Time suddenly shifted back to the late 2020s, in the high-rise building of Two Bridges.

"I hereby approve the game project Titan, set against the backdrop of near-future urban warfare. I wish you good results."

Thus, the seed of the game that would later become the motif for Dark Zone was sown.

As direction was established, the basic world-building took shape, along with… countless tasks managed by hundreds of developers, working tirelessly day and night. Approximately a few years later, Dark Zone had reached a fundamental completion stage.

As the open beta test approached about a month away,

"My child has gone missing!"

"Please calm down, ma'am. Do you know where your child was last seen?"

On the opposite side of the Earth, a person had vanished without a trace from this world.

It was not a simple disappearance. Everyone, except immediate family, considered the existence of the missing person nonexistent. Not only their existence but also the very causality was excised from the world. As a result, the parents of the missing child spent nearly a month in hellish torment, consumed by extreme despair as each day passed.

Then, after a fortnight, the world they remembered began to warp.

"…The photos in the album are changing."

"A manifestation? What does this mean…?"

While the image of their son remained vivid in their memories, the album they had kept at home told a different story.

The son had somehow become a daughter, transformed into a woman with a snake tail. However, some distinct features subtly visible in the photos confirmed that this was not a completely different person but indeed the same child they remembered.

And just a few days later, someone unexpectedly visited their home.

"…Who are you?"

"I've finally come to meet you. It’s a pleasure. Here’s my business card."

Dazed, they accepted the card, which contained nothing but a name and a phone number—no other information.

Claiming that his name wasn’t particularly important, the visitor carefully entered the stark home and immediately dropped shocking information on the two who had lost their son.

"Your son… well, now your daughter. In any case, I must inform you that your child has fallen into another world."

"What?"

"You may find it hard to believe, but I will explain in detail."

The words made no sense. But at that moment, the visitor projected a hologram into the air, displaying their daughter confronting armed thugs wielding shotguns, standing with a shield and a wrench as if made from the overlapping car doors.

It was utterly unreal. Yet the visitor spoke with such authority, as if they knew exactly where the child who could only be remembered by two people in this world had gone. It was as if the flickering flame of hope, long extinguished, suddenly reignited.

With a detailed explanation, the visitor introduced themselves as the director of a research facility with a hard-to-pronounce name, revealing one by one the secrets of the world. Three world lines had collided, leading to such situations occurring all around the world, which in turn had caused the past to be altered…

Of course, it was information that was completely beyond common sense.

"…Excuse me, but am I not dreaming right now?"

"I thought you would find it hard to accept. But if you consider the situation, you will soon realize there are no other answers."

People with animal traits visibly existed in this world.

The album, which had been untouched, had somehow begun to change.

All of these facts pointed to one conclusion: something had happened in the world, altering it from how it once was—this missing child was at the center of it, and their direct family had been caught in the eye of the storm, leading to their awareness of the anomalies.

The visitor continued.

"…So. Can our son come back now?"

"It's difficult. The fact that I was able to find you two so quickly is a miracle. But…."

But.

The two, suppressing the screams that wanted to erupt from their throats, eagerly awaited the next words, and the visitor cautiously continued.

"…I can provide indirect assistance. The research team estimates that within a few years, we should be able to extract your child from that hell. Please wait until then."

And at that point, the fate of Project Titan was decided.

Thus, a fortnight later, the open beta was launched.

Project Titan, which dealt with the typical 'combat between the U.S. and Russia or China,' was expected to guarantee a decent level of quality and enjoyment in the game itself. However, it faced significant criticism due to severe server lag and a clichéd single and multiplayer story, leading to a mixed evaluation.

A few weeks later, as if beans were roasted by lightning—a group of personnel, all from different backgrounds but who had recently wrapped up their careers at an agency called DOP, took control of the company board and changed the company’s name to Icarus International.

Following a series of numerous discussions.

"Let’s add a virus pandemic."

"How about major activity areas in Manhattan, New York, and Central Park?"

"We need to increase the number of enemies and change the city to a more gloomy atmosphere."

How long had it been? Icarus International successfully merged with a mid-sized company developing a first-person virus pandemic-based single FPS survival game and completely revamped Project Titan based on that data.

Thus, Dark Zone was born.

Of course, that wasn’t the end.

"…What is this?"

"This is a learning device that will assist you moving forward."

The third visit.

Now looking at the two who seemed to have emotionally settled somewhat, the visitor placed two unique goggle-like devices on the table.

A brief moment of silence. And the next words followed.

"A shareholders' meeting is about to be held. We plan to appoint you both as outside directors, so until then, please use this learning device to familiarize yourself with general management data, MBA programs, strategic consulting, management science, English, and more. It shouldn’t be too difficult. We will handle your work experience."

"…Is that possible?"

"The reverse engineering I explained last time? If you touch on that a little, it shouldn't be too hard."

The visitor, taking a sip of water, added.

"This procedure is not for your convenience but an absolute necessity. Not only to confirm your child's safety but also to correct the distorted gap in reality."

"What do you mean by that?"

"The two of you are influencing the flow of the current world in real-time just by existing."

The discrepancies in perception affect reality.

The visitor continued, "If you don’t work with Icarus International and receive our regular measures, troubling situations may arise."

"Why Icarus International, specifically?"

"That company serves as a foothold for our department."

Of course, the explanation didn’t end there.

"In any case, once your son returns, we will measure the reality density. Once your child can adapt safely to this world, you will be able to reunite."

"So it means we won't be able to meet right away, even if he returns."

"It took a considerable time to persuade and convince you two, and it’s still not fully resolved. Not to mention, what of your child who has endured various hardships in the world across the gap?"

They fell silent. Indeed, as he had said, it was true. If there were a person who could fully accept the reality that was presented after experiencing every kind of hell, that person would be more likely a machine than a human.

A brief silence followed, but the answer was predetermined.

"I will accept it. We no longer have any other options…."

"Excellent choice. I hope only good things will come from here on."

Thus, a week later, the two crossed over to America. It was the moment when two new members were added to the board of Icarus International.

And—

—Thud.

A heavy object crashed to the floor.

Concrete dust that had settled atop their bulletproof vests fell away in a flurry.

Five years after the official service of Dark Zone, Eugene returned home.

"Hey, you! I’ve only been back to the homeland for a week, and you’re moving? You should have at least let me know in advance!"

"Ah, I’m sorry. As an apology, I’ll cover the cost of coming back to Korea again. First-class round-trip tickets, rental fees, meal expenses… just let me know if you need anything."

"I usually would, but out of spite, I won’t."

"Ugh, I’m really sorry. Please accept it…."

Exactly three hours after seeing the house, a thunderbolt of Logan fell on my head as I returned to Hongje-dong. It was a result that seemed inevitable. No matter the situation, just as I had mentioned in the call earlier, I was now having a housewarming party only a week after Logan returned home.

Meanwhile, Laurentina was smirking mischievously beside me. If the anger percentage caused by my actions was 30%, then the fury due to the shark's tail was 70%. It was like placing a spark on a piece of wood; it wouldn’t ignite quickly without some fan blowing on it.

Anyway, as soon as I returned home, I turned on the stream.

—[Streamer 'Eugene' ON AIR // 422,648]

—[Exciting Moving Preparations (sarcasm)]

"Ah, welcome, everyone. As you can see from the stream title, I’ve moved. It’s quite sudden, but I’d appreciate it if you could just think of it as that."

"Well, it’s not been long, but I’m glad to see you."

-?????????

-Who moves so suddenly? Hahaha.

-Nice nonsense right as the stream starts, Eugene.

-You’ve already packed everything up, so what’s with the moving preparations? Hahaha.

-Phone moving preparations, haha.

People were gathering in droves already.

Anyway, that was true. In fact, my house… those who knew my personality would have noticed to some degree that I didn’t have much to take with me. The actual moving would start in two days, and I had already decided what to keep and what to discard beforehand.

Thus, just yesterday, a few beds and bedding sets had disappeared. A quick search online revealed multiple places for donations. I don’t know who, but I hope they use it well later. Of course, when I mentioned this yesterday, everyone reacted with, "Why did you donate that?!"

I should have held an auction or something.

Of course, the sinister friends making those comments were still here, helping me keep my head on my shoulders. In other words, they had twisted my neck about 180 degrees.

That being said, I had turned on the stream, but I had nothing much to do today. In reality, the viewers would be happy just to see me breathing, and if I just talked with Laurentina, they would enjoy it too. However, that felt a bit like taking the easy route.

Furthermore, the parallel world’s Dark Team was resting after a successful job at the oil refinery, so I had delayed my Dark Zone phase a bit as well. However, I should provide some value through the broadcast to keep the viewers happy.

So as I pondered over that, donations came in.

<Maximum Drive from Ttungttungi has donated 10,000 KRW.>

-By the way, what kind of manifestation is Laurentina? I’m not quite sure about that. If it’s a sensitive question, just ignore it.

"Hmm."

I subtly glanced at Laurentina.

Since the donation came in Korean, it was uncertain whether this person would understand it. If I assumed I had some time to consider whether to answer this or not, I felt a little hesitant about whether I should respond. Naturally, the opinion of the person involved was crucial.

Just as I was about to make eye contact,

"Ah, you were curious about that. I’m a shark. It’s only natural you wouldn’t know."

"Ugh."

This person answered sharply without a hint of concern. In Korean, no less. It seemed that the tactical exchange for the Korean deployment had indeed provided this person with a dramatic opportunity to enhance her Korean skills.

In any case, I could feel the information I already knew starting to spill out.

"I can smell blood well, detect bioelectric currents… and my teeth are pretty sharp. Also, I don’t decay. I’ve never been to the dentist since I was young, which is a plus. And if someone hits my nose, I could faint…."

-Wow, Laurentina, your mouth…

-Shark teeth are supposed to have fluoride, right? Never going to the dentist is legendary, haha.

-This is why people don’t realize she’s a manifestation.

-Is this the thing they call the Lorentini organ?

-Is that why her name is Laurentina, haha.

Of course, it didn’t stop there.

Suddenly, Laurentina nonchalantly pulled up her shirt, revealing her stomach playfully, and she tapped her belly with her finger.

"Aside from that, if you look closely, my skin is quite different from a normal person’s—"

"Hey, why are you suddenly lifting your shirt!?"

"Haha, what a response like chicken. If you’re this uncomfortable about it…."

-???????????????

-Wow wow wow wow wow, haha.

-I really love you, noona!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Fact: If you go overboard with this on the internet, you might really get caught.

-Your honor, I’ve been blind for three days and can’t see anything!!!!!!!!!

What on earth am I supposed to do with this bouncy person?

My worries deepened again today.

It was a night in early April.