I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 148 – Saturday Night

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“Damn weather.”

Kalalmanusk – a city near a nuclear waste disposal site.

The sky wasn’t yellow; it was a dark greenish color.

The air was cool but stuffy, with a faint taste of lead lingering in it. The clouds covering the sky shone ominously in a thick green hue, as if they had rotted away. Or perhaps, they really had rotted.

ICARUS International seemed to have a knack for depicting a dying world. Playing through various maps often gave the illusion of walking through worlds destroyed for various reasons. From the sky, a tar-like black rain fell.

This was the kill zone of this map. Rain mixed with radiation fell from the sky. One might wonder if such a place could actually exist in reality and think that this map would be unbearable for someone with depression.

For me, the only remaining SSM, it was the perfect place.

“Sigh.”

Just 15 minutes ago, Dice was selected as the second priority pick.

Thus, the number of participants in one match decreased from 99 to 98, and the number of national representative spots became 18. While it was good to avoid two natural disasters, it was difficult to adapt to the idea of having to rely solely on my own strength.

Of course, I hadn’t received any help during the match, but it felt like a kind of virtual emptiness in my heart. It must have been due to the weather.

In such gloomy weather, it was natural to feel uneasy.

I steeled myself and entered a nearby building. As I opened an old box, completed products popped out. Moreover, firearms were scattered all over the floor, making it hard to decide what to use.

Although there were large-caliber firearms, using a wild beast like the ASh-12.7 in a major arena like KSM was too big a gamble for me. Despite priding myself on my long experience in the Dark Zone, there were still heights I hadn’t reached.

That’s what AP was. Even if it seemed like everyone played similarly, numerous invisible variables were constantly in play, eventually leading to an outcome—victory or defeat.

What lay in between to make this game have higher levels? Would I understand more if I learned more from Coach Yoo Jin?

Watching Dice fly around gave me some hope.

“So… what should I do now?”

But as the saying goes, actions speak louder than words, and my body was already moving little by little. My goal was the place where the commotion was occurring. Some might question if it was too bold to be so daring in KSM, and I, too, thought the same.

However, a revered coach had told me during training,

“Facing a major event like KSM isn’t just something Blooming is doing. Others will think similarly. But in other words, that’s precisely the gap you need to exploit.”

Simply put, over 90 other people would likely think similarly, reducing the resistance against those who were bold and ostentatious.

Of course, professional gamers weren’t fools. They must have prepared for this to some extent—but like pianists who get nervous on stage despite endless practice, it was instinct to shrink back more than usual.

And though it might sound self-congratulatory, at least I had some leeway to move within that tension.

I created that leeway through relentless practice until it became second nature.

───Tududududu!

The sound of beans being fried echoed from all directions.

Being as cautious as possible, I headed to what might be the most dangerous spot in Kalalmanusk—a large shopping mall complex. Some might have had similar thoughts as me, and I couldn’t deny that.

However, this was strictly a matter of proportion. Whether more players would play rigidly due to nerves in a national selection tournament or act recklessly was obvious.

Unless they had given up early on, losing too much by not following the pre-planned tactics was not an option.

Yoo Jin had also taught me this.

Let’s try to change a few words here.

Thinking about being ostentatious in a different way, it meant I had a higher probability of seizing the initiative or making a preemptive strike. Thus, I stepped into the shopping mall that had once been filled with goods.

From this point on, the skill activation zones would appear, leading to intense mind games. But I had memorized all the maps until they were ingrained in my mind—though the structure of the maps changed with each game—I could roughly predict the enemy’s position.

Running while keeping cover, I boldly advanced toward the direction of the gunfire. Some early arrivals showered me with bullets, but the nanomachine barrier didn’t break easily.

After some time, I aimed my red dot sight at the side of an enemy engrossed in a firefight with another user and pulled the trigger.

───Drrrrrk!

“Ugh!”

As expected—or completely unexpected—a player was quickly eliminated by my sudden intrusion. However, there was no time for looting; I had to run in the opposite direction. In other words, it was time to make a hasty retreat without looking back.

What to call this? A wild horse meta? I didn’t think this would work again later, but the intent to catch them off guard was spot on.

However, after a hunt, one must be prepared to be hunted.

─Piiing!

“Ugh, did I act too recklessly?”

Bullets rained down fiercely over the barrier. I found myself in the crossfire of another user who had arrived slightly later than me but thought similarly.

Luckily or not, the enemy was approaching from the front. It was common to be caught off guard and get shot without knowing from where.

Usually, I would have either broken through or run away, but in this area, with many hiding players and a complex structure, I had to be cautious of being flanked and try to sandwich the enemy.

Tududududu!

Bullets poured down. However, I minimized my counterattack. I needed to escape as quietly as possible within the limits of the nanomachine barrier. Instead of using a gun, I used grenades to divert their attention.

With a click, I pulled the pin and used the grenade to keep them in check. Since I could quickly restock explosives with a little more scavenging, there was no need to save them.

I widened the distance, gradually recovered the barrier, and kept a steady combat distance, attracting all the aggro from the area.

Eventually, the noise subsided little by little.

“…They left.”

The enemy, seemingly burdened, had gone somewhere else.

Though I regretted not catching them, I had made gains, and as long as I survived, there would be more opportunities. Thinking this way made me feel drained. How did the people who taught me this do it so easily?

───Sssk.

“…Ugh, what’s this?”

Why did I suddenly feel a chill?

Was it my imagination?

“Oh… if I convert MOA to points, it’s 57. Yoo Jin set the target score at 85, so there’s still a long way to go. Also, using grenades to divert the focus instead of shooting wasn’t a bad idea. What do you think?”

“The goal is fine, but the method is risky. I’ll need to refine the tracking phase a bit more. Do you want to listen in?”

“…Yes.”

Of course, it wasn’t my imagination.

The people more terrifying than any monster were watching Blooming in real-time.

“Before the preliminary rank started, I participated in a scrim hosted by Xi. That was the first time I encountered this person. About six minutes in, I got completely outplayed in a psychological battle. I used my wildcard afterward, but they didn’t show up again, and I wondered why. Whatever caught their interest… yeah, well.”

The timing of the pre-selected players differed entirely from other users.

While the hosts, who had taken about 20 minutes to gather new questions, were conducting a joint interview with Dice and Yoo Jin, the sixth game ended and the seventh was entering the latter stages.

Blooming finished the Kalalmanusk nuclear waste disposal site with a solid 4 kills and 9th place. However, Yoo Jin and Dice had only grasped the general facts.

After all, the main focus was the interview.

“Well, what can I say. I’m taking it more seriously than last year, I guess. I expected to be selected as a national representative last time, but thinking back now, I feel I wasn’t as responsible as I should have been.”

Then came the following words.

“When you become part of the team representing a nation, people have expectations, right? Last year, the interviews and such were a bit burdensome… but this year, I want to showcase my style more.”

“That’s excellent. It would be great if you could fully display your charm in this interview and beyond.”

The host nodded understandingly and moved on to the next question.

Meanwhile, Yoo Jin was continually writing something on paper, noting Blooming’s improvements, peculiarities, and training methods for efficiency enhancements. The paper gradually formed a stack.

The main focus was Dice in the interview, and Yoo Jin only appeared when necessary, making her an outsider.

While Dice pulled a tired face seeing this, the questioning continued.

“Indeed. That looks thick enough to be a notebook, but since it’s not mine, it’s a relief. It’s Blooming’s. We use the strengths and weaknesses noted there for tailored training.”

“Aha. Is it usually that extensive? How about for you, Dice?”

“Up until recently, mine was that thick too.”

Haha.

They exchanged laughs.

Now, the real talk began.

“In a way… we met through business at first. There’s no need to talk about the extraordinary public matters, but privately, she’s surprisingly fun, so we’ve become quite close.”

“Surprisingly?”

“Oh, haha. No, that was just a little joke, ack!”

Sneaking up behind Dice, Yoo Jin executed a textbook-perfect rear naked choke. Naturally, the hosts were more curious about where such strength came from her thin limbs than anything else.

Even though it wasn’t an actual match, time didn’t pass slowly. The pre-selected players’ timeline was nearing the last match of KSM Saturday, excluding event matches.

In other words, the interview time was also running out—but they continued talking without concern.

“Indeed. Given our job, we spend much more time in the virtual world than with real-life friends… Although we meet for training, we spend so much time together that we naturally become close. Right, Yoo Jin?”

“Hmm….”

“Hey! Why are you looking at me like that? Was I the only one sincere!?”

“Haha, kidding, kidding. Just a light joke, ouch! Why are you biting my tail?”

“Ugh!”

Oh.

So that’s how they get along.

Seeing Dice bite her tail with such ease and familiarity, the two hosts chuckled quietly.

Of course, they couldn’t help but ponder whether to keep this segment as it was or edit it out entirely.

While Dice, having been smacked hard on the head, toppled over in his chair, Yoo Jin naturally moved her tail to gently place the slumped victim back in his seat.

After she briefly disconnected from her avatar to get some water, the two hosts partially muted Dice.

Above the two of them floated the emblem of ICARUS International’s PR department—a black phoenix.

“As always, I’m impressed by how freely you can move your tail. This is off the record, of course, so no need to worry.”

“It’s a mix of long practice and, well… making good use of what I have.”

“Have you ever informed Dice about this?”

“Hmm.”

Yoo Jin added with a small smile.

“It’s not unprecedented… He’ll find out soon enough. I’m curious to see his reaction when that happens.”

Click.

Dice returned, and the muting and the conversation about it ended.

It was a Saturday night, with the tournament nearing its end.

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