As the AP soloing match gained momentum, with even official broadcasts starting to cover it, there was one name that drew the most attention: Yujin.

Her prowess, which had spread quietly through tournament rankings and whispers within a few teams during scrims, was now fully revealed without any filters during the preliminary rounds.

The reaction was a mix of shock and excitement.

Most professional gamers—unless they were an exception—were also highly perceptive, and only the most proactive among them were quick to voice their admiration for her.

Specifically, it was the pro players from SSM Entertainment, as well as those from other teams who had participated in the same scrims as Yujin, who were the first to speak up.

"Yujin, Coach? Oh, I knew this would happen. That person is just... um. I’ll stop here. If I can give you any advice... you’d better break your preconceived notions."

—SSM.

"It was chaos from the very first scrim, honestly. Looking back, it’s a bit of a shame. If Xi had been there... Anyway, as I just mentioned, even though there were doubts, there was a lot of talk from the beginning. We all saw this coming."

—Xi.

"She’s not human... Ah, I feel like I’m going to get into trouble later for saying this. Can you edit my comment?"

—Even Dice had something to say.

As Yujin started attracting attention, comments made not long ago were quickly unearthed and became popular clips. The conditions were perfect for her popularity to grow. The nature of the AP mode, which allowed for showcasing individual physical prowess, played a significant role as well.

Considering that becoming famous often requires both personal effort and external recognition, Yujin was on the verge of becoming a golden goose, whether she liked it or not.

She had become a subject of conversation not just among viewers, but also among professionals.

However, Yujin had never been one to act according to others' expectations. She was known for not being swayed by popularity or external praise. The flashy tactics of boosting viewer numbers with extravagant headlines didn’t suit her at all.

Whether people came or went, she didn’t care. If they came, they came; if they left, they left. Even when swarms of new viewers bombarded her with countless questions, she responded only with bullets.

"There's a grenadier and a sniper dog on the left. A drone operator on the right. Prioritize them and take them out as quickly as possible. Even if you retreat, always think about where and how to establish your front line while fighting."

"Oh, this is going to make my head explode...!"

"Everyone has to do their part."

No matter what others said, she remained focused on completing the main mission and nurturing newbies.

[General Chat] "Doesn't Yujin know how to strike while the iron is hot?"

Insert random reaction image

"If I were her, I'd be spilling all kinds of stories and thinking about which team to choose and how to negotiate the salary. It's so frustrating to watch her waste time with some newbie on missions. I'm out."

[All Comments][Sorted by Newest]

• "LOL, do you really think that if you post something like this, others will stop watching too?"
• "Don’t watch then~ There are thousands of others who will."
• "Fact) They won’t stop watching." ㄴ "True lol." ㄴ "The contrast between the crazy stuff she does in the actual match and her laid-back approach in solo streams is what makes it so entertaining, idiot."
• "Actually, it’s better now because she keeps her professional and personal streams separate."
• "People like this are always toxic in general chat, lol. They wouldn’t dare reveal their in-game nicknames." ㄴ "Obviously trolling, who would take the bait?"
• "But honestly, I do wish she’d play the PR game a bit more. It’d be nice to hear about her matches and whether she’s thinking of going pro or not." ㄴ "She’ll probably talk about it in the chat later. If she’s grinding missions right now, who would want to answer those questions?" ㄴ "Agreed."
• "Arrogant and conceited Yujin... is it possible...?" ㄴ "Uh?????" ㄴ "Anyway, these pervs are always trying to project their fantasies onto her lololol." ㄴ "Noted, you have good taste." ㄴ "At least we know you’re a walking testament to the dangers of virtual reality."
• "Pro Tip: You can’t enter the finals unless you finish all the main missions and hit max level." ㄴ "Is reaching the finals a requirement? lol." ㄴ "If she’s this wild in the prelims, how could she not make it to the finals?" ㄴ "I can’t wait to see the other teams’ reactions to Yujin’s tactical hammer style lol." ㄴ "We’ll see a Yujin Hammer Reaction Compilation soon."

 

"You're spending a lot of time upstate New York these days."

"Artemis PMC's base is nearby. If you follow the lakeshore west for about 300 kilometers, you'll reach Niagara Falls."

"Oh, I want to visit!"

"I haven’t been there, so I don’t know. Is it even in the game?"

• "Nope, lol."
• "Natural scenery + a huge waterfall = server lag nightmare."
• "Even if Icarus dumped all their money into servers, that’s still too much, lol."
• "I can hear the servers crashing already, lol."
• "Real-time implementation is impossible."

 

As with many games, Dark Zone had a story and a timeline—at least when it came to the PVE aspect.

If the tutorial was about forming a temporary team of one or two people and making it safely to Central Park HQ, the next step was cleaning the streets by taking out gangs and escaped convicts roaming the area.

After that, players gradually moved on to taking down airborne units and special forces from Russia or China, until mid-game, where they first encountered Artemis PMC, who used even more advanced technology.

As I mentioned before, these were the guys who had taken over the once tech-rich Upstate New York, killed anyone who got in their way, and looted everything to secure resources and technology.

They were dangerous for obvious reasons, but there was one more reason why they couldn’t be left alone.

*[ISO: Good. It looks like you’re almost at your destination. Since the Geiger counter isn’t going off, it seems the SCRAM procedure worked smoothly here. Or the last ones on duty shut it down manually.]
*[ISO: That’s Nine Mile Point Nuclear Power Plant up ahead. Its biggest claim to fame is being a pain in the ass to manage—or you could say it’s because it’s in Artemis’s territory.]
*[ISO: The even worse news is that this is why elite agents like you are being sent there.]

"A Geiger counter... isn’t that for detecting radiation?"

"Correct."

"They’re sending us to another hellhole just because there’s no one else available."

"Hey, watch your language."

• "LOL."
• "She’s turning to the dark side, lol."
• "Where’s the innocent rookie who used to drop her magazine and go ‘huehue’?!”
• "Yujin devoured her. Grab some popcorn."
• "The light in her eyes is fading lolol."

 

It wasn’t exactly wrong.

The nuclear power plant looming ahead was massive, and there was no way just two moderately armed people could cover the entire facility. Plus, the fact that Artemis personnel were already swarming the place was a strong selling point.

No need to ask what it was selling.

The Little Bird helicopter carrying the Geiger counter dropped us off quickly near the plant. The reason was simple: if the nuclear plant melted down, no one could survive approaching it. The counter was brought along to detect radiation levels in advance, barely scraped together.

Either way, it was a nostalgic moment. Not only because I’d actually carried out a similar operation in the past, but also because it gave a glimpse into the overwhelming authority of Icarus operators.

As Halo Jensen, a former Delta Force operative who was the team leader, once said, being authorized to attack something as significant as a large ship or a nuclear power plant signified the importance of the individual.

In short, each Icarus operator held authority beyond Tier 1 special forces.

With camouflage activated, we stepped into the eerily silent expanse of the nuclear power plant grounds.

"It feels like I’m seeing all sorts of strange things when I’m with you."

"The difference is, whether you live or die in those situations often depends on whether I’m there or not."

"I can’t deny that...."

• "Confidence."
• "She’s so damn cool, Yujin!"
• "Fact) It just means there are tons of deadly situations."
• "No matter how much she tries to sound cool, it’s not working (while peeing themselves)."
• "I don’t know about that, but is this place going to blow up too?"

 

"Aquarium-Chain-Explosion-Master Yujin donated 10,000 won."

• "Never mind, looking forward to today's nuclear power plant explosion ^^"

 

"...If this place blows up, it’ll be a disaster. Don’t jinx it."

...After escaping by collapsing the ceiling where all the water pipes crossed last time, I had to watch helplessly as yet another bizarre nickname was added to my already too-long list of nicknames.

The nickname of the donor who just came in... if that person were here, I’d flick them on the forehead. What a shame.

I took a small breath and checked the message that had just arrived before entering the building.

[Alert: Preliminary Rank - 1 hour and 20 minutes remaining until the virtual reality session begins. If you do not enter the invited session, you will not be able to play the game, and you may face penalties accordingly.]

"Hmm."

"Is something wrong?"

"Just a moment."

With that, I began to think through various hypotheses in my mind.

It was awkward to cancel the mission after coming this far. But the one-hour time limit was tricky. I wasn’t sure if I could complete this mission within that time.

If I recalled correctly, the last time I did this mission, it took about an hour. But that was with team members who had more combat experience than I did.

Even though this is just a game and not as brutal as real life....

On a whim, I asked.

"Harmony."

"Yes...?"

"Can you try to match my pace, just as a test?"

Pace.

It didn’t just mean running at the same speed—if she couldn’t keep up with my level, unlike before, I would shout and repeatedly give instructions to ensure she kept pace.

Of course, I’d consider her limits, but it was going to be a tough time for Harmony.

I intended to stay focused down to my very last nerve.

She nodded slightly, with a determined yet uncertain expression.

"I’ll try."

"Good. Let’s go as usual."

Then straight ahead.

Several patrols at the entrance to the parking lot.

From now on, all operations would proceed based on my commands and the images I transmitted.

"Three ahead. Take out the one on the left. On my signal. One, two, three."

"...!"

───Thud!

A muffled sound as the shots passed through the silencer.

But there was no time to rest, no slowing down. I spotted more enemies about 20 meters to the right, distracted.

At the same time, I identified another patrol rounding the corner on the left.

"Take out the left."

"Got it!"

Pew.

As the trigger was pulled repeatedly, the enemies fell like marionettes with their strings cut. The right side was handled swiftly, but the left side was slightly slower, leaving about 1.5 enemies still standing.

The "0.5" was an injured enemy.

I quickly finished them off and added:

"Don’t slow down, let’s go."

"Ugh, why are we suddenly going so fast?"

"Sorry. I don’t have much time before the next preliminary rank session."

"...Of course you don’t."

As we crossed the parking garage, Harmony just gave a resigned look as if to say, "I should have known."

Her ordeal was only beginning.