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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Intermission: Nationalism and Totalitarianism / Factions (3), Camp Roberts
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#Intermission: Nationalism and Totalitarianism
When nationalism serves as a pretext for defending the interests of the group, it easily degenerates into totalitarianism. Every totalitarian regime in history has given birth to an evil empire. The Japanese Empire committed brutal colonial rule and the Nanjing Massacre, while Nazi Germany carried out the Holocaust.
On the other hand, totalitarianism is one of the fastest ways to unite a broad crowd whose interests do not align.
At the crossroads of humanity's extinction, totalitarianism may be an inevitable necessary evil for the sake of species survival. Whether moral extinction or immoral survival is the greater tragedy is a matter of personal opinion.
Can one pursue good with evil? What is your choice?
#Factions (3), Camp Roberts
The logs were piling up. Favorability decrease correction warnings. Even immutable corrections mixed in. In the eerie silence where only the Japanese girl's screams could be heard, Im Hwasu gestured with his hand.
"Clear her out for a moment."
The girl standing between Makjiri and the boy was dragged off to one side like luggage. She hadn't realized the crisis of being raped had passed. She was so terrified that normal judgment was impossible. She kept screaming nonstop. Im Hwasu barked at her.
"You're so noisy! Shut her up!"
The method was violence. Words didn't work, so after a few shouts, he slapped her outright. Her screams grew louder, but hitting her until she quieted down did the trick. The fact that one woman could do that to another, even if it was a depiction in virtual reality, was chilling. Only after the girl's face was swollen and she collapsed nearly unconscious did silence return.
Im Hwasu glared at the boy.
"You little punk with no manners... These are the end times, the end times! The shining spirit of our nation, the ethos of the Land of Propriety in the East, is gone! It's all because of those Japs that our national vitality has waned..."
"Aren't you doing exactly what those Japs did right now?"
"Your brain's completely rotten!"
His face twitched as he roared.
"Those beasts committed their atrocities and never properly repented as time flowed on! Just formal apologies like 'eat and leave'! If we let it slide, we'll suffer the same again—don't you get that? It's in their blood! That's just how they are by nature! They had a chance for forgiveness! They threw it away themselves! If they've sinned, they must pay the price! Our nation still holds unlimited claims against Japan! We can do anything and be forgiven! This is both a preemptive war and legitimate self-defense!"
Sophistry. The front was right, the back wrong. Japan bears responsibility for its past. But collective killing shouldn't grant the right to collective killing as compensation. The reason apologies and reflection are needed is to ensure it never happens again. And so that surviving victims can find some peace before they die.
Im Hwasu's logic was like saying, "You raped my daughter, so I'll rape yours." Bullshit. People must be respected as people. Winter was angrier than necessary because he himself hadn't done so in life, and he retorted sharply.
"Could you not justify masturbation in the name of the nation? It makes me sick as a fellow countryman."
"You little shit!"
「Survival Instinct」 and 「Crisis Detection」 reacted. He twisted the arm stabbing in from the side, disarming it, seized the knife, and pressed it to the throat. His quick and agile body felt like someone else's. A character with high skill proficiency turned the vague intent of 'defend and subdue' into astonishingly precise execution.
Whether he couldn't control his rage and exploded, or was pretending to show loyalty, the man who suddenly lunged turned pale. If the boy slashed now, it was over.
But Winter had no intention of killing him. Moderation. Enough to make the hot-headed mob rethink their lives. There was little chance of fighting through all of them anyway, and he had no desire to die here.
"Do that again, and there won't be a next time."
He said one word, tossed the knife aside, and released the man with a shove. Soon, the man on his knees clutched his throat, coughing and gasping. He'd been too tense to breathe properly.
Im Hwasu's face flushed red with humiliation, but he didn't scream to kill the punk right then. Instead, he gestured to hold back his underlings. Rational AI calculation. He couldn't have built such an organization by being merely impulsive.
"You..."
Now dropping the fake respect in his tone.
"Do you think you can walk out of here alive after this? Against all these numbers?"
"No. If we fight, today would be my last day on earth. But steel yourself and kill me. It'll be hard to deal with the aftermath."
"What big talk. You think that puny auxiliary status will protect you?"
"In my view, I'm an example. If there's reliable and excellent talent among the refugees, the Americans will favor them—I'm a living billboard for that. If you splatter blood on that billboard, the Americans won't let it slide just for face. They're few in number. For a minority controlling the majority, face is a big deal, right? So, great and exalted Makjiri, it'll be hard to kill me. At least here."
"Outrageous. Betting your life on that alone."
"Sorry, but I'm not just trusting the Americans. I trust my skills too. It's not impossible to kill you all and escape."
"You're not serious, are you?"
"Of course not. No room for lies here. If you don't believe me, shall we really kill each other?"
"..."
"How many will risk their lives in loyalty, I wonder. Want to check?"
The leader swallowed his anger for quite a while before trying persuasion again.
"You young and reckless fool, don't you know that your fine talents and bold guts all come from inheriting the blood of our excellent nation? Our people have a sacred mission! Just as all other countries did, America will collapse soon too! Then we descendants of Hwanung will build a new homeland for the Korean people in this bountiful America, a great nation!"
"My high school world history teacher said that all nationalism without cosmopolitanism as its premise is devil worship. Leader, are you a devil's spawn?"
Im Hwasu was speechless again at the blatant provocation. Given his position, he wasn't used to such severe insults, making it hit harder.
Actually, this was something Winter's first-year high school teacher had really said. That teacher had retired decades before Winter was born, but his nationally certified lecture records were still used in later generations' classes. There were plenty of other lectures in virtual reality, but all the later ones felt somehow lacking.
Maybe because that teacher's lectures were the last record of classroom-taught generations.
"No more words to exchange. Your mind's rotten beyond ordinary."
Im Hwasu pressed his forehead and sighed. In fact, thanks to his plausible appearance, his actions made him look like a sage bearing all the world's woes. That too was the talent of a conman.
"Agreed. I don't want to stay here anymore. Rotten me coming from rotten people."
The fake sage's eyebrows shot up.
"Maybe your confidence is right. We can't kill you here. But what if not here? You don't want a life constantly chased by anxiety, do you?"
"I told you earlier. Let's kill each other. I don't particularly want to fight, but once it starts, I'll pay back with interest."
He could afford the bravado. Thanks to Talent Advantage, his current abilities were beyond early-game levels. Unless swarmed in huge numbers, injury was unlikely. Assassination attempts were another story.
The boy stood and walked toward the non-exit side. Those in that direction, men and women alike, shrank back hesitantly. Because the boy gripped the greatsword's hilt firmly. He hadn't drawn it, but it was clear intimidation.
"I'll take this one with me. Block me if you're prepared to die."
As he said, looking around, voices of protest rose, but no one stepped forward. One burly giant twitching in his seat stood out. He looked particularly strong among those present. But after eye contact, he didn't move. Probably had 「Survival Instinct」 or 「Crisis Detection」, or 「Discernment」.
"If you want to live, take my hand."
The words, relying on skill correction, conveyed exactly as meant. Grade 6 「Japanese」. Not native level, but meaning would get across. The trembling girl trusted the one speaking her familiar language. She took his hand and followed as led. No one blocked to the end. Just, when he looked back, Im Hwasu stared with sunken eyes.
He brought her out but had no intention of keeping her. She'd be a weakness. He headed straight to the Japanese enclave. Surprisingly stable after Sumiyoshi-kai's collapse, as rival Japanese groups had united against the massive threat. Even the smallest in numbers, they were a force if not fighting each other.
"Who the hell are you!"
"Calm down. I just brought one of your compatriots. No intention of causing trouble."
The men guarding the Japanese enclave's boundary looked confused at Winter's words. Winter shoved the woman forward. He hadn't even asked her name; she wept bitterly but kept glancing back hesitantly.
He wasn't eavesdropping, but their conversation reached the boy's ears. 「Survival Instinct」 boosted his senses, and 「Discernment」 partially read intentions. Whispering didn't matter. The men eyeing him suspiciously didn't look like good people. Probably some organization's thugs.
"Are you Japanese?"
"Yes. Kushinada Setsuna. I was kidnapped by Koreans."
"What about that guy?"
"Korean, I think... He fought my kidnappers and got me out. He's my benefactor."
"Chinks are all the same anyway. Benefactor my ass. Got family?"
"I think my parents might be here. If they... haven't died yet."
"I see. Hey, Daisuke. Go with her and find her family."
"Yes, bro!"
Hearing that much, Winter turned away. He neither expected nor wanted thanks.
A Japanese thug yelled at the boy's back.
"Hey, you chink! Give me your name! When we get revenge someday, you'll be the only one I spare!"
Winter glanced back and replied in a flat voice.
"No need."
As he walked on, approaches from a few other groups followed. Nothing new, except one: the Full Gospel Church stood out. They used "God's children" instead of nation talk.
Church members in pairs grabbed passersby, preaching fervently. One recognized Winter. Dozens of eyes focused instantly, surrounding him and clamoring.
"Brother! You must believe that the only begotten Son Jesus rose from the dead. With the Rapture here, the Lord's return is near! It's not too late—repent and believe in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and you'll receive God's grace. Enoch was taken to heaven by faith without seeing death. Faith is the shortcut to eternal life!"
"Our church is led by Pastor Park Tae-seon, the Eastern saint who prophesied this Rapture early. Only the faithful will be saved from this disaster!"
"If I show you how all this era's trials are in the Bible, will you believe? 'I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth—people and animals alike; birds of the sky and fish of the sea will be swept away. I will put an end to man and the stumbling blocks with him and the beasts.' Thus says the Lord—Scripture is the Lord's word."
"Also, 'The day of judgment is near; keep silent before the Lord God, for the day is near. The Lord has prepared a sacrifice; he has consecrated his guests.' So those infected by the plague who eat the living are the 'guests eating the sacrifice'! We are the sacrifice offered to the Lord! Truly, the only way to survive the Lord's wrath is faith!"
"Prophet Pastor Park Tae-seon shows us the path to survival! Meet him once, and you'll feel the thrill! Revelation's shiver! Come, young brother. Just a moment. Come with us."
The fanatics' clamor was dizzying. Winter tried to ignore and pass.
"Sorry, let me through. Not interested, so back off."
"Those who don't heed the Lord's voice are Satan's minions!"
An elderly man tried to smash a "Heaven for believers, hell for nonbelievers" picket on the boy. He blocked, twisted, and snatched it. Tossed it away; the old man wailed "Oh no!" and scrambled to retrieve it.
Those clinging to him vanished only after crossing into the U.S. sector boundary.