Chapter 65
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Seventh California, Camp Roberts (2)
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The Humvee shakes violently. The unpaved road, constantly bombed, is barely recognizable as a road anymore. The ride in the already uncomfortable military vehicle transmits every bump in the surface directly to the passengers. Sometimes it’s better to leave the road entirely.
Winter, seated in the passenger seat, rolled down the window. He draped his arm over the door frame, letting the winter wind hit his face. Hoping it would chase away even a bit of his 「Sleepiness」.
Fatigue was gnawing at his stamina. He could feel his overall abilities declining. It wasn’t surprising. He’d pulled an all-nighter through fierce combat, calmed the refugee zone, extinguished fires, and now he was thrown into rescue operations.
Camp San Luis Obispo hadn’t overcome last night’s crisis. The frontline control drone deployed by the Blockade Command had spotted troops and refugees heading north from the base, along with the massive horde of infected variants chasing them.
It was a pursuit unfolding across a vast area spanning dozens of kilometers in every direction. 「Trickster」’s radio jamming was scattered throughout key points. Survivors were clinging close, dodging the bombings. The scattered regimental combat team hadn’t regained its chain of command. At least, that’s what the briefing Winter received had said.
“Want one?”
The Bravo Company driver held out a pill bottle to Winter. The plastic bottle was filled with white Provigil tablets. It was the stimulant issued to the U.S. military.
He hesitated for a moment, then decided to take it. At least no side effects had been reported yet.
‘Though for something like that, the effect is way too good.’
Three Provigil pills could keep you awake for three days.
Winter popped a pill into his mouth and sucked on the tube connected to his CamelBak. (CamelBak: A water bladder worn on the back like a camel’s hump.)
The enemy appeared before the drug even took effect. The turret gunner warned of an approaching variant horde.
“12 o’clock! Large group of variants on the move! Special variant 「Grumble」 confirmed! Distance about 400!”
The terrain was a series of low ridges. Having just crested a pass and started down the slope, the opposite ridge hundreds of meters away was in clear view. Just as the gunner said, far off, he could see the variants swarming like insects. The large silhouette was the 「Grumble」.
But Winter didn’t need to prepare for battle. A static-filled radio transmission came in.
「TF David, this is Big Bird 3. Confirmed variant horde approaching your position. Hold position. We’ll rain hellfire on the bastards.」
At 6 o’clock—directly behind them—a large aircraft was lazily circling in the sky. It was the gunship (AC-130) the U.S. government had boasted about deploying en masse for the blockade operation.
This plane could draw a large circle and continuously pour firepower toward the center.
As soon as the driver slowed down, the fire support began.
It was hellfire in the truest sense. The variants exploded grotesquely. Three types of explosions devoured everything. Pieces of human-like things flew dozens of meters into the air.
The heavy cannon boomed every 10 seconds, targeting only the 「Grumble」 from start to finish. House-sized blasts chased the monster. Fired from the sky, none hit directly. But they didn’t miss entirely either. The indirect shock alone delivered destructive power that even alpha-grade physical resistance couldn’t withstand.
The 「Grumble」 rolled without getting up the entire time it was hit, until it could no longer rise at all.
Finally, air bursts went off three times in a row. Shells exploding overhead scattered shrapnel much farther. The variants that had survived sporadically up to that point dropped in droves every 10 seconds.
An entire playground-sized area filled with blood, flesh, and smoke from burning gunpowder.
The driver whistled.
“The Air Force is really giving us solid support.”
“Yeah.”
Winter took his finger off the trigger guard.
The Blockade Command, horrified by last night’s losses, threw in the air power they’d held back for blocking operations without restraint. Since the 「Trickster」’s suicide EMP range was estimated at about 1 km radius, they judged flying higher posed no real threat.
Thanks to that, the difficulty of the rescue op had dropped sharply.
The first rescue target was a tank platoon out of fuel. West of Paso Robles, along a winding ridge path, four tanks were stopped haphazardly.
Variants had latched onto them. No matter how mutated, they were still human limbs trying to pry open sturdy tanks, going berserk. They were clustered so tightly it was hard to see inside. They weren’t hearing the slow rumble of the tanks on the ridge above amid their own noise.
Air support was tough here. Unleashing hell would shred the tank crews too. Bravo Company prepared for dismounted combat.
“Can you reach the crews?”
When Winter asked, Company Commander Captain Asher affirmed.
“They’re all alive. Though they don’t sound all there.”
It figured. Tank interiors are cramped. Trapped for hours, listening to variants scraping the armor, with no certainty of rescue.
The fight was very brief. Bravo Company spread out left and right and opened fire. In the center of the Humvees was a high-velocity grenade machine gun. It spat 40 grenades per minute, each equal to a hand grenade. Sweep it across and it could wipe out hundreds of people effortlessly—a monster of a weapon.
Muted explosions rippled from left to right. Muted compared to the Air Force bombing, sure. But the results were certain. The variants climbing the uphill died off completely.
As the company approached, the tank crews crawled out belatedly. Some cried, others laughed nonstop, savoring the outside air. The platoon leader seemed the most composed, at least.
“Thank you for the save.”
The tank platoon leader was a lieutenant. Name: Edmund Durant. He looked like hell. After saluting Captain Asher, he spotted Winter belatedly and was astonished.
“You’re a real person?”
“…….”
Not so composed after all. Winter doubted his mental state. Fortunately, he wasn’t crazy—just blurted out unfiltered words in excitement.
While refueling the tanks, Lieutenant Durant asked Captain Asher.
“Any trouble at Camp Roberts? No, if you’re out here supporting…”
The implication was clear, so Captain Asher shook his head.
“No. You weren’t the only ones hit. We had a hell of a time too. Who’d have imagined? A single creature using EMPs. And sneaking in other variants to boot.”
“Huh? That happened there too?”
“You have no idea what’s going on.”
“Don’t remind me. It was hell all night. I barely remember how I even got in the tank. Higher-ups out of contact, variants pouring from everywhere, civilians screaming for help… In the middle of that, 「Second California」 1st Battalion took heavy losses. They stayed till the end herding refugees.”
His face darkened recalling last night. He asked again.
“So what’s the damage at Camp Roberts?”
“Thanks to Second Lieutenant Han here, not too bad.”
Captain Asher nodded toward Winter.
“What do you mean?”
“Han caught the 「Trickster」. Said it was highly suspicious. Requested heightened alert from the duty commander but got denied, so he moved his platoon on his own initiative.”
“On his own? A second lieutenant? Isn’t that pointless?”
“Given this guy’s record, it’s not weird. Embarrassing as company commander, but sometimes I think more soldiers in my own company like Han over me.”
They’re having this conversation right in front of me. Winter gave the company commander looking his way a strained smile.
Once refueling was done, the tank platoon joined Bravo Company’s rescue op. The company members were thrilled.
“Gas-guzzling piglets that burn 3 liters just starting up, but nothing’s as reliable as those things. Tough and solid.”
Indeed, no infected variant could handle a moving tank right now. Even a 「Grumble」 was prey before a tank’s main gun.
Winter fiddled with the tracker monitor a few times. U.S. military vehicles were networked, allowing real-time position sharing and info exchange.
Fortunately, the tank platoon’s gear hadn’t fried from the EMP. Positions showed correctly. They could even view other directions via tank cameras. A system the U.S. military developed to survive wars, urban combat, and terrorism everywhere.
“Who’d you learn that from?”
A soldier in the back seat asked curiously. Winter, a fresh officer, handled the complex gear effortlessly—intriguing, especially since it wasn’t as familiar as Charlie Company’s. Winter brushed it off.
“From Captain Capston.”
“Ah.”
Of course, it wasn’t true. He just knew it. The soldier wouldn’t go verify with the captain, so it didn’t matter.
The next rescue target’s coordinates were pinned west of Templeton, the town below Paso Robles. The task force crossed several ridges into the plains west of the city. Winter remarked.
“No matter where we go, it’s all vineyards and orchards.”
The driver replied.
“This is California.”
The vineyards they’d raced through last night chasing the 「Trickster」 west of San Miguel were huge, but this was even more extensive.
While driving along the road, a lone wandering variant blocked the path diagonally. Straggler from the horde, apparently. Ordinary variants still lacked impressive intelligence. It just charged headlong, heedless of collision.
But the mud and leaves caked on its body were noteworthy. He’d seen something similar before. Winter judged they’d developed their own camouflage techniques.
The car jolted right then, and the gunner’s shot missed. Damn, the gunner grumbled. Instead, the driver swerved into it. Thud! True to the sturdy Humvee, the impact inside wasn’t bad. The driver shrugged.
“Like a bum jumping out to wipe the windshield, right?”
Winter tilted his head.
“Bum…? Doesn’t calling them that make them kinda pitiful?”
“You’ll get it once your car gets a few scratches, sir.”
A subtle nostalgia seeped from the reluctant soldier. Driving along, stopped at a light, a bum jumps out to wipe the windshield unasked, begs for pay, you refuse, and he slashes it before fleeing—now even that felt like a cherished past.
For the soldier’s sake, Winter played along ignorant.
“I thought that only happened in places like New York.”
“No way. This area’s perfect for it. Low chance of getting shot.”
With guns so ubiquitous in America, gun-controlled California actually had higher crime rates.
“Well, all ancient history now.”
A jet engine roar cut the conversation. A fighter jet streaked over the convoy and bombed near the horizon.
Boom! The aerial bomb’s shockwave was visible to the eye. Tree-shaking gusts spread widely, like wind itself.
“Almost there.”
Winter checked his weapon. Habit.
============================ Author's Note ============================
1. Whenever something comes up during the day, time gets insanely tight. Same yesterday, same today—go out during the day and end up writing till dawn.
Ugh... so tiring...
2.
Q. Ghozt: @Whoever it is, we need a guy's TS. TS supply is low.
A. ...?...????
What do you even reply to comments like this? Why the @? (Confusion)
Q. graycrow: @On a business trip with nothing to do, binge-read to completion. Sealove too, and this—thanks always for the great reads. Reading well. Thanks to you, my parched inner child is filled with dreams and hope. Feels like you’re about to go pro—wishing you good results. Can’t dedicate as much time, but please keep up the good work on Sealove too. Seems like you’re writing with commercial stuff in mind, so the inner child feels a bit restrained here...
A. Really? I thought it was a pretty inner child-filled worldview... Sigh, I still have a lot to learn. Heard Darkest Dungeon’s good for inner child recharge—gonna wait for a sale.