WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 278: Boar Hunt (6)

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Two days later, on July 8, Gyeoul’s task force was notified that it would be stationed in the rear until all equipment inspections were complete. Their newly established base was a fortified state university. Other joint task forces in the same situation were stationed there as well, along with a large force of reinforcements from the mainland.

“How long do you think final maintenance will take?”

The person Gyeoul asked was a technician with the rank of sergeant, assigned to a field maintenance depot. With no fixed schedule and only scraps of rest here and there, the man gave a sweat-soaked, wilted smile.

“I can’t promise anything. General maintenance doesn’t finish that quickly. It’s the step just below depot-level maintenance. On top of that, the vehicles are in terrible shape. It’s a wonder they held out this long on unit maintenance alone. When we scrape inside the frames, we often find bone and flesh.”

“I see...”

“Yes. The rookies are about to keel over. More than anything, the backlog is far beyond our maintenance capacity, and it keeps growing in real time. But the real highlight is that thing.”

The sergeant pointed out the window of the makeshift break room. A tank was being towed by a recovery vehicle. Its heavy turret bore scars no mutant could have left: deep gouges, burned around the edges. Just like with Alamo 3, they were the marks of an anti-tank rocket attack carried out by remnants of the Chinese military lying in ambush in the valley.

“If this thing had been lightened for quarantine war specs, it would’ve punched straight through and wiped out the whole crew. Say what you want, but Abe, the Abrams, is at its prettiest in its original form.”

Fort Roberts’ tank platoon, Meerkat, was also an unmodified older model. Older model meant pre-disaster. It was extremely powerful, but using it against mutants was almost wasteful. Its armor was so thick that its fuel consumption was brutal, too. Every refuel swallowed 500 gallons, or 1,900 liters.

Piii-

A very high-decibel howl rang out. It was not the howl of a dog or wolf, but the mechanical noise produced when the echo from a microphone connected to a speaker was picked up by the microphone again.

“Looks like they’re starting that again. Damn noisy.”

The maintenance squad’s sergeant picked at his ear. After taking a sip of beer, he spoke again.

“Not like those crazy terrorist fuckers are going to surrender because of that... We ought to kill them all.”

The last part was a savage mutter.

「I am Major Ju Wei of the People’s Liberation Army Song and Dance Troupe.」

Chinese flowed from the giant loudspeakers in a voice familiar to Gyeoul. After rescuing her in the waters of San Francisco and parting ways, he had thought he would never meet her again, but now she had come here to urge her former comrades to surrender. Her voice was being broadcast across the entire western Central Plain.

She was also a member of the quarantine front morale performance troupe.

“Don’t know what she’s blabbering about, but maybe because she’s a Chinese bitch, her voice is real grating, isn’t it?”

After listening to the ongoing appeal, the sergeant sought agreement for his resentment. But how could the voice of someone who had been both actor and singer be grating? It was beautiful.

“I’m not sure...”

Gyeoul let his words trail off. Saying no would do no good. That was the mood in this base, and beyond it, across the entire U.S. military. Looking at the front as a whole, the damage was small enough to be called almost nonexistent. But human lives were at stake. One sniper could pin down a division. The soldiers were always exterminating mutants while trapped in anxiety.

The greater hatred born from that anxiety must have been Shangjiang Yang Yongbin’s final wish. His plan had been to plant the seeds of self-destruction in America and fertilize them with blood.

‘There are too many people that kind of explanation won’t reach.’

Most reactions Gyeoul had seen amounted to, so what do you want us to do about it? They restrained themselves and stayed polite because of who they were speaking to, but reason was usually emotion’s servant.

Clang.

The empty can the sergeant threw hit the edge of the trash can and bounced out. A maintenance soldier sprawled asleep on a long bench stirred, mumbled, then went quiet again. The sergeant grumbled as he picked up the can and put it in. “Can’t even make that shot. Guess I really am tired.”

“Why don’t you suggest taking a break?”

The sergeant gave another flat laugh at the suggestion.

“Compared to the guys who really look like they’re about to die, we’re still better off, even if we’re getting worked without rest. If I feel like I’m really about to die, I’ll suggest it then. Thank you for worrying about me, sir, but I think the one who really needs rest is you, Major. You came here during your rare personal maintenance time just to check on our progress. Don’t you ever get tired?”

“I’m resting in my own way.”

“What part of this is rest?”

The sergeant checked the clock and stood up.

“I’ll get back to work now. Unless you enjoy the sound of guys soaked in oil stink and sour sweat snoring, you should find somewhere else to rest.”

“Thank you for keeping me company.”

“That’s my line, sir.”

After the sergeant left, Gyeoul had no reason to stay either.

Leaving the field maintenance depot’s makeshift break room, Gyeoul was about to head toward the barracks assigned to the task force, but after a brief hesitation, he changed direction. The garrison was large enough that he could have used a vehicle, but that would have been a bother for the Company drivers.

From the city area beside the university campus came occasional gunshots and explosions. The task force’s next battlefield was there too, downtown Davis. Multiple task forces could not simply sit around doing nothing until maintenance was finished. After a few days’ rest, they were all scheduled to be sent into urban combat. Even then, it would mostly be stragglers wandering or hiding there.

Boar Hunt had been taken over by other units.

Waaaah-

Wild cheers and fast music came from the direction of the university stadium. A visiting performance was currently underway there. Civilian cheer squads had come, of course, along with a large number of popular stars who wanted to help the troops, or needed to be seen doing so. Apparently, more of them had come because Gyeoul was here.

Gyeoul himself preferred quieter places.

South of the campus was an artificial lake made by damming river water, along with a walking path. It was a park that had fallen into long decay over five seasons without people, overgrown with weeds, but command had put personnel to work maintaining it with a long-term garrison in mind. It was for the sake of mentally exhausted soldiers.

Only basic mowing had been done so far, but it had already recovered much of its old appearance. There were still dried bloodstains here and there on benches and paving stones.

As the noise grew distant, a strange quiet settled over the area. This bleak silence was the true essence of 「Days after Apocalypse」. Walking through ruins had its own kind of charm, one that tightened around the heart. The viewers from another world seemed reasonably satisfied too.

Wheeeeeng-

The motor of a lawn mower approached. The soldier pushing it saw Gyeoul and hesitated for a moment, then gave a simple salute and passed by. Then there was silence again.

Sitting on a bench under a western-style octagonal pavilion, Gyeoul felt a rare odorless breeze. Then he noticed the vibration in his pocket and took out his Net Warrior terminal. A mobile messenger application authorized by the Department of Defense had piled up incoming notifications. One of them caught his eye.

『Jang Yeon-cheol: She still wants you to choose the name.』

“...”

It was about Song Ye-kyung, who had asked Gyeoul to choose her child’s name. She was the wife abandoned by the husband who had left for the Damul Promotion Association. Perhaps many people had sympathized with her loss, because people had gathered around her. In an earlier call, Min Wan-ki had said she was like the representative of the neutral faction. After all, the method the two department heads had chosen to get through Gyeoul’s absence smoothly had been to pretend they were at odds.

The mother had thrown away the baby’s name chosen by the father.

Gyeoul called. The signal had barely rung before a delighted voice answered.

[Oh, Little Captain. Is it okay to talk today?]

“Yes. I got a few days to rest.”

[Wow, that’s really good. You’re always so busy, I’m constantly worried you’ll get sick or hurt somewhere. Before, I couldn’t even sleep.]

“You didn’t have to cry, though.”

The teasing question, digging up the past, created a brief silence.

[Uh... I wish you’d forget about that now...]

“I don’t want to.”

[Yes...]

He could feel the gloom through the receiver. The crying had happened during their first call. Jang Yeon-cheol had spent all their limited time crying without managing to speak, and he was still embarrassed about it. Now he was officially a bureaucrat of the military government office, yet his attitude toward Gyeoul remained the same as before. It was rare.

“Anyway, about Committee Member Song Ye-kyung.”

Gyeoul had heard that she now belonged to the military government office too.

“You clearly told her I can’t be the godfather, right?”

That was why the decision had been delayed for so long over something as simple as choosing a baby name.

[Of course. But she asked whether you hadn’t promised to choose the name.]

“I did promise. But using that for something else is a separate issue, isn’t it? If she really wants me to decide, tell her to clear up people’s misunderstandings herself. Not leave them alone. Otherwise, she can choose it herself.”

[Department Head Min says she isn’t leaving them alone so much as encouraging them, but... hmm. Understood. You must be busy in all sorts of ways, so I’m sorry to bother you with something so minor.]

The reason she thirsted for influence was to settle her grudge. Min Wan-ki had seen it that way, and recently, Jang Yeon-cheol had begun worrying along similar lines.

The conversation moved on to the biggest current topic.

“How’s the mood?”

[The alliance is fine, but the Chinese enclave is literally at its worst. They said it’s hard to trust anyone from the mainland, military or police, so they’re assigning our people there. The vigilantes have also been recognized as a police cooperation organization. Like the Texas Rangers.]

“Je-jung must have liked that.”

[Yes, well. He’s kind, but he does have a bit of vanity.]

Gyeoul’s assessment of Je-jung was the same as that of both department heads.

“So there’s no backlash from the Chinese people?”

[No. Their reaction is more like they barely escaped death.]

“I’m worried the people assigned there might act arrogant...”

[You can relax. You remember those Chinese people we accepted before, don’t you? The ones talking about Wo Shing Wo and Shui Fong.]

“Ah.”

They were the people who had secretly delivered a letter at the logging site.

[Director An Je-jung picked those people and sent them as security assistants. Uh, actually, it was Department Head Min’s idea. Anyway, they’re former gangsters, but it’s nice that they’re all behaving quietly.]

Regardless of their nature and habits, of course they had no choice but to do that.

[Thanks to them, there haven’t really been any problems. I also thought it would have gotten very noisy if Korean alliance members had gone, so once again, I think Little Captain made a wonderful decision back then.]

“Enough praise.”

[It’s not praise. It’s fact.]

“...Anything else?”

[Anything else, anything else... Right. They say the creation of a unit made up of Chinese refugees has been put on hold. Instead, I heard they’re going to send the troops they’ve received so far somewhere else.]

“Where?”

[I don’t know that yet.]

Hmm. Gyeoul thought about their battlefield. It did not seem likely that low-trust forces would be sent this way, but if they created the image of Chinese people fighting the Shangjiang’s remnants, citizens whose hostility toward Chinese people had deepened across the board would likely see it as them cleaning up their own mess. It was the sort of staging the White House might want, beyond the Department of Defense. The current president was being criticized as too conciliatory toward Chinese refugees and citizens. When society was tested, human rights were always tested too.

[Um, Captain.]

Yeon-cheol drew Gyeoul’s silent attention back.

[You know that thing you asked me to look into before.]

“Which one?”

[That horrible thing the Japanese gangsters supposedly did.]

“Ah, that.”

[There was a reason it was classified, and why Sheriff Kathleen was careful with her words.]

Yeon-cheol paused for a moment. What could it be? Had they eaten people or something?

His rough guess was the truth.

[They... apparently ate people systematically...]

“...”

[They killed mostly people who weren’t useful... Whew.]

The elderly, the weak, people with disabilities, and, in a situation where men had died in droves and the sex ratio was skewed, young or underage women. The pretext must have been reducing useless mouths while strengthening the community at the same time.

‘So that was what they meant by pork.’

Chairman Tadaatsu Ryohei had apparently served human flesh to entertain Gyeoul. He also remembered the far-right youth screaming that his sister was a sow. Whether it was true or not, she would have been treated as filthy just for having been taken and returned. The reason she had not died was probably Gyeoul.

“Never tell anyone else that.”

[Of course! It wasn’t classified for nothing. If this became known, hatred against refugees would explode again...]

After letting out a deep sigh, Yeon-cheol asked for Gyeoul’s understanding.

[Oh, no. Captain. I’m sorry, but I think I have to hang up.]

“It’s fine. I’ll call again later when I have time.”

[Yes. I’m sorry.]

He said sorry twice before hanging up. He was a federal civil servant in his own right now. Today was Saturday, but given the nature of the region, a work call was plausible. Gyeoul toyed with the disconnected phone, let a few gusts of wind pass, then pressed call on another number.

========== Author’s Note ==========

#40,000 years

Forty thousand years have passed. The Chuseok holiday is over. You may feel as though only two days have passed, but that is an illusion. Days off are supposed to pass quickly.

I hope this novel helped you overcome your Monday blues. :)

#

Q. PoohWow: @I’m the person who posted the last comment about research accuracy, and I’m adding @ because I want everyone to see it. One of a novel’s strengths is two-way communication between reader and author. It would be a problem if the author were swayed by readers or lost direction due to reader pressure, but taking issue with readers giving opinions or advice is bad for the author instead. I did not order the author around, nor did I use an aggressive tone. I simply offered my opinion as one reader. The reason I said it might look like showing off research knowledge was because Yoo Heonhwa’s Dungeon Defense actually received comments asking whether the theatrical prose style and the use of both East Sea/Sea of Japan in Empire of Thugs were showing off research knowledge. It is not the same situation, but I was worried and gave that advice.

The reason I suggested reducing the research accuracy was only because I thought the time you spend on research might not be small, and wondered whether you might use that time to strengthen your ability as an author, review the scenario, or at least recharge through leisure time. Lastly, I want to say this to a few readers. I’m sorry if my comment looked overbearing or presumptuous, but regardless of whether my post was right or wrong, interpreting a request a reader can make to the author too aggressively, cornering that reader, and creating an atmosphere where it is hard to exchange opinions can also have a bad effect on the author and other readers, and can become an obstacle to the author’s future growth. Anyway, I’m enjoying your novel, author, and I wish you good writing!

A. This is something I already said to the readers, but as requested, I’m posting it so other people can see it. You must have felt hurt.

The viewpoint that treats improving ability and reviewing the scenario as separate from research accuracy still feels unfamiliar to me. But perspectives can differ.

Feeling that something is showing off research knowledge is similar. A feeling is emotional before it is rational. It means people do not feel that way on purpose. You can ask why they feel that way and talk about it, but you cannot start by condemning them.

As long as courtesy is kept, and as long as a conversation can happen, people should not be condemned simply because their thoughts differ.

Q. PoohWow: @Also, research accuracy does not necessarily decide a work’s quality. More than anything, Ossuary is a novel, not a military book.

I’m not saying research accuracy is entirely unnecessary or bad, but unless it harms immersion too much, it can be left out. Even old master Tom Clancy’s famous military novels have research errors. But they are not heavily criticized for it. Tom Clancy wasn’t writing academic books or a defense white paper. Countless classic dramas, films, and novels dealing with their contemporary eras also have research errors. And Ossuary is set in a game, isn’t it? I’m not disparaging the author’s effort. But some people talk as though reducing research accuracy would lower the work’s completeness or seriously damage immersion and plausibility, so I’m writing this.

A. Well... reducing research accuracy does lower the completeness of a work. It is only a question of whether many readers notice or few readers notice.

As you said, it is impossible to have no research errors. Even in this novel, there must be piles of errors I do not know about. But if you are an author, it is right to make as much effort as possible within realistic limits. In other words, it is professional ethics. A virtue that is not forced. That is what I think.

The same goes for the research errors in the Tom Clancy novels you gave as examples. Those are not errors created because the author abandoned efforts toward research accuracy simply because that made writing easier. They were things he could not help missing because of a lack of time or ability, or other real-world limits, or in cases like Red October, they were intentional devices for the story’s development.

I think saying that because errors ultimately cannot be avoided, it is fine to accept errors from the start, is results-based sophistry. It is an excuse suited to a lacking author like me. To use an extreme comparison, it is similar to the logic that since civilian casualties are inevitable in war, it is acceptable to tolerate a certain amount of civilian casualties. Even if they cannot be eliminated, there should naturally be an effort to minimize them. If one wants to be at least a little less ashamed.

Lastly, the research accuracy in this novel reflects the degree and accuracy with which the Control AI understands reality. So I find it difficult to accept the statement that because it is a game, things can be somewhat loose. I ask for your understanding on this point.

#I hope there will be no further debate on this issue.

When the comment section is on fire, the author gets gloomy. “Ah, there’ll be fewer comments with impressions of the novel today... sob...” Like that.

I basically like most comments except for hate comments like Skarlochen or personal attacks saying I look like Won Bin, but among them, I like impression comments the most.

I know well that you are not good readers. Still, with a heart that believes in the sincerity of the first president, I will trust you readers. I ask this of you. :)

#The Author’s Note got long, so I will skip answers to other comments. Fortunately, there were no important questions.

Footnotes:

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