Chapter 52 – Call for Mobilization (1)

[It’s too biting because I only eat canned food every day.]

“What canned food?”

[Canned beans, canned chicken, canned bread. Canned fruit, things like that.]

“You put bread in canned food too?”

[In the US, they put everything in canned food, except for edibles.]

“Then what to drink?”

[It’s just water. I’m not a professional survivalist. I just benefited from the fact that the previous owner of the house I moved into was crazy about survivalism.]

I’m currently on ham radio.

To be precise, the American I was talking to was using a ham radio, and he was talking in front of a PDA.

This is because the shelter communication system converts radio waves so that communication with all types of communication devices is possible.

The other person doesn’t know this, but it’s too much trouble to explain, so I just assumed that the radio operator was lucky enough to have contact with them.

The correspondent is Mr. Hudson, who will turn 60 next year.

His son his enlisted and went to the army and was killed in action, and his wife his also lost to cervical cancer, so he is alone.

As a result, a global infection outbreak broke out while he was retiring from his trucker life and returning to his hometown.

However, the previous owner of the house he moved into was crazy about survivalism, so he made a bunker-level shelter in the basement.

It’s annoying to go out of the house, so I’ve piled up food and drink, so I packed them all up and went into the basement and sealed them.

It is said that if the old man saves and uses it alone, he will be able to last a long time.

Later, while looking for information on the outside through the radio, I accidentally came into contact with him.

[Anyway, it’s fun to have someone to talk to. In this situation, finding a radio operator is like picking stars from the sky. Back in my days, there were so many radio companies that frequency confusion was a daily occurrence. The reason I met Sarah was because we found out that we were in the same neighborhood after arguing with each other over ‘you’re the one’ due to communication confusion. These days, I feel like looking for people in the middle of the sea.]

Sarah is a widowed wife.

For reference, her wife’s will her was to stop drinking, so I didn’t buy alcohol when I was buying, but I regret it immensely.

“Well, you did find someone across the sea, though.”

Laughter came through the communicator.

[You are also very talented. Communication across the Pacific is difficult.]

It’s not that my skills are great, the facilities here are great.

[What did you eat today? What do Koreans prepare with food reserves?]

“Today’s toast and beer.”

[Mae, beer? Really? I envy this.]

“Listen for a minute.”

I put a beer can in front of the communicator and opened the can.

Chuck-

[Are you drugging the elderly?]

“Please. It was just to please the ears.”

Gulp- gulp-

“Kyaaaaa…”

[I think it’s right to take medicine.]

It took a while to calm Mr. Hudson, who was grumbling that he was really offended.

[Your English is fluent.]

“I am a former soldier. I was discharged as a major, and I was dispatched to Lebanon and Israel. English was a must for commanders because there were many occasions when they had to travel with US soldiers as well as to have conversations in the field.”

[I didn’t even know you were dealing with a noble person. Thank you for your service.]

Mr. Hudson said in a rather serious tone.

“Why are you acting like this, old man, I’m not even an American soldier.”

[Anyway, wasn’t it during the mission while eating rice with our soldiers? Thanks to you and your men, even one more of our soldiers could have returned safely. As an American, I owe you.]

Did he remember his son who was killed in action while dispatched?

“…This is a feeling I don’t know how to describe.”

It felt like a fountain welled up in my heart.

To hear gratitude from a foreigner on the other side of the sea in this situation, which was never received in one’s own country.

Haha! In that case, you can just say yes and move on.]

According to Mr. Hudson, there are many people in America who dig into survivalism as a hobby, so there are quite a few people who have survived this way.

However, it is rare that they have their own means of communication, so most of them cannot communicate with each other.

Even so, it is said that they are trying to form a network to some extent among those who can communicate.

“So there is no sizable group of survivors in the United States?”

[Unfortunately, it is. The radio operator on the Oregon side said that there was a military unit that was conducting rescue operations and gathering survivors in San Francisco, but all communication was cut off about a month ago.]

“I’m sorry.”

[It’s a painful time. There are rumors that there are other survivor colonies in Nevada or Chicago, but those are just rumors.]

“If I were to go to America someday, there were many places I wanted to visit, but it’s a pity.”

[Where did you want to go?]

“A lot. Central Park, the White House, Waikiki, Las Vegas, Hoover Dam, etc.”

[Hmm, sorry, but give up on that dream. It’s like there’s no good place.]

Mr. Hudson said as if he felt sorry for him.

The United States is said to be in a state where more than half of its territory is bathed in radiation. And that’s not because the enemy country shot it, but because they shot it.

It seems that the infection situation in the United States was not usually serious, as the United States, which is willing to pay any price to defend its country, launched a nuclear bombardment on its territory.

[Central Park has now become a man-eating forest. It doesn’t look any different from a distance, but when someone sets foot there, the entire forest shakes violently. Survivors who unknowingly tried to hide there became living white cocoons, but one who managed to escape said that bull-sized spiders roam around. It’s really terrible!]

“What about the White House?”

[Now, the Black House, no, should we just call it Black Evil instead of the Coffin? Only the charred pillars remained.]

“Then what about Waikiki? It was my wish to scuba dive in the offshore there.”

[It must be a minister. The remnants of the Pacific Fleet met their end there. If you dive, you can see all kinds of ships. It must have rusted a lot.]

“…Gosh.”

[What did you just say? Ego?]

“‘Aigo’. Just understand it to the extent of Oh my.”

[Aha.]

Hudson adds that the Hoover Dam is as good as it gets.

Even though there was a fierce battle between the military unit and the infected that used it as a defense base, it endured like a structure built by pouring concrete like crazy.

It even withstood the TNT explosion that the last remaining soldier detonated to die together.

“If this situation calms down someday, I should go to the Hoover Dam.”

[Someday? I really hope that such a day will come.]

That’s how I spent time with Mr. Hudson talking nonsense.

In the meantime, the story of the military came up again.

[By the way, what did you say your discharge rank was?]

“I am Major.”

Strictly speaking, it is a lieutenant colonel (Jin).

Due to the uniqueness of the unit I was in charge of, I was assigned a major even though I was in the position of company commander.

[Right. But wasn’t there a call for mobilization? In Korea, all men have military careers, and in a war situation, there would have been no way to just have a manpower like yours.]

“It was a complicated situation in many ways. I was working in a remote place, but an accident happened and I was locked up. It was not a situation to receive news from the outside. By the time I had to deal with it to some extent, everything in the outside world was over.”

[If you ever feel guilty or ashamed, don’t do that. Even if you participated in the war, it would have been like adding one more body to a sinking ship anyway.]

Mr. Hudson’s tone was sincere.

“It’s okay. I have no intention of jumping into a meaningless death. As a result, thanks to my survival, I was able to do something more valuable.”

In fact, thanks to my survival, four digits of people’s lives have been saved.

Moreover, this number may increase further.

[A competent person is always needed in many places. You don’t have to fight in the front line with a gun like everyone else. You just need to be in a place where you can use your best abilities.]

“Thank you for your words. Well, I’m a senior officer, so even if I was mobilized, I wouldn’t have run around with a gun myself. Perhaps a suitable area was allocated and a defensive mission with conscripted reservists…”

A thought passed through my mind at that moment.

[Well? What’s going on?]

Mr. Hudson seems to have thought that there was a communication failure when I suddenly fell silent.

“Oh, nothing. I have to go in now, sir. I have urgent business to do.”

[I had a lot of trouble being the old man’s talk partner. Let’s go. The job should be done as soon as it comes to mind.]

“No. I’ve heard a lot of good things about it. Enough then, see you next time.”

[May we all be safe.]

After cutting off communication with Mr. Hudson, I stood up.

Why didn’t I think of this until now?

I was overlooking my status as a former military veteran.

That this can be of great help in a disaster situation.