Chapter 7
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: The Little Prince of the Columbarium
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#Intermission, Loading Page Description
Loading may occur for situational calculations when an accesser uses the time acceleration function or when time-based breaks happen due to quest progression. The loading screen provides various information left by the control AI or production team for the accesser, such as advice, explanations of the game system, clues to aid in understanding the situation, advertisements for DLC and additional content, and more. In "Day after Apocalypse," this is called an Intermission.
#Intermission, Journal and Time Acceleration
The journal is a medium that records and conveys the accesser's progress and background. The accesser can experience the journal's key contents through "Sense Synchronization." Even when using the time acceleration function, major events that occur in the interim are recorded as journal entries. Sometimes it conveys information the accesser couldn't know and shows overlooked important details again. (Since it's a record, it can be reviewed. Real-time feedback may also occur in related situations.) However, the quality can vary depending on the accesser's capabilities. All elements in the game are directly or indirectly influenced by the accesser's capabilities.
Time acceleration for automatic progression is an essential function in a full-scale virtual reality worldview where time in the setting flows the same as real time. If there's a part of the automatic progression via time acceleration that you don't like, you can restart the game from that point once only. It will then start in manual mode, and the time acceleration function will be disabled for a certain period. As a result, you might end up with a worse outcome than the original.
When using time acceleration, the virtual personality in charge of journal records learns from the player's behavior patterns collected in previous playthroughs. Thus, the virtual personality becomes more like you as the number of times experiencing "Day after Apocalypse" increases. Typically, after accumulating 10 or more playthroughs' worth of data, the virtual personality can make actions and choices almost identical to yours. This allows for smoother progression.
#Journal, Page 29, Camp Roberts
The first supply procurement mission ended in half success. We secured food, heating, cold-weather gear, and fuel—fully achieving the objectives—but the injuries made it hard to call it complete success. The biggest issue, though, was that the U.S. military started distrusting the refugee volunteers.
The group dispatched to the church had a bloody clash among the volunteers. After dealing with the mutants, they fought over how to divide the supplies. The ones who killed the mutants claimed all the credit and tried to take everything, so the others stabbed them in the back of the head. The U.S. military grew suspicious of the raised voices, checked the wounds directly, and uncovered the atrocity.
When returning to camp, some volunteers were caught trying to smuggle in firearms. The military worries about riots if refugees carry guns, so they did thorough body searches. Once caught, many begged to stay in camp for protection. It was somewhat understandable, but it further eroded trust in the volunteers.
On top of that, at the mill where I was, several U.S. soldiers ended up injured, buried under the building. Fortunately, no fatalities. The worst was a refugee volunteer with crushed lower body and paralyzed legs under a beam—thankfully not a soldier. The soldiers mostly had about a month's recovery time.
It's hard to blame anyone for the sudden train appearance and derailment, but the problem was that all the volunteers except me fled when the mutants poured out right after.
My evaluation shot up for being the only one who stood and fought, but with questions raised about the volunteers' reliability, the soldiers refused new supply missions. They said they needed to review a different approach. Camp command was on board.
Some soldiers who'd seen me fight reported that I should be watched. Lieutenant Robert Capston asked for details, but Sergeant Pierce defended me.
"Don't listen to those cowards, company commander. The important thing is this little guy stayed and fought to the end, and I judge him trustworthy."
I don't know how the report went up, but later I heard the battalion commander's decision: if I was okay with it, they'd treat me as a support soldier. They'd move my quarters to the U.S. military area, provide uniforms and gear given to soldiers, and various conveniences. No carrying firearms, but it was still significant preferential treatment.
I heard injured Sergeant Elliot wanted to see me, so I visited. He said something meaningful.
"High command's got a lot on their minds too. They might start recruiting trustworthy people into the U.S. military. Getting support soldier status could be prep for that. You might end up regular army later. Wanna be Private Gyeowul under me? Haha."
I asked if that was really possible. The sergeant found it amusing.
"What do you mean 'really'? No army has more immigrant-born soldiers than the U.S. military. Guilherme enlisted for citizenship too. With total mobilization declared, even Lieutenant Capston's pushing me for wartime commissioning as an officer or NCO. Soldiers will be short, obviously. In this isolated camp, how else to fill manpower? You're more than qualified."
"Won't my age be a problem?"
"Humanity's on the brink of extinction."
It was a calm yet heavy answer. I said I'd think about it and returned to quarters.
The tent they'd kindly given me for solo use was a mess—someone had clearly rummaged through my stuff. I didn't have much of personal value, so they must've been after my ration coupons. I'd gotten way more than others as reward for San Miguel. I didn't know exactly how much everyone got, but people assumed I had more. Lots of jealousy. Regardless of results, they thought compensation for risk should be equal.
I'd kept the coupons on me, so no theft. Still, I couldn't sleep easy now.
For safety's sake, maybe I should accept the enlistment offer.
「AI Help (Insight Rank 6): You achieved outstanding results in the first supply mission and were offered support soldier status. Accepting will make it hard to refuse future missions from the U.S. military, reducing your freedom of action. Depending on the mission, your life could be at risk. Organizations will frequently try to recruit you. Rejecting raises the chance of hostile random events, and without sufficient skills including Survival Instinct, you could be killed.」
「Player's Choice: Accept the offer.」
I made my decision. Without hesitation, I went to Lieutenant Robert Capston. I felt uneasy leaving it to someone else. The lieutenant welcomed my choice and asked Sergeant Pierce to look after me. He wanted quarters assigned.
The next day, the battalion commander gathered the refugees and had me stand on stage. He praised my bravery and announced my enlistment into the U.S. military.
I could guess the intent behind the flashy setup.
#Journal, Page 30, Camp Roberts
I woke up repeatedly through the night. Even after getting manager treatment with a solo tent, sharing with strangers felt uncomfortable. According to the U.S. soldiers in my barracks, Camp Roberts is an outdated National Guard facility used mainly for training. Modern barracks usually have one-person rooms, or at most three per room. Each private room normally has its own bathroom and shower.
Still, with the barracks old and under capacity, there was plenty of space. Impressive temporary partitions using curtains and dividers. Probably their culture valuing personal space.
Unofficially becoming a support soldier made my hard-earned ration coupons pointless. Now I used the dining facility the soldiers called the D-Fac or Chow Hall.
Meals there were leagues above what refugees got, in quantity and quality. Even soldiers complained they were tasteless, but I enjoyed them. Just found them salty and greasy. Lots of cheese dishes—probably from what we brought back from the village.
My regular duties as support soldier: standard training and patrolling the Korean refugee area. Assisting police. U.S. military and San Francisco PD handled security jointly, but it was mostly for show. They figured a fellow Korean refugee would face less resistance and check finer details. They even asked me to pick reliable people. Looked like Sergeant