Chapter 71
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: After the Rain, Black Mountain (1)
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The U.S. government officially upgraded the status of Camp Roberts. The plan was to increase the garrison troops, expand the scale, improve the facilities, and turn it into a fortified base.
As a result, it could no longer remain a mere camp. Now it was Fort Roberts.
The treatment of the refugees had changed as well. Construction of row houses had begun in the refugee zone. They were prefabricated buildings designed for quick assembly, prioritizing efficiency over aesthetics, but they were superior to tents in every way.
The refugees assigned to the construction site were brimming with enthusiasm. Men, women, and children alike lent their hands. Those with building experience guided them. They worked day and night without rest, to the point that the supervising engineers complained. The projected construction timeline had been cut in half. And it was still shrinking in real time.
Winter commented on this.
"Everyone must be happy. They're building a better tomorrow with their own hands."
The 160th Regiment's 3rd Battalion commander, Colonel Capston, agreed.
"Hope is an essential part of life. I think there's little that's more miserable than learning helplessness. Of course, this era is filled with far greater misfortunes..."
He trailed off, glancing subtly at Winter. Hm? Winter reacted with puzzlement. The colonel brushed it off as nothing and changed the subject.
"There were suspicions that civilian casualties from the Christmas incident were drastically underreported. Did you know about it?"
"I suspected as much. The numbers announced were too low compared to the number of bases wiped out."
"As expected... How's the mood among the refugees?"
"You're worried this might deepen their distrust of the U.S. military?"
"Honestly, yes. Trust is crucial in times like these. And we never know when another incident like that might happen again."
Trust was indeed important. That night, Winter had been on guard against the possibility of the refugees falling into panic. In such situations, trust was the force that suppressed chaos. The conviction that they would be safe as long as they followed orders.
At least in terms of collective survival efficiency, the worst order was better than the best chaos.
Winter replied with a faint smile.
"Don't worry. They won't have the reason or the leisure to think that way for the time being."
"I get the no leisure part, but what do you mean by no reason?"
"Well, happiness sometimes comes from comparative advantage."
The colonel wasn't slow. He immediately grasped the pointed remark.
The refugees who had been at Fort Roberts since the camp days had actually stabilized a lot from this incident. They had weathered the crisis far better than other bases.
The haggard appearances of the newly arrived refugees and civilians were decisive. Using them as examples, the original refugees confirmed their own fortune. Whispers like, "I heard so many died over there," or "That place was completely wiped out." Sympathy was rare or nonexistent amid such murmurs. Even those who worried were mostly concerned for their own well-being.
"It's ugly. Other people's misfortune shouldn't be our joy."
As he said this, Winter naturally thought of his sister. He hoped she was happy, but she couldn't be. Not while she thought the boy was suffering here. That's why he tried to act nonchalant during visits. He worried his efforts weren't enough.
As a shadow fell over the boy officer's face, the misunderstanding Capston quietly encouraged him.
"Don't dwell too much on things beyond your control. In an era where even tomorrow's survival is uncertain, right? People will improve as the situation changes. We'll make it so."
Winter forced himself not to respond. It might deepen the misunderstanding.
Just then, the loud noise of trees being felled nearby broke the conversation. Heavy machinery built for logging was cutting down trees and trimming branches at a rate of one every ten seconds. They were loaded onto trailers and secured by manpower before being hauled to the sawmill.
This was the sawmill at the foot of Black Mountain. From Fort Roberts, past San Miguel, about 15 kilometers southeast of Paso Robles, you reached a small town called Creston. From there, another 9 kilometers south led to Black Mountain.
Today's mission was convoy escort. In fact, it had been the same mission repeatedly since January. Air transport alone couldn't keep up with Fort Roberts' supply consumption. The newly appointed camp commander was highly motivated and declared they would procure lumber themselves instead of delaying some construction.
Refugee laborers and support troops were mobilized for the work. Restarting abandoned facilities wasn't easy, but there were plenty of suitable technicians among the refugees. Once power supply was sorted, things progressed smoothly.
Someone called out to Winter in Korean.
"Captain! You need to come over for a bit!"
It was one of the combat team members from the Winter Alliance. She was panting hard, as if she'd run over. Winter excused himself from Colonel Capston and approached her.
"What's going on, Hanbyeol? Why didn't you radio?"
"It's not the kind of thing I could radio about..."
It didn't seem like variants had appeared or anything like that. The context and her demeanor suggested otherwise. She was out of breath, but there was no urgency or fear. Just a troubled expression.
Hanbyeol glanced around and whispered.
"Yura squad leader and Jinseok squad leader are fighting, so I came to ask you to intervene."
"They're fighting? The two of them?"
"Yeah. They've been bickering lately, but it's getting worse. Oh, please keep it secret that I told you. Got it?"
That explained no radio. The parties involved would hear it. They probably didn't want to show their discord to Winter, nor would they like being reported to him. They might have even instructed the team members already. Winter could see signs of that in the woman before him.
'I knew their relationship was deteriorating...'
He'd been getting memos from the disabled community about the atmosphere. But monitoring the disabled had its limits. Numbers were short to begin with.
If it were a fight that would end quickly, she wouldn't have come. Winter reassured Hanbyeol.
"You did well to tell me. Don't worry. I'll keep it secret."
"Phew, thank goodness."
"Go on ahead. If we show up together, it'll raise suspicions."
"Yes! Hurry over!"
Her face brightened as she ran back the way she came.
Winter walked in a slightly offset direction. Soldiers and support troops on perimeter guard at the work site edges greeted him with surprised eye contact.
"On patrol?"
"Something like that. Keep up the good work."
As he went, he finally started hearing the argument. Both sides were raising their voices in earnest. They must have figured the logging noise would prevent it from carrying far.
Winter approached from a blind spot between the two. It was in plain view of the other team members nearby. The boy signaled them to pretend not to notice and stay quiet.
He could see Yura with hands on hips, grilling Jinseok.
"...That's why! Why are you meddling in another squad's business!"
Jinseok replied, his face full of frustration and irritation.
"How many times do I have to say the same thing?! If someone's work attitude is poor, I can point it out! That's how the military works! What do you think we're doing here? We're on guard duty! Protecting people! If variants show up because they're slacking, who takes responsibility? Huh?"
"Who said anyone's slacking? Were they sleeping? Playing around? Leaning on a tree or sitting on a stump—what's the big deal? As long as they're watching properly! Is there a law saying guards have to stand at attention? We're not mannequins!"
"It's about mental state! This is the heart of a contaminated zone! Constant tension is normal, right? Don't you get that sloppy posture leads to sloppy mindset? You seem new to military life, but discipline matters! I'm not just cracking down for no reason!"
"Don't you consider physical stamina? For an hour or two, sure, I could understand. But all day! Standing all daytime hours—how exhausting is that for a person! If a real fight breaks out, wouldn't it be better to have as much stamina left as possible? Same with concentration! I think you can maintain focus longer when your body's comfortable? Mind and body aren't separate!"
"Ha, really! Think about the eyes on us! We're not alone here, you know?"
"So now it's about saving face?"
"Face matters, but we also need to consider the workers' psychology! Those folks cutting trees over there—they're working because they trust us. How reassuring would we look slouching? Isn't reassuring them part of our job!"
It was a trivial issue, but both had valid points. Yura emphasized efficiency. Jinseok stressed discipline and role. He was the type who couldn't tolerate inconveniencing others from the start.
What felt new to Winter wasn't the content of the fight, but that it was happening at all. He understood Jinseok being strict on others as he was on himself, but soft-natured Yura standing her ground was unexpected.
No matter how good Yura's personality, constant criticism from Jinseok would sour things. But that alone wasn't enough. Winter thought if it were just Yura, she'd have avoided the fight.
'Maybe it's a sense of responsibility.'
When he first made her combat squad leader, she'd vowed to do her best not to disappoint him. True to that, was she now feeling responsible for her team members?
He considered breaking it up, but decided to watch a bit longer. Both seemed plenty upset anyway, and he wanted to hear what they really thought. People get honest when angry.
Of course, malice could distort things, so he had to filter carefully.
Watching the continuation, Winter realized two things.
First, Jinseok actually respected Yura. If he still held her first impression from Paso Robles, he'd have given up talking or resorted to personal attacks. Calling her a nuisance or whatever. But he didn't. Even in anger, he was conveying his stance to the end.
Second, Yura's boosted confidence. Her old shrinking was largely self-recrimination for not pulling her weight. Not anymore. The training had paid off.
"That's enough from both of you."
At Winter's voice, Jinseok and Yura jumped in surprise. Jinseok stammered.
"Uh, when did you get here?"
"Does it matter?"
Jinseok flustered again at the curt retort. The boy smiled to reassure him.
"I listened seriously to what you both said. I think both sides had valid points. So the conclusion is simple. Jinseok's combat squad does it Jinseok's way, and Yura's combat squad does it Yura's way."
Even saying both were right, it ultimately sided with Yura. Jinseok opened his mouth with a hard-to-accept expression.
"But..."
"My decision."
Jinseok shut his mouth at Winter's word. No arguing like before.
It was an attitude of respecting authority. Winter had the right to rein him in, and he had the duty to comply. Jinseok's at-ease stance clearly conveyed that.
============================ Author's Note ============================
1. What the hell am I doing at this hour... Hehe...
2. Subtitles can occasionally serve as a narrative device in novels, though it's rare. So don't miss them. You never know when the author might be plotting something sneaky.
3. In the last afterword, I jokingly said that if writing reviews in Korean is hard, try English... And user NASA-ppa actually wrote an English review. Wow.
Please check it out yourselves. It's really scary.
4.
Q. Ca모: Is it Winter's rose?? Anyway, it's hard to understand that Winter spent only 2 months in the game world. Isn't Winter on his 27th game? Doesn't time in the game match real-world time? Thanks for serializing a great work.
A. Check the subtitle. It's #Past (5), Psychotherapy (1).
Yes, it's a past story. No timeline errors. :)
Q. MasterKalsolum: @If reviews are hard in Korean, would Cthulhu script or Sanskrit work? (J kidding) The fox and the prince have met. Great read. Stay cool. Your legs might cramp from the heat.
A. Sanskrit is fine, Cthulhu script even better. The latter's my native tongue, after all.
Thanks for the health concern. Enjoy a cool summer with cosmic horror.
Q. Mupple: @Making the author red speeds him up 3x?
A. Yes, it does. Aging speed, that is.
Q. Tomma: @In a world of declining novel quality, Mausoleum is a ray of light. Here's a manuscript coupon toss. Hoping for Q&A here, but how much does one coupon give the author?
A. 250 won if purchased before July, 350 won after August. Other author support coupons give 70 won.
Q. Dohwawon: @I meant clock or roll, but whatever... It was Silver Snow the doctor. Her father's one of the industrial complex founders...
A. Who's Silver Snow?! D-Don't tell me the author forgot a character...
Q. ※Red Fox※: @No hands?! How many feet do you use for writing? Multiple brains?
A. All legs, half a brain.