WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Little Prince in the Ossuary

Chapter 77

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After the Rain (7)

Gyeoul watched how the Chinese moved when left to themselves.

They bunched up, then scattered with a shout.

It looked like a gang street fight.

The tension of real combat could blank out your mind. People with no experience tended to forget their training once things turned real. A few weeks of training could not make a seasoned fighter. At most, it drilled the manual into your body and laid the groundwork for reflexive obedience to orders.

That was why someone had to lead. Li Ailing was still clumsy in many ways, but she was filling that role for now. Corporal Rivera summed her up like this.

“She is about the level of a baby chick fresh out of West Point.”

It was an unfair assessment. Not of Ailing, but of academy-trained Ensigns.

West Point was the home of the U.S. Military Academy. American cadet training was highly practical. The country that fought the most wars in the world was not going to run a sloppy military school. The problem was that no matter how hard the training was, it still could not replace even one real combat experience.

Even so, Gyeoul said nothing. It was just a biased joke anyway. U.S. NCOs rose from enlisted ranks. From the perspective of people with deep combat experience, it was natural that new Ensigns rubbed them the wrong way.

It was not an unreasonable feeling. Their lives were on the line.

The Chinese would grow from this experience too. The U.S. training system was built for that. Combat cameras mounted on ballistic helmets recorded every step of an operation. Later, anyone could review their own actions objectively, through their own viewpoint and through third-person footage.

I should not have done that there. I think I can do better next time. That feeling mattered.

Gyeoul only advised them when necessary.

Even with that kind of movement, the operation was still going smoothly because Bradley really was a tiny, insignificant town. According to the briefing, Bradley’s pre-outbreak population had been around ninety. Aerial recon had not found any serious threats either.

Li Ailing seemed suspicious of that. When her squad was given a break, she came over and asked him.

“Why does the U.S. military need this village?”

Her voice was a little tired. Gyeoul asked without taking his eyes off the ongoing building search.

“What do you mean?”

“I started wondering what this operation is for. There is no key facility here, and the surrounding terrain does not look favorable for defense. Is this maybe to build our real combat experience...”

A loud commotion cut her off. The Chinese were shouting. It was not behavior worth praising in combat. Still, compared to the beginning, when they could barely move at all, they had improved a lot.

Someone kicked a door open and threw in a grenade. Boom. Sparks and fragments burst out, and two Chinese volunteers pressed against the doorframe fired into the room. It was a rough, full-mag burst. Gyeoul got on the radio.

“You two shooting right now, vary your height angles if you can.”

Both men flinched and looked back. Gyeoul continued.

“Do not point your muzzle at your allies. Treat every weapon as loaded at all times. And this is not training. Keep your eyes forward. You would hate to die like that, right? Ah, reload, reload. Remember your training. Stay calm and do it.”

The two men fumbled like they had made a catastrophic mistake. That was exactly why Gyeoul did not bark at them.

Li Ailing took off her sunglasses and covered her face with one hand. He could feel her embarrassment. She had probably seen herself in them. Gyeoul did not bother turning around, but he could read her movements from the corner of his eye. He almost told her she had been better than those two, then stopped. She would likely hear it as empty comfort. Instead, he called out to the people who had frozen.

“Squad leader. No further orders?”

[Yes! Sorry, Boss! Hey, you lazy nanmanzi bastards! Move in! Move in!]

“Watch your language.”

[Ah, understood!]

Nanmanzi meant southern barbarian. The Triad originated in Hong Kong, and Hong Kong sat next to Guangdong, so maybe it had become a customary insult among them.

Profanity was common in the military, but if he wanted them to function as soldiers, he had to strip away their gangster habits first. That was the point of telling them to watch their language.

The members who had pushed in while covering each other came back out dragging two bodies. They were ordinary mutants with eroded skin. After hauling them out, they wiped their hands on their pants and made a big fuss.

The order to drag out every corpse one by one was meant to give visible proof of results. It was part of an effort to build confidence however they could.

Gyeoul allowed the search team to rest while maintaining security.

Ailing said coldly, “I think I understand now how the brothers in Atascadero died.”

It was also self-reproach, but Gyeoul shook his head.

“You should not say things like that. Anyway, what were you about to ask earlier?”

Another explosion sounded nearby. Under the control of U.S. soldiers and Corporal Rivera, Chinese volunteers were searching several buildings at once. The operation was in its final stretch. The village was so small there were no buildings left to take.

After the echo faded, Ailing returned to her delayed question.

“Could this operation be, I mean, something you designed for us, Teacher?”

“You know I do not have that authority, right?”

Gyeoul explained the value of the operation as far as he knew.

“This is what Lieutenant Colonel Capston told me too. The U.S. military wants to secure the route. Farther downstream is the San Ardo Oil Field. It looks like they plan to seize it, bring in refugee laborers, and run it. I heard it is fairly large. Bradley is roughly the midpoint on that transport line.”

The San Ardo Oil Field had produced about forty thousand barrels per year in the early 21st century. At the starting point of the Days after Apocalypse setting, its recoverable lifespan was not very long, but for Fort Roberts alone it still had more than enough reserves.

“Restarting just a few drilling rigs could probably cover Fort Roberts’s fuel demand. Long term, it might even supply other bases. Of course, keeping a refinery running is still a burden, but is that not reason enough?”

Ailing answered with a slightly impatient tone.

“Even so, only Chinese people were mobilized for this operation, and you were put in command. That does not feel like coincidence. Did you really do nothing?”

“I made a proposal. We agreed from the start that I would.”

“......”

That had been Gyeoul’s condition during negotiations with Li Qinzhen. Li Qinzhen had talked big while having no real leverage over the U.S. military, while Gyeoul, whatever came next, was keeping his word.

“I also heard many of your people opposed it.”

“They are not my subordinates. I am only a representative they elected. And yes, there was opposition. We had never run an external operation with this high a volunteer ratio, and all of them were armed Triad personnel. Even with U.S. troops present, their numbers were small. To be honest, many people still do not trust the Triad.”

In truth, that concern was unnecessary. Once volunteers also started receiving combat cameras on deployment, the U.S. military could assign fewer personnel to refugee control. The cameras doubled as black boxes. If the refugee volunteers had any sense, they would not try anything against the U.S. military.

Li Ailing nodded energetically.

“So despite that opposition, you still honored your loyalty to us.”

Gyeoul watched her quietly and asked,

“What are you so anxious about?”

The Triad’s female Xiangzhu fell silent. Gyeoul wondered why she wanted to confirm his goodwill toward the Triad so badly.

[Lieutenant Han. We have fully secured all sectors. I took the liberty of splitting and placing the 3rd platoon near the western access route to monitor the surroundings. Any additional instructions?]

Corporal Rivera’s voice came over the radio. Gyeoul answered.

“Good work. Set the rest of the platoons’ guard zones at your discretion. Also, 1st platoon is reserve. I will keep them with me. Once deployment is complete, call the engineers immediately.”

[Understood. Rivera out.]

Because he knew the operating procedure well, Gyeoul gave his orders without hesitation. The augmented reality UI was useful, but not essential.

The reason he specifically designated 1st platoon as reserve was his unfinished talk with Li Ailing. While Gyeoul was on comms, she had been biting her lip. She looked like she regretted revealing too much too easily. Of course, even that could have been an act. Gyeoul had no intention of quickly trusting a criminal’s daughter, a woman who had also been involved in crime herself.

Even after the radio exchange ended, Ailing stayed quiet. But since it was obvious Gyeoul was waiting for her to speak, she could not stay silent forever.

“I will be honest. I am worried Chinese people might become scapegoats.”

“Scapegoats?”

“Yes. When society becomes unstable, is it not common to look for someone to dump all resentment on? People are already saying Corpse Rot might have been deliberately created.”

Not long ago in this world’s timeline, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the currently known transmission route and characteristics of Morgellons.

People had already learned through experience that it was not airborne, so the finding that infection occurred only through Infection Protrusions formed inside infected mutants’ mouths was not especially useful. Still, the announcement mattered because it gave people certainty.

It was not entirely old news for Gyeoul. There was one new point: Morgellons was not a disease caused by a single pathogen. They were not certain, but the announcement said it was presumed to be a complication involving symbiotic parasites, viruses, and other pathogens.

Then the CDC spokesperson mentioned the possibility that this plague had been artificially created. A multi-species symbiotic structure that could exist only with humans as hosts would be hard to explain as a natural emergence.

Gyeoul said, “I understand your concern, but I do not think America is going to go that far off the rails. That kind of collective blame mindset was more common in East Asia, was it not?”

In a multiethnic country like the U.S., that kind of thing was less likely. But Ailing saw it differently.

“We are living in an era where nothing can stay as it was. Americans are no different. So I thought we had to prove our value.”

“To the zookeeper?”

Ailing flinched. It was an expression she had used before. She had warned him he was only high-breed livestock, and that if a better breed appeared, he would be discarded without mercy. It had been a threat in all but name. Ailing hesitated, then dropped her stern expression as if conceding and gave an awkward smile.

“Sometimes it is hard to tell whether Teacher Han has a good personality or a bad one.”

“Everyone is like that. People have limits.”

“Limits?”

Gyeoul did not explain what he meant. Maybe she decided it was not that important, because Ailing did not press him. She just nodded and returned to her broken thread.

“Right. If we do not want to be slaughtered as an outlet for anger, we have to prove we are useful livestock. Like you did. So today I was deeply disappointed in myself and in my brothers and sisters. We were far too lacking for all the resolve we claimed to have. That is why I thought we needed to find another way.”

“Another way? Is there one?”

“I do not have the confidence to say it now. I might never be able to tell you.”

A sudden wave of noise rolled in. The engineers and refugee laborers had started tearing down unnecessary buildings and running heavy trenchers to cut deep ditches around the perimeter. They were not making defensive trenches. They would drive steel frames into them and pour concrete to lay the foundation for a wall.

As the noise drew close, the conversation naturally ended.

============================ Author's Note ============================

Q. HalfHalfChickenIsTruth: @By the way, author, are you not going on vacation? Even if you do, you will still write for us, right? T_T lol

A. No, if I am writing a novel, I do not think that counts as a vacation anymore.

Q. Cheongnyuryeon: @Hm? Your post is up on Noble Tube, so what do you mean there would be no update! I hope many people read this and get filled with childlike innocence!

A. As an apostle of childlike innocence myself, I hope so too, but the world is harsh and people are not interested in innocence.

Q. PAM: @Gyaaak guaaak

A. Huh? You are telling me to go play Overwatch? Understood! Thank you!

Q. PumpkinPumpkin: @It is year 42,016 now, so the next chapter will come out in 82,016. Since my species only lives 100 years, I am entering a cryo capsule. Bye everyone.

A. Your lifespan is only 100 years... through this, we have learned that vine vegetables, pumpkins, can live for a hundred years.

Q. realrosty: Reading again and got curious. People wore gas masks because they did not know the exact infection route, right? So has the exact route been confirmed now? Did I forget something...

A. No. You read it correctly. Nothing else has been revealed beyond the point that it is almost certain it does not spread through air.

Q. Moranon: @I am really enjoying this. On Joara, I only turned on update alerts for this, Reincarnated Sword God, and Helkeginia. When you resume serialization 40,000 years later, please do rapid-fire updates.

A. I came back because I did not want to do rapid-fire updates. T_T

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