WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 236: Suspended Sentence (8)

──────

"How are we supposed to fight something like that? You die just by getting close."

Alejandro muttered, looking horrified. Schultz shot back.

"Idiot. If the radiation dose were that lethal, those Ivan bastards would be wearing full-body protective gear, MOPP. They must have fought these things plenty even before this mess happened. You think they handed out meters but not protective suits?"

He was right. To begin with, Geiger counters tended to have low measurement limits. They clicked even when held up to a banana. That was because bananas contained potassium, a radioactive element, and eating ten bananas gave you one microsievert of internal exposure. You would need ten million bananas before your life was in danger.

Boom, thud. The door on the screen shook as if it might break apart, and old dust poured down from the ceiling. Gyeoul estimated the distance between the door and the soldiers. As if measuring the distance to Grumble. No correction applied here. Only personal experience. It was a sense he had learned while passing through worlds where radioactive contamination was everywhere.

About two hundred to three hundred microsieverts. If they held the counter up to the mutant, it would probably read somewhere around that much.

Of course, that was harmful. The inside of its body was probably even more contaminated. But it should not be enough to overwhelm a mutant whose body surpassed a human's. The human body could repair DNA too. The question was what effect radiation had actually had on mutants.

「Fire!」

Aimed fire from the Russian soldiers concentrated through the split in the door. Then someone swept the gap with automatic fire and threw the gun away. Crying, screaming, and clawing at their hair, they fled. For an instant, the screen whipped around. "Cowardly bastard!" Probably a curse spat at the fleeing back. When the owner of the screen looked forward again, a grotesque woman was closing in. Her body, torn and thorn-studded from forcing its way through the gap in the door. Bang! Her head snapped sideways, and a casing flew. Her naked body rolled on with its own momentum.

The last stand did not last long. At last, all ammunition ran out, and the Russian soldiers were driven onto the roof. The American soldiers in the room sighed or had tears in their eyes. A kinship with people fighting the same battle in another place. Empathy grew stronger the closer the other person was to oneself.

The broadcast cut off there. A short while later, the correspondent's subdued voice came through.

「The authorities have released the identity of the enlisted soldier who had been sending the footage. Corporal Evgeny Leonov of the 31st Guards Air Assault Brigade. May he and the souls of his comrades rest in peace.」

It was hard to tell from a brief combat video what made Russia's mutants special.

Morales radioed in.

[Major, could you come outside for a moment? A Company-sized force including armored vehicles is approaching from four kilometers north-northwest. It looks like that temporary Company we were expecting, but they arrived much earlier than scheduled.]

"Got it. I'll be there soon."

After answering, Gyeoul gestured for the rest of the team to stay where they were.

"We're not going to fight, so what's the point of everyone rushing out? Rest. And change the channel."

That's an order. Schultz, who had taken the remote, gave an awkward smile.

When Gyeoul went outside, armed civilians had gathered and were murmuring among themselves. Looking through binoculars in the direction Morales indicated, he saw a column led by tanks. The vehicles behind them were so varied that they hardly looked like a single unit. They seemed to have recovered abandoned vehicles to speed up their movement.

A little over a minute later, the lead tank entered through the ranch's front gate. Nearly ten people were perched on the turret and hull, like something out of an Indian commuter train. The highest-ranking person among them was a Captain. After jumping down and looking around, the Captain snapped to attention and saluted Gyeoul. Gyeoul returned the salute, got off his horse, approached, and held out his hand.

"Welcome, Captain. You really went through a lot."

"Thank you. It finally feels like we survived. We have been in your debt these past few days."

The hand gripping his trembled faintly. The Captain's tightly shut mouth made it easy to guess what he was feeling.

"But what are these tanks and armored vehicles? I didn't have any information saying you had things like this."

At Gyeoul's question, the Captain nodded.

"We were originally moving on foot, but I changed my mind when I saw intact vehicles abandoned. We had wounded men, as well as personnel with limited mobility. We found batteries and fuel in Cloverdale. Since we had ammunition, I judged that we could manage a quick hit-and-run if we had to. Transporting fuel was difficult because we had no tanker, but in the end, we saved a great deal of time. As for the movement codes, all we had to do was ask higher up."

As with San Miguel, inns and gas stations were usually near national highways, which meant they sat on the outskirts of cities and towns. So this Captain, Rodney Banks, had not taken any great risk.

"Were there any casualties?"

"No. From the outside, the urban area looked empty."

"Good. That was a smart decision. You already know this, but until we reach the base, I'm in command. If there's anything you need to report, say it."

"I don't have a proper grasp of everything either. These forces gathered over only five days... But many of them are mentally unstable, so I think you need to be careful. I heard there are civilians here too. If possible, it would be better if the two sides didn't see each other. I'm concerned about incidents involving civilians."

"I'll keep that in mind. Just tell me who they are. Anything else you especially need?"

"Rest. Beds would be ideal."

The Captain let out a weary sigh.

Gyeoul asked the police to isolate the civilians, then assigned quarters to the temporary Company. But some soldiers refused to enter the buildings. Fear of enclosed spaces.

Naturally, taking care of them was the officers' job.

"The personnel who were trapped inside buildings until just before we linked up generally show symptoms like that. In severe cases, one guy didn't come out of a cabinet for two days. It's a relief he didn't lose his mind. By contrast, the guy sitting in that tank commander's seat over there hates being outside. He says there's nowhere safer than a tank. It's just a total mess. If it's all right with you, Major, I would appreciate it if you looked at them one by one."

The combat engineer sergeant who said this had one bad leg. Only half a palm's length remained below one knee. Even so, he was among the most mentally sound, and he moved around just fine on an improvised crutch.

"That won't be difficult, but... what happened to your leg?"

"It looks like you tore it off by force." At Gyeoul's words, the sergeant grinned.

"When the front line had just collapsed, a ghoul bastard bit me on the ankle. I don't know if its jaw strength was that incredible or if it was because my combat boots were lightweight, but its teeth sank in real quick. So I blew it off."

"...Blew it off?"

"Yes. I immediately wrapped Detonation cord around my shin and detonated it."

"..."

"While I was at it, I wrapped it around the monster bastard's neck too and blew them both at once! We had no medic, and the first aid kit was already used up, so I burned C4 to cauterize the wound. Hahaha! What do you think? This is worth bragging about for the rest of my life, isn't it?"

C4 was a plastic explosive. It was highly stable, so when lit on fire, it burned like fuel instead of exploding. In other words, it was not impossible. But his testimony made one wonder if it had really happened that way.

"Hm, well, that's manly. Impressive. I've never seen anyone like you."

Gyeoul gave the answer wanted by a man trying to turn his loss into something glorious. The sergeant laughed aloud again.

"Exactly, right? If I'd hesitated like a little girl even for a moment, I would have turned into a monster. I had thought ahead about what to do if I got bitten, so my hand moved on instinct. My friends who heard me talk about it before swore I would never be able to do it."

He was someone trying hard to endure the emptiness of a missing leg. In truth, everyone else was the same. They had to praise themselves for having overcome it. That was how a painful past became a memory.

"Fortunately, it looks like you got antibiotics before it was too late. You could have died from infection in the wound too."

"I had them. I told you, didn't I? I thought ahead. It was only natural to prepare."

"Could you tell me your name? Your last name isn't enough."

"Gary. Gary Halloway."

"Gary Halloway. I'll remember it."

Now this tough man would be able to brag even more in front of his family and friends. Listen, you know Major Han Gyeoul, right? I'm a man who impressed him so much he asked for my name. Hahaha.

Gyeoul sent the satisfied sergeant into the quarters. He would handle the anxious soldiers himself. Now that the operation was over, it was better for the commander to sleep less than to suffer some unfortunate accident.

There was also a soldier who had left a dislocated shoulder untreated because there was no medic. When the order came down to report the wounded first, the soldier hesitated before coming out. Gyeoul, who had been sitting by the campfire with the personnel refusing quarters, gestured for the soldier to sit. When he took the limp arm firmly, the soldier flinched in surprise.

"Hold still. I'll put it back."

"Um, isn't something going to go wrong? If possible, I'd like to get proper treatment after returning to base. They should have medics or military doctors there."

"We won't arrive until tomorrow afternoon, and leaving it like this until then is worse. When did it come out?"

"The day before yesterday, when I fell from a window... Agh!"

In the middle of the answer, Gyeoul moved without warning, and the arm found its proper place with a crack. His technique was familiar, and he also had the correction from 「First Aid」 acquired in Paso Robles. The groaning soldier moved his arm with a deeply doubtful look.

"How is it?"

"It's a little stiff, but, um, I don't know. It feels uncomfortable whenever I move it."

When someone was suspicious, it hurt more for no reason.

"That's probably because it stayed like that too long. The longer you leave it untreated, the higher the chance of habitual dislocation, obviously, and even permanent disability..."

Gyeoul stopped speaking and closed his mouth. Disappointment had flashed across the soldier's face.

'Did he want to be sent to the rear...?'

He understood. There were probably plenty of others who wanted to be discharged even if it meant gaining a disability.

The soldier whose dislocation had been fixed looked not at all happy as he entered the quarters with his shoulders slumped. Gyeoul called the temporary Company's platoon leader and ordered the night watch strengthened.

Among the mentally troubled soldiers, there were also some who believed they themselves were infected.

"I, I have to die. I have to die. Kill me. Please kill me. Ugh, I'm going to, I'm going to become a zombie!"

As he said that, he tried to claw at his own face. He seemed to have repeated this behavior for quite some time, and his scar-covered face really did look like a mutant's. The flickering shadows of the campfire made it even worse. At least they had put thick gloves on him, so it was not as bad. Why had they not tied his hands?

A Private standing beside him with a bitter expression, who had enlisted with the patient as a hometown friend, shook his head.

"If we tied him up, his seizures got much worse, so we couldn't. Once, it got to the point where he couldn't breathe at all. Still, I thought he might recognize you, Major... I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for."

"Damn. I won't be able to face my friend's mother."

The one saying this did not look all right either. His hands were shaking badly. Mild PTSD. Gyeoul left for a moment, then brought back a box of high-proof whiskey from the warehouse where civilians were standing guard. Each bottle had an upside-down glass over it. They would leave tomorrow anyway, so there was no need to conserve supplies.

"Everyone, have a drink."

The first person to receive one was the Private protecting his mad friend. He swallowed about half a glass in one go, as if forcing down a knot of anger.

Gyeoul's presence was not useless to everyone.

"Could I get some too?"

The one joining the circle around the campfire was the tank crewman who had supposedly refused to come out of the tank. Gyeoul had not forgotten the face he had glimpsed. He held out a glass to him.

"Good timing. I was going to come find you."

"I felt strange while watching you, Major."

"Strange?"

"How should I put it... Like I was suddenly thrown into another world? Like I woke up from a nightmare? Hoo, it's hard to explain. Just fill the glass, please. I want to forget everything."

Gyeoul poured him more alcohol than the others.

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

#Signed Book

Signed books are gifts given in thanks to people who have written reviews or gifted music, cover art, and so on. Aside from that, the author does not personally sell them.

#Radiation

One microsievert is one hundred-thousandth of a sievert. Exposure of several hundred to several thousand microsieverts does not have much short-term effect on the human body.

For there to be a chance of a person dying, they need to be exposed to more than one sievert of radiation in a short time.

To use the bananas mentioned in the story as an example, if you eat one million bananas a day, you may lose weight, but symptoms of radiation poisoning may appear. Please keep that in mind for dieting.

#Q&A

Q. UnlimitedOne: @The issue is how that radiation is implemented. Whether they scatter magical poop dust around them in the process of gaining resistance to the fallout zones left behind by China's trolling, or whether they eat radioactive substances and consciously release them through the respiratory system or the like. Either way, it involves adaptation to rapid cell destruction by external high-energy bodies. Stares into the distance.

A. It is not some incredible secret, but it is a little hard to answer here. Haha.

Q. Epsilon00: @Certainly... Russia has Chernobyl, one of the two great giants of radiation accidents. And Lake Karachay is there too, so damn. Omitted... Are there no nuclear power plants in unrecovered areas inside America? It seems like a mutant that could appear on the American mainland too...

A. They are ones affected by something that exists only in Eastern Europe. Actually, there was one comment last chapter that made me flinch. Readers are dangerous.

Q. Nuar: @Beginning, middle, and end omitted. Heil Gyeoul-tungu. Whisper.

A. Your comment was too wholesome, so I omitted most of it. No, shipping is one thing, but how could you even think of pairing the author with a character? Your childlike innocence needs purification.

Q. rumen: @There is a typo in Chapter 221 on Naver Books. It says "although combat power is weak." Noble has "whereas it is weak."

A. I sent the manuscript before revision and then requested a correction, but I think they forgot. I will tell them again. Thank you.

Q. Soriham: @This is out of nowhere, but once you finish The Little Prince in the Ossuary, what is the first thing you want to do, author? If you go traveling, where would you want to visit? I have never applied for a Q&A for any work before, but with Ossuary, I wanted to enjoy the privilege of communicating with the author during serialization, so I thought about it and left this comment, haha. As for the story, I want to understand it as itself, and I am curious about you, author. I really love it!!

A. Once I finish it... I want to do absolutely nothing with great intensity. After pretending to be a corpse for about a century, when my heart becomes peaceful, I want to read books while drinking beer. There is no side dish as good as a good book. Chicken used to be somewhat comparable, but these days it is a little... hm...

As for travel... I once dreamed of visiting an open-air hot spring in Hokkaido someday, but after Fukushima, it became hard to trust the food in that area, so I am trembling by myself. It is not as if I can pack a lunch and go either... Eat to support them... trembling...

Thank you for enjoying the story. I will work hard so that you can be satisfied until the end.

Q. Habika: @Hm... Looking back at the earlier parts, I had a question. I am reading Volume 3, page 201 in the ebook version, Part 10, Trap, and Gyeoul suspects in the middle, "Did baby mutants infiltrate and newly infect them?" Why did Gyeoul suspect there that the infiltrating individual was a baby mutant? Rest omitted.

A. Do not think too hard. :) It was because the first thing he heard was the distinctive scream of a baby mutant.

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried