NOVEL WEB Chapter 157 - Thank You for Your Service
Chapter 157 – Thank You for Your Service
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“What the hell, they’ve turned the White House into a fortress, those insane bastards!”
“It’s been quite some time since the last mission. By the way, your language has gotten rough.”
Insane bastards, lolololololol
This is all your doing, teacher?
Fact: It’s your own fault
You have to get stronger to survive in a rough world, lolol
Please bring back the old Noknyang…
Tududududu!
Machine guns fired from the balcony of the White House. A place where, originally, the most powerful person in the world should have resided, but now, temporarily, it had become a fortress, and the chain gun on top was spitting out lead rounds with enthusiasm.
How should I put it, everything we’re doing right now, from start to finish, is not what special forces should be doing. In fact, infiltrating the fortified White House at night and taking out the enemies inside is what special forces should be doing.
However, the Omega virus does not discriminate. Whether it’s ordinary people, high-ranking officials, or SOF trained into human weapons, in the end, they are all human bodies.
In short, everyone died equally.
Everything is understaffed.
Meanwhile, it wasn’t just the White House that was a mess. To put it simply, all the buildings surrounding the White House in a U-shape were being bombarded.
Moreover, the trees in the expansive park you’d associate with the White House had all been cut down for visibility. In short, we had to either take a wide detour or demolish everything.
And we chose the latter. Because after pushing through the Pentagon and DARPA, dealing with machine gun nests became relatively easy.
───Tududududu!
───Boom!
While the turret we had placed in front drew all the aggro, we attached and detonated a sticky bomb from behind. Once it stuck, the explosion and flash would eliminate one of their strongholds.
We broke through the vacant firing points, putting several .338 caliber holes in the body of the engineer running to change his weapon. Thus, he couldn’t use the shotgun strapped to his back and died.
A similar process was repeated. After crossing over to the adjacent building with a zipline launcher and going through the same procedure a few times, all the buildings on one side went silent. Then, suppressive fire prevented interference from the opposite line.
And thus, the path to the White House opened.
“Attach Meltdown Bombs to the wall!”
“Attached! Get back, I’m detonating!”
3, 2, 1. Boom.
A specially-made bomb obliterated the grotesque stone wall around the White House in one blow. As soon as there was enough space for a few people to enter, we slipped inside. The rest was simple.
They had no ICARUS Operators, and we had two.
The presence or absence of a nanomachine barrier was a paradigm-shifting tactical foundation in CQB, and it could be assessed as revolutionary for improving survivability by at least 70%.
So, what does this mean? While people die when shot, ICARUS Operators don’t die even after being shot multiple times.
“Argh!”
“Damn government dogs, argh!”
“Alpha Line breach confirmed, ICARUS Operators have entered! We can’t stop them!”
It was absurd to hear such comments from those who had made a mess of America’s hard-fought recovery.
Of course, I didn’t blame the in-game AI, but this was something I had heard several times while roaming around Washington. Back then, there were many insane pseudo-patriot groups trying to take advantage of America’s partial destruction.
Anyway, the important thing was separate. This was why we had to clean the entire White House.
A communication from ISO came through.
[ISO: Sorry to interrupt your grand finale, but there’s a new development. There’s a VIP in the White House basement. Ensure their safety.］
[ISO: We trust the two of you. Thank you for your dedication to the nation. The new America will never forget your service.］
Nice words, but not now.
The number of enemies displayed on the UI within the White House was rapidly decreasing. But we needed to hurry because the path to the underground shelter would only open after clearing everything.
So, pushing Harmony hard, we wiped out all the enemies entrenched throughout the building. The overwhelming firepower advantage of the submachine guns in tight spaces rendered the opponent’s resistance useless.
After about ten minutes, the White House became a relatively safe place to move around.
Assuming all the bodies were cleared, of course.
[ISO: Now, let’s go and bring our 48th President, who’s barely alive.］
Wow, mission complete! Wow, mission complete! Wow, mission complete! Wow, mission complete! Wow, mission complete! Wow, mission complete! Wow, mission complete! Wow, mission complete! Wow, mission complete! Wow, mission complete!
Finally, I get to see this pushed through in hardcore mode, wow lololol
My heart swells with pride… I can’t believe I’m seeing this, my heart swells…
Finally, it’s over, wow lololol
Great job!
Amidst the crazed donations, typically starting at ten thousand won, sometimes hitting six digits, we entered the room where the President would have conducted his duties and ran a hand over the wall.
A mechanism activated with a buzzing sound. As the ICARUS Operator recognition completed, the bookshelf moved, revealing a hidden elevator.
How long had we been descending after getting in?
The door opened.
“Hands up, don’t move!”
“Stop. These are our VIPs here to escort us.”
As a dozen people in suits simultaneously pointed their guns, I raised my hands into the air as if familiar with it.
Harmony, similarly bewildered, assumed the same pose, while a man in a dusty, tattered suit stepped forward. It was obvious who he was.
Henry M. Brayton.
The most unfortunate President of the United States.
With a broad smile, he added.
“Originally, I’d throw you a welcome party, but as you can see, the situation is as it is. I heard it’s quite cold outside.”
“I almost turned into a snowman on the way here.”
“Haha! You’ve got a sense of humor too. Anyway, we can’t execute the rescue mission immediately because there are too many people here. What a pity. I desperately need a shower. My wife is going nuts.”
ISO intervened.
[ISO: Washington D.C. is being reclaimed, starting from Ronald Reagan National Airport, Mr. President. The White House should be safe for the time being, so please stay here a few more days.］
“Alright then. Staying here a few more days won’t make much difference at this point.”
The President looked around and patted me on the shoulder.
“Anyway, you’re here for a rescue, but there must be another reason. Unfortunately, you two… will have to do a bit more work. In the situation room, you can access the data node and deliver the ICARUS-related data.”
[ISO: Is there a problem?］
“These two will deliver it directly. Now, I need to get some fresh air. Will you join me?”
“It’s still dangerous outside, Mr. President. You should stay here for now.”
“Damn, isn’t it absurd that someone supposedly wielding the most powerful authority in the world can’t even breathe his own country’s air freely? I’m going out. Everyone, bundle up. It’s very cold outside.”
Same old character as ever.
With a final formal greeting, we left them and headed to the data node. There were people sprawled out sleeping along the way, but we ignored them.
Anyway, it was time.
[ICARUS: Data access and sharing approved.］
[ICARUS: Approaching the node.］
Time to find out what had happened not just in New York and Washington, but throughout the United States.
“The state of the world is utter chaos.”
The cutscene began.
Harmony and I quietly listened. The gap between ISO, who looked like a typical American, and our avatars, which were hard to find in reality, was quite bizarre, but it didn’t matter since it was all automated.
Regardless, even ICARUS couldn’t access information directly delivered to the President or Secretary of Defense, but now such restrictions were lifted.
In short, from now on, we could know how the world was turning.
“I was wondering where the U.S. Navy, which should be defending the homeland, had gone. Luckily, they haven’t been completely wiped out. But the 3rd and 7th Fleets are engaged in defensive operations in Japan, and the 2nd, 5th, and 6th Fleets are staying at their bases. I guess Russia and China’s deception operations were quite effective.”
As mentioned briefly before, China and Russia opted for deception operations instead of full-scale war. Given that the U.S. could control the world with its naval power alone, it was understandable.
Anyway, the Chinese and Russian naval forces, though reportedly nearly crippled by the deception operation, had effectively cleared the way to the U.S. mainland.
And with the Omega virus ravaging the U.S. military, including the Coast Guard, things were the same. Of course, Asia wasn’t unscathed either. The two adversarial countries were similarly affected but were overly willing to set the world ablaze.
Thus, the two countries began landing a tremendous force on the U.S. mainland without thinking about the aftermath. Of course, the insane formation included mostly landing ships and a
few destroyers, but there was no U.S. fleet or Coast Guard to stop them.
Division upon division piled up, making it a complete mess.
Meanwhile, my cutscene character mumbled to himself.
“Malthus trap advocates must be thrilled. Though I suppose they’d actually be dead.”
“Crazy bastards. This isn’t a conventional war. It’s a suicidal mission to drag America to hell with them.”
At the same time, ISO zoomed in on various holographic projections.
Boston, the New York coast, Philadelphia, Baltimore. Going further south, Florida. Tens of thousands of troops were landing sporadically all over the place, but that wasn’t the end of it.
Tap! A sound like hitting a blackboard echoed as the next screen appeared.
“And the operational range has widened significantly. All of California is engulfed in a massive inferno. This is the Chinese army’s domain. Therefore, you may soon have to support the area by boarding a C130 aircraft.”
Simultaneously, the text on the screen changed.
Raid missions, special missions, occupation missions, and so on. In other words, just because you maxed out the main mission didn’t mean everything was over. All of this was to build the infrastructure to begin serious support operations.
Well, from a game perspective, it makes sense. If there were no content after finishing the main mission, Dark Zone would have been labeled a PVP game.
“That concludes the briefing. You two go and rest. We’ll handle the classification of tasks and opening the air route to California based on priority. Good job. We couldn’t have made it this far without you.”
Simultaneously, he extended his hand.
When Harmony and I shook hands with him in turn, he added with unwavering eyes.
“Thank you for your dedication.”
[Notification: You have cleared all main missions!］
[Notification: Emergency Mission, Support Mission, Occupation Mission, Special Mission, and Raid have been unlocked!］
[Notification: Gear score is now active, and new difficulty levels for main missions are unlocked: Hard, Very Hard, and Ultra Hard (limited to certain maps).］
[Notification: Reward unlocked………….］
“I’ve been playing all missions on very hard difficulty, and now they unlock? Who knew the lifeline I grabbed at first would be this brutal.”
“Haha.”
All clear! All clear! All clear! All clear! All clear! All clear! All clear! All clear! All clear! All clear! All clear! All clear! All clear! All clear!
7th in Korea! 7th in Korea! 7th in Korea! 7th in Korea! 7th in Korea! 7th in Korea! 7th in Korea! 7th in Korea!
My heart swells!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yoo Jin! She is a god! Harmony! She is also a god! Waaahhhhhhhh
Great job, Harmony!!!!!!!!
“Great work.”
“Hehe, why say that now? We still need to get our gear sorted. By the way, if we clear all main missions on hardcore mode, can we visit the ICARUS headquarters? Take me with you. I have a lot of free time besides the broadcast.”
“Oh, I forgot about that.”
I had forgotten.
Anyway, we had a casual conversation. There had been so many things going on until now – though the content wasn’t particularly heavy. It was more like discussing future content and what to do with the viewers.
Listening to them, it became clear why Dark Zone is known as a loot-shooting FPS game. In other words, it’s what’s commonly called ‘junk collecting.’
That’s quite something in its own right.
“Since we finished early today, let’s call this Part 1. We’ll consider what to do for Part 2 during Just Chatting.”
“I’ll be back after a short break. See you in 10 minutes!”
Yuha, haha~~~~
You’ll go live again, right? Tell me you will!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you quit now, it’ll be legendary, lololololol
Wow, Part 2? That’s awesome!!!
Get ready, damn, today’s midnight snack craving is strong.
After turning off the broadcast amidst the clamors of many people, the evening was just beginning.
[Notification: Operator ‘Yoo Jin’ has achieved 100% progress.］
[Notification: World line synchronization starting.］
[Notification: Filtering… Unauthorized entity Virus code ‘Omega’.］
[Notification: Expulsion complete.］
[Notification: Formulating questions….］
.
.
[Question: What was the last thing you saw?］
[Input: ____________________________________］
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