Chapter 206 – North Korea
There is generally no significant difference in the current situation in countries devastated by the spread of infection.
Collapsed public power and warlordized military.
Fragmented survival group.
Various materials left behind in the ruins.
A seeker looking for it.
A predator targeting those seekers.
Numerous infectious agents that formed colonies.
Although there are differences in degree, they mostly appear in a similar form.
However, some countries show heterogeneous appearances due to their special characteristics, the best example being North Korea.
Although North Korea was underdeveloped, it had a quantitatively sizable infantry force.
Thanks to this, it was a country that fought fiercely even when there were many deserters when the infection war broke out.
Of course, its combat power cannot be maintained for long because its internal stability is so poor that there are jokes about raiding rest areas to supply when invading the South.
But who cares? By the time the North Korean army’s stockpiled supplies ran out, most of them had died anyway.
North Korea’s leadership had no interest in protecting its residents or recovering its territory. Rather, in a situation where control was broken, the starving army was judged to be a potential risk factor.
They even showed outrageous behavior by encouraging their own military and the infectious disease corps to form a two-way plan.
“It’s desolate no matter when I look at it.”
As a result, North Korea, viewed from a satellite, was more devastated than South Korea.
After going through the third Arduous March, the mountains became barren, and the fields were devoid of any life.
It is a contrast to South Korea, which retains a rich green color even though it is a mountainous country.
However, in the current situation, such devastation has become an advantage. As the ecosystem has been destroyed, there are fewer infected wild animals and visibility is wide.
Is it because of that? Recently, strangers are crossing over from border areas such as North Pyongan Province, Jagang Province, and North Hamgyong Province.
What appeared on the central control room screen was a military truck.
“Are you Chinese?”
Artemis nodded to my question.
“Huh. And there will be North Koreans among the guides.”
She was sitting next to me with her legs crossed.
A scene that had been an everyday scene until now: I was alone in the central control room, with only Artemis’ voice echoing through the speakers.
This has become difficult to see anymore.
Now, whether it’s a regular morning meeting or a noteworthy observation from outside, she usually sits side by side with me.
Even when dealing with fairly serious issues, I feel like the tension isn’t there because I hear voices talking quietly next to me.
“There is a fairly large remnant of the Chinese army not far from the border. It seems like they have broken up with the communist government, but they are interacting quite actively with North Korean survivors and Russians. “I come here often these days.”
Artemis gestured, and her picture enlarged to reveal dark heads riding in her luggage. Everyone was wearing Chinese military uniform.
During the infection war, North Korean residents who tried to escape to South Korea were massacred by attacks from both monsters and North Korean martial law forces.
The North Korean leadership had no intention of protecting its people, but it also did not allow them to abandon themselves.
In this situation, people appeared trying to escape to Russia or China through the north, where the front line had collapsed.
This is because the probability of survival on that side was slightly higher. It’s still infested with monsters, but at least if you run north, you won’t have bullets flying at your back.
Those who escaped like that often returned to North Korea as guides for Chinese or Russian warlords.
One time, a squad-sized Russian army came over, and a fight broke out, and the infectious agents were swept away like fallen leaves.
Because the base North Koreans were so hungry and sick, even the mutated monster was weak.
Large variants such as Juggernaut are rarely found outside of Pyongyang.
The fact that he was Asian was an unexpected advantage.
‘There is definitely an effect of racial differences on variation.’
This is the conclusion made by Artemis after dissecting numerous foreign walkers.
Similar to North Korea, even when starving, African(?) Walkers have excellent basic muscle performance and large skeletons, showing even more spiciness to the underdeveloped government forces of that country.
It makes a big difference if you knock on the door with the same ‘squeak’ and the hinges on one side creak while the other side doesn’t budge.
The vehicle had already searched about four buildings.
“After you try it a few times, you won’t feel like coming again. “No one wants to sit down on empty land.”
“You don’t know that. Because having nothing can be an advantage in today’s world. “For those struggling to survive in the infectious hell, desolate North Korea may seem like paradise, right?”
Unlike me, who is cynical, Artemis seems to see the possibilities more broadly.
“Maybe so. It’s a pity that I can’t see beyond the border.”
The Korean Peninsula is the only area covered by the satellites we have. To look higher, you have to remotely change the satellite’s orbit, but if it breaks down, it’s a mess.
“Ah, I’m leaving now.”
Since it was a vehicle moving alone in a field where almost no living thing was visible, its every move was easily noticed.
After searching several buildings, the Chinese crossed the border and returned.
The strangers who regularly come and go from Artemis were not considered a threat per se, but were set as a cautionary force that must be constantly monitored.
Meanwhile, there was another reason why we were interested in North Korea.
It is a weapons test.
* * *
[GR-1 prototype actual testing begins.]
The emotionless voice of the stalker robot echoed through the central control room.
The screen with synchronized gaze showed a ruined North Korean village, with scattered walkers wandering around.
[Ready to fire.]
Like a poisonous snake raising its head, a black barrel rose from the bottom of the screen and was pointed at the guys.
It is a new infantry weapon developed by Artemis to replace the existing 12.7 mm combat rifle.
Unusually, there is a thick and large rectangular battery attached to the magazine. The magazine has a separate place at the top where it is inserted at an angle.
At first glance, it looks like two magazines are inserted above and below.
[Quooooo.]
The battery was supplied to the chamber and barrel, and a soft resonant sound began to sound throughout the gun.
“It’s a tactically novel element that the gun keeps making noise even though it hasn’t been fired.”
“… I will improve it soon.”
Artemis kicked my foot with a proud look on her face! I stepped on it.
Her light kicks didn’t hurt at all, and her thoughtfulness in taking off her shoes and stepping on them was cute.
The barrel is very long, almost 1 meter long, and if you look closely, it even has its own cooling system.
Thanks to this, it only weighs 21 kg, but it is okay because it is not a weapon for human use in the first place.
I stared at the screen with my mouth buried in the back of my clasped hands.
The stalker was calmly waiting for my instructions even after aiming this heavy gun.
The muzzle just moves slightly, following the walker wandering here and there.
“Shoot.”
[Roger.]
There was almost no recoil.
There was also no sound of gunpowder exploding.
Instead, it just sounded like extremely compressed low-frequency sounds exploding all at once.
[Cuuuuu.]
The sound resonating throughout the gun weakened and then returned to its original state.
[Hit.]
Walker, who was nearly 200 meters away, lost his right shoulder and half of his neck.
The same was true for everything in its path. Even the parked charcoal car and the stone wall behind it.
Dark red blood poured out from the neat cross-section, and the half of the neck that remained could not support the weight of the head.
His head tilted to the side and bounced near his shoulder, and after a few seconds he collapsed and stopped moving.
[Are all the others also firing?]
Suddenly, other walkers gathered around the dead compatriot one by one.
Even leaving aside the appearance of being reduced to an infectious agent, it was a miserable appearance that gives an idea of what he must have looked like when he was alive.
Once my permission was given, the stalker opened fire without hesitation.
[Quooooo.]
[Cuuuuu.]
Each time, the resonance sound originating from the battery rose and fell, creating a strange melody.
Their painful lives, both alive and dead, came to an end one by one.
[All enemies have been eliminated. The weapon is in good condition.]
“What is the battery voltage level?”
Artemis asked.
[It is unstable, but within the acceptable range.]
She looked at me.
“Good. Move to the next area and begin additional experiments.”
[Roger.]
Following my command, the stalker fixed his gun on his back and moved.
Even while carrying that heavy gun, he moved over buildings, trees, and streetlamps as if he were flying.
The background moved dazzlingly beneath the stalker’s feet, as if looking at Tarzan’s shoulder cam.
“For the first time, North Korea is helping.”
Even though I had considered them as my main enemy my whole life, I had no choice but to admit it.
The best way to test a weapon is to use it in an actual combat environment.
However, currently in Korea, areas with high infection rates are too high and areas with low infection rates are too low.
You can’t send your precious stalker model to a dangerous area with an experimental weapon that may malfunction at any time.
If you’re careful, you may fire a few shots and be chased by mutants or hordes of walkers attracted by the noise.
In that respect, North Korea is a perfect environment for testing experimental weapons, as it is desolate on all sides, making observation advantageous, has a low density of infectious agents, and even has poor specifications.
It was natural for our eyes to turn to the north, which we had ignored until now.
[ABR-1 prototype waiting to be fired. Please give the command.]
And these experiments are being carried out simultaneously in various places in North Korea.
Stalkers, each armed with various types of weapons, hid in mountains, cities, villages, military bases, and fields and pointed their guns at the monsters.
Every time I gave an order, the walkers died.
Different gunshots, different gunshot wounds.
