Chapter 94: |
00094 <-- #Night by the Lakeside -->
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#Night by the Lakeside (13), Lake Santa Margarita
The cold was an old companion of soldiers. On this mature winter night, soldiers shivered violently in the rain.
Bang!
Gunshots echoed along the riverbank. There were five shots. The boy who shot the clouds lowered his gun slowly.
A soldier who was guarding against the darkness across the water raised his hand.
"They're coming."
What the sentry had caught was the first of many. They were more visible to Gyeoul. A hot crowd was rushing towards them. In the green world of advanced night vision, death resembling humans was highlighted in a fiery cobalt blue. There were hundreds, if not thousands, coming down the slope.
While estimating, the foremost one noticed them. Kuwaaaah! Screaming loudly, they blindly rushed forward but were blocked by the turbulent river. The width of the rapids was only 10 meters. It was a distance where facial features could be clearly distinguished. The mutants howled again, wandering left and right like angry people.
The squad leader asked, "Should we shoot?"
"Wait, Hernandez."
It would be fine to shoot them one by one as they came, but there was no need to rush. Gyeoul spoke.
"Our mission is to lure them. Killing them all wouldn't be bad either... But it will take time until they all gather. Let's watch for a moment. It's a chance to observe the collective behavior of mutants up close."
"Observe?"
"Yes, observe. I've notice an increase in the intelligence of individual mutants. I want to see how it manifests when they move as a group. Their level of communication, how they cooperate to overcome obstacles, things like that. Watching might be helpful later, don't you think?"
"Uh, it's like some kind of animal experiment. Whatever it is, I hope it ends soon."
"Just bear with it a little longer, everyone."
Gyeoul shouted at the soldiers. Since there seemed to be no immediate combat, the machine gunner who had been lying down changed his position, shaking with cold against the icy ground.
The first mutant to arrive attempted to cross the rapids. Taking a step into the rushing water, then another, and hesitated on the third step. Foamy water splashed, quickly rising up to its waist. Wobbling unsteadily, the struggling mutant eventually took a step back. Emerging onto dry land, it roared fiercely towards the untouchable targets. The sound attracted more mutants, and their numbers continued to grow.
Gyeoul recalled the church in Paso Robles. A mutant of lesser intelligence would have already jumped in headfirst or, even if it had stopped at the front, it could have been pushed and fell due to the mass and inertia behind him.
"Tsk. They really are a nuisance even in death."
Gulemi's gloomy complaint was aimed at Captain Harris's subordinates. Soldiers in combat uniforms, wearing body armor, lying dead among the consumed corpses. Even those carrying guns were visible. However, they only hung around their necks or shoulders. They had no memories from their lives, and their intelligence had degenerated, according to the killers' words.
One of the soldiers cautiously suggested, "Sir, can't we deal with just them first?"
"Just a moment. I'll take care of it."
"No, you don't have to..."
Without listening to the end, the boy stepped forward. He lifted the night vision scope. It was a distance where everything was clearly visible even without it. It was an impressive sight. A white mist rose from the mutants' bodies because of their high body temperature.
Gyeoul bows his head in silence, a gesture of respect for the squad behind him.
'Like Richtzen said. Sacrifices are for the living.'
He opened his eyes a few breaths later.
Tak, tak, tak, tak! Sounds of teeth clashing. One of the infected soldiers, with its head tilted, was staring in this direction. It extended its long, slimy tongue.
Gyeoul, silently counting the target's numbers, suddenly opened fire, waiting for everyone to enter the shooting range.
The crosshairs were all on their faces.
Bullet holes appeared on twenty-two different faces at the speed of automatic fire. Forehead, temple, eyeballs, nose, philtrum, uvula. The guy who had been hissing with his tongue received a shot right through the soft palate behind his upper jaw. The moment he was hit, his movements stopped. Blood trickled out of his mouth before collapsing from the knees.
Hands are faster than eyes. With all the targets dead, the remaining group became noisy belatedly. It was never quiet from the beginning, but now it was madness. Just like the first one who came, they walked back and forth, making threatening sounds.
Suddenly, they attempted to cross the river. Sergeant Hernandez commented, "It gives me the chills. I think I understand why you said observation was necessary."
He was observing the cooperation of the mutants. They grabbed each other's wrists, forming a chain that connected underwater. Of course, it didn't work well. The strength to withstand the rapids was important at the end. The chain never extended too far.
"Ghouls! Multiple ghouls at 11 o'clock!"
A warning from a sharp-eyed designated marksman. Gyeoul scanned that direction with his eyes. Before long, he found ashen mutants interspersed among the horde. They didn't have any special abilities, but they were stronger and more intelligent than ordinary mutants.
However, one among them wasn't an ordinary ghoul. The soldiers couldn't distinguish, but Gyeoul did. It had a few distinctive features. It was one level higher in grade than the ones he had seen so far.
'Beta Ghoul. Well, it's about time it appeared.'
He had suspected their existence before, but this was the first time has actually seen one.
The reason Gyeoul's discovery was later than the soldiers' was that his attention was elsewhere. It was a shadow in the darkness, a presence he would have missed if not for the warnings of his [Combat Sense]. It wasn't a grumble. If it were a grumble, the mutants or trees would have already been thrown.
So what's its identity? Why doesn't it reveal itself?
'I can't guess. There are too many differences from the previous world.'
Although it's not his first time experiencing this, the frequency was a problem. Instead of forcibly fitting into what he knew, Gyeoul concluded that it was a new special mutant he didn't know.
"How should we handle it? Should I just blow its head off?"
As if sensing being targeted, the Beta Ghoul backed away, using the others as shields.
The unknown change made Gyeoul hesitate. This one might be different.
"Wait for orders, Fleming."
"Aye."
The designated marksman tracked the target with his crosshairs.
The number of enemies was still increasing. By now, it seemed it would exceed a thousand as initially estimated. If the Trickster hadn't died, they wouldn't have scattered this much.
The plan was to kill as many as they can.
The mutants were still repeating the same failures. Trying to wade through the rapids in a line several times.
The change came suddenly. After a unique and abruptly cut-off scream echoed repeatedly, the behavior of the mutants noticeably changed.
It was an application of what they had been doing. A chain made up of mutants extended to its limit. After that, a new chain entered next to it. Due to the slowed flow caused by the first line, the second line could take one more step. In the same way, a third line was stretched.
The deepest part was below their noses. The fifth line passed that point.
It happened in an instant.
"Lieutenant! Give orders!"
The urgent shout of the squad leader. It seemed like the mutants would cross the river soon. Due to the large number of the group, there were simultaneous attempts from the other side.
The first mutant to reach the riverbank took a few steps into the water. How many steps did it take?
Gyeoul calmly gave orders, "Don't worry about the front! Cut through the middle! Let the rest float away!"
The soldiers understood immediately. They focused their shots on the part where the connection extended into the mud.
Pop! Pop! Pop! Bullets hit the water surface in succession. Heads emerging from the water burst in a row.
The collapsed line immediately became a burden on the next line. They were swept away as a group. It was like watching an overflowing embankment or a domino effect. Kwoaaaack! Uwooooaack! Splashing mutants floated with the water.
It was an avalanche. The mutants trying to climb on each other were in the same situation. They glowed as they crawled toward each other. The living corpses wriggled in the bubbling river.
At that moment, another loud and distinct scream resounded.
Then, those who were still remaining in the water shivered. They froze in place. Some still glowed, but only a few remained.
Gyeoul momentarily didn't understand.
'Suppression of the metabolic process? Even if so, it would only delay drowning, right?'
The mutants on the mud began to jump in mass.
From upstream to downstream, in order.
It wasn't a mass suicide. At the peak of the leap, they puffed out their chests, then stiffened. Splush! They were submerged under the water with a splash, then quickly floated back up due to buoyancy. It was a foothold. Although they rapidly drifted downstream, the wide riverbank was entirely made up of mutants. Dozens of mutants threw themselves into the water from upstream, stepping on those coming down. The sound of the water storm didn't cease. It was a scene where waves of diseased bodies covered the river.
The surface was being filled with floating objects resembling corpses in real-time.
New mutants rushed on top of them, eyeing the other side of the river.
The soldiers were shooting without any orders. Grenades flew consecutively.
"Frag out!"
Everyone crouched at the warning. Grenades exploded underwater, on the surface, and across the river. Water pillars shot up, spraying larger water droplets than rain. The dark river water became even darker.
"Whoa, damn. Wait a minute. What the hell is this...!"
While loading the belt, the machine gunner spat out curses.
Gyeoul was momentarily astonished too. It was a rare occurrence. For one thing, the sight was overwhelming.
The next thing he knew, he had emptied three magazines in ten seconds. Clack! The sound of the ball hitting an empty chamber. The direction where they had been directly hitting was no longer an option. Instead of reloading, Gyeoul immediately pulled out a grenade. Removing the clip and pulling the pin. It was a determination to throw it in the direction of the next urgent threat.
Gyeoul was puzzled, unable to find a place to throw.
The soldiers, one by one, also realized the situation. The intense firing temporarily eased.
"What the hell is this..."
Gulemi's absurd monologue.
Ordinary mutants were strong physically but had rough movements. Even with plenty of floating bodies, they had difficult running to the end by stepping on the bodies. They swayed and fell every time they stepped on them. Even for a healthy human, it was difficult. At the very least, the correction [Movement] skill had to be applied to make it possible.
They fell and fell again, increasing only the number of bodies falling into the water.
There was a limit to the expansion of floating bodies.
Gyeoul reflected. My vision was narrow, he thought. Even when shooting, he needed to see broadly. Just now, he couldn't do that. Throughout the shooting, his sight was confined within the crosshairs. A commander is different from an ordinary combatant. It was a bad mistake in his part.
'It's been a while since I've been this flustered.'
The group of mutants across the river noticeably decreased. It was natural. Even with a thousand, if dozens fall per second, they would be rapidly consumed.
Belatedly, the Beta Ghoul shouted. The mutants had stopped their reckless charge.
Even then, the remaining numbers were just a handful, scattered here and there.
Gyeoul threw grenades there. He had pulled the pin earlier but was still holding it. Bang! Seventeen infected mutants collapsed in an instant, over a wider area than the blast.
The soldiers cleared the rest.
The ashen Ghouls crouched on the ground. Despite injuries, they tried to escape tenaciously. Gyeoul hesitated to shoot directly and called the designated marksman.
"Fleming, take that one down."
A thicker bullet than usual hit the head of the Ghoul in a rapid succession. The shattered skull and gooey brain matter splattered.
---------------------------= Afterword =---------------------------
(This part is machine translated.)
#Just a Review
Now, with the next episode, this chapter will come to an end. It seems like it's time for viewer discussions and a flashback.
#Fan Meeting
A fan meeting when even signing books is burdensome... What's with that?
Why do people want to see the author when they don't even look like Won Bin?
Though the appearance is more like Cthulhu than Won Bin...
#Infrared Night Vision Goggles
I'll share how it looks in the context of the work. Only for those who are having trouble grasping it.