"It's been a while, both of you. How have you been?"

"We're always doing well. You have quite the look on your face, seems like you have a lot on your mind."

"Haha..."

In the dead of night, in one of the most hidden rooms of the penthouse — a room concealed behind walls lined with graphene wallpaper to make it blend seamlessly with the surrounding walls, with a lock only accessible through the Icarus Gear system. The owner of the house entered the room.

Struggling to shake off the fatigue from just waking up, Eugene sat down in a chair and focused his gaze on the dark hologram in front of him. It was a silhouette, one that had become familiar — there was no need to say who it was. She was the one who had been rescued from another world, and who had helped lay the bridge between this world and the one before.

Having just woken up, Eugene’s mind wasn’t functioning at its best, but she managed to speak out, her voice tinged with a sense of discomfort.

"The situation surrounding my parents is complicated... it leaves me with strange feelings."

"There's no excuse for that."

A brief silence followed before she continued.

"I don’t plan on adding any more unnecessary words. But there is one thing that has become clear."

"What’s that?"

"It’s clear that we still have a long road ahead of us."

Her words weren’t an excuse or a justification, but a quiet acceptance of the harsh reality. Eugene, perceptive as ever, understood that what was hidden between those words was the truth: they weren’t capable of everything yet, and there was still a long way to go.

"If we were to help someone else in the same position as mine, perhaps things would get better. I’d like to believe that, and I’ll understand that from you both."

"Thank you. We’ll make sure of it."

Eugene, though human, felt the pain of being unable to reunite with his parents. He wanted to ensure that no one else would have to experience the same suffering. And if there were others who found themselves in similar situations, he hoped they could receive help faster than he did.

Of course, this didn’t happen by chance. Eugene, knowing he was soon to be reunited with his parents, could say such things with confidence. However, it was a truth no one spoke aloud.

The conversation shifted.

"I have a question, if it’s okay to ask."

"Go ahead."

"Is it possible for more people like me to appear in the future?"

"Sadly, yes."

"How often does it happen?"

"Not often at all. It’s an extremely rare occurrence, almost zero. Especially in cases like this, where three worlds are colliding simultaneously."

"Three worlds?"

Eugene paused for a moment, trying to figure out what the third world was, but he quickly realized when he noticed the tail in front of him — his original world, the ruined New York caused by the virus, and the world that had changed his body. It made sense now.

However, a lingering doubt still remained.

"If it's close to zero, then it wouldn’t happen multiple times..."

"Probability approaching zero is different from the number of possible observations. The range of what we can observe is almost infinite."

"Ah."

Zero probability and infinite trials. With that, Eugene understood. There was no reason why something couldn’t happen in that space between them. A deep breath escaped him as he contemplated the complexity of the situation.

Whether they were aware of this or not, they continued speaking.

"Even as we handle this matter, our tasks continue to pile up. The victims may not all be in the same situation as you, but perhaps similar situations will arise in the future."

"..."

"Ultimately, it might be our job to prevent that. But there’s no clear plan yet. Touching the infinite is not an easy task."

At that moment, a book fell onto the desk, creating a strange noise as it hit the surface. The book, with its unsettling appearance, was clearly something that shouldn’t exist in reality, but Eugene instantly recognized the title.

It was a sort of manual. A manual from a department Eugene had never heard of before. From this, he realized that they might be considering recruiting him for something — an immediate thought followed by a certainty that this was the case. His initial doubt quickly turned to confidence, and Eugene fell silent, unsure whether to accept or refuse.

"I’ll give you my answer when we meet again."

"That’s not a difficult request."

Silence fell, and the conversation turned to other matters.

"The synchronization between the two worldlines will be partially completed soon."

"...What?"

"Oh, don’t worry. It doesn’t mean you won’t be able to travel between the worlds anymore."

A sigh escaped from Eugene. Still, his attention shifted back to the screen, realizing that this could be a sign of some future change. After waiting for some time, a few pieces of information appeared in front of him.

The synchronization between the Dark Zone and the worldlines was about to end, along with several newly generated PVE events and "raid missions" being added. A team of around 20 people would enter specific zones or facilities, collaborating to complete missions and defeat bosses.

Naturally, these missions would no longer appear in the form of "Shadows" in Eugene’s original world.

"Oh..."

"Are you finally ready to say it feels like a game?"

"...Yeah, honestly."

"Dark Zone 2.0. Until the policies for the world you came from are settled, we’ll have to wait."

Whether a full-scale invasion would take place, or if the victorious U.S. would use reinforcement negotiations to push Russia and China to their knees, or if the threat would be resolved through unmanned aircraft — all these decisions would take years to resolve.

The U.S. had suffered such astronomical damage that even estimating the cost of recovery would take months, at least.

Eugene realized that in order for him to travel smoothly between the worldlines, the time ratio would have to be fixed at 1:1. The decision was inevitable.

"What if there’s no war worldwide after this?"

"Well..."

The two of them laughed quietly.

"It’ll probably be a matter of imagination for the game developers."

"Ah."

In other words, it meant that once the worldlines stabilized, it would be up to the developers at Icarus International to come up with new ideas.

After some laughter, Eugene spoke again.

"We’ll have to be careful not to ruin a well-made game."

"That’s something we’ll leave to you, Eugene. Once things settle here, we’ll check for new opportunities and decide if we need to intervene."

"...I guess you’re right."

A brief silence passed.

Eugene’s words broke the silence.

"When all this is over, will I never hear from you again?"

"Of course not."

A clear and direct answer.

The hologram, the worldline-crossing app on his phone, and the map with the conquest title floating above it. Eugene realized that there was no reason for him to lose contact with the people who had helped him. If that were the case, they would have retrieved everything or never mentioned it at all.

After a brief laugh, she finished what she needed to do and went to bed.

Eugene had tasks to handle tomorrow.

[Notification: 12 hours remaining until Henry Michael Brayton’s end-of-war speech.]

It was time to meet with the Dagger team again.

"Expensive places are nice, huh? A rooftop pool connected directly to the lounge."

"I followed you here because you wanted to go somewhere, and now you’ve dragged me to a place like this."

"It’s actually a pretty good place for a discreet conversation. Didn’t you know?"

"Heh."

Conversations held in places where few people pass by are often forgotten just as quickly as they are started. While other conditions had to be met for it to truly be effective, Eugene recalled learning about this in a foreign operations manual at some point.

Though Loren Tina and Logan wouldn’t be venturing into foreign operations anytime soon.

It was noon when they stepped onto the highest outdoor pool connected to the penthouse’s garden. No particular reason, but there were explanations to be made.

[I’ll be out for a few days. Feel free to roam around the area, but I’ll leave you the access keys under your names. The apartment community offers meals, and you’re welcome to go wherever you like.]

When Eugene woke up in the morning, the youngest was nowhere to be found.

There were no traces of the door being opened, nor had he left through the lounge. Yet, Loren Tina and Logan had already known some of the hidden secrets of the world, so they could guess where Eugene had gone.

"Maybe our youngest will have a few more medals hanging around their neck soon."

"Hm. Those medals might break their neck if they’re not careful."

They laughed lightly, and the conversation shifted once more.

"Will the youngest’s journey end here?"

"It seems so. Considering everything, the time ratio between the two worldlines is about 1:1, and unless Henry goes crazy with an amphibious operation, there won’t be any more combat."

"The buffer zone will likely be through the Bering Strait or by forming a conflict zone between Japan and Korea, but... it’s bound to be the latter."

"That said, the first and third fleets will probably rotate back first. If the former situation arises, we’ll need to seriously check if Henry’s head has a hole in it."

The conversation continued, skipping over the process of deduction. The two of them spoke in a way that converged naturally toward one point, whether they were discussing combat or geopolitical matters.

They both looked up at the sky. It was a clear day with no clouds in sight.

"It’s a good time to finish something and start something new."

"Is that a comment about the youngest or about you?"

"You sure are quick to catch on..."

At the same time, a hologram appeared in the air. It looked like a familiar ID, and although Logan’s expression was uncertain, the name "Snakekeeper, Eastern Unit" was written under it.

Even Loren Tina looked surprised.

"...Is it confirmed?"

"If they don’t change the team name, I’ll just have to kill that bastard Nakazone. They said they’ll change it soon, but it’s not confirmed yet. I prefer the Red Right Hand, and I already remember the manual for that."

Red Right Hand.

Logan was referring to the highest-ranking strike team led by Sergeant Owens in the The Unit.

"Even if I go in a few months, by then you’ll probably be back in Norfolk, Virginia. The timing doesn’t match. Maybe it’s better to receive some training in the U.S., adjust things, and then be reassigned to Korea."

"That aside, who puts a Transcendent in the Eastern Unit? That’s just crazy."

"I think so too."

They chuckled, and continued to laugh as they realized that while the youngest was absent, the world was still turning and moving toward a new phase.

Time passed, and everyone took their steps, crossing paths and diverging, but the distance between them was always close.

With those thoughts in mind, Loren Tina leaned against the poolside and spoke.

"So, what do you think our youngest is doing right now?"

"Ah, the top button came off..."

"Oh, have you gained weight?"

"Not good, Eugene. You should come visit more often. Want to try some special training?"

"Ugh, no way!"

Eugene Viper Lee, was faced with the dilemma of not being able to go home until he lost some weight.