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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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“Stop right there!” a young American soldier shouted. Everyone was pointing their guns at us. The special forces members stopped. Sung Kyu-hyuk held up a hand. “Lower your guns. We’re not the enemy. We’re just here to talk.” Sung Kyu-hyuk slowly lowered his hand. “Hey guys. Listen to me. Lower your guns. And let’s talk like a gentleman. Shall we?”
…I had no idea what he was saying. Something about lowering their guns? Damn, I regretted not learning English. Then again, I’d barely studied at all.
The American soldiers looked at each other. They slowly lowered their guns. Whatever Sung Kyu-hyuk had said must have worked. One of them stepped forward and spoke.
Sung Kyu-hyuk turned to me. “He’s asking what we want to talk about.”
I nodded. “First, let’s ask why they’re not giving people weapons.”
Sung Kyu-hyuk nodded and relayed my question. The American soldier’s face hardened, and he said something.
Sung Kyu-hyuk translated. “He says, have we not seen them turn into rioters after being given weapons? Did we leave our weapons with them? Do we think they should just hand them over because we ask? They had a hard time dealing with the zombies that broke out inside, and now the residents have turned into rioters, pointing the guns we gave them at us. What’s the difference between that and robbery?”
I put my hands on my hips. Ah… This was a really deep mess. I could feel the animosity between the US military and the local residents.
I said, “They say they’re just trying to protect themselves. Couldn’t you have given them a few more? Wouldn’t that have solved the problem?”
After Sung Kyu-hyuk translated, the American soldier became agitated and spoke, baring his teeth. Sung Kyu-hyuk translated. “First of all, that’s not our call. It’s up to the commander to decide. Do you think we can just hand them out without his permission? Besides, giving them weapons is one thing, but what about after? First, they’ll ask for guns. Then they’ll ask for more guns, and then they’ll demand everything we have. You must have seen it from the helicopter. They were pointing the guns we gave them at us.”
Sung Kyu-hyuk spoke calmly, but the young American soldier did not. The contrast in their tones was quite jarring. And I could pretty much guess what he was saying. I shook my head and asked, “How many of you survived?”
Sung Kyu-hyuk translated.
“Why? So you can see if you outnumber us and then attack us and steal everything? Is that why you’re asking?”
I shook my head. “No. I don’t need numbers to overwhelm you. I’m enough on my own. …Don’t translate that part.”
“Ah, yes.”
I sighed. “You said it’s the commander’s decision, right? We were sent by the government of the Republic of Korea. We want to meet your commander.”
Sung Kyu-hyuk glanced at me. I shook my head. “It wouldn’t be right to just wipe them all out and take their stuff, would it? Besides, these guys are just soldiers. If we’re going to talk, we need to talk to the commander. Wasting time with these guys is pointless. Let’s just meet the commander and talk.”
Sung Kyu-hyuk translated my words, then relayed the American soldier’s reply. “Our commander heard the helicopter too. He’s curious about who you are. He’ll talk to you, but we can’t take you to him armed. First, hand over all your weapons. Don’t even think about meeting our commander while you’re armed.”
What a crazy thing to say. I chuckled. “Just me and a translator. Just the two of us will go. The other team members will wait here. How about that?”
The American soldier hesitated after hearing the translation and fell silent. He didn’t seem to have a comeback. The US military had the numbers right now. But our special forces were not to be underestimated in terms of combat power.
The American soldier pointed at me and said something. Sung Kyu-hyuk turned to me. “He says to disarm.”
I nodded and, without hesitation, unclipped the Ingram MAC-10s from my thighs, along with the bow and quiver, from my lifting belt. As I stood up, the American soldier pointed at my waist. “And sword.”
Hmm. I could understand that. But these swords were practically a part of my body. …Damn it. I shrugged and unclipped the scabbard from my right hip. Then I said, “One sword is fine, right? There are human beasts all over the place. It’s not good to be empty-handed. You guys have guns. I’ll just have this one.”
The American soldiers looked at each other. The young American soldier furrowed his brow and said firmly, “No. You should put down the sword.”
He said something about a sword, so he meant this too. As Sung Kyu-hyuk was about to translate, I held up my hand. Ah, damn it. Why was it so difficult to just talk? I understood that they were on edge because of the conflict with the local residents, but damn, we hadn’t done anything.
I sighed and drew my sword from its scabbard. Then, I handed the sword to Sung Kyu-hyuk. I held up the scabbard. “This is fine, right? This isn’t a weapon.” If it came down to it, I was planning to smash their heads in with it, but they didn’t need to know that.
The young American soldier looked back and forth between me and the sword in Sung Kyu-hyuk’s hand, seemingly conflicted. I rolled my eyes. “If I have to take this off, why don’t you just tell me to take off my clothes? This is just a scabbard. It’s not a weapon. I’m unarmed. Can’t you see?”
Sung Kyu-hyuk translated. The American soldier looked back and forth between me and Sung Kyu-hyuk, then slowly nodded with a displeased expression. Well, that was that.
I said to Sung Kyu-hyuk, “Ga-yeon and I will go. You stay here and keep an eye on things.”
“Sung-hoon. Are you sure you’ll be alright, just the two of you? My sister…” He couldn’t finish his sentence. He must have been worried about sending his sister, unarmed, into what could be enemy territory.
I patted Sung Kyu-hyuk’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. Stay here.”
Sung Ga-yeon had already handed her rifle to the team member next to her and was pulling out a combat knife from her ankle. …I hadn’t realized she had a combat knife strapped to her ankle until now. Thorough.
Sung Ga-yeon raised her hands and spun around. “I’m unarmed too.” She was wearing skinny jeans and a fitted t-shirt. There was nowhere to hide anything.
The young American soldier looked back and forth between me and Sung Ga-yeon. Then he slowly nodded and gestured with his head. Follow me.
We followed the young American soldier towards a large, barracks-like building next to the airfield. Two American soldiers escorted us from behind, more like guarded us. If anything happened, they’d shoot us from behind. Sung Ga-yeon looked slightly nervous. I said, “It’s okay. Just translate properly.”
“Yes, Sung-hoon.”
The American soldier led us into the barracks, up the stairs, and into a large conference room on the third floor. In the conference room, with a large table and several chairs, two middle-aged American soldiers stood by the window. They turned and looked at us. The young American soldier and the middle-aged American soldiers exchanged a few words. Of course, I had no idea what they were saying. But, they were the commanders? They were quite young. At best, mid-forties? Or late forties. A little young to be in command of a US military base, I thought.
The young American soldier walked behind us, and the three of them stood in a line, their guns lowered. The middle-aged, brown-haired American soldier looked back and forth between me and Sung Ga-yeon. Then he pointed to a chair at the table and said something.
Sung Ga-yeon turned to me. “He says, ‘You came here to talk, so let’s sit down and talk. I have some questions too.’”
I nodded. “Let’s do that.”
The two middle-aged American soldiers had already sat down. As I sat down, Sung Ga-yeon sat down next to me. The middle-aged American soldier spoke. Sung Ga-yeon translated for me.
“First, let’s make one thing clear. The USFK is here to jointly defend the territory of South Korea. However, the South Korea we are supposed to protect no longer exists. You said you were government forces, but there is no government in South Korea. Or in any country in the world. Do you agree?”
I was about to nod, but I hesitated. “…Has the US government collapsed as well?”
The middle-aged American soldier shook his head with a grim expression and said something. Sung Ga-yeon translated. “We don’t know. All we know is that we’ve lost contact with the government.”
…Hmm. As I nodded, the middle-aged American soldier spoke.
“Before you speak, I’d like to say something. We are well aware of what the residents of this area want. But we cannot provide them with what they want. We have our own mission.”
“Mission? What mission?” In this situation? Hadn’t he just said there was no government?
Sung Ga-yeon translated the middle-aged American soldier’s words. “On D-Day, the day all this began, we lost the commander of the USFK, General Smith. I had to shoot him in the head with my own hands. Since then, I’ve been in command of this base. And this base, Camp Humphreys, exists for only one mission.” The middle-aged American soldier placed his hands on the table and leaned towards me. “This is your country. Even though there is no country anymore. You must have a desire or a sense of duty to save your people. We are the same. We are soldiers who have sworn to protect our country and our flag.”
I tilted my head. My brows furrowed. What was this man trying to say?
The middle-aged American soldier said, “D-Day was during a joint US-ROK military exercise. The US Navy’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the Lincoln, and its carrier strike group, are in the East Sea. We will secure the Lincoln and return to the United States.”
My mouth slowly fell open. …A carrier strike group? I wasn’t interested in joint military exercises, so I had no idea that was happening. It was anchored in our East Sea?
The middle-aged American soldier said, “Now you see. Why we don’t hand over weapons to the residents of this area. It’s not because we’re not altruistic.”
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