WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 204: Survivors (7)

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The hunting stopped on the fourth day of their stay. Their stored food had passed a staggering three tons. Thanks to finding at least one herd of deer every day, they had reached that amount even after they started taking only bucks later on.

Of course, taking all of it with them was impossible. They planned to leave some behind when they departed. Captain Langford insisted they needed a rally point. Something might happen while they were moving, the captain said. If the unit scattered for some reason and lost contact, they would retreat here and regroup.

Storage was simple, thanks to the solar power systems they had taken from nearby lodging facilities and the post office building. They used the refrigerators in each guest room, so the portions placed in freezers were not even salted. They would probably be fine for a while without anyone tending them.

There were also plenty of mushrooms and edible plants spread out to dry under the spring sun.

Horsemanship training also went smoothly. Most of them somehow managed at least a light gallop. The soldiers and agents showed great enthusiasm, but to Gyeoul, it looked like a mental defense mechanism.

Acting cheerful did not mean they had forgotten.

Every night, many of them suffered from insomnia or sleep paralysis. Considering Joanna had drawn her gun before fully opening her eyes, it would not have been strange for an accident to happen at any time.

Still, thanks to the officers’ constant concern, things had improved a great deal.

Even today, two days before departure, a squad bayonet-throwing match was held at Ensign Novak’s suggestion. The prize was whiskey. Even the losers would not go without, but the winning squad would get to choose first and drink first. They would not be given much to begin with, and letting the entire force drink at once would be difficult.

Even so, the mere fact that they could drink had the entire Company fired up.

“Jim Beam! Jim Beam! Jim Beam!”

The spectators heckled the player. No one knew who had started it, but the meaning was that they could drink the cheap stuff. Of the prizes, the least popular was Jim Beam White Label. The soldier on the line stopped before throwing the bayonet and raised a middle finger at the other squads.

Boo-

The soldiers reacted as one. The only people shouting encouragement were members of the same squad.

The player gave up, shook their head, and glared at the target. Then they threw. The posture was exactly as Gyeoul had taught with 「Instruction」. The slowly spinning Bayonet flew 67 feet, about 20 meters, and buried itself in the target. Yes! The player threw both arms high. Amid the even heavier boos, the squad’s cheering grew heated.

Each person had three chances. The squads competed over how many bayonets stuck in the target.

The officers did not stop the rising shouts. They planned to spend one more day here anyway. If any mutants were within earshot, drawing them in and killing them ahead of time was not a bad idea. It would actually let them feel a little more at ease at night. The soldiers knew this too.

They had also posted enough guards. Two people were drawn from each squad and assigned to watch the open approaches one by one.

They had spent several days scouting widely around the area after acquiring the horses, but no large mutant horde had been found. That abnormal emptiness likely testified to the hardship along the blockade line, but... either way, there was no need to get gloomy here and now.

Thunk!

Before long, the third bayonet lodged in the target. The training period with 「Instruction」 had been short, so even when the weapons flew properly, many bounced off because the rotation was wrong. In that situation, this was one of the best performances in the Company.

Several people pulled the player into tight hugs as they returned with a bright smile.

Officers were no exception. If they wanted to drink, they had to throw bayonets.

The person most dissatisfied with their own score was Captain Langford. The trajectory was good, but none of the bayonets stuck. The platoon leaders did not perform well either, so the soldiers clapped in delight.

Gyeoul formed a team with the Intelligence Agency agents and Joanna.

When Joanna’s turn came, she let out a deep sigh.

“I’d rather spend this time practicing riding.”

She said that and glanced toward Xcel, who was tied to a tree. He was calmly chewing feed. No other horses were visible. The other four had been deployed for guard duty.

If one had to pick the least skilled rider at the moment, it would be Joanna. Unexpectedly, she was afraid. Was it related to a phobia? Judging by the stubbornness she showed, that did not seem quite right either. Even though she fidgeted in the saddle, after dismounting she always looked dissatisfied.

It was unexpected, but that kind of tenacity must have made her a versatile agent. Gyeoul soothed her gently.

“Don’t be too hard on yourself. It’s fine for a person to have one thing they can’t do.”

“...That sounds really strange coming from you.”

Her sulky answer made the boy laugh.

Thunk! The first Bayonet Joanna threw struck the edge of the target. It was a close hit, and the half-buried blade almost pulled free from inertia. Perhaps because of her throwing habit, the second Bayonet followed a similar path. Tang. The blade struck while lying flat and bounced the other way.

Hoo. She steadied her breathing and threw the third. The blade shot out fast and blurred faintly in the wind. Klang, went the metal. The new blade knocked away the one already stuck.

“Shouldn’t that count as one point?”

Several people laughed at someone’s joke.

There were no boos while she threw. The FBI supervisor was popular. So were CIA agents Kelly and Kowalski. That attention was not always positive, but for now, it was still firmly under control.

The problem was the relationships between soldiers. Sexual relations between enlisted personnel in combat zones were strictly forbidden, but only in principle. As long as it did not interfere with the mission, the usual practice was not to intervene. It had always been that way, and it became even more so after the Great Plague began spreading.

An order that would not be obeyed was worse than no order at all. It only undermined the commander’s authority. Gyeoul had heard there was an actual division commander in Iraq whose dignity suffered after issuing such an order.

That said, the officers worried that the relatively small number of female enlisted personnel might be treated unfairly.

Because of this, Langford had asked Gyeoul for counseling last night as well. Usually, that was the role of Ensign Escamilla, a female officer, but if someone could not speak because they feared retaliation, Gyeoul might actually be better. His outstanding reputation and trust as a war hero were also advantages.

In the end, the captain’s worries proved needless.

“Good grief, the company commander sure worries a lot.”

Those were the words of Coast Guard specialist Madeline Weaver, whom Gyeoul had been assigned to counsel. She had not yet earned NCO qualifications, but her experience alone was on the level of most NCOs.

“I want to enjoy myself while I’m still breathing too. More than anything, when am I ever going to be this popular again? They say men are getting harder and harder to find beyond the blockade line... I won’t say there aren’t a few rough ones, but if they don’t want to get shot, they’ll know to crawl.”

She snorted because she trusted her own abilities.

The counseling ended quickly. As Weaver left, she winked at Gyeoul.

“If you’re ever interested, just say the word. For Lieutenant Han, any time is fine.”

“...I’ll keep that in mind.”

Refusing outright would have hurt her pride. But perhaps she had already noticed from the subtle pause, because the specialist left with a smile, shaking her head. Gyeoul felt a sense of deja vu.

While he was lost in recollection, the lively match passed its midpoint.

When Talbot from the Intelligence Agency showed off by throwing three bayonets at once and sticking them all in together, the soldiers booed fiercely. Their point was that with Gyeoul on that team too, wasn’t the team composition unfair?

Even so, their final score did not look like it would be good. Agent Tucker, who had thrown earlier, had received merciless cheers. All three throws had missed horribly.

As they watched the next turn, a report came in from the search team circling the town at a set distance. A small mutant group had appeared. Twenty-one individuals. Approaching on the road 200 meters south of the cemetery. No special mutants identified.

The game stopped. Of all times, now. Just when it was getting fun. The grumbling soldiers gathered by platoon.

When the scale was small, however, Gyeoul was supposed to handle it. They had to save ammunition. The Company’s combat readiness was only a precaution.

The cemetery was about one kilometer from town. If the mutants started running, it was close enough for them to arrive quickly, but the scouts would be buying time right now. There was no danger. The soldiers who had ridden out were the ones with the best results in riding training. If they made a point of running, they would not be threatened even if Grumble or a Trickster was there.

Gyeoul pressed the transmit button on the radio receiver.

“Captain. I’ll go clean it up.”

[Be careful. If it seems even a little dangerous, suppress them with firearms.]

This was not the first engagement since arriving in this town. But in battles Gyeoul fought, the ammunition spent was always less than the number of mutants killed, or none at all. That was because he insisted on close combat unless the situation was extreme. That was why the captain warned him.

After mounting Xcel, Gyeoul snatched up the weapon leaning against a tree.

It was an iron bar that had originally been the central shaft of a barbell. It was 1.5 meters long and weighed 6.6 kilograms. By the standards of cold weapons, it was absurdly heavy. It was more than twice as heavy as an average two-handed sword, to the point that someone with ordinary strength could barely use it as a weapon. In return, its destructive power when Gyeoul swung it was immense.

“Let’s go.”

When he spurred Xcel on, the horse accelerated quickly.

As he rode out, Gyeoul checked the radio’s output attenuator. The adjustment scale was marked not by output, but by distance. It indicated the reception range when there were no obstacles in between. Once he moved away from the base, it was fine to raise the output a little more.

Before he had ridden far along the road, he saw the search team waiting at ease on top of a slope. He also saw the mutants running hard toward them from far away. Even if their stamina was beyond human, they were far short of catching a horse running in earnest.

If there were more of them, or if one of them was as smart as a Beta Ghoul or better, it might be different.

He still could not forget the mutants running over the surface of the Salinas River. Though it had ended in failure, that incident had plainly shown the intelligence of a Beta Ghoul. If a group was led by such a creature, it would not be strange for them to divide roles and attempt a Driven Hunt.

Perhaps they noticed Gyeoul charging straight at them on the black horse, because the low-intelligence group fell into confusion. They crossed paths among themselves, split between the target they had originally been chasing and the new one. He was grateful the density had thinned out. If they were packed tight, it would take more time no matter what. Gyeoul lowered his upper body and raised his speed even more. His whole body felt like it was cutting through the wind.

He had to strike diagonally across the mutants’ direction of movement.

At last, the moment he plunged in, the iron bar spun in a wide arc. Wham! Crunch! Two strikes in one motion. Two heads had entered the arc. One shattered, and one rose into the air. The one severed from its body spun round and round with the remaining force of the blow. Blood sprayed everywhere. Even amid that, the eyes kept moving. A rapid clatter of teeth rang hollowly.

The steel, retrieved in a blur of speed, swung again, and another mutant died instantly.

Three killed with two strikes in the half breath as he brushed past.

「Riding」, 「Close Combat」, and 「Melee Weapon Mastery」 linked together beautifully.

Thud, thud, thud. The vibration beneath the horse’s hooves vanished as it traveled up past his waist. Gyeoul traced a semicircle and judged his direction for re-entry. Xcel breathed roughly. It was not exhaustion. It was excitement. Just a few days ago, he had feared the stench of mutants, but after several battles, he had adapted.

This was trust in his rider.

Horse and rider, moving as one, shaved down the mutant group again and again. The horde of living plague thinned as if layers were being peeled away. At last, when five were left scattered apart, Gyeoul slowed and no longer broke away. He turned in place and faced the plague.

Kyaaaak-!

When a mutant leapt right in front of them, Xcel sprang sideways. It was the result of Gyeoul taming and teaching him for several days through the 「Riding」 skill. The plague, having left the ground, bit empty air. Boom! When he struck the airborne thing, it sounded like a drum bursting. The steel that cut through its spine gleamed with rotten blood and grease.

The entrails hooked on it flew far under centrifugal force.

The rotation did not stop. It became a chain of attacks. When he twisted his grip, the long blunt weapon shot into the sky. The remaining inertia took on added acceleration and came crashing down. A new skull broke like liquid. From there, he thrust hard. The male host standing one arm’s length behind Gyeoul was stabbed deep. A denting impact crushed through the ribs. Huuk! Because the host was human, even the sound of leaking air resembled a person’s.

During the gap where he snapped his arm back, Xcel stepped backward, sprang sideways again, and spun around, toying with the remaining two mutants. Gyeoul did not resist that movement. The horse’s motion traveled straight into his arm, drawing a distorted line that was still enough to kill the living. Crack! The monster struck beside the jaw collapsed like a doll as its cervical spine slipped out of place. At the same time, when he leaned his weight and tightened his legs, Xcel suddenly changed the direction of his turn. The deceived plague jumped into an empty spot.

A thrashing body stronger than a human’s and duller than one.

Half of its face caved in. The sideways blow had reached its peak at the moment of impact, so the area destroyed was broad. Dark red spots spread beneath the murky skin. The fallen mutant trembled, then stopped moving.

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

#Winner

The comment event winner is KarlJ-nim. Please check the notice and contact the author within this week if possible.

#Sexual Relations Between Enlisted Personnel in U.S. Military Barracks

Contrary to what is commonly known, the U.S. military also forbids sexual relations between enlisted personnel in combat zones in principle. It simply is not obeyed.

The division commander whose dignity suffered, mentioned in the main story, is retired Major General Tony Cucolo.

After taking command of the 3rd Infantry Division in Iraq in 2008, he established a hardline policy in 2009 stating that if a female enlisted soldier became pregnant, she would be sent to court-martial along with the male enlisted soldier. He said it would take effect on January 1 of the following year.

Until then, pregnant soldiers simply had their duty station changed to the safe mainland, with no other penalties.

The intent was to prevent non-combat loss of manpower. Out of 22,000 division troops, 1,700 were female enlisted personnel, a ratio that could not be ignored, and as you know, in Iraq, losing even one person was costly.

But the entire division strongly opposed this measure. It also became a controversy across the whole U.S. military. Soldiers sleeping together was common.

In the end, Major General Cucolo corrected the policy by lowering the punishment from court-martial to ordinary discipline, but even that faced heavy backlash and ended up being dropped entirely.

#Q&A

Q. KarlJ-nim: Author-nim, I don’t think botulinum, an anaerobic bacterium, would easily grow in ordinary salted meat that isn’t sausage. Is sodium nitrite really necessary?

A. Among the salted meat recipes I looked up, there were none that did not include nitrite. I’m not sure. Maybe because air does not pass all the way into the meat?

Q. God of Ruin-nim: Entry. Can we see something like a setting book with skill types and points?

A. You left a similar comment on the previous chapter too. Asking if the author was manipulating it in real time.

Manipulation... Although I am using a Virtual Reality world setting as material, this is fundamentally a novel. When I get questions that sound like, “Are you using memory cheats?” I can only be flustered.

I am simply carrying the story forward within the bounds of plausibility.

So to answer you, I might know the kinds of skills Gyeoul is currently learning, but I do not have settings like a full list of every skill that exists in the Days after Apocalypse world setting or a graph of experience point requirements.

There is no point in deciding that, and realistically, it is impossible.

In the setting, rewards given in an Afterlife Insurance world setting evaluate every interaction of the user. Even if I drew an experience point graph needed for skill acquisition, there would be no way to quantify the reward given according to the control personality’s situational evaluation, so it would be meaningless.

I say this after looking through game planning materials in my own way, but to build a reasonable graph, you first need to decide exactly how much reward will be given.

For example, how much reward evaluation should be given for the escape process in San Francisco?

Even if the same mutant is dealt with, the reward has to differ depending on the situation.

When you also consider the Talent Benefit system that reduces resource consumption to 1/n, the variables to consider grow even larger.

If I really wanted to include detailed descriptions, I could. It would be convenient for padding the word count too. But I do not want to get buried in unnecessary detail.

Footnotes:

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