NoveLight ™
"You always manage to surprise me."
"We, too, never imagined something like this would happen after just one dispatch to the operational zone."
Thunk.
One of the Artemis scientists, half-conscious, collapsed onto the floor with a loud sound. Of course, this was the troublesome bundle we had brought along. Naturally, the squad leader had a dazed expression on his face. Since we hadn't been told who this person was at first, it was probably confusing for him.
But after handing over the keycard found among the belongings, and inserting it into the leader’s device in the office, the squad leader's expression changed drastically. At first, his face showed curiosity, but within mere seconds, his brows furrowed. It was clear that whatever he saw was quite serious.
Dr. Simon Glass, one of the lead researchers at Artemis Technologies. Lorenatina and I, who had been watching from the sidelines, exchanged a glance and raised an eyebrow, letting out a shallow groan. The name felt familiar—immediately, I activated the Icarus Gear embedded in my body.
I opened a data window that only I could see—Harmonie, Katographer, Lorenatina, and the others couldn’t access it—and verified the identity.
The initial intrigue sparked by the familiarity of the name soon shifted into discomfort, unease, and a sense of déjà vu.
I recalled a few conversations that flashed before my eyes. Specifically, after the Battle of Seattle, when I had heard Henry’s speech about the end of the war. A while after that, when I met the two people who had helped me back in reality, I recalled the words we exchanged.
The official updates between the two parallel worlds had ended to some extent, but it seemed the matter wasn't fully wrapped up just yet…
In that case, it seemed like there was more I needed to verify.
"You’ve caught quite a big fish, haven’t you? Making this one unable to walk again forever might be a bit... excessive, but at least we don’t have to worry about him escaping."
"Sounds like you're planning to interrogate him thoroughly."
"We’ve got plenty to extract from Artemis. First, I’ll make sure this guy pays for what he’s done. Of course, if there are any items among the things you’ve brought that can connect us to the Artemis network, I’ll pay handsomely for those as well."
"That sounds like a pleasant proposition."
True to the words, there were 40 people who came to destroy the facility. Forty. Of those, 4 were Icarus Operators who had defected, one was a senior researcher, and the weakest of them were still equipped with exoskeletons and high-performance firearms.
So, Lorenatina, Jin, and I were tasked with collecting all sorts of items weighing over 100 kilograms per person and making our way out of the facility. Of course, Katographer and Harmonie only had about 70 kilograms each. And naturally, there were plenty of items we could sell for a good price.
If any of them turned out to be worth more, that wouldn't be a bad thing either.
"Anyway... good work. It’d be nice if we could continue this excellent and constructive relationship. The interrogation will begin once the man with the holes in his body wakes up, so if you want to observe, leave a message. If it's uncomfortable, I can give you a one-time terminal to contact directly."
"It’s fine."
"...By the way, that machine... Since it’s safely returned, it doesn’t seem to have defected. I hope you continue to show willingness to cooperate."
"I’ve acknowledged that."
Clunk.
With that, the five of us, myself included, left the squad leader’s room and closed the door behind us. I immediately turned my head to check on the others' conditions. Harmonie and Katographer didn’t show any obvious signs, but their footsteps were heavy. They were clearly exhausted mentally.
It was understandable. Technically, we had been through at least 5 rounds of combat, all within one session. Normally, only about 10 to 20 users would participate per session, and it wasn’t common to have to fight all of them.
It might be a bit early, but maybe I should send Harmonie and Katographer off a bit earlier today.
Returning to the Gear Box, I added the thought, and the two of them perked up.
"Eh, is that okay?"
"I can’t leave Jin here alone, but even if I took her to another operational zone, I can’t guarantee that something similar wouldn’t happen. Who knows, another Mecha Viyam with a mini-gun might show up next time."
"Thinking like that, it’s a little scary..."
"How about giving Mecha Eugene a mini-gun again?"
"I’m seriously considering it."
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
Ah, right. This was a PvP game.
While adding a mini-gun might make it easier to repel Artemis forces trying to kidnap Jin, the collateral damage to regular users would be enormous… First, maybe I should just roam around gathering intel.
Jin’s face quickly turned sullen, likely sensing the atmosphere, but that couldn't be helped. After all, a person must be strict not only with viewers but also with allies. For now, it might be better to just wander around the base, getting familiar with the faces.
Anyway, the conclusion was made.
Before I could say anything, Lorenatina added her thoughts.
"Alright, everyone. You probably have an idea of what I'm saying. If you’re disappointed that the broadcast is ending here, feel free to move to either here or Katographer’s broadcast."
"...Huh? Wait, you were planning to end the broadcast now?"
"Get used to it if you’re going to be with Eugene from now on."
As always, the chat room began to glow with a fiery red hue, but there was no helping it today. I had to verify something, specifically whether this unidentified zone was just part of the game or if it had some connection to my past.
I started organizing my thoughts. What should I tell Lorenatina? What should I ask Jin? And if I could, should I go find those two people who helped me return to this world… or not?
It was hard to prioritize, but one thing was clear.
I ended the broadcast and switched the whole facility to private mode, then spoke to Lorenatina.
"Do you remember Simon Glass?"
"Not sure... I think he was one of the ones Icarus couldn’t finish off. It was a little confusing when he suddenly showed up. But why do you ask?"
"Oh, just... I have a feeling I should verify whether his sudden appearance was just a coincidence or if there’s something more complicated behind it."
Hmm.
Lorenatina, who let out a nasal sound, slowly shifted her expression. The faint smile she usually wore faded, and her excited eyes and eyebrows aligned in a straight line. Beneath her impassive face, her clear ruby-colored eyes began to glow strangely.
Eventually, those red eyes turned towards Jin.
"Yujin, you allowed the addition of Mecha Eugene into the game, and Icarus responded with this result. Do you think it’s just a fan service for the junior, or is it hinting at something deeper? I can’t answer for sure, but we can make some probabilistic guesses."
"…Well."
"That hesitation, I believe, is the answer to the question."
Snicker.
Lorenatina, who chuckled, then added.
"At worst, you have nothing to lose. Go ahead and find out. Artemis has fallen, and the Russian and Chinese factions have left the U.S. for good, but we still haven’t uncovered even 10% of the war’s secrets."
"…Looks like I’ll be quite busy for a while."
"Let me know if you find anything good. I’m waiting."
Of course, Lorenatina didn’t just vanish after that.
To be precise, her avatar disappeared first, saying she was going ahead, and I walked over to Jin, who was staring blankly. I had finished organizing my questions, so I had something to ask. Whether she could answer or not wasn’t a big deal.
But just then,
It felt like my consciousness was being sucked somewhere as my gaze turned toward the ceiling.
Not the low, narrow, and damp ceiling of the Gear Box, but the view of my penthouse with its immense ceiling height.
And sure enough,
"Awake already, our little one?"
"You wake people up by pulling their cheeks, ugh."
It was Lorenatina.
The shark who had returned from vacation in the East Sea and had been staying at my place recently.
With her usual cool smile, she spoke.
"Since it’s time for dinner, let’s have a calm discussion at the table. I believe you have no objections?"
"Of course."
Simon Glass, Artemis, Mecha Eugene.
It was time to dig into the backstory.
"Let's talk a bit about the past... although strictly speaking, it's only the past that you've experienced, little one."
The dark sky, the cozy house. In the midst of it all, Lorenatina began to speak in a calm voice.
I nodded. There was no need for any additional words.
"You may not know this, but Artemis was immediately designated as a primary elimination target right after the Dark Winter incident began."
"...This is the first time I've heard of that."
"Of course, Eugene. You joined Icarus at least a few months after the incident began, and you didn’t join the Central Park HQ right away either."
This was entirely new information to me.
It couldn’t be helped. Lorenatina was now talking about Icarus from a time when I didn’t even exist. It was a past I’d never heard of before. And, as expected, it was full of chaos.
There was no proper combat protocol, no clear directive on whether civilian rescue or combat took priority, and the issue of how to deal with the rapidly multiplying small refugee camps was still up for debate. As a result, material deliveries had become common, squeezing through the chaotic streets of New York.
But it didn’t last long. Within two weeks to a month, more than 70% of the small refugee camps self-destructed. The cause was a virus. The Omega Virus had reached its incubation period, and it mercilessly took civilians, sending them straight to the afterlife.
In the midst of the darkness and confusion during that one chaotic month, Artemis attempted to defect.
The reason was simple.
"The enemy coalition gave them a tip. In exchange for guaranteeing some petty interests, they were tasked with obstructing the remaining military forces of the United States or, if necessary, striking them."
Many high-ranking members of Artemis Technologies had been secretly collaborating with hostile nations for some time, and that proposal came as a result. And this, of course, connected to the knowledge I already had.
The fragmented Artemis leadership had each hired PMCs to protect their individual interests, cooperate with enemy forces, or, in some cases, try to inform Icarus HQ. Thanks to these latter individuals, Icarus quickly designated Artemis as a rebel faction and attempted to suppress them. However, there weren’t enough personnel for combat, and it wasn’t easy to suppress them at that time. Eventually, the opportunity was lost, and Artemis broke apart, becoming a fragmented warlord group.
It was the tragic end of a company that had once been involved in the development of the Icarus Gear.
After sharing this, Lorenatina took a sip of her drink and continued.
"To be frank, how Artemis fell isn’t really all that important. But the fact that Artemis was once involved in gear development is a crucial point. It’s the fundamental reason why your data could have been extracted."
"But then again, no one has been made based on people like Lorenatina, Logan, or Nix, the Task Force Razor mechanic operator, right?"
"What do you think is the difference between those people and you?"
"...I’m not sure."
"It’s simple. The former were already registered in the Icarus network long before the incident began, but you took a few months before you officially received your Icarus Gear and became an operator."
"Ah."
Lorenatina was speculating. That few-month gap before I officially received the Icarus Gear was when my personal data most likely got leaked to Artemis. Even now, it made perfect sense. Moreover, given that nothing had happened over the past five years since my data leak, I had completely ignored the matter.
There was a reason for that.
As I had said before, the main story of the Dark Zone followed my past linearly, which meant the Dagger Team had stomped on Artemis multiple times. The remaining members of Artemis were probably wiped out during Operation Bluefield.
In fact, it was amazing that, after that operation, Icarus managed to rebuild a production line that could create Mecha Eugene during the 2-3 years when their focus shifted to the U.S. West.
In any case, whether this was true or not wasn’t as important as the bigger question.
What had become clear through this conversation was not "whether this is the answer," but rather, I now had a chance to ask the two people who originally brought me back to this world, "Is this correct?"
In other words, I had now figured out what questions I needed to ask.
So the questions could be divided into two: First, whether the conclusion we had drawn was correct, and second, whether this scenario was something created by the Dark Zone itself or if it was actually something that had occurred in my original world.
Going by my gut feeling, I had a strong suspicion it was the latter. So, I added that assumption and considered the potential consequences…
"...It doesn’t seem like that big of a deal. The only concern might be that the Dagger Team might get upset."
"Strictly speaking, that would be the case. If they pulled something like that with a battalion, it might make a significant difference, but with just a few units, there’s no way it could change the course of the battlefield. It’s already too late."
"Hmm."
It wasn’t as serious as I had expected. In a way, it was a rather ironic conclusion, but it was much better than it becoming a massive issue. Maybe I could ask those mysterious two people who helped me with a relatively light-hearted question.
I thought for a moment and then made eye contact with Lorenatina. Now that I remembered, these people... had just finished the Indian Point nuclear power plant rescue mission in the Dark Zone, and when I crossed over to another world line, I had met them.
I already knew that.
So I spoke.
"Well then, I suppose I need to ask those two how far this event has spread in the other world."
"Who knows? Maybe there’s a Mecha version of the little one in that world too."
"No way."
Hearing that not-really-joking joke, I picked up my phone. It had only been 30 seconds since I was told that "the progress in the other world was about 90% similar."