The World Is Not Equal
What the hell? Send me back!
It was just another ordinary day in the endless string of identical days. The world had already gone to hell, but I’d managed to scavenge a few cans of food from a store that hadn’t been completely looted yet. I was stuffing them into my bag when—
BAAAAAANG!
A massive truck, somehow still full of fuel, slammed straight into me. It was my own damn fault. I’d heard rustling from the building next door and panicked that someone would steal my find, so I’d bolted like an idiot.
My body spun through the air before collapsing like a limp windsock. Every bone in me was shattered. I couldn’t even move properly; my senses were too messed up. Blood poured out of me like water from a broken jar. Since I’d been hiding alone, there was no one to treat me. Even if someone had been there, they wouldn’t have known how.
In the end, all I could do was moan pathetically as death crept closer. The only things beside me were the crumpled cans that had tumbled out of my bag from the impact, rolling across the ground with a dull clatter.
As the blood drained away and my senses faded, I stared up at the sky. The world might have ended for humanity, but the Earth itself still held onto that beautiful blue sky.
That thought brought a sudden question to mind.
Why the hell do I have to go through this kind of bullshit?
Why was the world like this? It didn’t matter if you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth. In this ruined world, a single human being was nothing more than a mayfly.
That was when I heard movement nearby.
At first I thought it was some scavenger who’d smelled the cans and waited for me to die so they could loot my corpse. But instead, an old man was staring down at me.
“Do you want to live?”
“Who the hell are you, old man?”
I hadn’t realized any old people were still around here. In this kind of world, most elderly would have died long ago. The lucky ones might have been taken in by a survivor camp, but that was the best they could hope for.
He had white hair, a long snow-white beard, and wore what looked like a white sackcloth robe. His appearance felt strangely foreign in Korea. Even as my consciousness blurred, his face remained crystal clear. Strangely, that clarity sharpened my mind for a moment.
“Even if I survive in this world, the same shit will just happen again. So I might as well die here.”
There was no point in living any longer. Food would only get scarcer. Someone like me, who refused to join a group and wandered alone, would just die again anyway.
But the old man’s face remained completely emotionless as he spoke in that flat, monotone voice.
“Would it be enough if it were simply not this world?”
“At least it would be better than this ruined hell, right?”
“Then I shall send you.”
What the… Was this one of those isekai stories the otakus at school used to read? Unfortunately, getting hit by a truck fit the trope perfectly. Or maybe this was just a hallucination my dying brain had conjured because I desperately wanted to live. Either way, it didn’t feel good. It made me uneasy, somehow.
Still, if I was going to die anyway, I might as well play along with this delusion.
“Anywhere is fine. Even the past, before all this mess started. I just don’t want to see this shit anymore.”
“Very well. I shall send you to the past.”
Of course this was a shitty hallucination. My brain must be burning its last hope circuits before death.
“A few years before the Russo-Japanese War.”
“What?”
That was way too far back.
“Other people get sent to relatively strong nations as a starting point, but I’ll give you a few extra gifts. Farewell.”
“Hey! Old man! Old man!”
I squeezed out the last of my strength trying to stand, but before I could, a blinding flash of light swallowed my vision and I lost consciousness.
When I came to, I was a woman wearing a military uniform. And not just any woman—I was marching somewhere with purpose. It felt like I had already adapted to this new body. No, it felt completely natural, like I’d been born in it.
Yeah. Fine. Transmigration story. I get it. This is good. This is—
“Then why the fuck does it have to be like this?!”
I grumbled for a long time before my lips started trembling. I looked down at my chest and the suspiciously empty space where a man’s most important part should have been. My chest was prominently curved, and there was definitely nothing between my legs.
“Why the hell did it have to be a female soldier, you son of a bitch?”
Universal Language
Invulnerability
Alternative History Gallery
“What the hell is this about being a woman?”
Gender is not permanently fixed. Because I gave you too many abilities, I had to turn you into a woman when sending you to the late Joseon period. That’s all.
Isn’t that a little irresponsible? What the hell did I do to deserve this?
Fine. Going to the past is good. I can accept that. But why not just make me a regular guy instead of giving me Invulnerability?
Do you think history could be changed that easily? This was the best I could do when sending you to the past.
“So who am I, exactly?”
The daughter of a ruined, nameless peddler. You volunteered for the Jinwidae—the Korean Empire’s provincial army—heading to Gando to survive.
“Jinwidae?”
Around this time, the loyalist forces in Pyongan and Hamgyong provinces attacked Gando and squeezed out a massive amount of wealth. They made quite a fortune.
“So I’m supposed to do the same thing?”
A chill ran down my spine. When I looked around, I saw men in old military uniforms—Korean Empire uniforms—looting a village.
“Take everything that’s worth money! Burn it all so those bastards have nothing left when they try to settle again!”
“Aigoo! If you take everything, we’ll die! Please spare us!”
BANG!
A gunshot blew a hole in the old man’s head with the traditional topknot. He died instantly. I’d seen plenty of corpses before, but it had been a while since I was on the looter’s side of things.
The soldier who’d fired the shot arrogantly stomped on the old man’s body, twisting his face in contempt.
“Where does this Manchurian barbarian get off resisting? You should consider it an honor to offer everything for the Empire.”
To secure tax revenue, the Korean Empire crossed the Yalu River and plundered Qing territory. The five thousand Korean Empire troops mobilized in the process had quite a profitable time. They engaged in imperialism that didn’t suit them at all.
So that’s what the Korean Empire was doing during the late Joseon period.
“Hey, what are you doing? Aren’t you going to loot anything? Get your head in the game. Days like this where we can line our pockets won’t last much longer.”
This guy seemed to know me.
“What are you talking about?”
Did that mean I could get out of this dogshit situation?
“Looks like His Majesty doesn’t want to escalate things with the Manchurians. There are rumors we’ll be withdrawing from Gando soon. Damn it, if we could just push all the way to Beijing and capture the Qing Emperor, we could finally talk big to the Japanese bastards.”
The soldier, who seemed to be from the same Jinwidae, grumbled.
So they really were pulling out? If that happened, wouldn’t history just repeat itself?
Thinking back to the modern history I learned in school, wasn’t Yi Beom-yun the commander in charge of Gando? He organized the Sapodae, fought the Qing army, defended Gando, and played an active role during the Russo-Japanese War, right?
“Fucking hell.”
I could already see the screwed-up future unfolding. Wait, didn’t that mean I had to fix this?
If I was going to cause trouble anyway, I might as well go all the way. Right?
“What’s wrong with you all of a sudden?”
“If you’re going to do it, you should do it properly. What kind of half-assed—”
It felt like I’d only added half the ramen soup powder. But what could I actually do here? I wasn’t royalty, I didn’t have a high military rank, I wasn’t rich, and worst of all, I was a woman pretending to be a man. What the hell was I supposed to do in this body?
Instead, your abilities are solid. You won’t die even if you’re shot or hacked to pieces by swords. It’s a skill even Empress Myeongseong would envy.
And I’ve given you a few small extra gifts, so you should be able to survive even in that body. Live well in that world.
“Hey! Old man! Old man! I’d rather just die! Send me back!”
The old man’s voice no longer answered. My cries were naturally drowned out by the civilians’ screams and the sound of gunfire.
This was bad. That old bastard had dumped me into this dogshit late Joseon period and basically told me to do something about it. Sure, I could change history, but this was probably one of the hardest periods to change it in.
Should I just go all out then?
If things went wrong, I could always flee to America and prepare for independence. With this Universal Language ability, I could probably secure a decent position.
“No. If I’m going to do this, I’m going to do it right.”
I needed to go to Yi Beom-yun and tell him that if we were going to loot, we should loot big.
I grabbed the guy who was busy looting corpses beside me.
“How can I meet General Yi Beom-yun?”
“I’m busy as hell. Oh, there he is. Hey, if you’re not going to loot that, can I take it?”
A man who looked like a fairly high-ranking officer, leading soldiers into the village, appeared. Yeah. That was Yi Beom-yun. The memories of this female soldier named Ok Jin-seo remained faintly in my head.
I took advantage of the chaos from the looting and ran to Yi Beom-yun, throwing myself to the ground.
“Lord Administrator!”
“You’re the daughter of that peddler Ok, aren’t you? What does a Jinwidae soldier want with me?”
“We cannot withdraw like this.”
We absolutely could not withdraw. We had to clearly show that the Korean army had achieved significant results in Manchuria.
“I am merely following His Majesty’s strict command.”
“No. We must plunder not only Gando but all of Manchuria.”
Yi Beom-yun’s face twisted openly at my words. Of course he would react that way. Russia already controlled Manchuria. Suggesting we intervene meant fighting Russia.
“The Russian Empire already dominates Manchuria, and you say we should act? With only a few thousand troops?”
“His Majesty will surely permit it, won’t he? Let’s not stop at Gando. If His Majesty can obtain Manchuria, it will be of great help. Haven’t we already reached an agreement with Russia regarding Gando? This is simply an extension of that agreement.”
“Then what about the Qing army? Fine, let’s say we deal with them. But can you defeat Russia? We advanced into Gando with support from Russia and France, and now you want to fight Russia?”
“My intention is to plunder as much as we can and then firmly secure Gando.”
Not the temporary occupation and withdrawal from the original history, but a complete and permanent occupation. Sure, the Korean peninsula might end up looking a bit rounder on the map, but who cared? We could eat Gando, and later when the Russian Empire collapsed from revolution, we could slowly expand into Manchuria. Until then, we’d have to appease Russia and contribute to victory in the Russo-Japanese War.
For that, we needed to strengthen our relationship with Russia.
“I will go meet the Viceroy of the Far East.”
“I accepted you into the Jinwidae thanks to your father’s help, but this is beyond my authority.”
Memories were resurfacing. In this world, I seemed to be the child of a peddler with some connection to Yi Beom-yun. I was Ok Jin-seo, that peddler’s daughter.
In that case… I needed to get a firm grip on Russia. It was still before Rasputin appeared, right? I could deal with it before then. Or maybe strike a deal with Rasputin himself. With less than a year left until the Russo-Japanese War, I had to struggle with everything I had.
“Then please at least help me get to the Viceroyalty of the Far East. I will meet the Viceroy.”
At my desperate plea, Yi Beom-yun—
“Stop talking nonsense and hurry up and take what you can. I plan to defend Gando, but a woman meddling in national affairs—and a mere Jinwidae soldier at that—is not your place.”
Of course he wouldn’t allow it. But staying here quietly was also impossible.
That’s right. I had Universal Language. It probably meant I could use any foreign language.
“I once interacted with Russians and learned their language.”
I immediately used the ability the old man had given me. I spoke to Yi Beom-yun in fluent, elegant Russian as if a native Russian had possessed me.
“You know Russian?”
“I can also speak French. I will build connections with the French officers as well.”
Not only with Russia, but with France too. At this time, the Korean Empire army was under the influence of French officers. For Yi Beom-yun, who had to defend Gando, it wouldn’t be a bad thing.
“Yes. I can definitely do it. Just connect me with the Viceroy of the Far East. If I speak Russian well, shouldn’t I be the one to step forward? Imagine it! The future where our Imperial army expels the Qing from the vast lands of Manchuria, gathers the wealth of the Qing, and takes revenge for King Injo!”
I spread my arms wide and shouted boldly.
Have ambition! We can do this! Let’s fight them head-on!
Yi Beom-yun listened to my speech with a rather intrigued expression before shaking his head.
“If what you say is true, it means our Empire will have to shed blood in Manchuria?”
“In return, if we firmly establish Gando as Imperial territory and receive protection from Russia and France, even the Japanese bastards won’t dare say anything to us.”
“However, the only thing I can do is pave the way to the Russian Viceroyalty of the Far East. Anything beyond that is difficult.”
“That is more than enough, General.”
I bowed my head deeply.
The problem was the Russo-Japanese War. There wasn’t much time left. With only a few months remaining, there was almost nothing we could do. Japan would ignore the Korean Empire’s declaration of neutrality during the Russo-Japanese War, occupy Seoul with troops, and then conclude the Japan-Korea Protocol—the treaty that began Japan’s colonization of Korea and turned it into a protectorate.
At the very least, I had to prevent the totem pole known as Emperor Gojong from being captured by Japan, which would force the Korean Empire into becoming Japan’s ally. For example, I could have him flee to Gando. If I could just move him to Gando, Korea would never form an alliance with Japan. Instead, we would drive out the Japanese army together with Russia.
Of course, before that, I would need to clearly demonstrate our value to Russia so they wouldn’t try to turn us into a colony or puppet state. Somehow, I had to normalize Korea.