Chapter 86: |
00086 <-- #Night by the lake -->
------------------------------------------------------------------------
#Night by the lake (5), Santa Margarita Lake
"Ugh, there's no way. We can't cross it."
Jeffrey sighed deeply, and these words were not an exaggeration. Everyone in the Humvee shared the same opinion. Gyeoul was carefully examining the map once again, tracing the upper reaches of the Buritto River.
The source of the river was the high mountains to the south. The water flowing down from the northern slope of the mountain joined the lowlands to the west of Lake Santa Margarita. Even if they assumed that the dried-up waterways still existed, the chances of finding a point where vehicles could cross by detouring upstream were extremely slim.
Gyeoul made a decision.
"Leave the vehicles behind."
At first, nobody understood what the young officer meant. Does abandoning the vehicle s give them a way out?
"I should have brought a launcher. We should have anticipated this situation, but we were short-sighted."
The grappling hook launcher operated by the U.S. military had a basic principle similar to an air gun. It compressed air and fired a grappling hook by attaching it. It wasn't a common piece of equipment because it was an item that was seldom used. There were also grenade-type grappling hooks that could be attached to the muzzle of a rifle, but they were too small for a person to hang on. It was also not the item that was currently available.
Gyeoul said, "We have grappling hooks, don't we? We can throw it yourself. Hurry up; if we delay any longer, we may not be able to do even that."
The river water was rising rapidly. If the surroundings were completely submerged, it would be too late. Jeffrey replied, "The wind is strong, so I'm not sure if it will work. I'll gather those who are confident."
Fortunately, there were enough grappling hooks. As they tied the rope to the grappling hook, the soldiers didn't feel proud of their work. Corporal Elliott mumbled, "I did trained with this, but I never thought I'd have to use this in a real situation..."
Sergeant Lieberman retorted, "There's a reason for every training, mate."
"Who cares? There's all kinds of stuff in life. I don't think anyone in the entire army has tried this."
Even though they chose a narrow point in the river, the distance they had to throw was close to 40 meters. To make matters worse, they had to attempt it in an environment where it was raining and the wind was strong. It was a challenge, even for Gyeoul, who had 「Throw」 calibration.
At first, the soldiers acted like cowboys in the Wild West, spinning the rope and then throwing. The hooks flew wildly due the turbulent air currents, falling into the middle of the river and flopping into the water. As failures piled up, soldiers began to get discouraged and started to throw more like in the textbook. They added inertia by closing their hands and threw their bodies together when releasing the spinning rope.
-Splash.
The ending was quite unimpressive. With every throw, the soldiers who tumbled over became covered in dirt. The soldiers who hadn't had their turn yet laughed mockingly. However, they soon found themselves in the same situation. The disheveled soldiers cheered each other on.
"Cheer up, Combat Engineers! This is your field of expertise, isn't it!"
"Shut up!"
With determination, the combat engineer ran, hook in hand, and leaped over the trench. Maintaining this posture, he aimed the hook forward. The hook, forming an arc, flew through the air but missed the intended tree by quite a margin. The combat engineer's head then met the ground.
Gyeoul didn't mind getting dirty either. The commander wasn't in a position to look clean. The rain would wash it away anyway. The only uncomfortable part was the clumps of dirt that got inside his clothes.
Time passed. As Gyeoul was considering whether to invest in 「Throw」 at the expense of wasted experience points, a suppressed cheer erupted. At last, one grappling hook hung on the oak tree on the opposite bank. The successful soldier clenched his fists and rejoiced. The surrounding soldiers patted his shoulders and armored vest.
Gyeoul assembled his troops and gave orders. "Gather the vehicles at the higher ground up there. It looks about 40 meters higher than the riverbank. With that much elevation, there shouldn't be a risk of losing the vehicles even if the lowlands flood. There are trees around, making it easier to camouflage. Tank crews, stay here to guard the vehicles. Given the firing range of the main gun, we should be able to receive fire support if needed. Let's go now. Go to the east to confirm how far we can have visibility and report back."
A little later, the tank commander reported that the main gun could shoot 1.3 kilometers. Even if they took the other side of the river as the reference point, it was still about 1 kilometer. Sergeant Lieberman was satisfied with this.
"The distance we need to travel after crossing the river is about 5 kilometers on foot... If 20% of the route is within the tank's firing range, we can feel somewhat secure, even if we end up being pursued."
Jeffrey asked for Gyeoul's opinion. "Lieutenant, do you think it's okay for us to cross as an independent squad? It's about 10 kilometers round trip, so assuming we need to go in, open the flood gates, and come out, it will take us around three hours."
Crossing as an independent squad meant that they wouldn't carry a backpack and only carry basic weapons and ammunition. Gyeoul couldn't agree to that.
"I don't know about that. If you're really unlucky and the dam breaks while you're on the way, you'll have to take refuge in high ground and wait for the water to recede, right? There's a possibility of being isolated for an extended period, so I don't think an independent squad is suitable. At the very least, you should have supplies for about three days, including food, fuel, sleeping bags, and spare ammunition."
"What? Three days? Would we really need that much? Anyway, the area is almost entirely lowland, so it should only take a day for the water to recede if it happens."
"You never know. Each of you should take nine packs of combat rations. It's best to bring lighter items to keep the weight down."
Not all combat rations had the same weight. Depending on the menu, there could be more than a 200-gram difference. Even if it seemed insignificant, nine packs added up to nearly 2 kilograms. By bringing lighter items, it meant that they could have three meals with the same weight.
If they had First Strike Rations (FSR), which were content-reduced combat rations, they might be able to carry more. But they didn't have them now.
Sergeant Lieberman shook his head with a drowsy face. "It's great to be meticulous, but you don't need to worry that much. Our boys are not so weak that they'll be bothered by a difference of 1 or 2 kilograms. The distance is also short. The problem is the volume, and so we'll have to take quite a few other things off the arsenal."
The soldiers began to move busily. It took some time to assemble the rations again. Gyeoul had also made a military backpack himself. As the sergeant said, the weight was the least of his worries.
Now that the preparations were complete, it was time to decide who would cross first. The soldiers looked uneasily at the rattling rope. It was not an ideal condition like in a training field. They were a little anxious whether the hook was securely fastened. Even if several people already pulled it together to confirm it integrity, they still couldn't be completely reassured. They would only breathe easy after someone goes over, fixes and secures the rope.
At this point, Gyeoul, who was about to step forward as the first to cross, was stopped by the other soldiers.
"You emphasize the merits of leading by example too much, Lieutenant. It's better to send our platoon leader, he's got a lot of stolen paychecks, so he should do the least he can."
"Hey, why are you picking a fight with me?"
Jeffrey snapped at Gulemi, Private First Class. It was a light-hearted joke.
He hesitated for a moment, but Winter was not one to make concessions at first. It was better to minimize the risk. Is it necessary to waste points on increasing 「Movement」 to Level 14?
The boy tied himself to the rope so that he could cross first. A thin rope was tied around his waist in case something went wrong. If he fell into the water, it would be a lifeline for the soldiers to pull him.
Now he bent his right foot and hooked it on the rope, spreading his left leg to balance. In that state, he pulled the rope and moved forward. The pace was like a light jog.
In just a matter of seconds, Gyeoul had crossed the river, and lowered himself onto the tree and retrieved the hook lodged between the branches. The soldiers on the other side loosened the rope a bit. It was to provide slack to make it easier to retie. Gyeoul jumped under the tree. He then wound the rope around the oak tree twice, securing it tightly with multiple knots. The same work was being done on the opposite side.
Next, the soldiers attached the squad leader's military backpack to the rope. The lifeline that had been tied around his waist was now for pulling the backpack.
The soldiers crossed with precarious moments a few times, but fortunately, no accidents occurred. When everyone successfully crossed, Gyeoul checked his watch. The current time was 8:51 PM. If things went well, they could return here before midnight.
The path was a gentle incline from the beginning. It was so narrow that it was difficult for a single tank to pass. This road, with cracks here and there, has a name. Las Pilitas. It was a neighborhood with a large Latin American immigrant population, making it hard to believe that one were in the United States just by looking at the names or road signs.
"There are neighborhoods where English isn't used at all."
Following this peculiarly named road, the plan was to follow upstream to the Salinas River. The dam was the source of the river.
The ascent continued for nearly a kilometer. Despite the cold weather, Gyeoul's body heated up. Marching was inherently like that, and Gyeoul, with his heavier military backpack than the other soldiers, had packed more ammunition and rations. The soaked insides of his combat boots were also not conducive to marching.
Gyeoul was personally satisfied. He enjoyed the physical strain. Pain was a form of reality. That's why he intentionally set a high pain tolerance coefficient.
When the ascent ended and they descended from the hill, they came face to face with the Salinas River. The marching direction turned south.
How long had they walked along the rugged riverbank?
Gyeoul shouted, "Get down!"
Most of the soldiers responded almost reflexively. Some didn't.
-Dadadadat! Dadadadat!
Amid the muffled sound of water, sharp gunfire mixed in. Two slow-reacting soldiers were hit. It was a clear aimed shot, an intentional ambush. There were two of them. Gyeoul was slightly taken aback. They had prepared for mutant attacks, but a human attack was unexpected.
"2 o'clock, 50 meters! Suppressive fire!"
Gyeoul shouted loudly. It was safer to use vocal commands than a radio.
With a direction set, the soldiers immediately retaliated. The enemy was hiding in the forest by the river. There were plenty of covers. Gyeoul didn't expect the soldiers' shots to hit, but he hoped that they wouldn't allow the enemy to escape easily.
'Who are they? In this playthrough, no anti-government armed groups have appeared yet. Are they Mexican immigrants who crossed the border?'
While the boy contemplated the identity of the enemy and how to respond, Jeffrey called for the medic.
"Doc! Doc! Check on the wounded!"
Then one of the wounded soldiers groaned and rolled to the side.
"I'm okay! Just, help Greg over there!"
He had been shot in both legs but seemed fine thanks to the body armor. The medic rushed to the other side.
Unfortunately, the other wounded soldier was not so lucky. He cried out in pain. He had a wound that penetrated his thigh. The medic quickly pulled out a tourniquet from his first aid kit and applied it above the wound. After wrapping it around like a bandage, he tightened the lever-like handle to stop the bleeding.
"LAW!"
"Wait! Ceasefire, ceasefire!"
An agitated Jeffrey ordered a rocket shot, but Gyeoul quickly intervened.
"Why?! No, why are you doing that?"
He was quite flustered, using informal language at first and then changing to formal language.
"Don't you think something's strange?"
"What do you mean?!"
No matter how he looked at it, only two people launched an offensive. The reason for the attack was unknown. However, if they were the only ones, attacking was the worst choice. It would be better to run away.
It's also unlikely that there were additional armed personnel. Considering that no new attacks have occurred from other directions so far.
Without explaining these circumstances, Gyeoul stood up slowly, keeping his aim.
---------------------------= Postscript to the Work ---------------------------=
(This part is machine translated, with no corrections or editing.)
# I'd like to show the video of throwing the grappling hook to the readers, but it seems that using HTML is not allowed in the work settings. Posting a notice seems a bit awkward...
I'll put the link in the settings, so please copy and paste it to watch. It's short and might make you smile.
**Q&A**
**Q. muze2000:** I enjoy reading^^ @Are you getting enough sleep though? The fact that your posts come up in the morning means you stayed up all night...
**A.** Yes, I stayed up late again today. I wonder why this keeps happening. It would probably be resolved if I only posted three times a week. I should consider it more positively. :)
**Q. 돌떵이불떵이:** @I'm curious about the clear conditions for those parallel world games. Has Gyeoul ever cleared one of those games? It seems like even Galliers don't expect a game to be cleared. Is it because it's too difficult, or has no one cleared it?
**A. 트리플론:** 돌떵이불떵이// As the author has already explained, the game will be considered cleared when the control AI determines that there is no longer a threat to humanity within that parallel world.
**Q. 淸流蓮:** @Thank you for the great story today! The MRIs are described as tasty, how bad must the regular food be... Oh, that's a mystery food. Listening to the mouth-watering description makes me even hungrier. Is it safe to understand Gyeoul's MRIs as being like the nutrition bars with cockroach in Snowpiercer? I've always thought of them as such.
**A.** Readers' imaginations often surpass the words the author writes. I'd like to leave that to your imagination. Haha.
**Q. 마스터칼솔럼:** @I had the military combat rations not too long ago. Sigh... it was a painful experience for someone who appreciates good food.
**A.** The author, a person with a somewhat dull sense of taste, managed to eat the old Type 1 combat rations with no problem. Back then, even the powdered rice felt delicious. Well, that's how it goes; taste changes with time.
**Q. 도화원:** @Please, just focus on the concentration and readability of the work. (That's my happiness! Please worry about it as much as possible.) It seems that Gyeoul's TOM is too high, affecting the zombies. While most of the gallery only has frustration at this point... Ahhh, ahhh...!
**A.** There are questions about whether the familiar parallel world is really correct for viewers. After the end of Gyeoul, it's fundamentally different in terms of quality from the end of others.
**Q. 영광의 창:** @Engineer friends cry when they see it. There's a heat wave warning, and they have to build three bridges this month...
**A.** You should take good care of your friend, who fulfills his duty to the nation.
**Q. DuskTaker:** @I'm curious... Are there various types of games for the post-death insurance? For example, are there puzzle games, racing games, and strategy games, or does the description in the novel suggest that they are all zombie games?
**A.** Of course, there are various types. If you read the intermission, you'll find out.
**Q. 루시드림:** @Author... D-d-death!!!
**A.** Death! Death from overworking! A vacation before dying! Why, the distorted desire of the author!
**Q. 破雷:** @Have the rangers in Santa Maria withdrawn? Did they come to Fort Roberts?
**A.** It's a mission to scout the contaminated area, so Santa Maria isn't a fixed base. They are not in Fort Roberts.
**Q. 늙은오리너구리:** @I offer 700 minerals for you to build a command center for sea processing.
**A.** Thank you for the minerals. But why a command center for sea processing?
**Q. 리프레드:** @I want to see Matsuming.
**A.** Since there are people who seem to really dislike Matsuming whenever it appears in the chat, I'll use it only as much as necessary.