Surviving in the 121st Century - Chapter 55



Only Noblemtl

Only Ramien herself knew how she received Jincheol’s smile.

But the next moment, she wiped her tears, nodded to Jincheol, and silently stepped back from between him and Miguel to stand behind him. She simply stood behind Jincheol, as if she would no longer disturb their conversation. At that moment, she looked like a soldier guarding Jincheol. Oh, she was a soldier.

Jincheol smiled bitterly at his own feelings and turned his gaze to Miguel. Miguel, who had been watching Jincheol and Ramien’s conversation and their gazes very seriously, blinked as if he had come to his senses at Jincheol’s gaze at him.

“Oh, um. Yes. The northern street of Solkain was destroyed, but that doesn’t mean everyone who lived there died. Jincheol was right. Your lover will be alive.”

Ramien, who had stepped back, nodded silently. His clear, shining eyes showed a strong will. Miguel looked into those eyes with a hint of admiration.

Jincheol snapped his fingers in front of him.

“Look. We need to finish our story.”

“···Oh, right. How far did we go in talking?”

“Our White Butcher was on a mission to the Solkain region.”

Miguel nodded, taking a deep drag on the cigarette he was holding.

“That’s right. It probably won’t be hard to find.”

“It won’t be difficult, right?”

“Esai or Olog are too conspicuous among the Rabitos. If they don’t completely leave the area, their movements will inevitably be detected. That’s why Snow had to become a guerrilla. If he didn’t run around the mountains and fields, he would be detected by others.”

Jincheol tilted his head.

“Then isn’t it still running around the field? How can I find it?”

“No. This mission isn’t about destroying military facilities. Besides, the Jasso Federation has already collapsed. Urata hasn’t been able to reclaim the Federation’s territory yet. There’s no one to chase her.”

“Aha. The entire territory of the Jasso Federation is currently a kind of lawless zone?”

The light from the cigarette lit up again. The smoke continued.

“The revolutionaries are doing their best to prevent chaos. But Urata didn’t want that. That’s why he joined hands with Siapo and arrested me. He didn’t want any organized resistance on the land of the Jaso Federation… Damn it, those guys kidnapped Willy’s mother and threatened him. He had no choice but to lead me into a trap…”

Miguel held his forehead and covered his eyes, as if he wanted to hide the emotions that were flowing out of his eyes.

“···Foolish friend. His mother died a long time ago···”

“···”

He put the cigarette in his mouth between his fingers and scratched his eyebrows as if he was confused. There was a red glow around his eyes that was barely visible.

“Anyway, that’s not important right now. What’s important is that Snow is investigating some sort of mass disappearance case near Solcan.”

“Mass disappearances?”

“Yes. It’s almost a village-wide disappearance. Her job is to determine if they’re real disappearances or if they’re refugees from the war. Without a functioning investigative agency, she’s probably struggling alone. Maybe you can help her.”

“What are you doing?”

Miguel smiled, sitting with his knees held high.

“I have business in the south. It’s with Urata. If this business isn’t concluded, this revolution won’t be considered a success.”

“Snow is near Solkain···”

It was the original route. I was planning to find Snow in a crowded place, looking for traces of the rebels, or as Miguel said, the revolutionary army. It was fortunate that the route didn’t change. I could find Ramien’s lover.

Miguel said to Jincheol, who was planning his future journey.

“Are we done with the questions you want to ask me in exchange for my life?”

“One more thing. Have you heard about the meditation meeting?”

“A gathering of meditation? Are you talking about the Vic scholars of the past?”

“that’s right.”

Miguel crossed his arms again, putting the cigarette in his mouth.

“Well… It’s been a few years since they excavated some ancient ruins in Rostang… I haven’t heard any news since the war between Jaso and Urata broke out. The Rostang area was the front line of the war, so it’s been getting very chaotic lately. I haven’t heard any news from the past few months either.”

“okay···”

It seemed like I had to go there to find out. I had to run to Solkain, tell Snow about Ishanka, and then head straight to the city of Rostang.

Miguel smiled faintly as he watched Jincheol organizing his thoughts.

“Are you done now?”

“Oh, I guess so. Why?”

“No. Don’t just leave after the Q&A session is over. Go eat something before you go. I’m planning to fill my stomach before I launch the Comintern.”

Jincheol looked back. Ramien had a look in her eyes that said she would follow Jincheol wherever he went, and Maro looked a little dazed. And Doljumeok had a burning gaze.

He whispered.

“This is your chance to try Rabito’s food. You must try it.”

“···”

What could be different about rabbit food? Last time I saw them, they were eating fish too. Jincheol smiled and turned his gaze to Miguel.

“I’ll eat it all.”

Miguel also smiled and nodded. Is it really that nice to eat together?

*

The meal was nothing special. It was just a hodgepodge of porridge. The only special thing about it was that there were a lot of carrots, but Doljumeok was eating it quite solemnly, as if he was trying to find some kind of secret to its flavor.

Jincheol, who was scraping the bottom of the bowl, narrowed his eyes at the solemnity of the stone fist. It was because he remembered the thoughts he had had while looking at Udim before. A savage who pretends to be stupid. It’s said that you can’t be stupid if you want to live in the wild. Because anyone who doesn’t think well will die.

I got a similar feeling from Udim and Stone Fist, so I felt like I was starting to have some suspicions about the entire Olog race. I thought they were just pretending to be stupid in front of other races.

But then so what? Jincheol shrugged his shoulders and collected his thoughts. If Doljumeok was actually smart, what would be the big deal? It wouldn’t make any difference.

Jincheol put down the bowl he had finished eating from and looked around.

The revolutionary army rabbis were sitting on the floor and on boxes, each emptying their bowls. Some were eating in a hurry as if they wanted to have another bowl, some were eating leisurely while looking around like Jincheol, and some were smoking cigarettes with half of their food still left.

Ramien was also emptying his bowl in the gap, and Maro was following Doljumeok’s solemn meal, glancing at him from the side. With dozens of Rabitos gathered, the sights they presented were vastly different.

And to Jincheol, it was a familiar scene. If the faces of those rabbits were changed to human faces similar to Jincheol, it would have been a scene from a certain moment in the 21st century, a certain place. For some reason, I missed those days that were so shitty back then. It was definitely a time when shelling and death were close.

“···”

Jincheol, who had been looking at the Rabitos for a while, got up. Then he asked one of the Rabitos nearby where he could wash up lightly.

That Rabito pointed to one side of the garrison that was being cleared out, and Jincheol walked towards it.

Miguel, who was smoking a cigarette with his plate half empty, saw the sight and his eyes lit up, then he also stood up from his seat.

“Why is the water coming out so thickly?”

The tank that the rabbits had installed had a faucet, and water flowed out of it. However, Jincheol felt that the water flowed out too slowly.

“···No. This should be enough for them.”

As Jincheol was wiping the soot off his face while confirming the differences between races, he heard Miguel’s voice from behind.

“Esai is comfortable. The skin is smooth and dries quickly even after washing.”

“If you do that, other races will all be similar.”

Jincheol, who had already heard him approaching, answered without even turning his head. Miguel stood leaning against the water tank and spoke to Jincheol, as if he found him strange.

“But you are Esai, right?”

“why.”

“That’s right, the Esai I know have purple skin and ears that are considerably long, although not as long as ours.”

Jincheol answered without stopping washing his hands.

“Even snow is white.”

“She is literally just like Esai, only with different skin and eye color. She is quite different from you.”

“That’s right. I’m not Esai.”

“···then?”

Jincheol’s hand wiped away the moisture from his face.

“I am the last survivor of a pure-blooded warrior race.”

“···Battle, what?”

“A fighting people. A long time ago, there was a fighting people who fought and fought so much that they even destroyed themselves.”

Miguel, who had been opening his eyes wide, looked back at Jincheol, who was smiling brightly, and only then did he realize that he was joking and laughed.

“Hahaha! A warrior race that even destroyed itself? That could apply to our Rabito too.”

“I see.”

As Jincheol was about to answer blankly, Miguel nodded.

“If our Rabito society is like this, it will collapse on its own, if not immediately, then soon. How long can the shallow propaganda called the General Myth serve as a guidepost for the Rabitos? The end will be nothing but a cliff.”

“Well, I don’t know enough about Rabbit society to judge that.”

“Then how about we find out together?”

What? Are you telling me to join the revolutionary army now? Jincheol replied with a weak laugh.

“I’m not a rabbit, and I don’t have any connection to this place. I was going to leave after taking care of my business, so what’s the point of getting to know each other?”

“How long has it been since you came to this land?”

“Me? It’s been three or four days now.”

“···Then, did you meet the pilot of the Jaso Federation?”

“It’s been three days since then.”

As if those words were some kind of signal, a strong desire appeared in Miguel’s eyes.

“Wow, that’s amazing. In that short amount of time, you’ve managed to get the pilots of the Jaso Federation out of General Donchava’s shadow.”

“Donchava is dead.”

“···what?”

Jincheol shrugged his shoulders and said.

“It was attacked and sunk by the Urata battleship off the coast a few days ago. I don’t know how many survived there.”

“her···”

Miguel looked down at the floor with a blank expression, perhaps shocked by the news. Then, he looked back at Jincheol with a bitter smile.

“I thought so, my foolish friend… But a general who has already fallen is not important to us right now. Anyway, what do you think of my proposal? If you join our revolutionary army, you will be a great help to us. Either in your fighting ability or in your ability to make people follow you.”

Miguel, who dismissed Donchaba as foolish, asked Jincheol again. Of course, asking him several times would not change his mind.

“I have my own work to do. And the Federation has already collapsed, right? So what we need now is administrators, not combatants?”

“To be exact, I need a revolutionary. A leader of the revolution who will destroy the bizarre generalism that is currently spreading throughout this continent and liberate all the Rabitos. I need a comrade like that.”

“That’s me?”

Miguel’s glaring eyes looked at Jincheol.

“I gained confidence from the way you woke up the pilot of Jaso who had fallen into sorrow a little while ago. The one who can give the Labitos of the continent who have fallen into sorrow and lethargy the power to defeat the general and build the country with their own hands! I saw a glimpse of that power. Between you and the pilot of Jaso.”

“···”

It was a time when little rabbits talked about revolution. It wasn’t funny. Although they were small and timid, these rabbits were a smart race with amazing technology that could launch airships. So it wasn’t strange that such a revolutionary appeared.

But Jincheol did not look up to or despise the revolutionary. He just looked at him as he was.

“Ramien said you were a true Marxist.”

“···Hmm, I don’t know how much you know about the myth of Rabito, but unlike many people on the continent who think all the world’s misfortunes are just Marx’s curses or pranks, he was a real person, and he wasn’t the devil either.”

Miguel answered the somewhat unexpected question obediently. It seemed like he thought that was a way to persuade Jincheol.

“Many generals call Marx a demon, a devil, a great evil spirit, and define him as a mythical evil of their own making. But I am sure that none of these generals know the real Marx. Otherwise, such descriptions of a ‘winged monster’ and a ‘demon who spreads darkness’ would not have come about.”

Miguel lowered his voice a little.

“I’ll tell you just for you, when I was younger, I saw a real fragment of Marx in some underground ruins. It was an ancient document, even older than the forgotten empire. Much of it was lost and much was unintelligible, but I could understand it from that fragment alone.”

“what?”

“That this land needs a revolution. That the generals sitting on top of the heads of the other rabitos will eventually be dragged down and executed by all of them. That the current generalism will eventually collapse by the violent weapons they wield. That at the end of the revolution, all the rabitos will lose is the generals’ chains, and what they will gain is the entire world.”

Jincheol looked at Miguel quietly. The philosopher and his thoughts from ten thousand years ago were manifested to Rabito, who was here now, after overcoming many years and adversities. Of course, there were many parts that were transformed and selected, but in any case, the roots were there.

So what should Jincheol do when faced with that?

What are you doing? It’s been over ten thousand years since I learned about Marx and the Communist Party, so I can barely remember them. Jincheol said with a bitter smile.

“So, shall we join the revolution?”

“That’s right! You can give freedom to all the Rabitos on this continent!”

“What’s after freedom?”

“···next?”

In response to Miguel’s wide-eyed question, Jincheol straightened the sleeves of his clothes that he had rolled up and spoke.

“Don’t tell me there will be a paradise on earth. Even if the general disappears, the fight will not disappear. You can bet my wrist too.”

“Anyway, it’ll be much better than it is now!”

“The world may be like that. What about you?”

Miguel frowned and tilted his head.

“Me? Why me?”

“Couldn’t you be a new general in that new world?”

“···!”

Miguel’s ears and hair stood on end, and his eyes grew wide. Soon, they became piercing eyes. An intense light blazed from their pupils.

“···Are you saying that I will eventually turn into the same as those damn monsters?”

There was great anger and disgust in his soft voice. He seemed to be very angry, perhaps because Jincheol’s words were so insulting. However, even in the face of that anger, Jincheol spoke calmly.

“There is a saying that those who fight monsters should be careful not to become monsters themselves. I know of a few people who, at first, fought against evil foes with the purpose of fighting them, but later on, they simply became cruel to them out of hatred. They became as evil as they were, or even more evil than they were.”

When the war broke out, when the nuclear bombs exploded, the Korean and Allied forces who lost their loved ones felt a strong desire for revenge. And while most of them used that emotion to end the war, some simply used it to kill their opponents.

Even though they were not soldiers, they pressed their opponents by making excuses that were indistinguishable, such as having different nationalities, different skin colors, different appearances, and different bloodlines, and eventually killed them. Some even mocked the corpses and proudly displayed them.

If it weren’t for the war, these young men would have been ordinary college students. They would have been crazy about idols, but they cheered when they saw the hanging corpses. Jincheol stood there in a distance, watching the scene.

Damn, I even thought of useless things. This is so fucked up. Excellent. Jincheol swept his wet hair back and tied it up roughly.

“Don’t be certain that nothing will change. If nothing changes, then the freedom you speak of will not come.”

“···”

Perhaps because he felt that Jincheol’s words were not simply intended to mock him, Miguel relaxed his eyes that had been burning with anger and looked at Jincheol as if he could not understand.

“Then? What do you think I should do? After all, shouldn’t someone lead the revolution?”

“Why are you asking me for the answer? Think for yourself. I’m not your answer sheet.”

“···”

Jincheol, who had roughly finished washing up, started to leave the tank with a leisurely gait. Miguel just looked at him with confused eyes, unable to catch him.

But as Jincheol was leaving, he suddenly stopped and looked back at Miguel.

“But why a pig doctor? You don’t look like a pig.”

“···At first, it was just a false rumor spread by the Jasso Federation to discredit my medical degree. They said I wasn’t a real doctor, but a veterinarian who only cared for pigs.”

“But what kind of symbol did that actually become?”

Miguel nodded. Jincheol sniffed and thought. There seems to be pigs here too. How different are they from the pigs of the past? If I do this well, I can eat pork belly?

After talking up to that point, Jincheol turned around and left. Miguel was deep in thought and just quietly watched him walk away.

*

The Revolutionary Army’s mechanic was an old man with a short stature and a thick beard, shorter than the average Rabito. He fixed Jincheol’s motorcycle neatly and said.

“Take it easy. It looks brand new, but why did you break the wheel screws while doing something stupid?”

“It just so happened.”

Jincheol sat on the saddle. It was the same feeling he had when he first rode. It was really good. He looked around and saw Doljumeok sitting in the truck driver’s seat, Ramien in the passenger seat, and Maro in the back seat. The three of them were also looking at Jincheol.

“Okay. Let’s go.”

Jincheol, who said so, started the two-wheeled vehicle and rode ahead. The Doljukkeok truck also followed behind him. They started going back up the valley road they had come down.

For a moment, the rocks, strata, and dirt that I had already seen once continued. Jincheol, who was running in front, stopped for a moment and looked back.

The revolutionary army’s airship was rising over the valley.

As seen below, although its size was not as big as the general’s flying battleship, its densely packed appearance reminded him of a small destroyer. Jincheol looked at the busy moving rabbits from the airship’s window, smiled, and turned around again.

The airship headed south, and Jincheol and his party headed east. They each went their own way through the valley.