Chapter 165 – Resume Communication (8)
What is the most troublesome situation during military operations?
A much larger number of enemies?
Unfavorable terrain?
A situation under siege?
Insufficient supplies?
A boss who enjoys Danger close shooting?
Even though it all seems like crap, it’s worth enduring.
However, there is one thing that is absolutely difficult to get used to, and that is the situation where civilians and enemy soldiers are mixed together. Just like Goheung today.
Plus one more thing. Many of the troops stationed in Goheung were merely forced to commit fratricide.
‘Should we just cut it too?’
‘Speak quietly. Sergeant Oh, if that bastard hears it, he’ll rip you off.’
‘Dealing with monsters sucks, but I ended up getting shot.’
It is said that this is a conversation between soldiers that Seongdae overheard.
Even after hearing about the escape plan, he pretended not to notice, which was a smart move.
Because there are times to step forward and times not to step forward.
In some situations, the shouting of an officer elicits fear and obedience from soldiers, but in other situations, it also elicits a ‘quiet plan’.
Many executives who could not distinguish between them died during the infection war.
In any case, in a disaster situation like the present, there is no way for soldiers to accept that compatriots are shooting each other for power.
“The executives are providing mental education every day, but it is not effective. “How smart are kids these days?”
As Sungdae said, this is not a strategy that will work against conscripts, who have a 70% college entrance rate.
At first glance, the content of the training seemed closer to a propaganda speech praising the legitimacy of the troops stationed in Goheung and calling for the defeat of the rebels illegally occupying Yeosu.
I tried to package it logically, but bullshit is just bullshit.
“But the problem is that the majority are still holding on to their positions.”
“It’s difficult to leave Goheung in the current situation. Fear, better food and sleep, family and friends who are connected to oneself. There are many reasons why soldiers cannot leave.”
Nowadays, we are not in an era where military bases and civilian residential areas are strictly separated like in the past.
Medieval manor and primitive cave life. I maintained a lifestyle that fell somewhere in between.
A civilian who is in need of just one diaper and one can of canned food is subcontracted by a soldier and shovels side by side.
A soldier in military uniform and a civilian woman living as newlyweds in a simple tent within the unit.
A child and an elderly person carrying cleaning tools are riding in the luggage compartment of a military truck driven by a soldier.
This is a common sight in any garrison in the south.
[If you put your mind to it, you can change the Goheung leadership right now. It would be a plan similar to Plan F, let alone Plan B.]
Artemis said with a smile. This refers to a large-scale bombing of the Goheung garrison positions.
“Then he will become the worst massacre since the Infection War. “It is an ending in which a few corrupt executives, many soldiers who did not want to fight, and even more civilians are in flames.”
It’s literally Plan Fucked.
“Who were you talking to just now?”
The vocal cords asked as if they were puzzled.
“Oh, you can’t hear me? Artemis, can you speak in speaker mode?”
[No. Why me?]
She refused with her sharp sword.
“Huh?”
A dumbfounded voice came out at the unexpected answer.
[It’s gross. Please feel grateful just for being allowed to board.]
I shrugged at Seongdae, who was looking at me with a question mark on her face.
“I was talking to the operator of the base where I am staying. “She is a very rude and unassuming woman.”
[Hey!]
Artemis’s anger passed by.
“It’s the bass…”
The gaze of the vocal cords was directed at the robots.
“Is this the unidentified force that exists inland?”
I nodded silently.
“Well, with such fearsome soldiers, it wouldn’t be impossible to survive up there.”
“It’s just a nice location. “The inland area is much more terrible than you can imagine.”
A sergeant, the most senior among the soldiers, approached us.
“Loyalty!”
He saluted me.
Even though he wasn’t a soldier I belonged to, he was fairly accepted due to the atmosphere.
“I’m giving you a personnel report. Total 8 members, 1 warrior, 7 current members. “The injured have been taken care of and everyone can march.”
Without saying a word, I handed the sergeant a dog tag. It was recovered from a deceased second lieutenant.
“Are you going to stay here? Or return to the unit?”
“Well, that’s…”
The sergeant hesitated. No matter how experienced a soldier you are, it will be a burden to decide the actions of your colleagues in a situation where there is no commander. Especially in a wartime situation where one mistake can mean death in battle or execution by firing squad.
“What’s the point of being left alone? We are going to Yeosu. “I’ll take you in the same direction.”
“Thank you!”
The sergeant’s face straightened in an instant.
Do you feel like the burden on your mind is disappearing as the seemingly experienced leader of a powerful armed group sets the guidelines for action?
“Collect the remaining bottles.”
“Yes!”
The sergeant turned back in accordance with the ritual.
“3rd squad assemble!”
The remaining soldiers gathered quickly and stood in line.
“From now on, I will temporarily take over your command and lead you to Yeosu. Until then, follow my orders.”
“Yes!”
The soldiers answered.
[Pick-up completed.]
Just then, a robot came driving the truck.
The existing transport vehicle could not be used because the engine part was destroyed during the battle.
The robots have been running like wild beasts, looking for a car that can carry troops.
The vehicle I brought with me didn’t seem to be in very good condition, but it seemed like it would be able to hold out until I returned to headquarters.
“Take only combat supplies, including the ensign’s body. There is no time. “We leave as soon as it’s over.”
“I understand.”
“Can you drive a class 1?”
“Sergeant Shim Dae-sik!”
“Private First Class Kim Woo-jin!”
There are fewer driver’s license holders than expected in the current military due to the large number of conscripts after the infectious war.
“Sergeant Shim Dae-sik, you drive.”
“Yes.”
I entrusted the driving to another sergeant. Soldiers who obtained a license through the regular route in the good old days are more valuable than you think.
A few minutes later, as I watched the soldiers boarding the plane, I also got on the APC. The vocal cords followed me as they peered behind me, looking inside.
“You liked games, right?”
I threw Nintendo Earth, a portable game console inside the APC, at him.
It was originally an item brought as a transaction to obtain information cooperation from locals. Depending on the person, it can be a much more powerful bribe than alcohol or cigarettes.
“Take it.”
But now it is no longer needed.
“Captain!”
The vocal cords shouted with tremendous emotion. I even had tears in my eyes.
* * *
The journey to Yeosu garrison headquarters through the main road was smooth.
Even now, we stopped at the guard post guarded by Yeosu County, but we were not stopped in any way.
The guard commander ordered the blocking bar to be raised without any confirmation.
‘If you see a large armored vehicle that you have never seen before and is moving with a white flag, let it pass.’
This is because there was a prior agreement with the Yeosu military command.
[I don’t like it.]
The only one grumbling in this amicable agreement is Artemis.
“What?”
[White flag, why on earth do we have to raise the white flag? It’s enough to just familiarize yourself with the appearance of the vehicle.]
The exact meaning of the white flag is not surrender, but expressing no intention to fight.
But it doesn’t seem to make much of a difference from her perspective.
“In a war situation, if an imposing armored vehicle rushes in, anyone would be scared. “Think about it from the perspective of the lowest-ranking soldiers, whether they understood the instructions or not.”
[That’s none of our business. It’s good to be kind, but Jinsu goes too far. For some reason, it feels like we are going in with a bow.]
When all blocking bars were raised, the armored vehicle took off again.
[Pay more attention to dignity. You are no longer just a facility manager. He came out as a representative of one force.]
‘Like the president of a company,’ she said, trailing off.
“Dignity?”
But I just laugh out loud.
“Managers, CEOs, and presidents are all good executives, but before that, I am a soldier. Do you see this?”
I pointed to the rank insignia on Woosungdae’s military uniform, who was playing Nintendo Earth next to me.
Three diamonds in dark color, not silver.
Squeak.
Because it was a non-woven fabric, it fell apart when I pulled it. It is a detachable matte rank insignia to hide rank in actual combat situations.
“If they cared about dignity, they would fix shiny silver diamonds on metal, but officers like that are the first to be shot and killed.”
[Is that the same as this? It’s an inappropriate analogy.]
“It’s no different. During war, all kinds of incidents occur due to minor misunderstandings. At a guard post where instructions from superiors were incorrectly delivered, an inexperienced recruit panicked at the approach of a heavy armored vehicle and opened fire. A small misunderstanding can cause an accident.”
There was also an incident where a guard was so nervous in a combat situation that he asked a strange secret phrase and shot a comrade who was too embarrassed to answer.
“At times like this, there is no clearer means of communication than a white flag flying high in the sky. There can never be a misunderstanding, right?”
[Is there anyone who can be that stupid? Even if you have no experience.]
“Trust me about the battlefield environment.”
[…
He said while attaching his rank insignia to his military uniform.
Artemis didn’t question it any further.
In the meantime, Seongdae was busy playing the game. It seems like it’s been so much fun since it’s been a while since I last played a game.
After passing several guard posts, Artemis’s displeasure was relieved in an unexpected way.
“From here, we can go on our own. “Thank you again for saving my life.”
“It was a short relationship, but it was fun. Good luck everyone.”
While the other soldiers stood motionless, the sergeant who represented them moved according to the ritual.
“Unit at attention!”
Damn it! Chronic movement accompanied by a sound.
“Loyalty!”
I also responded to his salute with a salute.
As I was seeing off the departing soldiers, Artemis spoke to me.
[So far, the human military’s rituals have been viewed as a useless, time-wasting process?]
“Even if it seems useless, there is a reason for doing it. All of these things come together and lead to military discipline.”
[I know. Looking at it this way, it doesn’t seem that bad.]
For some reason, the dissatisfaction that had been in her voice until just now had completely disappeared.
Has her interest been overwritten by her unerring ritual movements? Even if you know the heart of a woman, you may not know it.
* * *
The meeting place between Lee Seong-bong, and I was a temporary meeting hall set up outside the Yeosu garrison headquarters.
A field command tent was erected in the middle of the plain, 500 meters away from the residence.
The entire cover was rolled up, so the interior was clearly visible, and a luxurious conference table was placed in the center.
At the other end stands a man in his mid to late 40s, believed to be Lieutenant Colonel Lee Seong-bong, and his officers are lined up on both sides.
When our vehicle arrived, they all looked at us at once.
“Did you stand and wait on purpose?”
[It’s them who are disappointing.]
Artemis said as if it were obvious.
They were allowed to sit until I came and then stand up briefly when I came in, but they didn’t bother to stand and wait despite their fatigue.
Lee Seong-bong’s personality is clearly felt in these small details.
When the robots that were escorting me got off, their eyes widened greatly.
After seeing the 12.7mm combat rifle in the hands of the robots, my eyes widened to the point where I couldn’t get any bigger.
The guards guarding the entrance to the conference hall let us in without even conducting a formal inspection.
[The guard mission begins.]
The same number of robots as sentries stood next to them.
Although it is unlikely, it is to respond immediately when the guards try to do something foolish.
“Hmm.”
The sentries with uncomfortable expressions still maintained a fixed posture, but occasionally glanced at the robots next to them.
Yeosu County must have selected tall and thick soldiers, but the physical difference between it and the stalker robot is similar to that of the North Korean military and the U.S. Military.
The gun he was holding also had a difference between a real gun and a BB gun, so it didn’t have any dignity.
Some of the officers could be seen sighing slightly.
Seongbong Lee and I stood facing each other across a long table.
“Nice to meet you. “This is Lieutenant Colonel Lee Seong-bong, commander of the Yeosu Defense Force.”
“This is Seo Jin-su, Raven Rock manager.”
He nodded and offered me a seat.
“Please sit down, manager.”
“Then I won’t hesitate.”
A private who appeared to be on duty came and left a crystal teacup in front of me and Lee Seong-bong.
It was tea with a slice of lemon.
In today’s world, this tea is so precious that it’s literally like drinking gold dust.
“I will drink well.”
“This is a car that I was able to obtain thanks to the manager’s material support. Without that, it would have been impossible to expand northward.”
He smiled calmly.
The lemon tea was sour and moderately sweet, but I didn’t find it delicious.
Is it because my tongue got used to the luxury provided by Artemis?
“Thank you again for saving our soldiers on the way. In addition, I also showed those rebels an example. Even Lieutenant Park can close his eyes in peace.”
Grumble.
Lee Seong-bong, who was sipping tea, had a wedding ring on his middle finger.
This is because only one inner joint remained on his ring finger and small finger.
“The manager knows what’s going on much better than I do. “He will be superior to me in both reconnaissance power and human intelligence network.”
Shelter’s information on external personnel is still only at the beginning stage.
Lee Seong-bong will be superior in terms of human information network, but he seems to assume that Shelter’s power will be superior in all aspects. I didn’t necessarily deny it.
Since you have the rest area in your hands, it will become a reality in just one month.
“The reason we are gathered here today, and more precisely, the reason I asked to meet, is to decide on a certain issue.”
After saying that, I glanced at the officer corps behind Lee Seong-bong.
Most people kept a blank expression, but there were some who looked at me with eyes filled with some kind of longing. This was mainly done by young officers.
“I say this in a very rude way. “Aren’t we all here trained to speak in two-faced terms?”
A little laughter broke out between them.
“Lee Man-cheol will die within this week. “He will shoot you if you don’t surrender, and if you surrender, he will shoot you.”
That smile froze.
