Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: D Zone (1)
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Anyway, I wanted to tell Senior Jonathan Kudo that I was sorry for causing him trouble.
Just as I expected, he didn't come. He didn't seem interested in other people, so it wasn't surprising. Everything worked out fine, so he's probably out without any issues.
I focused on recovery while enduring Samuel's barrage of nagging.
Days spent holed up in the hospital room, eating and resting. Tom and Hesi came to visit. They were thrilled after seeing the article about me.
When I told them I'd been sent far away from the Core, they were jealous.
Well, Hesi was.
"Your skills are gonna skyrocket!"
Hesi was always so passionate, no matter when I saw him.
"You're going even deeper in, right? I'm seriously jealous. When do I get to go further inside?"
"...You jealous?"
"You're gonna have a rough time."
Tom gave a more sensible reaction.
"They say the deeper you go, the worse it gets around there. Hope you come back in one piece. Your recovery isn't exactly top-notch either."
"Yeah. Well, I just gotta not be a burden."
"Who're you going with?"
Hesi leaned in, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Gonna be with a bunch of vets, right? Who?"
***
Who?
"Richard Green, Jason Tvein, Choi Ami, William Walker, Aki."
Yoon listed off the names for me before clicking his tongue once.
In his usual apathetic tone, he assessed them like this.
"Without Choi Ami, we'd all suffocate to death."
"...That bad?"
"Didn't Richard Green come see you?"
Yoon pocketed his phone in his gown.
I shook my head.
"No, he didn't."
"He came to me."
"Why?"
"Said he never taught a rookie shooting or driving. Isn't teaching the basics from the start basic? With service periods lasting years, how are the basics still missing? So he went off in detail about how he's been advising HR to put Choi Yoon on as a handler for years."
I'm useless.
Just like Senior Richard Green said, my basics are lacking.
Self-loathing crashed over me like waves as I clawed at my hair. Not a single word wrong. And despite being so deficient in basics, I'd drawn creatures to me and had some unknown stalker attached.
My recovery too....
Argh.
I buried my head in my knees, and Ami patted my shoulder.
"It's okay! I'll cover for you as much as I can!"
Ami was the light and salt of life.
"Just don't die, Hilde!"
"Sorry in advance... and thank you...."
"Well. If you come back alive, your skills will improve."
Yoon evaluated it lightly, like he was talking about someone else.
"You don't seem like the type to take a big mental hit even after something traumatic."
"...Thanks for the compliment."
"Yeah. Might be better than we think."
Ami rubbed my back as I replied soullessly.
Then she peered up at me with her round eyes and spoke in a bright voice.
"And Richard said you looked gutsy in the article! That's high praise from him—he almost never compliments anyone. That's huge. You won't be totally hated."
"Huh. Really?"
"It's like stroking your cheek before slapping it."
Yoon crushed the hope with his deadpan tone.
As I despaired beside him, Ami scolded Yoon. Oppa! How could you crush Hilde's motivation already! Yoon calmly snatched the soy milk from Ami's hand.
"Facing reality is important."
He said flatly, then stuck a straw into the soy milk he wasn't even thirsty for.
The handler matched Ami perfectly.
A flashy battle for the soy milk ensued. A high-quality skirmish where it was hard to track the siblings' arms with your eyes.
From afar, Samuel grumbled, "What a bunch of bullshit."
Anyway, it was a relief Ami was there. Having at least one person to rely on eased my mind.
I steeled my resolve while blankly watching the soy milk reclamation war. Don't die, act sharp, memorize everything the seniors tell me before we go.
I won't stain Yoon's face anymore.
"What should I do before we leave?"
I muttered to myself, and the siblings froze mid-gesture, turning their heads.
They answered in turn.
"I'll tell you all about the people we're going with! Memorize it."
"Pack your shit."
I did both.
***
"A sword?"
Richard Green was the veteran-looking guy who'd first questioned me in the auditorium.
"Taught you the sword? Your big bro's even more hopeless than I thought."
"Hey. He was planning to teach shooting next, in sequence."
Ami smoothly deflected with a gentle smile.
"It's not even been that long since he joined. A total greenhorn who wasn't supposed to leave E Zone anyway."
"That's exactly why you teach from the basics. No autonomous driving license? Are they recruiting rookies without licenses now? I'll have a word with HR."
"He'll learn quick. We can teach him later. Hilde's smart—he'll pick it up fast."
"Later? When's later? After this greenhorn comes back as a corpse?"
"Arriving in 15 minutes."
Aki spoke bluntly from the driver's seat, as if oblivious to the savage conversation.
"No anomalies ahead yet."
I wanna go home.
Not even a day since leaving the Core. I was already missing my old dorm room fiercely.
The game console. Comfy bed. Window with just the right sunlight. I missed everything. Even training sessions swinging swords with Yoon.
I'd even take the guest room in Yoon's house where the Supreme Commander lived.
But I couldn't. I was stuck living outside indefinitely until the Supreme Commander's exile order was lifted.
Exile order, day 1.
To hide my discomfort, I kept my eyes down, studying the military vehicle floor.
The jolting vehicle assaulted my ears with noise. We were heading to a safe point near the center of D Zone. We'd taken the train to E Zone. But from D Zone on, there were no tracks.
That's why Richard Green raged at me about not even having an autonomous driving license.
I'd heard he had a lot of anger from his mithril-like convictions.
"Putting a greenhorn like this in our midst and sending us to D Zone. Ye-hyeon's giving some irrational orders too."
"Told you."
Jason Tvein, sitting beside Richard Green and watching me get chewed out, joined the conversation.
He was so consistent. Shiny smooth face and cheap sloppy vibe even in pitch-black combat gear. Steadfast dislike for Ye-hyeon, all of it.
"His judgment's slipping more and more. Ami, you live with him—doesn't it show in your eyes?"
"Nope."
"Why issue an order like this? He's never done it before."
"When have we ever questioned the Supreme Commander's orders? We follow when commanded."
Ami brushed off Tvein's words casually, then replied curtly to Green's mutterings.
"Nothing wrong with it. You were curious about Hilde too, Richard."
I reflexively looked up.
My eyes met the battle-hardened soldier's. Arms crossed, his gaze burned with fury and conviction.
The senior glanced at me like fire, then broke the silence.
"Talib."
"Yes."
"Don't let your guard down."
His voice carried the anger of a man enraged at a world not matching his ideals.
"From D Zone on, the moment you do, you lose your life."
A war hero who'd survived the First and Second Wars. A true soldier who charged the frontlines before anyone. One of the top ten in Black Badger without question.
I didn't avert my eyes from his.
"Yes. I'll keep it in mind."
Richard stared at me for a long moment, then turned away.
Silence returned. Engine hum in the windowless military vehicle. I let out a small sigh of relief that the carpet bombing aimed at me was over.
As I swallowed the sigh and glanced around, my eyes met Ami's.
Ami grinned, her round eyes crinkling.
Whoa. So bright I can't see her face.
The senior, pure light, sidled up smoothly and looked up at me.
"Pack everything okay?"
I glanced at the gear clutched between my legs and nodded.
"Yes. Checked it three or four times."
"What's in it?"
She phrased what would've been a high-handed "Recite it, rookie" to someone else so gently.
Silently grateful, I listed the contents.
"Ammo, drinking water, emergency rations, fishing line, sunlight reflector signaler, compact saw, fire-starting magnifier, body armor, magnetic compass, spectral compass, comms spare battery, basic first-aid kit."
"What'd you pack for first aid?"
Richard asked without taking his eyes off me.
I answered immediately, no hesitation.
"Blood transfusion kit, suturing tools, painkillers, carbs, antibiotics, scalpel, IV fluids, IV injector."
"You know how to use them?"
"Yes."
"Morphine?"
I showed him the morphine stashed around my neck.
Richard shut his mouth again. Looked like I'd passed his test.
I reflexively sighed in relief, and Ami grinned.
"You learned comms and tactical beacon use, right, Hilde?"
"Yes."
Actually, Yoon had tried to teach me how to fix comms gear and tactical beacons too.
'Since you don't seem dumb.'
But I was dumb.
Yoon quickly gave up teaching me repairs. Not just lack of time—I wasn't technically gifted enough to meet his expectations.
Yoon's baseline for others' intellect was sky-high. He insisted on content I couldn't even grasp as "absolute basics," urging me to learn them fast and improvise.
He compromised once he gauged my level.
Meaning I just rote-memorized usage and repair methods.
I still had no confidence fixing a broken comms unit. I'd blindly memorized basic responses, but not all scenarios. Yoon didn't expect me to repair anything either. How could I, without understanding the mechanics?
If separated and comms die, just try the memorized fixes once.
Better not get separated.
I gloomily eyed my gear, and Ami said gently.
"When we arrive, we'll unpack at the safe point."
"Ah, yes."
"Then recon...."
BOOM!
The vehicle flipped.
Spinning vision. Seniors shouting. Heavy impacts.
William Walker and Ami's firm arms grabbed me.
As they helped me regain balance, Richard Green roared.
"Time to hunt!"