Chapter 195
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 195
Chapter Title: #Under the Black Water (13)
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The barrier lit up with strings of searchlights drawing near. Along with the soldiers fighting a defensive battle near the helicopters. Streams of tracer rounds glowing in the vivid sunset hue slashed through the savage darkness countless times. Joanna, pushing up her night-vision goggles, slowed her speed and broadcast to the entire group.
“Everyone, lights on! Huff, we have to prevent friendly fire! Haah!”
In the darkness, nothing beat artificial lighting for distinguishing humans from monsters. Of course, they had to use other signals too. Some of the mutants Winter had taken down had lights on their chests from the transformed ones.
But they had to wait a moment. Regardless of gender, the agents dropped to the ground and started vomiting the instant they slowed. Agent Tucker had gone one step further, spewing vomit while still running.
A physiological reaction impossible to suppress with willpower alone. Right after enduring the speedboat’s violent motion, they’d sprinted beyond their limits amid fear and tension. The anxiety of not knowing when the helicopters might take off hadn’t helped. In the end, even Joanna couldn’t hold back and bent over with a wretched heave. She hadn’t even eaten dinner, so she was mostly bringing up sour stomach acid.
Amid mild embarrassment, Winter provided wide-area cover fire.
Even without the night-vision goggles, the shadowed areas beyond the light were quite clear. Ah, so this is what it felt like. The superhuman realm he’d reached after so long felt strangely unfamiliar to Winter. The effect of 「Personal Firearms Proficiency」. It didn’t just boost shooting skills—it enhanced the necessary aptitudes as well.
Visual acuity was one of them. Beyond mere good eyesight, it allowed securing visibility and identifying targets with far less light.
Only after the chaos passed did the difference hit him anew.
Bang! Rat-tat-tat-bang!
The rifles, silencers removed, rang out crisply. Mutants approaching like sprinters, targeting the lights, died in groups beyond the line of sight Joanna and the CIA agents couldn’t see.
Once there was breathing room, he signaled toward the barrier. Clear, meaningful movements of the light. They must have been watching this side too, so at least one person would have seen it.
“Everyone able to move?”
At Winter’s question, they began pulling themselves together one by one. Watching them, Winter added,
“Leave the fighting to me. You won’t hit anything accurately in that state anyway.”
Several muzzles that had been struggling to rise drooped at his words. Instead, Winter took some of their magazines. And their spent grenades. Then he opened fire right away. Rat-tat-tat-bang! Nineteen mutants approaching from dispersed angles dropped in a chain of semi-auto bursts that were practically full-auto. Each one had a hole drilled right between the eyes.
They finally closed to where they could see the faces of the troops near the helicopters.
“Who the hell are you? Identify yourselves!”
A soldier bellowed. Even amid this, fighting continued from other directions. Joanna stepped forward a few paces, slung her rifle, and raised both hands.
“I’m Joanna Gibson! FBI supervisor! These are CIA agents!”
Winter’s name didn’t come up. His disguise hadn’t fully worn off yet. No reinforcements since contact with the old Chinese forces cut off, but it would still take time to fade naturally. Talbot, the ex-CIA agent, was too busy with sudden evacuation prep.
“What bullshit is this? Why are FBI and CIA here? Get lost!”
A predictable reaction. Line soldiers wouldn’t know the truth of Operation Fair Strike.
“It’s true! We were deployed on a classified op tracking the old Chinese strategic nuclear sub, Zhangzheng 9! The base commander would know! I have ID here!”
She carefully pulled out her badge to avoid being mistaken for drawing a weapon.
But it didn’t work.
“Shut up! Go deal with those filthy chinks first!”
An insult aimed at Winter. The fear-crazed soldier seemed beyond rational judgment. No chance of contacting Fort Baker HQ from the looks of it.
Kurt Lee’s sleazy features synergized with it here. Chink. A slur for Asians.
‘One cause of the base’s fall must’ve been indiscriminate refugee landings.’
But on closer look, among the abandoned vehicles was a vividly colored coupe. Ferrari 612 Scaglietti. Even if they’d commandeered civilian cars, no base would have two of the same. Winter recalled the cheerful lieutenant who’d come to greet them from Horseshoe Bay at Fort Baker.
“Is Lieutenant Aaron Barker over there by any chance? He’d recognize us!”
“You know Lieutenant Barker?”
Hostility finally eased. Winter turned and gunned down a fresh group of approaching mutants. The agents hadn’t even had time to react. Joanna muttered with a complicated expression.
“You’re pulling further and further ahead…”
As a shooting expert herself, she’d realized Winter’s speed had increased yet again.
Free from the endlessly disadvantageous black waves, Winter unleashed overwhelming firepower. No heavy weapon here could match his kill efficiency. Bewildered murmurs rose from the now-idle soldiers.
Moments later, Lieutenant Barker arrived via radio contact.
Just as one helicopter released its wheel brakes and fired up its engines. Joanna shouted urgently.
“Lieutenant Barker! Remember me? FBI supervisor Joanna Gibson, who came with Lieutenant Han Gyeowol! You took us to Angel Island!”
But the young lieutenant didn’t recognize her easily. They’d met only once, and enough time had passed to forget. Plus, she looked haggard. And it was dark.
“Uh… sorry, I don’t remember your face!”
“Who cares! Who else would know details like that!”
Frustrated by the obtuse response, Joanna vented. Understandable, but not the best choice against someone tense and without slack. You couldn’t expect rational judgment from someone in combat frenzy. Winter, having silenced the rear completely, stepped in for her. He lowered his rifle and closed the distance.
“Long time no see, Lieutenant. It’s Han Gyeowol.”
“Huh?”
“You can’t recognize my face with the disguise, but you’ll remember this, I bet.”
Winter raised one hand, pressing index and middle fingers together, ring and pinky too.
“Long life and prosperity. Right? You taught me that goodbye in front of the immigration building.”
Amid gunfire, shouts, and roars echoing around, an odd silence fell. Joanna looked stunned, and realization slowly dawned on Barker’s surprised face.
“Damn! It really is Lieutenant Han Gyeowol! I thought the voice sounded familiar.”
Ha… How to deal with this hopeless trekkie? That was the incredulous look the flanking soldiers gave their lieutenant. Meanwhile, they eyed Winter doubtfully too. Is that really Han Gyeowol? Whatever. The lieutenant welcomed Winter’s group warmly.
“What the hell happened?”
“Long story. Details later. First, we need to get out of here. Looks like helicopter evac—when can you lift off? Room for us?”
“We’re fueling as many birds as possible, so space is plenty.”
Not entirely upbeat. Fueling excess aircraft meant dispersing personnel in case of crashes.
“Problem is, we’re short on pilots. Only one with formal training.”
“Then what was the plan?”
“A few learned basics crash-course. Pilot said he’d talk them through via radio in flight; it’d work somehow.”
A half-assed, precarious scheme. No room for calling it insane. But no alternatives. Joanna hesitated.
“I know how to fly this model. Got transition training once.”
“Oh? For real?”
The lieutenant brightened, but Winter asked worriedly.
“You sure?”
“I’ll manage.”
But she seemed uncertain. She had a mild psychological block. Winter recalled their past talk. From crashing under cartel heavy MG fire during air patrol. Symptoms hadn’t seemed severe then, but it’d hinder delicate control.
Between green pilots with bare basics and a skilled one with trauma—which to trust?
Winter had no bandwidth to learn skills now. Post-evac evaluation might allow it later, but kills so far barely breached basics.
‘Even if I learned, no way to explain it later.’
No time to think—boom! The barrier shook violently. Followed by a massive roar. Graaah! Everyone’s faces hardened. A grumble in this situation.
Two searchlight beams swung toward the deformed wall.
“Of all times, when no one’s on top of the wall…!”
A soldier ground his teeth. Normally impossible to approach. Now, with artillery support gone, the barrier lay defenseless.
“I’ll check the bird!”
Joanna climbed into the cockpit of the nearest helicopter.
Boom again! Through the widening crack, the beta grumble’s grotesque mug appeared. The monster spotted the humans too. Yellow eyes reflected the light. It tore at the barrier with massive mass and strength. Even reinforced containers couldn’t withstand the relentless punches.
“What’re you waiting for? Fire the TOW!”
At the lieutenant’s shout to launch the antitank missile, the Humvee turret gunner replied.
“Guidance still tricky! Can’t miss! Firing once the gap widens more!”
Careful launch due to low ammo.
But the hulking beast gave no such chance. Static crackled on the radio—then it backed off from the narrow gap. Next came swarms of regular mutants pouring in. They shoved through, roaring hungrily.
“Hold the usual directions! I’ll handle this!”
Winter responded fast. Bang! Rat-tat-tat! Ones just emerging dropped dead one after another. He planned to clog the gap with bodies. Even if they forced through, speed wouldn’t threaten. More likely to crush each other.
Kwang! A roar, and a new crack formed. It didn’t end there. Welds snapped on both sides; an entire container section began detaching. Repeated impacts. Bodies jammed in the gap, and still-living mutants, crushed messily. Shredded flesh and protruding bones glowed red and white in the searchlights.
A lieutenant covering another sector snapped irritably.
“Fuel cutoff! Board! Everyone board! Nearest birds!”
Soldiers abandoned posts in haste. Kwakwakwa-boom! Humvee MGs and grenade launchers emptied belts and gave up reloading.
Few moments as risky as retreat. First arrivals halted pre-boarding to lay down suppressing fire, but skimping on heavies left firepower lacking.
Grumbles shoving with the container as shield unleashed a flood of numbers. Land invaders dwarfed sea-landed and base-infected ones.
If not for Winter matching a full platoon’s stopping power alone, casualties wouldn’t have stopped at one or two.
Helicopters revved engines, exhaust and rotor wash intensifying.
“Board, Lieutenant! We’re lifting!”
Agent Kowalski’s urgent call. Cover fire density plummeted. But Winter waited till liftoff. Mutants had closed that close.
‘If they hang on, we might crash!’
Dozens linking with superhuman strength would ground them. Already unstable birds. One engine sounded off already—passengers oblivious. Hope it’s minor.
Kyaaak!
One lunged during mag change. Winter spun low, shin-kicking with rotation. Bone-crunching impact. Single shot into its pained scream, then three right, nine left, seventeen front.
Ammo spent matched mutants dropped exactly.
Finally, Winter leaped for the rising ramp. Hands stretched to the dangling boy-officer at the edge. But a midair foot pivot sufficed. A late-jumping ghoul’s desperate grasp merely grazed his boot heel.
Not over yet. Winter donned the internal comms headset and grabbed his grenade launcher.
“Anne! Turn! Let me see the barrier!”
The bird reacted sluggishly. Her best, no doubt.
That brief delay allowed the attack.
Graaah!
Grumble roar amid engine noise. Next would be a throw. Too late when Winter aimed dozens of meters out. Shatter! The straight-hurled projectile was a live mutant. Impact force to pulp it bloodily.
A nearby helo took a direct hit, tilting precariously. Door still open. A soldier flung out visible. Dizzying plunge into the screeching horde. Hope instant death on impact.
Winter fired his grenade at the roar heralding more.
The final shot for escape.
Helicopters at safe altitude formed a ragged line behind the lead bird.
They circled the base once—no sign of other survivors.
Naval engagement still raged at sea. Nice if US Navy ships covered, but cockpit chatter suggested slim odds. Escaping civilian vessels outnumbered shells, missiles, torpedoes by far. Evasive maneuvers alone overwhelmed them. Some PLA ships had slipped the bay too. No quick end to the chaos.
Where to now?
[Staying airborne over sea with this bird… huff, too risky, I judge. Shortest route away from the metro area first… plot course. Over land, huh, can land anytime.]
Even shrunken, Joanna made the rational call. Lead bird agreed, setting rough heading.
============================ Author's Note ============================
#Hide and Seek
Lately, even hide-and-seek comes as a computer game.
Thought it’d be boring, but it wasn’t.
The tagger who can’t see unless it’s straight ahead is kinda cute…
The thrill of stealthily tailing from behind…
Unique setting with spaceship and space station.
You all should play [Alien: Isolation].