Fenrir Translations
They say that even a dog can recite poetry if it spends three years in a temple.
This proverb suggests that anyone can adapt over time. However, perhaps not enough time had passed, as Yujin's editor was still struggling to keep up.
This was evident in the fact that Yujin consistently delivered a slew of legendary moments in every broadcast, moments that most streamers would be lucky to have once every three days. The editor, who also managed Yujin's fan space and was an avid Dark Zone player, understood this all too well.
Whether domestic or international, Yujin's streams produced clips that could easily achieve record-breaking views—clips that transcended typical "montage" or "epic moment" videos. These were not just creative plays; they were the kind of things that left you questioning reality, sometimes to the point of dizziness.
These moments came so frequently that the editor couldn’t handle it all on his own. Although a neatly edited 10-minute video was soon to be uploaded to her channel, it was inevitably delayed due to the sheer volume of content.
So, he opted for a simpler solution.
[Life Hack: If you want to survive when you're cornered, just kill all your enemies.]
YourSpace Shorts.
He began immediately uploading short, 1- to 2-minute edited clips after each broadcast.
These short clips, which took no more than two or three hours to edit and review, offered a significant advantage—first, they kept subscribers engaged by consistently delivering content. Second, by focusing solely on the climactic moments, these clips injected a sense of curiosity into viewers' minds, leaving them eager for more.
Naturally, this also had the effect of increasing Yujin’s stream viewership.
“I’ve watched this like fifteen times and still have no idea what happened, but it’s insane. What the hell is this? LOL”
ㄴ*“Ah, you don’t know? I see… You still know nothing, Jon Snow….”*
ㄴ*“I’m dying to know what happened!!!”*
ㄴ*“She’s like an anaconda, slowly but steadily rolling that snowball lol.”*
"Who knew you could use an armed buggy like this? LOL”
ㄴ*“If anyone predicted this, they’d be a stock trading god, no joke.”*
ㄴ*“She’s mastered the art of the long game, she’s insane….”*
ㄴ*“Why are only you guys having fun? Show me! I want to know! I want to watch Yujin too!”*
ㄴ*“Nah, this is just for us slackers~”*
"I still can’t believe that just a month ago, Yujin didn’t even exist in this world.”
ㄴ*“How did people even live back then? There was nothing this fun.”*
ㄴ*“So true, LOL.”*
"Holding my breath until the full edit drops.”
ㄴ*“This person’s already dead….”*
ㄴ*“Editor, what are you doing!? Don’t you see we’re dying of thirst here!?”*
ㄴ*“An editor who’s suspiciously good at managing expectations….”*
"Who would want to watch this when they only post the best parts? It’s so frustrating, I’m just going to watch the whole stream from the start.”
ㄴ*“LOL.”*
ㄴ*“Another victim heading straight to Yujin’s stream….”*
ㄴ*“Is this how viral marketing works?”*
"This is totally awesome, never seen anything like it, brilliant and full of sparkling explosions. Wanna know how it happened!”
ㄴ*“Anyone else find an English comment?”*
ㄴ*“I just came here cuz of my random YouSpace algorithm and it was worth it, LMAO.”*
ㄴ*“Agree with that, XD.”*
ㄴ*“How did you even find this place, LOL?”*
“The air outside is strangely refreshing, probably because of all the smoke.”
“…Yeah, I’m sure that’s why.”
“Just kidding.”
"ElectroRanger has donated 1,000 won!"
"Is it normal that your jokes remind me of that colonel who loves the smell of napalm in the morning?"
That’s too much.
The world had become such a harsh place. Had the time finally come when my jokes no longer landed? Back in the day, people used to chuckle at my jokes, even if just out of courtesy... Maybe they were just being polite then too?
Anyway, I wasn’t one to force people to laugh. Rather than asking for a laugh, even jokingly, I just kept a mildly sullen expression.
The surroundings were a complete mess. Burned and charred buildings, debris, small flames still crackling and sending out sparks, and countless bodies strewn about. Not that it was overly graphic.
The surprise grenade attack had been enough to send everyone within its blast radius to the afterlife. The vehicle itself was sturdy enough to withstand additional gunfire.
In those three seconds, about twenty of the forty-seven enemies had been wiped out.
Six more, who had been firing back, quickly followed suit, disappearing into polygons. Harmony’s small sticky bomb created a large explosion that took out another four.
That left seventeen. But neither I nor Harmony just stood around sucking our thumbs. Taking advantage of the enemy’s confusion, we opened the bulkhead and began firing, easily dispatching the rest.
Crow had fled with a few of his men, leaving the remaining forces at zero.
“Two people just wiped out a whole company in three minutes. It seems everything fell into place by chance. Either way, it’s a relief.”
“…Wait, did you plan the vehicle ambush?”
“Who knows? It’s their fault for loitering around the vehicle we hijacked.”
It was an unavoidable fact.
Whether they knew it or not, everyone knows you shouldn’t mess around near an ammo dump with fire. In fact, back in the day, it was a common occurrence. Urban warfare was always riddled with booby traps.
Regardless of what others say, survival and achieving the mission are what matter. First, survive. Second, complete the mission. This battle achieved both goals, so the details can be discussed during the debrief.
I had spent four years and two months— the first six months surviving, learning English, and getting to know other survivors—repeating this cycle. At this point, it felt strange to even worry about these details.
So, my brain had already moved on to the next objective.
As memories flashed back quickly, I recalled that the Artemis IFF data indicated there were over eighty personnel deployed here.
We had taken out about fifteen in the backup power facility and forty-five out of the forty-seven waiting outside. That left just one platoon’s worth of enemies scattered around the nuclear plant grounds.
Red triangles marked enemy positions, spread across the nuclear power plant, with the highest concentration in the main control center.
The enemy forces had already been significantly reduced.
“Is your gear still in good shape?”
“Just a moment.”
Click.
Remove the magazine, clear the chamber, perform a dry fire. If all’s well, check the charging handle. If there’s no issue, zero the sights. After checking the weapon, verify the spare magazines on the plate carrier, remaining rounds, grenades, and other supplies.
Since this was a routine, it didn’t take much time.
But unfortunately, there was nothing around that we could use for transportation. The armed buggy we had used earlier and until just a few minutes ago was... well.
“…Wow. It’s unrecognizable.”
“It’s a wreck.”
What could I say?
It was blackened, twisted, and shattered into pieces. All that was left was some mangled metal that might have been the frame and engine, scattered around the area. The floor and walls were severely damaged by the large explosion, and overall, it was not a pleasant sight.
Short but memorable.
There was no time to waste. I signaled to move on foot, bringing up the path to the main control center. It was about a 400-meter walk, but it wouldn’t take long.
The high-powered grenade launcher had shaved off significant time. Fortunately, it seemed we would be able to finish the mission within the time limit.
“Let’s go.”
She was starting to keep pace with me, more or less.
There was still much to improve, but time was on our side—there would be no more life-or-death struggles like before.
With Harmony jogging to keep up, we headed toward the main control center.
Humans are not always rational beings.
And it’s easy to guess when this is most apparent—when they’re cornered, people revert to their most primal instincts.
At the critical moment, they might pull the trigger in a fit of rage or press the detonation button, lighting the fuse to a disastrous mistake. Of course, unlike an actual fuse, instinct-driven actions can’t be undone.
In most situations, this wouldn’t be too dangerous. Even a terrorist trying to blow themselves up can be neutralized with precise shooting.
But if ten cornered people are holed up inside a nuclear power plant control center, things get a bit more complicated.
I wasn’t an expert on nuclear plant structures, but I could imagine that if these lunatics started unloading grenades, rocket launchers, or chainguns into the containment vessels, it wouldn’t end well.
So, there was no room for negotiation with these terrorists.
───Thud!
A heavy recoil struck my shoulder.
It happened several times. This was far from an easy area for a firefight. Without Harmony’s pulse, the guerrilla tactics the enemy used in the complex facility could have caused major headaches.
Even if the firefight wasn’t calm, the approach had to be. Instead of charging in blindly, we carefully eliminated one threat at a time, gradually weakening the enemy’s forces.
Meanwhile, we hacked the facility's security to limit where Artemis PMC could go. The fewer allies they had, the more likely they would take desperate actions—at least in the real world.
Fortunately, they were just a collection of virtual polygons.
Their rigid movements and mechanical tactics, something real special forces would never do, provided us with opportunities.
With Harmony’s coordination, one of us would flush out the enemy from cover while the other seized the opportunity to finish them off. Whether with grenades, sticky bombs, or a well-aimed shot, any enemy who dashed out met a gruesome end.
The final moments of those caught in the crosshairs of the LPVO scope were always the same.
As the frontline moved in our favor, Artemis was gradually pushed back into a single point, signaling the end.
When even the last one was reduced to a lifeless polygon, neither I nor Harmony realized the mission was over, given how less dynamic it had been compared to earlier stages.
A flash of light filled my vision, followed by ISO's voice echoing in my ear.
[ISO: Impressive. To have driven out almost all of the Artemis forces from this vast facility in such a short time. That insane PMC won’t have the resources to send more troops here for a while.]
[ISO: A nuclear power plant is a massive facility that can’t be ignored. We can’t just leave it alone. If we do, those lunatics might gather enough strength to come after it again.]
[ISO: We’ll need to establish a foothold to monitor critical power plants like this one. As always, that will require the formidable strength of top-tier field operatives like yourselves.]
[ISO: But for now, you should rest. We’ll dispatch a helicopter just like when you were deployed here. Throw a smoke grenade to mark a suitable landing spot, and we’ll bring you safely back to HQ in no time.]
“Phew, that was tough.”
“Keeping up with my pace?”
Nod.
She boldly nodded. There wasn’t much to say. The truth was, I had pushed the pace in this mission because there wasn’t much time left before the preliminary rank matches.
The fact that Harmony could somewhat keep up with my pace was, in a way, significant progress. Maybe I should call it a generational shift.
In the end, becoming an operator required perseverance and mental toughness. With those two qualities, you naturally get stronger in the grueling schedule. In this game, that schedule was as close to real combat as it gets.
I wasn’t one to withhold praise.
“You’ve been doing a great job. It’s not easy keeping up with my pace. But if we keep working together a bit more, you’ll be able to handle things on your own.”
“Wow, that’s the first time I’ve received such a compliment!”
"RedAngel has donated 1,000 won!"
"Is this like getting into Seoul National University’s physics department but not standing out because your teacher is a Nobel Prize winner?"
…Everyone’s in a frenzy, really.
Anyway—finally, it was time.
The watch on my left wrist lit up. As my EXP bar increased and various rewards like blueprints popped up, Harmony took a deep breath to recharge and asked me.
“So, are we heading straight into the next mission?”
“Oh, probably not.”
“Huh?”
Seems she had already forgotten what I’d mentioned earlier.
I showed her the brightly glowing watch.
As light wrapped around my body, I gave a small wave and added.
“I’ll be back soon!”
And the screen went dark.
The last thing I saw was her stunned expression.
“She’s… really something else.”
In the spot Yujin had just left behind, Harmony stood for a few seconds, her expression blank, before bursting into a wide grin mixed with a bit of exasperation as she muttered to herself.
After all, as someone once said, they really were a duo like no other.