WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 169: Alliances and Maneuvering (4)

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After hearing the story, Corporal Wolf frowned.

“Uh... well, what do you call it. I probably would’ve been better off not hearing that.”

An uneasy look crossed the seasoned soldier’s face. Was it revulsion at the idea of treating people like objects? Gyeoul looked into the man’s eyes and felt that was not it. It was something else.

“Damn. If we’re just gonna kill them and forget it clean, it’d be better not to know. If this goes badly, I’m gonna have bad dreams...”

Yes, this was it. The sigh of a soldier who had come to know the enemy’s private circumstances. The more a person knew about the other side, the harder it became to hate them. That was all the more true for someone trained to kill complete strangers without emotion.

What Lieutenant General Xieru had revealed was another fierce life fighting against the apocalypse. The sense of kinship born from that was the sort of thing only people who fought could empathize with. The fact that she had been one of the powerful who accepted rampant corruption as natural did not matter here.

“So what’s going to happen with that woman now?”

Noah Wright cut in. Gyeoul repeated what he had heard from Chadwick.

“I didn’t know either, but according to Lieutenant General Xieru, she’s an extremely famous singer and actress. That must be why the public affairs office wants her. They say she’ll help stabilize citizens of Chinese descent and refugees. It’s a role no one could easily replace. I imagine she’ll be evacuated soon. After the operation is over, we’ll probably see her on TV. Or maybe at a morale performance on the quarantine front.”

It was almost a settled matter. Ju Wei would be boarding a submarine in the near future.

Wright wore an unenthused expression.

“Come on. I meant you and that young lady, Lieutenant. Is there any future there or not?”

Gyeoul forced a smile.

“How long has it even been since we met?”

“If two people click, they get married in a day too, don’t they? For people like us, whose tomorrow is uncertain, that goes double. You said yourself she’s unbelievably pretty, didn’t you? And it didn’t look like she had no interest either. No, maybe more than that? The way she carried herself changed only when she was in front of you.”

The teasing kept getting worse. This was probably part of how people grew close.

“Now isn’t the time. Like you said, tomorrow is uncertain.”

At that, Wright smacked his lips.

“Well, Lieutenant, you do have Supervisor Gibson.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“You two are unusually close, aren’t you? You talk alone all the time. You even have plans to meet today, right?”

That afternoon, before the regular briefing, Joanna had already asked Gyeoul to return a little early. She had said she would tell him the reason in person. Judging by her unusually bright mood, it probably was not bad news, but there was no way to know.

“I keep telling you, Joanna and I aren’t like that. I’ve said it several times.”

A lot of people doubted that. There was nothing he could do about it.

‘I told you again and again. The CIA’s movements are suspicious. SAD’s independent operations, and all that...’

She had been having a hard time.

SAD. Special Activities Division. This combat unit directly under the Central Intelligence Agency had been part of Orca Black’s initial composition, and now, because of accumulated losses, they had stepped back to the second line.

The problem was their recent conduct. They had gone to the mainland several times. They had even brought in cargo of unknown origin. Even the supervisor had been unable to inspect it. They had refused on the grounds that it was separate from the mission to track Changcheng 9 and from Operation Fair Strike. During breaks, when Joanna grumbled about it, shadows had settled under her eyes.

That said, it was not as if she could pour her heart out to rough men from special forces backgrounds.

It was inevitable that the FBI agent’s complaints would end up focused on the boy officer.

“You’ll just have to endure that level of misunderstanding.”

It was Corporal Wolf. The way he grinned looked suspicious.

“You never had an initiation, Lieutenant.”

Gyeoul tilted his head.

“An initiation?”

“Yes. Even I had to sing and dance in front of the men under me. I even spun a hula hoop in the middle of it.”

“...Hazing?”

The doubtful question from the boy officer made the corporal burst out laughing.

“It’s something people do for fun, but yes, it was still an ordeal. So please put up with that much misunderstanding. If we did it properly, you’d go through something much more embarrassing. Enough to give you bad dreams for days.”

Though the degree might differ, the way people lived was similar everywhere.

“Go easy on me.”

At Gyeoul’s words, the corporal nodded.

“I’ll show mercy.”

“Only from my side, of course.” The added line felt familiar. For Gyeoul, the simple fact that the man did not keep his distance was welcome. Most of the others still kept some distance from the young war hero. It was a warped outgrowth of the desire to be recognized. The feeling of, ‘I’m struggling this much, and yet that boy is so young.’ Awe and envy mixed together, endlessly human attitudes. They were not unfamiliar to the boy.

“Since we’re on the subject, I should get going soon.”

Gyeoul checked his pocket watch. The work of art that contained time glittered in the afternoon sunlight. Hour hand, minute hand, second hand. Beyond that, the Milky Way, constellations, the night view of some city, even a calendar. It was the crystallized result of the many ways human beings perceived time, hardened into radiant precious metal.

“I’ll be counting on you. Check the time now and then on the way. No need to wind it. Anyone who would know knows it’s mine. Make sure it gets overheard down the line.”

Those had been the original owner’s words. In that sense, this watch resembled the ring he had received from the CIA. A strange thought passed through Gyeoul, that the ideas of schemers were all alike, just as overlapping lives were alike too.

The watch was also an instrument that played time. Swiss craftsmen lavished care even on the ticking of its hands. Perhaps they had thought that too was part of completing a watch.

“We’ll watch a little longer before heading in. The singing is nice.”

The White Skull strike team members, Wolf among them, remained seated. Gyeoul alone had made plans with Joanna, and even if they were managing the event, it was work closer to rest.

Another corporal, the one handling communications, asked,

“But if you leave without saying anything, won’t the pretty Major be disappointed?”

Gyeoul shrugged.

“We’re going to part ways anyway. This face is fake too.”

“You’re cool.”

“Please give the supervisor my regards.” With that, the corporal with the radio turned their attention back to the stage.

On the way back, Gyeoul checked the time several times, acting as though he could not conceal his satisfaction. The former patriots of China within Orca Black would surely have watched that closely. Lieutenant General Xieru had seemed far from incompetent. The other Chinese generals were probably the same.

In one way or another, they could only be exceptional and capable, Gyeoul thought. Simply surviving until this point already made them anything but ordinary.

Gu poison. A superstition that if deadly insects were thrown into a jar and made to devour one another, the last one left alive would be all the more vicious because its resentment was strongest. Long ago, they said it had been used for curses.

San Francisco Bay was a jar with its mouth sealed shut. Countless people were creating a human Gu poison.

Ah Gong, Ah Gong. That was what the action team members called Gyeoul all the way back to Pequod. It was hard to render it literally as “elder.” It was a term of respect. Besides that, he occasionally heard honorifics from other national traditions mixed in as well, like Don Lee or caudillo.

“You’re here, Gyeoul.”

Joanna, who had been waiting in the supervisor’s office, greeted him with an easy smile.

“What did you want to see me about today? Is there something going on at the briefing?”

The appointment had been made ahead of the regular briefing. It was only natural to assume the two were related.

But the FBI agent shook her head, still smiling.

“No. It’s just good news. Thankfully, your voice is back.”

“You told me not to take the voice-changing tablet. I haven’t taken one since noon.”

That too had been the agent’s request. She had told him to recover his natural voice. Thanks to that, Gyeoul had to hold back his words all the way here. Since he had already built up the impression of someone taciturn, it had not felt awkward.

Joanna took a sealed case from the cabinet. When she entered the password and opened it, the item inside was a satellite phone. So this was the reason? Gyeoul accepted it as she handed it over.

“Why are you giving me this? Am I supposed to call someone?”

At Gyeoul’s question, Joanna looked apologetic and proud at the same time.

“Anyone you want, Gyeoul.”

“No way...”

“You’ve been worried about the people you left behind in Fort Roberts all this time, haven’t you?”

So that was it. Gyeoul looked back and forth between the phone and the FBI agent with a fresh gaze.

“Is this what you meant when you said you’d tell me if it worked out?”

Looking after the convenience of the personnel participating in the operation was also part of the supervisor’s job. That had been Joanna’s answer when Gyeoul said it would be nice if he had a radio. There had been one thing she had almost said back then. She had not brought it out, only mumbled that she would tell him if it worked out.

“I didn’t want to get your hopes up for nothing when it might not happen.”

The supervisor looked embarrassed.

“The people above are always idiots. They approve other things right away, but when it comes to something like this, they drag their feet forever. Security and all that, even though they know it’s meaningless themselves. That’s why it took almost two months. And even then, the conditions are stricter than what I originally proposed.”

“Conditions?”

“Yes. I asked them to let you use your Net Warrior smartphone terminal. To unlock the blocked functions, including calls. Especially things like banking or access to the AAFES online store. Right now, even if you get paid, there aren’t many places you can spend it, so it hardly means anything.”

It was obvious she had thought through all sorts of things.

“Thank you for being considerate.”

“No. In the end, all I got approved were limited calls.”

“Even so.”

Joanna received his thanks with stiff embarrassment. Her gaze slid away.

She quickly recited the restrictions.

“You cannot make calls whenever you want. The time and purpose must be reported in advance, and the call must proceed in the presence of a supervisor or a communications security officer. The contents of the call will be recorded and may be used as evidence in determining whether security regulations were violated. If you disclose operational details or any other military secrets, the maximum charge of treason may be applied. Lieutenant Han Gyeoul, do you understand everything stated above?”

“Yes.”

“Good. The instructions are here, and you may use it right away.”

Joanna made a small gesture, as if to say, I already submitted this request on your behalf. Gyeoul smiled once more, then looked down at the satellite terminal in his hand.

He had not memorized the numbers of the Gyeoul Alliance executives, but Intelligence correction brought them to mind.

Who should he call? Gyeoul cleared his throat.

“Ah, ah. Does my voice sound all right?”

“Hard to say.”

Joanna tilted her head at the question.

“It doesn’t seem like the drug’s effect is still there, but compared to your voice when we first met, it’s a little rougher. It used to be very clear. That’s probably because you used the voice-changing tablet too often. If you stop taking it for a few days, it should recover...”

That would be difficult for a while.

“It should be fine. If someone who knows Gyeoul hears it, they’ll probably just think he isn’t feeling very well.”

If that was all, then fine. Gyeoul entered the code and dialed the number.

The signal did not ring for long.

[Hello?]

A voice he had not heard in a long time. The maturity in it felt welcome. The one on the other end was Min Wan-ki.

When there was no answer from Gyeoul’s side, Min Wan-ki asked again.

[This is a number I don’t recognize. Who is this?]

“It’s me, Department Head Min. Han Gyeoul.”

[Khk.]

Something crashed loudly. Clatter, bang, thump. A groan of pain followed right after. Had he gotten hurt? Joanna met Gyeoul’s eyes and gave him an awkward smile.

“Um, are you all right? Did you hit something?”

[No, it’s nothing. Ugh. P-please wait just a moment.]

Gyeoul covered the receiver with his hand.

“How much time do I have?”

Joanna looked at the clock.

“Until the briefing, so about thirty minutes. Isn’t that enough?”

After nodding, Gyeoul waited for Min Wan-ki to return to the phone.

A little later, a calmer voice came through.

[I have been thirsting for news of Little Captain, but it came so suddenly that I was startled.]

“Same here. Until just a little while ago, I never imagined I’d be able to contact you. As you know, I’m carrying out a secret operation.”

That had been all he could briefly tell them when he left.

[Then how are you able to now?]

“Because there’s someone I’m grateful to. She helps me a great deal.”

The supervisor thumped her head against the wall.

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

#(I’m deleting one Author’s Note entry because it looks like it might become controversial.)

#Q&A

Q. cA-nim: @I’m seeing this for the first time and what is this insaaaaane writing, what is this work? There’s nothing to read on Noble these days, and I regret it a lot. If I’d gone premium with what I spent on three months, I could’ve read 500 chapters. I pray more works of this quality come out~!! This is really fun, I was shocked so early on, the immersion is insane, it’s the best!

A. Thank you for thinking well of it. I hope this novel continues to be enjoyable for you.

Q. Arkheim-nim: @How old and how tall is the protagonist right now?

A. If you mean how he appears within the setting, the year has turned, so he is eighteen years old.

As for Gyeoul in physical reality... well. Haha.

He was seventeen at the point of [Transaction], and after that I deliberately did not make the elapsed period entirely clear. There is also a specific expressive intention behind the fact that he still begins Days after Apocalypse at seventeen.

I wanted to show that after his body disappeared, Gyeoul’s mental time had stagnated.

Q. LewdDemonF-nim: @ Orca Black seems to be on the east coast of the Americas right now. Doesn’t the U.S. government plan to use them to get the oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico running? The facilities are already all built, and considering the experts who’d be in the safe zones on the East Coast, if they got them running, they could operate tanks and warships that guzzle fuel. There are plenty of refineries in America too.

A. First of all, their current location is San Francisco, so it is indeed the U.S. West Coast.

It would be difficult to assign even that kind of mission to Orca Black. It has already been mentioned that they have no room to spare even now because of their many duties. Maintaining security at abandoned military bases in San Francisco, for example.

That said, just as they tried to secure nearby oil wells at Fort Roberts, forward bases inside contaminated zones are carrying out their own activities too. Naturally.

The artificial islands off the coast of Los Angeles are the same. They were supposed to appear in the Hotel California chapter, but judging from the current progress, the chapter itself may end up being omitted, so it has become unclear whether they will appear at all.

Q. Neutsari-nim: @ With the author’s sensibility so full of childlike innocence, are there any masterpieces on Noble you’d recommend, excluding works in Today’s Best top 10? These days, finding something worth reading on Noble feels like plucking stars from the sky.

A. I don’t really have the leisure to read that much...

I have picked out a few because I wanted to see what the trend is like these days, but I still haven’t even touched them. The one that was in first place a while ago, The Great Sage Regresses? Was it that one? Same with that.

Q. Guaaaaak-nim: @Author-nim, you always praise Star Cluster of the Wind. I’m reading Star Cluster of the Wind too, of course, but was there any particular reason or occasion that made you start praising it?

A. A reason... well. I just like it.

Q. NoblesseBuffer-nim: @Author-nim, how many times have you watched Your Name?

A. Do I seem like I’d have the time or money to watch the same movie several times...?

Q. FakeSmirk-nim: King Gucha of Wu > King Fuchai of Wu, did you mix up King Goujian of Yue and Fuchai...?

A. That’s right. I got confused. I’ll eat Buldak Bokkeum Myeon, so please forgive me.

Footnotes:

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