Chapter 39

# Journal, Page 59, Santa Maria

Together with the Rangers, we safely rescued the survivors that were hiding in Western Motel. Including some that had run off to the west, a total of 34 civilians were rescued. Many were wounded, but none of them fatally—that is, of course, without counting the ones who had already died.

One man was completely infuriated with the survivors. It was the company commander, Captain Raymond Emmert.

“My soldiers died saving these scumbags?!”

The commander shouted as he drew his hand over his holster.

But I could understand his rage.

The civilians were, in fact, a gang of criminals. They were staying in the city in order to steal cash and valuables people had abandoned during the evacuation.

They were quite suspicious, to begin with. There hadn’t been any signs of survivors in Santa Maria for a very long time. What if that was because they didn’t require help?

The survivors weren’t in their right minds, possibly because they had just experienced a near-death situation. Not long after they were put through interrogation, they broke and confessed between sobs, that they could have escaped the city with the other civilians, but they intentionally hid in order to make a fortune.

That was the moment when the commander lost his temper and pulled out his pistol. His hands trembled with anger, seemingly about to pull the trigger. The other officers hurriedly stopped him and dissuaded him, telling him that the deaths of his soldiers would’ve been meaningless if he were to kill them now, that they would’ve thrown their lives away for nothing.

Captain Emmert eventually lowered his gun. But still seething with anger, he kicked the wall, so hard his ankle instantly swole up. It must have been very painful as he let out a painful groan while oblivious of his appearance. But not a single person in the room let out the slightest giggle.

Before my return to the camp, I was visited by several people. Some of them came to tell me their names, and some came to give me their address in order to exchange letters. Some even requested to exchange something as a souvenir. I was very embarrassed when I was asked because I hadn’t brought anything with me.

In any case, they all began to treat me in a friendly way.

I was acknowledged for my ability.

Only, Lieutenant John Frey, the commander of the platoon I worked with, had an ambiguous attitude. Probably because I didn’t follow his instructions during the operation. I couldn’t tell if his words were meant as praise or criticism. But I could still tell that he was a warm-hearted person. Just before turning away, he handed me a zippo lighter as a present. It was a pretty high-quality product. There was a line of hand-carved words inside the lid.

「Rangers lead the way. J.E.F.」

When I thanked him for the nice present, he scratched his head and left.

Will we really meet again?

Before leaving, I took a photo with the Ranger company. This was the only thing Captain McGuire’s crew did on this mission. I offered him a few words of comfort—that it was a shame he couldn’t film anything. But the captain shook his head.

“I guess you didn’t know this, but all the drones you had with you had a recording function. So we got all your actions in front of the drones on camera. The quality isn’t as good as if we had filmed with the proper equipment, but because of that, it’s even more dynamic and realistic. So don’t worry, our mission was a great success.”

I had no idea the drones had that kind of function.

“It was a… quite unique experience, I should say. Unique and eye-opening. I didn’t trust you very much in the beginning. I thought you were just a made-up character, a fake hero. Never did I think there would be a second John Basilone in the world.”

It was my first time seeing him smile in front of me.

“I’ve turned countless lies into truths. Because that is my job, you know? But now I fear that people might dismiss this truth as another one of our lies.”

To my shame, he asked for a handshake.

“It was a Bronze Star you got last time, right? Well, it’s time to change it to a silver one. If we put this footage on TV, the upper-ups won’t be able to deny giving you one. Congratulations in advance. My boss won’t be happy about it.”

I couldn’t understand what the last sentence could have meant. I asked him about it, but he didn’t give me the answer, saying that I’d find out eventually.

The helicopter passed over the city of Santa Maria on our way back.

“Look, lieutenant. There’s the street you fought in.”

The pilot said through the helicopter radio. He must have flown over there on purpose.

The traces of our desperate fight were aglow with the sunset. The vivid traces of death, the bloodstains scattered on the road were now part of a desolate landscape while being drenched in the warm light.

Everything seemed strange. The view I had during that fierce and intense 200-meters sprint down the street was so different from this scenery.

When I looked down below, mutants were looking up, with their arms stretched at us. Looking at their jittering mouths, it seemed as if they were trying to say something to us.

After circling twice, the helicopters flew across the sky with the sunset on our left.

# Journal, Page 62, Camp Roberts

The next morning after coming back from Santa Maria. Just like every other morning, I turned on the TV as soon as I got up, not expecting to see my face on the screen. I tried flipping through the few channels it offered, but it was futile. To make it worse, they all had the same subtitles beneath the footage, so embarrassing made me want to just curl up and die.

The miracle of Santa Maria…

The press, thirsty for chauvinistic news, poured out all kinds of positive comments about me. Even the spokesman of the Defense Ministry came up on TV. Emphasizing the fact that I was an American citizen, he announced that they were considering compensating me for my ‘heroic deeds’.

All the while, I was glad that the media was turning positive towards the refugee issue.

But Lieutenant Capstone didn’t seem happy about what happened yesterday.

“Lieutenant Han, I know you’re an excellent soldier. But you went too far this time. How can you run into the middle of the battlefield all by yourself? You have people depending on you, remember?”

I told him that it was to save other people, but he wasn’t convinced.

“Yes, I know. That is a very noble thought, indeed. But you have to learn to think more rationally. You have the talent that the world needs, a talent that will save hundreds and thousands of lives. But that’s meaningless if you’re not alive, right? You have to be more sparing of yourself. The people you cannot save at the moment is merely a small portion compared to how many you will be able to save in the future.”

I replied that no one in the world isn’t special and that no matter how many people I save, leaving someone to die is not something that can be justified with just saving more people.

After a brief silence, the lieutenant pointed out another problem.

“Do you… feel responsible for the refugees? If you work, the treatment of the rest of the refugees will change… Is that why you’re running the risks?”

As usual, Lieutenant Capstone was worrying about me.

It was only after I promised him to be more careful that he let me out with a suspicious eye.

On my way to the refugee district, I ran into Captain Magath. When I saluted him, he did salute back, but with a bitter eye.

He was on his way out of the Chinese settlement district. It was questionable what a racist like him was doing there.

There was a cluster of people gathered in the vacant lot, all of them staring at something on the other side. I went near them to see what they were doing, something that I immediately regretted. Because on the white screen which everyone’s eyes were focused on, the same news that I watched this morning was being played through a projector.

I snuck back behind the crowd and called up to one of the soldiers on patrol to ask him what was all about. He said there was an instruction from the public affairs division of the Department of Defense. He then looked at me with curious eyes and asked whether or not it was real. When I gave him the affirmation, the soldier rejoiced, saying that he won a bet.

…A bet?

Even after the soldier left, I stayed and watched the video for a while. It was strange to see myself from a third-person view. On the screen, I was having a fierce battle with five gray-skinned mutants. As one drew near with its clattering teeth, all the people there, regardless of nationality, gasped out loud. And the exclamations they let out each time I slew one of the mutants put me to blush. I couldn’t help but blame the drone team for filming it so up close.

It was a mistake to stay there and watch the rest of the footage. Just when I was about to leave, one of the people turned around and found me. Starting with that person, more and more people turned to look at me, and eventually, the whole crowd shuffled and buzzed. Fewer people showed open hostility against me compared to before. Instead, many of them looked quite intimidated and seemed afraid of me. Other than them, some looked at me with eyes full of greed, envy and some even worship.

Unable to stand the eyes focused on me, I ended up running away from the crowd.

# Journal, Page 63, Camp Roberts

「Winter Alliance」 has become quieter than it used to be. To be exact, they remained silent when I was with them.

The video must have been too shocking. Their eyes when looking at me were not the same as before. More people began to feel uneasy around me, and those who approached me to flatter me also increased. Even Jinseok was no exception. Yura and Wangi were the only ones who didn’t change. Deputy Leader Min just laughed it away, saying it was quite interesting to see how people could change so quickly.

What became certain was that no one in the camp was looking down on me now because of my age.

The changed atmosphere was awkward, it was something I had to endure. I just hope it will get better as time goes by.

# Stabilization (1), Camp Roberts

Just like the glacial and interglacial cycles of Earth, in 「Days After Apocalypse」, a major event was often followed by a peaceful period. This period for the player to prepare for the next stage.

Gyeoul judged that it was now time for this ‘interglacial’ period to arrive. He had to prepare before the wheels of the apocalypse set in motion once again. This was an opportunity to strengthen the inner circle of 「Winter Alliance」 and shape up their fighting power.

Without a moment’s delay, Gyeoul quickly organized a training regime and visited the operations officer to get it signed. The operations officer, other than demanding a written plan, wasn’t very fussy about it. Rather, he was very willing to provide support. He issued them basic items like training suits and MREs, and even permitted him to use the military facilities for showers and dining. The miracle of Santa Maria must have left quite an impression on him too.

Gyeoul invested the experience points he earned from Santa Maria on 「Teaching」. Thanks to having learned many skills in his previous playthroughs, 「Talent Advantage」 took care of a large sum of the points required till level 10. The problem was whether or not to raise it to 11. He wanted to save as many points as possible to upgrade the rest of his combat skills.

His pondering continued for a long time, but only until his eyes reached Yura. Yura, being told that the training would begin, was showing a great level of tension, just as high as her anticipation. It was so intense that her right arm and right leg, and her left arm and left leg, were swinging in the same direction as she walked. Shaking his head, Gyeoul tapped on the plus button next to the 「Teaching」 skill gauge.

Now that everything was ready, Gyeoul recruited members for the combat team. He first drafted triple the number required with the intention of eliminating the unqualified draftees throughout the training course.

Except for the otherworldly being, the player, the in-game characters were within the bounds of common sense. So the training methods had to be in line with them. The most simple and effective of all trainings, the PT training.

“Don’t you think… this is… too harsh… for us?”

“You’ll be fine,” Gyeoul answered with a smile.

Yura gave him a reproachful glance, but it didn’t last for long. She’d rather gasp for air if she still had the energy to scowl at him. The rest of them weren’t exactly in a better condition either. It must have been a long time since any of them had done a two-mile run.

Yura threw her orange striped yellow vest to the ground. Thick drops of sweat streamed down her cheeks. Once the running was over, many of the volunteers dry-retched and laid on their backs on the ground.

Sergeant Pierce, who had tagged along just to give him a piece of advice or two, enjoyed the way Gyeoul trained the refugees. In addition to that, he seemed surprised at how the boy’s breath was still calm despite having run along with them.

“Surely extraordinary for your size, sir.”

Gyeoul also complimented the sergeant who ran next to him.

“You’re doing great for your age, too.”

Sergeant Pierce burst into laughter.

Gyeoul took a quick peek at the viewers’ messages log, fearing it would be filled with complaints. If he were to consider the viewers, this was the kind of part that should have been skipped. But if he did so, the Teaching skill wouldn’t take effect.

But when he saw the message log, he was surprised at two things; one, at how none of the viewers were complaining, and the other, at how dirty people could get. No matter which line he read, it was either a sexual comment of girls or guys drenched in sweat or those who were playing along. Gyeoul barely held back his sigh when he saw a message asking him to capture Yura’s body on screen, but eventually broke into a groan when a viewer granted him a quest to force her to train until she vomited.

The sergeant, not knowing the situation, misinterpreted his groan.

“Are they not up to expectation?”

“Huh? Oh, no. I was thinking about something else.”

The sergeant looked at him suspiciously for a second, but he eventually let it slide.

“To train soldiers to be prepared for combat situations, we often use metabolic conditioning to train them for short-term endurance. So instead of having them run just two miles, why don’t you have them do a shuttle run?”

“Sure, that sounds like a good idea.”

Gyeoul then checked the augmented reality UI that his skills were providing. On it, the combination of 「Teaching」 and 「Insight」 was informing him of the appropriate amount of exercise and resting time for each of the individuals.

“Let’s get back up.”

“What? Already?”

“I heard exercising too much could be harmful to the body…”

“I think you’ve had enough rest.”

“I really can’t move though… Can we take a little more rest, please…?”

The refugees looked at him with a look of appeal. Some of the girls even had tears welled up in their eyes. Just when Gyeoul was worrying if it would ruin his image, Sergeant Pierce tapped his shoulder.

“Sir, you have to be a devil when you’re wearing this,” he said, pointing at his boonie hat, the same wide-brimmed soldier hat Gyeoul was wearing. The boy gave him a nod of gratitude and turned to the refugees with a regretful look.

“I’m sorry, but I guess I have to follow the rules here. Come on everybody. Get up.”

“Urgh…”

Sergeant Pierce had become a true ‘devil’. Having them lie down and roll about on the ground, the sergeant made sure everyone was covered in dirt.

Lunchtime. Gyeoul handed out the MREs to each of the volunteers. The operations officer had supplied them saying that getting used to eating this kind of army ration was also an important part of the training. Considering the previous treatment refugees received, he could see how much expectations were placed on the refugee volunteer units.

“Is it just me or the rations are salty as heck?” One of the refugees complained.

“That’s because it’s made to help you get the salt you lost through sweating. You’ll have to get used to it.”

The refugees seemed so exhausted they couldn’t eat their meal properly, but none of them dared to waste their food. There had been times when they could barely have a piece of bread in their mouth.

As the break grew longer, the refugees went looking for the clothes they had thrown off next to the track. Camp Roberts’ winter was similar to the late fall of Korea. The wind on a cloudy day was enough to fill them with the chill.

Sergeant Pierce took a few minutes and taught the refugees a cadence. The refugees had a hard time even following the lyrics. Because it was in English. Only a couple who could speak English chuckled at the lyrics.

After a couple more sessions in the afternoon, Sergeant came and suggested to the boy, “How about we have them do a double-time march when we return?”

“Hmm… You mean, for a show?”

The sergeant made a toothy smile.

“I’ve heard there are fierce power struggles between the refugee groups. The double-time march may not look like much, but it’s good for a show, especially in this hell hole we’re trapped in.”

“Is this why you taught them a cadence?”

“Fair is fair, you know? What kind of soldier doesn’t know how to sing a cadence?”

The evening was a time of true happiness for the volunteers. The refugees were allowed to enter the DFAC, though it was only after the soldiers had finished using it. The menus had become a lot shabbier than before, but the meals prepared for the soldiers were qualitatively different from those of the refugees. So Gyeoul had to swear his guts out to stop them from binge eating.

The girls burst into tears when they were allowed to take a hot shower after dinner. A time limit of 10 minutes. It was enough for the men but too little for the women. Nonetheless, everyone had an expression as though they had never been that happy in their lives.

Gyeoul decided to accept the sergeant’s suggestion. The refugees passed through the checkpoint of the refugee district at a quick march, mumbling the cadence they had learned during the day.

My Old Granny, She’s 91 She did PT just for fun

My Old Granny, She’s 92 She did PT better than you

My Old Granny, She’s 93 She did PT better than me

…

My Old Granny, She’s 97 She up and died and went to heaven

She met St. Peter at the pearly gates

Said, “St. Peter, St. Peter, hope I’m not late

St. Peter said with a big ol’ grin

“Get down granny, and knock out ten”

…

Passing through several districts, the soldiers guarding the checkpoint laughed out loud when they saw the refugees, while the other refugees wore a dazed look, not knowing what they were doing. The running refugees, despite their aching legs, couldn’t stop the giggles and chuckles from escaping their lips.