I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun
Chapter 302 Table of contents

 

 

“Unusually, the mission objective has appeared. Target location reset.”

“I’ll speed up, so everyone hang on tight!”

“Whoa, who let the rookie drive—!”

Vroom!

The engine roared to life, the wheels turned, and as they pushed against the ground, the vehicle moved forward. Thus, the Dagger Team, including two civilians, advanced along the coast of the city. Of course, they didn’t forget to crush the remaining cartel forces blocking the way.

It would take about 20 minutes to reach the base in the southeast by vehicle. However, there were still many enemies remaining nearby, and the vehicle was essentially a moving noise bomb—consequently, they were inevitably a target for any cartel forces left.

As a result, what happened was—

—TOOT TOOT TOOT!

“There’s an armed vehicle following us from behind.”

“Please take care of it.”

“Understood. Just a moment….”

And whoosh.

It was a light sound, but the result was anything but. The adhesive bomb, mixed with some metal jet technology, could easily shred through the appropriate steel plate and bulletproof glass, and when it stuck precisely to the windshield, it exploded, vaporizing the driver’s head completely.

The next sound wasn’t pleasant. Creak, crash, then bang! The wildly shaking vehicle overturned and slammed into nearby telephone poles before rolling to a stop. The flames rising from within indicated that a good future was not in store for the occupants.

Of course, from the looks of it, several more vehicles were still in pursuit, confirming that this was indeed a cartel-infested area.

But—

“Ahaha, what audacity! Seems you value your life very little!”

“You crazy bitch….”

For the first time in a while, the shark had revealed its true nature.

Laurentina, who had planned to leave the AW50 and ammunition behind on the USS Lexington but insisted on using it herself, removed the scope and recalibrated, then reloaded with a demeanor that seemed almost delirious as she aimed at the swaying vehicle from inside.

Naturally, her target was the driver’s seat of the enemy vehicle. The kinetic energy of the .50 caliber could easily pierce through the windshield, and the firearm capable of firing it was enormous enough to protrude from the back of the truck’s cargo area. Meanwhile, the vehicle kept moving erratically.

However, Laurentina was an EM-class manifestor, standing shoulder to shoulder with Logan and me, easily compensating for the recoil of the .50 caliber as she continued firing like a possessed individual.

—BANG!

 

Without a suppressor, the ear-splitting explosions echoed continuously. Yet the shark seemed to find joy in it, bursting into laughter as she squeezed the trigger, pulling the bolt to eject the spent casing and reloading another bullet into the chamber.

With each deafening bang, a vehicle fell to the ground. Unlike in movies directed by explosion enthusiasts, where a bullet embedding itself in a car would make it explode, it didn’t quite happen like that here, but it was sufficient to pierce the windshield and kill the driver, and with the unspent kinetic energy, take out the backseat passenger or puncture tires.

The number of pursuing vehicles visible in the rearview mirror was increasing, but it didn’t matter much. Laurentina was intercepting them much faster. The enemies, leaning out of their windows to shoot, lost their drivers, resulting in typically horrific ends.

Of course, Laurentina wasn’t the only one engaged in the firefight; Logan, Dais, and Harmony, who were also in the truck’s cargo area, provided supporting fire. Given the speed, they threw grenades after cooking them briefly, causing them to slip under the hoods of enemy vehicles, making them jolt upon detonation.

“I can hear the kill count rising dramatically from behind.”

“We’re entering the avenue in front of A&M University campus. I’ve already contacted the base, so as long as IFF is activated, there shouldn’t be any major issues.”

“Indeed.”

The left showcased a beautiful ocean drive view of Corpus Christi Bay. The right was a quaint yet charming coastal city—but with so much hanging on behind us, it didn’t quite feel real.

With the sound of .50 caliber bullets firing behind us serving as background noise instead of a radio, I pressed the accelerator as hard as I could while crossing the coastal road. Meanwhile, vehicles filled with four to five enemies were lined up behind our truck, racing toward us. Thankfully, they weren’t on the same team, so they often fought among themselves.

When I pointed that out, someone on the other end of the communications network, presumably a member of the base defense force, added with difficulty that if we didn’t maintain a fair distance from the cartel coalition, we’d have no choice but to open fire with turrets.

I relayed that fact through the comms, then switched the vehicle to autopilot mode and swapped seats with Owens.

—KICK!

Kicking the door open made it easily break off.

Once I coiled my tail around the surrounding objects to secure myself firmly, I cautiously extended the muzzle outside. Switching the controls to single fire, I shot at the tires repeatedly; one vehicle toppled over, rolling off the road and crashing into the shallow sea.

I continued to pull the trigger. Spent casings ejected to the right, spinning wildly in the air before hitting the asphalt as the trailing vehicles began to disappear one by one. Of course, Laurentina’s fire didn’t stop. One .50 caliber magazine held an astonishing 100 rounds.

At this point, we had already relocated over 40 vehicles from the Ocean Highway to the Styx River Highway, and as we entered 7039 Ocean Drive Road, which gently traversed the shallow waters, we would soon encounter the naval airbase defense forces guarding the bridge.

“ETA 2 min!”

“Unload everything you have!”

I checked the team’s shield gauge through the UI. Laurentina’s gauge had already dropped below half due to her firing head-on. Logan, Harmony, and Dais had sustained minimal damage. I also tossed all the remaining grenades. Since half of the enemies were on the road, several vehicles exploded.

But the numbers were overwhelming. Given that everyone was already in the thick of it, they could immediately mobilize vehicles.

With a thud, the truck we were riding in vibrated slightly. Owens, looking quite troubled, added through the comms.

“The right rear tire is damaged. The steering will become a bit erratic, so hold on tight to avoid being thrown out.”

“Haha, the captain is giving himself a handicap! Let’s see if I can fire the .50 caliber with one hand!”

“You really are a crazy bitch….”

Of course, she said that, but at that moment, Laurentina knelt down and secured the AW50 with a strap. With a bang, she fired a round. From the holographic display, it turned out that she had indeed braced herself with her left hand on a pillar while shooting the .50 caliber with one hand.

 

Clank!

In the meantime, Harmony, who had clung on as a sniper, pulled the bolt to eject the spent casing. While Laurentina held a .50 caliber round in one hand, she immediately loaded another bullet into the chamber.

While Logan, who had just completed reloading several AW50 magazines with a click, casually placed one at his feet, the magazine clicked into place with a sound.

Thus, while the cartel coalition automatic slaughterhouse operated rather clumsily at a speed of 70 km/h, we finally reached the boundary of the naval base glistening with headlights and lights. Several layers of homemade vehicle obstruction structures and fully armed sentries awaited us.

As the screeching halt echoed, the outpost commander loudly communicated various instructions as he activated the turret.

And how long had it been?

—KAKAKAKAKANG!

Two 20mm chain guns and a high-velocity grenade launcher obliterated all approaching troops in unison.

Had such defenses been installed, there would have been no need to fuss over the approaching cartel coalition—but here we were, already inside their jurisdiction.

As soon as we disembarked from the vehicle, the following words came.

“Welcome to this location. The base commander asked what you might need.”

And the answer was predetermined.

“Bullets, and one Black Hawk heading to San Antonio.”

[General] Situation from 1 Hour of Mission in Corpus Christi

<Several photos captured roughly>

 

Details omitted.

[All Comments] [Registered Order]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Welcome to San Antonio. It must not have been easy to come all the way from New York, but it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

San Antonio International Airport.

Originally, this was a place where many recruits gathered to be reborn as US Air Force members at the boot camp located at Lackland Air Force Base nearby, but naturally, that wasn’t the case anymore. The space, which should have been filled with numerous passenger planes, was packed with all kinds of US Army equipment. Perhaps due to the size of the airport, it was quite suitable for storing equipment.

In any case, the airport’s terminal and main facilities had been thoroughly repurposed. The information desks and various lounges, among other spaces, had been converted into offices, troop accommodations, civilian shelters, dining areas, and so on.

I heard that any duties that couldn’t be handled here would be processed at the Methodist Hospital and VA hospitals, several kilometers to the west, in the densely packed medical district.

In other words—

“It seems like you’ve drawn a line here. Dividing San Antonio into north and south.”

“That’s correct. The Lackland Air Force Base, which was used as a training camp, is infested with cartels. I believe you can roughly understand the reason for this.”

I nodded. There was no way I couldn’t.

Humanity had created the concept of cities based on demand and necessity, but it was entirely impossible to protect a district completely from the same people. Imagine searching every alley densely packed with houses and buildings across hundreds of square kilometers to root out enemies and conduct inspections.

It would truly be a waste of both time and resources.

As a result, those tasked with defending San Antonio made a quick decision. They drew a line across the city, abandoning the area below while solidly defending above. Especially since the northern part of the city contained the medical district and international airport, this choice was all the more convenient.

However, the area below the drawn line was literally soaked in blood.

“Just as you can see, this area has almost completely lost control in less than two months.”

“An impressive level of control.”

“With the public authority evaporating, the cartel coalition no longer holds back. If you check the live CCTV feeds, you can easily see them walking around openly with guns, firing indiscriminately.”

“Do we have the capacity to launch an attack?”

“Unfortunately, we do not.”

Everyone nodded at that.

The area that needed protection was truly vast, but there weren’t that many people available for deployment. It was said that they had half-conscripted civilians to arm them and provide basic military training.

Somehow, it felt similar to the situation in Korea.

Of course, the chat was filled with self-deprecating comments like, “Should I hit the dislike button for those still unmilitarized?”

Anyway, that didn’t matter much.

What mattered was the fact that we needed to break their backs at least once, and thus our question was simple and straightforward.

“Please provide a briefing focused on the locations dense with cartels. After resting for a while, I’m thinking of taking a stroll in the southern part of San Antonio.”

“…Understood. I’ll prepare the briefing immediately.”

And the following words.

“Is there anything else you might need?”

The Dagger Team collectively added.

“It would be great if you could bring us enough C4 to set San Antonio ablaze.”

It was time to set the dawn of the city on fire.

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