NTN 32

Chapter 32

“After-Action Review”

When Jeon Du-ha, his olive-drab coat buttoned tight, asked, Jang Mok-hwa recalled and spoke.

“I’m wondering if you’ve ever seen someone like this.

A man, black hair, golden eyes. About 180 centimeters tall, and quite handsome. Probably even better-looking than that guy.”

She pointed toward Geon-woo with a nod and continued.

“He likes to wear a trench coat and gloves, keeps his hair neatly slicked back. He often wears leather boots too.”

Jeon Du-ha, rifling through his memory, opened his mouth.

“Very few outsiders come into Haeja Village, and it’s been a long time since I went out of the village myself. I don’t think I have any memory of someone like the person you’re describing.

Balbari, go ask the people you recently hunted with if any of them saw someone like that, and let us know.”

“Understood, chief.”

Excited for another chance to look impressive, the guard Balbari immediately ran off somewhere.

Jeon Du-ha, wearing his olive-drab coat and a fur hat, left the barn and entered the messy area where the houses of different kinds were haphazardly built. Only then did Baek Saebyeok, who had been looking away, glance around and check the positions of the guards.

Sitting down, she muttered to herself as if thinking aloud.

“Why did the chief tell us about the internal conflict in Haeja Village?”

Jang Mok-hwa looked at the fire in the brazier and smiled.

“Isn’t it obvious? The big faction backing you probably wants to bring Haeja Village under their wing.

Otherwise, why invite us as guests?

Even if he trusted you, inviting us wasn’t necessary. His interest and goodwill toward you could have been expressed in other ways.”

She turned her head, watching Yong Yeo-hong—who looked a little dazed—and Seong Geon-woo—whose thoughts were unreadable—and continued.

“It seems the internal conflict in Haeja Village has been a worry for the chief for a very long time. He fears that after he dies the village might slide into a bad direction and eventually split apart.

While he was worried about that, he met a Wasteland Wanderer he knew and trusted. That wanderer seems to be well-settled under the protection of a fairly large faction.

Wouldn’t the chief want to use that relationship to bring Haeja Village under a large faction that doesn’t seem to harbor deep hostility toward the Wanderers?

If the village were to be protected and governed by such a large faction and follow their plans, the village’s internal conflicts wouldn’t be a problem.”

Yong Yeo-hong, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke.

“I see.

Team leader, will the company accept them?”

That was exactly what Baek Saebyeok most wanted to ask. If she hadn’t wanted to ask, she wouldn’t have purposely spoken aloud a moment earlier.

Feeling Baek Saebyeok’s gaze, Jang Mok-hwa turned her eyes back to the brazier and answered with a smile.

“When we return to the company, I’ll report what happened outside to the higher-ups. Whether the company accepts Haeja Village is a decision for the board. In matters like this, the Security Department and the Strategy Council can only make recommendations.

But I won’t reveal the village’s exact location. I’ll just say we happened to meet their hunting team in the wasteland.”

Baek Saebyeok let out a relieved breath and said in a low voice,

“That’s for the best.”

Yong Yeo-hong looked puzzled and asked,

“Why hide the exact location of Haeja Village?”

They were reporting to the company they belonged to.

Jang Mok-hwa glanced at him with amusement in her eyes but neither answered nor explained.

“Look—Geon-woo doesn’t even ask.”

Seong Geon-woo looked up at the team leader when his name was called.

“Huh? What did you say?”

Jang Mok-hwa forced a smile and said,

“I said you’re handsome.”

“You’re not wrong.”

Seong Geon-woo replied modestly.

A moment of silence fell over the group. Soon after, the guard called Balbari ran back and reached Jang Mok-hwa’s side.

“Someone said they saw the person you described.

According to him, they saw a very odd man north of Weiru Station. At the time, the entire hunting team found him extremely attractive; they tried to win his favor without realizing it, but he acted very coldly, forcibly put distance between himself and them, and eventually disappeared somewhere into the wasteland.”

“That’s strange…”

Jang Mok-hwa murmured absently as if lost in thought, then looked up and smiled brightly.

“Thanks.”

“Oh—no problem!”

Balbari answered as if deeply moved.

But Jang Mok-hwa didn’t ask any more questions. The guard Balbari had no choice but to leave the barn.

Seong Geon-woo peered outside. Under the dark sky and heavy clouds, the whole village looked even darker.

The sound of the thermal generator hummed; lights were on in many rooms within the triangular buildings. The bulbs installed atop the village wall lit up, illuminating the patrolling guards. In the square where the residential area and the Wasteland Wanderers’ houses were jumbled together, the scattered candles flickered and soon went out, leaving it plunged into darkness.

Then the long-brewing rain finally began to pour from the dark night sky.

Night had deepened. Cold winds and rain pelted down. Haeja Village seemed completely consumed by darkness. Only sparse lanterns pierced the black void.

The rowdy noise and mixed smells faded quickly. As a result, Seong Geon-woo felt a silence that made him feel completely cut off from the world.

Some guards near the barn patrolled sheltered areas where the rain wouldn’t fall, while others wore dark raincoats and oversized straw mats and prowled along the wooden frames near the wall.

Rain streaks glittered in the light from various bulbs.

“There used to be two thermal generators here. Later one broke down and we never could fix it no matter what. But having no electricity at a Wasteland Wanderer outpost isn’t a big problem. Food, clothes, weapons, and clean water are the most important resources.” Baek Saebyeok muttered.

Jang Mok-hwa chuckled and added,

“Say it bigger. Food and clean water determine survival; clothes prevent death by exposure or disease from cold; weapons keep others from stealing your food, clothes, or water.”

She glanced around, clapped her hands while watching the heavy rain, and said,

“We’ll repair the jeep tomorrow morning. Tonight we’ll run the first lesson of this field-camping training.

We’ll review tonight’s battle and summarize experiences and lessons learned.

Each of you explain the choices you made and what you experienced from your own perspective. Baek Saebyeok, you start.”

Having recently joined BanGo Bio and never having experienced this sort of field-camping training, Baek Saebyeok hesitated for a while—she hadn’t expected a post-battle debrief. She seemed unprepared.

Still, she followed the team leader’s order without resistance. One reason she had survived so long in the wasteland was that she had received some help from others, but it was also because she habitually reflected on and learned from her mistakes.

After choosing her words, she began from the moment she first encountered the thug who doubled as a relic hunter, recounting every detail she remembered.

Next came Seong Geon-woo, then Yong Yeo-hong, and finally Jang Mok-hwa spoke.

When Jang Mok-hwa finished the review, she looked at Seong Geon-woo and said,

“You voluntarily attacked and killed the two motorcycle drivers—bold and decisive, but actually reckless.

If you hadn’t done that…”

She paused for a moment, then continued.

“If luck had not been on your side, it wouldn’t have been those two who died. It would have been you.”

She gave a faint smile.

“But luck is part of skill. You need to balance luck and ability and make the most of both.”

Seong Geon-woo, who had looked slightly stunned, nodded in thought.

Taking the leader’s remark as a joke and not thinking much of it, Yong Yeo-hong furrowed his brow and voiced the question that had been bothering him most.

“Team leader, you said the leader of the bandits—who wore an exoskeleton device—made judgment errors and recklessness and therefore died at our hands.

If someone wearing an exoskeleton device doesn’t make big mistakes, how are we supposed to deal with them?”

Jang Mok-hwa looked at Yong Yeo-hong.

“Why do you assume there must be a way to deal with them?

If they don’t make big mistakes, it means they’re experienced and in good physical condition. If such a person is wearing an exoskeleton, they’re the elite of the elites—capable of being used as a mass-destruction weapon even on a true battlefield.

We are few in number and lack heavy weapons. We only had one grenade launcher, and we weren’t even in a situation to use it. How are we supposed to handle such an enemy? Don’t underestimate military-grade exoskeletons.”

“Th-then…”

Only then did Yong Yeo-hong realize he had narrowly escaped death.

Jang Mok-hwa glanced around and said,

“The best time to neutralize such an enemy is before they put on the exoskeleton.

If you can’t get that chance, you have to race them before they get close. Military-grade exoskeletons don’t achieve speeds as fast as a jeep. Some models are even slower and have worse endurance.

Unfortunately, at that time, we didn’t have an advantage in the terrain in front of us. We were also engaged with the armored swamp serpent, so we weren’t in a favorable position on any front. In short, we were in a desperate crisis. If that guy hadn’t been reckless and reckless from the start—if he had been more cautious instead of wasting energy to smash his loot—we would have been almost annihilated by his first attack.”

As Jang Mok-hwa continued, Yong Yeo-hong’s face turned increasingly pale at the depth of danger in Ashland. Seong Geon-woo and Baek Saebyeok listened quietly, sensing that Jang Mok-hwa’s story was not yet over.

She went on.

“Before Geon-woo killed the motorcycle drivers and enraged the boss, I had two plans.

One was to surrender on the spot and create distance, and then, even if we were severely wounded by their attacks as soon as they entered a certain range and couldn’t get up, counterattack.”

She snorted a laugh.

“The biggest problem with that plan was that Baek Saebyeok and I would likely have survived but been taken prisoner for at least a short while, while the two of you would very probably have been killed on the spot—unless none of them had a taste for men.”

Yong Geon-woo and Seong Yeo-hong’s expressions became complicated for a moment, but Jang Mok-hwa seemed amused by their reactions.

“The second plan was to exploit the terrified state of that guy psychologically and set a kind of trap so he couldn’t flee early. If he couldn’t escape early, I could target his unprotected body parts not covered by the exoskeleton.”

“What kind of trap?” Yong Yeo-hong asked.

Jang Mok-hwa stared at him for two seconds, spread her hands, and said,

“I haven’t thought of one yet.”

“…”

Yong Yeo-hong and Seong Geon-woo’s facial muscles twitched slightly.