Chapter 168 – Resume Communication (11)
Shelter’s drone fleet can be broadly divided into two types.
The first are small drones the size of a child’s tube.
Except for the characteristic of being a tiltrotor model, it is the type that generally comes to mind when thinking of a drone.
Their main armament uses 5.56 mm NATO bullets, and some models are equipped with only explosives to target medium to large targets.
Although it does not have much tactical flexibility, it has the advantage of being able to be produced and operated in large quantities. This is the simplest yet most frightening advantage.
The second are medium to large drones that Artemis improved as needed in the fight against infectious agents.
It is of such a size that it is embarrassing to call it a drone anymore, and it can perform a variety of missions accordingly.
Bombers that burned down hordes of infected agents on Zinoplan Boulevard.
This includes the drone attack aircraft that protected Eugene and his group from Slave Cow.
“What are they doing! Ready to shoot!”
The drones deployed to suppress the civil war in the Goheung garrison were the former.
“Start shooting!”
A few drones crashed due to anti-aircraft fire from some soldiers who quickly recovered from their panic, but that was all.
Slam!
The hammer hit the empty compartment, but the soldiers did not even think about replacing the magazine. I just look up at the sky blankly.
“Oh, my God.”
The violence of numbers makes even seasoned veterans lose their will to fight.
The drones that filled the sky like a flock of migratory birds seemed closer to a natural disaster than a tactic.
On the battlefield, the noise made by drone wings was already louder than gunshots.
There was no order from anyone, but it was completely natural for the soldiers to stop fighting one by one.
“They are all combat drones!”
The soldier who discovered the machine gun mounted on the bottom of the drone through a telescope shouted.
“Give me operational instructions!”
“Everyone hides!”
The soldiers were divided into those who waited for orders from the commanding officer and those who immediately crawled undercover.
The commanders leading each army felt paralyzed by radio calls asking how to respond.
“Fire!”
“Stop shooting!”
Conflicting orders came from everywhere. Among the soldiers who were ordered to fire, few actually fired.
What if you shoot first and get retaliatory fire? Shooting against the drones looking down from the sky was an absolute feat.
“Where do you start shooting?”
Even if you try to shoot, there are so many drones that you can’t even figure out where to shoot.
In the meantime, the drones’ muzzles began spouting fire all at once.
“Aaaaah!”
“Kwaaak!”
Those who fell down with blood spraying everywhere were all executives.
Cameras attached to drones identified their priority targets through rank badges and facial recognition systems.
“Shoot! “Shoot.”
Only then did some commanders come to their senses and order counter-fire, but the time to issue such an order was not long.
“Aaaaah!”
The areas where executives could be located were limited, and those areas were targeted with priority.
Boom!
Kwasik!
More drones hit the ground than fallen executives, but it’s not noticeable at all.
Quang!
Armored cars and tanks were reduced to a lump of scrap metal by the top attack of a suicide drone raining down from the sky.
“Ahh!”
The soldiers lost their will to fight due to the rain of bullets and bombardment.
Just following his survival instinct, he burrowed under the vehicle he was using for cover and held his head.
Sometimes, while hiding like that, they ran into the enemy soldiers they had just been fighting with.
“…!”
“…!”
But they were only surprised for a moment and closed their eyes, pretending not to see each other.
They and themselves are just weak people busy trying to survive in a destroyed world.
Why on earth should compatriots fight among themselves? Now, even the commanders who forced it are dying.
‘I want to save my life safely and raise Goheung!’
That was the common thought of the soldiers.
The drone army that appeared like a storm swept the battlefield like a strong shower and then disappeared in an instant.
All that remains is the burning-armored vehicle, the sparking remains of the drone, and the breathing of the surviving soldiers.
For a while, no one could raise their heads on the ruined battlefield.
“Stop! Stop!”
When enough time had passed, someone stood up waving a stick with a white flag on it.
Crash.
Immediately, a soldier with a gun stood up from somewhere else and aimed at the soldier holding a white flag.
The two soldiers stared at each other in silence.
How long has it been like that?
In the end, the soldier with the gun stopped aiming.
From that point on, soldiers lowered their guns and began to stand up in various places.
We looked at each other, but no one seemed to have any intention of fighting anymore.
“Let’s all go our way!!!”
When the soldier holding the white flag shouted, soldiers everywhere responded.
So, each group gathered in groups of twos, threes, fives, and began to disperse in all directions.
Those whose hometowns were in the south chose their hometown as their destination, while others surrendered to the garrison they had chosen in advance or headed to a settlement they liked.
There were also people who tried to set up camps on small islands or mountains with like-minded colleagues.
Meanwhile, the executives were not completely wiped out.
There were some who survived, but no one dared to stop this flow.
‘I am the commander! If you said, ‘Follow orders!’, Bullets would fly from all directions and the atmosphere would turn into a beehive.
That was the last appearance of the Goheung garrison, which functioned as an army.
* * *
“It’s all over.”
The ruined battlefield and the disintegrated Goheung County. That message filled the APC internal command monitor.
The big trouble was over, but there was no time to rejoice.
Because our real task hasn’t even begun yet.
Destruction of noise trees blocking the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. Now I can finally focus on that purpose.
[All circumstantial information shows that the rebel forces in Goheung were virtually neutralized.]
Seongbong Lee expressed his gratitude through the communication device.
“As I said, we are now entering Operation Firestorm. We ask that nearby civilians take control to prevent unnecessary damage.”
Operation Firestorm is exactly as its name suggests.
This is an operation to burn down everything in the Yeosu area among the noise tree lines that fill the southern region.
[I know. Trained troops have already been deployed to set up a blockade and control citizens.]
Even though military operations were taking place in his garrison area, he was not concerned. He didn’t even ask about our identity.
Among the cards given to him, he simply chose the one that best suited the protection of citizens.
“I look forward to working together again.”
[This is what we will say.]
That’s the end of the story.
The drone bombers who had been waiting for the moment to deploy finally took to the sky.
They alternated with small drones returning from the battle with the Goheung garrison.
[Everyone is looking up.]
Artemis checked people’s faces with cameras installed on bombers.
Yeosu soldiers on guard duty.
Farmers who farmed.
Refugees carrying out their assigned labor carrying shovels, paint brushes, pickaxes, and cleaning tools.
Fishermen rowing to the nearby sea.
They all stopped what they were doing and looked up at the sky.
Although you can’t zoom in to see their expressions, you can predict their faces.
Anxiety, and an unknown palpitation.
Everyone must have realized that the world, which had been stagnant after the infection war, was suddenly changing.
* * *
Noise Tree is an infectious agent structure that blocks all types of transmission.
The pillar extends straight into the sky and has long, densely stretched twigs on both sides.
The way they flutter in the wind looks so sacred that you can’t think of them as part of a malicious monster.
They were engulfed in flames.
The huge, blazing tree slowly tilted to the side.
It was like a phoenix falling with its back toward the ground.
The burning branches bent in the opposite direction of the tree, leaving a trail of fire.
Wow!
Burning branches that spread widely from the pillar to the ground.
It feels like watching a net of flames sprinkled by God fall to the ground.
The other noise trees lined up on both sides are no exception.
The wall of fire continued as far as the eye could see.
The light created by the burning huge white trees lasted well past midnight.
That majestic scene was closer to the realm of myth than reality. Like the beacons of the gods burning all at once in response to Ragnarok.
Of course, such a big event, especially a spectacular fire show, attracts spectators.
It’s a world where there isn’t much entertainment and the price of life is considered insignificant.
Even though the Yeosu garrison worked hard to control the survivors in Yeosu, they could not even stop onlookers from other areas.
There were even people who came by boat from an island across the sea to see it.
[Citizens, please do not go beyond the limit designated by the military.]
As a last resort, military vehicles drove around and issued warnings with loudspeakers and radios, but it had little effect.
[Just broadcast. Direct intervention is strictly prohibited.]
Some responsible soldiers tried to pull the bystanders out, but Lieutenant Colonel Lee Seong-bong stopped them.
As it is a dangerous world, the onlookers were each armed with weapons, and even the soldiers could have been caught in a fire accident while trying to pull them out.
[The trees are taller than expected. Citizens, in your judgment, it is dangerous even if you are far enough away. You may get burned by the hot air generated when a tree falls.]
This broadcast did scare the onlookers a little. But all I could do was make him take 20 to 30 steps back.
2 hours later.
“Aaaaah!”
“Aaaaah!”
In the end, casualties occurred.
“…”
[1 death. 4 seriously injured. 21 minor injuries.]
Artemis calmly reported to me as I covered my head.
[It’s not our fault.]
“I know.”
One change that has occurred in Korean society since the infection war is that sympathy has decreased and people have become much tougher.
This incident was immediately covered on a radio show running on Jeju Island.
[Thus, we at the Korean branch of the Darwin Awards present the Darwin Award on behalf of the will of founder Wendy Northcutt!]
The audience’s laughter was inserted as background sound.
None of the 26 people received sympathy, and even the dead person was ridiculed by being awarded the Darwin Prize.
[Ah… It’s mine.]
The kids were very disappointed as they were deprived of a great scoop.
When the planned number of noise trees had been removed, we launched an airship equipped with a relay transmitter.
It passed over Yeosu without any restrictions.
Even the remains of the Noise Tree, which had turned into a lump of charcoal, passed by and stopped on the blue sea.
The location of the airship is displayed on the satellite map.
[Signal transmission begins.]
With Artemis’ words, waves spread out from the airship like waves in a circle.
Sending the signal from the shelter beyond the noise tree line.
Receiving signals from outside and sending them to the shelter.
The two-way relay function has started operating. The effect was immediate.
[The weather is scheduled to get even warmer tomorrow. However, if you go exploring outside, be sure to wear long sleeves and long pants. Don’t forget that the lifespan of a searcher increases as much as you hide your skin!]
It was a radio broadcast from Jeju Island.
This is a real-time broadcast, not a rebroadcast recorded and delivered through a drone.
[Goheung deserters are scattering to various places. All nearby residents, beware of looters.]
[Are you sure Lee Man-cheol is dead?]
Sizable settlements were worried about the aftermath from the collapsed Goheung garrison.
[I am a doctor who can provide dental care. I’m looking for a new camp to settle down in. There are four people in my family, including me…]
[We are recruiting team members to pioneer a new settlement in southern Gyeongsang-do. It’s fighting, and it’s all bullshit, and I’m sick of it all. Looking for friends to spend a quiet time in the mountains!]
[A squad of armed combat troops searches for a garrison to surrender. We never participated in war crimes and only did security guard work…]
Many of the people living in Goheung were making plans to escape.
[As of now, Goheung’s unlimited conscription order has been lifted. Citizens, please stay safe.]
[All soldiers who do not maintain their position will be regarded as deserters and will be shot.]
Meanwhile, the garrison troops divided into pieces were trying their best to prevent people from leaving their assigned areas.
Numerous radio waves were constantly coming and going, and there were also records of communications sent from foreign countries across the sea.
And one of them.
A communication from Japan caught my and Artemis’ attention.
It was an encrypted communication and was being repeated at regular intervals. It appears to be a recorded communication sent by an automated machine.
What caught our attention was that the encryption pattern was identical to the one discovered by the Brain and Neurology Laboratory.
In short, it means that it is a signal sent from the organization that sent the corpses of aliens to the Brain and Nerve Research Institute.
[Decryption is complete. Should I play the communication now?]
“Do it right away.”
Once my approval was given, a file appeared on the monitor and changed to audio playback mode.
[Indomitable seekers.
I watched your activities.]
It was Korean.
The mid-low standard intonation was perfect, but for some reason, the voice gave off a strong feeling of being a foreigner.
[‘Hope is still alive.’
Perhaps you found the message I left.
I have waited until now to convey that hope.
He holds on to his life even as he becomes a criminal who breaks the taboo.]
The voice recited in Korean was full of sadness and fatigue.
[Please find me.
May you inherit the hope we left behind and show me mercy so that I can end my life of injustice.]
However, the last paragraph contained a faint glimmer of joy.
