WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 361: A Splendid Invitation (13)

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The Company members cheered over the pizza because they had eaten nothing but lavish meals throughout the tour. A parade of fine dishes they had never even heard of in their lives was nice, but longing for the foods they had always liked was tied to nostalgia for the past.

If they had truly wanted it, they could probably have used the hotel’s concierge service. But the Company members were trying to save money. Senator Brennan’s proposal had been passed on to everyone. As a result, even in Las Vegas, few had used the casinos, and fewer still had spent large sums.

At any rate, Talbot smiled at the sight of the Alpha Company members enjoying themselves.

“When they like it that much, it makes treating them feel rather rewarding.”

Then Talbot urged Gyeoul and Anne as well.

“Please eat before it gets cold. I prepared as many options as possible, so there should be something for every preference.”

At that moment, by coincidence, Yura’s disappointed voice drifted over.

“Huh? Hawaiian... There’s no pineapple pizza.”

She had been circling the table where the pizzas were laid out, and in the end, she seemed not to have found what she wanted. Gyeoul tilted his head.

“I guess there are some kinds they don’t have?”

Talbot wiped the smile from their face and answered seriously.

“The Central Intelligence Agency does not insult pizza.”

“...”

“I’m joking. Joking. Lieutenant Colonel, you do not get many chances to go to places like supermarkets, so you would not know. Pineapples are in short supply these days. They say there was trouble at the alternative production areas. Since more and more islands outside the mainland are being secured as safe zones, it should be solved before long... but for now, that is how it is.”

Gyeoul looked at Yura’s back for a moment. Since that day, she had shown no sign of any major change. When their eyes met, she sometimes gave him an unreadable smile, but that was all. So the greater worry lay in the world outside.

Gyeoul drew his gaze back and asked Talbot,

“Is maritime transport running smoothly?”

“Yes. Although the number of special mutant Melville Ray continues to rise despite our best efforts at extermination, even ordinary cargo ships are now being fitted with fish finders and mine projectors, so they are not a major threat at present. Sailors’ weapons and training have also been strengthened. There is nothing in particular being hidden about this.”

It was a fairly optimistic attitude.

As Gyeoul had gone over several times before, the strengthening of mutants’ combat ability was a means of overcoming humanity’s resistance. Therefore, mutant hordes on islands that had been uninhabited to begin with and only had people land there after the plague spread, or islands where the residents had withdrawn early or been wiped out, did not pose much of a threat to the U.S. military. The American government was taking over islands like that and using them as plantation bases. That was the reality behind the alternative production areas Talbot had mentioned.

This was information available to the general public as well. Gyeoul had merely wanted to confirm with an Intelligence Agency agent whether it was the whole truth.

‘Still... the more time passes, the harder it will become to respond.’

Sea monsters were harder to keep in check than land monsters. Their numbers would only keep increasing. The one comfort was that these things were still special mutants, so they could not reproduce as easily as ordinary mutants. Could the humans of this world really find a way before it was too late?

There had also been news recently about a pod of killer whales with food poisoning washing up on a beach.

Worrying about it here would do no good.

Cutting off his thoughts, Gyeoul took some deep-dish pizza onto his plate. The cheese and tomato sauce, mixed with generous toppings, were so hot and heavy that they could not bear their own weight and oozed down in soft lumps. A thick aroma rose from the cut surface like steam. The thick cheese stretched on and on, forcing Gyeoul to wind it around his knife several times.

The taste was better than expected. The flavor of cheese and tomato filled his mouth, and the texture was excellent. One slice alone felt like it would be enough calories for a meal.

Anne hesitated a little before choosing a very thin New York-style pizza. But after taking one bite almost for show, she set her utensils down. She did not touch them again until Gyeoul’s plate was empty.

“Do you have no appetite?”

At Talbot’s question, Anne gave a vague yes.

“I’m not really in the mood. I’ll eat slowly.”

“Hmm. At this hour, you should be fairly hungry...”

Talbot stared at her quietly, as though noticing something, then gave a mischievous smile.

“Ahh, I see. Mm, I understand. Haha.”

Anne shot Talbot a displeased look.

“Stop saying useless things and state your business, Agent Talbot.”

“Oh dear. Would there not be plenty of time even after the meal?”

The CIA agent pretended to be troubled, then turned to Gyeoul.

“There are two matters that require Lieutenant Colonel Han Gyeoul’s cooperation.”

“Go ahead.”

“You may listen while you eat.”

But what followed was not something to hear lightly.

“Which one should I mention first...”

After a moment’s thought, Talbot asked,

“Lieutenant Colonel. Do you by any chance remember Point Charlie 854, which you made contact with during Operation Fair Strike... and its leader, Vice Admiral Xieru of the former Chinese People’s Liberation Army?”

Gyeoul stopped. Before answering, he looked around again. Agents in suits, wearing receivers in their ears, stood at regular intervals, so the Alpha Company members were naturally on the other side of them. The conversation here would be buried under their chatter.

Gyeoul pushed his plate slightly away and answered.

“Of course I remember. She was a key target.”

“She wants to meet you.”

“...I need a more detailed explanation.”

Just as Gyeoul was flustered by the unexpected name, Anne also showed no small amount of surprise.

“Vice Admiral Xieru? She was alive? And you have her in custody?”

“She is not under our jurisdiction, but yes. She is alive. It seems she barely escaped the bay before the nuclear retaliation hit. After that, she drifted due to a lack of fuel and surrendered to the Carl Vinson strike group.”

Gyeoul thought back to that dawn, to that horribly chaotic sea. While the U.S. Navy laid a great number of mines along the coast, the former People’s Liberation Army trapped inside the bay had not been sitting idle either. They had prepared several cargo ships with hulls packed full of styrofoam as a way to break through the minefield.

The U.S. Navy had failed to blockade the mouth of the bay, Golden Gate. They had been badly outnumbered. Far too many ships must have poured out.

That was the reality every intelligence agency faced at this point. Each spark was easy enough to extinguish on its own, but there were too many scattered everywhere, making suppression difficult.

Gyeoul asked,

“Why does she want to see me? No, first I should hear why you are passing on this request.”

If the vice admiral had simply been captured as a prisoner, there was no reason for the Intelligence Agency to go out of its way to connect them. They had deceived her to the end with the cover identity, so there was no way she held good feelings toward him either.

‘In other words, the vice admiral has some use.’

What that use was, exactly...

“Your judgment is truly quick.”

Talbot scratched their cheek.

“She says she will take the blame for everything.”

“Don’t tell me...”

The CIA agent confirmed the doubt Gyeoul had shown.

“That is it. She will stand in court as a main co-conspirator in the nuclear terrorism.”

“Is that possible?”

The question came from Anne, her brow creasing.

“It seems possible.”

“How?”

“Several Chinese military generals, including Major General Lei Yanlie, are scheduled to testify to her charges. And... the sweep of Shangjiang Yang Yongbin’s remnants is nearly complete. Some of the prisoners captured alive have accepted the role of witnesses. They have agreed to give the necessary testimony in court.”

“...”

“Vice Admiral Xieru will become the person who prepared the nuclear attack as Shangjiang Yang Yongbin’s trusted subordinate, and the leader who commanded the remnants after Shangjiang Yang Yongbin’s death. Some people will doubt it, but since the scenario has been planned in detail, we expect it to be persuasive enough for most people. The rest will depend on how well the vice admiral herself plays her role.”

“This... won’t the backlash be enormous if the truth comes out later? Even if you do your best to keep the information from leaking, there is always a what-if.”

Anne voiced the concern Gyeoul had thought of first, and Talbot added to it.

“That is why the current administration will carry that burden. Even if the trial itself continues until the next administration takes office, the one that fabricated the testimony and evidence will still be the current MacMillan administration.”

The president was prepared to become a political sacrifice after leaving office if it came to that. If it could stitch a divided civil society back together, he would accept that much.

This time, Gyeoul asked a question.

“Did Vice Admiral Xieru accept this plan easily?”

“You may think this unexpected, but the first person to propose it was the vice admiral herself.”

“Mm...”

It was not that unexpected. He had asked with the possibility in mind. Still, it was the best possibility one could expect from the kind of person Vice Admiral Xieru was. Her fence was for herself above all else, and the ambition she had held was a future centered on herself.

Anne looked doubtful.

“On what grounds did you believe that?”

“We believed machines and drugs, not a person.”

It meant they had used methods like lie detectors or truth serum. Was she sincerely prepared to sacrifice herself, or was it a display of malice meant to screw over America to the very end? They only needed to distinguish that. The plan itself benefited Chinese-American citizens and refugees, as well as the federal government.

Talbot looked at Gyeoul.

“If you find it too burdensome, you may refuse. Since you deceived each other back and forth, facing each other now would also be uncomfortable... and that woman did not seem to have high expectations either. Even if she cannot meet you, I doubt she will suddenly change her attitude. It is just that how much enthusiasm she gives us is a separate matter, so we are confirming your wishes, Lieutenant Colonel.”

If things went as intended, this world’s future would gain a considerable amount of stability.

After thinking briefly, Gyeoul decided to accept the first request.

“All right. Please arrange it.”

As if the quick consent was unexpected, Talbot blinked.

“Uh, it would be fine for you to take about a day before deciding.”

“No. I want to meet her once.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. If I had never known, that would be one thing, but after hearing this, I think it would keep bothering me if I didn’t meet her. I’m also curious what she’ll say to me. Truthfully, when I saw her before, she was quite a decent person. Enough that I feel sorry things turned out this way.”

“If that is how you feel... Thank you for your cooperation. I will contact you again officially about the exact place and time.”

As the Intelligence Agency agent expressed thanks, Gyeoul asked about the next matter.

“Anyway, you said earlier there were two requests. What is the other one?”

Talbot looked regretfully at the pizza cooling during their drawn-out conversation. But to Gyeoul, it looked like a gesture meant to hide hesitation. What could it be, if Talbot found it harder than the first? Feeling his gaze, Talbot took a deep breath that resembled a sigh, then carefully opened their mouth.

“Before I speak in earnest, I must ask you this first. It may be an impolite question, so I apologize in advance.”

“You said it wouldn’t ruin the meal, but I guess it wasn’t something to listen to comfortably while eating either.”

“Haha...”

Talbot laughed awkwardly, then after stalling again, asked a truly unexpected question.

“Lieutenant Colonel. How was your relationship with your parents?”

What was this? Gyeoul felt an uncomfortable sense of absurdity.

Footnotes:

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