I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun
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Chapter 407 Table of contents

 

 

Urgent, escalating voices, a rapidly changing scene.

It was as if the communication updates and fleeting images were being switched like screens. The status of Alpha Team, whose vital signs had all flatlined to zero, the low-speed grenades that bounced twice off the walls before precisely embedding themselves inside, and the armored vehicle-like quadruped tank that crashed through the thick hangar bulkhead.

The tension-filled music abruptly stopped, and silence filled the air. After a few seconds, the screen revealed the once-pristine high-value research facility, now a wreck. The ceiling lights were half destroyed, and scattered body parts of unmanned drones littered the floor. The footage played in reverse, showing the results of the attack.

But unlike before, the final screen revealed the fallen Alpha Team in full. The nearly absent light allowed the nearly black blood, now pooled on the floor, to shine a dull red, while in the center of the dim facility, a figure wriggled.

As the camera zoomed upward, the identity of the figure was revealed—it seemed to move upwards and immediately passed through the ceiling, shooting directly to the ground.

 

The surface, too, was in chaos.

However, the camera showed that those who had been deployed underground were facing worse outcomes, while the players above were desperately retreating, putting enough distance between them and the enemies.

As they successfully moved out of the kill zone,

— Kuuuung!

Suddenly, an enormous explosion flared up in the center of the kill zone, accompanied by an immense aftershock.

A blast of intense heat swept over everyone, sending communications into a momentary blackout. However, as the players barely escaped the epicenter, they witnessed nearly every UGV and armored quadruped tank being reduced to titanium vapor and shattered debris.

At that moment, communications were restored, and the support operator spoke.

 

The tempo of the footage quickened.

The battle that had started at the outer perimeter of the massive research facility had now shifted to the first floor. The scales of victory tipped in favor of the players as Dagger Team, having appeared at the right moment, dismantled the defensive forces' flanks.

But that wasn’t the end. The camera, which had been focusing on the surface, returned to the dark interior of the research facility, where it began focusing on the entity that had literally crushed the initial assault forces.

A chilling metallic sound rang out as a bulletproof plate hovered in midair, its front aimed squarely at the camera. Between the plate, two icy blue eyes glowed unnaturally bright. A silver tail glimmered, gradually shifting, forming strange plasma-like colors.

It was Prototype Mecha Eugene. She had officially prepared for combat.

However, even seeing this, the enemies did not falter.

 

Clank.

The sound of a grenade launcher labeled “Antimatter Weapon” echoed, and the camera lazily illuminated the scene. The Icarus Gear worn on the left wrist—no downgrade version, but the original—shined clearly. The camera then shifted to show the person’s shoulder.

A dagger patch piercing through a spade, with "TASKFORCE DAGGER" written below it.

The trigger was pulled on the 40mm antimatter grenade, and in the same instant, Mecha Eugene unleashed a plasma pulse.

The two flames collided, and the resulting explosion engulfed the screen in flames, followed by darkness. Moments later, several lines appeared in midair.

 

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[General] Who am I? 'KingGodEmperorGreatYellowBrightDarkZoneEUPlayer'

<Trailer video capture>

[Overall Comments] [By Registration Order]

 

 

 

Unidentified Zone Escape Mode advertisement.

It didn’t take long for the brilliant quality video to sweep through the billboards of South Korea.

"They really poured their souls into this."

Should I call this a spectacle or a grand scene?

As expected, a video was playing in front of my eyes—a few days had passed since Dagger Team’s arrival in the Unidentified Zone, and as soon as Saturday hit, a video was uploaded to Icarus Dark Zone’s official YouSpace channel.

Naturally, I knew what it was from our previous discussion. Though it had been explained many times, to summarize, it was preparation to legitimize Dagger Team’s presence in the Unidentified Zone—but honestly, did the players care about that?

They didn’t care at all, simply screaming in joy.

"By the way, speaking of that, there are still a lot of people who remember Dagger Team. I went around and saw many welcoming reactions."

 

So that’s what it was.

Anyway, it was just as they said. No need to look far. I started browsing through personal sites, as the viewers seemed to pick up on my subtle interest.

Though the joint operations with Dagger Team hadn’t been many—apparently, besides the oil refinery bombing mission I participated in with Harmony, there were a few more mission recruitments that I didn’t join—I found out later that only a handful of people actually completed these. But the numbers weren’t that small.

There were a few hardcore users who spent hundreds of hours to barely clear the third stage. These users were now the carriers, showing overwhelming skill in public raids.

Curiosity piqued, I didn’t log into the game right away but spent some more time browsing the internet.

Since the server had been open for quite a while, the YouSpace and Dark Zone EU-related sites were overflowing with information. The server had opened around 8 AM, and many people had been playing already, but I wasn’t one of them.

I had to hit the gym in the morning.

Moreover, my broadcast schedule usually started around 7 PM, so until then, whether there were significant updates or not, I did what I wanted to do or what I had to do.

For that reason, my information gathering was a bit delayed, but in the end, the important thing was this:

"It’s more accurate to say that a new merchant has been added rather than anything related to combat. All the quests seem to be absurdly bizarre... but I expected that."

 

Hmm.

Nodding, I scrolled through the chat, fervently checking hidden high-level information, and began to think that this was probably the expected outcome.

Since the exit and map are the same, people just get used to specific methods, but if not... users had no choice but to grow stronger—though they might die in the process, but I don't really know about that.

Of course, I heard that pre-modified maps would be provided to offset map-changing penalties... Still, seeing everyone complaining made me suspect there was some reason, and when I checked, the quality of the maps themselves turned out to be pretty poor.

But that's that, and tactics are tactics.

I spoke up:

"...Isn't that enough to figure out? It’s not like they added completely new equipment, just mixed up the maps a bit. How hard can it be?"

 

I didn't even say much, but everyone started self-regulating, becoming a team in a completely ironic way.

If I said more here, the already bad situation might have taken a strange turn, so instead of adding more words, I decided to simply log into Dark Zone with my choker on.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, Lorentina hadn’t arrived home yet, so I was able to step into the Gear Box without any big issues.

And of course...

"Finally here?"

"You arrived just as the sun set. What kind of punishment should we give this little one who has no sense of time?"

 

I knew this would happen.

The Dagger Team, who had been waiting for me to log in, immediately started teasing me… but my attention was elsewhere.

A silver body. A physical appearance that couldn’t be described as human and sleek metal lines shining brightly... No, it wasn’t that. Mecha Eugene was there, not in my Gear Box, but waiting in the place where Dagger Team was staying, or wherever they were.

Staring at it with a dumbfounded expression, Jin quickly added in her flat tone:

"I must clarify that this action is not a betrayal of the Archetype. According to the logic circuits' analysis, these beings have considerable power and are highly favorable toward the Archetype... Ugh."

"Be quiet."

"Oh dear. The talking tin can has become a mute one."

"Who just said that?"

"Apologize."

 

That brief incident ended.

While it wasn’t exactly a cutscene, it was similar, and Dagger Team placed a few items on the table without paying much attention. The contents were simple. In fact, I already knew. It was the same Dagger Team quest that had been posted on Tricky’s personal site just a few minutes ago.

There were daily quests, weekly quests, and some that had no set deadline. But without much thought, I accepted them all. Naturally, Dagger Team didn’t seem to care much either, and they added their own input.

"Is two weeks enough time?"

"We’ll need to try a few times to get the hang of it."

"At this point, humility isn’t really necessary. Go and scout the operation zone. I’ll give you a few beacons, so just stick them in places where they won’t be noticed, and the zone data will automatically update. Once the scouting is complete, you’ll be able to receive fire support, so keep that in mind."

"You didn’t mention that we have to get past Artemis’ forces, UGVs, and tanks, did you?"

"If I thought you couldn’t do it, I would’ve told you to stop being reckless from the start."

 

Serkins, this guy...

As I glared at him, he smoothly fled behind the squad leader. Of course, the viewers were just laughing along—fortunately, Lorentina and Logan were wearing full-face masks, so their identities weren’t revealed. Owens changed his face using in-game filters.

The common thing among the people listed was that they had all appeared on broadcasts at least once in the real world. In other words, this action was meant to completely shut down any questions like, "Why are they NPCs?"

Anyway, I took a look at the mission details. The daily quests were mostly about map reconnaissance, but the hardest ones involved destroying quadruped tanks and retrieving internal parts, or capturing high-ranking officers and retrieving their belongings.

Although it was mentioned that Dagger Team's fire support should be used, well... if we could get it, fine; if not, that’s just how it is. Fire support is never something you can always count on.

And so, I stood up from my seat.

Of course, I called Jin.

"Well, it's time to at least dip our toes in. Follow me, Jin. We’ve got work to do."

"Don’t expect great results."

"Of course, that’s what will happen."

It was time to work.

The path to Prototype Mecha Eugene was vaguely in sight.

Chapter written by
NoveLight ™
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