I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 426

[Warning: First tower destroyed.]

[Warning: Artemis network node activity rate... decreased to 75% of its original capacity. Nanomachine loss rate exceeds the current estimated value by more than 15%.]

[Warning....]

“Grab all the necessary data! Abandon the facility!”

“We’re going to have to start fresh in Canada. I hope we don’t get caught this time…”

“We only need minimal technology! Burn the server room!”

Thud!

Inside the extremely sturdy and massive bag, numerous USB drives and devices were packed, and the sirens overhead continued to rotate. Meanwhile, the holographic map of the facility, which could be seen clearly, turned a deep red as it moved at a speed that was visible to the naked eye.

Beside it, a few words floated – Sector incineration in progress. Simply put, the holographic map was showing the straightforward objective: leaving nothing behind in the HQ. Of course, exceptions were made for places actively engaged in combat, like the nanomachine control tower, but even they were merely being used as a diversion.

The remaining senior engineers and executives of Artemis, all dressed in neat suits that were somewhat out of place, had a simple code of conduct: escape and survive.

“Damn Icarus, they've caught some innocent people. They’ve sharpened their knives, trying to erase Artemis from both the map and history!”

“Enough with the pointless whining! We’ve still got to cross the Hudson River!”

Run.

They ran, and they ran again.

Just a hundred or so meters behind them, flames continued to rise. Inside Artemis HQ, particularly in the underground facilities, numerous machines and foundries were using the heat they produced to destroy everything within, rather than venting it out to the outside.

Most of the habitable facilities were about to be destroyed, so they quickly made their way to a secret elevator that was unknown even to most senior staff members. After stopping at a specific point and feeling along the wall, the entire area rotated to reveal a new passage.

How much time had passed? Despite the chaos, the secret elevator functioned smoothly, leading the eight people to another underground facility. Soon, the lights came on, and a large stealth-equipped vehicle emerged. No driver was needed.

“Once we get to East Main, we’ll take a boat, then switch to a high-speed boat at South Camp and cross 1,000 kilometers. Quite the plan.”

“If we don’t do it this way, we have no chance of survival. You need to accept that.”

Despite all the chaos, all eight people got on the vehicle.

When the vehicle, equipped with shields strong enough to withstand tank shells, started up, the door at the end of the underground passage opened, and soil fell in a heap. It was a secret passage to the outside. The outside was dark, and the dirt road was hidden by thick foliage.

The quiet-engine vehicle rumbled, crossing the muddy ground. After about five minutes of driving, they managed to reach Canada’s Highway 109.

However, they still had to travel at least 300 km, which indicated at least a 3-hour journey.

Silence fell.

Each person was busy with their thoughts, but their direction was nearly the same: How to get Artemis back on its original course as quickly as possible. Surviving was the priority. They were like hydras, and they had no intention of dying quietly.

Moreover, all of them had undergone high-level Artemis procedures, and if necessary, they could easily deal with any traffic officers or other obstacles.

Thus, it wasn’t entirely impossible that their escape would succeed. So, while observing their surroundings carefully, the eight passengers of the vehicle thought about how they would resurrect Artemis.

Of course, that opportunity would never come.

A flash and a loud explosion overwhelmed them.

???Boom!

The vehicle, capable of withstanding even tank shells, turned into a pile of rags in an instant.

As expected, there were around five missile-equipped UAVs hovering in the area, meaning that no matter how much they tried to escape, they were trapped like frogs in a well. From the burning vehicle, a few people struggled to crawl out, their exoskeletons prolonging their lives.

Even so, the firepower unleashed was so overwhelming that it was almost impossible to maintain any semblance of human form. The five people who crawled out of the burning vehicle were writhing in agony, but they were slowly regenerating their bodies.

But...

“Target identified. Preparing to shoot.”

The high-velocity rounds followed, and one by one, the remaining survivors fell.

From five to four, then to three, until when a group of ten people emerged from the nearby grass and approached the burning vehicle, only one remained. The glowing Icarus gear on their wrist caught the eyes of the high-ranking officer.

Task Force Aricon. With their brutal efficiency and having endured the great war, they were another kill team that had transcended human limits.

The cruel but unmistakable headshots continued relentlessly.

In the midst of it all, the figure standing at the front removed their face mask. Just as they had finished regenerating enough to recognize their face, the officer aimed the gun at their forehead.

"I know you’re always trying to escape, you little rats."

“…Do you really think this is the end…?”

“Of course, it’s the end. It doesn’t matter how much you boast. You know very well that all the branches in the U.S. have been wiped out. Now, you’re the last one.”

Click.

The task force leader spoke those words and then pulled back the charging handle, retrieving a round from the chamber before loading a white phosphorus round into the now-empty chamber. It was a miniature phosphorus grenade. Once it embedded itself into the body, the sensor inside would trigger the phosphorus to explode, incinerating everything around it.

Today, the officer’s head would roast from the inside.

Realizing this, the officer squeezed out his last strength, pulling a blade from his thigh, but unfortunately, it was far too late.

“Damn it!”

“Goodbye. Don’t come back.”

Thump!

The white phosphorus round glowed brightly, even in the darkness.

The task force leader, who had the grim thought that the burning vehicle resembled a grotesque mood light made of flesh and metal, felt the cool wind on their body and then added to the comms:

“Mission complete. Has the flooding issue in the facility been resolved?”

“Not yet. We’re still searching for a solution.”

“Damn it.”

Crack!

The task force leader kicked the burning vehicle and, looking up at the unnecessarily glittering sky, muttered:

“Damn it. They never seem to realize the value of their own lives, those damn Dagger bastards…”

Whether those words would reach anyone, that was uncertain.

Meanwhile, far away in the Artemis HQ underground, Eugene’s team, having successfully neutralized the first tower, was preparing for their next move.

“So, the gap between the second and third towers is pretty close, huh?”

“Compared to the first control tower, yes.”

The surveillance was certain and steady as they headed toward the next control tower.

Meanwhile, they continued to review the briefing from earlier. The timing might have seemed off, but it couldn’t be helped. After all, it was easy to forget later.

At any rate, I, too, was reflecting on the content I had just explained. It was quite vast, so it was impossible to recall everything before we reached the next combat zone, but if I had to organize it, the key points were the current state of the HQ and the uniqueness of the network nodes.

The recent statement was part of that.

“The gap between Gamma and Delta is relatively close, but the fourth, Epsilon Tower... and the network control room are completely separated from the rest. And even then, they’re sealed off by partition walls, and due to flooding, only a limited number of people can access them.”

“Looks like only the three Activators will go this time. What should we do in the meantime?”

“Not sure. Maybe there’s a detour... it might not be impossible to find one.”

“Well, okay.”

Dice was feeling a bit down.

Now that I thought about it, with the difficulty we were facing, it felt like we should have come in as regular operators instead of in EU mode. I couldn't understand why the difficulty had been set so insanely high. If we had proper Icarus gear, we could have synthesized air even underwater, making things easier.

But it was already too late. Moreover, after checking the HQ’s status earlier—Rain had connected to the destroyed Beta and confirmed it—we discovered that most of the paths we had taken had already flooded, and were blocked by partition walls. The water, naturally, was drawn from a nearby lake.

Nothing in this world seemed to go the way we wanted. It was, of course, a common occurrence. It left a bad taste in my mouth, but it couldn’t be helped.

“Anyway, now that the first control tower is down, the situation will change a bit. Keep that in mind. Unlike Beta, Gamma and Delta types, which are crucial to the tower’s core, will have a strong self-awareness.”

“Understood.”

The second and third combat zones were none other than the laboratories and the armory.

Just hearing the names already didn’t sit well with me. Moreover, as mentioned earlier, unlike the first tower, the Gamma and Delta types controlling the second and third towers would likely have strong self-awareness, making the fight more difficult.

The reason was simple. With the destruction of one control tower, the performance of the facility’s control AI had declined. As a result, the AI now focused on directly managing the prototypes, while it granted self-awareness to the Gamma and Delta types, allowing them to fight on their own.

It was troublesome that destroying the tower didn’t lead to a total weakening of enemy forces.

While thinking about this, the combat zone was already close.

This time, there was a blueprint on the door, so figuring out the interior structure wasn’t too difficult... but since it was an armory, Jin and Rain were tasked with first dismantling conventional weaponry from a distance before we proceeded inside.

Rain’s terrain scan began, and she soon drew power to the tail railgun. After ensuring the team was spaced out in preparation for counterattacks, we were fully ready for the combat. Rain stared intently beyond the wall.

But it didn’t take long.

With a blue flash that covered the entire hallway, the railgun’s projectile penetrated the wall.

???Boom!

In that moment, a different kind of noise could faintly be heard.

It was distinct from the sound of the wall breaking. Of course, it was the sound of a tank, hit head-on by the railgun, turning into scrap right on the spot—but unfortunately for them, Rain could still manage another shot if she pushed a bit more.

The second shot pierced another nearby vehicle. It took less than two seconds, and Rain had already retreated from the area due to the recoil of her attack. A moment later, intense artillery fire hit the area where we had just been.

After about two minutes, we checked the entrance again. The door, which had been narrow enough for a single vehicle to pass through, was now wide enough for two tanks to pass side by side, with room for another vehicle to follow.

Of course, this didn’t mean that Jin and Rain’s bombardment had stopped.

“Wow, without those two, we might have evaporated right at the entrance…”

“Despite Gamma and Delta having self-awareness, Artemis’ force deployment is still terrible. That's actually lucky for us.”

“Save the anti-matter shells. Let’s take it slow.”

And so, for about two minutes, we delivered a one-sided punch.

What was once a door was now a wide corridor. However, of course, charging straight ahead would be suicide. So, we opted to enter through one of the holes in the walls, aiming to confuse them.

We didn’t forget to deploy a few smoke grenades at the front of the corridor to further confuse them.

As the smoke grenades exploded, filling the entrance with thick smoke, Artemis unleashed multiple attacks, but we hadn’t intended to enter from the start.

After exchanging glances, I added:

“We’ll finish off the second tower quickly. Lorentina and Logan, while we distract them, you two will bypass and destroy the tower with the remaining anti-matter shells.”

“That doesn’t sound too difficult. But we’ll need to make sure we attract attention.”

“That’s our specialty.”

And so, the nine of us poured into the facility.

After throwing the smoke grenades that we hadn’t deployed earlier, we barely dodged the mini-gun fire from what looked like Gamma’s prototype, before rushing inside. Taking cover behind the wreckage of a burning tank, Rain and Jin unleashed their high-powered weapons.

The interior was quite spacious. It seemed to be another combat laboratory, but unlike before, this one was based on a much older city model, and enemies were everywhere.

Clearing the entire area was highly unlikely, but buying enough time for Shark and Polar Bear to infiltrate the inner parts wasn’t too difficult.

“Whoa, tank incoming! Mark it, and please take care of it!”

“Understood. Activating Advanced Plasma Cannon…”

Peeew!

A brilliant flash erupted. The first shot held, but the second shot shattered the shield. The third shot scorched the surface, and when the fourth plasma round struck, it pierced perfectly between the turret and the hull, causing sparks and an explosion as the turret lid blew off.

It had been a risky move, and Jin’s tail, glowing red-hot, started to shimmer with heat waves. Still, being able to take down an Artemis tank, even with a shield, was no small feat. Naturally, the chat was in an uproar, though I couldn’t focus much on it with so much happening.

“There’s one in front! UGV is charging!”

“Grenade coming. Duck down. Be careful, if you stick out, they might put a hole in your head.”

A smoke grenade, followed by a hand grenade.

As the smoke grenade went off, the hand grenade exploded nearby, sending two incoming enemies to the ground. This was the right timing. After estimating their position, I set my rifle against cover and pulled the trigger. The vibrations pinpointed their location.

The Lapua round pierced the UAV’s body, and then an enemy’s head and chest without hesitation. It was a remarkably accurate shot, despite not even aiming properly.

Little by little, Artemis began to stop charging blindly.

The battle had become a contest of firepower, and with Jin and Rain on our side, our upper hand had greatly increased. If we were up against a tank battalion, victory would likely be assured. The enemy seemed to have realized that, as they hesitated.

After about five minutes, the combat began to wind down.

But the enemy didn’t realize that dragging the fight out was more dangerous for them.

“…This is Logan. I’ve reached the target. No Gamma units in sight.”

“After shooting, withdraw as quickly as possible.”

“Once I give the signal, I’ll advance.”

The timer began.

Five seconds. The smoke in the combat lab was thin enough to provide enough cover, and the advance order had already been sent to all team members. They had all confirmed their cover positions.

And then, the timer hit zero.

Three waves of explosions accompanied by flames came from the other side.

???Boom!

“Advance.”

Seven of us moved forward.

But the aftermath was far more devastating than just that. Artemis infantry had been reduced to half-functioning, like severed nerve cords, after the tower had collapsed. This was because the comms to issue orders weren’t working properly.

The hunt began.

The retreating enemies were mostly found with bullet holes in their heads, while tanks and armored vehicles that had entered the urban combat lab without infantry support learned the lesson of what happens when they do that at the cost of their drivers' lives.

The frontlines quickly pushed forward. Once Logan and Lorentina joined after dismantling the tower, the balance quickly tipped in our favor.

About 20% of the enemy forces barely managed to escape, scattering to other areas, while the remaining 80% became cold corpses in the combat lab. If no one came to find them, they’d probably remain lost forever.

As I thought this, I met up with Logan and Lorentina and gave a quick high-five.

“Somehow... the decapitation strategy worked again. I’m glad we managed to bluff our way through, but half of them still got away…”

“Well, we had no choice. We wouldn’t have been able to maintain combat effectiveness otherwise. For the next engagement, we’ll need to take any dropped weapons on the ground.”

Just like that.

The ground battle and the two control tower destruction missions. Usually, by now, we’d have run out of ammo. The good news was that the Artemis infantry’s gear was of such a high level that even if our guns were useless, we could still continue fighting.

The problem was what came next…

I couldn’t shake the feeling of unease.

And that feeling became a reality.

“…Archetype.”

“What’s going on?”

“I’m sure we destroyed the tower, but… why is Gamma’s body gone?”

What?

In that moment, a few thoughts rushed through my mind—the first premise being that the entities defending the tower are partially dependent on the control tower, and the second premise that the second tower was very close to the third tower.

But here was a flaw.

“…What if both entities are connected to one tower?”

“No, wait. What did you say?”

“Damn it.”

But I was one step too slow.

Suddenly, a massive tremor shook the ground as the back wall began to open. The thick wall, easily dozens of meters thick, split apart, and on the other side stood an ominous, dark control tower, identical to the one Logan and Lorentina had just destroyed.

Of course, the situation would be different if there were several times the enemy strength on the other side.

“Whew…”

Retreat.

Before the word could even finish, artillery fire poured down. The enemy had used the second tower as bait for a counterattack, and we were caught in the trap. Rain and Jin shot down more than half of the incoming fire, but we couldn’t avoid significant damage.

The tide of battle had turned.

The scales tipped again.