Test (2)

At that moment, new people entered. Combatants with robust builds. The man at the front scanned the room, then fixed his gaze on Gyeo-ul and Joanna. His expression twisted into a frown.

Chadwick gestured with his hand.

“Everyone, introduce yourselves. Over here, we have Captain Colin Fowler and various others from the Special Strike Force 『White Skull』. On this side, newly arrived First Lieutenant Han Gyeo-ul and FBI Supervisor Agent Joanna Gibson.”

The man shot back in a deep, heavy voice.

“Thanks for the perfunctory introduction, junkie(potter) Team Leader.”

“Think nothing of it.”

The captain pulled off his half-mask with a skull drawn on it. His crooked mouth and scars became visible. Gyeo-ul and Joanna stood and saluted first. The captain returned the gesture and looked at them both with a complicated expression. First at Gyeo-ul, then at Joanna. The latter took a noticeably longer look. With an uncomfortable expression, he spat out,

“Of all things, the supervisor is a woman. That’s troublesome.”

Joanna quietly replied,

“You’re being rather rude for a first meeting, Captain.”

“If you’re offended, I apologize. But I’ll give you genuine advice — wouldn’t it be better to ask them to send someone else? This isn’t a place where a woman should be.”

Should I step in? Gyeo-ul pondered. But Joanna herself remained calm. In the meantime, the captain picked a seat. He sank down, let out a long sigh, and rubbed his face as if exhausted.

“Agent, and First Lieutenant. I might look like some dog of a macho bastard, but I actually dislike sexism. Just as there are men better than women, there are women better than men. Anyone will admit that except for the Texas bumpkins. Still, there’s one irrefutable fact. Once a month, a woman unavoidably has a day when she becomes weak… Do you know how your predecessor died?”

“Yes. I heard she got caught in a shootout.”

“She took several hits. This one, here, was fatal.”

The captain pressed his finger over his right brow.

“The round that pierced her helmet shattered her skull and went into her brain. It was a 5.8mm sold by Chinese bastards to the gangsters. If only she’d died on the spot, but… she lived for three more days and nights.”

“So?”

As Joanna responded indifferently, the captain’s brow furrowed.

“Even as a supervisor, you can’t just sit back and do nothing here. We need every single fighter. Everyone always has to be ready. Which means we can’t give anyone special treatment.”

“I’ll make sure you won’t have to worry.”

“Is that so? I doubt you’ve hit menopause yet.”

“It just so happens that killing people during that time of the month is my hobby. It’s a great way to relieve stress.”

“Heh.”

Captain Fowler let out a low snort.

“Sounds promising. Let’s see your skills after the briefing. Same goes for First Lieutenant Han here. I only believe what I see firsthand, as do my men. You’re going to need to prove you’re not just another Hollywood star.”

“Roger that.”

The sharp conversation ended with Gyeo-ul’s answer. Joanna’s expression hadn’t changed a bit, but the physical tension that had dissipated after Gyeo-ul’s arrival was now returning.

It seemed there was still some time before things would officially start. Many seats were still empty. Gyeo-ul pulled out his notebook. Scratch scratch. It looked as if he was reviewing documents and taking notes, but in truth, he was writing a message to Joanna.

He tapped her knee under the table. She discreetly turned her attention.

「Did it hurt your feelings?」

Joanna too took out her notebook. Her inner thoughts flowed quickly in a steady, neat hand.

「It would be a lie to say it didn’t bother me at all, but I understand. When your life is on the line, anyone can get sensitive. And I’m used to it. It’s not the first time I’ve faced things like this in the field.」

「I’m relieved to hear you’re okay… Still, acting like that right from the start is a problem. Especially considering he’s a commander, someone who should always make rational decisions, not just anyone. What are the odds a critical situation requiring every person would happen exactly on that day?」

「That’s true.」

「Maybe it’s unconscious discrimination, or intentional ostracism, or maybe, after a long mission, he’s just venting his stress at the wrong target. Either way, I don’t like it.」

「Your handwriting’s gotten forceful. Thanks for getting angry for me. :-)」

Tilt. Gyeo-ul glanced over what he’d written. He hadn’t intended to show emotion, but as he’d focused, the feeling in his words had grown darker and deeper. Hm. It was a misunderstanding that hardly needed explaining.

The detective who had been poking na lips with the pen resumed writing.

「If he were CIA, I could see this as inter-agency rivalry and ostracism, but the captain, like Gyeo-ul, is just a collaborator seconded from the military. As a former Force Recon, he probably does have a bias against women. Because he’s a Marine. But expressing it openly is another matter. Besides, I’m the supervisor. The main problem, I think, is accumulated mental fatigue. Though there may be other factors as well.」

「That worries me in its own way.」

「There’s nothing that can be done in an environment like this. People have their limits. It reminds me of the baby we saw on the way from Fort Baker to Angel Island. If this is what he has endured continuously, I doubt I could show a better side of myself than the captain.」

「I don’t know. Just seeing your understanding right now says a lot.」

「It’s something I’ve learned from trial and error. When I was assigned to long-term missions, there were many times I snapped at my companions or subordinates for no reason. Usually I’d apologize after we got back and patch things up over drinks, but sometimes I couldn’t. Even with people who had saved my life. I said things that shouldn’t have been said. The awkwardness every time I saw their faces was a regret almost impossible to bear.」

What a deep heart. Can a person be this kind so often? Gyeo-ul sometimes, at moments like this, felt a kind of detachment from reality. Like all his senses were being peeled from his skin—the same virtual reality as always. Maybe this was just the verisimilitude of an era that had passed. For Gyeo-ul, who had once lived in the real world, it was a hard possibility to accept.

「Up until now, that’s the official Agent Joanna Gibson. But personally, I think that asshole is a real bastard (asshole).」

That sudden line nearly made Gyeo-ul burst out laughing. Laughter was rare in his dried-up heart, so his immunity to it had faded. Gyeo-ul replied with his pen.

「What’s this, did you suddenly get shy?」

「Felt like I was showing off too much.」

After drawing another emoticon, she wrapped up the exchange.

「Let’s continue the rest later. If we keep at this, we’ll get caught.」

Gyeo-ul answered by setting down na pen. Perhaps worried about being found out, joanna turned the page and kept up the pretense of taking more notes for some time. In reality, she filled a page with pop song lyrics. Baby baby baby oh, like baby baby baby oh……

Yet her face remained serious throughout. Mischief with an extra touch of consideration. Gyeo-ul stifled a laugh with a sigh.

The seats slowly filled. The strike teams seemed to distinguish themselves by color; the masks covering the faces of those entering, weapons in hand, each had a skull of a different color. It would be hard to tell unless you looked closely, perhaps intended as camouflage patterning. Even harder at a distance.

Each time, Gyeo-ul was introduced anew. In addition to 『White Skull』, there were also the faceless teams 『Blue Skull』, 『Red Skull』, 『Black Skull』. Including all the support teams, the total manpower was around that of a reinforced company.

‘It’s really not that many.’

The scale of the offshore city was comparable to the greater San Francisco area. The population might be less, but even so, it was surely more than your average big city. If they’d been running extended operations with fewer than 200 personnel, accumulated fatigue would be significant—even considering the number of refugee organization members.

Chadwick snapped na fingers.

“Now that we’re all here, let’s get started.”

The screen at the front lit up. A map showing the operation zone appeared. For Gyeo-ul, who hadn’t been able to check all the materials yet, it was immediately new information. Operations were not just underway here.

“Before we begin the briefing and discussion, I have two pieces of news for you. One good, one bad. Which would you like to hear first?”

One of the officers raised na hand.

“The bad news first. I want the good news as the aftertaste.”

Chadwick nodded.

“Well then, let’s start with the good news.”

A savage grin spread. The intelligence team leader shrugged and changed the display. A photograph was projected—a huge artificial island in the middle of the ocean. The topography was flat, the coastline artificially extended to match runway and base size, with nothing natural in sight.

Along the shore, numerous boats were moored. Most were civilian vessels with refugees, but in one spot, military ships were clustered. Gyeo-ul recognized their type. At least, they weren’t US Navy.

Chadwick continued.

“Good news from Hawaii. The ex-Chinese military group, which had been occupying Johnston Island in protest, as of 1500 local time yesterday, accepted conditional surrender. Among the naval ships that defected are two Type 94 nuclear submarines—carrying 24 nuclear missiles. Excellent. The threat of nuclear chaos has been dramatically reduced. Let’s give ourselves a round of applause, shall we.”

Listless clapping filled the room.

“Now, for the bad news.”

The intelligence team leader cleared na throat, put on a theatrically gloomy face.

“The target we’ve been chasing, the Changzheng 9 or Chingchong 9 or whatever, reportedly broke out of the encirclement.”

Murmurs rippled through the room. Disappointed sighs were heard. Someone grumbled, pressing na eyelids with a finger.

“It keeps slipping away.”

A CIA agent responded,

“Living up to its name, I suppose.”

“Its name? Aren’t all those chingchangchong names the same?”

“In their language, it refers to the Communist Party’s Long March. The Chinese commies evaded the suppression of the democratic government by marching about 10,000 kilometers. On foot. That was during the Second World War.”

“So that’s about 6,000 miles, huh… Impressive, but what’s so great about running away that you name a submarine after it?”

“You can turn anything into propaganda if you try.”

Chadwick snapped na fingers to draw attention, just as in the beginning.

“That’s enough small talk. Well, since it came up, I’ll say this: The damn crew of the Moby Dick might really believe their ship’s name is their calling. They might think this current escape will someday lead to the revival of their nation. At least, the political officer aboard must be out of his mind. Heh.”

Chinese ships always have a Communist Party political officer on board for ideological indoctrination.

Gyeo-ul thought,

‘Maybe this is connected to the atmosphere among the Chinese in these waters…’

On any other ship it might not matter, but a political officer on a nuclear-missile sub would have the highest loyalty to the Party. The Chinese military itself, after all, belonged more to the Party than to the nation.

If, among them, someone truly deranged had taken control, the United States would be nothing more than the nation of imperialists. No room for compromise or even the thought of surrender. Gyeo-ul hadn’t had too many encounters with Chinese soldiers in prior episodes, but there was always a certain madness.

In an age when the end is near, anything can go runaway.

—————————= Author’s Note —————————=

#NovelBins and Webgames

These days, I often think that the serialization style of NovelBins is a lot like running a webgame.

Everyone, don’t worry.

I promise to write a novel as shifty as a low-stakes illegal card game.

#Q&A

Q. RGZ95: @Uurrgh… Sudden Attack 2, huh… that’s scary / How messed up must Gyeo-ul’s face get for someone to say that about him ㄷㄷ

A. Hmm… Like having ten legs but now only two left?

Q. Iron Kestrel: @It’s all because space development hasn’t happened. If we develop space, people will rediscover their sense of wonder by stripping everything of value from unexplored lands.

A. Exactly. Smash open planetary crusts for mining, uncover ancient relics, resurrect corpses, all living things unite as one, brother moons awaken, and so on and so forth.

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep