Chapter 76
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: After the Rain, Fort Roberts (6)
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From Fort Roberts, following the Salinas River downstream for 10 km brings you to a small village called Bradley. Today's mission for Winter was to capture this village. Once captured, combat engineers and refugee laborers would be deployed to begin fortifying the outpost.
Winter watched as the troops approached the village entrance. Most were support troops from the Triad Society, supplemented by one squad from Able Company for command and support duties, plus drivers. The highest-ranking among the latter was Sergeant Arturo “Al” Rivera.
In other words, Winter was in command of this operation. Even if it was a minor one, the U.S. military's willingness to entrust operational command to a boy officer was quite impressive. Though centered on support troops, the force was company-sized. Essentially, he was acting as temporary company commander.
Considering that his promotion—held back at the time of receiving the Silver Star—had been conditioned on completing officer training, this could be interpreted as recognition of his command ability despite not having finished the formal education. Still, he would need to go through the official training process for the future.
‘They might recommend it soon.’
A situation where the control AI suggests a specific progression for narrative plausibility. This is called a recommended progression. Refusing it was fine, but there was no benefit to doing so.
Winter keyed the company channel.
“All units, hold position.”
At his single command, the entire force split to the left and right of the road and went into alert posture. Kneeling prone. It hadn't changed from the days of fighting humans because it was still effective. Reduced exposure and increased accuracy. Of course, they followed updated doctrine if the environment changed.
As the soldiers stole glances at him, Winter walked toward the church. It was the first building at the village entrance. The distinctive cross adorned with ornaments on every branch and the statue of the Virgin Mary embedded in the wall suggested it was a Catholic church, not Protestant.
‘Well, California is a region with strong Catholic influence.’
It was a fact Winter had learned from experience. Perhaps due to the many Latin immigrants, one in three people in California were Catholic.
The church was a single-story building whitewashed in white. Adorably small, smaller than a typical house. It could probably hold about thirty people packed into the nave. The rounded bell tower wasn't particularly taller than the roof.
Winter stopped a short distance from the church entrance and gestured toward the lead troops.
“1st Platoon, 1st Squad. Search and secure the church.”
This operation marked the first real combat experience for the Triad combat troops Winter had selected. That was why it blended equal parts live action and training. It was also why the vehicle convoy hadn't entered the village.
Li Ailing ran over slowly with her squad. Even while moving, they didn't slack on vigilance—a proper tactical movement. Proof that they had trained diligently in their own way.
In the midst of it, Ailing's appearance was fresh. She wore fatigues without rank insignia, her hair tied back in a single ponytail, and sunglasses from who-knows-where. The black reinforced glass reflecting the scenery stood out sharply against her pale skin. It wasn't a uniform violation. Regardless of personal like or dislike for Ailing, Winter thought she looked pretty cool.
‘I should get a pair for Yura and Jinseok too.’
It would help Yura more, as she lacked intimidation.
Surprisingly, the message log wasn't flooding. Unlike the past, when it would surge every time he encountered Ailing—a rare beauty in this world line—it had changed a lot. Evidence that the audience from another world was gradually getting used to the boy.
As Winter watched, Ailing's squad lined up along the church's outer wall. So far, they were following training protocol, but tension was evident. Hands trembled faintly regardless of gender. Ailing kept glancing back at Winter. Even with the sunglasses hiding her eyes, her face alone made her feelings readable.
It was a natural reaction for a first real combat. Hadn't Winter Alliance's combat team shown similar behavior in San Miguel?
‘They might have killed people before, but they have no experience fighting mutants directly.’
Winter pressed the radio receiver.
“No support. Enter at squad leader's discretion. Just follow your training.”
Prompted to act, Ailing bit her lip. Disappointment? She had expected something.
The Triad female executive hesitated, scanning the building. She was looking for a way to peek inside. But no such method existed. The door was firmly shut, and the windows were opaque glass.
One of her team members removed his helmet and pressed his ear to the door. Dangerous. What if it suddenly burst open? At minimum, comrades should have been ready for covering fire. Instead, they just stuck to the wall watching. Ailing was off on her own at the side.
Tension had erased all their training. At least 「Survival Instinct」 detected no high threat level, so Winter just observed. Otherwise, he would have intervened immediately.
“Squad leader! Assistant squad leader! Control your squad members! Squad members, do not scatter without orders!”
At Winter's sharp warning, they jolted as if struck by lightning. Flustered movements. Hard to believe they were criminals. In the face of fear, everyone was just human.
‘At least civilians with a sense of order make better soldiers than criminals.’
They would improve once accustomed. For now, Winter lowered his muzzle toward the church while keeping the buttstock firmly against his shoulder, in case of emergency.
Then, feeling something off, he turned to see the rest of the troops ignoring their alert duties to watch. The Chinese troops hurriedly looked away under his steady gaze. Yet some just stared blankly even when eyes met.
They were living proof that a hundred trainings couldn't match one real combat.
“Announcement to all company personnel except 1st Squad. Vigilantly monitor your assigned sectors. Neglect of duty will result in disciplinary action upon return.”
Discipline from Winter wasn't the issue. The secondary punishment from the Triad would be far worse. The spectators snapped to attention.
Meanwhile, Ailing split her squad in two. Winter listened in on their radio chatter. Finally, the squad leader was issuing proper orders.
[Quantao! Guard the left church entrance with Kangchuan! Um, and... right, Zhongchiu, Guojin! You two guard the right exit! Zuiwen! Ze guang! You two... stick to the left and right of the entrance! Enter the moment the grenade goes off! The rest, follow me!]
A bit hesitant, but sufficiently good.
‘No need for a grenade, really.’
Winter refrained from interfering. They needed confidence.
Ailing smashed the window herself. The first rifle butt swing hit the frame awkwardly. The second landed true. Crash! As soon as the hole appeared, an unnamed operative tossed in a grenade.
They waited.
No explosion.
Winter tilted his head.
...A dud?
He could see Ailing exchanging words with the operative. The conversation was hushed, too quiet to eavesdrop. But expressions and gestures were visible. Ailing fumed for a while, then put hands on hips and looked skyward. The scolded one stared at the ground, face flushed red.
‘Forgot to pull the pin, looks like.’
Winter let out a short sigh.
Ailing now shoved her muzzle through the broken window, cautiously peering inside. Quiet. A normal mutant would have reacted to the noise and thrown itself at the window already.
Tension drained from Ailing's shoulders. But it was too early. Judging by the layout, there were a couple more rooms inside. Winter watched her and her subordinates closely.
They seemed about to enter through the main door. Li Ailing left troops to watch the sides and gathered the rest at the entrance. Winter positioned himself about five meters behind them, prepared for contingencies. Confirming the boy officer at their rear, they visibly relaxed further.
They kicked in the main door. Upon entry, they fanned left and right to secure fields of fire. As tension faded, their movements grew more fluid. Winter stepped over the threshold.
A grenade lay abandoned in the center of the floor. Ailing glared at the thrower with a frown. As the man hesitantly approached to pick it up—
Something white dropped from above.
Winter pulled the trigger instantly.
Rrrat-tat!
From outside, Winter had only 0.3 seconds to spot and target it. It was a human shape with limbs splayed. The boy's Thompson pierced its head.
“Gaaahhh!”
The Chinese man pinned under the ghoul's corpse screamed and thrashed wildly. The rest of the squad reacted late, raising weapons. Winter yelled immediately.
“Don't shoot! Don't shoot! It's already dead! Muzzles down!”
Firing into the tangle would turn the pinned man into Swiss cheese. The Chinese support troops who nearly fired turned pale and looked to the boy officer.
Winter swept the ceiling once, confirmed nothing but the swaying chandelier, then strode forward and dragged out the convulsing man. The full-body flailing was burdensome even for Winter. The boy kicked away his rifle first—prevention first—making the man even more terrified. Eyes squeezed shut, he flailed to push Winter away.
“Get off! Go away! Gaaahhh! Mom! Mom! I'm dying! I'm dying!”
“Snap out of it!”
Slap! Winter slapped him hard across the face. Then grabbed his collar with one hand, hoisted him up in one motion, and shouted point-blank.
“Changrung! Changrung! Open your eyes and look at me!”
Calling his name from the name tag worked. The man opened his eyes and looked at Winter. The screams stopped, leaving only ragged breathing. Winter said.
“Calm down. You're okay now.”
“......”
Winter slowly released him. Legs gave out; he crumpled to the floor. Winter checked his watch. 13 minutes since mission start.
‘This day's gonna drag.’
The village had few buildings anyway. Even at a snail's pace, mission accomplishment wouldn't be an issue.
The boy proceeded with the search alone. He wanted to assign Ailing's squad to cover, but they were still pale-faced. Entrusting his rear to them was risky.
[Lt. Han. Everything alright there?]
Sergeant Rivera's voice came over the radio from the deputy commander. Winter replied promptly.
“Yes. Just one ghoul. It was hanging from the ceiling and dropped. Neutralized. No casualties.”
[My god... So the rumors about them getting smarter are true. Any other orders?]
“Nothing specific. Won't take long, so hold a bit longer.”
“Roger. Out.”
Ending the call, Winter approached the back of the nave. Two doors. He kicked one open: a sacristy. Stale air. No mutant stench. Even ghouls that overcame immune rejection and didn't rot emitted a stench like an unwashed human after long neglect.
Winter backed into the sacristy, covering the opposite door, and pocketed small sacramentals. Good gifts for Catholic allies.
He kicked open the remaining door. Rot stench hit hard. But no mutant. A lone corpse, long dead. A pill bottle nearby. Suicide. It was the priest's quarters, but the suicide wasn't the priest. Whatever the story, he'd come to the church before dying here.
Finishing the search quickly, Winter gathered Ailing's squad near the ghoul corpse.
“Come look. You all need to get more used to mutants.”
The Chinese wouldn't approach even a dead ghoul. Reading their fear, Winter grabbed the ghoul's head and turned it toward them. Ailing covered her mouth. Feet stayed, but her torso recoiled.
No good. Anyone else maybe, but not her. She was the leader. That was why Winter fixed his gaze on her especially.
“Look straight. If you react like this to a dead one, what about a real fight?”
“Ugh......”
Frankly, the ghoul was grotesque. Like a severe leprosy patient as an approximation. Face like flesh had melted, flowed, and hardened.
Winter gripped under the face with his free hand and yanked the jaw open, tilting the head back to expose the mouth. The lolling tongue differed from a human's upon close inspection.
“See? Infection spines are in the mouth. Meaning, no direct bite or spine contact, no infection. Come closer. Touch it. Unless you want to freeze up and die if grabbed in combat.”
Clearly aimed at her, Ailing reluctantly reached out toward the ghoul. Hesitant twitches. Winter issued a cold order.
“Take off your glove.”
“......Pardon?”
“No infection, so take off the glove.”
“Do I have to?”
Winter didn't reply.
She removed her glove.
Her slender fingertip touched the ghoul's gray-smeared flesh. Ailing squeezed her eyes shut and trembled. Even without being a mutant, it was filthy, smelly, hideous—natural physiological repulsion.
Moments later, Ailing asked in a quivering voice.
“Isn't this enough?”
“No.”
“......”
Thanks to 「Instruction」's effect, the worthless time loss was minimized. Only after subjecting all remaining members to the horrific experience did Winter finally permit them to exit.
The operation resumed.