WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 153: A Bridge Too Far (1)

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On April 3rd, Operation Manifest Liberation began.

At that moment, Gyeoul was in the middle of Alameda.

"We're trapped."

The hollow voice belonged to a Chinese naval lieutenant commander. His name was Tan Guosheng. He was the son of Vice Admiral Xie Ru, and he was also the employer of mercenary Kurt Lee, Gyeoul's cover identity.

The situation was exactly as he said. A mutant horde was tracking them. They were currently hiding inside a large discount store. The whereabouts of the other troops who had been with them were unknown. The radio had gone silent. They could not risk trying to make contact. The pack hunting humans included a Trickster.

"Do you think any of them are alive?"

The haggard lieutenant commander asked the question. Gyeoul shook his head.

"The odds are low."

"Why?"

"Because there is no jamming."

Gyeoul thought it through. If the other unit had survived, the Trickster would be actively trying to interfere with communications. Right now, the radio was quiet, without even static. The Chinese Marines must have been wiped out. Even if a few had survived, that would be all. They were probably hiding somewhere, postponing death. Even then, they would not last long.

'They're bad opponents. Of all times, a new type had to appear now.'

He had thought the time had come. But he had run into it as soon as he came ashore. Bad luck.

No, maybe it was not all bad. This new monster was one Gyeoul had encountered before. He knew its traits. That was far better than facing something completely unknown.

Special mutant, 「Stalker」. Its combat ability was nothing special, but it was specialized for 「Tracking」. Its sense of smell was especially developed. Once strengthened, it developed additional mutations in sequence: hearing, then sight.

"Damn it, this operation was too reckless. They should have sent more troops, at least."

Tan Guosheng sobbed under his breath. Gyeoul left him alone. 「Crisis Detection」 was quiet, so they should be safe for the moment. A man drained by fear and adrenaline needed rest.

The operation. Vice Admiral Xie Ru, who led one faction of the Chinese military remnants, had devised an extremely bold plan: occupy part of the San Francisco metropolitan area.

Tan Guosheng said his mother had been reckless, but in Gyeoul's view, the plan had a real chance of success. Alameda was an island. If they blew up the undersea tunnels and bridges leading to the mainland, the number of mutants in Alameda's streets would stop increasing. After that, they could slowly secure it, block by block.

Tan Guosheng's mission was to blow up three bridges: Park Street Bridge, Fruitvale Bridge, and High Street Bridge. These bridges connected Alameda and Oakland.

The waterway dividing the two cities was narrow. Grumbles appeared on both banks. It was too far inland for destroyer fire support. Helicopter firepower would not be enough. In the end, they had to send in people.

The unit entered the waterway under cover of night.

'If not for the Stalker, they would have succeeded.'

Gyeoul regretted it too. The mission had been on the verge of success. But while they were planting explosives on the support piers of the northernmost bridge, Park Street Bridge, a nearby Stalker had caught the scent of humans.

And that had brought them here.

Tan Guosheng, who had been barely holding himself together, flinched violently. A sharp crack rang out. Somewhere in the building, glass had shattered. Gyeoul also heard heavy footsteps. From 「Combat Sense」's inference, it was about eighty meters away in a straight line. But even if it was on a different floor, and even if the structure between them was complicated, it would not take long if they followed the smell.

"We need to move."

Gyeoul pulled the Chinese officer to his feet. But the officer had no strength.

"Where are we supposed to go? Outside is crawling with monsters. Are we going to play hide-and-seek in here? Maybe it would be better to die now. Without pain... I don't want to turn into one of them!"

"If we deal with the ones with sharp noses, we should be able to find an opening to escape."

"Deal with them? How? Bullets don't even pierce Taowu! If we run into one, we die on the spot!"

"..."

The Chinese called Grumbles Taowu. The name came from a man-eating monster in mythology.

In truth, Gyeoul found them troublesome too. Their opponent was a Beta Grumble. On top of that, it had a Trickster and Stalkers with it. Even if the Stalkers' combat ability was nothing special, that was only by special mutant standards. Physically, they were stronger than most Beta Ghouls.

If it were a one-on-one fight, he could win. But right now he had baggage he absolutely had to keep alive, so he needed to be careful.

What should he do? Gyeoul looked around and spotted a vending machine.

Crunch. He drove a crowbar into it, twisted hard, and forced the door open. Tan Guosheng looked confused.

"What are you doing?"

"I'll try to lure the ones tracking us by smell in another direction."

"With drinks? Ha... You've finally gone mad too."

The Chinese officer muttered as he trembled. But if the Stalkers were as Gyeoul remembered them, they should react sensitively to carbon dioxide. Like mosquitoes. That had been the result of research conducted in a past world setting.

He had neither the time nor the evidence to fully persuade him. In fact, he was not certain it would work.

"Please wait here for a moment. I'll be right back."

He tried to speak gently, but it did not come out well. It was because of the drug that had changed his voice.

They had been hiding in an employee break room. Maybe the employees had been treated poorly, because it was tucked away in a corner, which was fortunate. Gyeoul stepped into the hallway and ran quickly without making a sound. Crash, thud. The discordant noise rising from below was loud. A central staircase overlooked the main lobby. Gyeoul hid near the railing and shook several cola cans he had brought with him. He set them down in order and picked one up. In his left hand, he held a pistol fitted with a suppressor.

The first throw. The only lights were emergency lights. A single red can flew through the gloom. Gyeoul's aim overlapped with its falling arc. Pfft! A small gunshot rang out. Then came a sharp pop as the can burst. It was not far from the place packed with mutants.

A rapid clatter of footsteps followed. Mutants appeared. The hound did not show itself. It only gave directions, always staying where it was protected.

Gyeoul threw several cans one after another. Pop, pop-pop. The hound moved cautiously. From his vantage point above, Gyeoul could see the mutant pack splitting up. They moved toward the direction where the decoys had been thrown.

They were blocking the retreat.

A cunning move. It was surely the Trickster's intelligence.

At any rate, he had bought a little time. Gyeoul returned to Tan Guosheng. Despite the effort of getting him on his feet, the man was sitting on the floor again. He held a pistol in his hand. From the way he trembled with it in his arms, there was only one conclusion.

"No suicide. Think of your mother."

It was an attempt to persuade him not to forget his mother. At Gyeoul's words, the Chinese officer smiled shakily.

"Even in a situation like this, you're faithful to the contract? Ha, why don't you just abandon me and leave?"

That would be a problem.

The CIA had intercepted Vice Admiral Xie Ru's communications. Among them had been information about Beidou satellites. Gyeoul needed to infiltrate an intelligence-gathering ship under her command. Tan Guosheng was a stepping stone.

A thought suddenly came to Gyeoul, and he searched through a file cabinet. He found an employee floor plan. It showed spaces ordinary customers would not know about. Among them, one place caught his eye.

"Lieutenant Commander. Look at this."

The place Gyeoul pointed to was a supply room. Tan Guosheng looked at it and still seemed unable to understand.

"Why? Are you planning to sweep them away with brooms? Do your best. I'll cheer you on."

"This is not a joke. There may be cleaning agents. We have gas masks, don't we?"

When chlorine-based cleaner and oxygen-based bleach mixed, they produced toxic gas. It would be hard to find detergent on the shelves of a looted store, but a supply room was a different story. Tan Guosheng blinked and asked.

"Would that work? You think we can kill them with poison gas?"

"No. Considering how long the reaction takes, that much will be difficult. But if the hound is sensitive to the components of the air, it won't want to come closer. We may be able to open a path."

The officer finally came to his senses. Mutants were beasts made from humans. Beasts were more sensitive to danger than humans. Since ancient times, had canaries not been essential for miners?

The two of them ran down the hallway. The noise of the pursuing group was getting closer. As if angered by the crude lure, it had grown even louder than before. Crash! It sounded as if they were simply smashing through walls on the way.

At last, they reached the supply room. They found what they needed without much trouble. Gyeoul poured chlorine bleach onto the floor first. Several large containers of it. In an instant, the corridor filled with a harsh smell.

Because of his fear, Tan Guosheng put on his gas mask first, then grabbed oxygen bleach and began spraying it wildly. His desperation was clear. Thud, thud. The heavy footsteps kept closing the distance.

"Not enough. Nowhere near enough!"

Tan Guosheng muttered anxiously. Just as he said, the vapor rising from such a wide area felt far too thin. White and yellowish foam bubbled up, and the fumes rising from it were extremely faint.

But Gyeoul judged that this much was enough. To monsters tracking trace body odor, how would chlorine gas visible to the eye feel?

Gyeoul shot out every emergency light illuminating the hallway. The red lights shattered one after another. Since it was a corridor with no gap for natural light to enter, darkness swallowed it in an instant. Now it was time to wait. He put on his night vision and stared toward the far end of the hallway. Tan Guosheng also put on Chinese military standard night vision. Gulp. The sound of dry saliva being swallowed with difficulty. Thud. Thud. Thump. The footsteps came right up close. Probably just beyond the corner of the hallway.

"Wouldn't it be better to hide somewhere?"

Fear whispered, almost too soft to hear. Gyeoul answered.

"Aren't we already hiding in the dark? Please check whether there is more bleach. I'll hold this place."

Tan Guosheng nodded and hurriedly turned away. Thump. He slipped on the wet floor. Gyeoul barely held back a sigh. This was someone he needed to make sure stayed alive.

He lay prone and prepared to fire. He covered himself with miscellaneous junk. He hoped the creatures would hesitate before the poison gas. If a valuable target showed itself, he intended to smash its head in at once. Whatever happened, the hounds would warn their companions. That this was not a place to enter carelessly.

It was fortunate that the Stalkers were early types. If the hounds could see infrared, that would have been quite troublesome. They would not miss even a laser in the invisible spectrum.

Thud. Thud. Thump.

At last, the largest mutant appeared. In the green world, the Grumble looked like an alien mass.

It would be better if the scope were high-grade. Gyeoul regretted that. The one he had used before could see heat. A Beta Grumble's weak points gave off slightly more heat. The gaps between its carapace. Strengthened Grumbles roared less often, but during their charge pattern, cracks appeared between the thickened layers of skin.

But a scope that could see heat sources was high-grade. At least, one at a level usable in combat was not sold to civilians. It would be too suspicious for an ordinary mercenary to carry.

The beam from his rifle's laser sight hovered around the Grumble's mouth.

[Screeeech! Hrk! Grrrk, screech!]

A cry with a clear rhythm. It belonged to a Stalker. The Grumble stopped advancing. Gyeoul changed his aim. Silhouettes flickered behind it. The target he wanted most was the Trickster.

'There may be the Silent One, but even if there is, it won't intervene in combat.'

The Silent One's highest priority would be preserving and transmitting information.

After the Grumble moved aside, the hounds stepped forward. There were three in total, but there might be more. Gyeoul squeezed the trigger. Tick, tick, tick. The delicate feeling of pulling it right up to the edge of firing. He wished he had more grenades. He had to conserve them. Only two grenades were left.

The ones with keen noses flared their nostrils. There had been signs of their emergence for a long time. Mutants that sniffed out scents. Morgellons developed hosts functionally. It strengthened specific functions according to need.

But even with smell, they could not peer into a poisoned darkness.

It was time for the only one unhindered by the dark to appear.

At last, a small crackle came from the radio, its volume turned low.

Crackle, crackle, kzzzt.

It was different from jamming. The Trickster could detect reflected radio waves. Like radar. So darkness was not a problem, and because it emitted them from its whole body, there were no blind spots.

But right now, Gyeoul was lying prone. Covered in various things, his outline was also unclear.

The Trickster carefully stepped forward.

The aiming laser fixed onto its eyeball.

Then he fired. Rat-tat-tat! A three-round burst, three shots in controlled fire, struck exactly the same spot.

============================ Author’s Note ============================

#Beidou

Beidou, which could be called the Chinese version of GPS, is known to have an operational range limited to Asia, but for military purposes, it can be used worldwide.

Why the CIA is after that, readers who know this field to some degree should be able to guess.

#Late, but

Happy New Year.

#Q&A

Q. Eumhalgeopne: @Author! Hello, haha. I got into your work through Halkeginia Seal Breaker, and after putting it off and putting it off, I paid for Noblesse just to read this work... Ten days later, I finally caught up all the way here. I am always moved by your expressiveness and childlike innocence as I read, crying and laughing along the way. Honestly, there are not many novels I read on Joara... But your work really is fun to read. I want to keep reading along until the ending, but... On January 2nd, I enlist. I applied as an NCO and am going in. I want to keep reading... It is such a shame. Please always keep writing well, Author, and please cheer me on too! Happy New Year!

A. If you are an NCO, you should be able to use commercial communication devices inside the base, so once the training period passes, you should be able to read on mobile.

Of course, the problem is that training period will be hard and exhausting...

Health comes first in military life. I got herniated discs in my neck and lower back during my service. I hope you return with your body intact. With childlike innocence, that is. Haha.

Q. Vanxii: @Author, instead of giving his body to the Chairman, could Gyeoul not have obtained the artificial body mentioned near the beginning as a replacement?

A. A body transaction includes the right to exclusively use that body in physical reality, so Gyeoul cannot use a clone body. Also, it is expensive to begin with. :)

Q. LewdDemonF: @Author, Gyeoul previously paid for something like star purchases, but after the deal with the Chairman, does he have some kind of debt?

A. It has not been directly described, and I only gave information for readers to infer the situation. A policy loan. Other readers' guesses are correct. His parents made the best play again... Ahem. Anyway, that is how it is.

Q. svjk: An age where people live for a peaceful death... How do people living life after death feel? Since they live the same life as the people around them, do they not think much of it? Looking at things like the endless competition from last chapter, the world these days feels quite bitter.

A. The satisfaction level of people living in the afterlife has already been mentioned in the story. It is very low. The fact that the post-apocalyptic world setting looks more hopeful than reality is an intentional presentation choice. What intention, you ask... Heuheuh, euheuh, heuheuheuh...

Footnotes:

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