I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 32­ Trash Game

* * *

“Oh, someone already died.”

­????

­Oh, lol

­What’s that on the top? An axe? I’ve never seen a kill count like that.

­Sir, please use a gun, a gun, lolololololololol

­I really want to switch perspectives.

I didn’t know what it was, but within 30 seconds of the start, the enemy team had lost one person.

Harmony, fiddling with the EMP grenade that rattled in the multipurpose pouch, checked the UI that appeared in front of her.

Outside the terrace of the stock trading room, the three who had rappelled up, including Harmony, decided to quickly push into the enemy base, leaving the wandering enemies to the other two.

There were no operators carrying claymores, but that would be resolved by the other two quickly joining in and locking down the approach routes.

It wasn’t exactly a standard method; if anything, it was closer to the usual daily grind of a public match.

A red ping appeared in front of her, marking the wall near the skylight stairs.

As she twisted the top of the heavy EMP grenade in her hand, it began to flash blue like an old toy from a department store.

As discussed beforehand, she threw it at the reinforced wall.

───Bang!

A blue electric field spread through the air, disabling the claws attached to the wall.

The next moment, with a heavy gunshot, twelve pellets split into six each and flew through the air.

“Oh, it hit perfectly.”

“Just in case, please throw one more grenade when the pellets activate.”

“Okay!”

The top twisted again, and blue light burst out once more.

As the strange high-pitched sound echoed, the pellets began to burn like flowers, and Harmony, as requested beforehand, accurately threw another grenade.

As the reinforced wall exploded and fragments scattered in all directions, another member started operating the drone. The second floor was quite spacious, so they couldn’t rush in recklessly.

“Where are the two clearing the roamers?”

­We’re planning to go up the central stairs. One will head towards the lobby stairs from the first floor, and the other will go around the kitchen to the skylight stairs.

“Okay. Let us know when you’re pushing. I’ll block the central stairs with a pressure bomb. Harmony, please keep an eye on anyone coming out into the hallway.”

Rat-tat-tat-tat!

The wooden boards covering the stock trading room shattered, revealing the battered walls inside the room. It was a measure to prevent enemies from infiltrating easily, commonly known as construction.

A brief reconnaissance followed. Despite that, the gunshots echoing through the corridor indicated that the enemies were still swarming inside.

However, due to the cult-like popularity of the Team Six mission, most players could instantly identify the enemies by the sound of gunfire.

A team member quickly summarized the information.

“There are only two inside. But since both have shotguns, it’s best not to enter until the roaming ones are dealt with.”

Click.

One person rappelling on the roof added.

“I’m going to circle around the lobby from the roof. If we leave two roaming enemies alone, we’ll get cornered and killed.”

“Be careful. Harmony and I will keep an eye on this side. I’ll watch the opposite side, so keep watching the direction you were.”

“Okay.”

With that, the five operators gradually dispersed.

“The lobby is quite large….”

In the past, before this game was in the Dark Zone, I had played it, but actually walking on the ground… it was bigger than I thought.

It was somewhat nostalgic. Experiencing a game I enjoyed a lot in the past recreated in virtual reality was something I had never heard of. The fact that I was fighting with a gun myself made it even more special.

I wished I could enjoy it normally.

Anyway, I entered the lobby from the central stairs on the first floor. The surroundings were wide open. The ceiling was tremendously high, supported by several elegant stone pillars arranged in gentle curves.

The floor was a continuous black and white marble pattern, reminiscent of a chessboard, and it was quite cluttered with various objects.

On one side of the lobby was a spiral staircase leading to the second floor. The reception desk that once greeted people was completely empty, and behind it was a space whose purpose was unknown.

───Crash!

At that moment, the sound of glass breaking came from one side.

As I quickly turned and aimed, an IR marker indicating an ally was penetrating the wall and advancing behind it. Carefully guarding my surroundings, I headed in that direction, and a team member soon approached and spoke quietly.

“Ah, there you are. You’re going up the lobby stairs, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll check for hidden enemies while circling the first floor and push towards the central stairs.”

Our paths crossed.

I carefully climbed the stairs, while the team member crossed the counter and cautiously disappeared behind it. I considered keeping an eye on them for a moment, but then I saw the wire tangled around the stairs in front of me.

After briefly checking for any signs of life upstairs, I quickly made my decision. According to the marker I saw in the distance, the team member had just entered the kitchen area.

There were fewer people on this side, so it would be better to enter while the team member drew aggro.

Loading a fragmentation grenade into the grenade launcher, I spoke quietly into the comms.

“Can you draw attention for a moment? I’ll try to enter from the opposite side.”

­Understood.

The noise came quickly.

From across the way, loud sounds began to be heard. It wasn’t clear if it was a firefight, but considering the team member’s health hadn’t dropped significantly, it was likely just suppressive fire.

Just as I was about to pull the trigger on the grenade launcher,

­Aaaagh!

───!!

4 : 4.

The cheerful gunfire from the first floor and the desperate scream heard through the comms. I couldn’t be sure since it bounced off the walls, but the rate of fire was quite fast.

Fortunately, the combination of gunfire and the grenade explosion seemed to attract less attention than expected.

Anyway, I needed to guard the rear. But at this point, my location was somewhat exposed, so it was better to move in quickly.

I strode up the stairs, glanced at the barricaded doorway, and entered the curved section known as the banana when,

­Yoo Jin! Someone’s coming your way! In front of the central stair hallway!

Beep.

At the same time, a red cursor popped up in front of the elevator on the first floor. Was that the enemy’s position? They circled around quicker than I thought. I had been hearing movement below for a while.

Even if they came openly, it didn’t matter much, but I didn’t want to waste time in a firefight.

It couldn’t be helped.

­…What are you doing!?

“I need to focus, so just a moment….”

The fence preventing a fall to the first floor was quite sturdy. Even if it collapsed, it wouldn’t matter much.

Thinking that, I wrapped my tail around the fence and carefully climbed over, assuming a reverse rappel position with my feet on the wall.

In the phenomenon where the ceiling became the floor and the floor became the ceiling due to the rapid rotation of my view, the counter I had glimpsed earlier greeted me upside down.

Approximately 3 seconds passed.

With a bang, the wall of the room across the counter I was aiming at exploded.

Through the round hole, an enemy with heavy gear quickly entered. They were holding a submachine gun. It seemed to be an MP5 series.

I aimed directly at them, placing the crosshair of the LPVO sight in the center of the enemy’s figure.

There was no hesitation.

A slight recoil brushed my shoulder.

───!

“Aaagh!”

As the enemy’s head was pierced and they collapsed, the screen popped up with 4 : 3.

Having done it after a long time, my tail felt quite stiff, so I carefully loosened my grip and rotated once before landing back on the first floor. The heavy recoil dissipated as it passed through my joints.

Just as I finished preparing to enter again, an urgent communication hit my ears.

­First floor! There’s an enemy in the record room! It’s going to be hard to go up…!

“There are enemies everywhere.”

At this point, it seemed I had to relieve pressure from another direction.

So what was the method? Actually, it wasn’t anything grand….

“Just buy me some time. I’ll try to enter the second floor.”

If I completely smashed the enemy base, that would also help my team in a way.

Thinking that, I dashed up the stairs at breakneck speed.

“…Are all the ones who went out dead?”

“One’s still alive, but it won’t matter much since the stairs are locked.”

“That’s why you shouldn’t roam. The difficulty’s too high now that it’s a VR game.”

Holding the shotgun ready for aimed fire at any moment, two people in the gas bomb-filled base on the second floor cautiously watched the outside.

They had taken down one, but two teammates who went outside were already dead. The other one’s chances of survival weren’t high either.

The proper method was to meticulously search the floor farthest from the bomb, confirm complete safety, and then enter the base.

Though there were gaps and the skill levels were similar, Yoo Jin’s overwhelming proficiency steadily eliminated variables, reinforcing the encirclement.

They hadn’t realized it just by watching Harmony’s broadcast, but facing her in person… she was more formidable than expected.

Specifically, the curiosity about what kind of person she was shifted to a bewildering sense of incredulity about her existence.

“…That wall is breached, but we’ll hear them before they enter. There’s no one rappelling outside, so as long as we’re alert, we can catch them

all.”

“Right?”

“My main character rank is SOF. In other games, that’s equivalent to Diamond, so trust me.”

“Oh… but why don’t you help Harmony during her broadcasts?”

“Because it’s fun to watch her suffer….”

“That’s true.”

As always, even within the Green Cat Guild, they inexplicably clicked well in such situations.

With 30 seconds left in the first round, it was almost time for the enemies to infiltrate the base for defusing, willingly or unwillingly.

The surroundings were filled with the sound of drones and barricades being dismantled. The game, where one side had to die to settle, had begun.

In that indescribable tension,

───Crash!

“What the…!”

“Do something, shoot!”

With a body slam that shattered the barricade, an enemy rushed in from the opposite side at tremendous speed. They were so fast that they were already behind cover in the brief moment between aiming and firing.

It was Yoo Jin.

Both of their gazes were completely fixed on her.

Sensing this was wrong, the higher-tier member adjusted their grip on the shotgun and added,

“I’ll handle that side!”

Without further words, the other member instinctively aimed at the other entry point.

Simultaneously, the shotgun and carbine engaged.

───Bang!

The M590A1 shotgun roared, spewing 12-gauge buckshot into the air.

Unlike in other games where damage drastically dropped beyond a few meters, this one could devastate at long distances.

It shredded the thin walls and fragile structures, scattering thousands of fragments, including the buckshot.

However, even in the face of the shotgun, known as the flower of close combat, Yoo Jin evaded the lethal range with terrifying speed and fired back.

Her rapid counterfire, honed by countless real battles, was as accurate as any player’s precise aiming.

The buckshot and lead bullets crossed in mid-air, but the outcome was different.

“Aaagh!”

A high-pitched feminine scream. But it wasn’t from Yoo Jin; it was from the defender with the shotgun.

One of Yoo Jin’s three shots had pierced the shoulder, reducing the HP bar to ⅔. The gun must have been powerful to break through 2 speed 2 armor in three shots.

Fortunately for her, in Team Six mode, HP recovery means were limited, but there were no status effects from injuries.

Meanwhile, there was a strange sound. Specifically, the muffled gunshot of a heavy bullet passing through a suppressor.

­[Remaining Enemy Operators: 2.］

‘…!’

Somehow, the teammate who had been in the same room was gone, and the voice through the comms indicated that they had flanked and shot the two enemies in the back with slugs.

Judging by the context, they must have exited through the hole in the reinforced wall.

The current situation was 2 : 3. If she performed well, they could easily win the first round.

With that in mind, she re-aimed her nearly empty shotgun in the direction where Yoo Jin had been.

But,

‘…Where did she go?’

Gone.

The presence had disappeared in an instant.

However, she calmly assessed. There were only two possible directions to enter. It was a fifty-fifty guess. And with a shotgun, she could secure a kill angle no matter how quickly the enemy approached.

In the suddenly quiet space, only the sound of breathing lingered. The teammate who had gone outside was returning along the hallway.

If she stalled, they could regain the upper hand.

However,

­Rattle, thump!

‘…!?’

From the beginning, Yoo Jin wasn’t someone who could be caught by such judgments.

The next moment, a deafening explosion tore through the room, scattering fragments in all directions. It was a breaching round.

The shockwave shook her vision, completely blocking her sound play.

Yoo Jin didn’t miss that brief moment.

───Bang!

Reacting unconsciously, she pulled the shotgun trigger, sending buckshot across the breached wall. But Yoo Jin was no longer there.

It was a simple fifty-fifty guess. Would she come through the breached wall or the regular entrance?

The shotgun wasn’t aimed at the right spot.

“Aaagh!”

Three quick shots pierced through the ballistic vest and head.

Her grip loosened, and she collapsed to the floor. But the gunfire didn’t stop. Beyond her fading vision, Yoo Jin was delivering a storm of lead towards the teammate who had just returned.

Watching the situation shift from 2 : 3 to 2 : 1 in an instant, the fallen defender muttered weakly.

“This game is trash….”

If I win, it’s a god game; if others win, it’s a trash game.

However, the dying words of the loser never reached the victor.