REIWA JIGOKUHEN - Chaotic Disturbance of Reiwa Era

Chapter 91 - Fluctuation

I was mistaken about the update date by one day. My apologies to the dear readers.

- Kujaku Aoi

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Long Beach, California: Harbor Area

Between the docks and the horizon, there was a line of vessels that, for this time period, were tremendously large. RORO vessels, of which there was a good percentage, entered the harbor one after another, unloading men and equipment to control the southern part of California. There were tanks, armored fighting vehicles, trucks, trailers, and special construction equipment, so there was never a dull moment.

Nevertheless, the sight of a swarm of unmanned combat machines made the onlookers feel somewhat funny. Vulnerability, as discussed in the 21st century, cannot exist in this world. Moreover, since they were not designed for use against weapons of their own era, it was said that they can be greatly simplified in design. Therefore, unmanned weapons were being mass-produced at a furious pace, and they could be brought in and used as much as they pleased. Their main tasks were to sweep urban areas and guard transportation routes, but there was also a plan to have small groups of unmanned vehicles infiltrate the enemy's rear and engage in fully autonomous network guerilla combat.

"Should they be unmanned?" Captain Mizukami of the Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade muttered.

It was a line from a science fiction novel that had been serialized since before he was born. Fighting in a strange world, but the enemy was not an unknown alien entity but a too-known human being, which was why there was no hesitation in going unmanned. In fact, it was more efficient to use computer algorithms rather than the intuition of humans who have undergone long and rigorous training.

And this fact made him want to kick the machine with his boot. An efficient, deathless, and very gratifying war was just around the corner. Not just the glitter and magical beauty, but the emotionless detachment of war itself.

"I wonder if we're all going to be retired soon."

"It will be fine at least until the time we retire, I guess."

The owner of that nosy voice was his junior, Captain Onoda.

"It is the role of the infantry to occupy the land, as the old saying goes."

"Occupy, huh?"

After replying, Mizukami looked behind him.

Occupation is to act as the most familiar absolute military mechanism for those who live on the land. He remembered reading something like that in a book he read a long time ago, and he saw prefabricated buildings made in Japan in the vicinity of the harbor. For example, can the act of clearing forests and turning them into fields be considered an occupation of the forests? And as for the locals—no, he didn't even want to think about that.

"Uhhh, well, that part is a bit sensitive," Onoda bitterly chuckled. "Landing operations are probably the hardest job to mechanize. They say the land is the most difficult to systematize, but it is by far the most difficult of all."

"I see that too. But there's something about it that hooks me."

"Why don't you eat something sweet and think it over? I heard that there is a US Navy ice cream machine lying around in the warehouse, so you can enjoy the flavors of this era."

"You sure be very conscious about that, OnoJun," Mizukami said, totally not being sarcastic.

The future is uncertain, and words such as future and tomorrow are shaky by definition. If that is the case, there is no other way but to be a kind of transient moment. After coming to this conclusion once again, Mizukami decided to do as his junior offered.