"Bbyong-ha! Bbyong-ha!"

"Bbyong-haaaaa!"

"Wow, a four-person collab? This is insane! My chest is swelling with excitement!"

"Screw it, I'm taking a vacation day tomorrow just for this collab, let's go!!!!!!!"

"How can I miss this?! How can I miss this?! HOW CAN I MISS THIS?!"

Four streamers.

Each averaging around 2,000 viewers during casual chats, with that number doubling once they dove into their main gaming content. The fact that these four heavyweights had gathered for a collaboration made this event one for the history books.

And it wasn’t just a casual meet-up between friends—it was a convergence of four highly skilled and talented influencers, each capable of holding their own in the “big leagues” thanks to their charisma, dedication, and natural talent. Their combined star power and synergy created a hype that had been building for days, especially among the viewers of the MCN BbyongHammer Brotherhood, who were practically foaming at the mouth with anticipation.

More than 30,000 viewers filled the chat with an almost deafening virtual roar, their messages giving the illusion of an audible crowd.

Meanwhile, Harmony, arguably the most fitting person to bear the title of "guest" at this event, was still figuring out how to navigate the situation. The three other streamers, who had organized this whole thing, effortlessly managed to control the chaotic firestorm in the chat.

"Alright, everyone, hello! Like we mentioned beforehand, today we’re finally doing a collab with our Dark Zone newbie, Harmony! Looks like a lot of you have been waiting for this."

"Since we’re on the topic, let me quickly explain today’s content. It’s mostly designed around Harmony, and we’ve picked activities you can enjoy even if you’re not max level. We’re going to try out Domination mode today, so if you want to join, queue up at the right time!"

"But, if you don't take it seriously... you know what happens."

"-What? Is she planning some special punishment or something?"

"-Heuuung, Limit-noona..."

"-What guy could say no to a sultry punishment like that? lol"

"-Limit's fans are wild lmao"

"-So we dodge if we match, right?"

"You… you absolute brats! Why do I always get this reaction when I talk?!"

"Wow, Limit, your avatar is seriously looking sharp today..."

"Moni, not you too!"

Even amidst the chaos, someone was always bound to be suffering.

The four of us began walking, our destination being the helipad—the starting point for most missions and travels within Dark Zone. As we approached, the propeller’s rotation intensified, and the doors automatically slid open, revealing a massive UI hovering before us.

This was the interface for selecting our next mission or destination. After a few clicks, a familiar voice echoed in Harmony's ears.

• [Notice: Operator Harmony verified….]

• [Notice: Domination mode activated.]

• [Notice: Welcome.]

A golden pulse spread out, rippling through the cold New York winter air. A familiar, celebratory clap accompanied the activation of the mode.

"Welcome to Domination, Moni. Another step on your journey out of newbiehood."

"Ugh, you and your comments."

Harmony chuckled at Kimstone’s words, but then asked cautiously,

"So, what exactly is Domination mode? I watched the video earlier, but all I saw was people shooting."

"It’s basically a capture-and-hold game mode."

Hotteok quickly explained, though it wasn’t long before the chat and donations erupted into a frenzy, with more people jumping in to offer their take. Over 30,000 viewers were all throwing out their own explanations for how Domination worked, and the sheer volume of it all was overwhelming.

After filtering through the flood of information, Harmony gathered the gist of it:

• Operators are deployed to high-value points, where they engage enemy special forces who’ve captured Icarus tech. The story revolves around preventing enemies from extracting intel from specific zones through urban warfare.

• There are different classes: Pointmen, Riflemen, Squad Leaders, and Mechanics, who can support the team with various skills. Four players form a squad, which can be split into two smaller groups, and Squad Leaders can appoint Deputy Leaders.

• The map has three key points: A, B, and C. Each objective has three capturable devices and turret defenses. High-value targets (HVTs) occasionally spawn at critical locations on the map.

"And if you kill an enemy—whether a player or an AI—you get points, which can be used to activate defensive measures at each location, like turrets or barricades."

"Oh…"

As always, seeing was believing.

Words alone couldn’t paint a full picture, and Harmony knew that experiencing it firsthand would be the only way to truly understand. She nodded, signaling her readiness.

"Let’s just try it."

"That’s the spirit!"

"Alright, let’s set up our classes before we start. If there are no objections, I’ll be Squad Leader, as usual. Any issues?"

"Nope. I’ll be the Mechanic—I’m not that confident with shooting."

"Then Hotteok's the Squad Leader, Stone’s on support, I’ll take Pointman with the shield, and Harmony… you’ll be fine as long as you shoot straight."

For the three of them, everything moved like clockwork, but for Harmony, it felt like chaos. She heard that they’d been practicing as a group in the days leading up to the collab, so their efficiency made sense. The moment the match began, the helicopter’s propeller spun faster, urging them to board.

3,000 viewers waited with bated breath as the four of them, laden with heavy expectations, stepped onto the chopper.

• [ISO: Departing for the mission zone. Buckle up tight.]

Whirrrr!

The rotor blades tore through the air, producing a deafening sound as the Blackhawk lifted into the sky. Harmony’s first Domination match had officially begun.

[ISO: Complete your objective and eliminate all hostile forces. Let none of them leave our soil alive.]

"We’re here. What a beautiful day—clear skies, quiet. I like it here."

"Let’s go! Get out, get out!"

As the side door of the helicopter opened, a blast of cold air hit them. The frosty wind whipped through, and their breath formed clouds as they stepped onto the untouched snow. Twelve soldiers advanced onto the map, their boots crunching on the fresh powder. The structure of the map appeared before them—a layout that set up intense battles over Point B, where both factions were sure to clash.

Still unsure how things worked, Harmony decided to follow Hotteok’s lead, who quickly laid out the plan.

"Alright, listen up. We’re heading straight for Point B. The other two squads will secure A first and then follow us. Our job is to hold them off and buy time. Stone, make sure to set up your defense tools as soon as we get there."

"Got it. Looks like I’ll be busy setting things up the moment we land."

"I’ll give Harmony Squad Leader permissions. Limit, make sure she doesn’t get wrecked by some random enemy."

"Roger that."

The countdown hit zero.

Twelve soldiers moved out.

"Run!"

Crunch, crunch.

The sound of boots compressing snow echoed with each step. Though the sky was clear, a bitter wind blew through as the three squads split paths—two headed for Point A, while Harmony’s squad made their way toward B. The map was vast, but they reached B relatively quickly, as it was set up to be the primary battlefield.

• [Notice: Entering Sector B.]

The area was wide open, resembling a base camp for a battalion. There were several tents, metal structures to climb, crates of supplies, and parked vehicles scattered around. Positioned throughout the space were AI enemies and three terminals. Each terminal was marked with the Icarus insignia.

At the top of the UI, the status of Point A slowly turned blue, signifying their team had captured it. Point B, like the other zones, had three terminals to secure.

"We should stick together. Splitting up could get us killed. Let’s capture one terminal at a time. Stone, get to the high ground and set up the pulse devices."

"Got it. Looks like I’ll be busy setting up gear right after we arrive."

While Hotteok worked on capturing one of the terminals, the rest of the squad—Harmony, Limit, and Stone—climbed to a higher structure where a generator and antenna were located.

With a series of clicks, Kimstone unpacked the equipment he had been carrying on his back, quickly assembling turrets and pulse modules to fortify their position.

"B’s quiet. Usually, we’d have enemies here by now."

"Uh, Stone? Why haven’t they captured C yet?"

"Huh? Really? The UI’s still showing C as neutral?"

This wasn’t a good sign.

Perhaps the assumption that the enemy team started near C was wrong. But Harmony’s finely tuned danger sense, honed by Yujin’s teachings, was screaming at her.

She checked the minimap frantically. The allied team had just secured A, but something still didn’t sit right. Meanwhile, the enemy team was slowly capturing C, but their progress seemed unusually slow, especially compared to how quickly their team had taken A.

Then it hit her.

"I think we should get out of here. Right now."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"We’re about to get slaughtered."

"What do you mean? Can you explain a bit more? Our allies will be here in about a minute."

Ugh. Yujin would’ve understood right away!

The answer was obvious after doing the mental math. The enemy had likely left only one or two players at C, while about ten or eleven were heading straight for B.

And, just as expected….

"Uh… guys?"

"Yeah?"

"We’re screwed."

From the two main roads connecting C and B, a horde of at least ten enemies was rapidly closing in.

The moment before Harmony’s squad was torn apart could be counted in mere seconds.