Life inside the Dimensional Gate was quite far from comfort.
"Comrade Commander, another food shortage has occurred! If this continues, it is certain the people will rise up in revolt!"
"High Command bastard, then launch another rocket made from the people's blood and rice!"
Their former enemy had frequently attempted deliberate space exploration to concentrate attention, chanting "Boohoo, rice rice rice!"
It certainly kept the soldiers restricted from going out and on edge with rifles in hand, but.
"Since when did the word 'alert duty' become a death game for survival?!"
Kraaack--!! Kyaack!!
Like watching some Japanese masterpiece, a one-versus-one-hundred game of hide-and-seek against monsters cheering at prey entering their territory.
Finding comfort at the absolute front line of front lines, where something like that was treated as "alert duty," was out of the question.
Of course, today as well, some great organization of the great hypnosis app, "If You Get Hurt, It's Your Kid," was spreading propaganda.
"Haha, our soldiers can enjoy the latest equipment and amusement even at the very front lines, you know?"
They were trying to bury their heads in the sand, but reality had always been this way.
"Fuck, emergency alert! All-out firepower! Get in touch with the artillery! We need firepower to annihilate them right now, more than an Awakened unit!"
Even as the desperately running young man continuously begged into the radio to have those monsters turned into minced meat for the sake of exorcising them—
"You crazy bastard, if we fire artillery at this hour, more will swarm here hearing it! Reconnaissance is supposed to operate on minimum noise from the start!"
"You selfish bastards, so it's fine that our unit gets deployed at this dawn and ground up in succession?!"
In an era where erasing the minor under-drawings with an eraser to see the big picture was a given, people had to be ground up—what else could be done?
The fortunate thing was, he didn't know whether they lacked patience or stamina, but...
Before he knew it, half the pack gave up the chase, saying they wouldn't eat him because it was too disgusting to bother.
Only the pack with angry expressions—whether out of persistence or spite—was still following him.
'...Fuck, fine. At least there's a forest I know nearby, so it's at least a shit-flavored-curry situation—that is, edible.'
Barely, it seemed today wouldn't be the day he smelled the thick scent of incense from behind the folding screen.
"...Krrk?"
The monsters that had been tracking the vivid yellow footprints, shaped exactly like combat boots, on what had been grass.
Crunch...!!
The moment they entered the thicket, dyed green before they knew it, to catch that prey and annoying hider—
Forest—no. By the time the screams vomited out by the plants filled their ears, it was already too late.
In the hide-and-seek of childhood, if the gap grew wide enough, one would eventually end up taking the opposite position after surrendering.
A bizarre phenomenon that even a high-ranked entity would have turned tail and fled from at the very first step unfolded before their eyes.
"Ah, there aren't many forests left in the operational radius now... Is this okay? Eh, whatever."
Literally, energy squeezed dry from every single nearby plant was sucked into one person like a whirlwind.
Grrrr...?
Even if that energy couldn't be seen with the eye, instinct rang an emergency alarm.
They began convulsing at the fact that the tiny prey had transformed into a predator.
Just as the tree leaves gradually faded in color, the monsters' faces began turning pale as well.
A unit composed solely of humans who, if the situation and conditions were right, could fight bare-handed against monster grubs without much issue.
That he was patrolling "alone" even in this ragtag special conscription unit filled only with ability users was proof that much trust had been built up.
He diverted all the energy of the drained plants into bodily hardening and reinforcement.
He didn't know how such a thing was possible, but it had just worked since the day he first awakened, so he just did it.
'Uwaaak, my succulent--!! This bastard repays kindness with enmity?! Die!'
'Your form looks very go... Kuaaaack, you crazy bastard! You don't need to do that torture treatment there--!!'
The ability that had taken, as its first victim, the military doctor's pet plant—which had created new flesh within bloody foam in exchange for excruciating pain—
Having gone through the natural process accumulated over time, it filled his body to the brim with energy.
"Huuuaht--"
A haymaker punch flew faster than the sound bursting from his clenched teeth.
Paaang--!!
The kiai shout a person could produce was buried and erased by the shockwave that battered through the sound barrier head-on.
The anti-slip gloves he wore had already been torn to shreds and scattered into the air from the moment his fist accelerated.
Even if the monster couldn't know his heartbreak as his precious gloves—bought by scraping together his already meager salary—were torn apart.
FWOOOACK---!!
The monster struck head-on by this attack could at least take comfort in the fact that it wouldn't end up looking any better than those flying rubber scraps.
Even if it had taken the hit on raised-arm guards, it would've been beyond recovering the corpse.
The final destination of this fist was a vital point among vital points; by human standards... the solar plexus.
Before the fist even arrived, pushed by the energy that faintly coated the fist, leftover even after bodily hardening.
If one had seen with the naked eye the monster's flesh, which began bulging out exactly opposite the caved-in solar plexus—
FWOOOAACK---!!
That observation point was still nothing short of a kill zone.
Shrapnel—no, scattered bones—boasting organs and bones to the world, made of monster body material, engulfed the fellow monsters behind.
The shattered "things that had been monsters" hurtled toward the relatively softer parts of the other monsters.
As they began crashing into the enemies in the rear who couldn't react, retaining the speed from bursting out—
KHUHEOEONG---!!
The secondary victims standing behind the primary victims who couldn't avoid instant death had no choice but to collapse, clutching the areas where the debris had lodged.
Thanks to the poor monster barrier standing in front, the monsters who still had intact limbs tried to turn and flee in a hurry, but...
"Where are you going, you bastards. I still have a few hits left."
Because if he went back, another trip to the infirmary was certain due to the ability's rebound; Gim Chomok's venting of anger was only beginning.
Not long after, in the forest where the monsters' screams could no longer be heard.
As if paying compensation with generous bio-fertilizer seemingly made for the withered forest's nutrients.
After the young man who provided it as repayment for the plundered energy disappeared.
Slurp...
The parched earth, grass, and trees in need of energy began hurriedly sucking up the bodily fluids pooled on the ground.
At this point in time, not even a year since the Gate had opened.
That ecosystem was still something unknown.
Though one wouldn't know until they drained it, the coniferous forest that had more or less finished recovering rustled its leaves with a swishing sound.
***
"Owowowow... I'm dying..."
After the battle, Gim Chomok, who returned spewing curses, was lying in the familiar infirmary again before long.
"Goodness, I think this has become your home now. Right?"
"Ack! Don't press my muscles! This crazy quack sits there torturing me when I told him to recover my muscle fibers!"
He had to pay the price for achieving the feat of breaking the sound barrier at the tip of his fist, something not even most boxing champions could do, in excruciating pain.
Of course, Gim Chomok's ability, "Plant Plunder," was an ability that tremendously helped his self-recovery as well.
"...Slurp."
Naturally, it would be possible to recover by slurping up surrounding plants like glucose IV fluids or candy, but...
"...Don't look at my Succulent No. 2 with those eyes. Won't you turn your eyes away, you bastard?!"
Smack!
"...Can't I just cut off and absorb a bit of the overflowing arm section... Ack! I said it hurts--!!"
It had been ages since trees lush enough to form a forest had all been cut down to bring container quarters and place them on top.
It had also been ages since all the remaining grass near the unit's encampment had been thoroughly drained for nourishment every time he ran an operation.
Moreover, no matter how relatively warm it was inside the Gate, the current season was winter!
"Come on, really. Being so stingy... Aren't people the priority? If Hippocrates saw this, he'd bite his tongue first, no?"
What could be done? He just had to smack his lips while looking at the only plant left in the unit over there.
Of course, if a patient lying down with full-body muscle pain and partial muscle ruptures were to face a military doctor who was a torture technician, the winner was obvious.
Tak, tak...
"If you don't lie down on the bed right now, I'll make you a cripple."
Heaven knows where he'd picked it up, but he was holding a chunk of metal with something heavy attached to the end, claiming it was a golf practice tool.
"...Oh my, of course. How could I dare talk back to the Captain? I must obey orders... ha... haha."
The god of medical institutions—what else could one do but obediently listen to what the doctor says?
Screech...
Through the window that had been installed saying they needed sunlight even though the building was made of stacked containers, the sound of a truck braking could be heard.
"Huh? The Golden Chariot is here. Hey, don't cause trouble and just lie down watching TV or something. I'm making my rounds!"
"E-excuse me, please buy me some instant noodles too... Hey! You bastard--!! Did you even hear me!"
Staring vacantly at the medic who disappeared saying he was going to check the freezer rather than eat crappy field rations.
Beep!
- Breaking news. Today, Canada has once again faced a state of national crisis and is consulting on conventional military reserve buildup...
"...If you don't buy me anything until I get up, I'll have to vent my anger by munching on that succulent's arms."
Thud!
The poor young man's consciousness began slowly sinking beneath the surface, together with the sound of the news.
***
The more time passed since the Gate incident, the more people began to suffer.
Administrative processing capabilities of all kinds were disappearing in proportion to the number of problems that existing laws couldn't resolve!
Even the Korean government, whose land was on the smaller side, had it so hard that it had to endure by grinding down the human resources it needed to protect.
"Our country is really finished, is this even a country... Huh?"
Talking about one's misfortune only gained legitimacy if it was a tragedy of considerable scale.
"""You bastard, we have more Gates than you and a smaller population relative to our land area--!! You overfed bastards, really!"""
If one looked only at overall wounds, it was at the level of falling off a bicycle and getting scraped and hurt.
Wasn't it the level of whining "I'm having such a hard time" at someone else's funeral?
From the perspective of nations that had been overturned while riding a motorcycle,
it was an attitude so rude that they would think, 'What kind of bastards like that even exist...'!
The larger a country was physically, the more overflowing troubles it had!
There were countless nations that had gone right to the brink of paralysis, so how happy a nation Korea was!
"Our ancestor Sunzi said, if you have ten times the troops, surround them! Wipe them out!"
"Our Indian region may lack weapons, but do we lack people? Send them armed with tandoor skewers if you have to!"
Yes, well, at the very least, China or India, whose land was vast and populations overflowed, could more or less endure.
On the contrary, were there really no cases where the land was extremely vast but the population was completely empty?
"Damn it! Hold firm! If the rear breaks through, this country is effectively finished!!"
"Damn it, we should've accepted more immigrants and increased our population from the start!"
Canada, ranked 4th in area, suffered the humiliation of being pushed back entirely except for cities near the US border due to its shrunken population relative to its size.
""First, let's stop squabbling among ourselves and take care of that side first!""
The two cold countries that had been waging war desperately had to hurriedly sign an armistice due to the intervention of a suddenly surging third force.
"We'll abolish the White Australia policy, simplify immigration procedures, everything! Just save us!!"
"Yeah, no thanks. You bastard! Anyone can see it'd be a death sentence to go now, so why the hell would we?"
Australia, which had more wasteland than inhabited places, had barely managed to preserve only its coastal cities by effectively building walls.
"We thought you were only bad at soccer, but turns out you're useless in defense too, you Argentine bastards. Sign quickly."
"Messi is... below... Pelé... keuheuk!"
"Yeah, if the World Cup doesn't happen after this, you'll never surpass him in your lifetime. Watch your step!"
Having barely survived thanks to Brazil, whose population exceeded 200 million, Argentina clutched a heart more bitter than its ruined economy.
But then again, it's not like nations that held out well had no problems either.
India and China, with their vast populations, had quite literally succeeded in maintaining their major cities by grinding people down, but.
"...Did I mishear that? In this unprecedented crisis, what?"
"Intellectuals and young people are fleeing across the border en masse! It's already exceeded one hundred thousand!"
In an era where lives were traded anyway, the power of patriotism marketing had faded long ago.
One might even call it the butterfly effect brought about by information exchange faster than that of previous generations.
"...Kgh, these crazy bastards!! They're traitors to the nation! Drag them all back by force on sight!!"
The bare minimum of patriotism springs solely from the conviction that "the nation won't abandon me."
It isn't something born from the belief that, if push comes to shove, you'll be dragged before monsters to serve as potential food and human shields.
Perhaps it might genuinely come from the heart if one were a privileged elite with substantial wealth in hand or invested in this country, but.
"Fuck, is this right in a country that can't even issue proper weapons?"
"If we went to those rich countries and held out just the same, wouldn't we be able to enjoy a much better life than now?"
For the class where visible hierarchy remains very much active, or who can't even enjoy anything resembling freedom, such things are a luxury.
- Shocking! Numerous gunshots heard again today near the Chinese border... Whether it's monster extermination or suppression is still unknown...
- Following the Boat People, China's Great Age of Navigation has dawned once more... Australia has announced that it welcomes them...
- "I don't want a life risking my neck for mantou and pickled vegetables"... Chinese government denies refugee exodus!
"Halt! You are currently crossing the border without authorization! Failure to comply with this warning may result in immediate firing..."
"Some Wang Badan bastard is throwing a fit, you think I'll just stand here and take a bullet?!"
At a time when the energy of the existing surveillance society was already being sucked dry by dimensional gates.
Now, at every single border region, a situation had developed where stemming the outflow of people was impossible without additional funding.
Would collapse from internal contradictions come faster, or would maintaining the nation by catching all the monsters and closing those gates come faster?
"...M-My dictatorship...!! My dream of eternal power...!!"
The difficulty level of life for countless saplings dreaming of permanent rule had shot up in an instant.
There was even a somewhat yellowed sapling among them that had succeeded in hereditary power transfer—a relatively successful one, in its own way—but.
As food prices soared, and the costs of various resources rose even higher.
To the dilemma of a people who had accumulated grievances and risen up, and monsters invading through gates that opened in places where governance didn't even reach.
A certain puppet government on the Korean Peninsula, whose national situation spun amusingly in real time.
Was surviving, enduring painful day after day.
"Comrade Leader, the Southern bastards continue to refuse reception of our transmissions..."
"Try, try again! Didn't I tell you to keep at it until I receive it! If necessary, fire off a rocket or something!"
Standing in a position desperately begging for help from the Korean government, which had fallen and sat rubbing its leg and sniffling.
The crippled, illegitimate government was still shouting, "We are open for business as usual!"
While continuously waiting for a reply that would never come, even if called out to the empty air.
- Next news: The North Korean spokesperson stated again today that the North's projectile demonstration is a legitimate act for national security...
Beep!
"Hey, get up! I bought some ramyeon and a few frozen things."
"Kya, loyalty is everything, right? Sergeant Jeong. No one can match you! You're the real deal!"
"...Argh, how long has it been since this crazy bastard cursed me out, and now he's brown-nosing without even changing his expression."
On this hellish Earth, a young special forces operator belonging to a country that was at least decent for people to live in, his right arm in a sling, relentlessly stuffed fried chicken into his mouth.
"Ah, eat the ramyeon too! Don't finish the frozen stuff first! Seriously!"
"Eheh, I don't have much left until discharge! Once I'm out in society, I won't even remember what this tastes like!"
Though both individuals were dreaming dreams that would ordinarily never come true.
Well, the act of dreaming is free no matter where you are, isn't it?