I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 470

“Wooaahhh!”

“This... I think I’ve seen this in Shin Chan...”

“I told you to use it tactically, not to fill your own desires!”

Bang.

The event match, which had caused so much trouble, finally ended, and the second cycle of KSM came to a close. As the weekend wore down with a punch spinning at both of their temples, Harmonie felt relieved that, from tomorrow on, she no longer needed to participate in KSM.

It was almost a forgotten fact by now, but the Korean Selection Match used a system where points were accumulated and averaged after consistently high performances. Once it was determined that other players couldn’t catch up during the rest of the cycle, they were immediately declared qualified.

Dice and I never needed to participate, and Harmonie was selected right after the second cycle ended based on this system.

In other words, the people here had plenty of time.

And that meant I had plenty of time to train them.

“From now on, the tails are confiscated.”

“Huh...?”

“Mm...”

“Why is everyone looking like the world’s ending just because of that?”

There were no bigger perverts than them.

With that, my fist rotations increased even more, and the corrections continued until all I could hear from both of them were screams. By the time I saw their pupils dilated and all they could do was make vague sounds, I figured they might be able to talk properly now.

I coiled their tails around their waists and set them down on the couch. I had a few things to tell them about the Hawaii trip that would begin in about ten days.

“I’ve already reserved the hotel, and for transportation... I’ll have a car sent, so you’ll just need to take that. I’ll load the guns there, but don’t worry too much since the gun shop said they’d send a car with it.”

“You rented a car?”

“Yep.”

How should I put this...

It wasn’t exactly rented... my parents “gave” me one of their cars. A four-seater SUV that cost as much as five foreign cars, which was kind of surprising.

Still, when I said I was going to Hawaii, my parents freaked out and insisted on sending a VIP vehicle they had hidden in the basement to be shipped there as quickly as possible. It was way better than the military tank-like vehicle they initially wanted me to use. All I wanted was a decently big car with a spacious trunk, and I wasn’t about to let them do anything excessive.

Thanks to my parents, I was able to rent some land for the shooting range, a large indoor range, and a hotel. I was incredibly lucky. Now, I could easily make video calls and send thank-you messages, which felt pretty nostalgic.

“This is my first time going to Hawaii.”

“You’ll be traveling around the world in the future. Hawaii will probably be nice. It’s usually around 26°C this time of year, so you can bring whatever clothes, but you should pack a bit more. It’s likely to smell like gunpowder.”

“I’m not sure if I should like that…”

It should be pretty fun. I was definitely looking forward to it.

By the way, I was wondering if those two had actually fired a gun before. Harmonie definitely had some experience from the time we went together, so I could confidently say she knew what she was doing... but Dice hadn’t been mentioned. He’d probably adapt quickly though.

Moreover, while teaching these two, I had completely reset their motion correction for things like reloading and aiming, so as long as I didn’t mess with them, they’d handle the basics just fine.

The only issue would be their stamina, but it should be okay. After all, it wasn’t like they were just going to shoot guns all day during the trip. Who goes to Hawaii just to shoot? It was about enjoying the beautiful blue sea.

I wasn’t sure how much the shark would enjoy it, though.

Beach? As a sailor, half of your waking hours are spent in the water. What’s so fun about that?

I could almost hear Loren’s voice in my head.

Now that I thought about it, Loren’s departure day was almost here. She was scheduled to leave tomorrow morning. I made sure to book a first-class ticket for her, so she wouldn’t starve on the way. I heard she originally planned to fly on a military transport to the U.S. and take her time.

That way, she wouldn’t run into Logan.

Of course, being the kind-hearted and financially generous person that I was, I got Loren a first-class ticket to the U.S. so she could comfortably fly, and in exchange, I received a shin-kick from her. I couldn’t deny that I deserved it.

Anyway, I had already booked a bus to the airport, and I just hoped she would get home safely.

“The Hawaii trip will be about 4 to 5 days. It’s probably flexible, so don’t worry too much.”

“There’s the Asian qualifiers in November, though... Is that okay?”

“You can practice while you're there.”

“Ugh.”

The guns would be more than enough there, and there was no way they’d lose their touch. Plus, if these two picked things up well, I wouldn’t even need to go to the Asian qualifiers to teach them. That’s how important it was to train the next generation.

I wasn’t sure if they were thinking that far ahead, though.

That said, as I chatted, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was wrapping up something successfully. It had been a year since I’d stepped back into the original world, and all the work was coming to a neat and beautiful conclusion. Still, it felt strange knowing time was still passing, and in about six weeks, the Asian qualifiers would begin.

Speaking of which, with the mention of the Asian qualifiers, I suddenly remembered the case I had neglected. I hadn’t been paying attention to the Japanese pro-gamers, but now I wondered how things were going there.

I thought about asking directly but instead threw out a more indirect question.

“So, how do you guys feel about the Asian qualifiers?”

“Well, if we keep going like this, there shouldn’t be a big problem. Plus, this year, with Korea out, everyone else is half-dead, so it looks like we’ll sweep them just like last year.”

“Korea out...?”

“You know how it is, Yu-jin. Japan’s all messed up. Early this year, there was a whistleblower incident, and everything’s been in chaos. If we want to do well in the Asian qualifiers, they’ll have to rebuild from scratch.”

So it came to that.

I hadn’t been paying attention with all the recent duties and schedules, but now I was hearing the news and it felt strange. But anyway, after all the shooting was done, the rest of the trip would be just tourism. A perfect vacation, even if it was a bit delayed.

Aside from that, I didn’t plan to cram all the shooting into one day. It was a form of recreation, and pushing it all into one day would be a disaster. I couldn’t make them smell gunpowder all day. It was a vacation, after all.

“So, that’s the schedule.”

“…It’s making me kind of excited hearing it.”

“So how much do we need to pay? Do we split later?”

“Just bring yourselves. Actually, you don’t even need to bring clothes. You can buy them there.”

“Wow…”

“No, it’s not really necessary.”

Their faces lit up in surprise, but I had to admit, I was a bit surprised too.

I had only asked about hotels, but my parents seemed to have taken it as a request to take care of all accommodations, transportation, and shooting range rentals. So, my expenses were practically nonexistent.

After that, I briefly explained the types of guns we’d be using. Naturally, their expressions changed, especially when I mentioned the Minigun, M2 Browning machine gun, Barrett, and NTW-20, which were the crown jewels of the shooting session.

“Of course, it might be a bit overwhelming, so maybe I’ll be the one to shoot them, along with Loren.”

“Oh, let me try too.”

“Me too.”

“I knew it.”

It’s not like I was being boastful, but it seemed like I had changed their preferences along the way.

Of course, it wasn’t just the tail I had trained. I had them managing the guns like their own bodies, and the order to treat them like an exam had made them memorize countless gun accessories and specs far better than they ever did with cosmetics. As a result, they were now skilled enough to make it into the top ranks of the Dark Zone, and the dopamine circuitry probably got wired in a way that brought them pleasure from taking down enemies.

In any case, the explanation was over.

There was nothing left to say, and I hoped they wouldn’t end up catching a cold from reckless behavior before the trip.

“Take care of yourselves until the trip, and if you have any questions, feel free to contact me. And if you get bored, you can always come visit.”

“Awesome, I’m definitely going to barge into Yu-jin’s place.”

“…Sure, do as you please.”

Of course, it was chaos again today.

Another noisy day.

Meanwhile...

“I’m passing by... Aaaaahhh!”

“Hey, get over here! I’ve been here for three hours!”

Crash.

When Loren arrived from JFK to Norfolk International Airport, she was greeted by a glorious rear-naked choke.

It was just another day.

“…You traveled all the way to Norfolk just to strangle someone?”

“Those bastards begged me to adjust their schedules, so I ended up taking a week off. They agreed to it, so I came here for a drive.”

“On the other hand, after I go in, I’m going to have to endure a week of physical exams in the military, so it’s a shame we can’t hang out together.”

“I don’t mind. I’ll be returning early anyway. There’s still a lot to do back at the base.”

The sound of the chair creaking could be heard as Logan carefully leaned back, taking a sip of his cappuccino loaded with sugar. As the creak of the chair was heard, he quickly adjusted his weight forward, narrowly avoiding a disaster caused by his heavy frame.

This wasn’t the only store where they had to be careful when sitting on chairs.

Their eyes moved around briefly, and once the creaking stopped, they let out a faint sigh.

“Is the youngest doing well... No, I guess I don’t need to ask. I’m sure he’s already causing chaos.”

“Since he declared war on me via text, I’m sure you know that we’re fine. We’re meeting again soon, so if you want to pass on anything, let me know.”

“There’s nothing like that.”

After a brief moment of thought, Loren added.

“I might be traveling around Pakistan soon, but don’t mention it unless it’s certain. It’s not definite... Anyway, I don’t think you’d be able to keep it quiet, so you can decide whether to mention it or not.”

“Huh. There’s been a lot of talk about it since last year. I stopped paying attention, but seeing that it’s still chaotic, it seems like quite the hassle. Did it escalate to the point where strike teams have to go in?”

“Not yet...”

Logan glanced around and took out his laptop from his backpack.

Opening the laptop and turning it on, the first thing that appeared was MWRT - the Metropolitan Warfare Tactical Response Team. This was a unit formed to supplement Yu-jin’s military experience. Though it was virtual, the data supporting it was far from fake.

There was even an encrypted network platform for the team members.

Loren, who had been scanning the screen, glanced at Logan. He quickly pressed a button on the side of the laptop to activate the soundproof feature and enabled a privacy setting that made the screen visible only at a specific angle.

“In the worst case, we’ll go ourselves, but right now, the decision about whether to dispatch the information warfare team is still pending. It’s election season, so even the Ministry of Defense is clueless.”

“Information warfare team... That sounds like something the sneaky guys from the Korean Snake Keeper team, like Nakasono, would do. Are they trying to do something like Stuxnet?”

“That’s something you should ask the Cyber Command about.”

“Anyway.”

Logan took a sip of his cocoa and added:

“I thought things would get better with China and Russia out of the picture, but the world’s still in chaos. Once India and Pakistan are dealt with, what’s next? The Middle East? Australia?”

“Australia, what’s that about?”

“Who knows? The Australians might face a rebellion from the Kangaroo and Emu alliance in the next 20 years.”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

Loren chuckled, and Logan, who had a bewildered expression on his face, couldn’t help but laugh as well.

After that, Logan closed his laptop with a dull thud, put it in his bag, and Loren, who had been watching, casually threw in a remark.

“Rather than sending people, it might be better to research remote-controlled humanoids. Imagine how convenient it would be if someone like Jin or Rain could control them.”

“That’s true... Wait a minute.”

“Did you bite your tongue or something?”

“No.”

At that moment, a thought suddenly crossed Logan’s mind.

It wasn’t just a thought; it was like a series of time fragments flashing through his brain, as if his brain was running on compressed logic. It was the kind of idea that only comes when his brain kicks into high gear.

Loren didn’t catch on, but Logan already had an inkling.

Keyword 1: Not too long ago, Jin took the position of Alpha, transferred all of Artemis’ data into his storage, and returned to another world with Rain.

Keyword 2: Considering the relationship between the youngest here and the two mechs, Yu-jin is likely able to approach Jin, who has all of Artemis’ technology stored, without difficulty and request information or take it without consent.

That means...

“...Logan?”

“Yeah?”

“I guess you’ve come up with something brilliant, huh?”

“Of course.”

Logan let out a short laugh and added to Loren.

“Go tell the youngest. I want to see Jin and Rain again, so ask him to do me a favor. If he’s short on money, there are plenty of companies willing to buy humanoid technology, even if they have to sell their underwear.”

“…Ah!”

At that moment, the shark reached the exact same conclusion Logan had, following the exact same train of thought.

With a chuckle, the shark opened his mouth.

“That sounds fun. I’ll tell the youngest as soon as I meet him.”

The two of them smiled at each other silently.

Though they hadn’t expected it, it turned out to be quite a valuable meeting.

A few hours before Yu-jin left for another world, he saw the messages from both of them.