“Ah….”

 

As if a paused video resumed playing, my interrupted consciousness reconnected in the dimly lit room where sunlight faintly entered.

 

The once unfamiliar ceiling of this room, which I was gradually getting used to, was white.

 

The ceilings I remembered had changed many times, and this was the fourth.

 

The first was…

 

Like the semi-circular multi-person tents used by dispatched units in Afghanistan, covered with thick, heavy cloth, with incandescent bulbs hanging from the ceiling.

 

And the folding field bed, roughly covered with cloth on a plastic frame.

 

That often broke under my weight.

 

No privacy, no protection from heat, cold, sand, noise, or screams.

 

It was a place where nothing could be stopped.

 

– Rustle.

 

It wasn’t a very smooth night, considering I had ended the day with a refreshing workout.

 

Eventually, last night passed that way.

 

I lifted the blanket and got up, carefully pulling my tail out from the hole. I opened the window and let out the air that had accumulated overnight.

 

In fact, it was just as hot outside, so it made little difference.

 

My gaze naturally shifted.

 

“Man, what a mess….”

 

The computer screen, which had to remain on for a while, was a chaotic sight.

 

Pop-ups were intentionally left open to display the status of numerous ongoing sub-projects.

 

Next to several slowly rising percentage bars were remnants of yesterday’s activities. Unfortunately, despite the grandiose appearance, nothing was progressing smoothly.

 

This too would be resolved with time.

 

I sighed and opened the refrigerator, finding it full of fast food I had packed yesterday.

 

The best part of my current body was that I didn’t gain weight no matter how much I ate, but on the downside, my wallet was quickly emptied.

 

As I stared at them for a moment, numerous price details and yesterday’s expenses floated in front of my eyes as holograms.

 

Seeing the total consumption cost easily hit hundreds of thousands of won made my head throb.

 

Even if I got the payment certificate authenticated, I wouldn’t have to worry about money issues, but that required either waiting for a long time or renting or buying a server.

 

And for that, I needed money, which required… a payment certificate authentication.

 

This was the biggest problem I faced now.

 

What a disastrously broken Möbius strip this was.

 

Fortunately, if there was one consolation,

 

“…Ah, delicious.”

 

It was that freshly heated, piping hot pizza was truly delicious.

 

That alone was comforting.

 

*

 

According to Robert Neller, the 37th Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, who had long since passed away in the world I was in until recently,

 

Korea was an ideal place for training because it was hot in summer, cold in winter, and had steep terrain.

 

To be blunt, this meant that Korea was a perfect place to turn people crispy on the outside and moist on the inside.

 

And in the middle of August, in the height of summer in Korea,

 

Under the scorching midday sun that baked people’s exteriors with sunlight and steamed their insides with 100% humidity,

 

Even dogs, who couldn’t resist a walk, struggled against the temperature outside on such a crazy hot day.

 

“Ih, the weather is really nice.”

 

I was one of the very few people who didn’t mind wandering around.

 

It was warm and humid, so I didn’t feel bad.

 

In the past, I wouldn’t have even thought about going outside in this weather without turning on the air conditioner inside for even a second, but at least now I didn’t have to.

 

…Of course, on the flip side, in winter, I couldn’t survive without the heating function.

 

Was this the fate of a snake?

 

Anyway, despite the weather, the heart of Seoul was still bustling with people.

 

The urban scene, with dozens of people per 100 square meters, felt paradoxical to me.

 

Why couldn’t I adapt to the fact that there were so many people in the city?

 

Maybe it was because I had spent so much time wandering through the giant coffin called the city.

 

…Even with the miniaturization and extreme advancement of scanning and unmanned reconnaissance technology,

 

Urban combat in large cities showed a casualty rate so high that it was fair to say it ground down the agents.

 

Thousands of hiding spots in one building, and just as many places to stick out a gun barrel.

 

Therefore, my eyes continued to scan my surroundings without rest.

 

…To be honest, I felt empty. The lack of the weight of a pistol and magazines on my thigh felt too foreign.

 

But considering my current state of mind, if I had actually brought them, there was a high chance I would have drawn them impulsively and gotten arrested…so it was probably better to feel a bit uneasy.

 

So, what was I doing now?

 

“….”

 

I was just walking and thinking.

 

The computer at home was set to perform calculations until its components wore out, and my parents had taken the TV when they moved to another place after I went missing.

 

You might think I could just look at my phone, but that would make me lazy.

 

In short, this was a kind of… habit I had developed.

 

Early on, when I first joined ICARUS… during a terrible winter when the term “reserve personnel” was about to be erased from the dictionary due to a severe manpower shortage.

 

There were so few people that even field agents had to inspect facilities throughout the night and check if surveillance thermal equipment was working properly, essentially standing guard.

 

As people, the most important component of the city, disappeared, the light pollution that invaded the sky vanished, leaving only the brilliant starlight to illuminate Central Park.

 

Looking up at the clear winter night sky, I had many thoughts while pretending to inspect the facilities.

 

The habit of organizing my thoughts while walking had formed back then.

 

“───Customer number 118, your chocolate shake is ready!”

 

“Oh, yes. Thank you.”

 

…Of course, it was a bit too hot today.

 

Even an anaconda couldn’t help it if it got too hot.

 

I received my drink and sat by an empty window. Outside the large glass, I could see people busily moving despite the hot weather.

 

As I enjoyed the taste and aroma of the sweet chocolate drink sliding down my throat, a message popped up in front of me.

 

– $4.55 expense confirmed

 

– Total: $165.55

 

The linked account was American, so the unit was in dollars….

 

Anyway, the small amount left in my American account, which I finally managed to link with this world today after waking up, was usable here without issue.

 

It was fortunate that it was managed directly by the state rather than a commercial bank.

 

If I had hacked into a major corporate security system like Chase Bank with ICARUS… there could have been chaos here.

 

Anyway, a nationwide, super-legal hacking tool received as a reward for dedicating myself to the reconstruction of a nation was… acceptable?

 

– Thud.

 

“Oh, what is… Ah, I’m sorry!”

 

“Oh, I was blocking the way.”

 

At that moment, I felt a sudden touch and turned around to see someone struggling because my tail was blocking their path.

 

I rarely wandered around such crowded places, so… no excuses.

 

I quickly withdrew my tail to clear the way.

 

“I’m sorry. I was momentarily distracted.”

 

“Ah, haha. It’s alright. You have… a very beautiful tail.”

 

“…Thank you.”

 

It had been a while since I received a compliment like this.

 

In an instant, all the gazes in the store focused on one point. The dozens of eyes subtly shifting with every slight movement of my tail confirmed this.

 

Someone once said they would get a pet snake to talk to when the world settled down. Wonder how they’re doing.

 

As I returned the empty drink cup and stepped outside, a blast of hot air hit me.

 

After aimlessly wandering and consuming some sugar, my mind started working, but I had nowhere to use it. It was quite a pity.

 

In fact, it was unavoidable. Taking a walk essentially meant I had nothing major to do.

 

The outside was still hot, and people on the main street were trying to beat the heat in various ways.

 

Anyway, I felt like I had just wasted money by coming out. I hadn’t expected to gain anything, but I also didn’t want to spend unnecessarily.

 

While considering going for an early workout,

 

– Multiple personal firearms detected within a 50m radius.

 

“Firearms?”

 

Firearms in the middle of Seoul?

 

But my gaze naturally followed the line displayed in the air,

 

“…Oh.”

 

And at the end of that line were the five seductive letters: Gun Range.

 

Drawn by the allure of those words, I naturally moved my steps.

 

* * *