NoveLight ™
"When we return to Korea, it looks like we'll have a mountain of reports and proposals to submit."
"Everything we've gone through to get here will be the cornerstone of the sniper manual to be written in the future. Stay strong… and let’s make sure we finish this mission well."
In some part of the Chatahuchi-Occonee National Forest, 5 p.m., clear weather.
About 3 km north from Eugene’s team’s position, inside an abandoned watchtower. Two people—Sergeant Yoo Hyunho and Sergeant Jeong Haeil, both from the UDT of Korea—were aiming their AXMC .338 Lapua Magnum rifles at the outside.
As the mud and rainwater stuck to their boots and clothes gradually dried, the two of them were doing their best to hold back the overwhelming fatigue and sleep that threatened to take over, all caused by the tension born from the mission.
They had overcome countless rugged, pathless mountains, changed socks countless times, and walked so much that blood had soaked into the soles of their boots. Yet, this spot, where they lay prone, was not just thanks to perseverance and effort but also their thorough individual skills, making this hard-earned position a result of their capabilities. To stay awake, they forced themselves to keep talking to each other and crushed stimulant pills between their teeth, swallowing them dry.
The 10-minute countdown had just begun, but no gunshots were heard. Or maybe they were too faint to be heard.
While Sergeant Yoo Hyunho, assigned as the sensor, called out the locations of the humanoid robot reconnaissance teams, mobile strike teams, and small forward outposts, Sergeant Jeong Haeil kept his eyes on the scope, confirming the targets with his own eyes.
However, in the back of his mind, he was also thinking about how this mission was unfolding.
'...According to the IFF and the terminal, there are seven teams left in our operation zone, Zone A. That means a 7-point formation has likely been established around the fortress, about 1 km away.'
This result was the outcome of HQ adjusting the mission so that the snipers' areas of operation wouldn’t overlap too much.
In other words, there was a high probability that other sniper teams, somewhere kilometers away, were carrying out their tasks as well. Fortunately or unfortunately, the UDT’s goal was not direct infiltration but to reduce enemy numbers from the outside as much as possible.
And of course, they had already concluded that there would be no leisurely killing of enemies one by one here.
The data sent from HQ confirmed this.
'...The allies infiltrating from the south are heading to the extraction point located in the north. Since we’re in the north, if the mission goes well in the south, but we don’t finish properly here, it’ll all be for nothing.'
Moreover, since extremely strict individual evaluations were to be carried out, failing here would inevitably result in a significant point deduction after the mission.
Of course, snipers weren’t just there to help secure an exit route. Considering the carefully designed missions, which seemed to have been thought out to make life difficult for sniper competition participants, it was highly likely that enemy reinforcements would arrive.
They had managed to stuff the .338 Lapua Magnum ammunition into their packs somehow, but if they ran out of ammo, a disaster they didn’t even want to think about would unfold.
Finishing that thought, the two of them double-checked the marked enemy positions and let out a deep breath.
"…I know it sounds weird to say this now, but I’m genuinely curious about how they managed to make such a realistic mission."
"Remember this, Haeil. Designing a mission so systematically and ensuring that when participants perform it, everything fits perfectly without any issues… It’s impossible to do with just knowledge. It’s been tested, revised, and refined through dozens or even hundreds of attempts."
"I’m sure we need training like this in Korea too, right? We can’t possibly manage it with just the two of us, can we?"
"I don’t know."
Although the mission videos from day one, two, and three had been edited and sent to Korea, and the footage from this mission would also reach Korea soon, the two couldn’t help but wonder whether there were others who felt the same pressing need for practical training as they did.
Sergeant Yoo Hyunho’s thoughts were clouded as he stared through the spotting scope. The reality of implementing realistic training kept clashing with the barriers of the real world. It was truly ironic—but just then, the vision of a woman resembling a shark flickered before his eyes, snapping him out of his trance.
Maybe it’s possible, he thought. Lately, the U.S. had been strangely helping Korea.
With that thought, he checked the locations of the hidden outposts and the two sniper and sensor robots inside, marking them on the UI before resting the sniper rifle on his shoulder.
Through the broken window and across the valley, two rounds flew simultaneously into the heads and upper bodies of the two humanoid robots guarding the small building 800 meters away on the opposite mountainside.
"Hit, hit. Watchtower neutralized."
"If there was a sniper turret, it would’ve been better."
"Yeah, but we had to cram a brick-sized battery, two brick-sized calculation devices, and a bunch of coiled cables into our packs."
"…"
Of course, besides those items, their packs were filled with all the other essential gear.
Fortunately or unfortunately, targeting and decision-making didn’t require such a tight timetable, meaning the sensor’s role was more important than the sniper’s. In other words, at this point, what mattered wasn’t 'how to kill' but 'who to kill.'
With the tense silence, the spotting scope continued to move. After 20 seconds, which felt both long and short, the sensor called out who to kill, and sometimes the sensor would also fire, making it flow naturally, though it was more of a necessary reaction than a smooth process.
The priorities were set naturally. First, the robots handling the training SAMs were the top target, followed by those at the watchtowers around the base. Luckily, the outposts had no windows, so the sound of breaking glass wouldn’t give them away.
Whether this was the right choice, whether they hadn’t been detected, or whether there was a more efficient or correct method, the real operation, this training that resembled actual combat to its limits, never provided any answers.
During the training, the instructors, whom they feared so much, would give them the closest thing to the right answers, but what was even more terrifying was the fact that there was no one to tell them whether their choices were right or wrong.
How much time had passed?
───!
"Did they come?"
The rotor noise, which couldn’t be completely masked even by stealth design, began to spread from the valley. The remaining time was less than a minute, and two growing dots from the south entered their line of sight through the broken window.
At the same time, a message from HQ came through.
Naturally, the north was not the route for their infiltration.
While the south began to stir, HQ would not let the participants who had been inserted in the north take advantage of the chaos in the south to hunt enemies comfortably.
In other words, the 10-minute countdown wasn’t the end, but the beginning of everything.
A short, almost lost laugh slipped out somewhere.
"Well, it’s only natural. If this is the end, it makes sense that they’d ramp up the difficulty even more."
Not responding to his subordinate’s words, Yoo Hyunho let out a small snort and quickly identified the approaching technical vehicles from the north.
For a brief moment, thoughts of where Eugene and Logan were and what they were doing crossed his mind, but he quickly refocused and began explaining the positions of the approaching vehicles.
The setting sun bathed them in its fading light.
"The U.S. map is... very blue. Should I start calling you ‘Sir’ from now on?"
"It’s only been two days since the counting started. Don’t get ahead of yourself... But, I guess it doesn’t matter much."
In the northeast of the U.S., over 1,000 km away, some were beginning to savor the joy of victory.
"While focusing on the elections, they’ve been pulling all sorts of things off."
New York, Camp Henry.
In a month, it would be renamed to the White House, but until then, there was still an overwhelming amount of paperwork and electronic data he needed to review, the majority of which concerned the movements of the Republican Party.
Among the most notable was the recently ongoing Department of Defense competition-streaming. Analysts at Camp Henry were currently analyzing how this would play out in the future.
Of course, after spending so much time in Washington D.C., it was easy to pick up on things without asking, and whether or not the outcome would result in a loss or gain, his ability to assess the situation was key.
Looking at it from Henry’s perspective, the competition wasn’t likely to evolve into a major problem. In fact, if handled well, it could lead to positive outcomes.
"The intention behind this streaming can be interpreted in different ways, but if you look at what is being shown and how detailed it is, you can guess what’s being implied."
As I mentioned earlier, what mattered wasn’t 'what' was being streamed.
It was 'how much detail' was being shown.
In that sense, the sniper competition being broadcasted by the Department of Defense was revealing a lot more than expected. The fact that humanoid robots could actually fight like soldiers and that the participants could shoot and destroy them signified the extent to which U.S. humanoid technology had been integrated into society.
And openly showing this meant that the U.S. was likely already capable of an even more evolved technology, which could be applied to the military sector.
"...In that regard, it’s not bad."
In this world, Russia and China didn’t really pose a significant obstacle to global dominance.
But that didn’t mean there weren’t annoyances. Even in the previous world, there had always been troublesome players like Africa, the Middle East, North Korea, and South America.
The most unstable factor, though, was Pakistan-India... As I mentioned before, it was a real headache. This meant the U.S. was keeping a close watch on them, and they knew that very well. In other words, they were also well aware of the competition’s broadcast.
Looking at it this way, this broadcast could be a good stick for those who kept veering off course.
Returning to the matter at hand, Henry quickly understood that this broadcast was an attempt at reconciliation by the Republican Party.
It wasn’t something Henry hadn’t already realized, of course.
"And beyond that... it’s a form of deterrence."
If we were to strictly define current technology, we could say it’s near future.
This wasn’t because of Eugene’s presence, but because VR—a technology that felt like it came from the distant future—was replacing personal computers and rapidly becoming mainstream, with humanoid robots like the ones featured today being deeply integrated into society.
But, whether the rest of the world was catching up to this was a different question. There were still many countries that hadn’t significantly changed since the past.
In that sense, showcasing this humanoid technology could serve as an indirect demonstration to allied countries.
With this thought, Henry felt like he’d eaten enough without needing to have a meal.
"This is busy, really busy."
Winter was approaching.
The end of the year, and the beginning of a new one, were drawing near.