"Recruiting players for the Tacoma Community College reclamation mission! Seeking top-notch dealers with a minimum of 3 kills per minute! Bonuses for exceptional performance!"

"Wow, you passed the second level of the Dagger Team test! Just look at this, please!"

"Wow, you're a real master."

Seattle, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Operator Base Camp.

Thousands of people roamed around, raising their voices as they searched for teammates for missions. Over the past week, however, one significant change had taken hold—some players began equipping the Dagger Team title to ward off trolls that couldn't be screened by item checks alone.

The title encapsulated various capabilities: the ability to respond to rapidly changing combat situations, maintain calm while dealing damage under any conditions, gauge the flow of battle and switch teammates to offensive mode at the right moment, or follow squad leader's commands instantly and accurately.

With this single title, veteran players no longer needed to declare their intentions to join, and raid leaders or party hosts had an easier time deciding where to assign each player, relying on hexagonal stat displays.

It didn’t take long for the once-nameless NPC squad, known as the Dagger Team, to rise to fame.

"Recruiting players to focus and attempt the third level of the test! Urgently seeking players who’ve completed level two with full map knowledge!"

"Who are this week's level 3 entrants?"

"The fixed members this week are MR, AW, and ES… whoa. The last two have a reputation score over six times the average."

"Can this even be cleared? Are they nuts?"

MR, AW, and ES represent Marcus Lampert, Anthony Owens, and Edwin Sirkins.

To the players’ dismay, this week's lineup was utterly brutal. Excluding Logan and Laurentina, who would never appear outside the Dark Zone, the squad leaders and sub-leaders of the Dagger Team—some of the most battle-hardened operators in the world—were all there.

Although the players couldn't know this detail, one thing was certain.

"This week's level three is seriously tough…."

"Didn't they increase the number of attempts to 15 just last week? Still too hard?"

"Only two people from the Cerberus Team cleared level 3 last week—think this week will be any easier?"

Countless players were groaning in frustration.

Only a select few managed to earn the "Dagger Team Test Passer" title after passing all three levels of the test. Those who received this title were practically worshiped, treated as gods. Most of them received generous bonuses and countless raid invitations.

Today, aspiring players of all kinds—reclusive masters, skilled streamers, and countless others—threw themselves into the test, striving to achieve the prestigious title.

Among them were a few streamers who seemed the least likely to be associated with that title.

"Today’s the day to set a new record for level 3 clearing, everyone!"

"Why are you so excited? You've been AWOL for a few days, and it’s been chaos."

—Teacher, it's dereliction of duty to be doing only IRL content for ten days straight!!! —Since when did a few days turn into double digits, lololololololololololololol —This person always skips gaming when the content gets interesting lolololol —The title floating above Harmony's head looks so weird, lol —Harmony… clearing level 3…? Six months ago, that would've sounded insane, seriously.

After spending some time house hunting and avoiding Dark Zone except for IRL or low-tier games, Harmony—who wasn’t really Eugene—was the target of these jokes from viewers. While the viewers were mostly joking, the novelty was undeniable.

Today, however, that didn’t seem to matter much.

"Anyway, now that I'm back, let's power through quickly. There’s a mission after the test, so let’s take it easy with that one."

"Sounds good!"

"Why are you so excited, my little green cat?"

"Ugh."

—Whoa, Laurentina-nunna lolololololololol —Haaa, haa, haaa... —Seriously, the chat's busted again? —If Harmony was skipping Dark Zone for a guest, that's valid lolololol —Sigh… I'll give it one pass.

As usual, Harmony became Laurentina’s personal pillow, as she clung to him on their way to the briefing room. Harmony and Dice had already cleared it, but the two had been away from the game for a considerable amount of time.

Due to the influx of people, the Dagger Team wasn’t present, and only video footage played. Yet, Eugene and Laurentina absorbed every blueprint slide without missing a beat. Once the video ended, they walked out, their conversation flowing without interruption.

"The turrets are located here, here, and here. Destroying either of these spots activates the mortar turret behind."

"Well, if it comes to it, we’ll just shoot them down. It looks like we might be able to lure the mortars with drones or cameras, so maybe we can confirm using a pulse."

"There's no point in bringing anti-air mines, so let’s just freeze the turrets with foam to prevent them from firing."

"Not a bad idea."

A stream of improvised strategies flowed freely.

What set Eugene and Laurentina apart was their ability to come up with countless tactics on the fly—strategies that other players had meticulously pieced together over countless hours.

Without a second thought, the "suggestions" began. Harmony and Dice swapped their skill sets without hesitation, while Eugene and Laurentina barely flinched as they entered the simulation room for the first mission.

A huge mission space spanning hundreds of meters, maybe even a kilometer, opened up before them. Countless virtual enemies awaited the four from afar.

—[Notification: Infiltrate the fortified base, retrieve the intel, and hold your position until the helicopter arrives.]

"Turret locations unknown, let’s just charge in. You two stay back and, on my signal, shoot foam at the turrets."

"Got it."

"Laurentina and I will lead the breakthrough. Support us well."

Harmony and Dice responded by pulling out their designated sniper rifles.

As soon as the mission began, the two moved toward the well-fortified base. Instantly, about eight enemies—clearly well-trained—rushed out, only to vanish in seconds. The two Vanguards had practically erased them, switching targets with nearly impossible speed.

In less than a second, they each took down two enemies, totaling four. As two more turned their guns on them, they quickly crumpled with a dull thud, courtesy of the supporting fire from Dice and Harmony.

In roughly 0.5 seconds, the duo had eliminated all enemies in sight, tossing a hologram decoy toward the front cover and scanning the area with sharp eyes.

"Enemies ahead!"

"Activate the turret! Heavy armor approaching!"

"Smoke!"

Puh-puh-puh!

Smoke exploded in front of them, courtesy of Eugene and Laurentina.

Naturally, the smoke concealed muzzle flashes and distorted bullet trajectories, making it impossible for the enemies to pinpoint their positions. Meanwhile, the two enabled vision to target and wipe out everything visible.

Then, an ominous sound emerged. Holes opened in the smoke, through which green lasers sliced, followed by a barrage of .50-caliber chain gun rounds. The two turrets had finally activated.

Unfazed, they quickly brought up the map layout and identified probable turret positions based on the laser trajectories.

"Support team, advance. Maintain a 25m distance. Get ready to shoot foam from high ground."

"Roger."

Eugene and Laurentina dashed in opposite directions, clearing out stray enemies with grenades while leaving the rest to Harmony and Dice, who were in untouchable positions.

As the turret angles turned in opposite directions, foam rounds hit the turrets with a sharp pop, stiffening the heads of the turrets instantly. Meanwhile, Eugene and Laurentina burst into the turret control room, smashing the operator’s head.

Time elapsed: one minute.

"I'll hack the turrets; come up slowly."

"…One minute? It’s only been one minute?"

"What’s up with the mortars… why aren’t they firing?"

"Since we froze the turrets rather than destroying them, the mortar turrets haven’t activated. Let’s keep moving."

—???????? —So many people failed to break through this, but they just breeze through it in one minute lololololol —There’s a difference when it’s the ‘original’ pros… —Everyone who talked big about how Eugene would twist himself up here, start bowing now lolololol —I’m sorry!!!!!! I doubted you!!!!!!

Without pausing, the two “striking stormtroopers” pierced every enemy’s skull as they broke records. A few minutes later, they rappelled down from the intel building and sprinted toward the extraction point.

Of course, the hacked mortar and chain turrets had long since turned incoming reinforcements into nothing more than grated meat.

With the mission completed in just five minutes, the two waved away the first-level clear notification with casual hand gestures.

"Alright, on to the next one."

"Uh, okay…."

It wouldn’t take long.

─Thud.

"Time to get up, everyone. It's time for our deployment to the refinery."

"Still the youngest, I see. Even among these shadowy friends, the one with a snake tail stands out."

"Didn't we see this back in Sacramento?"

Dagger Team.

It was finally time to pick up their guns.

"What are the unique features of engaging around the refinery, considering that it’s a combat zone?"

"Hmm… not sure?"

"The answer is that there's very little combat inside the refinery itself."

"Oh."

A simple question with an obvious answer.

The refinery, lined with countless pipelines and massive liquid storage tanks, was a space filled with flammable gases and liquids. A misplaced incendiary round could ignite the gases in the tanks, turning the area into a sea of flames.

Add to that the fact that the facility had been left neglected for ages, exposed to sea breezes that had corroded much of the structure. While the coalition forces seemed to have made repairs, letting their guard down would be nothing short of foolish.

But beyond that, there was another crucial factor.

"Now, the next question. If the refinery can’t be fortified, where’s the hardest place to penetrate?"

"Around it?"

"Correct."

At that moment, a view of the Tacoma North Refinery unfolded.

A bizarre, towering wall that resembled the Great Wall of China circled the facility. The reason this was possible was, of course, due to the containers—there had been a massive transportation company capable of unloading thousands of containers right next to the refinery.

Additionally, the many abandoned vehicles provided excellent materials for fortifications, creating a makeshift wall built from containers and cars that awaited the deployment team—this was noted in the briefing document passed on to the Dagger Team members.

Thus, reinforcements were necessary.

"So, what’s our job here?"

"Let’s take a look at this."

In front of them appeared a red and blue overlay.

A large area of about 20 square kilometers was marked in red and blue above the massive harbor. The red marked areas were critical and should not be damaged, while the blue marked areas were free for bombing.

In short, the mission assigned to the Dagger Team could be naïvely summarized as follows:

"Block the transportation routes of the coalition forces stealing oil, and destroy everything except the areas that must not be damaged."

"Sounds easy."

"And as I mentioned earlier, while we should avoid damaging the refinery itself, can we use it as a shield?"

Of course, the answer was "yes." The enemy would be boiling with rage.

However, the fire wouldn’t remain contained within their hearts.

On a quiet night devoid of moonlight, the Dagger Team cautiously cut through the containers in front of them, taking great care to stay out of sight. They unfolded an optical camouflage screen to block out any light and began cutting into the insides using a thermite torch. The stunned expressions of the coalition forces already formed in their minds.

To put it simply—if they stacked containers to build a wall, the insides would naturally be empty or filled with junk. They planned to move between those gaps.

—Clank!

"C4 installed. Let’s move to the next point."

"Ugh, this container reeks of rot…!"

"Let’s pulse once and then break through. We never know what might be inside."

Such trivialities aside, the Dagger Team, divided into three groups of two, stealthily navigated around the containers for about thirty minutes, successfully distributing an appropriate amount of composition at all posts and checkpoints.

After that, they constantly pulsed the area to ensure safety and selected the most appropriate point for infiltration, carefully cutting through the container walls and entering the base.

Communications from the Dagger Team came through their earpieces.

"Missile launch completed, ETA 3 minutes. Let’s get ready for some fireworks."

The timer was set for 2 minutes and 50 seconds.

Divided into six teams of two, they all climbed to the highest points around, ready to aim their infrared laser pointers at the locations with the densest enemy concentrations.

How much time passed?

—Boom!

"Clean hit. Nice and neat."

"All checkpoints and gate controls neutralized. Let’s get started."

"The Dagger Team leads the way. Destroy all key enemy positions in sight."

—Dagger Team!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ —Why is it only you guys having fun? Why is it only you guys having fun? Why is it only you guys having fun? Why is it only you guys having fun? Why is it only you guys having fun? —Starting from the climax, maximum drive lolololololololol —Eugene’s gameplay is moving… —I’m losing it, seriously lololololololololol

The pre-installed C4s exploded in unison, turning the outposts into ashes, while dozens of cruise missiles rained down, creating massive pillars of fire.

This was only the beginning.