WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 286: Sacramento (1)

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"Move it, you maggots!"

Corporal D'Angelo snapped. She was far stricter with the independent company soldiers than she had been before. It was probably because Gyeoul had asked her to train them like officer candidates. Cowed by the corporal's presence, the soldiers hurried through their preparations to move out. The task force's next operational area was Sacramento. The largest metropolitan area in California's Central Valley had become a fierce battlefield where 170,000 U.S. troops were now deployed.

After receiving the situation report, Captain Singh gave his assessment.

"It feels like their version of a suicide squad."

In other words, they were trying to sacrifice a few for the survival of the many. Gyeoul agreed.

"They must have wanted to pin us down somehow. It won't go the way they want."

Unfortunately for the mutants, Boar Hunt still had momentum. Most of the troops from the two northern states had moved south, and the quarantine front had shortened. Even if they left blockade troops behind in every city they encountered from here on, troop density would actually be higher than before.

"Still, we shouldn't expect the fighting to go as smoothly as it has so far. More than those cunning things adapting and trying tricks, I'm worried about the new special mutants. They're dangerous in restricted environments like urban combat. I hope we don't run into them..."

"That will be difficult, won't it? The eastern side of the metropolitan area touches the mountains. They've probably already pushed in."

The first contact reports with the unfamiliar monsters had come from California's spine, the Sierra Nevada. The fact that two different types had appeared at once was a little unexpected even for Gyeoul. Perhaps some of the existing special mutants had been culled because they were not useful enough.

'Probably Stalker... no, maybe Grumble too.'

Against the overwhelming superiority of the U.S. military, giant monsters were nothing but large targets that drew firepower. One shot from a tank's main gun or one Air Force bombing run, and bone and flesh came apart.

Command Sergeant Major Merriweather reported.

"Sir. We're ready to move."

Gyeoul nodded and looked around at his staff.

"Then let's board too. If there's anything to discuss, we can talk on the way."

So this time as well, their means of transport was the command armored vehicle. Communications officer Lieutenant Evans was already pale. The ride quality might be similar, but when it came to motion sickness, a Humvee was much better.

Gyeoul tapped the information section on the quarantine war specification command console. He wanted to check whether there was any new information. After a few seconds of loading, a long list appeared.

'There's a lot.'

Even now, written reports, photos, videos, briefings, and other materials were being updated in real time. The U.S. military had already grasped as much of the full picture as it needed for monsters whose first contacts had been yesterday and early this morning respectively. It was obvious by now, but a properly functioning state was an incredibly powerful thing.

After reorganizing the list by category, Gyeoul played the video with the highest view count.

Tat-tat-tat-tat-tang!

Even with the volume lowered, the loud gunfire startled the staff. Gyeoul made a slightly apologetic face and gave a small shake of his head. It was nothing.

「Damn it! Little bastard's hard as hell to hit!」

All kinds of curses came from the video. The voice sounded like an echo because Gyeoul's staff had also started sharing the screen on their own consoles.

The targets the soldiers were guarding against were all small and nimble. Mutation code Scamper. With bodies just over one meter tall, powerful lower bodies, and reverse-jointed legs, they could accelerate and change direction with shocking speed even in mountainous terrain. They seemed to have realized that in fights against humans, smaller size, in other words mutations that reduced the target area, could be more advantageous. Compared to a giant Grumble or a Trickster with complex internal mechanisms, they also looked easier to mutate.

Either way, if they bit, the mutant won.

「Enemy at 2 o'clock!」

「10 o'clock! Ugh, 7 o'clock too! These bastards are circling us!」

「Button! Cartwright! Grenades!」

「Frag out!」

Several grenades were thrown at once toward the swarm tightening its circle around the obstacles blocking their line of sight. The surrounding brush shook violently. Deformed dwarfs sprang out and scattered like wild animals fleeing a predator. Among them, a few acted completely differently.

Boom! Ba-boom!

「Shit! Those bastards covered them with their bodies! I don't believe this!」

That was not all. One leaped wildly and clamped down. It almost looked like a dog snatching a thrown ball. At that instant, its head burst open and tore down to its chest. The blast flung the body away. A spray of blood mixed with bone fragments splashed outward. The ones it covered escaped death. But only for that moment. While they gagged with flesh splattered in their eyes, light machine gun fire ground through their bodies.

「Shoot! Kill them all before they hide! Don't let them close the distance!」

Below the violently shaking screen, the support weapons gunner handling the light machine gun could be seen. Kneeling, the gunner fired in several bursts. Shell casings and broken links kept flying from the chamber without pause. There was no reload. The 500-round ammunition backpack was still heavy.

「Banks! How many grenade rounds do you have left?!」

「Uh... five rounds, sir!」

「Damn! Then fire those! 1st Squad! Suppressing fire that way! Drive them downhill!」

The nameless platoon leader's judgment was sound. The dwarfs, full of weaknesses because they had only just appeared, rolled and tumbled wildly down the rough slope. It looked as if they could not control their own speed and balance. One slammed into a tree with a thud, sprayed blood, collapsed, and lay there trembling its thick legs. Its neck had snapped after it hit headfirst.

Ahh!

A single scream. They had noticed too late the ones that closed in from a blind spot. The ambushed platoon leader had been bitten on the arm. No, the platoon leader had blocked with an arm. The combat uniform was the same new type worn by Gyeoul's task force. Even so, there was a crunching sound. Either the flesh under the uniform was being chewed, or the monster's teeth were being crushed.

The soldiers aiming their guns at the platoon leader hesitated, unable to shoot recklessly. Tat-tat-tat-tat! The clinging monster's belly tore open toward its back. The platoon leader, who had fired a rifle one-handed into the twisted abdomen, roared at the soldiers.

「You crazy bastards! Don't look away! I can watch my own ass!」

Taking advantage of the lull in the gunfire, the monsters that had turned back bounced in zigzags and shortened the distance.

「Throw flashbangs and grenades together!」

As the platoon leader gave the order, the platoon leader dropped the rifle and drew a pistol. Even with its spine severed, the dwarf monster hung on by the strength of its jaws alone and shook its head savagely. The platoon leader fired into that head at point-blank range.

「Eat this and get off me, fucker!」

Bang! Bang! Bang! The gunshots and muzzle flashes were large. It was a large-caliber (.357) pistol, not standard issue. Several rounds struck the mutant's eye, forehead, and head. Then at last, the top came off. Intended or not, it was a wound similar to DEVGRU's canoeing. The monster that had lost half its head went limp. The platoon leader pried its jaws loose and checked the forearm.

「Hah, hah... Damn it. Almost went to hell.」

The combat uniform itself had withstood the monster's teeth. Under the rolled-up sleeve, the flesh was dark with bruises. Still, avoiding infection was enough to call it lucky.

'Its bite force is about the level of an ordinary mutant.'

No living Scamper sample had been captured yet. So their exact bite force was unknown. But seeing that it could not pierce the new combat uniform, it was probably no better than a fighting dog's. Gyeoul recalled the demonstration by Sergeant Ian Mendoza, who had brought a military dog. From the sleeve to the elbow, the same cut resistance as the vital areas had been applied.

"That officer fights calmly. I heard the officer is newly commissioned."

Watching the battle approach its end, the operations officer sounded slightly impressed.

Clunk. The command armored vehicle shook. Lieutenant Evans grimaced. The state highway leading to the forward base set up at Sacramento International Airport was in poor condition. Though the air grew cool at times, the season that burned the earth was still ongoing, and the murderous direct sunlight melted the asphalt and cracked it wide open. If they drove even a little, Humvee tires turned sticky.

The intelligence officer voiced concern.

"Their movements are very quick. They also act as a group."

Gyeoul nodded.

"If we're unlucky, things like grenades might even be thrown back."

The current temporary countermeasure from higher command was to increase the number of grenades, flashbangs, and grenade rounds carried by soldiers. But that alone was not enough. Frontline commanders wanted the soldiers' weapons replaced. A fully automatic shotgun capable of sustained fire would be enough to shred them.

The strongest candidate was familiar to Gyeoul too. Not that any gun was unfamiliar to him, but in this world, it was the weapon Joanna had used when entering April Pacific, the AA-12. Even though it was close to a heavy weapon, the supervisor had handled it well.

'Its weight is a drawback, but... it should be fine. It can cover both long range and close range.'

Unlike the common image, shotguns did not only use close-range buckshot. With a single projectile, a slug, they could score hits at one hundred meters, and with special-purpose rounds, FRAG-12, they could hit from two hundred meters away.

But.

"Weapons replacement probably won't happen quickly..."

Too many units needed them right now. Shotguns were not mainstream weapons, so there was no way to supply that many instantly.

"I think we should make active use of mobile obstacles."

Captain Singh strongly agreed with Gyeoul's words.

"I was thinking the same thing. Something like a body bunker would be perfect. It should also work as a countermeasure against Hunters."

The Hunter was that other special mutant. Extra bloated lungs were attached to its back and torso, and it fired projectiles made of a tooth-like material using air pressure. The problem was that Infection Protrusions were embedded in those projectiles. Because the projectiles were heavy, new combat uniforms alone could not fully defend against them.

A medic who had been giving first aid at first without knowing anything had reportedly been bitten to death by the injured person after that person turned into a mutant.

"If the purpose is simply to check Scamper groups, attaching wheels to slat armor should also be useful. They are useless right now anyway, so if we request them, they will probably hand them over immediately."

Captain Singh's suggestion even took ease of procurement into account. Slat armor was additional armor shaped like a steel grate, meant to be attached to vehicles. It had originally been made so old-style rockets and the like would get caught on it and detonate, and in the quarantine war, its usefulness was very limited.

Gyeoul agreed.

"Slat armor with wheels... That's good. The places we'll be fighting are urban areas with paved roads anyway. The obstacles will have to be cleared either way... Hmm, even wheels taken off things like shopping carts should be enough."

In other words, they could improvise it on site. It would be a field modification.

'It's best to cull them early.'

Ineffective special mutants were no longer produced. Before the ones that had just appeared could prove themselves, before they spread further, they needed to be focused down and neutralized.

"Uh... what about asking for riot shields?"

The operations officer made a suggestion.

"In the video just now, the platoon leader blocked with an arm, didn't they? Riot shields should be very effective against monsters that resemble wild dogs. If we distributed around two per squad... And another advantage is that there should already be plenty of them. I don't know for certain, but each state should have tens of thousands. If we ask the police and FBI for cooperation, couldn't we have them airlifted as soon as today?"

Gyeoul looked troubled.

"It's a good idea from our perspective, but if we do that, the police will cry bloody murder."

"..."

"They might actually die, too."

Joanna had said there were still embers left. In other words, it would not be strange if riots broke out anytime, anywhere. For police who were already burdened by the prospect of bloody suppression, giving up riot-control tools would not be easy.

"Let's at least make the suggestion. The decision isn't ours."

Gyeoul rapidly tapped the keyboard. It was a report sent to the higher unit on the spot. In the fight against mutants, the judgments and suggestions of frontline commanders were given real weight. This was sometimes reflected in personnel evaluations too. So the report had to accurately mention the rank, position, and name of the person who proposed it.

========== Author’s Note ==========

#Today's recommended song - Django Unchained Soundtrack - Freedom (Cover by Justine Dorsey & Octavius Womack)

This is Freedom, an OST from the movie Django Unchained. Since it's a good song, I'm sure many of you know it, but among the covers, the version sung by Justine Dorsey and Octavius Womack was truly amazing.

#Q&A

Q. Kyogre: @Seeing how Author says it's nothing serious, I guess Min Wan-ki must have left a knife by Author's bedside at night? lol

A. I don't have a head at night.

Q. wnsdlfh: @Uh, sorry, but when was White Fox told not to come? Maybe because it's been a while since I checked the chat window, I don't really know. T_T

A. It wasn't from the chat window. Hmm, but I don't remember exactly which part it was either... If I find it later, I'll let you know.

Q. Sunshine Nap: @Before I called your name, you were nothing but a gesture. When I called your name, you became CrawlingChaos to me. ...I called thinking it would be a flower, but if it turned out to be CrawlingChaos when I saw it in person, it would be total chaos... Thanks to this chapter, fortunately, the control personality seems like it will become a flower, not CrawlingChaos.

A. That's right. Because this novel ends with a happy ending. I am honest. I do not lie. Readers who did not believe me must reflect on their own wickedness.

Q. Tntn12: @The true heroine is the control AI!

A. The Star Child's position in the story is... Whew, I can't tell you.

Q. Love^^: @Will the control personality be able to build a romance line with Gyeoul...? But it's Tunguska, so it probably won't work... Therefore I hate Skarlochen! Hail Skarlochen!

A. Romance line?... I will satisfy you fully later. It will be no use regretting it when that time comes.

Q. GreenTurtle: @(Omitted) + Is Mr. Vladimir happily gaming with even more Koreans?

A. Uncle Vladimir has his own work to do.

Q. JustSoSoAnyway: @A conversation with the control personality after the chat window when the chapter ends, I'm really happy. Everything I like came out, so I'm looking forward to the next chapter too haha

A. I'll try to write content that meets your expectations. :)

Q. coltes45: @Gyeoul has many skill levels and seems to have seen the ending several times... Why do the viewers talk as if they've almost never seen the ending? Is it because the trend passed?

A. Gyeoul has no record of clearing Days after Apocalypse. They all ended in apocalypse.

Q. svjk: @Author's comment that Gyeoul is a child with a frozen heart suddenly stands out to me... If I also think about the children's names that were accidentally wrong early on, as you mentioned before, I feel like I can slightly guess what sad story Author first had in mind. Looking at the development so far, I think a sad ending would somehow fit better. Do you have any thought of releasing the original version, even as an extra, instead of the happy ending with the contents changed a little?

A. That would be difficult. Many parts have already changed, so the amount I would have to write has increased just as much. And personally, I think the current direction may be better.

Q. qgegegqe: @I will become the god of the new world! Star Child, giving off an increasingly dangerous mood, and Gyeoul training them...

A. I saw a similar impression on Naver. They said it was like a grand process in which a god was being made.

Q. darkniszero: @Author was not actually a Great Old One, but the blind idiot father.

A. It would be troubling if you knew too much. :(

Q. Exterminatus: @Finished rereading. I have a question. I might have missed it because I read in a hurry, but you said the infection method is the Infection Protrusions embedded in the tongue, right? Does infection happen just through simple contact, or do they have to make a wound by biting and inject the infectious agent? Seeing how there are no mutants like the Smoker from L4D even though that kind of thing seems like it could appear, it seems like the latter by context, but I would appreciate it if you could answer with detailed settings added.

A. It's the latter. Infection happens when secretions from the Infection Protrusions, that is, the Morgellons complex, enter through the affected area. This complex is very different from ordinary bodily fluids. If it touches a mucous membrane, infection can occur even without a wound. If the complex is exposed to the air without a medium, it does not survive long.

Footnotes:

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