NOVEL WEB Chapter 106 - Capital Retaking
Chapter 106 Capital Retaking
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Beep!
“…!”
“React more swiftly. Aiming and shooting should be much faster. Engagement is about instincts and muscle memory, not rational thought. Don’t break down your actions step by step; they should flow naturally like water. Now, again.”
Beep!
“Damn, ugh…!”
“When your gun jams in an open field, switch to your pistol first. Handle malfunctions behind cover. Now, again. The number of defective rounds will be random.”
Beep!
“Wow, I can’t believe I missed that.”
“Simply pulling the trigger faster won’t work. Your arms and eyes need to coordinate, along with alignment of the sights, understanding the enemy’s position, and controlling your breathing—all within a second to hit the target. I’ve marked the cheek rest, so press your face against it and aim. Now, again.”
Again.
Again.
Again….
The core of the four-hour-long class boiled down to endless repetition. The sky turned blue, my ears hurt, and both hands were numb from the recoil. It wasn’t just regular shooting practice but also practice for ambidextrous shooting.
To hit the target more accurately, there were many things to master. Slow-motion training even existed to prevent bad habits from forming in the body.
Except for the speed of thought, the enemy and my body moved at half speed. Once I passed this, the speed gradually increased. Unfortunately, today’s best record didn’t exceed 0.8 times speed. The instructor admired the feature, saying it was really good.
…She must have been thrilled that she could push me harder and more efficiently.
“My eyes hurt, teacher….”
“Shall we take a break?”
“Yes!”
The break was too sweet.
If this weren’t virtual reality, my head would have felt like it was splitting. Even here, I felt significant fatigue. A simple chair without a backrest was incredibly comfortable.
The bench was wide enough for several people. Harmony made a peculiar groaning sound and gazed at the ceiling. Dizziness hit me late. I worried about a new session starting suddenly, but thankfully, that didn’t happen.
A break was a break, inviolable.
“Two more hours? Wow, how will I manage….”
“Shall we stop here if it’s too much?”
“Ah, no! It’s not that….”
Why?
But the reason wasn’t grand. I had never done anything like this before, and I just didn’t want to disappoint someone.
Additionally, Yoo Jin’s lecture was highly informative. Maybe because it focused on practical experience rather than theory. Even though it was virtual reality, had I ever been so focused on something?
I couldn’t deny it was hard, but the sense of achievement from challenging my limits filled me more.
“…Honestly, it is tough, but I’m learning so much. Just today alone… And it doesn’t get ingrained in a day or two, right? If someone isn’t constantly watching, it’ll get weird again.”
“Your mental strength is excellent. It’s a good mindset.”
“Hehe. I became famous for my perseverance alone.”
My gaming skills weren’t particularly outstanding. Although I didn’t lack the ability to attract people or banter, many others had those qualities too.
That’s why Harmony chose what’s called a ‘bad game’—a simple game that allows for all kinds of commentary during play, yet a single mistake can lead to a hilarious downfall.
Not just once or twice, but intentionally many times.
Grinding my teeth, once chosen, I’d keep at it until I succeeded.
“Now, I’m a comprehensive game streamer, so I play other games too, but this is my essence.”
“That’s admirable.”
Harmony didn’t know.
Deliberately choosing difficult tasks and persistently diving into them was one of the most important values shared by special forces members.
Furthermore, Yoo Jin often didn’t hold back praise. Although it could be seen as insincere, their relationship over the past month had become quite close.
Thus, the conversation continued.
“Sometimes, I can’t tell if you’re praising or criticizing me, Yoo Jin.”
“If I taught like I did in the past, everyone would have hated me and gritted their teeth.”
“Wow, really? How strict were you?”
“Are you curious?”
“Uh… a little?”
“For your mental health, it’s better not to be curious.”
“Now that you say that, I’m even more curious… Could you show me once?”
Was it really that bad?
When I said that, luckily, Yoo Jin didn’t make me stand up and show me but lightly waved her hand to call up a recorded previous session. It was the very first shooting training.
I couldn’t even turn on the tactical light or the target indicator properly due to panic.
Yoo Jin sighed briefly and added,
“Don’t be too shocked.”
“…Okay.”
[Notification: Reaction simulation activated.］
A clear line of light appeared in the air. As it twisted, tangled, and mixed, it projected a shadow of the past in the air.
Yoo Jin entered the simulation, and inside the darkened shooting range, the poorly rendered avatar looked flustered. Before the irony and laughter fully registered, the lights turned on again, and the emotion simulation ran on its own.
An expression I had never seen, a hardened look, appeared on Yoo Jin’s face.
“Stop.”
The sharp tone that could make listeners drop to the floor in submission. The voice, like rolling jade beads, set the moment and doubled the shock.
The panicked avatar came into view.
“Are you here to mess around?”
“…Huh?”
“What? Not tense? I’m asking if you came here to play. Are you not paying attention? Want me to replace your fingers and ears with functional ones? If it’s dark, you should turn on the lights. Would you wait a second before reacting at home during a blackout? Yet you do this kind of nonsense at the range? Are you kidding me?”
“Ah, um.”
“Excuses? Do things get resolved with excuses? Will things suddenly work out? In a real fight, you wouldn’t even have time for excuses. You’d already be on the ground with a hole in your head. If you’re going to react late like this again, return your gun and leave the range. Got it?”
…Uh, uh.
Each word felt like it was crushing my spirit, so I hurriedly took control and ended the simulation. I held my breath, but it wasn’t enough to calm my racing heart.
Yoo Jin, who returned with a faint smile, added,
“…That’s why I told you not to be curious.”
“Uh… You weren’t planning to treat me like that, right…?”
“Of course not. Why would I?”
“…I should refrain from light curiosity in the future….”
I was really glad I didn’t have to hear that directly.
Thanks to the instructor who tried to comfort me by gently pulling me into her arms and patting my back, the pounding in my chest quickly subsided. However, I couldn’t hide the tension that had crept into every part of my body.
Yoo Jin, now back to her serene and sculpted demeanor, added with a satisfied expression,
“You were tense. It’s actually very important. The more tense you are, the more focused you become. A bit of intentional tension can increase your survival rate.”
“…Oh.”
“Okay, I think that’s enough of a break. Let’s review today’s movements for about 30 minutes, then return to live-fire drills.”
“Yes!”
“…Why are you so quick to change?”
With a slight bitter smile, the instructor tapped my shoulder.
Taking a deep breath, I waited. The next moment, numerous targets appeared before my eyes. Desperately following what I had ingrained in my body, I attached the magazine, loaded the chamber, and aligned the sights. As my breath held, only the sensation of my finger on the trigger remained.
The shooting began.
Only about a third of the new day had passed.
“Ueeehhh….”
“We need to complete the mission. Get up.”
Yuha hahaha
YuhaYuhahaha???????????????
This guy’s dying from the startwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
What on earth happened to himㅋㅋㅋ
Harmony… Baking bread again today….
A table in the base with nothing on it.
Harmony lay limply over it, making strange groaning sounds. Her body hung over the edge, looking like poorly hung laundry.
But as it wasn’t a good look for the scheduled stream, I wrapped her hanging body with her tail and lifted it up. Then, I turned her over, tucked my arms under her armpits, and lifted her gently.
Wow! Long Cat Harmony! Actual cuteness!
“Thank you for the donation… I’ll wave as a reaction….”
Oh lol
Generous reaction lol
Wow, I’m so jealous lolololol
Are you a real cat? Are you a real cat? Are you a real cat? Are you a real cat? Are you a real cat?
Don’t be fooled; she’s crazy about bad games.
Plop.
I gently set the half-awake Harmony on the floor. Standing on her two feet, she shed her tired look and started her opening speech to her viewers. In a way, it was very professional.
Unfortunately, as I hadn’t been streaming for long, I didn’t have much to say. Still, I was grateful to have nearly ten thousand viewers.
I said briefly,
“…Hello, everyone. Today, we’ll push the main mission with Harmony as always. Since all difficulties are set to very hard, we’ll aim for a safe clear as usual.”
Safe clear (total annihilation）
Oh yes, of course ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
If that’s safe, then skydiving is safe
too?ㅋㅋㅋ
Teacher, we can’t take nonsense, even if we’re afraid of the axe.
Looking forward to explosions that would make Michael Bay faint.
I’ll play safely (if all enemies are dead, it’s safe）
“…Thank you for the 1,000 KRW donation, Dislikebebe.”
…Too much.
It seemed my image had firmly solidified as a destroyer. Considering how many close calls I had survived to stand here… Hmm, my thoughts seem to be wandering.
I considered a show of force to change the perception, but it seemed pointless, so I just pressed my finger to my lips and added,
“Shh.”
ㅜㅑ….
Heuuuung Heuuuung Heuuuung Heuuuung….
Yujin is a god!!!!!!!
Heuuuung noona I’m dyingggg
Teacher, I’ll be right back from the bathroom.
Crazy guys, lol. I clipped it too, but know that I’m different from you.
I don’t understand why they like this.
Anyway, there was no more time to delay. I patted Harmony’s shoulder and headed towards the control tower overseeing operations. The park had been transformed into a high-tech area, with the control tower being one of the most notable changes.
It was like a huge room reminiscent of NASA’s command center, with a separate section for the ICARUS Support Operator (ISO) to work.
That was our destination.
Creak.
For a place supporting the most advanced technology, the facilities were quite rough. The sound of the door opening also supported this.
A slender man wearing an intercom was examining the numerous screens on the wall. He was our assistant.
“Oh, you’ve arrived. I’d like to say sit comfortably and talk… but it’s an urgent situation, so there’s no time to relax. Sorry about that. Have you checked the data I sent in advance?”
Nodding slightly, he continued.
Simultaneously, holograms popped up. The red images indicated a serious situation. The map of the U.S. coastline was already crimson.
The meaning was clear,
“As you can see, hostile forces are preparing to project their power onto the coast. After the Omega Virus spread rapidly, we lost track of our proud Navy’s movements. We can only guess that they are delayed due to Chinese and Russian delay tactics.”
Assuming the massive force like the Third Fleet, which was believed to be capable of fighting the entire world, was eliminated was unreasonable. In reality, they weren’t.
From my memory, by now, the continued sea guerilla operations by China and Russia had considerably depleted resources, and they would be anchored in Japan or Korea, establishing defensive lines.
China and Russia knew well that they had no chance against the global U.S. fleet in direct confrontation. So, they chose to lure and tie down the U.S. fleet, infiltrating North America through the Arctic during the patrol gap.
Europe, which could detect this, was even more devastated by the Omega Virus than the U.S. The close borders and train connections that were advantages turned into nightmares.
“We don’t even know where the severed limbs are scattered, and all the nerves are cut off. Plus, our stomachs are infested with all kinds of bacteria. Fortunately, we’ve done some cleaning, but now it’s time for a precise diagnosis.”
“We need to find the lost limbs before going to the hospital.”
“Glad you caught on quickly.”
Simultaneously, our next objective was set.
“We need to head to Washington D.C.”
The headquarters of the U.S. space agency.
It was time to gather the lost limbs of America.
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