I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

"Yujin! Yujin! Yujin! Yujin! Yujin! Yujin! Yujin! Yujin! Yujin! Yujin!"

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"Yujin, she’s a goddess! Yujin, she’s a god!"

"Ugh, could you stop yelling outside? It's embarrassing!"

"Everyone, shout-!"

"Ugh, seriously...."

Hoo-!

Such sounds came from outside the balcony. It wasn’t the sound of the wind, but rather the shouts of people gathering their very souls to scream. It wasn’t just a few people; hundreds of them, making the Expo reverberate.

Fortunately, various precautions had been taken to prevent noise and lights from leaking outside, so it was a relief. Otherwise, there would have been chaos on the first day. There’s an apartment complex just 1km away from the Expo, after all.

Anyway, the reason I was yelling from the balcony with my face bright red was simple.

It was because of today’s announcement.

"See, I knew it... Uvuvuv!"

"If you knew that, why didn’t you stop it?!"

"Ugh, how was I supposed to stop it?!"

"Then why bring it up at all?!"

"Yikes, Yujin's lost it—!"

hahahahahahahahahahahahahaSeriously, why is Dice always talking so sneakily? hahahahahahahahahaDice’s got some serious innate snarky DNA. hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaAfter getting hit that much, he still talks back? Really ruthless. hahahahahahahaha

The main event on the first day of the Expo, the roadmap announcement.

Before this announcement, which was directly conducted by my parents operating a remote control from the U.S., there had already been hints about Gaia’s existence, and by 7 PM, the announcement formally unveiled her existence.

When the silhouette was revealed, people cheered, and when the teaser revealed a bit more of her appearance—just the eye color and coloring—it sent viewers into a frenzy.

Well, for now... Gaia’s appearance was so distinct that it would be hard to call it part of the Mecha Biyam lineage. Her face looked a bit different, and, as I’ve said multiple times, she was designed with dragons in mind rather than snakes.

Icarus didn’t exactly design her—the Icarus International or the Icarus from the other world didn’t design her—but...

‘...Thinking about it, maybe they have a decent design sense after all.’

Anyway, some people might be bored, thinking, “Oh, another Mecha Yujin,” but the design overcame that expectation, and it was a success.

As long as everyone liked it, that was all that mattered.

Of course, that’s a separate matter. I was stretching Dice's cheeks, making his face turn as red as a tomato. Hasn’t this guy’s guts swollen up too much? Do I really need to call Lorentina, the actual solution to all problems?

No, if I actually sent him away and he ends up rolling around under Lorentina, becoming more like her, that would be more troublesome. Let’s just keep him close and mess with him for a while longer.

Leaving Dice, who had collapsed like a pancake, I stepped back onto the balcony. There were still plenty of people out there, and, in fact, the number was growing.

Perhaps because my group and I were on the balcony, I wasn’t sure how to disperse them, but... hmm.

I had an idea.

As soon as I opened the balcony again, an explosion of noise erupted.

I stopped it with my hands and added,

"Ah, everyone who came to the Expo today, I’m so glad and thankful. Did you all have a good time?"

"Yes—!!!"

"I made eye contact with Yujin! She’s going to take me to Biyamhalla—!"

"Please shoot me with the TS Beam just once!"

"Ugh, could you please quiet down! I have an important announcement to make!"

hahahahahahahahahahahahahaBiyamhalla! hahahaSomeone’s actually saying that in front of Yujin. HahahahahaWhy are only the popular ones here? What about people like me, the real losers, how are we supposed to get to the Expo!?!Yeah, don’t go~ Even if you don’t, there are a million people who will go to the Expo~Ooh, what’s the big announcement?? Is it something huge?????

At the same time, the noise began to gradually quiet down.

Maybe 10 seconds had passed? I looked at the roughly 700 people, now completely quiet, waiting for me to speak. The second plaza next to Expo A was meant for cosplay, so it could hold a lot of people, too.

Fortunately, I didn’t need a microphone. After hacking into the system connected to the speakers around, I used the gathering function to amplify my voice and release it, ensuring everyone could hear.

And so, I continued.

"Tomorrow, there will be an event. The event will run from 8 AM to 10 PM, and once every hour, you’ll be able to find holograms of the newest Mecha junior somewhere in the Expo."

"Wow."

"Will there be a gift if we find one?!"

"Hehe, it won’t just be about finding them. But those who do find them... will get something exclusive only available at this Expo. I wish you all the best of luck."

"Can we camp out in front of the Expo and wait for it?"

"No, go home and sleep!"

hahahahahahahahahahahahahaThe way they laugh when Biyam is mentioned is hilarious...Seems like there are people with swollen guts in the chat too hahahaFact: No matter how much you camp, you can’t meet them if you’re not meant to meet themTrue hahaha

Why would anyone camp out at the Expo?

Anyway, the people here didn’t know yet, but from tomorrow, drones with optical camouflage would fly around, subtly projecting Gaia’s holograms in remote areas.

And when people find them and flee, they’ll be guided to the small boxes we’ve pre-positioned—these boxes are capable of reading the first person’s fingerprint.

Inside, there would be a coupon for registering in the Dark Zone, and a unique gun skin and cosmetic item, each only available in the world.

The lucky ones might even get flashy cosmetic items like horns or tails, but unfortunately, most people would get nothing.

Of course, we didn’t just toss them in randomly. Combining all the cosmetic parts inside would reveal Gaia’s full appearance.

Still, those who received something would probably be quite disappointed, so I added:

"Some of the things you’ll get may seem underwhelming compared to the effort needed to find them. But don’t be too disappointed, because there will be additional rewards later on for those who find them."

"Please do another drawing for the café admission!"

"The Mecha juniors need their rest too, so unfortunately, I can’t do that. Good luck!"

Unfortunately, luck is just luck.

There could be no exceptions to the rules—even though the Triple Monnan Biyams in the back were eagerly watching, hoping they’d get something extra, even they wouldn’t be able to.

The drone cam circled, capturing three Biyams with sparkling eyes, and I spoke up again.

"You’ll have to work for it to find them. Got it?"

"Ugh."

"Hints, advantages...?"

"You guys are EM-level. Isn’t that the advantage?"

"Ugh, Yujin’s being so cold...!"

Ah hahahaNo chance. Those Biyams trying to sneak their way into a good spot got cut off!Looks like they’re being fair even to them hahahaThe tail drooping is really cute hahahaIris is such a lesbian...

I don’t know when these guys will learn.

Anyway, covering up a tantrum with something bigger was now basic common sense, and I quickly glanced over the schedule. Maybe next week, Lorentina would arrive—along with her team, of course.

Before that, should I check if the Miles system in Building D is working properly?

"Anyway, that’s all for the event. The drawing for the café entry tickets has already been completed earlier. Congratulations to those who won. If possible, tomorrow, Triple Monnan Biyams will join us for a mock Team Deathmatch in Building D. I hope you’ll enjoy watching."

"Huh?"

"Yujin, we’re preparing for the tournament rankings soon..."

"So, you have to practice, right? Isn’t that the plan?"

Saying that, I placed my hand on Dice’s shoulder.

Realizing there would be no room for negotiation, Dice’s tail quietly drooped to the floor. It was a sign of complete submission.

"Yes..."

"Good."

"Wait, I didn’t say anything, teacher?!"

"Normally, Biyams are grouped together in bulk."

Having become a Biyam, enjoying the rewards, it was time to settle the score. Iris was a bit of an exception, but... well, she was still grouped in with the rest.

Big tails came with big responsibilities.

Indeed.

"Always pretending not to care, but you’re just like the rest. Heh-heh-heh..."

"Seems so."

"Of course, who taught you?"

Meanwhile, someone far away, streaming, was watching this scene unfold.

The first instructor for Biyams was a shark.

Like attracts like.

"Have you analyzed it?"

"It’s a more terrifying structure than expected. It’s a building of a type we’ve never infiltrated before. Still, it’s better than before. It’s much better than just staring at blueprints and going in like last time."

"It’s been a while, Instructor Lorentina. I didn’t expect to meet you again, but we did meet at the sniper competition in Port Moore. Do you remember?"

"Of course. I got to know you when you were with the junior. It’s nice to see you again here in Korea."

Pyeongtaek, the headquarters of the Navy’s 2nd Fleet.

It’s only 44 kilometers away from Songdo. Numerous soldiers roam the area, exchanging opinions and chatting as they wait for the D-7 briefing to start.

And, near the stage and the operational table closest to it, a particularly large woman, dressed in military fatigues, was talking to someone.

The trident emblem engraved on her hand, the patch of the top-tier special forces unit that only a select few in the U.S. could earn, were unmistakable.

Christopher Lorentina, who had visited Korea for the second time, was there.

"Looks like you learned a lot back then. Have you passed on your experiences to your juniors?"

"Hehe, even more than that. Looking back, there was quite a ripple effect. As a result, the sniper training curriculum has been significantly improved. The proportion of maritime sniper practice in the formal curriculum has also increased quite a bit..."

"Excellent."

Thinking that, she quickly skimmed through the operational plan, which was starting to come together.

The mission itself wasn’t anything particularly special. The plan was to suppress the enemy ship near the waters off Songdo with underwater explosives, then deploy friendly forces near Building D by helicopter and assault boat and engage in combat.

The goal was to rescue the humanoids who were hostages inside, minimize damage to the facility, and prevent internal chaos—so explosives were prohibited. There were other considerations as well.

However, the core of the mission wasn’t that.

"UDT guys will need to get proficient with the special gadgets before the operation."

"They’ve adapted pretty smoothly. The control is quite similar to the Dark Zone, so they should be able to adjust quickly. The key challenge will be closing the gap between the in-game sensations and real-world operations."

"We have a week left. We’ll make it work."

Special gadgets.

In other words, Dark Zone skills.

Things that one thought would never be seen in reality were slowly starting to appear. And this mission would be their debut—Lorentina was the only one who knew this was proof of the junior’s progress.

Before even entering, they were able to detect the enemy’s position, and in some cases, even neutralize them beforehand. These things, which had been talked about for a while, had always remained in the realm of imagination until now.

But not anymore.

"By the way, I’m curious how you managed to secure the Expo location for a military operation while it was still ongoing... But, I suppose it was possible because interests aligned."

"Yeah, exactly. One of the main sponsors of the Expo, the junior, was quite interested, and no other companies except Icarus International were involved."

In fact, it had been possible because Icarus had access to unlimited funding through its think tank, Icarus Dynamics, and the Dark Zone cheat.

Lorentina chuckled thinking about that, and continued.

"We’ll also need to be mindful of the laser from the firearms reaching the outside. We must be careful about accidental discharge. D Building’s okay, but other buildings will still be hosting the Expo."

"...Right. But who came up with that idea?"

"Well, the junior. He said it was to spread word-of-mouth, but anyone can see it’s more like adding a penalty."

Just as she said.

This mission was intended to be a practical exercise, but it also considered that future operations might take place in large urban areas, where civilians could get caught up.

Of course, precautions for potential safety accidents had been communicated in advance—and the response had been quite substantial.

In a good way.

'...Given the genre of the game, it’s surprisingly positive feedback, so I should probably be relieved.'

Such thoughts briefly crossed Lorentina’s mind.

As she had said. Even though the public would be restricted from entering Building D for about 3 to 6 hours, the online reactions had been better than expected, at least the last time she checked.

Thanks to the Dark Zone, the negative reactions had decreased considerably. Having thought about it briefly, Lorentina stood up.

It was almost time for the operational preparation briefing.

The sound of heavy boots echoed, and as she naturally stepped up to the microphone, silence fell in the briefing room.

Though she’d shared greetings before, this was the first time officially addressing the group.

Thus, Lorentina knew exactly what her first words should be.

Tap, tap.

"Ah, microphone test. Test... hello everyone."

Fifty or so eyes turned to her, and with a chilling smile, she added:

"I’ve returned."

Thunderous applause erupted.

The beginning of the second Navy assault by Shark.