NOVEL WEB Chapter 90 - Weapon Test Chamber
Chapter 90 Weapon Test Chamber
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“Haa.”
A waterfall of steam poured from my mouth.
Everything was freezing. However, the lake ahead was strangely frozen in a peculiar pattern, as if someone had shattered the ice with a giant hammer and it had refrozen in a bizarre way.
In the freezing north of New York, where even the hint of human presence had been devoured by the cold, I quickly moved along the lakeshore to reach the vicinity of my destination and turned on the sensor. There, a point emitting infrared lasers in all directions became visible.
“Over there. That’s the infiltration point.”
“Infiltration point…? No matter how I look at it, it’s just a lakeshore.”
“Your vision is fine.”
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Translation: If you keep denying reality, I’ll make shabu-shabu out of the lake water.
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋAre you crazy????????????
This is creepy ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
You still don’t understand your teacher after all this time together????
Of course.
The target point was shining with a rectangular object indicator hundreds of meters away, and it wasn’t just a straight entry. The fact that we had to walk around to the opposite side of the lakeshore was already suspicious.
Amidst all this, we arrived at the drop point. A fairly large box awaited Yoo Jin and me. It was about twice the size of the supply storage boxes at the base.
Without hesitation, I opened it, and as expected, it contained what looked like diving suits.
“…We just have to wear these, right?”
“You’re getting good at this without needing instructions.”
“I never thought I’d wear something like this in my life….”
Well, other fantasy VR games involve wearing plate armor, so in a way, this isn’t so different. Of course, it’s hard to say which is better, but everything feels surreal.
As we put on the equipment, which was more like gear than clothing, a voice came through the intercom, and a target appeared on the front UI.
But that wasn’t what mattered.
Something more important caught my eye.
It was a tail!
[ISO: It seems you’ve safely reached the box. There are two diving suits and one old EMP generator. It’s lighter than it looks, so just place it in the infiltration route under the lake, and that’s it.]
[ISO: Hurry. Artemis’ regular performance check will begin soon.]
“It’s terribly cold today.”
“Haha, look at the tail.”
Yoo Jin’s tail, covered smoothly by the diving suit, moved around uncomfortably, causing a commotion in the chat. The body’s curves were hidden by the gear, but the tail was exposed.
Knowing that it was real, and that only I knew it, really, wow.
My lips twitched with difficulty to suppress a smile.
ㅜㅑㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
New Skin Diving Suit Yoo Jin! New Skin Diving Suit Yoo Jin! New Skin Diving Suit Yoo Jin!
If it’s not too much trouble, may I touch the tail?
The curve of that tail is a work of art ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Don’t enjoy it alone, share the fun with us, Harmony!!!!
Thud!
With a small vibration, the edge of the frozen lake shattered.
The lake, over a hundred meters wide and stretching several kilometers long, looked like it could absorb any noise with its immense size.
However, seeing the high-rise buildings suddenly standing on the opposite side of the lake made it seem not quite so.
By now, a hole had formed large enough for two people and the old EMP generator to fit through, revealing the eerie blue inside of the lake that I didn’t want to enter.
I checked my gear one last time.
[Notification: Maximum activation of heating function.]
“Oh, it’s warm now.”
“Try dipping your feet in. Can you handle it?”
“Let’s see… ugh!”
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
What kind of sound is thatㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Your voice sounds so funny ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Avoid hypothermia by splashing water on your body first
Reflexive scream ㅋㅋㅋ
“It’s too cold!”
“It gets better if you stay in for a bit.”
“Oh, it really does.”
As the icy cold contact surface quickly warmed up, Yoo Jin, without even visually enjoying the shape of the tail, brought the massive EMP generator closer and dropped it into the water.
Even though it was described as old, it was still an expensive machine, so seeing it simply thrown into the water left me momentarily speechless.
At least the good thing was that it didn’t make a loud splash. Even though the basic points were always remembered, it was just like the teacher… In a moment where everyone, including me, was in a state of brain freeze, the teacher casually spoke.
“Don’t worry. It doesn’t break easily.”
“Oh, yes….”
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Translation: Can you at least say something before throwing it? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
This guy is pretty fearless tooㅋㅋ
Distracting us with the tail and doing weird thingsㅋㅋ Is this the art of diversion?
Of courseㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Alright, I give up.
Really. What should I say?
It wasn’t just my imagination that this person seemed to pull off bizarre acts as naturally as breathing.
However, I pulled myself together and continued to prepare for the underwater infiltration that started so suddenly, even though it was just a virtual reality experience. The UI in front of me began to adjust my breathing timing and movements. Then, a voice came from behind.
“Ready?”
“…Even if I said no, you’d push me in, right?”
“Haha. In reality, you shouldn’t do that. It’s more dangerous than you think.”
At the same time, something touched my shoulder… it was a tail. Even though it was covered by the diving suit, the soft and smooth texture was unforgettable.
As I carefully raised my hand to stroke it, feeling the eerie sensation from the fur standing up from my waist to my neck, a subtle pressure was applied to my waist and shoulders.
“Come on. Enough tail-stroking, get in the water.”
“Uh, wait! Teacher! I’m floating!”
“Because I’m lifting you with my tail.”
Just as he said.
With my waist and shoulders wrapped by the tail, the next moment, I floated in the air and slowly began to descend into the water.
Of course, not by my own will.
“Ugh!”
Splash.
That was the first dive I remembered.
*
[ISO: It seems you have successfully entered. Now, I will explain the main objective of this mission. As you know, Artemis isn’t just any dangerous PMC; it’s extremely dangerous.]
[ISO: Since the Artemis leadership was wiped out and abandoned, they will do anything to ensure their safety. This includes selling company equipment, facilities, and technology to hostile countries.]
[ISO: We must prevent these guys from wielding disproportionate technology and selling it atop the half-destroyed New York. If possible, retrieve it. If not, destroy everything – technology, people, servers.]
“Saying to destroy people too is pretty scary.”
“Brutal, right?”
The water system running through the underground experimental zone of Artemis Technology.
They had a system in place to purify lake water for their use, in addition to drawing the necessary drinking water through the water supply system. Today, this system served as our easy passage into their headquarters.
After openly raiding another building last time to extract data and escape, the atmosphere among the PMCs had worsened significantly.
Patrols made up of turrets and strike teams were stationed day and night at the main entrance of this building, ready to shoot any suspicious individuals lurking around.
It would be great if we could stealthily escape through the water system again later, but ISO had instructed us to shoot anything that got in our way.
In conclusion, we didn’t have many options. Honestly, it seemed more fitting to say we should turn everything that moves into corpses and escape through the front door.
We could do it.
As we infiltrated the base, we began to intercept enemy communications.
[Echo 2. Any unusual activity during patrol?]
[None so far.]
[Confirmed.]
───Crack!
“Ugh…!”
Despite the seemingly ordinary communication, three patrol members fell to the ground with neat bullet holes in their heads.
The infiltration wouldn’t last long. The goal was to dig in as deep as possible before being discovered. Using a climbing tool, we descended amid the loud sound of water.
Naturally, our target was the underground server room. They used the lake water directly as server coolant through the water system, which in a way, allowed us to close the distance in one go.
The problem was the enormous size of the underground facility we had previously scouted.
[ISO: Good. You’re almost at the weapon test chamber. Stay focused.]
“A weapon test chamber, huh? That doesn’t sound good.”
“It’s probably just as you think.”
After opening the elevator ceiling hatch and carefully descending, we forced open a closed door, and ominous background sounds and flashing sirens greeted us.
A state-of-the-art laboratory filled with white light. Drones, prototypes, and an empty lobby office surrounded us, and from beyond that, the sound of metal clanking reached us.
I signaled to Harmony through hand signs.
A pulse radiated forward.
───Biiing!
I softly spoke as I saw a dozen people and drones detected beyond the wall heading towards us.
“There’s no retreat, so take them all out.”
“Yes.”
The resolute voice, the sound of dozens of footsteps, and the interspersed mechanical sounds merged into one, and the next moment, a group began to pass by slowly.
Due to the structure of the underground facility, stealthy infiltration was impossible, and the heavy, unsettling background music subtly signaled that we had to start a full-scale battle.
The enemies’ weaknesses and vital points were marked in red.
The shooting began.
Tututututu!
“Enemy, aaaaaah!”
“Scatter, scatter!”
The heavy gunfire echoed as it struck the walls with no way out.
Given the linear path of the underground facility, it meant that if we didn’t quickly finish the engagement, we’d be surrounded by follow-up troops in no time.
Mechanically taking down enemies one by one, I soon realized that I had become overly immersed again. I needed to refine Harmony’s shooting skills, which had been resting for a while.
I shot more leisurely. The main tactic was for me to flush out enemies hiding behind cover, and for Harmony to take them out.
As I hastily reduced my shooting pace, the chat quickly picked up on my intention and started to tease.
I added a few words to the mix.
“Ah, my joints suddenly hurt.”
“What are you talking about, Yoo Jin!?”
Suddenly your knees and arms ache, right? It’s Harmony’s turn to shine, right?
Teacher, you’re so obvious ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Yesterday… at the gym… I lifted… too much weight….
Baby Yoo Jin needs to be saved
Harmony can’t accept reality, so she’s rushing in ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
As the heavy atmosphere lifted, Harmony, who ended up shooting more than twice as much as before, started pulling the trigger excitedly, shouting all sorts of things.
She seemed increasingly desperate, and when I glanced at her, she was firing continuously with clenched teeth.
Seeing the enemies drop one by one, it seemed she hadn’t completely lost her edge despite not playing Dark Zone separately.
Just a bit of help would be enough.
I attacked an enemy about to fire a grenade launcher, causing them to misfire onto the ground, or I targeted one leg of a quadrupedal turret warming up its chaingun, breaking its balance.
Anyone could handle enemies based on objectives and priorities. However, the proficiency was determined solely by speed.
As we quickly cleaned up the enemies, the communication resumed.
[ISO: There’s some jamming. If we didn’t have the Artemis technology files retrieved by those two last time, the operation could have faced difficulties.]
[ISO: Move as quickly as possible. Support troops will arrive at that location in 3 minutes. It would be best to smash the keypad after passing the barrier.]
[ISO: Good luck.]
Then Harmony’s loud voice greeted me.
“How could you do that without a word───!”
“Sorry, ohhh.”
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
You deserved that ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Take it easy, she’s about to break
You’re such a jerk for messing with a returning newbie ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
My teammate suddenly stopped shooting!!!
Shake, shake, shake.
She grabbed my bulletproof vest with a displeased look and shook me.
I deserved it.
Here you have Yoo Jin, shivering as you all wanted.
Isn’t she just adorable?
It’s more about the cuteness than the character’s traits.
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