The Little Prince in the Ossuary-Chapter 110 : Presentiment, San Ardo Oil Field (1)

Presentiment, San Ardo Oil Field (1)
The day after the "Manifest Liberation" operation was made public, a battalion-level task force led by Lieutenant Colonel Capston moved north along the Salinas River. Their objective was to capture the San Ardo oil field. Thanks to Gyeo-ul defending Salinas Dam, the oil field was not flooded and remained intact.
The oil field along the riverside looked like an artificially created desert. The earth was peeled in a smooth layer, making its desolate hue stand out from the surroundings. Looking east as the terrain rose, countless winding roads stretched toward the vanishing ridge, dizzying to the eye. There was no pattern to them. Nor was there any pattern to the mutants suddenly running toward them from there.
Truly, it was a wasteland. Even inside the moving truck, Gyeo-ul could faintly smell crude oil. It wasn't his imagination. There might have been an issue in some facilities of the oil field. Since aerial reconnaissance showed no anomalies, it was probably not a major problem.
In the distance, the noise maker cried out with a thunder-like sound. It would disperse the mutants drawn by the operational noise.
[Two o'clock direction, large mutant group, approximately 250 meters. We'll hit them from Meerkat.]
The call sign for the tank platoon was still Meerkat. On the task force's right flank, two tanks running along rough ground turned their turrets. Soon after, two shots thundered. Kwaang! Kwang! They were new shells packed with shot pellets in aluminum shells. Almost a hundred mutants toppled like waves had swept over them.
"Wow, what is that? That's awesome. So cool."
It was Hanbyeol, the designated marksman of Yura's squad, exclaiming in awe. She, who was in the same truck as Gyeo-ul, was spellbound by the sight beyond the bulletproof glass. She murmured to herself, die! Die! I told you not to get back up! This was in response to a few mutants stumbling back to their feet in the area raked by 2,200 pellets.
"They don't even seem like they'll make it this far, huh?"
This was said by another squad member, moon Suchan. After scouting the enemy through the scope on his rifle, he concluded there was nothing to worry about. Gyeo-ul agreed.
'If it's a fatal wound by human standards, it's a serious injury for mutants too.'
More than half of the mutants survived. Yet their tattered clothes were turning fresh crimson. Even if they looked like walking corpses, mutants were still living organisms. They could not last long with holes through their bellies and chests.
Gyeo-ul examined the impact area through binoculars. Ragged creatures shambling forward. What stood out was a child at the front. Blood was filling its lungs, judging by the repeated red coughs. Wavering, it finally collapsed. Just as it struggled to rise—
Quang! Kwaang!
The tanks fired a second time. A shower of tungsten battered the mutants. It was as if you could hear the sound with your eyes—the sound of bodies breaking, and the hard ground shattering.
Meanwhile, the task force moved into the southern sector of the oil field. Mutants appeared everywhere. It seemed they'd witnessed the earlier slaughter; even with animal intelligence, they showed caution. A command came from Lieutenant Colonel Capston.
[Transition to dismounted combat at current location. 1st Company secures the perimeter from the southern entrance east to the refinery and storage facilities. 2nd Company advances north of Sargent Creek. Remaining troops and the support unit will occupy the central refinery and then secure the northeastern perimeter. Follow the pre-arranged plan and maintain rigorous situation s.]
Gyeo-ul leaped from the rear compartment to the ground. Kuung. The heavy sound resonated from his heels upward.
There was a silhouette beyond the bushes. A mutant crouched catlike, peering stealthily in their direction by its own judgment. Gyeo-ul aimed his machine gun. The mutant, recognizing human weapons, lunged out in a spasm.
Tatata-tang!
The mutant's convulsion was like a machine malfunctioning. It shook in place and then collapsed to its knees. Blood kept flowing from the holes in its body. Sometimes, pieces of viscera, too. The heavy machine gun's rounds, thicker than a rifle's, had torn through inside. Step, step. Gyeo-ul's approaching footsteps grew louder. The mutant, kneeling, looked up and snapped its teeth repeatedly.
Gyeo-ul kicked the mutant, then stomped down powerfully on its prone body.
Kwajak!
A blow far heavier than usual. The ribcage collapsed with a crunch. The boy ground his foot into its chest. Each time, he felt the jagged ends of broken ribs shifting and poking. Only when sharp bones pierced its heart did the mutant exhale its final breath.
'So this is the weight.'
Gyeo-ul was testing his changed weight. It was due to the new protective suit, "Centurion."
Weighing 25 kilograms by itself, it was designed to prevent injuries from mutant bites.
Additionally, the belt-fed ammo bag holding 500 rounds for the machine gun weighed 16 kilograms.
Including weapons and other gear, the load Gyeo-ul bore exceeded 50 kilograms.
The gunfire continued. There weren't many shrubs for mutants to hide behind. Only those near the drills and oil tanks were tricky to deal with. Gyeo-ul killed five with careful aim, then advanced rapidly with suppressive fire, spraying about thirty rounds. Thanks to the belt-fed bag, there was no need to reload.
"Is everyone alright?"
After the shooting, twenty soldiers in the same protective suit came running awkwardly. This included everyone in Jin-seok's and Yura's squads. Moreover, each platoon seemed to have a squad that was already struggling.
"Even when I got in, I could tell, but this really isn't a joke."
After running a little fast, Yura's face was already flushed red.
"If they're rolling out new equipment, shouldn't there be an adaptation period at least?"
After taking position, jinseok asked sharply. While Jin-seok was always cynical, even this was hard to call him picky. Gyeo-ul felt the same.
'Feels too rushed...'
The regimental combat team had only received the Centurion suits yesterday afternoon. But today, orders from the containment commander were to test the suits in actual combat right away.
Regardless, any grumbling had to be smoothed over for now. Gyeo-ul consoled Jin-seok.
"We have to consider the environment. To minimize damage to pipelines and refineries, we need to conserve firepower, but that puts our troops at risk."
This was true. Pipelines were everywhere, and if damaged, repairs wouldn't be easy—especially when all supplies had to be flown in.
Therefore, the tank platoon, whose firepower couldn't easily be adjusted, was assigned to the outer perimeter—one tank to each cardinal direction. With the new shells allowing shotgun-like dispersion, they would deliver overwhelming force against the mutants.
Still, jinseok was upset.
"It feels like they're using us refugees as guinea pigs."
"Squad Leader Park. We're not the only ones going through this. Since we're on an operation, let's table the rest of this talk for now. Everyone, lower your visors. Don't forget to lock them, either. From now on, all communication is over radio."
The protective suits had visors for face protection. Once down and locked, ordinary mutants would have no way of biting the wearer open—completely safe from direct infection. The trade-off was that all communication had to be by radio.
'They said it could withstand a beta ghoul's bite, right?'
That was the protection level in the catalogue.
Gyeo-ul led the force north along the road and rail lines. Other troops advanced in parallel on both flanks. Humvees and armored trucks followed in formation.
The oil field was as vast as any decent-sized city. From the southern edge to the central refinery complex, the squad had to walk over a kilometer. Even though the weather was still cool and the suits had built-in cooling units, those short on stamina were already sweating.
Gyeo-ul spotted mutants popping out from behind the drill.
"Enemy at eleven o'clock! Stand by! Stand by! Fall back ten meters!"
The pipeline running parallel with the road restricted firing angles. The closest pipeline was only thirty meters away. Gyeo-ul signaled the following vehicles to move further away. At the proper distance, he raised his fist. The Humvee gunner readied to fire.
At the same time, Gyeo-ul shouted to the squads:
"Use me as your reference! You there, too far back! Move closer, and aim as high as possible before firing!"
Gyeo-ul delayed the squad's fire. As always, the mutants charged in, tongues lolling. Their ferocity distorted the sense of distance. Facing this, the squad members grew tense.
"Now! Fire!"
The mutants' upper bodies exploded almost simultaneously. They'd already finished aiming high, just as ordered.
Ttatatatatatata!
Excessive firepower rained down on the twitching mutants. Especially one was a problem.
[Arrrgh! Why won't this bastard die!]
Maybe they'd gotten too close. Someone mistook the mutant's movements after being shot for being alive. The scream over the radio. Panic spread easily. Gyeo-ul shouted firmly:
"Stop! Cease fire! Cease fire!"
But the spraying wouldn't stop. Finally, jinseok went over and physically stopped it, grabbing the barrel and wrenching it up with force. But they'd already expended more than a hundred rounds.
With magazine-fed rifles, even inexperienced personnel could at least conserve ammo, as they had to reload every 25–30 rounds. Not so with the belt-fed bags.
'Not having to reload is a problem at times like this.'
That's 500 rounds, gone in just 46 seconds of fully automatic fire.
It was both a drawback and an advantage—at least there wouldn't be any firepower gaps. Against overwhelming numbers, unbroken automatic fire would be a great help.
A short while later, Gyeo-ul advanced with his squad to the first control facility of the refinery complex. Charlie Company's 2nd and 3rd Platoons joined them, having come up after clearing alternate routes. The 1st Platoon and Heavy Weapons Platoon were securing the bridge over the dry river crossing the oil field. Company commander Sullivan, a first lieutenant, was handling that side too.
After having their troops secure perimeters, the three platoon leaders gathered around Gyeo-ul.
"There was quite a ruckus of gunfire earlier. What happened?" asked 3rd Platoon leader, second Lieutenant Hicks. Gyeo-ul shook his head.
"Nothing much. Did you two have a smooth approach?"
Gyeo-ul's voice came out over the radio. The two lieutenants glanced at each other. 2nd Platoon leader McCoy replied:
"We had trouble with ones popping up sporadically, but we also had heavy-armored troops. Two got jumped but came through unharmed. Well, one of them wet himself."
"Heavy-armored" referred to those wearing protective suits.
Second Lieutenant Hicks added,
"On our side, we just blasted those that got in close. We figured Centurion could handle rifle bullets—they seem to work as advertised."
Gyeo-ul nodded, then pointed out the buildings to capture.
"There's no rush, so let's do it safely. We have four heavy-armored squads here, so we'll take turns going in. These buildings aren't all that big anyway."
McCoy asked, "What's the order?"
"I'll go in twice first with the support elements. Then 2nd Platoon, then 3rd Platoon. Sound alright?"
"No objection. We'll cover you."
Hicks nodded his agreement as well.
Gyeo-ul led Jin-seok's squad to where the pipelines ended for vehicle transport. There, an abandoned oil tanker lay, and several cars were parked haphazardly. Inside one, a mutant still strapped in its seatbelt struggled weakly—too weak to accomplish anything, gaunt to the bone.
Gyeo-ul silenced it with a single shot.
Inside, the car was filled with dried feces. The person must have been locked up for a long time before being infected.
'Of course. If it had been infected sooner, it wouldn't have had time to starve like this.'
A suppressed mutant could survive for years without nutrition—oxygen was a different matter.
Gyeo-ul then took point, entering the building. Although it was only the size of a single-story house, inside was cramped with various equipment. Narrow corridors twisted throughout.
"Kyaak!"
A mutant lurched out of the shadows and bit Gyeo-ul's left hand.
Kkadeudeuk.
[Leader!]
A scream from behind, but Gyeo-ul raised his right hand.
"I'm fine. It's nothing. Don't shoot."
The glove was bulletproof.
The mutant gripped Gyeo-ul's hand and gnawed fiercely. In front of everyone, its gums were crushed. Blood poured out and teeth splintered, but even starving, it didn't stop. Pak, pak. Broken tooth fragments flew out. Gyeo-ul only felt faint pressure.
He grabbed the mutant's jaw like a handle. The mutant thrashed, but now Gyeo-ul weighed over a hundred kilograms. He might shake, but he wouldn't be swept away. He dropped his gun and drew his right arm back, then swung his whole weight into a punch.
With one blow, the mutant's lower jaw flew off. As it reeled, Gyeo-ul grabbed its neck and pummeled it again—once, twice, three times. Each time, its struggles weakened. From the caved-in face, a ruined eyeball oozed out. He released its neck. The mutant collapsed, its legs twitching. Gyeo-ul picked up a crowbar meant for breaking doors and, with a swing, smashed the mutant's crown with the sharp edge.
It was a display.
A reminder that sometimes, people are scarier than monsters.
---------------------------= Author's Note ---------------------------=
#Naver nStore Serialization On Hold
It seems the nStore serialization will be on hold for a while.
The reason... apparently, is violence.
I was already quite distraught when I received recommendations to revise Seal Breaker, but this feels even worse. I thought there would be no further issues since I'd rewritten the adult-rated scenes.
They said this is the first time serialization was paused for violence... though, content-wise, there are already far more violent novels up there...
Well, that's how it is. For those hoping for pay-per-episode, I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait a little longer.
#Q&A
Q. OnionMushroom: @Author, let's be honest. What's your real relationship with WhiteBean? "BaByel" is clearly lightyears away from your own childhood innocence...
A. In the Ossuary universe, the liquor tax goes up by 400% in 2040. At that point, whiteBean, who was still writing BaByel, can no longer afford a can of beer a day and, in his rage, transforms into BlackBean. Fueled by this, he turns BaByel into a maritime mystery horror food-porn story, drinking rival BlackBean soy milk out of spite.
It's official canon. :)
Q. Magikar: @Before I knew it, this novel had thoroughly infiltrated my life. I can hardly distinguish "me" from "it" anymore, as I remembered from my middle school days!
A. That's pretty serious. Because if you can't distinguish yourself from this novel, you'll be cursed to never experience love for the rest of your life.
Q. SmilePlay: @Read it well again today~ By the way, is the new monster a commander? It was in the rear, protected, and strange intelligent behaviors happened nearby...
A. The Trickster is already fulfilling the commander role.
Q. rumen: @There seem to be a lot of Gyeo-ul fans in the PR department? The PA officer's attitude is totally different these days, Lol
A. Of course! There's no way there wouldn't be. And the Major themself... hahaha.