Chapter 234 – The Inevitable Choice
The scene of gunfire pouring down from a helicopter and destroying the ground with a loud sound was played on the screen.
However, rather than the exhilarating sight of the infected being torn apart, I kept focusing on the amount of ammunition remaining displayed at the bottom right of the screen.
Slam!
This is because it was decreasing at an incredible rate and finally reached 0.
“Ammunition depleted. “I will bring you back from the war zone.”
With Artemis’ words, the helicopter turned its nose, feeling much lighter than before departure.
The machine gun barrel that fired the last bullet is red-hot. It looks like it might break if you hit it hard with a hammer.
Below, scenes of screaming monsters are unfolding. Even though it seems like a lot of numbers have been eliminated, if you turn the screen just a little, a hellish scene still unfolds.
When you adjust the PDA, you can see stalker robots operating alone on the ground.
They are scattered and avoiding direct combat, and are trying to attract the attention of the infected entities as much as possible to hinder their pursuit.
This is because units that operate on the ground are effective in drawing off aggro.
After receiving information about a place with many refugees through aerial photography and cooperation with the military, we approached the group of infected people heading in that direction.
[Kiiiiing-!]
A sound device activated from the stalker’s mouth, emitting a tearing roar.
[Keeeeek-!]
Normal walkers without intelligence just look at the sound, but mutants with advanced sensory nerves feel pain.
[Kyarrrrva!]
Naturally, he is filled with anger and looks at him even more harshly.
Bang!
Then, after shooting them once, they run away while showing their backs.
Of course, it is impossible to attract the attention of all the infected hordes with just a handful of robots.
However, it is quite possible to selectively select the most vulnerable evacuation trains and attract infectious agents to pursue them.
The screen of several stalker robots put into operation shakes violently.
Each one crosses wilderness, rice fields, riversides, destroyed buildings, and small mountains.
There were even cases where they were chased by thousands of infected entities.
Honestly, even if it were me, I don’t think it would be easy to stay sane in that situation, but the robots followed the policy and performed their mission while attracting as much attention as possible.
Surrounded by countless evil intentions and jaws, I calmly took a step deeper.
[Keeeeek-!]
In some cases, the escape route was blocked and there was no way to escape.
[Boom!]
Every time that happened, the screen was covered with white flashes. The flash bombs issued in preparation for a siege situation were used.
[Kaaaaak-!]
Among the many struggling walkers, mutants can be seen clutching their eyes and ears and screaming.
The robot quickly pushed its shoulder between them and escaped.
This is a possible method because it is not a battle of annihilation and the robot does not take damage from flashbangs.
Unlike a grenade, it could be held high in the hand and exploded, so it was more useful than a grenade in an escape situation.
“Ammunition depleted. “I will bring you back.”
Meanwhile, another helicopter turned.
On the satellite map depicting the overall battle situation, red indicates infectious agents and blue indicates refugees, who are being chased and chased.
While the green dots indicating our troops are busy moving around in between, the distance between red and blue can be seen gradually widening.
“Even if we didn’t get involved, it would have ended up like this.”
Artemis said, crossing his arms.
For her part, whenever she gets involved with the Southern survivors, she wastes a lot of resources without gaining anything, so she’s probably undesirable.
“That’s true, but that blue color would have gotten a little smaller.”
“I know. So you didn’t object.”
She scolded her as if to stop looking at her like a cruel woman.
“Anyway, I’m glad. “Because our ammunition is not infinite.”
Even if there are self-sufficient facilities and sufficient supplies, it is not enough to waste them carelessly.
We cannot afford to continue fierce battles against enemies of such a scale that counting them is meaningless.
Even if oil can be synthesized, all mines that would extract metals used in bullets have already stopped operating. It is impossible to deal with each one of them using conventional methods.
“Jinsu, a communication request has been received from the commander of the garrison in the Honam Plain.”
It was time to order the troops who had been deployed to withdraw.
Since it is a time for us to feel relaxed, they will also be able to secure a certain level of safety and take a breather.
“Connect me right away.”
A middle-aged man who looked exhausted appeared with burns.
I am devastated. The commander was expressing that one word with his whole body.
“Thank you for your hard work. I am truly sorry.”
I spoke first and only then did he react.
He should be grateful to the people who helped him, but he looked like he didn’t even have time to do so because his house was completely destroyed and burned down.
[We completely lost the entire Honam Plain. Even most vehicles and military supplies. All I could bring was personal equipment.]
The commander with a haggard face said.
The areas where the largest number of people lived densely, built defense lines, and rebuilt agricultural lands to secure food are now overrun with infectious agents.
Among the misfortunes, the good news is that their advance is slowing down after they engulfed the Honam Plain, which was the target of the Bunbon.
Although there are small numbers of infected people coming down to the south, their numbers are small, and they are being intercepted by the foot army. You won’t need any more help from us here.
However, if the colonies push south again, they will be pushed back helplessly.
[I feel devastated.]
Is it because the dream of reconstruction collapsed right before our eyes, and we lost many troops and citizens? Beyond the burn, the commander could not continue speaking properly.
He pulled out as many people and materials as possible from Mokpo, where he had originally been assigned, and gathered together numerous refugees and like-minded military units to barely recover the Honam plains.
It can truly be seen as a sign of destruction.
[The reason I restored that land was not an act of public interest or patriotism to restore the country. Because it was an essential choice for feeding these people and for their long-term survival. But that…]
He bit his lip. My teeth are digging into the dry, rough surface, as if I haven’t even had time to take a sip of water.
“The fire has been extinguished, but I think you need to head further south. You may have seen the reconnaissance information we sent you. “I don’t know when they will come down again.”
[What would you do if you went further south? The place is already exhausted. Unless there is a way to secure food, many people will die every time winter comes.]
During video communication, soldiers and people kept passing behind him.
There are young people wearing bloody bandages or emergency casts, a middle-aged man wearing a stethoscope and holding an injection needle with a lighter as he walks, a soldier making an earnest appeal next to him, and a young woman running while holding a canned food like a treasure. There was.
The only lighting was a light bulb hanging high up, but even that flickered occasionally.
It looks more like a poor field hospital than a command post.
The commander also had gunpowder soot on his face, as if he had participated in a battle during the retreat, and he had a dirty beard from not being able to shave.
“We would like to help as much as we can, but there are limits. “Even for small and intensive supplies like medicine, the food supply is far from sufficient to cover all the people.”
[I understand. Rather, I should be grateful just for helping me so far.]
The commander covered his face with both hands and pulled out his bangs with his fingertips.
It’s not an action that would be taken in a conversation between leaders of one faction, but it must be that desperate.
[The biggest problem is that there is a lot of despair and fear, but there is no hope. The reason people have been able to miraculously rally together so far is because of their hope for the future… There will be a significant risk of additional deserters or rebellions among Lee Dae-ron’s subordinates.]
If Lee Seong-bong was the true soldier type with heroic aspects, the commander he was dealing with was closer to an elite bureaucrat with moral character.
The ability to lead a group by envisioning a positive future as much as possible in a difficult situation is excellent, but it seems that it is difficult to handle the frustration that comes when it fails.
“We will continue to share our reconnaissance information. We will also send air support and medical supplies for the infectious agents that are slowly leaking out.”
It was the most moral help I could give in the current situation. But we both know that this alone is not enough.
[… Thank you.]
The despair that was on the verge of tears appeared on his face as he politely bowed his head.
* * *
After that, I thought about it for a while.
I’m not a particularly good person, but I’m not a bad person either. He is just an opportunist with average morals that can be found anywhere. The ability is just a bit superior.
I thought many times about staying in the safe shelter and ignoring what was going on in the outside world, but every time I did that, there was a voice inside me that stopped me.
‘Only you can do this.’
That is.
What if I’m just a civilian with no abilities and luckily hiding in a personal bomb shelter?
There’s nothing I can do anyway, so I’ll just sit back and watch.
But I have enough strength, experience, and power. He is the only being who can achieve what seems impossible in this seemingly unanswerable situation.
That only I can do it.
That very thought guided my nerves to the option I had been trying to ignore.
“When I signed the discharge application, I thought the contract was completely over.”
I guess I was mistaken when I felt that all the Jjambap had left my body and I had become a complete civilian.
Every time I try to turn away, the faces of the survivors who were cultivating the farmland and building shacks with hopeful faces come to mind.
In an instant, they were reduced to ruins full of fire, corpses, and monsters.
If this gets worse in the future, it will only get worse and not ease up.
“Is that really the only way?”
The earnest face that Artemis showed in the past.
Because of that, the option that had been buried deep in my heart arose.
Beep.
When I operated the PDA, the interior of the spacecraft appeared, busy with cleaning and investigation today as well.
After a few more operations there, Solaver can be seen taking off his spacesuit and working.
Behind it is a simple space jumping device that resembles the shape of a giant horseshoe.
When I first saw it, it looked like a dirty relic, but now that it has been put into Solaver’s hands, it has changed.
The surface was clean, and a bluish light was flowing softly from the entire device, as if the power had been restored.
I kept looking at the device with my head on the desk.
“What should I do about this… I’m sure he’ll be angry.”
I buried my face in my clasped hands and pondered over and over again, but I couldn’t see any other better option.
