The person who had restrained me from acting.  

Seo Su-hyeok, he was capable of pulling off that task.  

“I don’t mean to boast, but I believe I possess the abilities befitting a squad leader. My life, while not as valuable as the captain’s, still holds a high worth in the unit…”  

“Worth. You calculate the value of soldiers’ lives one by one, don’t you? The division commander is 100, the squad leader is 10, and the soldiers are 1. Is that how it is?”  

I had thought I needed to address this guy’s attitude at some point.  

I didn’t know today would be the day, though.  

“That’s not how you live, Corporal Seo.”  

To be honest, he’s often been irritating.  

“….”  

The guy who closed his mouth strongly focused his gaze on me.  

I’m not so oblivious as to not understand the meaning behind that gaze.  

I’m a Sergeant, and he’s a corporal.  

Regardless of our ranks,  

in terms of power within the unit, the corporal class and above is often seen as the real powerhouse.  

After all, he’ll be serving in the military longer.  

Even so, though.  

‘Insubordination.’  

I never expected to experience this in my military service.  

“H-hey, calm down! Seo, you too! Talking to the captain like that isn’t right.”  

Sensing the tense atmosphere,  

Corporal Jeon Gwang-il stepped in to separate Seo Su-hyeok and me.  

As Gwang-il was being pushed aside, Seo Su-hyeok shouted:  

“Hmph. In that case, we’ll have to withdraw from here. While those vampire bastards keep increasing, our own force enhancement without the tanks will be delayed.”  

“….”  

“All because of those military guys who attacked us, people we’ve never even seen before. What admirable benevolence. I don’t know if anyone will appreciate it, though.”  

“That’s why you should listen to the whole story.”  

Watching the retreating guy,  

I opened my backpack.  

In one corner,  

I spotted a small glass bottle.  

“I said I’m against a frontal assault, not that we’re retreating.”  

[Ingredient Identification (Enhanced)]  

[Blue Water Droplet]    

[Freshness – Moderately High]  

A slime-like monster that lurks in the supermarkets, hunting the survivors who come.  

It wasn’t a particularly high-level monster.  

The stat boosts from cooking with it were negligible, and I couldn’t obtain any meaningful properties, so I hadn’t used it.  

However, the actual cooking process wasn’t difficult.  

I just needed to shape the jelly-like droplets into round balls,  

and sprinkle some brown sugar, honey, and soy flour on top.  

[Blue Water Droplet Cake prepared by an Intermediate Chef]  

The appearance was similar to the once-popular “droplet rice cakes”.  

Since not much effort went into it, this wouldn’t provide an incredible stat boost or anything.  

‘This should be enough.’  

I recall the information on the Blue Water Droplet.  

[Blue Water Droplets are magical organisms with the ability to mimic their surroundings to lure prey]  

If it works as intended,  

I should be able to obtain the desired effect.  

I tossed the completed droplet into my mouth.  

It had a sweet, jelly-like taste.  

[The effect of Absolute Palate has been activated]  

[Please select a trait.]  

The various traits were displayed before me.  

I selected the one I was looking for.  

[The selected trait has been acquired]  

[Trait – Environmental Camouflage]  

Gradually,  

my body started to become transparent.  

Soon, I disappeared completely from sight.  

“Captain Shin has…”  

“Disappeared?”  

Judging by the soldiers’ reactions, the effect seems to have worked.  

Even those military personnel wouldn’t be able to fire on an invisible enemy.  

‘If they’re fellow soldiers like us, they have no reason to attack us.’  

For that reason, I have to investigate this matter myself.