-Beep!

"...!"

"React faster. Your aim needs to be much quicker. Combat isn't about logic—it's about instinct and muscle memory. Don’t break down each action separately; let it flow naturally, like water. Now, again."

-Beep!

"Damn it, ugh…!"

"If your rifle jams in the open, switch to your pistol first. Clearing a malfunction is something you do behind cover. Again. This time, the number of dummy rounds is random."

-Beep!

"Wow, I missed that."

"Simply pulling the trigger quickly won’t cut it. Your arms and eyes need to coordinate, your grip needs to align with your sights, you need to assess the target’s position, and control your breathing—all within a second if you want to hit the target. I’ve marked the cheek rest on the stock, so align your face there and aim. Again."

Again.

And again.

And again….

The key point of this four-hour-long lesson was endless repetition and mastery. My vision blurred, my ears hurt, and both hands tingled from the recoil. This wasn’t just ordinary shooting; it involved practicing ambidextrous shooting techniques.

There were so many things you had to do to hit the target more accurately, to ensure you hit it at all. There was even slow-motion training to prevent bad habits from becoming ingrained in your body.

With the exception of your thoughts, both you and the enemy moved at half-speed. If you passed that, the speed gradually increased. Unfortunately, today’s best record was only at 0.8 times speed. Even so, my teacher was impressed, praising how great this function was.

...She’s probably thrilled because it means she can push me harder and more efficiently.

"My eyes hurt, teacher…."

"Shall we take a break?"

"Yes!"

The break was so sweet.

If this weren’t happening in virtual reality, I’d have a splitting headache by now. Even here, I felt a significant level of fatigue. The chair, without even a proper backrest, felt incredibly comfortable.

A long bench wide enough for several people to sit on. Harmony let out a strange groan as she stared at the ceiling. A wave of dizziness hit her. She was worried that another session might suddenly start, but fortunately, that didn’t happen.

A break was a break. Inviolable.

"So, two more hours? Wow, how am I going to do this…."

"If it’s too hard to continue, should we stop here?"

"Oh, no! It’s not that…."

But why?

The reason wasn’t anything grand. It was partly because she had never done anything like this before, but mostly, it was because she didn’t want to disappoint someone.

Also, Yujin’s lessons were incredibly valuable, perhaps because they were more practical than theoretical. Even though it was virtual reality, had she ever focused on something this intensely?

There was no denying it was tough, but the sense of accomplishment that came from pushing her limits filled her more than the fatigue.

"...It’s exhausting, but I’m learning so much. Just today alone… And it’s not like this is something you can master in a day or two, right? If someone doesn’t keep watching, things will get messed up again."

"Your mental resilience is truly impressive. That’s a good mindset."

"Hehe. I’m kind of known for my persistence."

Harmony didn’t have particularly outstanding gaming skills. While she wasn’t lacking in the ability to draw people in or in her charisma, there were countless others like her in the world.

That’s why Harmony chose what people often call "bad games"—simple enough to allow for banter during play, yet with enough potential for disaster with a single mistake to be entertaining.

And not just once, but multiple times, intentionally.

She gritted her teeth, determined to succeed no matter how many attempts it took.

"Now I’m a variety game streamer, so I play a lot of different things, but this is still my core."

"That’s admirable."

There was something Harmony didn’t know.

Intentionally choosing difficult tasks and continually diving into them is one of the core principles that special forces soldiers share.

On top of that, Yujin was not one to withhold praise. Though it might be seen as manipulative, the bond they had developed over the past month was quite close, considering the short time they had known each other.

And so, the conversation continued.

"Sometimes it’s hard to tell if Yujin’s comments are compliments or not."

"If I were still teaching the way I used to, everyone I trained would have ground their teeth and hated me."

"Wow, really? Just how hard were you planning to push them?"

"Are you curious?"

"Uh… a little?"

"For your mental health, it’s better not to be."

"The way you say that makes me even more curious… Could you show me, just once?"

Is it really that bad?

When Harmony asked, Yujin didn’t demonstrate it herself but instead waved her hand lightly, pulling up a recording of a previous session. It was the shooting training they had done earlier—the one where Harmony had been too flustered to even turn on her tactical light or laser sight properly.

Yujin sighed lightly before adding a comment.

"Try not to be too shocked."

"...Uh, okay."

-[Alert: Reaction Simulation Activated.]

A bright line appeared in the air, twisting, tangling, and blending together before projecting a shadow of the past into the air.

The simulation showed Yujin inside the darkened shooting range. The barely visible avatar was clearly in a state of panic. Before the irony or humor of it could sink in, the lights came back on, and the emotional simulation ran automatically.

Yujin’s face, normally calm, now displayed an unfamiliar hardened expression.

"Stop."

The cold tone was sharp enough to make anyone drop to the floor. The impact was doubled as her normally smooth voice turned razor-edged.

The avatar’s panic was obvious.

"Did you come here to mess around?"

"...Uh, no?"

"No? Are you not feeling nervous? I asked if you came here to play around. Get your head straight. Do I need to replace your fingers and ears with ones that actually work? If it’s dark, you need to turn on the light. Do you wait a second to react when the power goes out at home too? And you think it’s okay to do this crap at the range? Are you kidding me?"

"Uh, that, that’s…"

"Excuses? Do you think things will magically work out if you make excuses? If this were real combat, you wouldn’t even have time to explain—you’d already have a bullet hole in your head and be crawling on the ground. If you ever react this slowly again, just turn in your weapon and leave the range. Got it?"

…W-What?

Each word was like a hammer to the gut, so Harmony hastily took control and ended the simulation. She held her breath, but it wasn’t enough to calm her racing heart.

When Yujin returned to her, she added a comment.

"…That’s why I told you not to be curious."

"Uh… You weren’t planning to be that harsh with me, right…?"

"Of course not. Why would I do that?"

"...I guess I should avoid being casually curious from now on…"

She was really glad she didn’t hear that directly.

Yujin pulled her in for a comforting hug, gently rubbing her back, which helped calm her racing heart. However, she couldn’t completely hide the tension that had seized her from head to toe.

With her usual calm and sculpted expression, Yujin added, looking satisfied.

"You’re tense. In a way, that’s the most important thing. The more tense you are, the more focused you become. Even if it’s just intentional, staying a bit tense improves your chances of survival."

"...Oh."

"Alright, I think that’s enough of a break. Let’s review today’s movements for about 30 minutes, then we’ll move back to live-fire training."

"Yes!"

"…Why did you become so energetic all of a sudden?"

With a slight chuckle, Yujin patted her on the shoulder.

Taking a deep breath, Harmony braced herself as the targets reappeared before her eyes. Desperately, she followed the muscle memory she had ingrained, loading the magazine, chambering a round, and aligning her sights. Her breath held, only the sensation of her finger on the trigger remained.

She began to shoot.

A new day had only reached a third of its journey.

"Uwaaa…."

"Time to tackle the mission. Get up."

-Yoohoo haha
-Yoohoo yoohooo?
-Is she dying already from the start, lol?
-What happened before this, seriously, LOL?
-Harmony… Always consistently baking bread….

At the empty table in the base.

Harmony was sprawled out, letting out strange groans. Part of her body dangled off the edge as if she were melting, making her look like a poorly hung piece of laundry.

But this wasn’t a good look for starting a stream as planned, so I coiled her body back onto the table with my tail. Then, I flipped her over and hooked my arms under hers.

In that position, I gently lifted her up.

[MoritzMoscovitz has donated 1,000 won!]
-Wow! Longcat Harmony! She’s actually adorable!

"Thanks for the donation… I’ll wave as a reaction…."

-Oh, lol
-What a bargain, LOL
-Wow, I’m jealous, lol
-Are you a real cat? Are you a real cat? Are you a real cat? Are you a real cat?
-Don’t be fooled; she’s a gaming maniac.

Thud.

Half-conscious, I gently set Harmony down on the floor. Standing on her own two feet now, she shook off her exhaustion and started her opening monologue for the viewers. In a way, she was quite professional.

Unfortunately, I hadn’t been streaming for very long, so I didn’t have much to say. Still, I was grateful that nearly ten thousand people were watching.

I spoke briefly.

"…Ah, hello, everyone. Today, as usual, I’ll be tackling the main mission with Harmony. All difficulties are set to ‘Very Hard,’ so, as always, we’ll be aiming for a safe clear."

-A ‘safe’ clear (massacre)
-Sure, we’ll see about that, LOL
-If that’s safe, then skydiving is safe too, LOL
-Teacher, no matter how much we fear your axe, we can’t tolerate that nonsense
-Looking forward to explosions that will make Michael Bay jealous, salute!

[Shirun-deh-eh-beb has donated 1,000 won.]

-“Safe clear” (Everything in front of me dies, so it’s safe now.)

"…Thank you for the 1,000 won donation, Shirun-deh-eh-beb."

…That’s harsh.

It seems my image had solidified in everyone’s mind as some sort of destruction deity. Considering how many near-death experiences I’ve survived to stand here today… Hmm, maybe I’m letting my thoughts wander a bit.

I thought about making a show of force to tell them not to joke around, but it didn’t seem worth it, so I simply put a finger to my lips and added:

"Shh."

-Woah…
-Heyyy…
-Sexy snake-eyed goddess Yujin, she’s divine!!!!
-Ahhh, goddess, I’m done forrrrrr
-Teacher, I need to visit the bathroom real quick, brb
-You guys are nuts, lol. I’ve clipped this, but just know that I’m not like you.

I really don’t get why they like that.

Anyway, there was no more time to waste. I tapped Harmony on the shoulder, signaling her to head to the control tower. What used to be just a park was now filled with high-tech equipment from all sides, and the control tower was one of the most dramatically transformed areas.

It looked like a NASA command center. In one corner of the large room, there was a section dedicated to the Icarus Support Operators, or ISOs, who provided assistance to the agents.

That’s where we were headed.

-Creak.

For a place equipped with the pinnacle of technology to assist agents, the facility was surprisingly crude. The creaking sound of the door as it opened emphasized that.

A slender man stood inside, peering at dozens of screens mounted on the wall with an intercom in his ear. He was our helper.

"Ah, you’re here. I’d say take a seat, but we’re pressed for time, so we can’t afford to relax. My apologies. Have you reviewed the data I sent you?"

I nodded slightly, prompting him to continue.

At the same time, several holograms popped up. The red-tinged images suggested a serious situation. The map of the U.S. coastline was already bathed in crimson.

The meaning was clear.

"As you can see, hostile forces are preparing to project significant power onto our coasts. After the Omega virus spread rapidly, we lost track of our proud U.S. Navy. We can only speculate that they’ve been delayed in reaching the mainland due to Chinese and Russian delaying tactics."

The idea that massive forces like the Third Fleet, which was considered formidable even against global opposition, had been wiped out was unreasonable. And it wasn’t the case.

As far as I remember, by now, the continuous naval guerrilla warfare by China and Russia would have depleted supplies significantly, forcing them to dock somewhere in Japan or Korea and set up a defensive line.

China and Russia knew very well that they couldn’t stand a chance in a direct confrontation with the U.S. fleet, which was why they chose to lure and entangle them. While they punched holes in the maritime patrol network, they infiltrated North America through the Arctic.

Of course, Europe, which might have detected this, was in even worse shape than the U.S. due to the Omega virus. The close proximity of their borders and the tight connections via railroads had turned their advantages into nightmares.

"We don’t know where the severed limbs are scattered, and all the nerves have been cut off. On top of that, the body is swarming with disease. Fortunately, we’ve completed some cleanup, but now we need a thorough diagnosis."

"We need to find the lost limbs before we visit the hospital."

"I’m glad you caught on quickly."

And just like that, our next objective was set.

"We need to go to Washington, D.C."

The headquarters of NASA.

It was time to recover America’s lost limbs.