Chapter 228


    ──────


    The Winter Soldier II


    「Once, I was just a regr Grade 7 civil servant working at a rehabilitation hospital. Now, after the copse of the world, I’m the Ruler of Busan, Master of the National Road Management Corps, De facto ruler of the Korean Penins, and now, the Mayor of New York? For some reason, the one who looks like the savior of the world is obsessed with me. What is this?」


    Leaving Noh Do-hwa to continue her light novel lifestyle, it was time to start the real defense game.


    “Listen up, everyone. Here’s the situation. When the blizzard from the north hits, it’s predicted to bring a winter of -120°C that couldst a while.”


    I tapped on the chalkboard, which had a map of Sinuiju pinned to it while addressing about thirty members of the National Road Management Corps.


    “No one knows how long this winter willst. It could be over in a day, or it could continue for a year. In the worst-case scenario, we might be cut off from all outsidemunication, except for SG Net, and we’ll need to endure this severe weather.”“......”


    “For this operation, the Corps has selected elite members withrge amounts of Aura. Each of you is essentially a human furnace. You''ll need to take turns keeping the temperature of the living quarters stable, so treat fuel like it’s precious.”


    Faintughter rippled through the group. Despite the harsh conditions, no one openlyined. After all, the difficulty of this mission wasn’t necessarily about surviving the cold. The true challengey in enduring the -120°C blizzard as Awakeners.


    “Tomorrow, we’ll start the operation, but let’s take some questions before we proceed.”


    A few members of the Corps raised their hands.


    “Yes, Lee Ha-seong.”


    “Sir, we have about three months'' worth of food rations stored. What should we do if the wintersts longer than that?”


    “I’ll temporarily leave Sinuiju and fetch Sword Marquess. I’ve already securednd to build a greenhouse farm. In the meantime, we’ll organize hunting teams to secure more food.”


    I called on another member.


    “Next, Cha Jae-hee.”


    “Thank you. What should we do if the anomaly known as Winter General expands beyond Sinuiju or starts to move?”


    “If it turns out there’s a core or source to the anomaly, I’ll take care of it myself. Next question.”


    The briefing continued smoothly.


    The members of the Corps asked only practical questions, focusing on what they needed to know for the mission. Of course, the 30 people here had unknowingly be my disciples—they had been indirectly trained through the constetions and learned my ways.


    (Though they themselves werergely unaware of that fact.)


    “Alright. That’s it for today. Get some rest, and we’ll start the operation tomorrow.”


    “Yes, sir!”


    The next day, the temperature noticeably dropped after just one night. Yesterday’s weather was like early winter, but by dawn, the air was sharply cold.


    Do-hwa finally had to let go of her hopeful optimism.


    “Damn. That Weather Forecast ability might be unreliable with normal weather predictions, but it’s always urate with weird ones like this.”


    “Oh, it’s actually 100% urate.”


    “Wait, what? How?”


    “Think about it. Predicting normal weather like rain or snow is something anyone can guess without needing Weather Forecast. It’s nothing special. But if someone predicts a -120°C blizzard, that’s unusual in itself, isn’t it?”


    “Ohhh...”


    Do-hwa finally epted the exnation, taking a sip of her warm coffee.


    By 8 a.m., the operations team had gathered in themand center, located inside the Statue of Liberty. Everyone was bundled up in thick winter clothes.


    One of the most fashion-conscious celebrities in Busan, Ji-won, was wearing her signature white uniform with a fur cloak. She looked over at me.


    “Your Excellency, everything is ready.”


    I nodded. “Deploy the prisoners.”


    “Yes, sir.”


    Some of you may have noticed a gap in the headcount. There were 50 people who came up to Sinuiju, but only 30 of them were members of the National Road Management Corps. The remaining 20 were prisoners I had brought up from ces like Busan. Our good ol’ prisoners, who had been useful during the Inunaki Tunnel mission, were about to be put to work again today.


    “Prisoners, listen up. Pay attention to His Excellency’s orders,” Ji-won addressed the 20 prisoners in front of her.


    “Ah, fuck...”


    “What kind of bullshit is this at this time of day...”


    Their attitude was, to put it mildly, terrible. They stared at Ji-won with half-lidded, irritated eyes.


    Within ten seconds, blood sttered.


    Without batting an eye, Ji-won slit one of the prisoners’ throats with her dagger. She shook the blood off her de and repeated her earlier words in the same monotone voice and expressionless face.


    “Prisoners, pay attention to His Excellency’s orders.”


    Now down to 19, the prisoners straightened up like model citizens, their eyes wide and alert like little kids at a school assembly.


    ...I sometimes wondered if Yu Ji-won swore loyalty to me just so she could legally kill people without consequences.


    Anyway, with the tension rising, I opened my mouth and said, “From now on, each of you will be assigned a number from 1 to 19. As your numbers are called, you’ll go outside.”


    I tapped on the map to point out the designated path. “The task is simple. Cross the Amnokgang Bridge and keep walking north.”


    “The Amnokgang Bridge?”


    “Yes. As you walk, you’ll receive instructions via radio. All you need to do is follow those instructions and keep responding. That’s it.”


    “......”


    “Just so you know, I wouldn’t rmend trying to escape. You all know what Ji-won’s ability is. She’ll track you to the ends of hell, and you’ll experience a hell far worse than death.”


    Ji-won twirled her dagger in her hand from where she stood beside me, and the prisoners’ faces paled. I could practically see their thoughts written across their faces. Why the hell are we treated like dirt while this silver-haired psycho enjoys a high-ranking position? I had been wondering the same thing for quite some time myself.


    To ease their concerns, I added, “But don’t worry. There’s a reward for you as well. See this river here? It’s called the Aiha River, about 30 kilometers north of the Amnokgang Bridge.”


    “......”


    “If you make it there and return, I’ll reduce your sentence by 250 years. And, depending on your behavior, you might receive further reductions.”


    “......!”


    For the first time, a spark lit in their eyes.


    The prisoners I had brought here were all serving sentences of over 500 years. The chance to shave off half of that was a tempting offer they couldn’t pass up. They were Awakeners before they became criminals, and walking a mere 30 kilometers to earn their freedom sounded like a good deal.


    “Are you really going to reduce our sentences?”


    “I promise in the name of Team Leader Yu Ji-won.”


    Their faces instantly soured again.


    I cleared my throat and quickly amended my statement. “...I promise in the name of Commander Noh Do-hwa.”


    “Yeah! Hell yeah!”


    “Awesome! Sixty-kilometer round trip? Easy!”


    The prisoners, now fully motivated, started gearing up like students who had just binge-watched motivational videos on YouTube.


    And so, from prisoner number 1 to 19, they were each sent out, spaced 50 meters apart, into the cold wilderness.


    For the record, we supplied them with radios and U.S. military uniforms. If you’ve ever watched an apocalypse movie, you know these poor guys are the ones who usually get the short end of the stick.


    “Saintess, I leave it to you.”


    “Okay.”


    In the corner of themand center, away from the rest of the group, sat the Saintess, bundled up in fur hats, nkets, and sleeping bags. She sped her hands together in prayer.


    What she was doing could be described like this:


    [Scout 1,e in. Scout 1, do you copy?]


    [Proceed directly north. We’ve received reports that an ally is stranded 6 kilometers ahead with nomunication. Locate them and assist if possible.]


    The Saintess was using her telepathy to make the prisoners believe they were hearing this message through their radios. The idea of “an ally stranded” came as a surprise to the prisoners, but...


    - Shit, what kind of bullshit is this now?


    [Scout 1, do you copy? Please continue reporting as you proceed.]


    - Uh, yeah. Nothing much to report yet. Just a flimsy-looking bridge. Is this the Amnokgang Bridge?


    [That’s correct. It was partially destroyed, but our previous scouting confirmed that it’s still safe to cross. Proceed with caution.]


    - Tch. Got it.


    Meanwhile, I continuedying down “artifacts” at the Saintess’s feet.


    A small model of the Statue of Liberty. A model of the Eiffel Tower. A model of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. A model of Big Ben. A model of the Taj Mahal. A model of Tokyo Tower...


    Like a shamanying out cursed totems, or kids ying with an Ouija board, I carefully arranged eachndmark onto the world map at her feet.


    “......”


    Do-hwa, sittingfortably in an armchair beside us, wrapped inyers of winter gear, watched me in silence.


    - Huh?


    [Scout 1, is something wrong?]


    - No, I crossed the bridge, but I’m starting to see snow. Weird...


    The world map was hand-drawn by Ji-won, so its uracy wasn’t perfect. However, the map carried a portion of her power.


    After positioning all thendmarks, I casually flicked the Eiffel Tower, knocking it over.


    [That’s an expected anomaly. We suspect the Void in that area is causing a sudden onset of the Ice Age.]


    - What the fuck. So that’s why it’s this cold.


    [The longer you remain in the Void, the more dangerous it bes. After locating the ally, return as quickly as possible.]


    - Alright, fine. But this feels kinda—


    I toppled St. Peter’s Basilica.


    I knocked over Big Ben.


    - Huh?


    [What’s wrong?]


    - The wind’s picking up! There’s a snowstorm! I can’t see shit!


    [Our radar still shows your position as stable. Keep moving forward.]


    - Fine, I’ll keep moving, but this is insane! I can’t see a thing!


    Finally, I knocked over the Taj Mahal.


    - Shit! I can’t see anything! I’m freezing to death out here! This isn’t a joke! I’m serious! I think I’m really going to die—


    Static crackled over the radio.


    The Saintess looked down at me. I caught her gaze and nodded in acknowledgment.


    “It’s here.”


    The radios we had given to the prisoners were just for show. The realmunication was happening telepathically through the Saintess.


    And, of course, there was no reason for any static interference. That meant the source of the interference wasn’t us but something else.


    Whatever was causing the static was the Anomaly.


    - I can’t see... I can’t feel...


    <em>Fzzt.</em>


    Scout 1’s signal went dark.


    The Saintess remained calm and continued working with a neutral expression.


    [Scout 2,e in. Scout 1’s transmission is unstable. Do you have a visual on them 50 meters ahead?]


    - No. The snowstorm’s too thick to see anything.


    Scout 2, lost.


    Scout 3, lost.


    Scout 4, lost.


    On Yu Ji-won’s Mini Map, the chess pieces representing the prisoners fell one after the other like dominoes.


    Finally, when I knocked over Tokyo Tower...


    Only the Statue of Liberty remained standing on the world map.


    At that moment, the Saintess opened her mouth.


    “Scout 19, lost.”


    “......”


    “It’s here.”


    Where? No one asked that foolish question.


    The sound of something scratching echoed from the world map. The paper, which had been nk except for the chess pieces, suddenly started to freeze over, ayer of frost rapidly forming around the remainingndmarks. The ice moved, creeping toward the Statue of Liberty.


    “Undertaker.”


    “Yes.” I picked up the Statue of Liberty and ced it over Sinuiju.


    Immediately, the frost that had been spreading across the map shifted course, converging on Sinuiju, as if drawn to the sacrifice we had ced on the map. It was ravenous, consuming everything in its path.


    <em>Crack! Crackle!</em>


    The radio, which should have been dead silent, began to buzz with loud static.


    The thermometer, specially made for this operation, showed the temperature plummeting rapidly.


    -10°C.


    -20°C.


    -40°C.


    -80°C.


    “National Road Management Corps! Release your Aura!”


    “Yes, sir!”


    -120°C.


    At that exact moment, a heavy impact reverberated through the base. The door, which had been securely locked after we sent the prisoners outside, groaned under the pressure.


    It sounded like something was wing at it, as if a giant’s nails were scraping at the surface, demanding to be let inside.


    We all knew what it meant.


    Winter hade.


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