I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 490

[From ]

Subject: Prototype Humanoid Development Status and Notification

Header: Progress and Estimated Timeline for Prototype Jin/Lein Production

Body:
Greetings, this is Senior Researcher John H. Ruppit from the H/W Development Department of the Central Technology Research Institute at Icarus Dynamics. Recently, Icarus International has requested adjustments to the performance of the prototype Jin/Lein in the trial production phase, and we anticipate changes to the development timeline due to this. I am sending this email to keep you informed of these developments.

Below are the specifications requested by Icarus International:

It should be able to fully withstand sustained fire from 7.62x51mm M993 (tungsten steel core) and .338 Lapua Magnum AP rounds while wearing NIJ III-level body armor.

It should be able to travel over flat terrain for more than 4 hours at speeds above 30 km/h, as well as be capable of rough terrain traversal.

It should be able to lift at least 225 kg.

With the installation of military signal relays, it should be remotely controllable from a maximum distance of 15 km.

Icarus International plans to participate in the military humanoid business, set for the end of Q2 next year, with the early release of Jin and Lein. As a result, Icarus Dynamics is now required to conduct even more in-depth technical analysis, including the one Eugene sent, which will require additional time.

I sincerely apologize for the delays caused by these changes in the development schedule.

Below, I have included a few links. By following these links, you can check the current progress in development from departments such as the Central Technology Research Institute, Robotics Department, and Systems Division. You can also send real-time messages to inquire about any concerns or progress.

Icarus Dynamics greatly welcomes your feedback and your participation in monitoring the development status.

Here are the URLs:

[Links]

"Just as I thought."

In the suite, my personal room, a hologram popped up in place of the tablet panel. It was the email from Icarus Dynamics. The second round of discussions Henry had attended had been a few days ago, and after that, the headquarters meeting had passed, and instructions had been sent to the subsidiaries. As a result, the plan chosen by Icarus Dynamics had taken about two days to reach me by email.

It was slow if you thought about it, but fast if you considered time zones, and honestly, it wasn’t that slow. From their perspective, they must have sent it as quickly as possible.

To be honest, though… I hadn’t thought I’d see Jin and Lein in reality anytime soon. I had sent over the designs, specifications, power sources, and a bunch of other data to Icarus Dynamics, but there was still so much that was needed.

Even just laying the groundwork for proper development and manufacturing would take at least three months.

‘...If I had known this, I should have told Minah and Yerin to wait about three months before mentioning it.’

I briefly thought this, but quickly dismissed the thought.

After all, there was going to be a scrim for the Asian qualifiers soon, and the qualifiers themselves were coming up in November. Speaking of which, I wonder where the matches would be held this year. Last year, they were held in Yongsan, Korea... I should check it out sometime.

So, I stopped thinking about Icarus Dynamics at that point. There was nothing I could do by rushing them. My mind was focused in a slightly different direction now, specifically on the upcoming Henry administration.

More precisely, one of the requests he made recently had... piqued my curiosity.

“I think there might be a few times we’ll need to use Icarus Gear. Of course, I’m not just saying this off the cuff. If there’s a request, I’ll try my best to fulfill it.”

Operation Whiteout.

What was that? Well, it seemed like Henry wanted to carry out something similar to Stuxnet from decades ago, with my help, of course. And the target of the attack was none other than North Korea, which still existed even in this world.

Henry had once mentioned that there were several black ops planned during his term, to be carried out by those who would never spill the beans no matter what. One of the whispers I overheard at that time had somehow come around to me.

In essence, it wasn’t much different from Operation Olympic Games. The task was something like smashing centrifuges or destroying missile storage management systems. The difference from Stuxnet, however, was that this operation would happen so quickly that it wouldn’t even leave a trace in the logs.

If I accepted it, of course.

‘…At this point, North Korea’s capabilities have already been depleted. They must be planning to break their spine once and for all.’

The reduction of service periods from 1 year 6 months to 1 year was also a part of that plan.

Henry was planning to use Operation Whiteout to cleanly scrape North Korea off the map, with minimal casualties thanks to the full introduction of humanoid robots. He was determined to do everything in his power to make it happen.

Simply put, if Henry were the one making kimchi, I’d be the one bringing the rubber tubs, salting the napa cabbage, and setting up the kimchi seasoning. I’m not sure how well it would work, but if we could successfully extract the North Korean issue, Henry’s influence would soar to new heights.

If the world became a little more peaceful, that would be good for me too.

Anyway, I’ll think about it later.

I’ll revisit it when the specific target for the attack is clarified.

"Is everything ready, Eugene?"

"I’ve already packed everything. The sun is going to be quite strong. Did you bring your sunscreen?"

"Ah, right!"

There was a knock, followed by Dice’s face.

I skimmed through a few emails, and it seemed the departure time was already approaching. I turned off the hologram so Dice wouldn’t see it and stood up. It was almost time to move.

As I stepped out, everyone had already gathered in the hallway or by the front door with some simple luggage. Since I’d packed my bag earlier, I was ready to leave with just a small handbag.

In the parking lot, two cars were already waiting, so we could leave right away.

So, where were we headed?

"I’ve never been on a yacht before."

"Will you get seasick?"

"The yacht’s big, so seasickness shouldn’t be a major issue. It’s about 100 meters long."

"Uh-huh…"

Icarus International had many subsidiaries, and among them was Icarus Residence Co., Ltd. The travel agency under this company offered many tour packages.

One of them was a mega yacht tour, with a yacht measuring 105 meters in length.

There sure was everything imaginable.

"The helicopter will need to make a few round trips, so it’ll take a little time. Everyone, please stay in the car and avoid wandering around outside."

"Okay."

"Let’s go then."

With a click, the door closed, and the seven of us headed to the elevator.

Looking out the window, Hawaii was always clear.

It was a good day.

"…Eugene, are you still working even though you've come all this way?"

"I've been shooting guns without thinking for the past few days, and some things have piled up. Especially... the gun companies have been crowding in a lot lately."

"Ah."

The sunlight was strong, the Wi-Fi was excellent, and there were plenty of places to explore.

For a yacht, there was almost no rocking from the sea. It was 105 meters long, after all. The type of super yacht you’d occasionally see in movies—it was truly like a different world. Even Lorentina was busy looking around and touching everything with a rather intrigued expression.

There was even a small elevator inside, so that said everything.

But despite all that, as soon as I arrived, I laid down on a sunbed where the sunlight didn’t reach and began replying to the emails that had started to pile up. As I mentioned earlier, among the companies that reached out, there were some top-tier names like Sig Sauer, Winchester, Smith & Wesson, Kel-Tec, Barrett, Shytech, Glock, and Colt.

If there had been any time constraints or tough advertising conditions, I wouldn’t have cared much. But since the timing and the conditions aligned, it didn’t seem like it would be too difficult.

"…Maybe by December, it’ll be good."

First, I wasn’t planning to participate in the Final Championship this year.

But considering that I came in first place last year, I still had a spot for the exhibition match, so going to the U.S. was confirmed. In other words, I would go, watch the tournament, and train Harmony, Dice, and the other yet-to-be-decided participants, but there wasn’t much else to do.

Meaning, unlike last year, during the free time I’d have in New York, I’d shoot the gun advertisements that had been sent to me by my lovely friends.

Furthermore, shooting the guns for the ads wasn’t that difficult. No matter where they were produced, I could just mod them cleanly and then stream a stylish practical shooting session in real-time—that would be the advertisement.

Considering that legendary killers in past movies went through all kinds of trouble just because of a dog, and how gun sponsorships flooded in after such movies became big hits, this didn’t seem so out of the ordinary.

[Notification: Listing similar advertisements…]
[Notification: Bulk reply sent to identical inquiries.]
I hoped everything would be set up by the time I arrived in the U.S. around December.

As many of the advertising requests were transferred to other sections after receiving approval, other requests kept coming in. Among them, some were a bit too much for the current moment, so I decided not to pay too much attention to them.

While the helicopter that had brought us here disappeared in the distance, heading toward the island, I set my tablet down on the chair and stepped out onto the balcony to look outside.

An endless horizon, the cold and deep open sea, clear skies without a cloud in sight, sharks swimming beneath the surface, and at the forefront of it all... was Lorentina?

"Pwoop—!"

What is this?

In an instant, every liquid in my mouth shot forward, and on top of that, I started choking and had to lean against the balcony railing, coughing uncontrollably. What the hell just happened? I hadn’t heard Lorentina diving in because I was too caught up with handling the remaining tasks.

To get a better look, I quickly jumped off the balcony, landing softly on the floor below, where I met Dice and Harmony’s gazes.

Judging by the expression they had while looking at Lorentina, it was clear that I was the only one who hadn’t known.

"Ah, Eugene. Are you done with work now?"

"I’ve finished, but… when did this start happening?"

"It’s been a while. About 15 minutes?"

It seems I’d been focusing for longer than I thought.

And alongside Harmony, the drone camera was hovering. At some point, the streaming had started without me realizing. I quickly checked it on Tricky, and sure enough, my broadcast was dominating the real-time rankings.

I was losing it, really.

And as the drone camera recognized its owner and rushed towards me, I completely lost my composure.

"…Well, I was handling a few things, and the stream just started. Looks like there are a lot of people gunning for my spot, huh, everyone?"

"Oh, wow, it’s really happening."
"What’s he saying right when he shows up? LMAO!"
"Lmao, seriously?"
"Even if it’s just a little bit, he’s still broadcasting. LOL."
"Wait, what was he doing that he didn’t even notice Lorentina diving in? LMAO."
Yeah, well, that's true.

Anyway, after realizing I’d come down, Lorentina finally emerged from the water and waved at me. Honestly, if she weren’t in DEVGRU, she might’ve been snatched up by aquariums around the world for billions.

Actually, thinking about it, I probably would’ve tried to bring her to a reptile center… but let’s not get into that.

Meanwhile, one of the few crew members operating the massive yacht was clapping excitedly while watching the scene. Even though automation had taken over a lot, some manual operation was still required. I’d heard that I’d be staying on the boat with this person for the next two nights.

After exchanging greetings, I asked for their thoughts, and he cheerfully replied:

"You’ve never seen anything like this, right?"

"Of course not. I’ve been on boats my whole life, but I’ve never seen anything like this. I didn’t know there were actual mermaids in the world, not just belugas. And I didn’t know lamias existed either."

"Unfortunately, my legs are fine. But feel free to call me Serpentia instead of Lamia."

"If that’s easier for you, ha ha."

The captain, who had been on the boat with us today, was built like a true sailor, with thick arms and sun-tanned skin from working under the sun.

After a brief conversation, he mentioned:

"You can go to the restaurant anytime if you’re hungry, just swing by when you’re free. There’s a wine bar on the second floor, and there are two jet skis powered by electric batteries inside the yacht, so feel free to use them."

"Thanks. I’m the only one with a license to drive them… well, me and the one swimming over there."

"If you have a license, there’s nothing more to say. Enjoy your time!"

He said that and walked off, disappearing inside the yacht. I laughed as I saw Lorentina wave her fingers at me.

The next moment, she stripped off her clothes, revealing the rash guard underneath, and without hesitation, I jumped over the balcony and leapt onto the side of the yacht.

Splash.

The cold seawater enveloped my body.

"Welcome, little one. A boat’s nice, but in the end, people like us belong in the sea."

"…Though I’m not exactly a sailor."

"Well, let’s call you an honorary one."

We both chuckled, and soon enough, Lorentina and I began freely exploring the vast, blue Pacific Ocean alongside dozens of sharks.

It felt truly refreshing.

"Figured you’d do this."

"I saw the shark tour last time, but it’s still hard to believe. Really."

"If just one time was enough for you to not be surprised, then all those people who took the university entrance exam twice would have all gone to Seoul University, right?"

"LMAO, that’s so true."
"Stone’s got that sharp tongue, love it!"
"This feels like I’m watching a documentary, haha."
"This is the real art, haha."
I thought I’d just be relaxing on the yacht, but of course, the world betrayed Harmony and her group once again in the best possible way.

It was truly a delightful trip.