Chapter 152: [Gaiden] Boiled Life (3)

Chapter 152: [Gaiden] Boiled Life (3)

When is it that a person feels the desire to live the most?

When they set an ambitious goal they want to reach?

When they want to save someone?

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Nope. I guarantee you but a person will reach their peak of desire to live when they face a barrage of bullets from the enemy.

I want to live.

Watching the skies brighten as the sun came up that was the first thought that came into my mind as tears unconsciously pooled in my eyes.

The sunlight split into dozens of rays as it poured into the tent through the countless bullet holes. They were all created just a day ago.

Roll call.

No need. Falmur and Dorris arent here.

I know, asshole! I just want to hear from the guys that are alive, so just shut it and do roll call!

Lance Sergeant Liam Olson.

Samuel Marcheti.

Do it properly, Miss. Sergeant Dorris Richach.

Staff Sergeant

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S-Senior Private Gyosu Park

Ending the roll call with my name, a heavy silence enveloped the atmosphere in the barracks.

The gunshots flew through the morning air.

Enemies pushing through the layers of booby traps they placed and invading the camp.

Without any combat boots, uniform, or firearm, I carried just a single radio in my pack and ran after Squad Leader John through the jungle in the rain of bullets. The boots I were handed down had no front or backside. Looking closer to a flip-flop and running through the jungle with them led to his feet suffering all sorts of scratches and wounds.

F**k. Good job saving your own skin, everyone. Specially M.J., thats one hell of a grenade toss. Over half of the guys here lived thanks to that f**king major league throw.

Heheh, thats the last of that too. Were all out of grenades now.

S**t. Hope Dorris and Falmur wait a bit before they go. Were probably joining them soon anyway. Hey! Everyone get your stuff out!

On Squad Leader Johns command, the squad members sprawled out on the beds, got up with a string of curses and took out all sorts of knickknacks from their personal lockers. Some pulled out underwear that was still usable, someone a half-dried pen. Someone a bulletproof vest with holes in it.

When all of the objects that the squad members pulled out gathered together, it became supplies enough for two people.

Liam, a middle-aged man separable with his distinct blonde hair and blue eyes, took out a bible instead of taking out an object of his own. Under the light shining through the bullet holes, a small mass for the comrades who passed was held.

Our heavenly father, please help guide the tired and anguished. The world is painted from the blood of war and tribulation. Bear pity on our brothers who have drowned in blood and murder so that they are not turned away

This isnt going to work.

Inside Gyosus head as he closed his eyes was not grief, but something else.

The things he saw as he followed behind John.

Guard posts and trenches were built in each direction. The place was built originally for a machine gun nest but was turned into a trench a long time ago after they ran out of bullets. With just two proper machine gun nests on higher ground, they would have been able to push away the enemy without any casualties.

The squad members conditions were a problem as well. The soldiers were all starving, barely sustaining off of one spoiled can of beans a day. I could clearly see that they were much more trained than him, but they still tired quickly. They didnt have anything to eat, so there wasnt any energy left in them. There was a reason why they all lazily lied around during the day.

Were all going to die if this goes on.

Gyosu thought about what he, with inferior stamina and shooting skills, could do for them.

Unlike the others who were on the brink of starvation, he still had strength left.

Enemies in the front and the allies in the back were doing nothing more than stopping them from running away. The 14 Special Ops Squad was trapped.

If he wanted to live, he needed to save everyone else.

The prayer ended, and even as Squad Leader John collected the two peoples supplies and shared them with the people who placed a bet on them when they first came here, Gyosus mind didnt stop thinking.

15 Minutes Later.

There were now even more supplies in Johns arms as he came back. It was because four members had died in Squad 3, who were ambushed by the enemy first, and another had died in Squad 1.

Im really bad at gambling, arent I?

That was what Luwil said as he burned the Rookie Survival Betting when the dead squad members were brought in.

Eh, I dont really like the helmet size. I liked Dorris cause he had the same head size as me.

When he returned to the squad with a heavy heart to share out the belongings of the dead squad members, they all returned to their playful grins and started to divide the supplies among themselves.

Keeping the dead guys stuffs just gonna make you sad.

I wasnt close to them, though?

Marti was.

John, who had been quietly listening to the Lieutenant Colonel and Gyosus conversation, stood up and pulled some of the reed stems and roots towards him.

Gulp.

The green and soft shoots and roots that looked similar to the inner side of a sweet potato seemed harmless to the eye.

The can of beans was empty after just a few spoonfuls. In the time it took for him to drink a glass of water, that terrible hunger was going to come back.

When the idea that these might actually be edible became plausible, that thought slowly started to engulf Johns entire mind, and he couldnt help but pick up a handful of those plants,

Crunchh!

And shoved everything he had in his hand into his mouth.

Crunch, crunch crunch!

Gulp

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He ate it.

It tasted like dirt, slightly bitter, with even a little watery smell

It Its edible.

It had a little sweetness to it, and some sort of powder seeped out of the stalk as he continued to chew on it that filled up his stomach.

Its edible?

My girlfriend bought a bunch of weird plant roots this one time, saying that it was some sort of well-being diet, and it sort of tastes like that. It kind of tastes like drinking a glass of water with flour in it

Thats what Ive been telling you. Its not just edible. Its actual food. Reed roots, its called something like nogeun in Korean, and its even used as medicine.

Before the war broke out, Mother had gotten some sort of hanyak1 during his testing week, saying that it was good for him.

It tasted so bad that I looked up what was in it to make it taste like that.

Nogeun. Roots of a reed.

Just when I charged mindlessly into the jungle, surrounded by odd-looking mushrooms and plants that smelled like soap, I almost jumped in relief when I saw the familiar green plant.

I was cheering in glee as I dug up the muddy marshes with my bare hands to discover the exact roots I saw on the internet.

Well, it was thanks to that experience I was certain this was edible. I was in a rush, so this was all I got this time, but I did see a couple other plants that looked similar to the things I saw in books or online. So Im going to go collect those and test them out later on.

The murmuring crowd slowly started to get quiet. It wasnt that they calmed down, but they were concentrating on their objective like a predator stalking their prey.

What seemed like professional knowledge was coming out of the young Asian boy. Add that together with their empty can of beans and empty stomachs, and the fear of poisoning started to fade away from the minds of the 14 Special Ops squad members.

Above anything else, it was more than enough proof for them when they saw John pick up the rest of the reeds he pulled towards him and slowly back away.

Its edible.

Its food.

Food! Eat!

Oy, Shepherd Put that down.

Were comrades arent we?

Tip, toe

Dashhhh!

That son of a!

Shepherds run off with the food!

Instead of answering, the dark-skinned Squad Leader chose to disappear into the dark with the food in his arms.

Catch him!

Shoot him!

Blinded by starvation, the squad members all flipped out and chased Shepherd out of the tent and inside the barracks that were suddenly empty. The only ones left were me, the Lieutenant Colonel, and Luwil.

Crunch!

Taking a bite out of the reed roots that he snatched at some point, Luwil looked at it with a satisfied expression and turned to me.

Kid. Were there a lot of these?

I looked around a little, and its harder to find somewhere thats not a marsh.

Really?

To my answer, Luwil tossed one of the reed roots he was holding to the Lieutenant Colonel.

Then I can share. Lieutenant Colonel King, I think weve just got a little extension pass to life.

Instead of responding, the Lieutenant Colonel just took a large bite out of the root he caught.

It was the taste of fresh produce, one he experienced for the first time in two months.

About half an hour later, when the squad members who chased after John came back to the tent covered in mud, each one of them singing happily as they held an armful of uncut reeds, the Lieutenant Colonel couldnt help but agree with what Luwil said.

a traditional oriental herbal medicine