Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: The World After the Prologue
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After the Soviet Union collapsed, Siberia became a land overrun by all sorts of monsters.
Surrounded by a massive mana barrier, it was a place no ordinary person could even approach.
The dwarves who survived the Gulag called it the Land of Sorrow.
Across the continent, the Americans who had won the Cold War called it Stalin's Arrogance.
And the people of Moscow and Europe preferred the name "The Great Mistake."
Each name was literary and cautionary.
Names that could only be given by those content to watch the spectacle from beyond the barrier without suffering the monsters' torments...
The Manchus despised such names.
To them, Siberia and its monsters were a harsh reality right in front of their eyes.
"...The reason is unknown, but the mana barrier surrounding Siberia thins out specifically at the border with Manchuria."
Commonly known as the Manchuria Rift.
"Thanks to that, Siberia means... hell to the Manchus. A hell that destroys their homes and spits out demons that take their lives."
Tianlin, who had explained up to that point, glanced at Cheon Yeomyeong.
Yeomyeong, sitting in the military transport truck, was listening attentively without any sign of complaint.
A newbie would normally get motion sick from the truck's shitty ride.
But Yeomyeong's expression was as calm as if he were sitting in a regular chair.
"I'm worried I was just babbling uselessly. It must have been boring for a young guy like you."
When Tianlin said that, Yeomyeong shook his head.
"No, sir. I was so absorbed I lost track of time."
"Hah, flattery from a newbie."
Tianlin laughed just as the military truck jolted up and down. It must have hit one of the rocks scattered across the Manchurian plains.
It was just a slight pain in the butt for Yeomyeong and Tianlin, but for Kim Mansu, who was sprawled out next to them, it was like a hammer from hell.
As soon as the shaking stopped, he retched dryly. He'd already thrown up once earlier, so nothing came out.
"Aigoo, Vice Captain. Why'd you come along if you get carsick like this?"
"Ugh, ugh, it's only natural for an instructor to follow the newbie..."
"Then take your motion sickness pills and sleep like usual. Don't you know it's harder on the people watching?"
"If I fall asleep, who'll look after the newb—Urk!"
Ah, right. This newbie is that important to him.
Ignoring Kim Mansu, who had his head out the side of the truck, Tianlin looked at Yeomyeong with renewed interest.
A body with decent muscle, a neat posture, and a sharp aura.
If you stretched it a bit, he looked like a well-polished sword.
If you didn't know he was a newbie, you'd mistake him for a superhuman, so it made sense why the vice captain was so invested.
"Hey, newbie. Not nervous at all?"
"...Should I be?"
"Well, normal guys are all nervous. But you don't seem normal."
Tianlin pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. It was a habit he'd picked up along with despair after realizing he'd never become a superhuman.
"Were you an aspiring superhuman by any chance?"
Yeomyeong gave an ambiguous smile without answering. Tianlin interpreted it his own way.
'Must've failed the academy entrance exam. Just like me back then.'
He felt like he'd poked at an old wound. Scratching the back of his head awkwardly, he changed the subject.
"Do you know exactly what this mission is?"
"...I know it's support for the expedition team heading to North Manchuria."
He had the mission name right. Tianlin nodded, taking a deep drag on his cigarette.
"But you don't know the details, right?"
"...Yes, other than that North Manchuria is right up against the rift, I don't know much."
"Then I wasted my time on chit-chat instead of important stuff."
Whoosh. The cigarette smoke from Tianlin's mouth was swept away by the cold wind.
"As you said, North Manchuria is right at the rift's doorstep. It's the front lines, you could say."
"..."
"The problem is that there are so many monsters they've formed their own ecosystem. If you don't clean them out periodically, they multiply and come south."
The southward monsters head straight for civilian areas like clockwork. Monster victims are always the weak.
"...The expedition team's mercenaries cleaning out monsters, then."
Tianlin nodded in affirmation.
"Yeah, don't worry too much. It's just a routine annual thing. Blast 'em with bullets and shells, and it's done."
"Nothing to watch out for?"
"Sometimes oversized ones show up, but the superhumans stationed in North Manchuria will handle them. Worst case..."
Tianlin trailed off, glancing at Kim Mansu, who still hadn't recovered.
"...Stick close to the vice captain. At least you won't die that way."
It was funny how he couldn't handle a little motion sickness, but he was a man who'd risen to vice captain of the mercenaries. His skills were reliable.
Yeomyeong looked back and forth between Kim Mansu and Tianlin, then smiled awkwardly.
"Got it."
**
In the mercenary sector of the Manchuria base, between narrow alleyways.
"Miss. Did you have to shoot me in the calf?"
Wallard, a man with a distinct M-shaped bald spot, rubbed his calf as he asked. It looked fine on the outside, but his bone still ached.
"Why, should I have shot you in the chest?"
The reply came from right next to him—from empty air.
"No complaints, but wasn't there a better way... That's what I meant."
"If I hadn't shot, you'd be 100% dead. I can escape with my invisibility cloak, but you can't, right?"
It was a confident answer, but Wallard's expression didn't soften. Frowning his sharp nose, he said,
"...Couldn't we have just put a bullet in the back of his head and called it done?"
"Oh, we had to kill him?"
"Wouldn't that be cheaper than handing over such a precious relic?"
Heh heh. Mocking laughter leaked from beneath the invisibility cloak.
"Wallard, that's why your mom won't promote you to executive."
"..."
"Suppose I shoot him in the back of the head, and he doesn't die?"
Wallard turned his gaze to the empty air where the voice came from.
"Miss, even a superhuman dies with a .44 mana bullet to the head."
"Hah, how many superhumans survive gunshots? Want me to list them right here?"
"Sure, there are those. But not him. Back in Incheon, he went toe-to-toe with Mortimer."
"Toe-to-toe? Bullshit. Uncle Mortimer's still in the hospital. You know how much it cost to reattach his arm?"
The flippant voice hit a sore spot, and Wallard recalled the incident in Incheon.
Yeomyeong slicing open Mortimer's chest with a handblade and severing his arm.
"...Which is exactly why we should've killed him there."
"Argh, really. Such a smart mouth."
"If the other agents had been in the same spot, they'd say the—"
As Wallard tried to protest, the air split, and a revolver appeared with a swipe.
"Hey, Wallard."
She spun the revolver showily. The twitching barrel messed with Wallard's eyes.
"Couldn't kill him. 100% couldn't."
"..."
"Whether a shot to the back of the head or a sniper from afar, couldn't kill him. Still don't get it?"
Only then did Wallard grasp the true meaning of her words. His eyes widened like saucers.
"No way... you used precognition?"
"Yeah."
"What the hell, using precognition in a place like this?"
"I'll use my ability how I want. What're you gonna do about it?"
Wallard had no retort. Frowning, he sighed.
"...Hoo, so what did you see?"
"You with a broken neck, dead. Me, fleeing with a severed arm."
"..."
"No matter where or how I shot the back of his head, same result. Just wasted mana."
The girl under the invisibility cloak grumbled like that, spinning the revolver once more in a Western movie-style trick.
"Hmm, feels like I could do it one more time... Wanna precog that guy again?"
At her playful words, Wallard jumped and waved his hands frantically.
"Miss, please! If the boss finds out, I'm dead!"
"Mom doesn't even know I'm here. She won't know I used precog unless you blab."
From Wallard's experience, nothing could stop the stubborn girl. Best to just wait for the results.
But for some reason... the precognition didn't come.
The chatty voice fell silent, and the wildly spinning revolver floated motionless in the air.
Is the precog blocked?
After waiting about 10 minutes, Wallard cautiously reached toward where the cloak had been. Just as his fingers felt the soft silk texture—
Kyaa! A short scream burst from under the cloak.
"Miss?! What's wrong?"
"Ah... We're fucked."
"F-Fucked how?"
Wallard gaped at the crude language, but the girl continued indifferently.
"North Manchuria fell."
North Manchuria fell? Realizing the implication, Wallard's face hardened.
"...No way. You were precogging that guy, right?"
"He's heading to North Manchuria now. A mercenary, apparently. Why didn't I think he'd still be one?"
"Miss, what if the precog was wrong, just this once..."
Wallard asked, denying reality, but the girl under the cloak shattered his hope curtly.
"No chance. North Manchuria is falling or already fallen. Run to HQ and report it now."
"...Yes, got it. But first, you need to evacuate, miss."
"No."
"No?"
"I... Hah, no time to explain. I have to go to North Manchuria."
"What the hell does that— Wait! Miss!"
Before the question finished, footsteps echoed. Wallard reached out desperately, but all he caught was the sound of her running away.
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