The Genius Mecha Pilot Wants to Survive - Chapter 08

Gaspaeng Defense Battle (1)

‘Ah, this is what you call a credit card. It’s an item where the ‘me’ of next month pays the bill instead.’

As I swiped the card, shouts of “Thanks for the meal!” came from behind.

The base pub was packed with soldiers, creating a noisy, bustling atmosphere. It felt a bit like something I’d only seen in American movies.

Of course, not everyone was enjoying it; some had disappointed looks on their faces.

‘Because they lost…’

James and I acted as team leaders, splitting everyone in half to hold a betting match. We made sure to properly divide the squad members between those who had been to the battlefield at least once and the newbies.

Since we didn’t divide them based on precise shooting scores, there was a bit of luck involved, but it was balanced better than I thought.

Except for me.

The team members who had come with high expectations after hearing about my performance on the previous battlefield were deeply disappointed by my shooting skills, which were inversely proportional to my Titan piloting skills, and they had to open their wallets little by little.

‘Ah, well, you guys should’ve shot better~’

As I sat down with a non-alcoholic beer, James immediately struck up a conversation.

“You’re not very good with a gun, are you.”

“Well, you can’t be good at everything. That reminds me. How about we spend our evenings like this starting tomorrow?”

“Hm?”

“We can have group shooting bets and build some camaraderie. And while we’re at it, you can teach me some shooting.”

“Oh, if you become famous, can I say I was your shooting mentor?”

“If I still can’t shoot by then, I’ll make sure to go around telling everyone you’re my mentor.”

Making jokes, James readily agreed. Most of the squad members also gave the okay at his words.

“Hey, can we join in on what you guys were just talking about?”

Surprisingly, that wasn’t the end of it. A few people from other squads who had been quietly listening in on the noisy atmosphere spoke up, asking if they could join in too.

In a way, it was obvious. Those who had experienced the battlefield must have felt the need to improve their skills even a little. And those who hadn’t were just as anxious.

Even if that wasn’t the case, they probably thought it wouldn’t hurt to be on friendly terms with a famous Titan pilot. Though some guys were probably just enjoying the atmosphere.

‘Well, it’s good for both James and me.’

For James, it’s a two-birds-one-stone opportunity to train his squad members and build camaraderie. For me, it’s a two-birds-one-stone opportunity to tag along and practice shooting, while also securing an infantry unit that can escort me to my Titan when things go down in the evening.

I can even secure a mounted gun in advance for shooting practice. The army on this course doesn’t have a system where gun lockers are locked or keys are kept in the command and control room.

Because guns are supplies. Literally supplies and personal equipment. If you want, you can carry them around all the time.

That doesn’t mean response in an emergency is fast, though. Because, in reality, there are few cases where people carry them around like that. The reason is, well, they’re heavy.

Anyway, because of that, I could skip the time spent running around trying to find their guns after an attack, and it would be perfect for taking them straight to ride the Titans.

It felt like I had cleared one hurdle.

‘If only the modifications are done on time….’

Morning dawned. Since this was an advanced, lax unit with no roll calls, and since personal maintenance was pretty much all there was to do on Gaspaeng anyway, I slept in late.

Last night, I barely managed to escape the macho guys trying to force-feed me alcohol by using my injury from the previous battle (which didn’t exist) as an excuse.

‘I made it through the day safely.’

It’s not like I’m playing Mafia, but I get filled with worry as the night passes. Even though it was late into the dawn and almost everyone was asleep, making it seem like there wouldn’t be any problems, I couldn’t help but toss and turn.

I got up, stretched, and did squats, push-ups, burpees, and so on.

Afterward, I looked at the maps and crammed the terrain into my head.

After lunch, I headed to the [Maintenance Shop] again. The afternoon was another day of being a maintenance soldier.

After coming back smelling full of oil, I had a shooting bet with James and his crew.

“You’re putting too much strength into your arm. Try to relax a bit.”

Listening to a few tips, I practiced to master them.

In the standing position where I couldn’t brace my arm, my accuracy started to rise quite a bit with single shots rather than bursts.

Afterward, I had a light drink while eating dinner. I still gritted my teeth and held out with non-alcoholic drinks.

And when I went to bed, I tossed and turned until dawn, and the day ended as I fell asleep.

The next day was the same routine. And the Titan’s modifications were almost finished. In terms of completion, it was over 90%?

“It’s almost done, how about we finish it all up today?”

Feeling uneasy, I asked right away. But the answer that came back was cold.

“Hey, do they pay me more for working more? You gotta rest when it’s time to rest.”

“Are you a machine fetishist or something? Just the other day you were saying you’d sleep inside the Titan.”

It would be finished if they just did a little more. Seeing them put off work like this, I started to suspect that the reason they couldn’t win against the Kilug was because they were lazy.

But what could I do? I grumbled and moved on for the evening schedule.

There were already many people at the shooting range. I saw James and greeted him happily.

“James, are you ready to pay up today too?”

Our team won yesterday. It was thanks to dividing the teams appropriately based on the first day’s results.

The number of people, which had increased compared to the first day, all headed to the shooting range together. It was about 2 to 3 squads’ worth of people.

It was just about when the shooting training, where we split the teams in half, was ending.

Kwa-gwa-gwang!! It was different from the noise of the shooting range. It was the sound of something exploding, not gunfire. Even though the gunfire was a bit louder because it was heard from a distance, that sound didn’t get buried and struck our ears clearly. Not only that? It delivered a strong vibration that shook the ground.

The same expression appeared on everyone’s faces. Something happened. Something exploded.

I knew what it was. It must be a Kilug attack.

As expected, the lights installed everywhere blinked red, signaling an emergency situation.

[Ah, actual situation occurring. Actual situation occurring. Kilug attack alert. Kilug attack alert.]

Everyone’s faces began to be painted with shock and fear.

No matter how hard they train in shooting, it doesn’t mean they gain the ability to deal with emergency situations. Since most of them are new recruits, fear and anxiety swirled around even more.

“First… we need to find the Company Commander and figure out the situation…”

“No, forget it. You guys follow me.”

“Wait, is that okay?”

“It’s an emergency situation.”

First, I headed to the shooting range management office. There were many other people at the shooting range besides us, but since everyone was heading outside the shooting range instead of to the management office, the front of the management office was empty.

“Salute, 3rd Fleet. Titan Pilot Sergeant Mitchell Lee.”

“Salute. It’s suddenly a mess.”

“Yes, given the situation, I’d like to get some ammunition.”

“Ammunition from the shooting range is not allowed to be taken out…”

[Emergency situation occurring! Emergency situation occurring! Multiple Kilug infiltrations confirmed inside the base. All troops are to arm themselves quickly and defend their strongholds under the command of their respective commanders. Repeating once more. Multiple Kilug infiltrations confirmed inside the base…!]

Just then, the broadcast announced the situation in more detail. It wasn’t just an attack coming from the outside; the situation was that they had already entered the inside.

It was a broadcast that added to the confusion inside, but… since the situation was such that it wasn’t even clear exactly where they had entered or which zones they were in, it couldn’t be helped.

“Uh, th-then, defend this place…”

“We are from the Space Coalition Army 13th Fleet. As we came to wait before the nest assault, protecting the ship is the priority before that. If the ship is destroyed, the nest assault itself will be delayed by a long time.”

The troops at Gaspaeng Base include some Space Coalition Army, but they are mostly Planetary Defense Forces. The Sergeant managing the shooting range is the same. The military lines are completely different, and since the Coalition Army is actually larger, it’s impossible to give orders recklessly.

In the first place, the Planetary Defense Forces are likely natives of this planet. That means they would be reluctant to have the nest assault delayed.

“However, if we encounter nearby troops on the way to join our unit, I will request them to defend this place.”

If he were to insist otherwise, it would be for his own immediate self-preservation. When I mentioned that, his expression brightened.

“Ah, I see. Then I’ll leave it to you.”

“We are heading to the 4-3 [Maintenance Shop].”

“Hm?”

Everyone was surprised by what I said after leaving the shooting range.

The sight was quite ridiculous. We had packed full of ammo from the shooting range, but I was the only one who had put on something like a combat vest. As a result, they were forcing magazines into their pockets or pants. Also, some were even carrying the ammo boxes themselves.

“Shouldn’t we join up with the main unit first?”

“How do you know where the main unit is? It’s evening, so everyone is scattered.”

“That’s…”

“The place where the most soldiers are gathered? Or the room where the Fleet Commander is? But what if they aren’t in the room?”

“True, since communications aren’t working properly.”

Whether the Kilug destroyed the wireless communication relay separately, or because wireless contacts were swamped all at once, contact via terminals wasn’t working. So, messages were only coming through the base broadcast.

“Our ship is completely far away, so are we going to go there on our own? We were lucky enough to grab ammo. There must be tons of people who still need to grab their guns right now.”

“That’s true.”

“So we have to go to the 4-3 [Maintenance Shop]. My Titan is there.”

Hmm. James pondered for a moment and then said okay. Actually, I was planning to push him with my rank if he didn’t listen, so it was a relief.

“We will escort Sergeant Mitchell Lee to the maintenance shop. The first goal is to get Sergeant Mitchell Lee into his Titan there! Understand?”

“Yes!”

A loud shout of determination was heard. Now that it was wartime, everyone looked like they had their discipline tightened up.

‘But aren’t some of these guys not his squad members?’

Even so, they were following James well as if he were their leader. Well, it’s a good thing from my perspective.

“Damn, the Company Commander still isn’t answering. I’ll try sending texts every now and then, so let’s get going. You know the way, right?”

“Of course, let’s just go straight this way.”

Shortly after we started moving, I saw soldiers wandering around in confusion. Or civilians in the base. I briefly told them the way to the shooting range.

“We haven’t encountered any Kilug while passing through. The path is safe, so please arm yourselves at the shooting range first.”

In the case of the shooting range, there are quite a few temporarily stored guns, so they should be able to arm themselves.

Meanwhile, the noisy announcement broadcast and red lights were still there. It was a useless broadcast that made things more confusing, and in fact, it was so loud that it even interfered with listening for audio cues.

However, the command center wasn’t stupid either, so they soon started broadcasting by dividing it into zones.

[Gather and defend under the control of the highest commander in each zone…!] [Gather and defend under the control of the highest commander in each zone…!]

At first, a blanket order came down, then,

[Transmitting to Zone 2. Transmitting to Zone 2. Zone 2 troops are to assemble at the nearest location among the Zone 2 Command and Control Room, 2-A [Living Quarters], 472nd Armored Unit, 472nd Transport Unit, or Zone 2 shooting range. Transmitting once more….]

They designated assembly points for each area. Following that, additional announcement broadcasts started to come out.

[Kilug confirmed in 2-B, C [Living Quarters], 2-A, D [Vehicle Depot]. Kilug confirmed in 2-B, C [Living Quarters], 2-A, D [Vehicle Depot].]

They were informing us every now and then which building or zone the Kilug bastards had appeared in.

And because of that, a problem arose.

“If it’s 2-C [Living Quarters], isn’t that this way?”

“Right, it’s on the way.”

Kilug appeared in the direction of the shortest route to the maintenance shop.

“What are you going to do?”

James asked me. I’m trash at planning routes…