43. Logistics Center Base (3)
43. Logistics Center Base (3)
I came out of the barracks.
A dark sky.
Under the night of the logistics center where leaves scattered in black.
The interior was equipped with military artificial lighting.
What I saw was something like a low, large antenna installed next to the barracks.
'Is that solar power?'
As I stopped in front of it, the Second Lieutenant began to explain.
"It's a solar generator. In case the electricity gets cut off, we're planning to manage with that and a wood-powered generator."
"You've got all sorts of things. Then you must have secured water, too."
Because electricity and water are a set.
The Second Lieutenant nodded.
"We secured a nearby stream while moving here."
"I see."
"Because we never know when it might get cut off."
Right.
That's the reason I moved to I-Pension, too.
A slightly awkward space.
To break the awkwardness, I asked.
"You don't know about that, do you? Why it doesn't get cut off."
"Yes. I thought another military unit had secured it first and was supplying it. But listening to the story about IN Company that Yu-seong-ssi told me, it doesn't seem like that either."
"That's not certain either."
"That's true. Anyway, we've even cultivated the land behind the logistics center near the stream. Of course, that's not nearly enough."
"Cultivated?"
"Yes."
He must mean fields.
It seems they are looking toward the future in some way.
Of course, there's no answer in a place like this. Self-sufficiency is impossible in Korea to begin with.
'Unless you have a superpower, that is.'
I walked around the barracks first.
People saluting the Second Lieutenant at the barracks. The Second Lieutenant also returned every single salute to the soldiers.
There wasn't much to see in the barracks.
Just a few large parked trucks and a few armored vehicles.
He headed to the end of the barracks.
"That over there is the civilian area. About 230 civilians are residing there."
The Second Lieutenant pointed with his hand to the inside of the logistics center I had seen earlier.
What I saw were many people alone or in pairs.
Since the incident happened indiscriminately, it seems many individuals or pairs survived.
Next were groups that didn't look like families, coming from companies or schools.
Then, families.
3, 4, 5, 6-person families gathered together, covered in blankets, or sleeping.
There were definitely a lot of elderly, weak, and women.
"The last time we rescued civilians was February 12th. That would be the Cheongju Cultural Center."
"Did you rescue people before that?"
"Yes."
"Then the number is surprisingly low."
"The number of survivors is low, and the personnel rescued earlier were sent to a main unit safer than ours."
"Ah."
But the main unit isn't reachable now.
"Where did you send those people?"
"To the Sejong Special Self-Governing City Hall."
Ah, that strange building.
"But, most of them are sleeping at night."
I asked.
"Infected creatures become more active during the day, right?"
"That's right."
The Second Lieutenant agreed.
"However, people don't change that easily. Besides, they are civilians."
Does it matter if they're civilians or not in a world like this?
There are no innocent civilians in war.
Only in games or movies are you not supposed to kill civilians. No, reality digs deeper into the bottom of the gutter.
Perhaps he saw my expression, as the Second Lieutenant made a bitter face.
"People should work during the day and sleep at night. We originally moved at night and slept during the day, but there are too many problems with that. We changed it after settling here."
"...That's true. And you know how it is. If it's the military, you have to follow orders from above. You must have it rough."
"...That's true."
At the mention of orders from above, the Second Lieutenant's expression became strange.
"Anyway, the internal building itself is used by civilians. The rest is used by soldiers. We have guards at the two entrances and are monitoring through double checks."
"I see. Then, what do you do usually?"
"The logistics center and warehouse are still very large, so soldiers and civilians are working together to organize them. It's been over a month, but there are still places to organize. Since we're doing it alongside other tasks, it takes a while. Once this is finished, we plan to loot all the logistics centers in this vicinity. We only have a few months' worth of supplies here."
"Ah."
A realistic plan.
"Only after that... I think we'll go outside."
Having many people causes these problems.
It means food is extremely scarce right now.
Plus, the place they live isn't good either.
"It's not a good place for people to live. We're eating and sleeping in the barracks right now, too."
"I suppose so."
Since there aren't any official residences nearby.
That's how we walked around the logistics center.
There wasn't much there. Soldiers standing guard, civilians talking to soldiers. Civilians seemingly carrying something inside.
People sleeping.
Children playing.
'What's the difference between this place and Cheongju Elementary School?'
It must be that there's order. Power, that is, order brought about by firearms and modern weaponry.
Superpowers are usually weaker than modern weaponry.
And maybe food. Cheongju Elementary School was short on food, but here, there's enough for 300 people to eat for several months. It's lacking in the long term, but it means they won't starve right away.
I asked.
"Superpowers... you don't have anyone who can breathe fire or anything like that? Someone with a high compatibility rating?"
"Hmm."
"Ah, was I not supposed to ask that?"
"No. It's fine. Most are under 40%. One person in the 70% range, one in the 60% range, and two in the 50% range. I think there might be some who are hiding it."
"Ah. You're not going to tell me what those people have, right?"
"Yes."
"I suppose so."
An awkward atmosphere flowed.
In that atmosphere, we walked around the logistics center.
'It's not like I'm on a date with a man.'
I narrowed my eyes.
'But I don't see any other officers or non-commissioned officers.'
I should just ask.
"Where are the other officers or non-commissioned officers? Are they in a nice place inside?"
Aren't there people with stars on their shoulders?
Then, the Second Lieutenant smiled awkwardly.
A moment of silence.
The Second Lieutenant opened his mouth.
"...Actually, I am the final decision-maker here."
The atmosphere changed suddenly.
"...What?"
"They all died. To Variants and Hunters."
"Then are the rest all soldiers?"
No, I roughly expected it since he said there was only one person in the 70% range, but I didn't know the Second Lieutenant was the person in charge.
"Yes."
"No... then is this even maintainable?"
There's the supernatural ability, and there are guns.
The Second Lieutenant opened his mouth.
"It's not my place to say this, but the soldiers have acknowledged me. I also have a superpower."
Ah.
Plus, he has the highest rank, so several things must have overlapped.
What the hell.
Then this is just a warlord group. An armed group.
"Also, they are all good kids."
"...I see."
In any case, it means it's not a proper military.
"However, it's hard for us to do anything."
"I suppose so."
Should I call it the first warlord group to emerge?
But it's a proper warlord group that still holds the standards from before the collapse.
What am I saying, where is there a proper warlord group?
"......"
"......"
Silence flowed.
I asked.
"You want something from me, right?"
Then the Second Lieutenant smiled.
"Did you find out?"
I knew it.
It would be strange not to notice when he's testing the waters like this.
"What is it?"
The Second Lieutenant opened his mouth.
"Is it okay?"
"Well, sure."
If it's nothing major, it's worth listening to.
However, the Second Lieutenant shook his head.
"It is something major."
"What is it?"
I'll decide after hearing it, at least.
"You are currently living outside, right?"
"That's right."
"By any chance, do you have a group? Or are you traveling alone?"
"I do have one."
"I'm not trying to do anything else. We don't have the ability to do that anyway."
"Then what?"
"Could I ask you for a favor?"
A favor.
"To be precise, it would be a request. A request from the military to an individual, a contract, whatever you want to call it."
"To me? Suddenly?"
That's out of the blue.
However, the Second Lieutenant seemed sincere.
"Yes. We are in a situation where we cannot move from here. We are currently attempting to occupy a nearby logistics center, but we lack personnel. 80% of the civilians are also elderly or weak."
And.
Saying that, the Second Lieutenant floated his Nexus Core on the back of his hand.
However, unlike others, something could be seen on the back of his hand. Something like a transparent screen.
"This is...?"
"It's my ability. Superpower. Area Surveillance. I can monitor places with this red light. I'm the one with the 70% compatibility ability I mentioned earlier."
Red light.
Then... was the red light when I arrived this man's ability?
If so, it makes sense that the soldiers acknowledged this man. The value of that ability is high.
The Second Lieutenant brought up the main point.
"We will support you with military supplies and firearms, so how about you do information gathering and exploration from the outside?"
I showed a natural reaction.
"...Why? What do you trust me with?"
The Second Lieutenant narrowed his eyes and said.
"I'm telling you this because I don't trust you."
...That's persuasive.
"Why don't you make the people here do it?"
"It's impossible. We're barely managing with 70 people, so we're even mobilizing civilians right now. As I said earlier, just organizing the interior and blocking external threats is not enough. Also... I'm not in a position to force them."
"Ah."
"Besides, the civilians are currently difficult to control. So..."
He took out some documents.
What was on them were the equipment they currently possess.
K2 rifles, 5.56 ammo, flashbangs, grenades, C4, rigs, bulletproof vests, stab-proof vests. Helmets.
On top of that, night-vision goggles, thermal imaging cameras, thermal imaging scopes, and even reconnaissance drones.
"First of all, we will support you as much as we can from the upper line. Furthermore, if you bring us the information we want, we will also give you high-quality items from below. Also, if you want protection for your group, we will provide that as well."
I don't know about the rest, but the drones, night-vision goggles, and thermal imaging are somewhat tempting.
"If it's a drone... can't you just use this for reconnaissance?"
"This is a short-range drone, so it's impossible to go as far as Sejong."
I have nothing to say to that.
What on earth do they want?
"What are you trying to entrust to me? Anyway."
The Second Lieutenant, who had been managing his expression, opened his mouth.
"It's the confirmation of the remaining troops of the 32nd Division inside Sejong Special Self-Governing City. On top of that, I'll give you information about other infected creatures or the IN Company you mentioned as a bonus. Also, we will provide you with the information we have obtained as well."
Confirmation of remaining troops, huh.
Does the Second Lieutenant want there to be troops? Or does he want there to be none?
I don't really know that.
"What if I take this and run away?"
"Rifles, ammunition, grenades, etc., don't even make a dent. Even if Kim Yu-seong-ssi runs away, it means nothing. It's a contract with no loss for me or for you. Since it's a verbal contract to begin with, this much is enough."
"I see."
This made sense.
The Second Lieutenant asked.
"How is it?"
I pondered for a moment.
Should I just loot this place?
But, it would be better to leave it to someone else.
"I'll give it a try. I don't know if it will go well, though."
"Good."
I smiled bitterly.
"If I come back next time, I'd like to hear more details, is that okay?"
"Yes."
"But, it might take a while. Since I'm going around here and there. Especially because of those IN Company people, I might be late."
"You can take your time. You have the experience of surviving, after all."
"What if Variants invade? Sentient Beings were swarming."
"We can easily block up to Sentient Beings or Crawlers. Unless it's Abominations or Hunters, we can block them without any damage."
"...It seems the failure to respond early in the incident was indeed serious."
"That's right. That's why it's puzzling that Seoul fell."
I suppose so.
That's also the reason I want to go to Seoul.
"I understand for now."
We shared an awkward handshake.
"You don't have to push yourself. We are preparing in our own way as well."
Preparing... huh.
"...I see."
"Yes. Oh, right, I'll tell the kids. You can take what you need from the back over there."
"Yes. I'm leaving."
"Yes. You can follow the Corporal in front."
I turned my body and came out.
#
ㅡClack
ㅡClack
I loaded the items I brought and left.
I also took a few pictures.
ㅡVroom
It was a useful time.
The first... normal group I've met.
'Is it not the first? It doesn't seem normal either.'
Still, looking at the logistics center of the 32nd Division's remaining troops, it seems that humans can sufficiently counter them in places where there are only Variants.
The fact that Kim In-seop's group, who survived in Sejong Special Self-Governing City, survived proves that itself.
Conversely, it means there is something else behind the fall of the 32nd Division's main unit in Sejong Special Self-Governing City and Seoul.
'It's true that I have to go there eventually.'
Sejong Special Self-Governing City Hall. And Seoul.
Even IN Company.
If I set an order, IN Company is the priority.
'I did put it off a bit.'
It's the road going up from Cheongju Cultural Center anyway, so I should just keep going up the road.
'......'
It's dangerous, but it can't be helped.
It's been a while since I've been going around to other places without checking.
I left the people in a safe place, I met the military?, and I also leveled up my superpower. I've put out all the urgent fires.
'......'
March 22nd, dawn. I got in the car and drove up quietly.