Ku-gugugugu!
咕咕咕咕！
Like a breaking glass, the sky above cracked apart with black lines running through it.
就像一块破碎的玻璃，天空裂开了，黑色的线条贯穿其中。
Yi Hyeon-Seong stared at the heavens filling up with rifts and asked me. "Sergeant Kim Dok-Ja-nim? Are we really going to be alright?"
李贤成凝视着天空，裂缝不断，他问我。“金德仁中士？我们真的会没事吗?”
"…."
"...."
I too had to look up after listening to him. The world seemed to be crumbling down.
听了他的话，我也不得不抬起头来，世界似乎正在崩溃。
The reason for that was clear - someone was attacking <Oz> from the outside. Not just anyone, but incredibly powerful beings, no less.
原因很明显——有人从外面攻击奥兹。不是任何人，而是难以置信的强大存在。
I turned back and discovered my companions looking at me; Yu Jung-Hyeok, Han Su-Yeong, Yu Sang-Ah, Jeong Hui-Won…..
我转过身来，发现我的同伴们都在看着我，俞正赫，韩素英，俞相娥，郑慧媛..。
I didn't have to say it, but we already knew what our choice would be.
我不必说出来，但我们已经知道我们的选择是什么。
"It'll be fine. Do you think I'm a sergeant just for a show? Don't worry about a thing."
“会没事的。你以为我当警官只是为了表演吗?什么都不用担心。”
*
The sky was breaking down. Yet, how could he say it was all fine?
天快塌了，他怎么能说一切都好呢？
Yi Hyeon-Seong couldn't quite understand it. Was the military originally like this?
李贤成不太明白，军队原来是这样的吗？
⸢Kim Dok-Ja simply smiled quietly.⸥
金道子只是静静地笑了笑
A calm, collected smile floated upon his face.
他的脸上浮现出平静而镇定的微笑。
Sergeant Kim Dok-Ja would only say this. "Even the squad leader will tell you it's fine."
金道子军士只会这么说，“连班长都会告诉你没关系。”
Indeed, the squad leader really did gather the soldiers in the training ground a short while later and began her speech.
的确，班长不久就把士兵们聚集在训练场上，开始了她的演讲。
She might be small-statured, but still, was overflowing with charisma. With an unreadable expression on her face, she scanned the rest of the troops and opened her mouth. "Your squad leader, me, is really disappointed in you."
她也许身材矮小，但仍然充满了魅力。她脸上带着难以辨认的表情，打量着其余的士兵，张开了嘴。“你的班长，我，对你真的很失望。”
That unexpected opening caused the soldiers to tense up.
这个意外的机会使士兵们紧张起来。
"You have not read webnovels during your downtime."
“你没有在休息时间阅读网络小说。”
Yi Hyeon-Seong inwardly flinched. It was true. Even yesterday, he didn't read webnovels during his break but practised the military gymnastics routine with Yu Jung-Hyeok.
李贤成在心里退缩了一下。这是真的。甚至在昨天，他在休息时间也没有看网络小说，而是和俞正赫一起练习军事体操。
"And so, this squad leader is planning to leave this base."
“所以，班长正计划离开这个基地。”
Yi Hyeon-Seong became stupefied by that unexpected declaration.
李贤成被这个意想不到的声明弄得目瞪口呆。
….She was leaving? Hushed murmurs could be heard coming from here and there.
...她要走了?从这里到那里都可以听到安静的低语。
"And Yi Hyeon-Seong."
“还有李贤成。”
When he regained his wits, she was already beside him, her hand resting on his shoulder.
当他恢复了理智，她已经在他身边，她的手放在他的肩膀上。
"Private second class Yi Hyeon-Seong, ma'am!"
“二等兵李贤成，女士!”
This would be his first time seeing her up close. Her name and rank could be seen on top of her neatly arranged uniform.
这将是他第一次近距离看到她。在她整齐的制服上可以看到她的名字和军衔。
Captain Han Su-Yeong - that was her rank, and her name.
韩素英上尉——这是她的军衔，也是她的名字。
⸢"How long are you planning to stay dazed? You better start moving! You wish to see Kim Dok-Ja kicking the bucket?"⸥
“你打算呆多久？你最好开始行动！你希望看到金道子死去吗?”
Why was this? For a moment there, a stinging pain accompanied a set of strange memories brushing past his mind.
这是为什么呢?有那么一会儿，一阵刺痛伴随着一系列奇怪的记忆掠过他的脑海。
What was that just now….?
刚才那是什么...？
"Look, you're stupefied again."
“瞧，你又昏头了。”
"P-Private second class Yi Hyeon-Seong!"
“二等兵李贤成!”
The squad leader stared at him with unreadable eyes before lightly patted him on his cheek. "You better read more books, okay? You're slow, so you simply have to read lots more books. You'll survive for longer that way."
班长目不转睛地盯着他，然后轻轻地拍了拍他的脸颊。“你最好多读点书，好吗？你很慢，所以你只需要多读一些书。这样你才能活得更久。”
Squad leader Han Su-Yeong left behind indecipherable words and left the base.
班长韩素英留下了一些听不懂的话，离开了基地。
*
Two days after Captain Han Su-Yeong left.
韩素英船长离开后两天。
The cracks in the skies were growing larger. It was like seeing the first signs of a world coming to an end.
天空中的裂缝越来越大。这就像看到了世界末日即将来临的第一个征兆。
"Yi Hyeon-Seong, have you memorised the exercise routine yet?"
“YiHyeon-Seong，你记住这个练习了吗?”
He looked behind to discover Private first-class Yu Jung-Hyeok.
他回头一看，发现了一等兵余正赫。
"Private second class Yi Hyeon-Seong! I've memorised everything!"
“二等兵李宪成!我什么都记住了!”
"You've filled up the army-issue canteen, too?"
“你把军队用的食堂也装满了?”
"I've filled it up with exactly two litres!"
“我刚好灌满了两升!”
Yi Hyeon-Seong felt a bit scared by that pair of sharp, angry eyes. He hadn't made any mistakes, yet they remained critical.
李贤成被那双锐利而愤怒的眼睛吓了一跳。他没有犯任何错误，但他们仍然很挑剔。
"What about the barracks code of conduct?"
“营房行为准则怎么样?”
"P-Private second class Yi Hyeon-Seong!! T-that, I haven't….!"
“二等兵李贤成!!那个，我没有...!”
The moment he said that, he inwardly went, oops, I'll get scolded again. He swallowed nervously and just as he tried to squeeze his eyes shut, heard Yu Jung-Hyeok's voice.
他一说这话，心里就想:哎呀，我又要挨骂了。他紧张地咽了口唾沫，正当他试图闭上眼睛的时候，听到了俞正赫的声音。
"You should be able to memorise it soon. It's not that long, anyway."
“你应该很快就能记住它了，反正也没那么长。”
"….Pardon? Ah, you must've heard me wrong. No, I have not…!"
“......什么?啊，你一定是听错了。不，我没有......”
What on earth was going on here? He made two consecutive mistakes just now, yet Yu Jung-Hyeok didn't criticise him.
这到底是怎么回事，刚才他连续犯了两个错误，但是俞正赫却没有批评他。
Not only that, those scary eyes were no longer angry when looking back at Yi Hyeon-Seong.
不仅如此，那双可怕的眼睛回头看着李贤成的时候也不再生气了。
"I will be shipping out tomorrow."
“我明天就要出发了。”
"….I don't quite follow, senior?"
“我不太明白，长官?”
"Yi Hyeon-Seong, you can't refer to the field manual on everything. You won't find a senior willing to aid you every single time."
“YiHyeon-Seong，你不能什么事都参照野外作业手册。你不可能每次都找到愿意帮助你的高年级学生。”
Why was this?
为什么会这样？
Why did Private first-class Yu Jung-Hyeok's back turning around to leave feel so familiar to him?
为什么一等兵俞正赫转身离开时，他感觉如此熟悉？
"There will come a time when you must make a choice not found within the manual."
“总有一天，你必须做出手册中找不到的选择。”
Those were the last words left behind by the Private first-class Yu Jung-Hyeok.
这是一等兵俞正赫留下的最后一句话。
*
Members of the squad began disappearing one by one. First, it was Captain Han Su-Yeong, Private first class Yu Jung-Hyeok, followed by Lieutenant Yu Sang-Ah. When he regained his wits, the non-commissioned officer, Sergeant first class Jeong Hui-Won had become the squad's top presiding commander. (Even though the situation made no sense, Yi Hyeon-Seong told himself it couldn't be helped because it was emergency.)
班里的成员开始一个接一个地消失。首先是韩素英上尉，一等兵余正赫，随后是余尚雅中尉。当他恢复了理智之后，士官上士郑惠元成为了班里的最高指挥官。(尽管这种情况毫无意义，李贤成告诉自己这是不可能的，因为这是紧急情况。)
Yi Hyeon-Seong's daily tasks after performing the morning and evening roll call were to check the base's infrastructure or accompany Sergeant Kim Dok-Ja to the barracks' library.
YiHyeon-Seong在早晚点名之后的日常任务是检查基地的基础设施或陪同中士KimDok-Ja去军营的图书馆。
"The military nowadays even stock wuxia novels? Wow, this is a really old book, too."
“现在的军队连武侠小说都有?哇，这也是一本很老的书了。”
Kim Dok-Ja loved books. Actually, it went beyond a simple love affair - he was the kind of a man who spent the whole day reading books.
金道子喜欢读书。事实上，这不仅仅是一段简单的恋情——他是那种整天读书的人。
Yi Hyeon-Seong would sit next to him and quietly observe him excitedly flip the pages.
李贤成会坐在他旁边，静静地看着他兴奋地翻页。
"Don't you want to read, too?"
“你不也想看书吗?”
"Uh, no, I, I'm…."
”呃不我我...”
Before Yi Hyeon-Seong could reply, yet another boom spread out from the sky.
李贤成还没来得及回答，又一声巨响从天而降。
Kim Dok-Ja's expression faintly hardened.
金道子的表情略显僵硬。
When the boom was heard for the first time four days ago, Captain Han Su-Yeong went away, and after the second boom two days ago, Private first class Yu Jung-Hyeok disappeared next.
四天前第一次听到轰隆声时，韩素英上尉走了，两天前第二次轰隆声过后，一等兵余正赫下一次就消失了。
Yi Hyeon-Seong grew restless.
李贤成变得焦躁不安起来。
"Kim Dok-Ja Sergeant-nim."
“ Kim Dok-Ja Sergeant-nim。”
"Ng?"
“ Ng? ”
"By any chance, are you also leaving, sir?"
“您是不是也要走了，先生?”
People were leaving him behind. He was continuously losing something.
人们把他抛在身后，他不断地失去一些东西。
Kim Dok-Ja smirked softly. "Probably. I'm a sergeant already. I gotta get discharged soon. I'm definitely not planning to make a career out of this place."
金道子轻轻地笑了笑。“可能吧。我已经是中士了。我马上要出院了。我绝对不打算在这个地方开创事业。”
"…..I see."
“我明白了。”
"You also want to get out of here as soon as possible, right?"
“你也想尽快离开这里，对吧?”
Yi Hyeon-Seong was about to reply with, "Yes, I do", but then, his eyes suddenly caught the sight of barbed-wire fences outside the windows. They looked so sturdy and intimidating.
李贤成正要回答，“是的，我愿意”，但是，他的眼睛突然看到了窗外的铁丝网。它们看起来是那么的坚固和令人生畏。
Why did he feel this, though? He felt fearful of going outside those fences.
但是，他为什么会有这种感觉呢?他害怕走出那些栅栏。
"I…."
“我...”
If he carelessly went beyond the fences, he'd definitely get hurt. However, they would become barriers protecting him as long as he stayed inside.
如果他不小心越过了栅栏，他肯定会受伤的。然而，只要他呆在里面，他们就会成为保护他的障碍。
When he thought like that, he felt his heart calm down.
当他这样想的时候，他感到心情平静下来了。
The skies were falling. There was an unknown world outside where code of conduct for living in barracks or the military gymnastics exercise held no meaning.
天空正在坠落。外面有一个未知的世界，在那里生活在兵营的行为准则或军事体操练习毫无意义。
He shifted his gaze back to discover Kim Dok-Ja staring at him. The sergeant's lips bobbed up and down as if he wanted to say something, but then, a sly grin suddenly formed on his lips. "Hey, if you wish to leave, you better read more books, man."
他把目光移回去，发现金道子正盯着他。中士的嘴唇上下起伏，好像要说什么似的，但是突然，他的嘴唇上露出狡猾的笑容。“嘿，如果你想离开，你最好多读点书，伙计。”
"….Will reading lots of books reduce the period of active service?"
“......阅读大量的书籍会减少现役时间吗?”
Kim Dok-Ja's lips twitched after hearing that question. "Reading a book and writing a report on it might be enough to get you a vacation."
金道子听到这个问题后嘴唇抽搐了一下。“读一本书，写一篇报告，可能就足以让你得到一个假期。”
A book report?
读书报告？
"See, there will be a book report contest being held within our division. Read that and apply for it. If yours get picked, you'll get time-off as a prize."
“你看，我们分部将举行读书报告比赛。读一读这篇文章，然后申请。如果你的孩子被选中了，你就可以得到假期作为奖励。”
The noticeboard Kim Dok-Ja pointed at had a poster advertising the army's book report contest. Yi Hyeon-Seong learned for the first time that such a thing existed.
KimDok-Ja指着的布告板上有一张宣传军队读书报告竞赛的海报。YiHyeon-Seong第一次知道了这样的东西的存在。
Ah, so it was true, this book report thing. If he wrote that, he'd be able to earn some time off the base.
啊，原来这个读书报告的事是真的。如果是他写的，他就能在基地外赚点时间。
"When you're finished, you gotta let me read it, okay?"
“等你写完了，你得让我看看，好吗?”
It was after the following morning's roll call that sergeant Kim Dok-Ja had vanished.
第二天上午点名之后，金道子军士就消失了。
*
"It's only us two remaining, so who cares about daily tasks?"
“现在只剩下我们两个了，谁还在乎日常工作呢?”
Sergeant first class Jeong Hui-Won grumbled loudly.
军士长郑辉元大声抱怨。
Yi Hyeon-Seong smiled sheepishly and pulled out weeds growing near the base. "Well, we don't know what might happen, ma'am. The squad leader might suddenly return, and…."
YiHyeon-Seong羞怯地笑了笑，拔掉了基地附近生长的杂草。”“嗯，我们不知道会发生什么事，夫人。班长可能会突然回来，然后......”
Jeong Hui-Won sat on a bench and while resting her chins on her hands, watched Yi Hyeon-Seong as if he was a mysterious new lifeform.
郑慧媛(JeongHui-Won，音译)坐在长凳上，双手托着下巴，看着李贤成，好像他是一个神秘的新生命。
"Do you like this place?"
“你喜欢这地方吗?”
The usual Sergeant first class wouldn't have used such a tone of voice. However, her voice still managed to elicit this inexplicable sense of longing in him.
一般的一级军士是不会用这种语气的。然而，她的声音仍然使他产生一种莫名其妙的渴望感。
Maybe it was that longing allowing him to reply honestly right away.
也许正是这种渴望让他能够马上诚实地回答。
"It's neither like or dislike, ma'am."
“夫人，这既不是喜欢也不是讨厌。”
A place that he neither liked or disliked. That was exactly what Yi Hyeon-Seong's impression on the 'military' was.
一个他既不喜欢也不讨厌的地方。这正是李贤成对“军队”的印象。
"Except that, I don't have to think about anything while I'm here."
“除此之外，我在这里什么都不用想。”
That's right - that was the reason why he chose the army.
没错，这就是他选择参军的原因。
While he was here, he could forget about the outside world. Employment, enrolment, gazes of others, issues of the outside world, family affairs, dilemmas he could never solve no matter what he did.
当他在这里的时候，他可以忘记外面的世界。就业、入学、他人的凝视、外部世界的问题、家庭事务、无论他做什么都无法解决的困境。
"….But then, I've been thinking lately that I kind of like it here."
“......不过，最近我一直在想，我有点喜欢这里。”
What did he exactly like about this place, anyway? He couldn't describe it properly.
他到底喜欢这个地方什么?他无法准确地描述它。
⸢"I like you."⸥
“我喜欢你。”
And why did his heart ache so much?
为什么他的心那么痛？
Sergeant first class Jeong Hui-Won looking straight at him suddenly spoke up. "In that case, you stay here, Yi Hyeon-Seong. Wait for us until we come back."
军士长郑慧媛直直地看着他，突然大声说道。“这样的话，你就待在这儿吧，李贤成。等我们回来。”
He couldn't reply with "I didn't quite catch you".
他不能回答“我没有完全抓住你”。
Because he simply couldn't mishear what she was saying.
因为他根本不可能听错她说的话。
"We'll protect your world."
“我们会保护你们的世界。”
The moment he wanted to say something, blinding rays of light poured down from the sky, and the Sergeant first class Jeong Hui-Won disappeared from his view.
就在他想说点什么的时候，一道耀眼的光线从天空中倾泻而下，中士一等兵郑慧媛从他的视线中消失了。
Ku-dududu….
咕嘟嘟..。
Before anyone had noticed it, the cracks in the skies had already swallowed up half of the heavens.
在人们注意到之前，天空的裂缝已经吞噬了半个天空。
And so, Yi Hyeon-Seong became alone.
就这样，李贤成成了孤家寡人。
*
Just what am I doing?
我到底在干什么？
Is this place really an army base?
这地方真的是军事基地吗？
The army that I knew is…..
我认识的军队是..。
Yi Hyeon-Seong repeated his daily tasks and continued to protect the base with no one in it. He woke up at the fixed time, did his roll call, and did the military gymnastics routine. After that, he finished disciplining his mind and began his daily tasks.
