“When everyone else was resting, I was out here running around, and now I’ve finally come home. Should I say I have a tough fate, or is this just how it goes...”

“Well, it turned out that way. Welcome back, Deputy Olivia.”

“From the way you’re calling me that ridiculous title, I guess the rumors about there being another ‘me’ here are true after all.”

Six hours after the operation ended, Task Force Laser arrived in Manhattan.

They had been monitoring the situation in the area around the city, analyzing the weaknesses of the fortified city ever since the unusual events in Savannah began. But as soon as they heard the news that Mecha Eugene was in the middle of Savannah, they had to pack up and begin the Fiery Donkey operation.

Although they didn’t need to abandon their hideouts or networks entirely, it was clear that the three to four weeks they had spent building their operations had essentially been for nothing. It was a common occurrence, but that didn’t make it any less disappointing.

However, Olivia—specifically, Olivia from this world—seemed to care less than expected.

“I’ve been called worse things, like ‘eating dirt,’ and it wasn’t entirely untrue. What’s fun about spending all day fiddling with drones in a neighborhood full of abandoned fields? It was pretty infuriating for you guys to have fun while I was stuck there, but I guess it’s fortunate that you brought me back.”

“Well, I guess that’s a relief…”

“Oh no, rookie. I’d prefer you focus on the part where I said ‘it was pretty infuriating for you guys.’”

“Ah.”

Even so, it wasn’t appropriate to deploy Task Force Laser for the Fiery Donkey operation.

We, who were essentially the surgical scalpel of the team, were also hesitant to deploy people directly, using only RCEs instead. There was no need to deploy additional firepower for distractions either; that could be handled with cruise missiles and bombings launched from railguns and coastal artillery.

At any rate, Deputy Olivia knew this well and, after brushing off the past, added with a sigh.

“I was trying to get a glimpse of the ‘me’ from another world, and I ended up arriving faster than planned. But it seems they ran away as soon as they noticed me. I guess meeting each other might be a bit awkward after all.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

“Well, it’s not that bad. Until the task force was split, we used to hang out together all the time, but you only let the Dagger Team visit your place. That’s pretty mean. I’m thinking of visiting later, is that okay?”

“Ugh, alright, I get it, just stop!”

Olivia, not holding back her frustration, pinched my cheek as a form of punishment. I had no choice but to promise her that I would make it up by bringing her over to my world as soon as possible.

But even as this was happening, no one was there to save me, and the reason was simple.

“I’m solemnly saying that Omega’s new name should be Violet…”

“Is the naming sense of these seal-like creatures always so outdated? Is that why they always name the dead?”

“I believe the host unit and the new addition, the rookie, both deserve a name.”

“Where did their consent go—”

It was a complete mess.

The reason for this was obvious. As they all already suspected, this was about the task force’s ongoing discussion in the break room regarding Omega’s new codename. It was getting hot in there, like a fire pit. November in New York was cold, with only two days left, but inside the break room, the discussion about Omega’s calling name was heating up as if on fire.

Now, some explanation was necessary. The starting point of this debate began with Jin, Rain, and Omega, whose roles were entirely different from the others in their respective worlds. Jin and Rain had been brought in with the help of Loren Tina and my disciples from this world, so deciding on their codenames had been a simple matter. It only required me to decide, or at most, ask my disciples or Loren Tina from that world for their input.

And they respected my choice, so Gamma was named after Jin, and Epsilon after Rain.

Omega, however, was different.

“First, let’s consider the possibilities. If we hadn’t had our mecha rookies, Omega’s rescue mission wouldn’t even have been possible. If the Dagger Team hadn’t broken into the Hidden Factory before the Fiery Donkey operation and cleared it out, the mission wouldn’t have even started.”

“True, but now Omega’s will is being totally ignored. I don’t think there’s a problem just calling her Omega as we’ve always done.”

“But Omega doesn’t like that. I’m against it too. If we’re just going to use a codename, then we should have called Jin and Rain Gamma and Epsilon from the beginning.”

A single person’s rescue had resulted in multiple Tomahawk missiles, transport planes, electronic warfare, reconnaissance drones, and countless other military and personnel resources. We didn’t need to discuss the cost—it was a highly intricate surgical operation that required the coordination of many people.

It was impossible to measure how much each person contributed, and honestly, it didn’t matter. That’s why everyone was gathered in a completely equal position, discussing what name would be best.

“Do you have a name you like, Rookie?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure. But I don’t want to be called Omega anymore. Those idiots dumped an impossible task on me, and when I said I didn’t want it, they locked me in a cage on the rooftop.”

“Well, I guess that worked out for you, in a way. So, what name do you prefer?”

“…I don’t even have a month of consciousness yet, so I’m not sure…”

“Well, in the end, we’ll have to name you.”

Eventually, it was decided.

I blankly stared at the chaos unfolding before me while sorting out my thoughts. It wasn’t a big deal; it was just about how I would name her if I were the one to decide. My thoughts naturally turned to the past and how I had named Jin and Rain.

Jin was named after the last part of my name, and Rain was named after the weather when we met. One name was based on someone’s name, and the other was based on the weather at the time, so either option had its merits.

For example, if I were to go with the first option, Tina could be named after Loren Tina. It was a simple, decent name. On the other hand, if I chose the latter option, I might have to base it on the swift-paced operation and come up with something accordingly.

‘If I choose the first one, I could name her Tina. For the latter, maybe… what should I go with? Something related to speed…’

The idea of naming her Arrow came to mind, as it was fast like an arrow.

There were other possibilities, but none were quite fitting as names. I lost myself in thought for a moment when suddenly, the name list appeared as a hologram, displaying the suggestions for Omega’s new name. It was complete chaos.

Before I could even name her, I thought of how dreadful it would have been if I had introduced Jin and Rain to the Dagger Team without naming them properly.

I got up quietly and added Tina and Arrow to the list of names. Omega widened her eyes slightly as she saw it.

Then, one by one, people gathered around to evaluate my naming suggestions.

“Tina and Arrow? Not bad, actually.”

“Light is much prettier. Since she was the first to fly, shouldn’t we name her after the Wright brothers? How symbolic!”

“Ugh, someone shut Morrison up. Erase all his name suggestions.”

“This is slander!”

With that, Morrison was pushed into the corner of the room, though he wasn’t physically dragged out.

The discussion continued for a while, but eventually, we were all back to the task at hand, and the choice was made.

“Maverick.”

“…I think I’ll go with that.”

“That sounds good.”

“Let’s hear the Rookie’s opinion.”

And just like that, the attention shifted to Omega, who smiled widely and made her choice.

“Maverick.”

Jin, Rain, and Maverick.

The triple-BYAM became a quad-BYAM at Central Park HQ.

Such a strange world.

"Maverick."

"...I think I’ll go with that."

"That sounds good."

"Let’s hear the Rookie’s opinion."

And just like that, the attention shifted to Omega, who smiled widely and made her choice.

"Maverick."

Jin, Rain, and Maverick.

The triple-BYAM became a quad-BYAM at Central Park HQ.

Such a strange world.

"Did the mecha rookie come back again? What’s the reason this time?"

"Of course, you’re curious. But did I say I would tell you voluntarily?"

"This damn chicken-brained brat."

I had a hunch it would go this way, but how long had it been since I arrived in Korea, and they were already making fun of me like this? It was the end of days.

What this meant was, the discussion was about the recent Fiery Donkey operation. As everyone had already guessed, the only person involved in the operation was Olivia, and this owl had already started bothering Logan and Loren Tina as soon as the mission ended.

There was only one thing left to do.

"Well, you see. To explain what happened there, you’d have to first understand why the operation was carried out. It happened because..."

"Rookie, you’re about to fly to Korea, right? So, just remember this. In three days, I’m going to stick that damn brat on a skewer and serve it to you."

"Feeling strong, huh? We both know you’ll be in the U.S. with the Rookie in less than a week, so stop wasting energy."

"Ugh."

As she said, in the past few days, things had suddenly piled up, and I hadn’t been able to handle all the communication. But after checking, I wasn’t surprised to see that my permission had been granted. There would be secret oaths, and various measures to prevent filming during the tournament.

I had never thought Olivia’s observer permit wouldn’t be accepted. She used to be with the NSA, so she knew how important those secret oaths were, and with her memory returned, the higher-ups would likely view regular observers as more of a security risk.

In any case, it was already confirmed, so I didn’t need to worry about it.

"The four of you are going to meet up at Fort Benning, huh? This is the kind of apocalypse I was expecting."

"Unfortunately, because of that, I won’t be able to meet you until after the competition starts. I’ll be judging strictly during the tournament, so keep that in mind."

"If you’re going to be picky, then the Rookie is probably better off getting two little brats to become new snake awakened ones than hoping for luck with you."

"Haha, of course."

Georgia, Fort Moore. The home base of the 75th Ranger Regiment, a center of the U.S. military, including infantry school, sniper school, and basic military training.

The temperature in early November ranged between 10 and 24 degrees Celsius. It didn’t rain much, and the weather was often cloudy… literally a rural area. To the north was Columbus, a relatively large city housing several military bases, and a bit further north was Atlanta.

Logan was scheduled to take a short vacation before heading to Fort Moore, where Olivia and I would meet him after arriving in the U.S. As I mentioned, Loren Tina couldn’t join us.

Naturally, Loren Tina made a frustrated sound before giving up.

"Damn, I can barely keep up with my schedule. At least I’ll be able to make time for a few days after the tournament ends, but… Rookie, you said you’d be going to St. Petersburg right after, right?"

"That’s right. I’ll be watching my disciples compete in the Asian qualifiers."

"Well then."

Well, if there’s time and an opportunity, I suppose I could meet up with them anytime, so it wasn’t really a problem.

Anyway, the small talk continued for several minutes, but unlike us, the Shark and the Polar Bear had to follow their separate schedules.

"Not many days left until you leave, are you planning to keep streaming until then?"

"Well... unfortunately, no."

"Unfortunately?"

At the same time, Olivia’s eyes met mine.

I let out a sigh, not sure if it was a sigh or something else, and added,

"Before I leave, I have a few interviews about the Asian qualifiers."

"And I said I’d help you pick something to wear before you go out there."

"...I see. So that’s why your expression looked so weird earlier. You’ve become a mannequin for that idiot to dress up, haven’t you?"

"Well, of course. Good luck, Rookie."

"Wait, you’re just leaving like that!?"

"Well, I can’t save you now."

Damn it.

Damn it!

The multi-call ended with a click, and what was left was only Olivia, smiling as she pondered what kind of outfit would suit me.

The world was an incredibly complicated and strange place.

I quietly turned my head and added,

"Actually, you wanted to keep working as a designer, didn’t you?"

"...Yeah."

She turned her head away with a rather embarrassed expression.

I thought so.