WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

The Legendary Newbie of the Ghost Story Labyrinth

[Translator – Aren]

Chapter 85 - State-of-the-Art Military Base (6)

"Urgh......!"

With that short cry, Relentless Demon dropped to one knee, bracing himself against the ground with one hand. Drool streamed uncontrollably from his mouth. Seeing him like that, I just couldn’t resist twisting the knife.

"You little shit. Thanks for teaching me this one the hard way. Never thought I’d actually get to use a liver shot.”

"Bleegh!”

Unable to hold back any longer, Relentless Demon vomited.

Everyone standing nearby stared in horror.

"You……!”

"......."

"Oh my God."

Right before their eyes a junior soldier had committed insubordination. Not just insubordination, he’d assaulted a senior. No one could process what they’d just witnessed.

I looked at them and spoke up.

"Hey, you idiots. He asks you for money, and you actually hand it over? For fuck’s sake. Even in the military, extorting money crosses the line, you know?”

"......"

Still sprawled on the ground, Relentless Demon glared up at me with hatred burning in his eyes.

"You bastard……Are you out of your mind? You wanna disappear in this company? No……You wanna end up in the brig?”

I snorted.

"Hah! You dumbass. If anyone’s going to the brig, it’s both of us. Actually, you might be headed to a military prison, you know?”

"What…?”

Only then did it seem to dawn on him what was happening. The color drained completely from his face.

* * *

I immediately called the commander of the Military Police detachment assigned to the regiment. Then I explained everything in detail. The moment I mentioned the extortion, his voice became noticeably more sympathetic.

-Good grief… I understand the situation, but how could you go and beat up your senior?

-I’m sorry, sir. I just couldn’t take it anymore……

-Anyway, I understand. You did the right thing by calling me directly. I'm heading to your battalion now. Stay where you are.

-Yes sir.

There was a very clear reason I’d called the Military Police commander.

If I hadn’t, this would’ve been buried.

First, the company would try to cover it up. If that failed, the battalion would. Once extortion had been added on top of assault, they’d do everything they could to keep the whole affair quiet.

Relentless Demon and I would probably receive a few days of internal disciplinary punishment and then both be sent back as if nothing had happened. After that I’d spend the rest of my service branded as the soldier who committed insubordination.

"I went to all the trouble of punching the guy. It’d be disappointing if I didn’t make it to the brig.”

I stuck a cigarette between my lips and slowly exhaled a long stream of smoke. I must have looked like someone who had already accepted whatever fate awaited him.

By now my peers and the senior soldiers I was close with and gathered around me.

"Hey! Have you completely lost your mind?!”

"I know Relentless Demon finally snapped, but you can’t just beat him up, you know?”

"Damn, this is bad! What are we supposed to do now?”

Everyone was worried about me. The military wasn’t filled with nothing but trash. Honestly, I’d met far more good people than bad. The real problem was that the ones everyone called devils ran wild like fish thrown into water, turning the entire atmosphere toxic.

Word spread quickly. Even the sergeants relaxing back in the barracks came running to see me. Instead of scolding me, they comforted me first.

"I always knew Relentless Demon was going to cause a serious incident someday. You holding up okay?”

"What? He was extorting money from the juniors?! Damn, what a total psycho.”

The truth was they’d all turned a blind eye to Relentless Demon until now. The looks on their faces made it clear they knew they didn’t have much room to talk.

"Shit, how’s this going to end?”

"Maybe we can still smooth things over.”

"The officers don’t know yet, right?”

The sergeants were already trying to figure out how to keep everything contained among the enlisted soldiers.

"Still, shouldn’t we report it to the assistant platoon leader?”

"Maybe…If it reaches him through someone later, we’re screwed.”

The situation was serious enough that even the senior-most soldier in the company, only days away from discharge, had come running over with a headache from worrying about it.

"Hey, why’d you do it? Come talk with me for a minute, okay?”

His hair had already grown long, and he practically looked like a civilian. Even he couldn’t hide how troubled he was.

Then a Military Police vehicle pulled into the battalion. The moment everyone gathered around the smoking area saw it, their faces went pale.

"We’re fucked……”

The company’s senior-most soldier let the cigarette fall from his mouth.

Yeah, we really were.

As expected, the entire unit erupted into chaos.

The company commander came sprinting over from the BOQ. The battalion commander was dumbstruck. The regimental commander had been away at corps headquarters, but the instant he heard the words "extortion," he rushed straight back.

Once the Military Police commander got involved, there was no burying the incident anymore.

After the investigation, I was sent directly to the brig. Relentless Demon was thrown into the brig as well. From what I’d overheard, his situation could end up becoming far worse than mine.

"I understand the circumstances. There'll be mitigating factors in your case. You’ll spend a few days in the brig, and then you’ll be returned. So don’t worry. This won’t leave you with a criminal record.”

The Military Police commander was trying to reassure me. He understood that I hadn’t simply snapped and attacked a senior for no reason. I’d exploded because of the extortion.

"Thank you, sir.”

"Right, we’ll talk more later. For now, get some rest.”

The commander turned to one of the Military Policemen standing nearby.

"Hey, don’t keep nagging this one to sit up perfectly straight. Let him take it easy.”

"Understood."

Thanks to that, I was allowed to lean against the wall. I was even given a magazine to read. It was luxury by brig standards.

But I wasn't actually reading it. One hand rested against the wall as I focused on sensing something.

'So this is the Error Junkyard?'

The fact that it was hidden inside a place as difficult to access as the regimental brig made it feel unmistakably important.

'Alright. Let’s do this.’

We’d already discussed how I would leave the marker. Ma Ilho’s advice had been to use my dog tags.

If I used them, I’d be able to return directly to this location the next time we entered Floor 15.

In other words, I needed to use my Reality Manipulation to embed my dog tags inside the brig wall, then conceal them so no one would notice.

Those dog tags would become the coordinates for our return.

-Crackle.

As I activated my Reality Manipulation a hole slowly began to form in the concrete wall. My dog tags started sinking into it. I kept working using my body to shield what I was doing.

-Drip, drip.

Blood continued to fall from my nose, splattering onto the magazine in my lap.

Fortunately, the Military Policeman wasn’t looking my way.

But if he came over, there was no way he wouldn’t notice the nosebleed.

I had to hurry.

-Crackle.

Just as I had managed to push the dog tags halfway into the wall, the Military Policeman noticed me.

"Huh? Are you alright?!”

Blood was pouring from my nose now. He looked genuinely alarmed.

I couldn't answer. Keeping the dog tags hidden behind my hand, I forced my ability onward. The Military Policeman mistook my silence for being unable to speak from the pain. He immediately ran off to fetch the Military Police commander.

'No. If they take me out now, I’m screwed.'

Judging by how lenient the commander had been toward me, he’d almost certainly pull me out of the brig and send me straight to the medical clinic.

If I couldn’t finish this now, then everything I’d done to get here would have been for nothing.

"Hey! Are you okay?!”

The Military Police commander rushed in. The moment he saw the blood-soaked magazine and the front of my uniform, his eyes went wide.

"Open the cell. Get him to the clinic immediately!"

"Yessir.”

Damn it. Just as I’d expected. I had to finish the procedure.

If the dog tags were only embedded halfway, someone would eventually find them. And if they removed them, our coordinates would be gone.

"Ngh......."

I poured even more strength into my fingertips. The concrete continued grinding away under the effects of Reality Manipulation and the dog tags were almost completely buried. But by then the Military Police had already entered the cell.

"Are you okay?!”

Forcing a smile, I made a single request.

"C-could I have some tissues first…?”

"Of course.”

I had to buy time. Stuffing the tissues against my nose, I stalled for every second I could. One of the Military Policemen reached over and grabbed my arm.

"Can you stand? We need to get you to the regimental medical clinic.”

He wasn’t trying to stop me because he suspected anything. He was simply trying to help. The problem was, he was interrupting me before I could finish planting the coordinates.

'What do I do?’

If I shook him off, I’d make myself look suspicious.

"Thank you…”

I pretended to get to my feet. Then I acted as if a sudden wave of dizziness had hit me. I staggered and collapsed backward onto the floor.

"Ugh!"

Startled, the Military Policeman signaled for another guard.

"I think it’ll take two of us to support him.”

A second Military Policeman hurried for my arms.

'N-No. Just a little longer.’'

-Crackle.

At the exact moment both Military Policemen grabbed hold of my arms, the dog tags finally disappeared completely into the concrete wall.

Just as the Military Policemen lifted me to my feet, I brushed my fingertips across the spot in the wall. It was the final step. Erasing every trace of the damage.

-Crack!

Did it work? Did I pull it off?

I had no other voice but to let them help me outside. As we left, I casually glanced back over my shoulder. The place where I’d embedded the dog tags looked completely untouched. Not a single mark remained.

A sigh of relief escaped me.

"Phew.......!"

I actually pulled it off. A few more seconds and the whole plan would’ve fallen apart.

* * *

After that I spent the next several days taking it easy in the medical ward. From the way things were progressing, it looked like I’d be sent back to the battalion from there.

To begin with, I wasn’t serving the maximum 15-day confinement.

'That liver shot really paid off.'

If I’d punched him in the face and broken his nose, then even if the Military Police commander had wanted to go easy on me, I’d almost certainly have received the full 15 days.

A liver shot, on the other hand, caused excruciating pain without leaving much visible evidence. That was why I’d only received 4 days.

During that time, the military doctor ran a few tests to find the cause of my nosebleeds. But after failing to find anything conclusive, he simply told me to get some rest.

Then again, that’s military doctors for you. You could show up with a nosebleed, and it wouldn’t even be surprising if they tried to solve it by putting antiseptic on your nose.

After being handed a few painkillers, I settled in for a comfortable stay at the clinic.

With the coordinates planted, everything had gone perfectly.

'Interesting. I can actually sense where the coordinates are.'

I was certain they’d prove useful the next time we entered Floor 15.

Once my stay at the clinic was over, I returned to the battalion, only to find an entire lineup of counseling sessions waiting for me.

Counseling with the Battalion Commander.

Counseling with the Battalion Sergeant Major.

Counseling with the Company Commander.

Counseling with the Company Supply Sergeant.

"Seriously……”

The enlisted soldiers didn’t think badly of me. Relentless Demon’s reputation had been that awful. If anything, some of the sergeants looked ashamed that things had escalated like this.

Apparently, the company’s senior-most soldier had issued strict orders that nobody was to give me a hard time over the incident.

Although that senior was already so close to discharge that everyone spoke to him casually, he was still officially the highest-ranking enlisted soldier in the company.

If he seriously put his foot down, everyone listened. No exceptions.

As a result, the sergeants from the other squads kept dragging me off to the Post Exchange, buying me frozen treats to cheer me up.

"Hey, rough few days in the brig, huh? Here.”

"Eat this and forget about it.”

"I heard Relentless Demon’s going to face a court-martial. He probably won’t be coming back to the company.”

The real problem was the officers.

The enlisted men were willing to let bygones be bygones, but from the officers’ perspective, I was a walking time bomb. After all, I’d bypassed the entire chain of command and called the Military Police commander directly.

"You little rascal, you really couldn’t have come to me first? Haha……”

The battalion commander looked absolutely furious. Unfortunately for him, he had no legitimate reason to yell at me. So instead he was sweating bullets trying to force a kindly smile.

"You’ll come to me first next time, right?”

"Yes, sir. I wasn’t thinking clearly at the time……”

"Ahem…Alright, I understand. But next time, come to your battalion commander first.”

"Yes, sir.”

There was no point pushing back here, so I lowered my head and accepted it.

After being passed around and half-grilled by the officers, I finally returned to the company. By the time all the commotion had settled, I was promoted to Corporal.

"Corporal Park! Congratulations on the promotion!”

"You bastard. You actually made corporal here. When you got sent to the brig, I thought for sure you’d be transferred out.”

"Congratulations. Let’s keep doing our best.”

The atmosphere in the company was noticeably brighter. With Relentless Demon gone, everyone seemed able to breathe again.

"Now it’s time to go after Sergeant Gu.”

Nicola, now a Private First Class, nodded at my decision to move forward.

"It’s time to follow the plan. Though, Unit One hasn’t been able to contact us much lately.”

"The detours keep getting blocked again. It can't be helped. We expected the environment to fight back. Fortunately we already planned for that, so let’s begin.”

For this desertion, Ma Ilho’s role would be crucial. After all, he was the battalion’s driver.

"We move during next week’s readiness drill.”

"Wow, that’s only a few days away.”

"By the way, can you actually carry him? You’re going to need some serious strength.”

"Don’t worry. I’m planning to use an anomalous object. I’ve got an exoskeleton suit inside my phase-compression backpack.”

"You’ve got something like that too?”

"I’ve always been physically weak, so I needed it. I used it even outside the Backrooms for heavy work around the city.”

"Good, then steel yourself.”

There would be no turning back now.

Next Monday.

The morning of the operation. A siren, unlike the usual one, suddenly blared across the base.

-WEEEEEWOOOO!

-WEEEWOOOO!

The administrative office’s loudspeaker echoed through every barracks room.

“Readiness drill. Readiness Drill.”

A surprise Monday morning readiness exercise. The moment it began, everyone had to jump out of bed and start sorting equipment.

Even the sergeants who normally lazed around on top of their blankets hurried into action now.

For the privates and private first classes, it was absolute hell. They weren't just responsible for organizing their own gear. They also had to sort and move equipment for the entire company.

-Claaaaatter!

One of the junior soldiers under me stuffed his belongings into his duffel bag at lightning speed, slung his pack over his shoulder, and sprinted off to dispose of the company’s classified paperwork.

'Good.'

Today, I was going to desert. And once I did, all of this would finally come to an end.

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