Sigh.

"The weather’s really biting today. They said it’s a once-in-50-years cold snap. But you don’t seem too chilly today, huh?"

"I’ve got the temperature control on today. But hearing that from someone wearing shorts and a T-shirt makes it hard to take you seriously."

"Feels nice and crisp to me. Like a cool autumn breeze."

It was 6 a.m.

Even though the sun hadn’t risen yet, Washington, D.C., was already bustling. As soon as we left the hotel, cars filled the northwest avenue, all headed somewhere. Just getting out of the city would take a lot of effort.

Our destination? Manhattan, New York—specifically, Two Bridges, where Icarus HQ was located. We could’ve flown there, but my companions insisted on driving, so I didn’t have much choice but to accept their offer.

It felt like New York Avenue Northeast, the road we were on, was guiding us directly to New York. We then merged onto the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. To reach New York, we’d have to pass through the major cities of Baltimore and Philadelphia, so it almost seemed like the road was showing us the way.

Fortunately, the traffic wasn’t as bad as I had feared, given the early hour. There were still more cars than I would’ve liked, but it wasn’t unbearable.

It was going to be a 4-hour, 30-minute journey. Logan was driving, of course—it was his car. We’d barely set out, so none of us were sleepy yet. In other words, it was prime time for conversation.

I decided to break the ice with whatever came to mind.

"What were you all up to before coming to Washington?"

"Just wandering around, checking out old battlegrounds. It was actually kinda fun. Better than just drinking and wasting my entire three-week vacation."

"That’s not all we did… Took care of some overconfident punks flashing their guns, got offered a modeling gig, the usual. Never gets old."

"Sounds like a bunch of crazy stuff keeps happening to you guys."

I mean, seriously. Even if they didn’t know who you were, people would be wise to steer clear if they sensed something was off, right? But I guess some folks just don’t have that kind of common sense. Anyway, I could already imagine how it went down—probably just one well-placed punch, and it was over.

We slowly made our way out of Washington, exchanging stories that were hard to even categorize as "heroic."

"Anyone want to switch drivers when we stop for breakfast in Philly?"

"If you’re buying breakfast, I’ll take over."

"You’re getting dropped off in Philly, so it doesn’t matter. Senior Officer, mind taking the wheel?"

"Looks like I’m the only suitable candidate."

"You’re going to switch to autopilot anyway if you get tired, but you just have to act like you’re doing it all yourself…."

For the record, I could drive too, but these guys wouldn’t let me near the wheel. They still remembered the times I wrecked a car every time I drove. Clearly, that was a painful memory for them.

They didn’t even ask me if I wanted to drive. That said, Logan and Christopher’s bickering didn’t last long. Everyone but Logan passed out within a short time. After all the drinking last night, it wasn’t a surprise.

I hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol, knowing full well my bad habit of sleepwalking.

"...Ah, the sun’s coming up."

"Eugene."

"Yeah?"

"Get some sleep. Better to time your naps so you can chat properly later."

...I guess that makes sense.

It was funny, but not completely illogical. And considering how late we stayed up talking last night, I was starting to feel a little drowsy myself.

I was going to ask Logan if he was bored, but he seemed content driving manually. If he didn’t want to, he could’ve just switched to autopilot and taken a nap himself.

He’d manage on his own, I figured.

The seat was comfortable, and it didn’t take long for sleep to take over.

How much time had passed?

-[Alert: Arrival in Philadelphia in 5 minutes.]

"Urgh… are we there already? Welcome to Philadelphia, everyone."

"Sounds like you drove us here yourself."

"I warmed the seat, so let’s call it even."

"Says the guy who was napping."

Despite his earlier "reassuring" words, Lorentina had slept through most of the drive in the driver's seat. She and Logan exchanged banter as she pulled up a holographic display in front of us, quickly populating the windshield with a list of nearby breakfast places.

But our options weren’t great. Due to the heavy snow, most restaurants had delayed their opening times. It was also still quite early.

"So, what’s the plan?"

"The university area in the city center should have some places open."

"Do students even go to school in weather like this?"

"Not sure, but I don’t think the semester is quite over yet. And seriously, who here even remembers their university days? Most of us finished our graduate programs ages ago."

I suddenly felt everyone’s eyes on me.

"...Why are you all looking at me? I’ve never even been to a U.S. university!"

These guys seemed to think I was born and raised in America.

Meanwhile, the car had exited the main highway and entered Philadelphia’s city streets. It felt a bit like Seoul, in that we had to cross a river to get into the city center. The main difference here was that the southern part of the city was packed with residential areas.

After crossing the Whitman Bridge and entering downtown, the first thing we noticed were the snow-clearing efforts still underway. But even with the snow, we could still spot groups of people—students, judging by their backpacks—heading to their destinations.

One thing stood out.

"Even in this weather, food trucks are still operating."

"Well, there’s no reason not to. It’s cold, so the ingredients won’t spoil easily…."

And these days, food trucks had all the essentials, like windbreaks and heaters. So despite the freezing weather, the number of students milling about was surprising.

Quite a lot of students, actually.

"...There are more people here than I expected. We might have to think more about where to eat than what to eat."

"For the record, if anyone suggests eating in my car, I’ll hang you out of the window until we reach Two Bridges."

"Maybe we should just ask the students?"

"That sounds like the best plan."

After parking the car in a nearby lot, we ventured into the biting cold. Thanks to the preloaded map, we didn’t have to worry about getting lost.

We didn’t walk long before we spotted a group of college students casually strolling towards what seemed like a destination. They would be our first targets for information.

After a quick game of rock-paper-scissors, Logan was the one chosen to approach them.

"Excuse me, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

"Oh, sure—uh, whoa!"

"What’s wrong, Manson? Why are you—wait, huh?"

Of course, there was one thing we overlooked.

EM-class Awakeners were so rare that there might not even be 20 of them in the world. Here, there were three of us standing together.

Breakfast was shaping up to be more complicated than we thought.

The university dining hall was bustling with students, more so than usual due to the cold. It was already a popular spot, but with the weather, the warm building had become even more of a refuge. Plus, the fall semester was just a few days from ending, so the campus was more packed than ever.

And today, amidst this chaos, a massive bomb had dropped.

"...Whoever said eating in the car would get us hung out the window, come forward."

"Never thought I’d be so grateful for my squadmates. Really didn’t expect it to be here of all places."

"Didn’t know our Senior Officer had such a knack for black humor, like the SAS guys."

At this point, the dining hall at the University of Pennsylvania—where we were now—had turned into a peculiar and chaotic scene.

While Americans are generally open-minded, even curious, they weren’t about to directly ask us for autographs or pictures. We weren’t celebrities, after all. But curiosity knows no bounds, and the result of that curiosity was the current situation.

In simple terms, we were under heavy scrutiny.

The most attention was on Logan and me.

"Now that I think about it, choosing to come to a crowded university because no restaurants were open was a self-destructive move. I’ll admit it."

"We could’ve just grabbed groceries from a quiet shop near the highway and cooked for ourselves."

"Whatever. Let’s just eat quickly and get out of here. I’m used to this kind of attention anyway."

"Our youngest has gotten quite bold, hasn’t she? Comes with being a streamer, I suppose."

It’s not like being stared at would hurt me.

Well, Logan might be feeling the strain. His bear ears were twitching ever so slightly while he ate, and his expression was a bit awkward. Lorentina chuckled at him and added.

"You won’t be back to your main gig until next year, so why not do a bit of fan service? You’re the North American representative for Dark Zone, after all."

"Not sure anyone’s brave enough to come up and ask for an autograph."

"Our youngest has already signed a few things. Time for you to step up."

"Pass."

By the way, those few autographs I’d already given?

That was the result of a reasonable request from some of the students who had managed to approach us—many of them wanted a signature. It was the most appropriate, normal thing they could ask for in this situation.

In short, they’d asked for my autograph.

"...Excuse me, sorry to interrupt your meal. Are you the Korean streamer, Eugene? I watch your content all the time. I brought this cake from a nearby dessert shop—if it’s alright…."

"Oh, thank you so much! Let me sign something for you."

Swish.

And so, another food gift was added to our table. I signed the notebook they offered and wrote a little message: “Good luck with your finals!”—a simple but appreciated sentiment with the semester so close to ending.

The gifts kept coming. Scarves, gloves, cake slices, waffles—even a bottle of wine someone had brought for their end-of-semester party. By the time it was all said and done, one student had kindly provided us with a large basket to carry everything in.

"I run a small YouSpace channel, but apparently that’s enough for people to recognize me."

"Our youngest sure knows how to downplay her success."

"Ah, that’s not what I meant. I’ll share some of the chocolates I got with you later."

"Now you’re speaking my language."

After feeding Logan one of the chocolates, his expression brightened. At least it was a good one.

We wrapped up the meal faster than we normally would have. Thankfully, we managed to eat all the food we’d gathered from the food trucks without leaving anything behind.

Once we finished cleaning up, we quickly left the dining hall. Not only would we be a disturbance if we stayed too long, but...

-[Al^@rt: Icar^ru8s Code WC-EG-ISBALT-LWIPPG-0810]

-[Al^#&rt: #%^!#, Philadelphia. It’s almost# !%1^#$ time. How’ve you been^#(?]

-[#&!@#rt: Ah^#!%@, see you in a bit!^@!^$.]

I needed time to take a closer look at this message.

None of the others could see the holographic message, and even if they had, I doubted they’d understand. The text was garbled beyond recognition.

But despite the garbled message, I had a pretty good idea of where it was coming from.

Remnants of the past.

The final chapter at Indian Point.

"Alright, let’s head out. To Two Bridges. Shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes."

The car’s engine roared to life as we pulled away.

With the memories of our brief stop in Pennsylvania behind us, we sped along Route 95, passing barren fields and dense forests, crossing the boundary between New Jersey and New York.

And before long, we crossed the Hudson River and were back in Manhattan. After navigating the city’s complex web of streets, we reached Two Bridges, where the East River came into view just 10 minutes later.

A black skyscraper, identical to the one I’d seen in Yeouido, loomed before us.

"Good luck in there."

"Want us to wait for you?"

"I’m not sure how long it’ll take, but if I’m not back in two hours, feel free to head back to the hotel."

"Got it. I’m sure you’ll handle things just fine. Hope you get the answers you’re looking for."

Click.

With those words, I stepped out of the car.

Somewhere inside that building, the answers to my past were waiting for me.

Meanwhile...

-[Trending Topic: Unexpected Visitors at the University of Pennsylvania… (Click to read more)]

"...What is she doing all the way out in Philadelphia?"

"She’s an interesting one, that’s for sure."

Despite the conversation, their screens showed Eugene’s surprised expression, captured during her brief visit to Philadelphia.

There would be plenty of stories waiting for her when she returned.