Chapter 200
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 200
Chapter Title: Survivors (3)
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They had been on foot for about half an hour after abandoning the helicopter.
The marching column reached the outskirts of a village where a stream flowed. Beneath the pale blue dawn sky, amid the wet vegetation of mountains and fields, the buildings lined along a single road formed a desolate scene without people.
It seemed a blocking operation had taken place here too. Concertina wire was strung across the entrance. Beyond it stood a machine-gun nest made of sandbags. But that was all—nothing useful like weapons or ammo could be found. It didn't look like many troops had been stationed here to begin with.
At Winter's gesture, the platoon members cleared the wire. It clinked and rattled. Not a difficult task. Everyone wore bulletproof fiber gloves, designed to be safe even if shoved into a variant's maw. Rumors had circulated for ages about upgraded combat uniforms being issued too, but with no word yet, they must have been on hold for some reason.
Even in America, this was a time when many things were in short supply.
After passing through the entrance, they rehung the wire. Useless against a large variant swarm, but it would at least stop a few individuals from slipping in quietly.
Next, they searched two half-buried cottages in the woods. Winter led the entry each time, with squads rotating as follow-up. Hardly standard platoon command. But it was the best approach.
Ta-tatang!
From the kitchen of the second house, already cleared, gunfire erupted loudly. No way. Winter, upstairs, rushed down in alarm—but it wasn't the feared situation.
"Sorry. I mistook the curtain for something."
The shooter slumped his shoulders. Inside the open window, a faded curtain swayed. No matter how you looked at it, it was hard to mistake for a person or variant...
"It's fine. Fatigue can play tricks on the eyes."
Prolonged fear distorted the senses. Winter didn't reprimand the soldier.
Still, the gunshot was regrettable.
No one in the platoon had a suppressor. They'd escaped Fort Baker in a rush, making it hard to grab everything. If the base hadn't been off alert before the final solution, it might have been worse.
The search resumed.
Yields were just some food. Neither building suited a company stay.
'Need to find a rest spot soon.'
Among the physically and mentally drained soldiers, some already showed flu-like symptoms. Joanna, exhausted since landing, was a worry too. If it worsened, they'd be pinned down. They needed time and place for long-term movement anyway, but patients weren't welcome. Not when enemies could appear anytime.
Even Winter, relatively fine now, was far from peak.
His enhanced body required more calories to sustain combat power. He endured thanks to high base stats and superhuman combat skills. 16th-grade 「Personal Firearms Proficiency」. It demanded even fewer calories than before, and its buffs would hold over half efficiency even near death.
Recharge was still needed. Time dragging on was risky in every way.
Soon, the village center appeared.
Oddly, most buildings were shops or inns. Few residences, commerce dominating this small settlement—an abnormal form. Winter understood quickly. This was the gateway to a national park. Inns had naturally formed here.
As such, buildings large enough for the whole company existed.
One of Winter's attached NCOs, Sergeant Stefan Cornelius, spoke.
"Looks like this was the blocking op HQ for the area."
Basis: double-layered concertina wire everywhere. An adjacent building was demolished for a clear fire lane.
The wire was smashed in spots. Black bloodstains remained. Evidence a large variant group had swept through. Likely from directions other than the road. Probably headed east now, toward more humans.
Inside, signs of hasty evacuation everywhere. No signs of combat.
"Post guards at key points. I recommend using this building as a temporary base."
The platoon brightened at Winter's words. Finally, rest. Not even decided yet.
Captain Langford accepted the suggestion. Even he struggled to maintain composure.
Still officer-like responsibility. He set guard rotations, permitted rest, then gathered platoon leaders to check secured food stocks from the village search.
In the room designated command post, sitting at a table, the captain gave a wry smile.
"At this rate, we'll collapse from hunger. Should we hand out sugar to suck on?"
No joke. Among food abandoned over a year, little remained edible. Tiny village—company alone outnumbered original residents.
'For short term, surviving on sugar alone isn't impossible...'
Winter's experience too. In disasters, sugar was invaluable. He'd endured that way once, even pre-reincarnation. Long-term had side effects, but for quick calories, decent.
But sugar quantities insufficient. 100g per person needed 8kg. Far short of hale soldiers' needs.
Lieutenant Escamilla spoke.
"Secure drinking water first. Many show dehydration without it. Saw a sawmill nearby—supplied firewood to inns, probably. Plenty left to boil water. If approved, my platoon will detail workers."
Only way now pipes were cut. Don't drink stream water raw—last resort. Parasite risk, and worse possibilities. April Pacific case too.
Winter followed Lieutenant Escamilla's proposal.
"I'll go hunting."
"Hunting? Alone?"
"Need one or two helpers."
Captain Langford shook his head.
"I mentioned it as inland option, but hunting's no easy task. Far from civilians' naive ideas. Can't use scant food as bait, and our scent's foul. If must hunt, better after rest: commit numbers for a drive hunt."
Sound logic. But didn't apply to Winter.
"I'm confident. I have lots of hunting experience."
"Huh..."
Captain's skepticism natural. Hard to picture seasoned hunter at Winter's age. Even if true, guaranteeing results in new terrain separate issue.
But Captain Langford's view had flaws. The "if must" qualifier meant hunting as last resort. Winter pointed it out.
"You know drive hunts are risky. Vision-limited mountains or woods scatter many troops. Hard to control if enemies appear, high friendly fire risk. Even inefficient, must send few."
"..."
"Variants' vision limited in woods too. If swarm comes, small group can evade. Wide detour, avoid base. Safest... only way, really."
Captain Langford knew. Just hard to decide.
"Another settlement an hour away."
He activated tactical PDA for maps. Small screen showed GPS-linked local map.
"Point Reyes Station. Bigger than Olema here. Swamps beyond, residential areas. Bet we'll find plenty food searching. I mean, so..."
He stopped, sighed, covering face.
Uncertain hopes couldn't convince even himself.
Lieutenant Novak backed Winter.
"I agree. Can't give stimulants; must stay hours. Hunger deepens meanwhile. Factor stamina for full village search next... Failure means no next step. Morale's shot. Non-combat losses looming."
Mental fatigue and tension sucked stamina like leeches. Next settlement's distance irrelevant. Mentioning morale, Novak foresaw despair from repeated failures.
'No soldier unscathed by base fall.'
Hungry, tired troops turned depressive. Uncertain future real. Winter figured suicides possible.
Captain asked.
"Lieutenant Han, you're exhausted too? You're key asset. Worry gains outweighed by risks. Hunting demands huge stamina, as you know."
Despite half-day acquaintance, escape combat prowess justified it. His cover fire saved many till end.
Thus, as commander, wanted to preserve Winter for emergencies.
"I'm fine. Trust me, please."
"Hmm."
Langford eyed Winter, searching for something.
"Alright. That confident? Give it a shot. Better than whole unit starving."
"Thanks."
"Good luck. Key's what variants left passing through."
Another reason Captain negative: infected variants hunted animals too, ate them. Even top predator bears became prey to packs.
All knew, so unspoken.
But Winter had margin. Already high-level 「Tracking」.
Room for skill enhancement too.
Post-landing, direct threats gone? Controller personality evaluated escape: mid-settlement bonus. Multiple near-deaths yielded big rewards.
"Lieutenant Escamilla. Secure sawmill. Sorry to cut rest, but can't leave dehydrated troops. Tell details extra rest. Including you. Commander down's trouble."
"Yes, sir."
"Lieutenant Novak, readjust guards. Lieutenant Kruger, cover 1st Platoon while Lieutenant Han's out. Monitor platoon status. Lieutenant Barker, group sick separately."
Orders rained on lieutenants. Who didn't crave rest? But officers bore heavier duty than privates.
============================ Author's Note ============================
#Black History
I checked posts I wrote over 10 years ago somewhere, and there was no black history like this one.
Reckless statements galore, chuunibyou vibes, lisping to act cute, spouting horrors like "I'm the cutest here!"...
Was this really me...? High school me so childish... Crushing self-loathing.
And how much of it did I write...
#Q&A
Q. Carpis: @Curious about Winter's combat level! Can he win frontal against heavy infantry platoon solo? If not, how far?
A. Depends on conditions. Open field face-off? Obviously minced. Urban or mountains, distance engagement? Even company or battalion has good odds, never mind platoon.
Q. jemes: @Hunch on Humpback: maybe entity/process developing new variants? (omitted) Tricksters emerged when variants' intel low. Low-IQ ones know humans communicate but radio waves? Tough. (omitted) But variant specialized in special variants? Absorbing human memory or high IQ? Could grasp radio comms, make specials?
A. Trickster's different. Detects radio like whale hears sub sonar. Humpback not that advanced.
Q. John_Doe: @No quizzes lately? Quiz? Fun digging DoD docs lol
A. Quiz? Hmm. Guess types and total basic batteries issued US Army soldier for 72hr no-resupply op? (...)
Q. Lewd Demon F: @No merchant ships (not warships) through minefield likely. Melville possible, but fishing boats/yachts no-go; merchants commercial, one mine shreds hull halfway, even lucky beaching—30m port/starboard (or less) pilot ladders won't land many. Lucky for Winter multifold.
A. Hehe. What really? Maybe depicted in-story.
Q. chatterbox: Wait, suicide Trickster in belly... Winter disguised, yet recognized? Question hits now. Prior disguised contact I forgot..(omitted) First e-book, but Joara lets read notes—nice. Hope e-book sequels soon.
A. Same Q before: Trickster's main sight radio reflection. Special makeup doesn't change features...
E-book sequels out today. Up to vol 5, check! :)