NoveLight ™
“...That was close. Missile self-destruction complete.”
“Phew, I really feel my stamina is running low.”
Let’s rewind a few minutes to the Seattle waters, about 90 km north of the Lewis-McCode Joint Base, which was almost the epicenter. The Dagger Team was there.
After UAVs began to hover over Seattle, capturing the shadow generated to the south, discussions on the Dagger Team’s subsequent action plans ensued. One conclusion drawn was that the news about the invincible legion would likely spread soon, increasing the chances of the allied forces employing extreme measures.
Thus, the nine members split into two groups of four and five, one heading towards the missile base in Seattle and the other toward one of the five Lider-class destroyers waiting offshore. Unsurprisingly, several ballistic missiles were in standby mode.
The first to board, Laurentina, made quick work of all visible enemies, reached the bridge in mere minutes, pressed the self-destruct button, and turned the inside into a bloodbath.
A few minutes later, Morgan, who followed, clicked his tongue at the scene.
“I’ve never seen fist marks on the control panel this clearly before.”
“It was pretty urgent. By the time I entered the bridge, there were only six seconds left until impact.”
Perhaps because of that, the corpses of the enemies scattered around the path leading to the control panel were beyond salvaging. Some had their heads smashed from the running speed, their heads rolling separately from their bodies, while others were crumpled and strewn about like garbage on the dashboard.
It was easy to understand what had happened. In her haste, Laurentina had bulldozed through those blocking her way, activated the missile self-destruction sequence on the control panel, and then proceeded to blend all her friends still remaining on the bridge like a blender.
As Laurentina, drenched in blood, exhaled deeply, her sinister red eyes gleamed brightly.
“I want to wash up.”
“Aren’t you just going to get on the SDV without your diving suit when you return to the surface?”
“Of course.”
In other words, until then, she intended to maintain a condition that could only be described as having just emerged from hell after beating a great demon. Time was tight, so one of the Dagger Team members, Morgan A. Gilliam, quickly reviewed the communication logs.
“There’s no record of SOS signals sent. Did they all get wiped out before requesting support…?”
“Probably. But the other areas of the ship that can’t check the bridge might still be unaware of what’s happening.”
Of course, aside from that, their movements were incredibly busy. They hurriedly manipulated the dashboard as if they had rehearsed beforehand, automatically inserting all remaining missiles into the silos for rapid firing. After turning off all alarms that could sound on the ship, they input the coordinates they had meticulously gathered while roaming Seattle for weeks.
As more than 32 coordinates filled the blood-soaked map panel, Laurentina grinned slyly and added,
“Do you think the crew here ever thought someone would cross 5 km of sea on an SDV and board their ship?”
“They probably didn’t think so.”
“There’s a saying that ignorance is a sin. If so, we could view the price of that sin as the transfer of missile ownership to the Dagger Team.”
“That would be a discount.”
The panel on the bridge linked to Icarus gear. Moreover, the already deceased crew members had unfortunately received full authority from headquarters for the launch of nuclear missiles, and the captain’s keycard needed for firing was already inserted into the panel, with the key for the launch process long since turned.
Thus, only the launch remained, and the process progressed rapidly.
The silos on the deck opened, and dozens of missiles began to be launched in sequence.
“Jump!”
Splash!
Simultaneously, two people leaped off the bridge platform, and the other two, waiting near the stern for the infiltration point, also dove into the sea.
As they put a few hundred meters of distance between themselves and the destroyer in their mini-submersible,
───Kuuuuung!
The other four destroyers began firing upon the ship where the Dagger Team had just been.
This was somewhat expected. The sudden loss of communication and missile launches toward allies were actions that could easily be labeled as severe rebellion or treachery. In other words, there was now a legitimate reason to sink their own ship.
Of course, the crew who had heard nothing and were suddenly targeted by friendly fire met their end in the Seattle waters without understanding what had happened.
“The allied communication network is getting quite noisy. It makes sense since bombardments just started… Anyway, we’ve already dismantled quite a few of the air defense zones and communication bases we marked beforehand, so we can leave the rest to our invincible friends.”
“The polar bears should do something as well. It’s about time we got out of this cold place.”
“That’s true. Let’s head back.”
And with that, they submerged.
Turning sharply away from the sinking ship in Seattle’s waters, they moved along the west coast toward a shoreline that no one noticed—simultaneously cautiously landing at one of the many forward bases that Icarus had established long before the war broke out. They hid the SDV and tossed aside their diving gear.
As they began to regroup, a voice came through their earpieces.
“Ah, this is Logan. There were a few minor losses, but we successfully pushed over a base. Iskander missiles will be falling here and there soon, so I’ll issue a steel rain warning.”
“Minor losses?”
“I used up all the small termite rounds the rookie gave me.”
“That’s a major loss.”
Underwater, their conversation continued through the voice synthesizer.
At that moment, Owens’s voice interrupted.
“Central Park HQ mentioned that once the Lewis-McCode Joint Base becomes a base camp due to the shadows, we can rest and resupply from that stronghold. Let’s meet at the designated location. For now, the Dagger Team is on hiatus.”
“Finally, we can rest. We’ve done enough damage; let’s leave the rest to those invincibles.”
Task Force Dagger.
Naturally, they were people too.
And as mentioned, after about three days of nonstop fighting, the Lewis-McCode Joint Base became a flatland where not a single allied soldier could be found.
The path to the center of Seattle had opened.
Meanwhile, in another world, about two weeks later.
“...Hmm.”
Carrying only a single carrier, Laurentina stood alone in front of the Pyeongtaek Naval Base.
It was the beginning of the chaotic adventure to find the youngest.
Of course, there was no promise that she would arrive on time.
“In New York, there’s Central Park, and where the youngest lives is by the river…”
The river that runs through the capital of South Korea, along with the long park extending alongside it.
Laurentina was walking over it.
Since the carrier she originally needed to drag around had long been sent to the youngest's house via delivery, in a sense, she could say she had adapted quite well to South Korea in just about a month.
She didn’t have a particular destination in mind. The youngest had already informed her of the house location and password long ago, so in a way, she was effectively taking a solo tour of Seoul, just like Yujin had done two weeks ago with Logan.
As March turned into April, the sunlight in Seoul was quite warm, and coincidentally, it was the weekend. Therefore, tens of thousands of people spread out their mats and sat down, while citizens sitting at the chairs or tables set up in various places were having lunch through takeout or delivery.
It wasn’t that such a scene couldn’t be seen in New York, but it was a sight that was hard to come by back home. Moreover, it was even more so in Norfolk, Virginia, where she primarily resided, or in her hometown of Vermont.
'If it were there, the beach or riverside would be filled with Navy friends jogging in the morning, and in the latter…'
In a bizarre neighborhood where bears would appear if one went to the back mountains and where a fox scratched at the window in the morning, what could one hope for? There was Lake Champlain to the west facing New York, but that place was nothing but mountains, fields, and single-family homes. If the latitude had been lower, alligators might have roamed around.
In that regard, this Han-River was indeed a fascinating place. Although the fact that buildings surrounded the river didn’t add to the aesthetic appeal, it wasn’t a significant problem.
“Hey, pretty student! Come over here and have a chicken skewer! Only 1500 won each!”
“Haha, thank you! I’ll take everything on top.”
“That’s a big order; can you eat it all?”
Of course, there was no problem.
Around that time, Laurentina unknowingly began to draw attention.
The popularity of Dark Zone in South Korea needed no explanation, and among that, Yujin was someone who everyone would know if they had any interest in PVP—or even if they didn’t, if they had any interest in non-game stories. Laurentina’s presence naturally appealed to viewers amidst that.
To add to that, ironically, while some information about Logan and Yujin had been revealed, almost no information existed about Laurentina online, which stimulated the curiosity of many viewers about her without restraint.
Yujin had made her team members celebrities through her broadcasts, but surprisingly, that was where it ended. In the midst of that, Laurentina appeared in the Han River without any related information available, making it impossible for fans to even engage in fan activities.
The number of people who recognized her was extremely small, but the unique Korean accent heavily laced with English raised suspicions deeper. Soon, when someone cautiously approached her, the suspicion transformed into certainty—though it was an unimaginable scenario for her.
That didn’t mean things were going smoothly, however.
“Do you want my autograph? You want to keep it? Is there a reason?”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
Of course, she wasn’t angry; she was more puzzled than anything else. Just a little while ago, at the zoo, Logan and the youngest were quite popular, yet she was nearly invisible to anyone approaching her. Occasionally, Yujin would turn on her stream, but that was simply waving at the drone cam during a Dark Zone broadcast—she didn’t care about the few viewers she had at all.
Thus, a peculiar and ironic situation arose. Laurentina couldn’t understand why she was so wildly popular. Of course, there was no reason for her to understand or desire to understand.
But one thing was certain.
‘...It might get quite troublesome if I stay here.’
The silly thought of wearing a sign saying she wouldn’t give out autographs briefly crossed her mind, but that was practically a ridiculous “what if” scenario that wasn’t worth considering.
However, unfortunately, naïve as she was, Laurentina had enough entertainer qualities to not fit the mentioned description. In other words, she wasn’t greatly opposed to drawing attention to herself, and thus, she caught hold of one person who had asked for an autograph.
“Wait a moment; come here. Let’s have a deep conversation.”
“Guh!”
What followed was a grand festival of sorts.
To put it differently, Laurentina grilled the fan until the abstract reasons for her popularity took on concrete shapes, and only then did she nod her head.
“Um... Do you understand a little now?”
“Hmm. It’s a more fundamental reason than I thought.”
“Haha…”
“But I like it.”
“Eh, eh…?”
“That’s a truly fitting reason for receiving my autograph.”
If there’s no reason, people won’t act.
But if there is a reason, they will. Soldiers had to be like that— and the current situation didn’t deny her essence either. In other words, Laurentina began to enjoy this situation little by little.
If she had truly hated such things, she would have looked upon the DI who recognized Logan and asked for his autograph at the Jinhae Naval Base not too long ago with discontent—yet Laurentina had even volunteered as a photo reporter, holding up her phone camera back then.
Having given a proper fan service to the first person who showed her interest, she moved on with her steps again.
If one were to point out the difference from earlier, it was that now she greeted those who recognized her with a far more confident stride and full dedication.
“If there’s something you want, build the courage to come forward and ask. This is what you wanted, right?”
“Wow, this new type of fan service is insane.”
“Shark-eyed lady, take me!”
The Han River started to become increasingly lively. The news that a notable individual, famous for reasons different from the various celebrities appearing on TV, had appeared in the park spread rapidly.
Not everyone knew about Dark Zone or Yujin, and since Laurentina didn’t hold a significant weight in Yujin’s broadcasts, roughly one in two hundred people by the Han River recognized her. But, of course, on a weekend lunch, the Han River was bustling with people.
People attract more people, and thus, the crowd quickly surpassed the number gathered by the street musicians busking nearby, and during the weekend lunch hour, many “Bill Gates” began to follow her.
And being easy to spot also meant a greater chance of encountering special events—
“Is this a common event in Seoul?”
“Ah, it’s not exactly…”
Street lifting.
It was the moment Laurentina’s wallet thickened considerably.
“What the heck.”
The pizza she had been chewing fell from her mouth.
What on earth was this person doing over there?