"It's been a while since I've used the Mk.18 for its intended purpose."

-Right? LOL, it’s been ages.
-Technically, it's a designated marksman rifle.
-But hey, if it's powerful, can't you use it for CQB too?
-Wow, mid-range sniping! Lapua!
-You’ve been using it like a slug shotgun, huh? LOL

Still, whether in the past or now, firefights rarely stretched beyond 200 meters, so it was what it was.

The familiar pressure of the trigger beneath my finger. Beyond the LPVO scope, which allows variable magnification, I could see enemy troops moving briskly. A bit below, Harmony was approaching carefully.

I added through the comms, "I’ll be covering and sniping. Focus on my commands. I’m seeing we have 30 patches left—same on your end?"

"Yes. 30 remote patches available, no issues. Ground drones are operational as well."

"Alright, let's move. I’ll mark the waypoint; proceed slowly."

I marked a point on the map, about 30 meters ahead of Harmony, by a stone wall.

This mission was one where having too many people reduced the chances of success. It was a stealth infiltration operation. The ideal number was four, but at the very least, you needed one infiltrator and one person for cover and sniping.

As for the patches, they were small adhesive transmitters about the size of a thumbnail. Once stuck to any electronic device, they allowed limited remote control and monitoring via Icarus gear. The patches also made the devices clearly visible on the HUD and mini-map.

Crucially, the Aegis system we needed to capture was designed for anti-aircraft attacks, not ground targets, but with these patches, that rule would soon be broken. In essence, Firecracker would be a massive exchange of former surface-to-air missiles between enemies.

"Hold. Do you see the patrol ahead?"

"Yes, I see them. They’re heavily armed."

"There’s no follow-up patrol, and no enemies within 70 meters. Let’s stun them with shock rounds and take them out one by one. The two on the right are mine."

As soon as they were close enough, I fired.

The sound of my silenced shots was muffled, dispersing into the cold winter air, as armor-piercing rounds tore through the head of the enemy in the center of the patrol.

Before the body could even fall, a shock round fired from my sidearm pierced the enemy’s body armor and unleashed a powerful current. Zzzt! It wasn't strong enough to knock them down, but it was enough to render them immobile.

I followed up with another shot, this time aiming for the chest. The second bullet shattered their armor, heart, and lungs simultaneously, while Harmony took out the last enemy with two well-placed headshots.

That was that.

"Do we need to hide the bodies?" Harmony asked.

"No need to worry. As long as we do what we need to before another patrol comes, we’ll be fine. I’ve uploaded the next waypoint—check it."

The pattern repeated.

Every now and then, patrols accompanied by quadrupedal drones with grenade launchers appeared, but whether they were human or machine, they went down the same way once hit by shock rounds.

Harmony’s shooting practice really showed here. Whenever patrols increased to four or more, we had to synchronize our movements, and Harmony handled it excellently.

With every shot through a suppressor, enemies dropped where they stood, while my Lapua Magnum rounds shredded the dog-like drones into scrap metal.

Minutes passed, and through the bare trees, Harmony came back into view.

The landmarks of Washington—the White House, the Washington Monument, and the long rectangular pool near the Lincoln Memorial—were visible. The time had come for Harmony to play a bigger role.

"I’m heading down. I’ll move toward the Lincoln Memorial along the lake. You follow the Potomac River and attach patches to every enemy target you see. Be careful."

"I’ll do my best."

Whirr.

I descended from the Washington Monument and moved swiftly along the designated path.

Meanwhile, Harmony’s ultra-quiet drone took flight. Its stealth mode limited it to just 30 meters in altitude, but with a range covering several square kilometers, it was more efficient than moving on foot.

I passed Harmony’s position within minutes, navigating through the trees and avoiding patrols. A shot here, a shot there, and each encounter was dealt with swiftly.

Pew! Pew! Pew!

The 5.56mm rounds weren't much, but one well-placed Lapua Magnum shot guaranteed a kill. Patrols went down like they’d been punched in the gut, and their accompanying drones became junk.

Though it looked easy, time was of the essence. If we stalled, we’d draw attention, and once we wiped out the patrols, the enemy would send in infantry fighting vehicles to tear us apart.

Even I couldn’t take on an armored vehicle.

-That was so satisfying!
-This pace is insane.
-Is she shooting while running?!
-Time magazine’s top pick for best Mk.18 promotion: Yujin, LOL.

The straight-line distance was about 300 to 400 meters, but as we approached the memorial—where the Aegis system was installed—the number of enemies increased, slowing us down.

Even with a suppressor, the noise reduction wasn’t dramatic, especially with a large-caliber rifle. It was time to switch to something quieter.

Compared to the heavy Mk.18 Mjolnir, the new gun felt feather-light in my hands. Unlike the long-barreled sniper rifle, this one was compact and unique in its flat design.

Crackle!

As soon as I pulled the trigger, the SMG spat out 7N31 rounds like a sprayer.

It was a Kriss Vector.

Outfitted with an Osprey suppressor nearly half its length, the submachine gun fired high-penetration 9mm rounds. Its lightweight construction didn’t slow me down much either.

The only downside was how fast it ate through ammo. Maintaining a steady aim required three headshots per target, demanding focus, stamina, and quick mag changes.

But the increase in enemy numbers meant closer engagement ranges. After cutting down the last patrol, I reached a kind of intermediate hub.

It was the Korean War Veterans Memorial.

"So many of them…"

The place was crawling with enemies.

The structures atop the memorial were in ruins, and a surface-to-air missile launcher had been dragged there. Combat engineers were manning the equipment, while enemy troops patrolled nearby.

It seemed I’d have to handle this alone.

But first, I needed confirmation.

"How’s the marking going?"

"Oh, um, about one-third done."

"Don’t worry if you hear gunfire. Just focus on your task, okay?"

"Uh… Sure, I trust you to handle it."

"That’s the right attitude."

Click.

I took four grenades from my pouch, laying them out neatly on the ground. Then, I prepared a seeker mine and a sticky bomb. I stashed the Vector and, just in case, pulled out the Mk.18 again for single-target elimination.

After marking all the enemies on the UI, I grabbed a grenade in each hand, pulling the pins simultaneously. After a brief cook, I lobbed them in two different directions, sending them arcing through the air.

There was no metallic clink.

The cooked grenades exploded mid-air, scattering shrapnel in all directions.

BOOM!

"Ugh!"

"Ambush! We’re under—ugh!"

"Everyone, prepare for combat!"

Two more grenades followed shortly after.

The blasts tore through the enemy ranks, and the seeker mine whirred to life, rolling forward and launching into the air before splitting open with a loud fwoosh, spraying incendiary cluster bombs.

A 15-meter radius erupted in a dazzling display of light and fire. Thermite, napalm, and propane combined into a roaring inferno that melted anything in its path.

But that was just the beginning.

Clank!

A sticky bomb latched onto the surface-to-air missile platform.

By the time the rogue soldiers realized what had happened, I had already sprinted at least 50 meters away, vanishing into the foliage with the speed of someone running for their life.

If anyone had seen me, they might have sworn they saw a figure with a snake tail disappear into the underbrush at breakneck speed, but in this world, that wasn’t possible.

Because they were all about to die.

The flames ignited in a brilliant blaze.

Whistle!

"Damn it, we’re all—"

KABOOM!

The sticky bomb on the missile platform exploded with a blinding white flash, melting through the metal frame and igniting the missile itself.

The eerie silence that followed was shattered by a massive explosion. Shrapnel-laden warheads, designed to detonate at high altitudes, went off less than 10 kilometers above the ground.

The ensuing chain reaction leveled the entire enemy hub. Flesh turned to pulp, and the platform became a mangled heap of metal, unleashing a secondary wave of destruction.

Seventy meters away, crouching in the bare trees, I shielded my head and face as the shockwave passed over.

Carefully exhaling, I surveyed the destruction and muttered, "Guess I didn’t need to use my gun here, huh?"

-And you wonder why they call you the Explosion Queen LOL.
-Oh man, I’m using this tactic next time!
-Look at the shrapnel embedded in the trees LOL.
-If you hadn’t run, it’d be a restart for sure LOL.
-Is she Michael Bay in disguise?
-And then she complains about being called Explosion Queen? Did she swap her conscience for that tail?

Well, it’s not like there’s a more effective way.

I started to explain that there’s a big difference between setting off random explosions and a carefully calculated detonation, but I let it go with a sigh.

The mission was only halfway through.


__________

 

"Wow, national team again, huh? Looks like you’re turning into a walking advertisement. My proudest moment is still the time I treated you to a meal and became your friend. Makes my heart swell. But seriously, what’s with your avatar?"

"Hmph, hitting where it hurts, huh? I just like cute things, even in cyberspace. Can’t you appreciate the philosophy behind this avatar? I’m TK1's Summit, you know. When I say something, you just go along with it."

"I don’t know about philosophy, but I do know you’re a bit of a perv. Anyway, when are you done resting? The guys are itching to meet up. Any place you wanna go? We’re thinking about renting a resort, drinking, and grilling some meat."

"I’ll probably rest for another three days. Get whoever’s available and bring them along."

"Got it. We’re expecting big things from you again at the finals. Once everything’s booked, just show up. Got it? I’m hanging up."

"Hey, wait! What do you mean, just show up? Ugh, seriously…"

Click.

He just said what he wanted and hung up. Do they think I’m broke or something? It’s not like I enjoy mooching off people, but it's also hard to refuse when they’re gathering to celebrate for me.

Life is full of dilemmas.

Anyway, it’s Monday, with no training or obligations on the schedule. It’s strange having time like this. Some of my TK1 teammates were still grinding away in practice for the upcoming KTM this weekend, but not me.

After all, I already competed in the finals last year, traveling to the U.S. with SSM's Dice and Xi's Ink. It would be nice if I could take a break from competitions for a while.

Sigh.

Talking about food made me realize how hungry I am.

Right now, I felt like I was in that final stage before discharge from the military—just laying around with a week left, like a sergeant waiting for his last days. Fortunately, times have changed, and now you can order food with just a glance. After picking out a bunch of things I wanted, I watched several thousand won disappear into the void.

Spending money has never been easier.

"But speaking of that… I wonder what she’s doing…"

Yujin.

Even without the massive interference Dice caused during the Tannhäuser match, Yujin was someone who instinctively felt like an unbeatable opponent. Now, as a fellow Korean national team member, fighting alongside her felt reassuring, to say the least...

Suddenly, I was curious. A few weeks ago, when I had time, I’d watched her streams for analysis, but what was she up to now?

My hand naturally reached for the Tricky site. I didn’t even need to search for Yujin. Her stream was right there, featured as a HOT live broadcast. She was streaming with a VTuber named Harmony, with over 54,000 viewers.

That’s a lot of people.

Click.

BOOM!

-If I’d watched this at night, it would’ve been even more epic.

"…Main mission?"

Wait.

It’s clearly the Tidal Basin forward base, but why are there fireworks going off?

It didn’t take long for me to realize that the explosions were caused by surface-to-air missiles.