"Alright, boot camp graduates. Let's discuss a few matters."

"Huh?"

Lorentina's distinctive voice rang out in my bustling home. Instantly, everyone turned their heads in her direction, curious about what was going on. Naturally, Harmony and Dice lumbered over to her, eager to hear what she had to say, while Logan and I glanced at each other before returning to our tasks.

Recently, I had been quite busy with various matters. The reason was simple: after our trip to the zoo a few days ago, we had a dinner and drinking party, and accommodating four guests in my home had become a bit cramped. In other words, my household had become slightly overcrowded.

The last party I hosted after returning from the Final Championship, with about eight people gathered, had been quite an exception. They had all crashed on the sofas, beds, and blankets spread across the floor for just one night, so it hadn’t been a major issue. However, if this became a weekly occurrence, it would become somewhat complicated.

I was getting ahead of myself.

In short, I was looking for a new place.

Of course, I kept my ears open to hear what Lorentina was saying.

"What’s going on?"

"Dark Zone, just a brief discussion about the upcoming mission. Nothing too grand, so no need to worry."

"That sounds like it might be grand already…."

That was indeed the case.

Anyway, aside from that, a DroneCam was hovering next to Harmony and Dice. It wasn’t broadcasting but was more akin to providing real-time translation.

In any case, what came next was something I found difficult to ignore as well.

"In about a week, the battle in Seattle will commence. Wouldn’t you like to discuss that briefly?"

"Oh, now that you mention it, that’s right."

"I’m interested."

While Harmony and Dice seemed engaged, Logan, finding his area of expertise emerging, quietly moved closer. I hesitated for a moment before standing up from my chair, and Lorentina, with a pleased expression, noted that it was time to use the holographic projector.

With a whir, Seattle’s landscape suddenly appeared before us.

"To be a good operator, one must also read the situation and flow of events. If our little one has developed tactical insight and skills from boot camp, it will be my job to cultivate your strategic perspectives."

"And then you’ll try to pull us in."

"Heh, recruits are always lacking. I’ve heard that the DoD is discussing remotely operated robotic soldiers these days…."

"Ugh…."

Fortunately, Lorentina’s recent comment wasn’t classified military information. It was something you could easily find with a quick internet search.

That aside, I was quite intrigued by the notion of strategic insight—though it seemed somewhat abrupt, I had a general idea of what Lorentina was getting at. She likely wanted to brainstorm how the battle here would unfold.

This method was one of collective reasoning used before launching operations or predicting future engagements. In other words, it was something we often did in the past.

"Let’s first establish the necessary premises for our discussion or mind mapping. For now, you two can just observe. Watching experienced individuals prepare for a discussion will help you understand the principles behind it."

"So, the goal of today’s discussion is to sketch out a simple concept of the form of engagements that might occur in Seattle?"

"Exactly."

Memories of the past began to resurface.

This type of mind mapping generally divided into two main processes: the establishment of all premises necessary for discussion, and the actual engagement in discussion and mind mapping. The first process was the most crucial step in staying on topic.

I began to contemplate. Seattle, Seattle. Let’s think about the first point…

"…First of all, we must remember that Seattle is very close to Vancouver in Canada."

"Confirmed. First premise."

"It’s the final stronghold of the American mainland recovery but also the starting point for counter-offensives."

"That’s the second premise."

As I listed them out, the puzzle pieces began to fit together, and the necessary elements for the operational progression assembled.

In the meantime, Harmony seemed to catch on and raised her hand.

"Uh… there are many islands, and the coastline is very complex. Also, it seems that a lot of ships could enter there."

"Smart observation. That’s the third premise."

"Compared to other cities, it’s quite unintuitive and fragmented, right?"

"Everyone’s already adapting. That’s the fourth premise."

At the same time, Lorentina was busy highlighting several areas.

King County International Airport, the Aviation Museum, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, the Lewis-McChord Joint Base in the south, the Kitsap-Bremerton and Bangor Naval Bases… along with the US Naval Academy in Annapolis.

She cross-referenced the newly released satellite and UAV images of Seattle.

Surprisingly, the terrain Lorentina had mentioned differed significantly from the real landscape. Particularly with regard to the aforementioned naval bases and Washington National Guard bases…

"…No way, not again."

"Exactly. It wasn’t only San Diego that got hit with a nuke."

Holes.

Strangely, they were either unnaturally formed or had been gouged out on the spot. The bizarre terrain suggested that a mushroom cloud had risen there in the past—a revelation further confirmed when Lorentina began measuring the size of ground zero.

Naturally, it was in kilometers. However, the size of the flooded area corresponded closely with the size of the crater, allowing for a rough estimation of the explosion’s magnitude. Considering that the Kitsap Naval Base extended about 2 km, one could deduce that a warhead with roughly 300 kt of explosive yield had once fallen there.

Of course, that wasn’t the only consideration.

In any case, one thought crossed my mind.

"What a shortsighted choice that was."

"That’s true."

"Uh… why do you say that?"

"While it might have been a good decision in the early stages of the war, by the time they were rampaging all over the American mainland, they had effectively erased their own docking ports."

From that fact, another conclusion could be drawn.

The missile ships were likely not in Seattle but about 250 km away in Vancouver. The reason was straightforward: as mentioned, they had eliminated their own docking ports.

"And here’s a hypothesis from me. The battle in Seattle will likely involve missions to deploy our jammers throughout various locations or help position interceptor missiles. That’s almost a certainty."

"That would be necessary to intercept the Zircon cruise missile bombings coming from the coalition forces in Vancouver."

"Correct."

As the conversation continued, Dice chimed in.

"So… during the Seattle battle, wouldn’t the plan be to preserve existing bases, infrastructure, and buildings as much as possible?"

"What makes you think that?"

"Earlier, you mentioned Seattle as the final stronghold for recovering the mainland but also the starting point for counter-offensive operations. I believe the city will serve as a kind of massive secondary operation base, similar to Central Park HQ."

"That means many soldiers and vehicles would need to move in, which would also need to be defended…."

Harmony naturally joined in.

After a brief moment of silence, the two nodded in agreement.

"…Wow, this is why we’re doing this."

"We correct wrong thoughts and share good ideas… while grasping the operation at hand. Anyone can present a new perspective. This is why communication among special forces personnel must be horizontal."

With a quick movement, Lorentina gently massaged Harmony’s shoulder and added,

"Our rookie here will handle things just fine without saying much, so you two should come up with various scenarios or combat methods before I return. Don’t worry; the two of them will help you out."

"Okay… wait? You’re coming back? Where are you going?"

"I’ve had enough rest; it’s time for me to head back for a bit."

And just then, the reason she had been massaging Harmony’s shoulder became clear.

"Can our rookie drive well?"

The Porsche Boxster 40— a 40th anniversary special edition— was set to tear down the road, the top prize from the partner streamer battle that had crossed over from America.

"Wow… was it called a coastal tanker? A 50,000-ton class? This ship is on an entirely different level compared to the training ones we usually handle…."

"Remarkably, it’s one of the smallest sizes among oil tankers. Is this your first time infiltrating such a large vessel?"

"Ah… ugh."

We were aboard a Baekho-class high-speed transport vessel, quite far from the Pyeongtaek naval base.

While gazing at the training decommissioned oil tanker located about ten kilometers away, a thin voice came from behind. Momentarily, I thought it was the rumored "Siren" of the UDT, but upon turning my head, I saw a fully equipped member, speaking in a somewhat old-fashioned American English.

A gold squadron patch on their shoulder, and the three letters made up of English capital letters and numbers. The individual who had been widely rumored to be the most experienced and skilled weapon among them stood right behind me.

Before I could react, they extended their hand in greeting.

"Nice to meet you. You’ve traveled a long way. I’ll make sure you learn a lot."

"Just make sure to keep an eye on me."

At the same time, we checked the time.

There wasn’t much time left before the briefing session. Almost as if we had planned it, we headed toward the briefing room. Numerous people had already taken their seats. About thirty individuals were divided down the center, with UDT members on the left and DEVGRU members on the right.

The difference was that the operators who had come with Lorentina sat in chairs, while she stood at the podium, skillfully operating the holographic projector.

She briefly outlined the mission overview and introduced the DEVGRU personnel.

"Hello. I am Christopher Lorentina, the commander of the Hammerhead Strike Team from Gold Squadron, representing DEVGRU in Korea this year. It’s a pleasure to meet you all."

Clap, clap, clap!

A thunderous applause erupted. It was more than just a formality—it was due to the fact that, despite several past unfortunate incidents, SEAL Team 6 stood proudly among the top tier of special operations units, and Lorentina was one of the most recognized faces among them.

In fact, when you searched "DEVGRU Shark Face," countless images would appear, as she was known for always wearing a mask with a shark's mouth design on it.

In any case, a celebrity like her was participating in this year’s joint training. It was only natural that she would receive a more fervent welcome than usual.

As she flipped through the slides, she added,

"You’ve probably already received the details of the operation, as they were distributed as soon as the outline for the joint operation was finalized. I assume everyone here knows the operation inside out, so I’ll skip the overview."

The presentation continued with an extensive briefing on duties and rules of engagement.

For over thirty minutes.

"…Additionally, five fast boats will be on standby as maritime ambulances, and in case of an accident, there’s a system in place for immediate handover to the destroyers monitoring the training area nearby. Everyone here can request an operation halt if necessary."

As various numbers were thrown around, Lorentina listed out all the frequencies for contacting the destroyers and medical helicopters waiting nearby. Naturally, no one seemed surprised; at least DEVGRU members were well-prepared, and many of the UDT members had memorized the frequencies before the briefing.

Questions arose, and everyone present successfully answered her queries about the frequencies, which she accepted with a nod, as if it were nothing special, before moving on.

After a considerable time, she concluded her explanations and added one final remark.

"In another briefing room, approximately 53 meters from here, there’s a team acting as the rebels discussing how they should effectively obstruct you."

There was a moment of silence.

Then came the questions.

"Some of you might not fully understand what it means to have the authority to attack such a massive vessel, but within Tier 1, having this authority distinguishes the ranks of special forces. In other words…."

You are currently placed in the same position as SEAL Team 6.

As Lorentina smiled slyly, the expressions of the UDT members sitting to the left hardened. It was less about being rigid and more about adopting a determination that was incomparably different from before.

With a chuckle, she continued.

"I hope we can have a fruitful exchange."

Amid an indescribable pressure, her sharp teeth glinted.

The joint training had begun.