I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 140 – Serious On The Wrong Place

* * *

“Uh-oh, that guy is gritting his teeth and playing again.”

“Bong Hammer! Bong Hammer! Bong Hammer! Bong Hammer! Bong Hammer! Bong Hammer! Bong Hammer! Bong Hammer! Bong Hammer!”

“Yeah, I expected it already~ It was a mistake to give anything to Yoo Jin~”

“Fact) Even if you don’t give her anything, that would cause problems in its own way.”

“Hey, damn it, do you want to get your skull broken by a fist??”

“Haha, it’s definitely Yoo Jin. Once again, she’s causing chaos upon chaos! At this very moment, she’s swinging the Bong Hammer! This adorable weapon is demonstrating just how powerful it can be in the hands of a skilled person!”

Two spaces, each the size of a soccer field, were attached, filled with various cute structures – some resembling fragile construction sites and others multi-layered buildings, all messily placed.

The official name was Playful.

Even if you fell from a high place or got hit by something, it didn’t hurt at all. This place was literally an artificially created playground for intense fun. It was meant to feel like small SD characters playfully messing around with each other.

However, everything began to change gradually around Yoo Jin.

───Thunk!

“Ugh, woo-woo, ugh!”

Beep!

Fortunately, the sound of her arm slicing through the air was the characteristic sound of a Bong Hammer losing air, rather than a terrifying, ominous noise. Of course, the sound didn’t happen just once.

Yoo Jin, who suddenly appeared, held a Bong Hammer in her left hand and a pistol on her right wrist, continuously pulling the trigger. Various rounds, not real bullets, made popping sounds as they were fired from the gun.

When hit by rounds filled with small slimes, freezing rounds, or electric shock rounds, the victim would fall to the ground with a cute noise.

“Ugh, no…!”

“See you later.”

Beep beep beep.

Yoo Jin glanced around, confirming no one was nearby, then lifted the Bong Hammer and lightly tapped her head. The HP bar above her head dropped, and one more person headed to the lobby, accompanied by a pathetic cry.

But at that moment, another person emerged nearby and poured bullets toward Yoo Jin’s position. Her body responded agilely, leaving a serpent-like trail as she disappeared with a swish.

The playground transformed into a CQB (Close Quarters Battle) area in an instant.

As the grenade hurled toward Yoo Jin exploded with a bang, spewing out bizarre-colored gas, the surroundings gradually froze, spreading semi-frozen water chunks everywhere.

The contact points turned white with frost, and cold air rose up.

But she narrowly dodged and regrouped to counterattack. A figure, kicking off the ground with unstoppable speed, entered the vision of the person who threw the grenade.

The next moment, the Bong Hammer, thrown from her hand, spun several times and struck the opponent’s arm, bouncing into the air, while Yoo Jin swiftly approached within seconds and tackled them.

With a thud, the person flew back as if hit by a car. Amidst this, Yoo Jin caught the spinning Bong Hammer and launched an attack, her SD form emitting a chilling aura.

The person pinned underneath shouted in panic.

“Wait, this is an event match!”

Yoo Jin responded with a smile.

“That’s exactly why.”

Thump!

With that, Yoo Jin kicked another person’s butt, sending them flying to the lobby. The UI on one side of her vision indicated that 24 people had disappeared so far. The surroundings were still noisy.

Moreover, it wasn’t just Yoo Jin causing chaos. The sound of explosions from all directions proved that. With hundreds of people crammed into a small space, pandemonium was expected.

And then came the announcement that would seal the chaos.

“From now on, special armored troops will be deployed to add tension to the loose game! Please survive!”

Thump, thump.

From the sky, accompanied by sparks, six… tube-like humans descended. These armored figures, with their SD avatars massively enlarged and covered in puffy padding or something similar, didn’t seem like real armored soldiers but resembled them nonetheless.

However, the atmosphere changed the moment they pulled out large rocket launcher-like weapons from their waists. It didn’t take long for everyone to realize that these were killing machines, not just cute characters.

Whoosh. The missile fired from the launcher landed in a crowded area, turning into a massive slime and sweeping through the players like a tidal wave.

Although the damage wasn’t severe, it was painful for those who were caught and received follow-up hits. If hit directly, they would be sent to the lobby just the same.

This didn’t lead to any cooperation among players; instead, they all just caused havoc to survive.

People threw other players into open areas under the pretense of a friend shield, fought among themselves in easily discovered locations, or drew aggro by intentionally shooting at hidden spots… All sorts of human drama unfolded.

“Hmm.”

And among them, a few aimed to take down the special armored troops.

Many players had tried and succeeded not just last year or the year before but also in the original game. Normally, this would be the time when people started working together to defeat the common enemy.

In other words, this year wasn’t going well.

Still, Yoo Jin didn’t care much.

───Bang! Bang! Bang!

Amidst the gunfire coming from various directions, another shot was added. However, the trajectory aimed elsewhere—the bullets were forming a shot group on the special armored troop’s body.

Its head turned sharply, followed by its body, then the rocket launcher’s aim. But the speed was extreme, and with a swoosh, the rocket hit the structure and exploded.

Although the explosion instantly froze the structure’s top, Yoo Jin was no longer there. She didn’t need to respond because she had already gathered the necessary information.

‘Damage isn’t entirely ineffective.’

Considering that real bullets don’t drop in this game, it wasn’t a good sign. The shot she just fired was a freezing round, but seeing the impact area freeze meant it was effective.

Although the damage wasn’t great, the pistol’s ability to apply CC effects made it worthwhile to keep. In terms of delivering damage through hits, the weapons so far had been lackluster—Bong Hammer, sponge mace, lightsaber….

Lightsaber?

That seemed promising.

“Time to go.”

In an instant, the puzzle pieces in her mind clicked into place.

She needed a lot of freezing rounds and a lightsaber. But since it was in-game, the drop rate was decent, and a quick search around provided what she needed.

With a lightsaber at her waist, five magazines filled with freezing rounds, and three grenades with similar effects, she was ready. The pistol was a rapid-firing machine pistol.

The ground was sticky from the endless slime rocket explosions, forming deep puddles. It differed from water, posing a risk of drowning if one slipped in.

AP’s unique disregard for life was faithfully recreated here. Yoo Jin felt this keenly as she fired freezing rounds at the sticky ground, creating a sturdy ice platform.

Beyond that, in the center of four makeshift buildings resembling a boulevard, the puffy armored troop stared directly at her. The cute SD. Somehow, the padding made it seem modeled after her.

Even the eerie eyes between the helmet’s visor.

Their gazes met.

Both moved.

───Boom!

A slow-moving slime rocket. The glowing pink warhead would turn the area into a slime sea.

But for Yoo Jin, the important part wasn’t the slime but the slow speed. Her sharp blue eyes scanned the air and aimed at the incoming warhead. The freezing round hit the warhead in the next moment.

With a bizarre bang, the warhead exploded.

“Whoa!”

“What the heck is that?!”

Ignoring the laws of physics, a massive amount of frozen slime, essentially tons of shattered frozen liquid, scattered everywhere. Shards flew, and the ground froze.

Despite this stunt of hitting and detonating an incoming rocket, Yoo Jin was already calculating her next move. Approaching within a certain distance drastically increased her chances of victory.

Yoo Jin’s short SD form moved with uncharacteristic speed.

───Crackle!

Rattatat!

Armed only with a machine pistol loaded with freezing rounds, she charged. In response, the armored troop used various warheads. A rocket filled with dazzling powder that caused confusion if touched flew in.

The shot sound followed. The freezing round that landed in a deep slime puddle created a sturdy platform but cracked with a creak right after Yoo Jin passed.

Creating paths in real-time, Yoo Jin closed in on the armored troop. The AI wasn’t smart, and its rocket launcher was disadvantageous at close range. Approaching was inevitable.

The moment a magazine’s worth of rounds hit the armored troop’s feet, layers of ice formed, forcing it to freeze. Yoo Jin approached the struggling AI.

The commentators raised their voices a beat later.

“Wow, Yoo Jin is showing acrobatic combat even here! She’s closing the distance in an instant! We can’t predict what will happen next!”

Of course, this was flattery in a different sense.

She had already closed the distance to within 10 meters, drawing a blinding white light from her waist. As the beam of light glowed brightly, it traced a parabola.

With a hum, the plasma blade burned, leaving red marks on the armored troop’s body. As the light faded, the armored troop fell to the ground.

Thud.

Although it wore padding, the noise was heavy.

───Click.

“Ah, Yoo Jin! She’s done it again in the event match! After overcoming the mobility challenges with ingenious methods, she successfully took down the armored troop

causing havoc in Playful… Ah! Yoo Jin picked up the rocket launcher!”

“Uh-oh?????????????”

“Defeated armored troop x I become the armored troop o”

“Knew it, lololololololol”

“New Yoo Jin skin release: Running Armored Troop”

“Fact) The remaining people will now miss the slow-moving armored troop”

With a grim expression, Yoo Jin looked around at the frozen surroundings. The people in the cramped area, who had been blinking their eyes, made eye contact with Yoo Jin.

The quickest among them were already running,

those with average reflexes were frozen in place,

and the slowest had just stopped cheering.

───Whoosh!

“Why are you standing still, you fools!”

With a limp launch sound, a trivial explosion echoed.

Of course, the impact wasn’t trivial at all.

Playful still wanted more eliminations.

The sky was clear, and the surroundings were filled with a sweet smell.

The breeze was refreshing. The nearby scenery was beautiful. The towering obstacles, when piled up, were grand in the end. Below, hundreds of people struggled to climb up.

Seeing it this way, it seemed like they were all AI. Meanwhile, some people were watching from afar. About twelve in total. They smiled brightly. Among them was a fellow pro gamer.

Who was it again? I can’t remember the name. Anyway, they all waved at me. But I didn’t think much of it.

‘What is that person doing now?’

As the saying goes, I wondered what Yoo Jin was up to. She must be causing havoc in another arena. Or throwing everyone like Zhang Fei on the battlefield.

Such a strange person. Are strong people always so scary? Anyway, she throws people around, so she must be a huge and reliable person in society. Specifically, someone who would be written about in history books if born in the past.

Anyway, time was up.

I showed the people waving at me my middle finger.

The allowed flight time ended.

───Plop!

「Notification: You have been eliminated!」

Those bastards teamed up and threw me into the slime sea.

With my mouth full of the jelly’s sweetness, Dice was ejected to the lobby.

* * *