"A hundred years ago, our ancestors crossed over to Europe to spread liberty, equality, and fraternity, but now everything's turned completely upside down. Who would have thought that the position of the Third Reich would be taken by the Han Chinese and Slavic bastards?"

"General Walter, the troop deployment per your instructions has been completed. We can begin firing within 15 minutes."

"Alright, now that we're back home, let's get moving."

Lewis-McChord Joint Base, formerly the home of the U.S. 1st Corps.

Now, for a number of reasons—most notably the virus and the invasion forces—the former 1st Corps had been literally disbanded. Those who had been pushed south eventually regrouped in San Diego, managing to reorganize after a long struggle, and spent years preparing for the next phase.

And today, in the unusually clear skies of the second week of April, the 1st Corps had returned to its home base at Lewis-McChord Joint Base, bringing with them a force of 50,000 soldiers.

The communication network crackled before settling into a clear tone.

"Did you arrive?"

"Just arrived, General Powell. We plan to acquire the operational targets and mobilize as quickly as possible… though, I have to say, the order to provide fire support to those shadowy friends on the frontlines feels a bit strange. Did the raccoons in Central Park make another comment?"

"Watch your language, damn it."

"Even so, if we leave everything to those unknown immortals, are we supposed to just sit back while the ones who gave up their homeland to the enemy twiddle their thumbs?"

"We’re at the point where we need to save every soldier."

"Isn’t it also my job to represent the soldiers' opinions?"

As he said, he wasn’t the type to sacrifice his own soldiers for the sake of glory. But the circumstances, the times, and the people who might spill blood were all pushing the situation to this point. It was a real headache, but somehow a compromise had been made, and that was the reality of what was happening in Seattle.

Putting aside the complex motivations, Major Walter Brim rushed to the forward command post. The preliminary discussions were nearly finished, but they still couldn't completely bypass the formal procedures. Plus, it was important to get a clear understanding of the situation in Seattle.

When he opened the door to the command center, the massive frontline map came into view. Downtown Seattle was entirely shaded in blue, while the enemy forces, marked in red, were retreating helplessly.

His eyes met Commander Powell’s, and the salute followed.

"Brim. Long time no see. How have you been?"

"Congratulations on your promotion, sir."

"I can’t be too happy about it. It’s a star I earned by dealing with all these headaches. Sit down, have you eaten?"

"I settled for MREs. Haven’t had a proper meal since I led the corps north. Please, show me where the bathroom is."

A subtle jab at the MREs.

They exchanged a couple of half-joking remarks, then sat down, the door to the command center fully closing as a few people walked out. Their equipment—thoroughly maintained, with firearms and visible signs of battle—was covered in the dust of combat.

As Walter Brim caught sight of them, he grinned and stood up, extending his hand.

"The saviors of America have arrived."

"Welcome back to Seattle, General."

Antony Owens and the entire Dagger Team, along with Walter Brim, exchanged greetings. Though their chain of command was a bit different, they had built up their own skills in different fields and quickly shared their pleasantries.

Owens raised his finger, and light spread out in the air, followed by data streaming across the command center. New information began to accumulate on Walter’s personal device.

There was no need to confirm what it was; it was already clear.

"Impressive."

"These coordinates were gathered over three weeks while we scouted the northern part of Seattle. We selected key locations along the roads and terrain, where many of the retreating enemy forces are concentrated. Some of the core units have been tagged so we can track their real-time positions."

As he said, the Dagger Team updated the densely packed coordinates marked in red. The map displayed above the command center began to take shape.

Of course, there was no one in the room who was slow to act. Data sharing began, and with the certainty that striking these points with artillery and airstrikes would yield tremendous results, hesitation was unnecessary.

Thus, new data and brief verbal orders were sent to the 1st Corps staff—once ready, they would unleash hellfire on the given coordinates. It was simple and effective.

But things didn’t go as smoothly as expected.

An urgent communication came in, and the expression of the staff officer reflected a strange unease.

"What’s going on?"

"…I think it’s better if I show you."

At that moment, the camera switched from indoors to outdoors, as if the line had been rerouted.

And what appeared was a view of hundreds of shadows watching from just a few hundred meters away from the self-propelled artillery, which was preparing for launch. They were clad in gas masks and other gear, making it difficult to discern their exact appearance, but based on visible features like hair length, average height, and shoulder width…

"…Looks like we have a lot of data to hide today."

Most of the shadows appeared to be women, though who would believe such a thing, given their appearance? It was a strange, almost laughable sight.

With a wry smile, the others in the command center—excluding Major Brim, who was on-site—waited for the launch. As the self-propelled artillery that had moved toward the Ugeoho sector finished its TOT calculations and began firing, they sat back, sipping their coffee.

It was a moment of calm in the midst of the battlefield.

The battle for Seattle was coming to an end.

Boom!

"Get over here, you reckless bastard!"

"Ah! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it…! Eek!"

"Ha ha ha, what a view."

Meanwhile, several days later in Cheongdam-dong, Eugene’s new house was visited by a polar bear.

"Ugh..."

"You've turned the youngest into a pancake."

As the youngest was half-crushed and tossed onto the bed, Eugene had finally finished moving in. After settling into his new home, enjoying the Han River view every evening and waking up to it every morning, the first person to invade was none other than Logan. If he hadn’t already given the lobby guards a heads-up, Eugene dreaded to think of what might have happened.

In any case, Logan approached with lightning speed, choking Eugene’s neck. As one of the apex predators, the polar bear’s grip was truly remarkable. If he had grabbed a steel pillar instead, it might have bent by now.

With a tap of its tail on the floor, Logan signaled surrender. Only then did he loosen his grip and add:

"Moved to a pretty flashy place, huh?"

"Yeah, that’s right. Anyway, since I’ve made it this far, I’ll at least cover the flight cost…"

"I won’t take it, you brat."

"Ugh…"

Eugene’s guilt spiked as Logan had spent money to fly to Korea just to see him. After a deep sigh, Logan lifted Eugene up with one hand and said:

"Well, I guess there were some reasons. It’s hard to visit someone living so far away."

"Once the think tank is in orbit, I’ll get a place in the U.S. too. Things should be easier after that..."

"Is your body one or two?"

"Ugh..."

Logan squeezed Eugene’s cheek, using just the right amount of pressure to make him squirm. Thankfully, the sofa didn’t break—it was custom-made to be durable.

The evening sun was setting outside, and Eugene guessed that Logan must have rushed here from Incheon Airport right after landing. He suspected Logan didn’t take a car, given that there were no signs of it.

"So, have you eaten?"

"No."

"Well, we should order something quickly. What do you want to eat? I’ll order anything for now."

Finally, Logan nodded with a satisfied expression.

He mentioned that food would be delivered in an hour. After hearing the explanation, Eugene learned that the building had undergone several rounds of functional upgrades, one of which was a small cargo elevator connecting each unit to ease deliveries and improve resident convenience.

Of course, the food wouldn’t be delivered directly to their unit; instead, they’d have to pick it up from the lobby, which was about 50 meters down the hallway.

Since Loren Tina hadn’t eaten either, Eugene ordered 15 pizzas just to be safe.

"The view from the top floor isn’t bad."

"Guess I ended up in a place like this by chance."

"If you take care of your things, sometimes luck finds you in unexpected places."

At that moment, Logan’s gaze shifted to Eugene’s left wrist.

He chuckled in disbelief, and subtly changed the subject. Neither Logan nor Loren Tina cared much about how good the place was or how much money Eugene had. They had their own way of dealing with things, and they weren’t interested in material wealth.

Though the topic was a little grim, everyone in the room, including Eugene, had gathered here for one purpose—being among those who helped others escape the law and set up shop in places like this. It was a harsh reality, but the truth.

Anyway, the dinner was still a while off, so Eugene decided to show Logan around the nearby facilities to kill time.

"Fitness center?"

"There's a lot of cool stuff, though. Sadly, I can't use the cycle or treadmill."

As Eugene closed the door and walked down the hallway, he made the joke, and everyone laughed. No one in the room failed to understand what he meant.

They all began sharing stories, and then a truly shocking one came up.

"Last time, I hung something weird on myself and did pull-ups on the power rack. In the end, it got all crushed. I gave it too much recoil near the end, but I didn’t expect it to bend like that."

"What the hell were you hanging on yourself?"

"I borrowed a large mold from the engineering team."

"You're crazy."

Logan, unable to imagine doing something so reckless, laughed nervously, while Loren Tina grinned and pulled up a few photos and a video from that day on her phone.

"...Why are you shirtless in that video?"

"Clothes got stuck on the chains I tied myself up with. The military uniform got torn to shreds. Don’t worry, the person who filmed it was a woman."

"Sure, sure..."

Eugene couldn't help but be baffled at the image of someone who seemed to have been through an absurdly dangerous stunt.

The video ended with the power rack itself caving in under the strain.