I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 376

"You’ve been carrying around some shiny weapons now. Got some time? I thought I’d have a chat about the cleaning job you took care of."

"Sure."

After wrapping up the massacre near the lighthouse and making a safe escape, I was on my way to the gear box when the voice I was beginning to get used to came through, almost as if it had been waiting for me. It was Mendoza's voice. Now that I think about it, I’d just wrapped up another 15-kill mission during the raid. It was probably related to that.

Anyway, I was casually adjusting my firearm at the moment. If I had the right tools, I might’ve been able to repair it myself, but unfortunately, several parts and gears were needed. Similarly, the AR-15 I’d acquired during the raid after killing a log also required the same.

In the system, gunpowder or firearm part wear doesn’t affect things individually but is treated as a cumulative variable that directly impacts the gun's durability. So, there was no need to rush into a gun cleaning session as soon as I returned... but still.

Naturally, I thought I was just sitting down when I spoke.

"I heard you visited the lighthouse. Sending fifteen to the grave was a rather secondary matter. In any case, thanks. Because you cleaned up the Artemis Base area, it looks like I’ll be able to stir things up quite a bit. Even if I bring things in by boat, if the transport crew gets turned into meat paste by a machine gun, no goods are going to make it through."

"Quite the lucky break for you."

"Well, that’s just how it is. What you should know is that I’ve just been expanding my spending a little more. In that sense, here’s a small token of appreciation. It seems like you might find this useful."

A box was placed onto the table. It was large but thin. I realized it was a gun repair kit.

After receiving it and gently setting it down nearby, the conversation continued.

"By the way, I’ve been stacking up some odds and ends. If you’ve got any small items or troublesome things to deal with, feel free to bring them over. I’ll make sure to give you a fair price."

"If I find the time, I’ll do that."

"Thanks for letting me know."

A brief silence followed. It seemed like Mendoza was thinking about something before he nodded his head.

"Normally, I’d try to take things slow and give you other tasks, but seeing you messing with the gun, it made me think of something else. You seem to be handling the captain’s job well, so I thought I’d introduce you to a few others who could use someone like you."

"Who are they?"

"An engineer and a dealer. You’ll have to go to them to get their names. I’ll just introduce you to those who need you. I might take a small commission in the middle, though, heh heh."

I almost wanted to punch him.

His sneaky laugh made me feel that way for a moment, but luckily—though unlucky for me—he quickly changed the topic.

"The first one’s a bit of an unusual character. You can think of him as a boring blacksmith. He messes with firearms and electronic devices instead of cold weapons. But, when it comes to repairing guns, modifying them, or handling parts, he’s pretty skilled. If you drop my name, he’ll be fine with you."

"And the second?"

"This friend here is the main dish for you today."

At the same time, he showed me something in front of me. It was a phone.

A message in English, scribbled hastily, was displayed on the screen. The message was from the dealer, and Mendoza was kind enough to let me know what it said, though I could tell immediately what it was about.

Basically, it was a message saying they were interested in meeting me.

"Do you remember the Ultima Mall you visited a while ago? The dealer used to be a director there before it turned into a battlefield."

"Now I see why they want to meet me."

"You catch on quick."

It had only been a few hours since the incident.

Out of nowhere, three hunters had dropped from the ceiling of the shopping mall, and six of us users had been caught up in the chaos. Luckily, none of us had died back then—so it wasn’t a surprise that they’d want to meet me. I’d probably piqued their interest.

I nodded, realizing that the next person I was going to meet was likely the dealer.

"Anything more you can tell me about this dealer?"

"They’re great at utilizing their past experience. They’ve been very instrumental in revitalizing the mall, but honestly, you don’t need to worry about that. They also run a flea market with the engineer. If you get to know them, it could be quite helpful."

"That’s enough."

• Wait, is this guy really opening a flea market at level 6?????
• What kind of game is this guy even playing lol
• But isn’t it kind of deserved for someone who’s been killing bosses and hunters and storming bases just a few days after joining?
• That’s true, but still, lololol

I might need to check out how the story or quests unfold in this mode sometime.

Anyway, something else came up. The broadcast time was almost over, so this would likely be the last task for the day. I put the firearm down in the gear box, took off my bag, and tossed aside the bulletproof vest I’d been wearing all day. If this were real life, I probably would’ve had to spray some deodorant on that vest.

I opened the bag zipper and pulled out a few guns. There weren’t many useful ones this time, unlike last time. I stored the useful ones at the bottom and set aside the unnecessary ones. Mendoza had said he’d buy them, so I’d probably just take them to exchange for credits or whatever currency they used.

Just as I was about to head out with nothing but my body, my phone buzzed.

[Harmony: Sensei!!!!!!!!!]

[Harmony: You’re having fun without me!!!!!!!!!]

She certainly had an uncanny sense of timing.

Looks like tomorrow’s game won’t be as boring.

A few hours earlier...

"Kato! Long time no see! I think this is the first time since the streamer vs. streamer competition, huh? You seem a bit more tired than last time."

"Ah, Commander Harmonie! Long time no see. I'm perfectly fine, though. I'm very healthy, so no need to worry."

It was obvious that he didn’t look healthy at all.

Harmonie thought this as she looked at Kato, whom she hadn’t seen in a while. Even though they were inside VR, his empty gaze was quite noticeable—though Harmonie already knew the reason. That was why she had come to meet him today.

And she also knew well that when it came to this, she had to be blunt.

"Is it because of Eugene-sensei?"

"Uh, well..."

"I get it. Whenever I face Eugene-sensei, my spine just chills."

Specifically, it was the pressure she felt when she had acted as a top-tier training resource against Eugene and the Korean team during the final championships. That pressure still haunted her, reminding her of Eugene’s massive influence in the Dark Zone. It had been enough to tie even completely unrelated streamers together by Eugene’s name—mostly stories about how they got wrecked.

And today, the reason these two met was exactly that.

"Anyway, the reason I contacted you today… I think you might have a rough idea."

"Yeah, I got a pretty good guess. I’ve been getting a lot of messages from EU streamers. But I think Mina’s reason might be a bit different."

"Ahaha."

Kato had extensive PVP mode experience, including being a top-tier player in Apex Predator, but it was the Unidentified Area Escape Mode where he truly shone, outclassing everyone.

Every season, he would make strategy videos for new players, and for any streamers interested in that mode, whether they were rookies or major corporations, he would lend them a hand. Scouting Hako streamers became one of his content pillars.

"I guess you’ve contacted your streamer friends as well."

"Right, so why do you think that is?"

"I don’t really know how strong Eugene is..."

"That’s exactly it, heh."

Kato found it somewhat amusing that despite how scary it was to face Eugene, he couldn’t help but smile knowing that more and more victims were piling up. Recently, most of the EU streamers he’d met were notorious for not caring much about other modes, and he understood why. The hardcore appeal of the Unidentified Area Escape Mode was unlike any other PVP mode.

"So, it seems like Mina is also here not just because she wants to team up with Eugene-sensei, but also because of 'that' reason, right?"

"That... yeah, you’re right. Mecha Eugene. Honestly, I don’t know what kind of contract he signed to allow something like that in here... but honestly, his antics are always something else."

"Heh."

Kato couldn’t stop himself from laughing.

Anyway, as unfortunate as it was, Kato didn’t have much advice to offer. There were already thousands of EU mode strategy videos floating around, and just skimming through those would probably help Mina rise to the top in no time.

So, the only things he could say were the usual clichés.

"For someone like Mina, if she just memorizes the map, she won’t have any major issues with gameplay. But don’t always play as an operator like that Terminator guy. It’s better to switch it up and play as a user bandit from time to time. It’s actually kind of fun."

"I see."

"And honestly, in this game... the person with the better ammo usually wins, you know? So typically, you’ll want to complete missions to boost merchant trust, sell some junk, and focus on boosting your trade volume."

A brief silence followed as Kato looked at Harmonie’s expression.

"…By the looks of it, you’ve probably done this a few times already?"

"Hehe."

At that moment, Harmonie shared her gear box situation with Kato.

It wasn’t much different from what he already knew. Newbies were given about ten guns, including pistols, along with ammo and various items. It was clear that she hadn’t really touched any of it yet. But two empty 1x1 slots caught his eye.

The grenades given at the start were four in total—two slots were empty, and when he scrolled down, he saw two fully modified guns and a nearly ruined vest—items that no newbie could acquire right away.

His gaze shifted slightly, and their eyes met.

"Ah, well, it’s not a big deal. I just went and tried out the customs or whatever. I saw a bunch of people gathering near the Intel Room on the map, so I just hid in the gap in the door and waited, and two guys got caught."

"…Ah, seriously… how do you even play with people like you? Go somewhere else! Don’t come here and blow up innocent users!"

"Ack! Eek! Oof!"

It was hard not to laugh.

Kato created a soft cushion on the table and tossed it at Harmonie’s face, and she ran off laughing.

The world was full of monsters, but it seemed one was following him.

Kato's life was truly a tough one.