"The friends outside… They all look like they’ve been suddenly punched in the face while walking down the street. I kind of expected this to happen."

"Well, at least the person involved looks happy, so that's good. Isn't that enough? There's no real problem."

"Right."

The control room lounge, separated from the auditorium, and the room assigned to Lorentina.

Once confirming that no one else was coming, she switched to the Icarus Gear’s display, which was far superior to the old beam projector, connected to the network, and began watching Olivia, whose eyes were half-lidded and focused on the battle.

I seem to recall there was an ad in the past with the slogan 'I watch in 3D,' and this situation now felt somewhat similar. If only there were popcorn and cola, it’d be perfect. But then again, it's a bit much to expect that in a space full of sweaty middle-aged men.

Still, it’s nice that only women are here.

"Two people are handling what should’ve been done by two. I didn’t expect them to hold back, but… well, it’s fun to watch. It's refreshing. If there were three or four more teams that could do it like that, it’d be a good show."

"Isn’t it already going pretty fast? Among all the people here, how many have never practiced providing fire support during a retreat?"

"Well, of course, it's natural to be drawn to the ones who really stand out."

It was nice not having anyone else around. We could talk freely like this.

It felt like I was back in the past for the first time in a while. Specifically… back when not only New York, but the entire United States, had fallen into chaos. When Logan came to New York and met with Olivia and Lorentina, who were busy working, and I was in the middle of getting my education from the bottom up, starting to get close with them during that time.

It’s likely that Shark brought us along with that in mind. Moreover, while Shark was busy causing chaos, Olivia, Logan, and I were out having fun, so it makes sense that Shark might have been deliberately annoyed by it. He probably threw a tantrum whenever the opportunity arose.

For example, like this—

"Youngest, come here."

"What is it… Ugh."

"They went all the way down to the southern tip of the U.S. without me, while I was here, soaking in gunpowder."

"Stop making excuses. You just wanted to squeeze the youngest, didn’t you? Stop messing with the kid. You’re gonna wear his cheek out. Does he still look like a baby to you?"

Obviously, without Harmony, the new youngest, I was the only one who could satisfy Lorentina's black desires for a cheek-hunter. So, I quietly sat next to her, becoming her pillow or whatever she called it, as she pet me.

Meanwhile, back in the auditorium, there were gasps and exclamations, similar to those reaction videos you often see on YouSpace. Olivia had gone up to the roof, unfolded her bipod, swapped magazines, and was enthusiastically unloading a hail of bullets at a distant holographic technical.

The speed and accuracy were almost supernatural. Instead of wasting bullets on the gunner on the technical, she expertly aimed at the tires and windshield, disabling the vehicle with just a few shots. But when you know that’s not a fluke, but a deliberate action, the evaluation tends to improve.

The scariest sharpshooter on Icarus was this person.

"What's scary is that she can do that without a scope."

"My eyesight isn't bad either, and I like the thermal vision at night, but… that person doesn’t even need night vision. I was shocked when I saw her hit a 760-meter target with iron sights on a moonless night."

"With the gear adjustments, she can read tiny text at 3 kilometers. What’s there to be surprised about? Her vision's probably around 8.9?"

"I know she used to close her eyes to protect them back in the day."

Hmm… I don't know about that.

I’m not particularly good with my eyesight, and I don’t really know what the daily struggles are for people with perfect vision. But… well, she might be suppressing it artificially. She never really said anything about it.

I decided to focus back on the screen, thinking about how fast she was cleaning up the enemies. Normally, in six minutes, there would be constant firefights, but Olivia was taking her time, even saving some rest.

The M110A3, now fully heated with a red-hot suppressor, was nearing its end. As the last magazine emptied, a holographic helicopter landed to pick up the holographic allies.

I keep mentioning holograms, and it's a bit dizzying, but it's definitely better than shooting at paper targets.

Though Delta does… buy hundreds of cheap humanoid robots and blatantly use them as targets. Of course, that's only for large-scale training, but it’s still impressive. Just look at their budget – no wonder they’re called the top-tier special forces.

Six minutes had passed.

Technically, this wasn’t just a time limit, but a measure of whether the participants could handle all the sub-missions properly and quickly. The faster they completed them, the higher their score.

In short, Olivia had completed the kill count and returned proudly within the time limit.

Olivia returned to the auditorium with steam practically rising from her body, and she was met with applause and cheers. She smiled as she took off her Opscore helmet. The waiting control officer retrieved her weapon and gear, and she started walking toward our room.

Clank.

"Phew…!"

"Ugh, what are you doing hugging me as soon as you get here? Ugh, it’s so hot! It’s suffocating!"

"You’re messing with the youngest. You’re trying to suffocate him, aren’t you?"

"Go wipe off your sweat, Birdhead. Stop torturing poor Eugene."

Of course, "Birdhead" meant "chicken head."

It wasn’t the face, but her entire upper body that had been embraced by Olivia—drenched in sweat and heated up. It was so hot, seriously. Anyway, Olivia's face, after a good shooting session, looked refreshingly relaxed. What should I say? It felt like when we’d just finished the 'Burning Donkey' operation a while ago.

Come to think of it, I should probably introduce Maverick, the third youngest, to Logan and Lorentina, but with so many eyes on us right now, it couldn’t be helped.

The second civilian observer, Fair, awkwardly moved toward the starting point with unsteady steps, and Logan spoke up.

"When this competition is over, I’m taking you to Disney World. No problem, right?"

"It’s not really my place to say, but shouldn’t we start learning about suggestions instead of notifications?"

"Don’t worry. Just show up with your body. If you’re planning to help clean up after the competition all weekend, then maybe. But there’s no need for you to worry about that. Originally, I was going to be at the theme park before the competition, but I didn’t go just because I was thinking of you."

"Since when did you think about me?"

"I thought you’d keep whining if I didn’t take you."

"That’s the correct answer."

What should I say? There probably isn’t anyone else in the world who talks like Lorentina.

Anyway, leaving that aside, it was time to move again. The first mission was nearly done, so we had to show everyone how the second mission would unfold – it was a rescue mission.

It wasn’t much different from the first mission. The difference was that it required a bit more active involvement. Actually, the drone and turret operation mission in VR later was much more important, so I planned to treat this one as a bit of a breather.

In the CQB mission, Logan was the observer and I was the sniper. For the second mission, I would be supporting Logan, who was infiltrating.

The operation area wasn’t that large, so a semi-automatic sniper rifle would be fine.

"After the third mission demonstration, we’ll have plenty of time left, so let’s meet again then."

"We still have a long way to go. Let’s go."

"Here comes another boring watching time. Lorentina, can’t you just stay here?"

"Hmm, should I ask the youngest for some holograms with my Icarus gear?"

Of course, that wasn’t going to happen.

After dealing with Shark’s antics, our short break came to an end.

It was time to move again toward the grim hours of fire and metal.

"Scout drone or sniper turret, pick one, and infiltrate the abandoned factory. They've really sharpened their knives for this one. Not sure if it's okay to set traps so blatantly."

"Definitely a lot of things that are only possible with VR. Random terrain assignments, no way of knowing how other participants are playing… I guess that's normal for missions like this."

Port Moore, November 4th, 3:03 PM.

The weather was clear, and distant gunshots still echoed. Logan and I, having just completed the second mission, the ally rescue shooting, were now reviewing the information for the last event, which had begun to reveal itself.

Drone and turret operation tests. Just a few minutes ago, the participants sitting here could only guess a little about what awaited them. But now, the situation was different.

A creation of pure malice, born from considering how to make things difficult for the competition participants. On the surface, it seemed simple, but as with all operations, 70% of the plans disintegrate once the mission begins.

Anyway, I started reading through it.

"The map is an abandoned factory. The mission involves retrieving specific data or rescuing hostages, among others. No one will know what’s coming until it’s their turn to brief, and there’s no way to choose it..."

"Map layout, time limit, and enemy size will only be revealed during the team briefing."

"Random variable combinations. No map will repeat, and you won’t know how the other participants are playing… which means there’s no intention to give us any hints about how they use drones or turrets."

Rustling.

No one was around. In fact, Logan and I weren't even in the auditorium where the participants who were done waiting. We were crossing the floor covered with broken stones the size of a thumb and heading toward the virtual reality simulation room.

Considering all the data we’d gathered, the last event of the day, drone and turret operation, was essentially an individual event. There was no real need to watch others.

We couldn’t even show what we were doing, so why wait until everything is over just to crowd into the simulation room?

We handed our weapons and gear back since it was 3:00 PM, when the control officers had said we could. After feeling lighter, we followed the guide to the simulation room. The one constant in this situation was that Lorentina was waiting inside. We checked for any recording devices in case and activated the soundproof function before continuing our conversation.

"Clearly, you made this event. Did you really want to see everyone twisting and struggling like that?"

"We don’t need all that info going in before the operation. Also, knowing exactly where the enemy is won’t help much if we can’t handle it. Don’t you think?"

"So, you’re saying you wanted to hit the enemy as hard as possible. We were always planning to take sniper turrets, so it doesn’t matter much to us, but still, that’s pretty malicious."

As she said, based on the information we had received, this mission was basically a decapitation operation. The goal was to break through the enemy lines as quickly as possible, handle the task, and exit. Recon drones would be helpful, but if the enemy surrounded us or the defense lines were too tight, the mission would be much harder.

If this mission required at least three people, the recon drones would’ve been incredibly effective. While two infiltrators snuck in, one could act as a sniper and drone operator, eliminating enemies with long-range precision.

But Shark maliciously took advantage of the fact that only two people were allowed on each team.

"Well, I’m sure we’ll do fine. If we fail, we’ll get to watch our allies turn into pin cushions in the middle of the enemy’s camp."

"Knowing that, I have nothing else to say. Let’s get going. We’ll finish quickly and head for a beer. I found an amazing pub in Columbus… just kidding."

"Just hang in there a few more days. Then we’ll be free."

"I should’ve come as a participant if I knew this was going to happen."

But it was already too late, and if Lorentina hadn’t been here, such a perfectly difficult mission wouldn’t have come into being.

I vaguely remembered that as I put on the standard-sized connector that civilians used and carefully laid down in a capsule-like thing that looked like a small bed. Of course, I had to adjust a bit because of my snake tail.

I heard that places like these virtual reality rooms exist all over the world, even in Korea, but judging by how this looked, I didn’t think I’d ever visit one of those places again.

As soon as I pressed the button, my vision went black in an instant.

I had never entered military-grade virtual reality before, so I didn’t know, but when used for military purposes, the time compression was five times faster. Apparently, this was near the highest safe multiplier available at the moment. Anything over six times could strain the brain.

With my body now partially merged with nanomachines, reinforcing the thickness and length of my neurons by several times, I probably wouldn’t be affected by this. But well, that wasn’t too important.

After linking with Logan, the briefing began.

And—

"The enemy is about three company-sized groups. Honestly, that’s impressive."

"Looking at the building density, terrain features, and the amount of junk around, they’ve set it up really cleverly. Just looking at the map, I can’t even tell if drones or turrets would be better."

"Let’s start with infiltration. Since the buildings are distinct, I don’t think we’ll get too lost, and I have a pretty good sense of how things will go. We’ll just need to place turrets on the control point."

"Right. Looking at it, this time it seems more focused on infiltration than sniping. We’ll go with LPVO instead of scopes. We’ll take as many explosives as we can."

The factory complex was symmetrical around the central building.

After checking the map with elevation markings and reconnaissance photos, we decided where to place the turrets, then picked the guns we’d take — two Mk.18s. Of course, the names were the same, but one was a Mk.18 Mjolnir, and the other was a Mk.18 CQBR carbine rifle.

Along with a handgun, several grenades, flashbangs, and a tactical tomahawk that would never lose signal, no matter the situation.

It was time to begin.

-[Notification: Do you wish to proceed?]

When I pressed the "Yes" button, Logan and I spawned near the factory complex, set against a grim, overcast sky.

It didn’t even look much like a factory with all the armed soldiers patrolling around. Barbed wire was everywhere, and there were makeshift guard posts. But we didn’t mind. We quietly made our way through the area, placing inactive turrets at higher vantage points.

The soldiers at the guard posts weren’t particularly motivated to watch the perimeter, so it was possible.

Our objective was simple.

We used the turret cams to scout the surroundings, quickly infiltrating, retrieving the target, and switching the sniper turrets to autonomous firing mode. While the turret caused confusion, we’d quickly escape.

Thinking about that, Logan and I reached the barbed wire and, with a point of focus, began pulling at it. The wire bent and tore with surprising little noise. The important thing was that a large enough hole had been made for two people.

We successfully infiltrated and moved freely among the debris and materials scattered around, hiding when the turrets scanning our vicinity sent a warning.

"…Stop. Three enemies are coming from the left."

"The large trash bin lid’s open. Let’s take care of them quickly."

"Wait… now."

Pew, pew, pew!

The combination of the suppressor and subsonic bullets was beautiful. With the sniper turret joining in, the three-man patrol dropped to the ground simultaneously, like their strings had been cut. Logan dragged them away, and I carefully stuffed them into the large trash bin, closing the lid.

As we moved deeper inside, the angles the turrets couldn’t cover increased, but we didn’t mind. I had anticipated it. The moment the conditions were right, my suppressed rifle spat out fire and bullets, and before the bodies hit the ground, I hid them out of sight.

The way to the center was tedious but not impossible. If we had more time, it would’ve been easy. But the crucial part was retrieving the target data and escaping, and we could never be free from that.

Downloading the file was easy, but the base personnel, having found the bodies, started to sense something was off and raised their alert level.

"They must have sniffed it out."

"Well, now it’s time to leave."

"Good. Let’s hit them hard in the side."

Beep.

Logan lifted the tablet, switching the three sniper turrets on the external control posts to autonomous firing mode.

-——Peeing!

With a sharp gunshot, the heads of the unlucky three guards patrolling inside the base exploded simultaneously.

As alarm sirens blared, faint vibrations rippled through the floor. The enemies were moving in unison, starting to return fire.

However, the turrets were small and well hidden, and the surrounding vegetation and debris made them nearly impossible to find. There was no way we’d be intimidated by their retaliatory shots.

As the kill count rapidly increased, Logan added, "It’ll take 10 minutes to hide the turrets. After we retrieve the target and extract, it’ll take less than 4 minutes. At 5x speed, we’ll be out in less than 3 minutes."

"Well, let’s take it as a consolation that we won’t have to deal with Shark’s tantrums."

Turning off the tablet, I raised my weapon again.

Now was the time to leave amidst the chaos.