“Hotteok, fall back, using cover. We won’t be able to hold the line.”

“Ugh… Waaah!”

Boom!

“Limit, push the opposite line, and Stone, cover them.”

“Oh my god, the fire is too intense!”

“Stone, cover fire! Cover fire! Take out the UGV first!”

Ratatatat! BOOM!

The deafening roar of gunfire filled the air as bullets whizzed by. In the middle of the chaos, a small squad of four desperately tried to hold the front line. The fluid, aggressive movements of the Artemis PMC hit their defenses like relentless waves crashing against a wall, leading to a prolonged stalemate.

As the scorching sun beat down from the sky, replacing the earlier snowfall, four avatars—oddly out of place for a warzone—continued their fierce battle. This was the "Misfits" task force.

Led by Harmony, the team was composed of members from their previous collaboration, and they were now tackling the Artemis mission on "Very Hard" difficulty.

“Wow, isn’t this difficulty a bit too much from the start?”

“Of course it’s hard! We activated several challenge mods, so even a scratch can kill you!”

Amid the chaos, Harmony held the authority as the squad leader. Before anyone could complain, her sharp command brought immediate focus. If not, the incoming bullets quickly corrected their attitude.

Why were they suddenly tackling a mission on "Very Hard" difficulty, even before maxing out their levels? It was simple.

The Streamer-Only Domination Mode Tournament was two weeks away.

12 vs. 12. Six squads would split evenly between two teams, fighting to capture three key points—A, B, and C. It was a chaotic, no-holds-barred fight where the squad leader’s orders would be the most crucial factor.

Until the Asia Championships were over, Harmony had been pondering this, and on Monday, she finally asked Yu-jin the critical question:

“How do I get better at being a squad leader?”

Yu-jin’s response was brief:

“Try playing on ‘Very Hard’ difficulty.”

So, on Tuesday, they tried it.

And now, here they were, in the midst of this mayhem.

“I guess I should focus on target identification…”

The UGVs that broke their formation, the grenadiers, and the drone operators—these were the enemies they had to take out to hold the line. In other words, the squad leader had to be the first to identify them and share their positions with the squad’s UI.

There was so much to do, and the more Harmony thought about it, the more overwhelmed she became. Should she focus on controlling everything, or should she prioritize improving the squad’s overall skills before the tournament? She had countless questions, and perhaps she should have asked for help sooner.

She had hesitated because it felt unfair to ask for assistance. But after seeing that the tournament lineup included former and current pro players, she realized—pride was useless. If you needed help, you had to ask for it.

‘…I should start by improving each squad member’s individual skills.’

Harmony assessed the battlefield coldly.

One downside of doing missions with Yu-jin was that it had raised her expectations too high. After all, when she just followed Yu-jin’s instructions—shooting the marked targets, holding positions, and providing cover fire—the missions went smoothly.

Now, it was different. The massive wall that Yu-jin represented was far larger than Harmony had ever realized.

Even with more people, efficiency and firepower didn’t increase proportionally. It took several failures to understand that. Perhaps this was why Yu-jin hadn’t brought in other players when they tackled missions together.

But regardless, Harmony's sharp gaze continuously evaluated her three squad members.

“Limit, you need to push more aggressively. Next time you slow down, I’ll shoot you in the back.”

“Ack! Got it!”

“Doldoli, your threat identification is too slow. You’re going to get Limit killed. Hotteok is doing fine, so let’s move on.”

Her eyes, honed to a razor’s edge, cut through her team’s performance.

Even as she gave instructions, Harmony’s own shooting never stopped. She tagged targets, pulled the trigger, and each time her finger twitched, an enemy that her team hadn’t even noticed was neutralized. Heads exploded, chests were pierced, and the UGV collapsed into a heap of scrap metal.

How had Yu-jin trained herself? It wasn’t just leaving everything to the squad; within each firefight, she pinpointed the elements her squad missed and guided them until they could achieve the results on their own.

For Hotteok, she shared the best cover spots to hold the line without falling back. For Limit, she gave pathing suggestions to improve his role as point man. And for Kim Stone—Doldoli—she marked the high-priority enemies necessary to break the enemy’s front line.

She broke down each goal into smaller, manageable tasks. Goals that were just within their capabilities, or maybe even a little beyond, to push them.

What if they couldn’t achieve them?

That wasn’t an option.

“If you keep trying, you’ll figure it out eventually.”

“Aaaah, someone stop Harmony!”

Harmony herself had barely improved in two months, despite not being as skilled or systematic as Yu-jin. But still, after spending that much time with Yu-jin, Harmony hadn’t learned nothing.

By staying close to Yu-jin, she learned how to think, how to analyze people, and how to guide her squad toward better outcomes in firefights.

Harmony, who had absorbed Yu-jin’s influence, was now passing that knowledge on to her team.

DING!

“Warning: Additional enemies detected.”

“Get ready.”

“Roger that.”

As the battle moved from the entrance of the NOA research facility to its interior, then to the rooftop, and finally to the underground levels, the playful banter gradually disappeared.

Everyone, except for Harmony, started to realize something.

‘Harmony… is really serious about this, isn’t she?’

She was determined to transform them all.

From the moment Harmony took command, everything changed. Hotteok, Limit, and Stone were just now realizing the shift—though Limit realized it a bit earlier, after catching a bullet in the back.

Bang!

“Aah! She really shot me!”

“Help me!”

Only in VR could such a warning shot exist.

Like a political officer from a century ago, Harmony’s "warning shots" were terrifyingly effective. Of course, her own skill, which she occasionally demonstrated when the team was stuck, also played a huge part in keeping them in line.

Familiar memories overlapped before Harmony’s eyes. She had walked this path with Yu-jin before, but now everything felt different. Just because you’ve solved a puzzle once doesn’t mean it’ll be easy the second time—and that’s what this mission was like under Harmony’s lead.

It was no surprise, really. Clearing "Very Hard" difficulty with multiple challenge mods was nearly impossible, even in open lobbies.

“Limit, draw aggro with your ballistic shield. Throw smoke, and the two of you pull back immediately. Retreat as soon as I give the signal. Don’t lower the shield.”

There wasn’t time to explain everything. The battlefield changed too quickly, and after a few deaths, questions stopped altogether.

As the thunderous roar of gunfire echoed down the hall, flashes of light burst from Limit’s ballistic shield. Hundreds of bullets per second, fired by a minigun, streaked toward them at supersonic speeds.

While Limit held the line, smoke filled the hallway, allowing Stone and Hotteok to retreat. Once the smoke thickened, Limit followed Harmony’s orders and began backing away without lowering the shield.

Warning: Shield durability below 10%.

‘Even with the smoke, there are still so many bullets…!’

If Limit had lowered the shield, she would have been a goner.

Before she could even thank Harmony, a few seeker mines slipped through the smoke. Explosions, flames, and shockwaves ripped through the corridor, and the gunfire fell silent. Once again, Harmony had successfully extracted the squad from danger.

It wasn’t until the floor was littered with brass casings that they finally cleared a path to the next sector.

Even while they reloaded and scanned for enemies, Harmony’s mind continued to work.

“I could use this in the tournament…”

Unlike the last time, when she had recruited random users and the team had been wiped out early, forcing her to solo the rest of the mission, this upcoming streamer tournament would be different.

Unless you were on Yu-jin’s level, solo play had its limits. The key to victory would be how effectively she managed her squad.

There was a reason Yu-jin had told her to experience it firsthand.

“Harmony! Harmony!”

“Huh? What? Is the path clear?”

“We’re all set. Let’s go.”

Time seemed to disappear like melting snow.

As they moved toward the next sector, there was a brief lull in the action, providing a chance for conversation. After such an intense battle, curiosity arose.

“So… Yu-jin taught you all of this?”

“Pretty much. It’s less that she taught me and more that I picked it up through experience… though it’s basically the same thing.”

“I can’t believe how much she’s influenced you.”

Harmony chuckled.

That’s why it was crucial to separate battles from everyday life. The more intense the fight, the lighter the conversation topics became.

“So, what’s Yu-jin up to these days? Is she still streaming?”

“Of course. Yesterday, actually… Oh, speaking of which, she was playing some game I’ve never heard of. Like, 60,000 people were watching. Even foreigners were tuning in…”

“A crappy game…?”

“Don’t play dumb. It’s all because of you!”

“Haha! Stop, that tickles!”

As the tension from the battle drained from her body, memories she’d pushed aside started to resurface. Harmony began to wonder if she’d wronged Yu-jin in some way. Even if Yu-jin was the type to dive into any game without hesitation, was it really okay to let her play that ridiculous game?

She couldn’t recall all the details, but it involved a sad frog and a platformer filled with absurd traps on a chaotic island.

Of course, Harmony had one thought in mind.

“I should try that game too, if I have time today.”

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“How could I not? It’s too fun to play alone!”

“Ugh…”

But with that, they arrived at the new sector.

A pristine white space filled with advanced machinery, where non-combatant enemy AI wandered like misplaced junk.

Harmony took a deep breath and said:

“Let’s go.”

Her bright green eyes flared with determination as they locked onto the targets.

That fire wouldn’t be extinguished anytime soon.

“Yes. We’ve gathered most of the information. Luckily, the streamer’s personal site details Yu-jin’s exact movements from when they last met. She visited a buffet restaurant, a nearby animal cafe, and a shooting range.”

“Is there any other information? The higher-ups want to locate Yu-jin through legal and official means. They don’t want to risk anything.”

“Should we check CCTV footage or the local cell tower data?”

“That’s a good idea. It’s also the best way to broadcast to the entire world that we’re looking for Yu-jin.”

A rustle.

A white man named Kendrick Markin Jr. grabbed a handful of snacks from the table, slowly bringing them past his waistband and nametag and into his mouth as he spoke casually.

“We’ll know in two days.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“Because I asked her directly during a stream.”

Kendrick muttered something about "annoying superiors" before continuing.

“I donated during her stream, asking if I could send her a gift to celebrate her first place finish in the Asia Championships. She messaged me privately with a location where I could send it. From there, it’s the classic trick—hide a tracking device inside the package.”

“And what if she finds the tracker?”

“Of course, she’ll find it. The point isn’t the tracker itself. It’s a way of indirectly letting her know we plan to visit.”

Yu-jin had the original Icarus Gear, so there was no way she wouldn’t notice the tracker.

The boldness of his plan left the room momentarily silent.

Then, someone finally spoke up.

“It’s ridiculous how easy this was. How long before Yu-jin figures it out?”

“Two days at most. But we need to think about what to say, who to send, and what exactly we want to discuss.”

“Then let’s prepare. We have plenty of people here who can handle it. Any volunteers?”

He glanced around.

Not a single person kept their hand down, and the head supervisor chuckled bitterly.