WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 178: Alliances and Maneuvering (13)

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The day of the talks. Gyeoul arrived at the meeting place before the lieutenant general. His purpose was a preliminary inspection. For that, the lieutenant general had sent along soldiers and technicians she trusted. Were there any bombs? Was anyone listening in? Posting soldiers at each key point was also Gyeoul's job. The cruise ferry Balhae Pearl, the meeting site, had almost no defenses of its own and was exposed to the threat of multiple warships.

Gyeoul leaned against the railing and watched the gray sea, where people and ships swayed with the waves.

'They must have chosen this place because it is vulnerable.'

If even one person made a mistake, everyone died. They were all clinging to that precarious balance.

It was also proof of how little peace of mind the attendees had.

[Chijik- chik- pii-]

An electronic tone with no sense of distance rang in his right eardrum.

[Jester, Jester. This is Pequod. If you hear this, show an affirmative signal.]

Jester. The call sign used at Santa Maria referred to Gyeoul again this time. The person communicating from the other side was Oliver Talbot. He had been assigned to support Gyeoul during the talks.

Gyeoul scratched his cheek with his left hand. That was the "affirmative signal." A high-altitude unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, and a reconnaissance satellite even higher than that, were watching Gyeoul's every move. The footage was being transmitted not only to Team Leader Chadwick's Pequod, but also to Langley, the Intelligence Agency headquarters, and even the Department of Defense.

[Signal confirmed, Jester.]

Communication by radio was one-way. Gyeoul could express his intent only in a limited fashion, through a few hand signals agreed on beforehand.

[I will now relay confirmed threats. Two o'clock, range 350, small wooden fishing boat painted blue, concealed anti-tank missile battery, two operators. Four o'clock, range 520, Charlie-Whiskey Point, two-man sniper team on a radar mast under repair. Same direction, range 270, one enemy platoon in ambush....]

A receiver was attached inside Gyeoul's auricle, in the opening that led through the external auditory canal to the eardrum. It was skin-colored and extremely thin. It would not set off a metal detector. They had told him no more could be produced for some time, so he should be careful not to damage it.

The sensory correction updated without pause. The difference between knowing where and what kind of threat existed, and not knowing, was enormous. Even with snipers alone, even genius-level 「Combat Sense」 and 「Survival Instinct」 would not warn him until right before the attack, or just after. The only time left to dodge would be the time it took for the bullet to reach him.

'It would have been nice if it could transmit too....'

It was a useless regret. This place was under intense surveillance. Just having Pequod send messages was already impressive. A directional radio wave imitating the jamming of a Trickster. Even so, they were using code names in case they were discovered.

The soldiers being posted did not know the circumstances, so they were merely amazed by the senses of a man named Kurt Lee.

A faint rumble came from far away. Earthquakes were frequent on the U.S. West Coast. Even in San Francisco Bay, quakes sometimes happened two or three times a day. But most were below magnitude 3. In most cases, even Gyeoul would have trouble noticing without sensory correction.

The rumble soon passed.

Gyeoul picked up a radio used by the Chinese military.

"The check is complete. You may come now, General."

It did not take long for Lieutenant General Xieru to arrive. The moment they met face to face, she sighed.

"So today has finally come."

The skin beneath her eyes was dark, as if she had slept poorly for days. She must have had no room to relax, turning situations and possible statements over in her head as she wondered how best to persuade generals in the same position.

One after another, the empty seats began to fill as people entered the room. Most of them were awkward with one another. Even when they seemed to know each other by sight, actual conversation was rare. Whatever ties they had shared in the past, they now seemed to view one another as potential enemies.

'Even if Lieutenant General Xieru's plan succeeds, who takes the initiative will be another matter.'

Greed had no end. Why should that woman lead them? There were surely many people who would not accept it.

"Thank you all for coming."

An old Communist Party member, who had become mediator not because of his ability but simply because he did not lean toward any one side, announced the start of the talks.

"In this emergency, as the end of the world's people approaches, you continue to display outstanding leadership with fervent patriotic feeling and unwavering devotion to your mission...."

"Stop wasting time."

A cold sentence from an army major general cut off the opening address. The Communist Party member whose words had been interrupted looked at him with tired eyes. That gaze did nothing to soften the major general.

"When every second counts, I have no time to listen to nonsense from a man who lived to that age and did nothing but serve as a municipal party secretary. Let us skip the clumsy formalities. Does everyone here not know why we have gathered?"

The major general slammed the table.

"I will ask directly. Changcheng 9 and Beidou. Who has them?"

Murmurs spread. The only nuclear submarine that had not been caught in the U.S. blockade, and the satellite system needed to guide nuclear missiles. Either one was an important bargaining chip. That meant even exposing possession of it could become dangerous.

But if they hid everything to the end, conversation would be impossible. Rough words were already being exchanged. Voices rose higher and higher. In the middle of it, Lieutenant General Xieru raised her hand. She declared in a loud, gravelly voice.

"I have Beidou."

The uproar died down.

The major general who had asked the question twitched his eyebrows.

"I wondered what bold thief had taken it. I never imagined it would be you."

There was no respect for a superior officer in his voice. Even after being treated like a thief, Lieutenant General Xieru showed no particular emotion. She only answered.

"Major General Pan Riyuan. I merely wanted to keep it from being abused."

"How fine that sounds."

"Beidou is an asset of the people and the state. I could not tolerate the sight of someone selling it off for personal advancement. You should know as well as anyone how many profiteers have abandoned their duty."

She was right. Though the Chinese generals who had taken refuge in San Francisco did not know it, other warlords who had surrendered near Hawaii had only demanded guarantees for the interests of the ruling class.

In the same context, Gyeoul knew why the current United States was overflowing with reconnaissance and communication satellites. A deformed abundance amid poverty. That single phrase described America's satellite communications environment. It was thanks to high-ranking defectors from various countries, who had handed over their countries' satellite systems without hesitation in exchange for guarantees of personal safety.

There were also government planes from dozens of countries that had flown in carrying gold bars and dollars from national banks. Those were the kinds of things he ended up hearing because there were so many people from intelligence agencies around him.

'Korea was the same.'

Mugunghwa, Cheollian, Arirang, and more. Many satellites with familiar names were currently under American management.

And he had never heard that the treatment of Korean refugees had improved in return.

Virtual Reality was a present-day mirror reflecting the past. Physical reality before his death had been much the same, really. Why and how the world he had lived in had been made, Gyeoul was realizing more and more, to the point that he was sick of it.

Given that, it was only natural that an invisible fight had taken place over control of the Beidou satellites. Hacking and password changes, authority resets, access blocks, and more. The final winner of that fight had been Lieutenant General Xieru. Though she still did not know it had been stolen again.

Despite her declaration, Changcheng 9's whereabouts did not follow.

The voices in the conference hall rose again.

"I knew this would happen!"

The one frowning and pointing at everyone was probably Major General Lei Yanlie, who had likely been recruited by the CIA.

"I do not know which bastard is hiding Changcheng 9, but that person is surely among us! Listen carefully! You have no sense of reality! The U.S. military's advance is faster than expected! Half of the contaminated zones in Washington, Oregon, and California have already been retaken! How much time do you think we have left for you to drag this out?"

His words were entirely true. In Operation Manifest Liberation, the U.S. military was advancing rapidly. Though the Department of Defense suspected the mutants might be staying quiet to preserve their strength. They were worried the things might also understand the concept of supply lines.

Again, while everyone fell silent, Major General Lei Yanlie's criticism continued.

"Are you truly suggesting we try going to war with America?"

Then someone tossed out a single line from somewhere.

"Is there a reason we should not?"

It was a rare statement from an attendee who was not a soldier. Gyeoul did not know the person's name, but they were probably a high-ranking figure from the former Chinese government. They had an imposing build, but their eyes were fierce. Madness flickered in them. The angry flesh of their cheeks only added to it. They looked more like a vicious dog than a person. It was the kind of face that made you wonder if they had ever smiled even once.

"The U.S. imperialists have always been greedy. They constantly violated China's rightful claims, and even that was not enough, so they always burned with the ambition to invade. The Corpse Plague must also be their work."

"What kind of...!"

"Everyone knows it!"

The madness America had feared was showing itself.

"No matter how you look at it, that disease is unnatural! It is a human creation! How many countries in the world do you think could make something like that? And how many countries would actually use it? Russia, perhaps? Or those little Japanese bastards? Impossible. America. It could only be America!"

"Refrain from baseless speculation!"

This time, Lieutenant General Xieru tried to stop them. But no small number of people sympathized with the madness. Those who wanted self-preservation and those who remained rational were on one side, while those going insane formed another, and loud voices passed back and forth between them.

"Lieutenant General Xieru! You are nothing but a traitor trying to flatter the enemy of your homeland! A whore selling herself to the Westerners!"

"Our mission is one thing and one thing only: avenging our ruined homeland!"

"America must pay the price! We must become judges acting not only on behalf of 1.3 billion Chinese people, but on behalf of everyone across the world who died because of America's foolishness!"

"Let us retaliate! A retaliation more brutal than any this world has ever seen! The final war of the world!"

The opposing side was at least rational.

"The cause right now is the survival of humanity! Do you intend to commit a crime against humanity based on rumors that are not even certain?"

"The people are the state! The people who have survived until now are the China of the present! As soldiers and politicians, we have a duty to protect them! Do not run away from that duty!"

"Your family died, but the world did not end! If you want to die, die alone!"

The last line left an impression. Perhaps those mad for revenge were also those who needed revenge. Gyeoul saw more than a few people grow enraged, go pale, or twitch at those words. People resenting because they wanted to resent. They only needed something to shove all of their despair onto.

'Because they cannot accept a reality that has gone beyond their limits....

I am in this much pain, so who should I resent? How far should I hate?'

It had the same root as the worries that had tormented Gyeoul, and still made him ache from time to time.

"Let us yield a hundred times over and say America really did spread the Corpse Plague! But is retaliation even possible in the first place? The mouth of the bay is blockaded by American Aegis cruisers and submarines! Even Changcheng 9 will be sunk before it can fire all its nuclear daodan, and there is no guarantee the launched daodan will reach their targets! Most of them will be intercepted before they ever leave this sky! At best, one or two will hit! What meaning is there in that?"

When someone shouted, one particularly loud voice answered.

"Retaliation is possible!"

The one shouting was a navy major general on the hard-line side.

"We only need to fire nuclear torpedoes toward the mouth of the bay!"

He laid out an extreme plan without caring about the unrest around the table.

"If multiple submarines fire torpedoes all at once, they will have no choice but to retreat! Then we attach a nuclear warhead to the high-speed torpedo 「Storm」 and fire it! After that, we leave this damn bay and execute final retaliation from a safe position!"

"How do you expect to pass through waters contaminated by radiation?"

Lieutenant General Xieru pushed back, but the hard-line major general openly mocked her.

"What does that matter? We just pass through."

"What...."

"It is revenge carried out with the resolve to die anyway. There is no need to worry about what comes after. Even if radiation crushes our flesh and rots our bones! We only need to be alive until the moment we launch the nuclear daodan!"

"...."

A stunned silence settled over the room.

Gyeoul tapped the safety on his rifle.

In the worst-case scenario, meaning if the possibility of a nuclear attack against America became high, Chadwick had instructed him to kill everyone here at his own discretion. Of course, if that happened, the actions of the remaining Chinese military, having lost their leadership, would become impossible to predict. Gyeoul himself would also be put in danger.

'Still, something is strange.'

Gyeoul stared at one person. Before the meeting, Lieutenant General Xieru had told him this was the hard-liner she needed to be most wary of. A man with neatly swept gray hair. His rank was army Shangjiang. By rank alone, he could be called the highest among the people gathered here.

He had kept silent until now. Only glancing at his watch now and then.

He was clearly waiting for something. Was he waiting for a person, or for news? Since 「Survival Instinct」 was giving no warning at all, it did not seem to be a direct threat, but Gyeoul could not be sure. The moment he became certain, the correction would also become bound by that certainty.

Author’s Note

#Ori and the Blind Forest

I tried playing a game called Ori and the Blind Forest, and it was truly excellent. The music, the backgrounds, and the storytelling were all beautiful. The difficulty, in particular, had a wonderful sense of childlike innocence. I strongly recommend it to all readers.

Ah, right. It is even better if you play with a controller. The feel of the controls changes a lot. :) #physical book

They say the physical book will be published next month. It will likely be around 400 pages, and it will not be a hardcover. Probably. As I mentioned before, because of pricing issues, it contains more than the ebook edition. In other words, the number of ebook volumes and physical book volumes do not match.

Footnotes:

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