couldn’t help asking.

"Sergeant Ma, why is the menu exactly the same every single day?”

At last, Sergeant Ma Ilho smiled as though he’d been waiting for that question.

"So you finally noticed.”

"Huh...?"

Instead of answering directly, Sergeant Ma said something that made even less sense.

"There were restrictions, so I couldn’t tell you outright. It was frustration, but the hardest part is over. Once you’ve noticed one inconsistency, you’ll start noticing the others.”

"The others?”

For the first time, Sergeant Ma glanced around with genuine tension on his face before lowering his voice.

"Listen carefully. I may not get another chance to tell you this. We’re out of time. The moment even one soldier finally completes his service and leaves the military…"

Just then, a harsh voice cut him off.

"Sergeant Ma! What do you think you’re doing over there?!”

It was the 2nd Company’s Sergeant Major. Normally he was a kind-looking man. Seeing him genuinely angry was rare.

"I told you to check on the men making those posters, didn’t I? And instead you’re standing around chatting with some kid from another company?”

"I'll get right on it, Sergeant Major!”

At that moment, an unsettling feeling crept over me. It was as if, the instant Ma Ilho had been about to tell me something important, someone had deliberately stepped in to stop him.

"......."

My thoughts became a tangled mess.

The moment even one soldier finishes his service and gets discharged…?

Out of time?

Why were we out of time? Wouldn’t time passing faster be a good thing in the military? I’d already made Private First Class, after all.

And besides, discharge was the greatest blessing of all.

It meant escaping this hell.

Yet Sergeant Ma had looked afraid of being discharged.

"......."

Something was wrong.

Every instinct I had screamed at me that if I just kept drifting through military life without questioning anything, something terrible would happen.

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