NOVEL WEB Chapter 107 - Dive, Dive, Dive
Chapter 107 Dive, Dive, Dive
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───Thududududu!
“The inside of the plane is spacious, but it feels like a waste of space since it’s just us here.”
“Being crammed in with others wouldn’t be great either, right?”
“That’s true.”
Up in the sky on the way to Washington D.C., a tiltrotor technology demonstrator, continuing the lineage of the V22 Osprey and yet unnamed, was slicing through the sky at 780 km/h.
The view outside the window through the camera was almost pure darkness. Occasionally, there were spots of light, but they were almost impossible to identify without intense concentration.
Considering the route passed through New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore to Washington D.C., this fact indicated that even such huge cities had lost their lights, showing that humanity was halfway into an abyss.
7 minutes and 31 seconds until we arrived at the drop zone.
As always, it was time to explain the current situation to Harmony, who probably had little understanding of what was going on.
“Do you know why we’re going to Washington D.C.?”
“…So, to expand Icarus’ influence, right? This game’s storyline is really confusing.”
“You’re not wrong.”
“Which part? The first or the second?”
“The second part.”
What should I say?
The game’s story, which progressed based on an operator who joined under the Icarus’ wing after the protocol was issued, tended to prioritize realism over immersion. In other words, it didn’t kindly explain all the stories.
To be more precise, it did explain everything.
However, it was not in a form that anyone could easily grasp as a linear story. Instead, it was more about piecing together the backstory through various collectibles and briefing files sent by Icarus.
Checking out each bit of backstory and piecing it together could be something people either liked or disliked.
“Should I explain it to you at a middle school level, or higher?”
“…Is there no elementary school level?”
“Then I’ll have to buy you a fairy tale book.”
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Baby Harmony… chew and spoon-feed everything…
Makes me want to give her a knuckle sandwich ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Honestly, it’s still somewhat linear.
What’s the point of being linear when you have to run around and find everything yourself?
Leaving the now bright red-eared Harmony behind, I searched for a way to easily explain the content I remembered. Back in the day, if I couldn’t properly summarize the briefing, I’d get scolded, so I had no choice. That’s when my English skills improved significantly.
Anyway, the difficulty level was at the high school level.
“The United States is vast, and there are really many cities within it. Since Icarus is originally affiliated with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, it also extends its reach to almost every city here. However, if we list the important ones in order, New York and Washington D.C. would be at the top. Among them, the latter is a bit more prioritized. Why do you think that is?”
“Uh… because all the important government offices are gathered there?”
“Correct.”
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
The Capitol Building.
The Pentagon and DARPA.
The headquarters of the U.S. Space Agency.
And most importantly, the White House.
Of course, there are countless other facilities too numerous to list all located in Washington D.C. There’s a reason it occupies the heart of America instead of New York.
“Normally, the capital should be the most heavily defended place if a crisis breaks out, but a virus is a completely different story. And at the start of the pandemic, what do you think happened as the virus rapidly spread and many people tried to flee the heart of America?”
“…Doesn’t feel like it was good.”
“They were all slaughtered. Even high-ranking officials trying to escape the capital and the operators with poor equipment who tried to suppress the situation at the start were all wiped out. The virus isn’t picky about people.”
“Oh.”
And that wasn’t all. The problem was that the situation escalated to an uncontrollable state when an unknown cause — later identified as a non-explosive electromagnetic pulse bomb — detonated all over Washington.
In an already chaotic situation, the added power outages and fires turned the capital into pandemonium, and within just three short days, the capital transformed into a massive tomb.
“Communication networks with the Washington D.C. headquarters were obliterated. Many special forces soldiers nurtured by the U.S., each costing nearly two million dollars, are now less than half remaining.”
“They all died?”
“Half died, a quarter became warlords, mercenaries, or joined the underworld. The rest are probably in hiding.”
“So we’re going there to reclaim it by breaking through those guys.”
“That’s the gist of it.”
The mission hovered in the air.
I hadn’t expected this type of presentation — the mission explanation appeared right before we jumped out of the aircraft. The destination was the headquarters of the Department of Homeland Security. The high-rise building was located to the right of the Federal Court, below the Smithsonian Foundation Office.
It was time to check what had happened in the U.S. capital until now.
As the mission started, the voice of the support operator filled my ears.
Finally, the mid-late stages are here ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Is the big one coming? Is the big one coming? Is the big one coming?
Fact）These two are always set to very hard difficulty.
You need a four-person party to clear this from here on out, but they’re just charging in ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Into the flames of the battlefield!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[ISO: We’ve arrived at the destination. Let’s find out what kind of crap happened in this dead city.]
[ISO: Good luck.]
───Giiiiing!
With a disturbing sound, the ramp door opened. The wind, loud enough to make my ears numb and cold enough to freeze me, started to flow inside the cabin. The heat, which had been somewhat warm inside, was sucked out, and subzero temperatures quickly settled in.
My voice naturally grew louder to overcome the wind noise.
“The wind is too strong!”
“Green lamp confirmed! Activate night vision! Set automatic altitude sensor to 500 meters!”
“Yes! Night vision activated! Altitude set to 500 meters!”
Whoosh!
The wind, strong enough to make it hard to open my eyes, swept through, and the darkness underneath the door ramp became evident. It felt less like jumping out of an aircraft and more like opening the door to a sealed ancient ruin, but the night vision activated, making the night as bright as day.
On the rail was the Icarus Gear Box, packed with the equipment we would use. I stood on the left, and Harmony on the right. We stood parallel, staring into the darkness. I confirmed the operation of the parachutes. In the game, there would be no option for them to malfunction.
With majestic background music, various pieces of information appeared in front of my eyes.
[Notice: Gusts near the destination.]
[Notice: All Green.]
“Dive, dive, dive!”
“Hiyaaa───!!!”
Thud!
The gear box I pushed with all my might cut through Harmony’s scream and descended into the darkness.
The mission in Washington D.C. had begun.
“…This feels like doing the tutorial again. Doesn’t it?”
“Can I take that as a hint that you’ll troll as much as you did during the tutorial?”
“Keep that up, and I’ll dodge you.”
“I’ll just piggyback you.”
Oh ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
When the teacher does it, it doesn’t sound sweet at all, what should I do?
Not sweet x Emergency evacuation o
Is this an intention to perform 고려장? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Shields on the back x2ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Tutorial.
It hadn’t been that long ago, yet it felt so distant. Maybe it was because we had such a densely packed schedule.
Anyway, what differentiated this place from New York was that the former had power generators providing some light, while the latter had completely fallen into ruin after several electromagnetic pulses.
One fortunate thing was that it made moving around very convenient.
Of course, there were exceptions.
“…There are fewer enemies around than I thought? I was expecting an unauthorized zone, but since there’s no one, it’s actually scarier…”
“New York, at least, has abundant supplies. Here… it would be hard to find even a night vision device right now. So, automatically, enemies wandering at night would disappear. However…”
That was how it should have been.
Considering how densely packed this area was with government offices, where could firearms or weapons be found? Walking in Washington D.C. meant that the U.S. and the world’s authorities were within a 10-kilometer radius.
Unauthorized individuals wouldn’t even be allowed to carry a small folding knife, let alone a gun. In that sense, one could assume this place was originally where latecomer melee combat would occur.
But thinking about it the other way,
[Notice: Presence detected.]
“Prepare for combat.”
“…Yes!”
Those with access to firearms among these government office buildings were experienced and dangerous foes.
My hunch was correct.
───Swoosh!
Boom.
The air compressed and heated up in an instant, spreading explosions everywhere. It was a missile. Or a rocket. Thankfully, it narrowly missed. Survival instinct flared up instantly.
The enemies must have already known our location. Normally, the right move would be to escape in such a situation, but the cutting-edge technology of the Icarus Device managed to find a glimmer of possibility amidst the impossibilities.
It immediately
detected the location of the few remote control devices operating nearby and the signals connected to them. Two lines connected like beams of light, indicating the enemies’ positions.
Got them.
“Found them. They’re monitoring from the balcony of the building complex to the right, above the artificial garden. Take control of the launcher. I’ll suppress fire to prevent them from escaping.”
“Should I blow them up?”
“Of course.”
A sly grin spread across Harmony’s face. The enemies on the balcony moved in a rather organized and disciplined manner, surveying their surroundings. A tripod and a sniper rifle. A standard combination. At least three, but possibly four.
If they escaped, it would be endlessly troublesome.
[Suggestion: Top attack mode.]
Thud!
I initiated the firing.
Though three of them quickly hid nearby, the balcony wasn’t a large space to begin with. Harmony, skillfully operating the missile launcher, shared the predicted impact point.
With a swoosh, a missile shot almost vertically. Strictly speaking, it was a parabolic trajectory, but its path was so distorted that it appeared that way.
A heavy firing sound and recoil transmitted to my shoulder. The enemies, having lost control of the rocket, realized it was heading their way and began to scatter, but at that moment, the .338 round pierced through their legs. Their desperate crawling was a pitiful sight.
A life worth 2,500 won, quite ironic.
───Boom!
The balcony exploded.
It wasn’t a large space, and the missile’s performance was unnecessarily good. The combination of these two factors created a new outcome: destruction.
The unexpected noise and flames, followed by the fall of tons of debris. An untimely broken orchestra performance, unlike anything heard before.
The darkness was violently shaken by the sudden commotion.
“Neutralized three. No further movement.”
“Let’s get out of here quickly. We can’t accept more welcoming parties.”
Creak.
One minute after the battle began.
It was the time it took for three enemies to be pulverized and for the balcony to completely collapse into the darkness. The two of us left no trace, as if we were never there, leaving footprints on a path no one had walked on.
The harsh winter wind, as always, filled the silence.
[Tricky’s Personal Community Harmony]
[General] Why does Noknyangi get better and better the more time passes??????
She used to be a bit nervous before, but now she just pushes through it like it’s nothing, it’s scaryㄷㄷ;;
[All Comments] [Sorted by newest]
=Isn’t it because Yoo Jin does everything?
ㄴYou haven’t watched the broadcast recently, huh ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴThat’s not itㄴㄴ these days the support is very stable too
ㄴHer skills have improved a lot ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
=I want to see how good she is, but she doesn’t do mission public matches at all these days.
ㄴRightㅋㅋ Yoo Jin is too overwhelming, so I can’t tell how good Harmony is by comparison.
ㄴThese days, she only plays with the teacherㅋㅋ
ㄴThe mission difficulty doesn’t come out, so I can’t tell at all.
ㄴAh, we’ll find out soonㅋㅋㅋ
=She said during the chat today that they’re going to do a classic collab soon, so stay tuned ㅋㅋ
ㄴOh ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴWhat is it, a hammer collab? This weekend is going to be crazyㅋㅋ
ㄴNo, it’s next Wednesday~~~~
ㄴㅋㅋ I survived because I’m unemployed
ㄴThis guy has a jobwwwwwwwwwww
=Her skills improved rapidly in a month ㅋㅋ
ㄴIn a way, she’s the luckiestㅋㅋ where else in the world do you find a guide like Yoo Jin
ㄴFact）Yoo Jin is not a guide but a newbie just like Harmony
ㄴOh, right, lol ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴNewbie (Ranked 1st in Apex within a month)
ㄴCrazyㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
=But seriously, I’m jealous. It seems like she’s getting proper education.
ㄴRight, those who can’t teach properly instill weird habits in their mentees.
ㄴThere’s a reason why the star rating system exists ㅋㅋ
ㄴWhy don’t I have such a pretty teacher???????
ㄴㅋㅋ Not for you~
ㄴSigh…
For all of you, I’m currently distributing the emotes I’ve been working hard on.
Aren’t they cute!
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