"Logan, I thought you'd be driving something like an SUV, but how did you end up with something like this?"

"If this is all I had, what could I do? If I had waited for an extra sedan to come from the Icarus Residences in Orlando or Jacksonville, I would’ve reached Miami when the sunset was already down."

"That’s a pretty awful thought, but it was also kind of annoying when people started taking photos the moment we hit the road."

"That’s bearable."

They were speeding through the Florida Everglades, heading toward the southernmost tip of the United States, Key West, far beyond Miami. To make it clearer for those who didn’t understand, just like Korea has Haenam, the southernmost point in the U.S. was Key West.

In the passenger seat on the right was Mecha Eugene—Omega, Maverick—watching the passing scenery with interest. He had his mouth wide open, looking like he wanted to get out and walk around, but unfortunately, that wasn’t possible. In fact, even now, things were pretty tight.

The Icarus gear blocked the outside view, and unless the windows were open, the interior of the car remained invisible. Also, with the lack of cars around them, they could drive more freely. Once they reached Key West and the car doors opened, they’d be sent back to their world.

Maverick, knowing this, was a bit more excited than usual.

"I thought this would be uncomfortable, but there's a dedicated space behind the seat to store the tail. Pretty interesting."

"Well, it should be. It’s a vehicle that’s gone through a lot of modifications."

The Icarus logo was engraved on the ceiling, and the tail storage was in the back of the driver and passenger seats.

It was unclear how Icarus came to own a car that had only 40 units produced, but considering the car had been out for some time, it was likely the ownership had passed around before it ended up with them.

The engine was upgraded to a better model, and the interior had been heavily modified for holographic connectivity. It was unexpected that they would modify the seats, but considering that someday he might have to ride in this car, it was a pleasant surprise.

Several meters ahead, the Aventador maintained a speed of about 144 km/h. Logan and Olivia were inside, and they were about two hours away from Key West, but this was more than enough time to catch up on everything that had happened during their journey.

"If we go a bit north from Key West, there’s a helicopter pad, along with a boat rental shop and gun store partnered with nearby military facilities. It’s perfect for practicing maritime sniping."

"Maritime sniping, huh. That takes me back. I remember shooting at Russian fortress sentries with nothing but a rubber boat in pitch-black darkness."

"Those were the days."

Indeed.

Not only had he experienced every kind of combat listed in the manuals, but there were also several forms of combat that didn’t even exist in the data, having participated in them countless times. He must have gone through those kinds of situations about 170 times. If he compared the thickness of the combat manuals from this world and the other world, there was probably a fivefold difference.

But anyway, it was his second time driving a supercar in this world. Until recently, he hadn’t shown much interest in driving, which made this experience more fascinating. Unlike the other vehicles, which felt like riding on melted butter on a frying pan with all the adjustments, this raw feeling where he could feel the road beneath him had its own charm.

Suddenly, a gruff voice came from the side.

"Seems like everyone around here is taking pictures of the car. Should we let it slide, or should we fire an EMP?"

"...You have that function too, huh, Third Youngest? Just leave it alone. No one can see inside the car anyway."

If two supercars were cruising down the street, he would’ve been curious too. Taking photos was one thing, but he'd at least want to snap a picture. Of course, that was back when he was an ordinary person. Now, it didn’t really matter. The car wasn’t his anyway—it was a rental. He had made sure Icarus Residences helped bring a car Logan liked to the airport.

If his parents heard about this later, they'd probably throw him the keys and say, "If you like the car, drive it around."

Was this a taste of the "gold spoon" life?

While he was pondering that, enjoying the view of the coastline on his left, several holograms were shared with him. They were from Logan, related to the upcoming sniper competition at Fort Benning, just a week away.

There were many expected tasks, but one stood out as unique.

"Snipe and counter-snipe, fortress breaching… looks like there are quite a few exciting challenges."

"Looks like they put some thought into it. One involves giving only a map, then having to break through 57 km of mountainous terrain in 36 hours, weakening the fortress's defense within 6 hours through various covert operations, allowing an assault team to infiltrate, then providing fire support and escaping."

"That’s something we used to do in old simulations."

"I actually did it myself while you guys were messing around in Hawaii."

"Ah."

Well, there was no time to rest in a unit like theirs.

Considering that even the Javelin live-fire training was mostly Delta, they were likely running such practical training whenever they had time. If he had stayed in the military, he would’ve probably been out there fighting with Logan, enjoying it.

However, hearing about the integrated missions, including land navigation, movement, and identification of enemy and friendly targets, made him feel that Olivia's presence was sorely missed. Olivia seemed to have sensed his thoughts and added something.

"Should I fly around and let you know where the enemies are?"

"Why not re-enlist?"

"You know it’s too late for me to get a US military badge again, right?"

That’s how conversations went with the Awakened. The moment you show any vulnerability, they pounce.

They still didn’t know what the terrain was like or what bad conditions would be imposed, but based on his experience, those details were likely to be revealed once the competition actually began, so there was no need to worry about them now. What mattered more was getting back into the rhythm he’d temporarily forgotten.

As they drove along the coastal road, feeling the salty air, they were getting closer to Key West. Meanwhile, the Third Youngest, who had been eavesdropping on the conversation, quietly added.

"Do operators need to be good at all this too?"

"Of course."

At the same time, Logan glanced at him.

Having been worked hard by the team, the Third Youngest was starting to look the part of an operator, unlike Jin and Rain, who had received the Icarus gear but still didn’t have a gear on Maverick’s left— or right— wrist.

It wasn’t a wrong answer. Even if the mech youngsters were more suited for strike teams than for infiltration or covert operations, in real combat, you could never predict what would happen. No one could guarantee that the mech youngsters wouldn’t end up with a sniper rifle in their hands.

In short, it didn’t matter if they couldn’t do it. They'd just have to accept a D+ or F on their report card for the mission and cry in heaven if the entire operation team, including themselves, was wiped out.

At this point, some rather interesting thoughts started assembling in his mind.

"Have you ever shot a gun?"

"...No. Seriously. I’ve only thrown a few grenades."

"That’s pretty surprising."

But unlike the response, he was already smiling. Since they were sharing sound, Logan and Olivia must have heard it too… and the expressions on their faces were probably just as he imagined.

Without a chance to think about it, his instincts reflexively added:

"Welcome to Eugene School, Third Youngest."

"...Huh? What?"

He had planned to send the Third Youngest back from Key West, but it seemed like that plan would have to be canceled.

It was time for Eugene School’s sniper curriculum to begin.

Vroom!

"Feels like I’m in the Coast Guard... no, should I say SWCC?"

"Those guys don’t do this. Their main goal is to take a fast boat upstream, causing destruction with miniguns and grenade launchers."

"Right. So, if we’re being precise, this would be that shark guy’s specialty."

The yacht, still with room to spare even with four people on board, cut through the waters, several kilometers off the coast of Key West.

The weather was perfect, with hardly any clouds and calm waves. Though, in comparison to the land, the slight rocking of the boat was nothing. But what could be done? Maritime sniping was bound to be one of the competition events.

Inside the boat, there were several sniper rifles, including a Barrett. He had seen that one a lot lately.

"I’ve already cleared it with the Coast Guard, so there shouldn’t be any problems with the activity, but… the noise is a separate issue. Has the suppressor been installed?"

"No problem. The sabot shells are all set. One minute until we reach the target."

"Maritime sniping, huh. It’s been a while. I think I have the range, height, and intensity figured out. The wind’s pretty decent for a coastal shot, so I think 400m is doable."

The conditions were worse than anything on land—shooting from a boat at 400m was not something you could take lightly.

Among the Awakened, Olivia was probably the best sniper. She could almost read the wind. It was remarkable, considering the sniper range during the Musk Alabama hijacking was only about 100 meters.

Though, back then, it wasn’t a 1:1 target—it was multiple targets, making the difficulty much higher.

"The shark should have been here for this. If only Loren Tina could’ve had her nose pressed down by your skills instead of boasting about how maritime sniping is her thing."

"Who knows? We all know she’s good with a gun."

"True."

Despite their bickering, they knew each other’s skills better than anyone else.

Two unchambered rifles, or maybe three, with their hands and tails gripping them tightly, began to feel the wind. Logan was fiddling with his tablet, controlling the remote-controlled sea target that had been following the yacht from a distance. The target didn’t take long to stop in the middle of the vast ocean.

He adjusted the laser rangefinder and checked the distance—358 meters. It was far. Logan pulled the target closer, reducing the distance to about 250 meters. The error margin was probably about 2 meters.

Though the distance was something a pistol could handle on land, with a sniper rifle, hitting the mark wasn’t guaranteed.

The first rifle was a Knights Armament M110 SASS.

They borrowed two of the same model, and the first shots were taken by him and Maverick. Adjusting the scope, laser rangefinder, and bipod, they fine-tuned the focus and zeroed in on the target.

Then, it was the Third Youngest’s turn, who had never fired a gun.

"At least the mech youngsters don’t have to worry about disrupting their aim with their breathing. But I think you should have some basic knowledge of guns, so let’s give it a shot calmly."

"...Okay."

They lay flat on the rear deck of the yacht, pulling down the bipod and carefully setting it down. Logan and Olivia quickly adjusted their tablets, sending out warnings to prevent anyone from approaching. If anyone wasn’t gutsy enough, they wouldn’t be within a 1.5km radius from here.

As the kitesurfers and yachts disappeared in the distance, he measured how much the crosshair moved over the ocean breeze.

"First shot, distance 250m. Starting."

He exhaled and inhaled, filling his lungs with the ocean breeze.

Based on his experience, when shooting from a small yacht, the adjustment through clicks wasn’t really needed for short distances compared to land. Timing the shot was far more critical.

When the reticle stayed steady, and the silence between heartbeats arrived, and when the 50cmx50cm target over 250m away was as still as it could get, it was all about shooting in sync with the team for a clean kill to score high, not in real combat.

His finger rested on the trigger.

Pheeeew!

"Good shot."

"9 points. Pretty good for the first shot."

There were two targets.

Maverick, grumbling, switched to semi-automatic and started shooting seriously. He fired a full magazine of 10 rounds.

The sea target collection system was in place, so there was no environmental damage, and Logan used the remote-controlled drone to bring the target back to the yacht.

Then came the laughter.

"Well, the left one’s fine, but the right one… Guess the primitive bullet retrieval system isn’t cutting it. We might end up frying some fish with bullets in three years, thanks to you, Third Youngest."

"Shut up! Stupid polar bear!"

"What? Who told you that nickname... damn it, this guy’s too strong!"

With his face flushed red, the Third Youngest huffed and started wrestling with Logan on the yacht, overpowering him with surprising skill. Meanwhile, Olivia and Eugene checked the targets without paying any attention.

Most of Eugene's hits were 8, 9, and the 10-point center, with only one 7. Maverick managed to hit about 7 shots, but not many were dead-on. This clearly showed what happened when the aiming point wavered during a shot.

And while Logan was busy torturing Maverick with waterboarding, Eugene chuckled and said to Olivia.

"We've got a lot to teach him."

Olivia nodded.

The sky was clear, the sun was dazzling, and it was the day Logan and Maverick would end up in the water.

It was autumn.