Chapter 87: |
00087 <-- #Night by the lake -->
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#Night by the lake (6), Santa Margarita Lake
"Alert to unidentified armed personnel! You are currently attacking the United States Army! Drop your weapons and surrender! If you surrender, I promise fair treatment!"
A clear voice cutting through the rain, but there was no response from the hostile figures across the distance in the forest. Was it because they were hit by suppressive fire? No, it wasn't. From their direction, Gyeoul spotted a red outline. A heat source detected by the infrared sensors in his night vision equipment. Only part of an arm was slightly exposed. It seemed like the person were leaning against a tree.
They could be Mexican refugees, or possibly military personnel; it was impossible to exclude either. Maybe it was a non-English-speaking American. Or could it be an infected variant that learned how to handle firearms? No, that was unlikely. In all the iterations Gyeoul had experienced so far, such cases had never occurred. Even if the After the Apocalypse parallel world had been revised, it would be the same-the mutants weren't smart enough to use firearms.
Gyeoul shouted again.
"¡Ríndete! y serás tratado justamente! No tienes salida!" (Surrender, and you'll be treated fairly! You have no way out!)
To avoid wasting experience points, he relied on memory for the warning, without technical correction. Finally, the heat source moved. Leaning against the tree, the upper body slightly tilted to observe this side cautiously. It was a form tinged with crimson, but it had some shading. Even though the distance was far, Gyeoul could make out some basic characteristics of the body shape, features, and simple attire. Not a soldier, at the very least.
Although the voice sounded harsh and hoarse, it was a woman's voice. And she spoke in English. Suspicion, unease, and extreme fatigue could be felt from her. Gyeoul responded to her demand.
"I am Lieutenant Han Gyeoul, affiliated with the Quarantine Command. I am currently assigned to the 79th Battalion, 160th Division at Fort Roberts! It seems there was a misunderstanding, but for now, please drop your weapon! I'll ensure both of your safety."
"…Damn it, how can I trust those words?"
Gyeoul responded firmly. "You have to trust me! If you don't surrender, we will shoot you with a rocket!"
It wasn't a bluff. A soldier who had completed the launch preparations was waiting for an order.
After a moment of silence, a new voice sounded. This time it was a man.
"All right! Here's the deal! First, I'll come out alone! I want to see your faces!"
It was a strange condition. Why specifically the faces? Gyeoul quickly considered various possibilities.
'We have good visibility. They knew we were soldiers and still attacked. Then that means they are already hostile soldiers... What could have happened?'
While Gyeoul was thinking, the man revealed himself. He was an elderly man with a long beard. He came out with his hands raised, and then slowly lowered his weapon. And he turned around once. It was a gesture to show he didn't have any other weapons.
He took some time to approach. When he reached a reasonable distance, the old man knelt down on his own. He raised both hands behind his head.
There was no warning from Gyeoul's Survival Instinct. The old man wasn't a suicidal terrorist. Gyeoul, who had lowered his guard, approached slowly.
He could feel countless eyes piercing his back. The platoon and the engineers are on edge.
"Did you say you wanted to see our faces?"
Gyeoul asked from a few metres away, and the old man nodded. Gyeoul then raised his night vision goggles.
The old man let out a sigh. "Oh. It's you, the one I saw on TV. I couldn't believe it even when I heard your name..."
Then he looked toward the still groaning injured person, as well as Jeffery's squad members who didn't hide their enmity, and even the three combat engineers. The medics, meanwhile, couldn't be bothered.
Regret was evident on the old man's face. He spoke while lowering his head. "We've made a big mistake."
Gyeoul suppressed the animosity of the soldiers with a soft voice.
"I'll listen to your explanation slowly, but please bring the other man forward."
"Okay."
The old man turned to the back and called out. "Kathleen! Come over here! These people aren't Captain Harris's subordinates!"
From behind the tree, a woman hesitantly revealed herself. She dropped her weapon and approached cautiously, appearing nervous. She was wearing a dark olive uniform with a golden police badge. Once she got close enough, she froze momentarily upon seeing Gyeoul. She soon knelt down with a dark expression on her face.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
Jeffrey sighed heavily. He ordered two soldiers to collect the weapons of the elderly man and the police officer. There were two rifles and one pistol, and there wasn't much ammunition left. Other soldiers conducted body searches, but no spare magazines or grenades were found.
For the police officer and the elderly man, they were in a hopeless predicament. The situation began to become serene.
The medic reported the condition of the wounded to the young officer.
"No life-threatening injuries. The bleeding has stopped, and the bullet passed through the thigh without damaging the artery. However, we need to be careful about maintaining body temperature. I recommend arranging for a swift evacuation."
Gyeoul responded negatively. Evacuating the wounded would require splitting up the troops. It was a risky choice. "Evacuation might be difficult right away. But we'll consider it. Thank you for your advice."
Private Greg Gardner, the wounded, was carried on a stretcher.
Gyeoul issued orders to move and reinforce their positions. They needed to move quickly because the sounds of gunfire had been intense. If there was a large group of mutant or unidentified hostile American forces nearby, they would have problems.
They could continue the conversation as they moved. The boy walked closer to the two disarmed individuals. They seemed very anxious, looking around like frightened animals.
Gyeoul asked them, "Shall we hear your story now? Where did you come from? Who is Captain Harris? And why did you attack us?"
The three different questions were essentially connected. The police officer quickly responded.
"Since time is of the essence, I'll explain it quickly. We're survivors from Camp San Luis Obispo. Captain Harris and his subordinates are in the same situation. We escaped together when the camp collapsed on Christmas Day."
Weren't all survivors from Camp Obispo rescued? The Quarantine Command had declared the operation over, hadn't they? Gyeoul decided to listen to the entire explanation.
The police officer's explanation quickly continued. "Even after escaping the camp, we were constantly pursued. We kept hearing strange interference on our radios. Normal communications mixed with screams…."
"Tricksters."
"Yes. That's why we couldn't make a request for help. We saw reconnaissance planes flying around several times, but they didn't spot us. It was understandable. We hid in the mountains. Captain Harris is the coward who insisted we hide in the wilderness to avoid unseen variant mutants."
The policec officer criticized Captain Harris's judgment, but it wasn't necessarily wrong. The tricksters didn't move alone. There was no guarantee there was only one of them. If the number of troops wasn't large, and there were many civilians to protect, avoiding combat and hiding in the wilderness was a reasonable choice. The drawback was that it prevented them from receiving support from the same American military.
Gyeoul continued the conversation without showing his thoughts. "How did you end up in a confrontation with the soldiers?"
"It all started with food. We had to leave in a hurry with no time to grab anything. After two days, we ran out of fuel and had to abandon the vehicles. Captain Harris argued that we should distribute food to the soldiers first to maintain combat readiness. He said we didn't know when we'd be in a fight. But the civilian survivors disagreed. They thought the food should be distributed fairly. As hunger grew, the atmosphere turned hostile. Then…."
The officer closed her eyes. But within her brief silence, it wasn't difficult to deduce what happened next.
"Did the soldiers actually kill civilians?"
"Exactly."
It wasn't the officer who replied, but the elderly man who testified to the tragedy. "It didn't start as deliberate murder, I believe. We don't know exactly how it started. But that morning, something was terribly wrong... and when we realized… the Major's subordinates were massacring civilians. They weren't in their right minds. They killed everyone, adults and children alike. If it weren't for some soldiers with conscience, we wouldn't have survived. They're gone now, too…."
"That is madness."
The one who cursed was Lieutenant Lieberman. It was a rare occurrence for him, given his usually calm demeanor. When Gyeoul turned around, he noticed that the soldiers who had been engaged in conversation all had grim expressions. Examining the situation from the first encounter to the present, it seemed unlikely that their testimony was false. The soldiers appeared to feel the same way, as hostilities had decreased significantly.
Nevertheless, Gyeoul still harbored some suspicion. It was a habit of his when dealing with people. Everything needed to be heard and assessed from both sides. If they were to encounter Captain Harris, at least one attempt at communication would be necessary.
Jeffrey spoke up, "Lieutenant, even if only half of what they're saying is true, we should warn Meerkat about this group of soldiers in military uniforms committing a massacre."
He's worried about the tank crew they left behind, and there's also the possibility of the vehicle being hijacked.
But Lieutenant Lieberman disagreed. "That's dangerous. There could be Tricksters nearby who are pursuing them. We can't be the only ones maintaining radio silence. And the bastard son of a bitch who's Captain Harris, whoever he is, might have a radio too, right? Calling out on the radio for no reason could just give away our position to the enemies."
It seemed Lieutenant Lieberman had already classified Captain Harris as an enemy. Jeffrey furrowed his brow.
"Come on, Lieutenant. Even if they had a radio, it would have run out of batteries a long time ago. It's been over a month since Camp Obispo collapsed. They've been wandering since then. Do you think there would be any battery left?"
The police officer chimed in, "No, they have portable solar chargers."
"Damn..." Jeffrey sighed.
"We should warn them." Gyeoul made his decision.
"Assuming that everything these people are saying is true, Captain Harris will continue to pursue them to eliminate any witnesses, no matter what. If not, we wouldn't have been attacked. Miss Police Officer, am I correct?"
"Yes, we've been continuously pursued."
"In that case, we can't leave the Meerkat defenseless. Anyway, by transmitting on the radio, we won't necessarily reveal Meerkat's location. We'll use call signs, so they won't know what's there. Even if Tricksters are around, it's better than Captain Harris hurting the tank crew and getting his hands on nine Humvees, because they'll be a trickier enemy than the mutants."
Lieutenant Lieberman shook his head, but he didn't oppose the decision any further.
Gyeoul called the radioman.
"Is there a chance that the radio will not be compromised?"
It was possible. If none of the radios they carried matched the correct frequency. But it was a slim possibility. If there were Tricksters lurking in the vicinity who remained silent, it would be even harder to hope for that. They were creatures that copied and broadcast radio signals on all sorts of frequencies. If they detected a radio, they would begin hunting, and Gyeoul's voice would be constantly broadcast along with jamming signals.
Holding the radio and hesitating, Gyeoul finally pressed the transmit button. "Meerkat, Meerkat. This is David Actual. Listen only."
Chilling interference crackled on the clear communication network. The intensity was not very strong. Since it was something he anticipated, Gyeoul continued speaking quietly. "There is a high possibility of a group of American deserters in the vicinity. They are accused of civilian massacres. If you encounter unknown American forces, consider them potential enemies. Initially, deny them access, but if they ignore you, you may engage. This is an order from the commander. I'll take full responsibility."
Gyeoul repeated the same information twice more. In the last repetition, like a distant echo, the voices overlapped. The echo would only get closer.
After finishing the communication, Gyeoul called the police officer. "We need information on Captain Harris. How many troops he has, what weapons and equipment he possesses, his disposition..."
"Just a moment."
The police officer cut him off anxiously. "Looking in that direction, it seems you're heading towards the dam. I'm sorry, but please send me ahead. The others are waiting for me up ahead. If military forces approach, they'll be terrified and flee. I need to go there and find out what the situation is. They might think of us as traitors the way things are now."
"There are more survivors? Isn't it too late to tell us that now?"
"..."
The police officer lowered her gaze. Gyeoul drew his knife. He untied her restrained arms and said, "It won't be persuasive if you go there tied up. How far is it?"
The police officer pointed with her finger to the other side of the road between the trees, where a single-story building's roof was visible. They were not very far away. Gyeoul checked his wristwatch.
"Go. I'll give you three minutes."
Sometimes, going back might be faster. If the civilians ran away, it might be challenging to ignore them and carry out the mission.
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(This part is machine translated, with no corrections or editing.)
#Author's Afterthoughts
#Dreamed by the Author: Love
Putin: There's no one at our house today... Wanna have a cup of tea?
Author: You rascal!
#Q&A
Q. RGZ95: @Meanwhile, the platoon leader who orders LAW... you know, they say the U.S. Army is the U.S. Army...
A. In Iraq, they use $300 million anti-tank missiles to kill infantry. That's why America's debt keeps increasing.
Q. Ca모: Doesn't Gyeoul have an English name? I really enjoy the time spent in the cemetery. Fighting, Author!
A. I try not to use other names because Gyeoul's name itself carries a specific meaning. Thank you for your encouragement. :)
Q. asdfh: There's a typo in the Q&A. The first answer should be "three times a week," not "three times a day."
A. No, it's not a typo. It's three times a week.
But this novel originally had a schedule of 3-5 chapters per week, which I often didn't follow. It seems that readers didn't notice. From now on, I'll occasionally do three chapters per week so that readers can feel it! Aja!
Q. 마스터칼솔럼: @Late-entry reserves... it feels like I'm going to die. I'm over 40 and still in the reserves, haven't even gone to civil defense.
A. I've been in the reserves for six years. There will be no training next year, right? Haha, great!
Q. 淸流蓮: @Thank you for the great story today! Please continue to write while taking care of your health.
A. I need to set a date for my summer vacation. So, from August 20th to August 20th, a true summer vacation from one summer to another... the writer's distorted desire...
Q. cyanpile: @Chat logs and chat messages are both good. I like them both.
A. Writing the chat parts is actually quite tricky. Haha.
Q. 검정공판: @I like both chat and text. I'm waiting for both. >_o
A. I like recommendations and comments. I'm waiting for both. >_ㅇ
Q. 어진광대: @This is the only comic I can enjoy in Italy. Please receive the coupon.
A. I also want to go to Italy... So far, I've only been to Jeju Island by plane.
Q. 라프하임: @Ha, at first, I read this and promised myself to save up to read all the way to episode 100, but I ended up reading it all today... Hoo... the hell of one episode after another is approaching again;; Thinking about whether to come back after 4 million years.
A. Come back often. A lonely writer is an old one who dies when lonely.
That's why I almost died on my birthday... No, not really.
Q. 유렁솨귤: @I'm curious if you plan to continue with this world. Has Gyeoul played many other games?
A. I was planning to try, but I didn't get a chance to. There's an extra fee for using this world.
-------------------------—
(This part is machine translated, with no corrections or editing.)
#Author's Afterthoughts
#Dreamed by the Author: Love
Putin: There's no one at our house today... Wanna have a cup of tea?
Author: You rascal!
#Q&A
Q. RGZ95: @Meanwhile, the platoon leader who orders LAW... you know, they say the U.S. Army is the U.S. Army...
A. In Iraq, they use $300 million anti-tank missiles to kill infantry. That's why America's debt keeps increasing.
Q. Ca모: Doesn't Gyeoul have an English name? I really enjoy the time spent in the cemetery. Fighting, Author!
A. I try not to use other names because Gyeoul's name itself carries a specific meaning. Thank you for your encouragement. :)
Q. asdfh: There's a typo in the Q&A. The first answer should be "three times a week," not "three times a day."
A. No, it's not a typo. It's three times a week.
But this novel originally had a schedule of 3-5 chapters per week, which I often didn't follow. It seems that readers didn't notice. From now on, I'll occasionally do three chapters per week so that readers can feel it! Aja!
Q. 마스터칼솔럼: @Late-entry reserves... it feels like I'm going to die. I'm over 40 and still in the reserves, haven't even gone to civil defense.
A. I've been in the reserves for six years. There will be no training next year, right? Haha, great!
Q. 淸流蓮: @Thank you for the great story today! Please continue to write while taking care of your health.
A. I need to set a date for my summer vacation. So, from August 20th to August 20th, a true summer vacation from one summer to another... the writer's distorted desire...
Q. cyanpile: @Chat logs and chat messages are both good. I like them both.
A. Writing the chat parts is actually quite tricky. Haha.
Q. 검정공판: @I like both chat and text. I'm waiting for both. >_o
A. I like recommendations and comments. I'm waiting for both. >_ㅇ
Q. 어진광대: @This is the only comic I can enjoy in Italy. Please receive the coupon.
A. I also want to go to Italy... So far, I've only been to Jeju Island by plane.
Q. 라프하임: @Ha, at first, I read this and promised myself to save up to read all the way to episode 100, but I ended up reading it all today... Hoo... the hell of one episode after another is approaching again;; Thinking about whether to come back after 4 million years.
A. Come back often. A lonely writer is an old one who dies when lonely.
That's why I almost died on my birthday... No, not really.
Q. 유렁솨귤: @I'm curious if you plan to continue with this world. Has Gyeoul played many other games?
A. I was planning to try, but I didn't get a chance to. There's an extra fee for using this world.