I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 491

"I think we need to make some adjustments to the plan..."

"Plan? Are you talking about the one Jin is working on?"

"Yeah, that one. I think there are a few things we need to address regarding the two mech girls."

Meanwhile, as Eugene and his team were vacationing in the northern part of Oahu Island…

In the top-floor office of the Icarus Residence, built right in front of Waikiki Beach, a man and a woman in comfortable attire lay on a motion bed, with a clear view of the outside through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

However, the English sentences flashing on the screen before them—repeatedly outputting and deleting at speeds that couldn’t be typed on a keyboard—proved that they were definitely not here just for leisure or sightseeing.

Alongside the images of Jin and Lane on the screen, the conversation began.

"Our daughter’s two girls, if you ask whether they have recognition in the game, I’d say yes. But if you ask whether they can represent the entire Dark Zone, that’s another story..."

"So, you’re planning to make them that way starting now?"

"Exactly."

The large screen in front displayed a graph at the bottom.

The hologram on the bottom briefly noted that the game, enjoyed worldwide, had a simultaneous user count of over 30 million, doubling on weekends. The graph below displayed a breakdown of the modes players enjoyed, listed in order of user count.

Naively speaking, Dark Zone's modes could be divided into PVE and PVP. However, more than 70% of users didn’t just stick to one mode; they freely enjoyed both whenever they had the chance. Conversely, about 30% of users focused solely on either PVP or PVE.

The graph on the screen showed this fact visually.

Eugene’s father, Lee Hyun-jin, waved his hand lightly.

The graph began to shift.

"Thanks to Jin’s trail of footprints in various places, it won’t be that difficult. Over 2 million viewers… At least 1 out of every 15 players in Dark Zone would be familiar with Jin and Lane. That’s about 6.7%, if we calculate by percentage."

"To make it effective, we need to raise that to 20%."

"We’ll have to give a little more focus to PVE."

The data showing players who supported Eugene or at least had positive responses was grouped together in a graph.

First, the Uncharted Zone Escape.

The so-called EU mode, a combination of PVE and PVP. Before Eugene played, the simultaneous users were around 400,000, but after the word spread, and especially after Jin and Lane appeared, the user count surged fivefold. At the current time, it’s about 2.2 million users.

Second, Apex Predator.

This mode, which was once a major competitive game for Eugene, saw the player count increase nearly threefold. From August to December of 2035, after Eugene won the final championship, recognition of the mode grew even more. When counting indirect users, it reached around 5 to 6 million people.

Third, the PVE Main Scenario.

With various Incursion missions like Operation Bluefield, Chariot, and Last Light, as well as methods to obtain Omega rank in the main missions that had been mostly unknown until now, Eugene’s achievements in PVE missions were by no means inferior to those mentioned above.

Strictly speaking, not everyone in those categories would have an interest in Jin and Lane.

The EU mode users would likely have the highest support ratio. To prevent the recognition from fading compared to other modes, there were often side stories and connections made with the main modes, which kept the interest in Mecha Eugene alive.

Since the most recent linked mode was the EU mode, the popularity of Mecha Eugene wouldn't easily fade.

On the other hand, as you moved down, meaning outside of Mecha Eugene’s direct connection, the responses would become subtly more mixed. However, the users mentioned above could be grouped together by the common trait of "having goodwill toward Eugene," and by adding certain events, positive responses could be generated.

One of the ways to do that was…

"For PVE, we could launch a new incursion and a raid or two, and just insert the Dagger Team along with Jin and Lane. Conveniently, there’s an Artemis drone factory that's still going rogue."

"Jin will definitely lose it if we throw the Dagger Team into the mix again."

"That's exactly why we need to get a firm commitment that the Dagger Team, and those two, can only participate as support operators."

Through reality synchronization, an incursion would be launched, and a shadow would be cast into that world.

The Dagger Team, including Jin and Lane, would participate—but not directly engage in combat inside the factory. They would assist with electronic warfare or internal surveillance, waiting in a safe place where they wouldn’t be affected, even if a kiloton explosion occurred in the factory.

By doing that, while not putting the Dagger Team in danger, the users playing that incursion or raid would naturally build goodwill toward Jin and Lane.

"I’ve also thought of an additional element to seal the deal."

"Add a few special lines for the users who clear the Uncharted Zone raid, and it’ll be easier to induce a positive reaction."

"...You’re not secretly playing the game, are you?"

"That’s quite a compliment."

Currently, Mecha Eugene's voice pack and SD Operator pack remained in third place on the popularity rankings—although the price was lower than other bundles. If Jin and Lane appeared again, it would likely cause a significant stir.

The outline was beginning to take shape.

Bringing Jin and Lane into reality was a long-term project. Even with all the necessary data to create them, it would still take at least six months, or more likely a year.

Although we had informed people that delicious food was coming, we couldn’t just tell someone starving to wait. Human patience was volatile, and we had to at least give them a few morsels before the main meal.

In that sense, the launch of the new incursion could function as a solid stepping stone to bring Jin and Lane into reality.

"Since we’re pulling the data directly from their world, the workload won’t be much, but even if we rush it, it’ll take about one to two months... Around that time, the Asian qualifiers and the final championship will overlap."

"Considering the disastrous data sent by the Japanese branch, Korea should be able to secure the five spots without too much trouble. We’ll have to move the launch date forward as much as we can."

"Looks like I’ll need to give a generous overtime bonus to the team working late to meet the schedule."

Naturally, in the capitalist era, even the day and night of employees could be bought with money.

And Icarus International had plenty of money.

However, there was still something unsettling.

"If we make those two the mascots, I wonder if our daughter will like it."

"They’re already streaming. As long as we don’t use them too publicly, it should be fine."

Eugene’s mother exhaled a small sigh and added:

"And it seems like Jin really loves those two. I don’t think there’s any problem there."

"Well, that’s true."

Jin and Lane were attached to their daughter like glutinous rice cakes, and Eugene smiled as he repeatedly patted their heads.

Though he didn’t directly say it, her parents immediately realized, just by looking at that scene, that those two were inseparable, adorable kids to Eugene.

A low voice followed.

"I never thought our family would have three daughters."

"You’re fine with it, right? You don’t know how much I miss my reliable son."

"Ha ha."

Tap tap tap.

The small teasing faded away as the sound of fingers tapping on the keyboard echoed.

As the discussion concluded, a report-like summary was sent to Eugene, while the two of them watched the sun slowly set beneath the horizon of Waikiki Beach.

Eugene and his team didn’t have much time left in Hawaii.

"I should probably make dinner plans with my daughter soon."

There was no reply, but the two of them already knew each other’s expressions well.

"…"

"Is something wrong?"

"No, not really."

Meanwhile, as soon as Eugene started working, a flood of follow-up schedules began to rush in.

Is this the moment everything is about to pour in at once? Eugene thought as he skimmed through the emails related to the think tank.

She couldn’t rest.

"...Yes, Sergeant Logan. This is Eugene."

"Come on, don’t bother with formalities. I’m just checking in to see how you’re doing."

"Then you should have just left a text. This satellite communication is being received through Icarus Gear, you know."

"Of course, it is. I contacted you using your personal code."

This guy…

When the call came through the Icarus satellite communication network—something not used in years—Eugene was so surprised that she rushed upstairs to a quiet, empty floor. Moreover, since this wasn’t a private call but rather a formal one, she had to use the correct military title for Logan.

Though it wasn’t yet time to get all formal about it, the habit was still strong.

Still, it had been a while since their last contact, and it seemed like there was something worth listening to, so Eugene decided to pay attention. It was around 8 PM, after their dinner on the yacht… but wait…

"Wait, isn’t it 2 AM in the U.S. right now?"

"Yeah. And I’m sure you know that our brilliant junior doesn’t stick to the usual timetable, right?"

"…I suppose you’re right. He must have had some training scheduled."

"Actually, he came back to his room after finishing the post-training review and taking a bath."

Hmm.

That means he’s probably lying in bed by now. And since I’ve collapsed onto the bed on the yacht, we’re in a similar situation.

In other words, whatever reason he had for calling me, it couldn’t be urgent enough to jump straight to the point. As expected, Logan started talking about Eugene and Lorentina’s group wasting ammo in Hawaii.

If it hadn’t been for the live-stream blur, the broadcast probably would’ve been cut off in under 30 minutes. But somehow, it managed to pass by smoothly.

"Enough with that. Get those two in shape and deliver them to the U.S. military. I’ll package them nicely and bring them over."

"Even Lorentina said the same thing."

"Just toss her some pocket change. As for me… well, you know, right?"

"I can vividly picture Dice shaking his head."

This guy… After being almost crushed by a small grenade Dice launched once, he’s been sharpening his skills ever since.

From the last time I wasn’t around, I remember hearing him lament, "I should have never gone after Logan," during Harmony and Dice’s KSM post-show broadcast. Well, it’s not really my concern. Dice should be thanking his lucky stars that Logan isn’t participating in the 4th Final Championship.

Anyway, they rambled about these pointless things for about 10 minutes.

After some time, Logan, like a snake slipping through a hole, shifted to a new topic or perhaps the main issue.

"I’d like you to free up about 10 days in November. Just think about it and let me know. It’s fine if you don’t answer right away."

"…I can’t say no, right? There’s the Asian qualifiers, though. I should at least hear what this is about first."

"Mm."

A brief silence.

Then, he continued.

"I’ll give you two things. A lot of people were impressed by the sniper video you filmed in Hawaii, and the 2036 International Sniper Competition is just a month away."

"…Are you serious?"

"You know best yourself, but your current rank is Sergeant First Class, or in Korean, that’s ‘Major.’ That’s under the MWTR division. Acting on behalf of the Minister of Defense, Nakasono reinstated your position... well, it’s more like they created a new rank for you."

"Right. I have a rough idea of what that means."

There’s no need for him to go on about this; I had a pretty good guess.

The U.S. Department of Defense likely wanted me to participate in the 2036 International Sniper Competition.

Logan went on.

"Don’t take this too seriously. If you participate, you and I will pair up and compete as a side entry rather than an official team."

"That’s probably true. But…"

The important part here wasn’t what I’d do there.

Simply by participating, I’d be sending a message. Moreover, up until last year, there hadn’t been any contact requests from the U.S. military, so now, it seemed like there was a specific purpose behind this.

While I was thinking about how to approach this, Logan continued.

"Anyway, the choice is yours. Those with gray matter instead of brains can think whatever they want, but if you withdraw, the U.S. will regret it. Just give that Democrat raccoon a little hint, and this kind of proposal will never come again."

"Ha."

"Truth be told, I contacted you because the higher-ups begged me to, but honestly, I couldn’t care less about that. I just wanted to call and ask if you’d like to work together."

"…"

"Instead of getting roped into working for those stinky, heavy-rank guys, you’ll have a much better time working with me. I’m sure that’s more appealing to you, right?"

"Your senior is almost 40, you know."

"Dead already?"

Half-joking, half-seriously threatening me with death—how terrifying.

Anyway, his words were right. Logan quickly brushed aside my concerns and threw the solution straight at me. If I decided to participate, the excuse he gave would definitely make me feel more at ease.

Plus, it seemed like it could be fun.

If that’s the case, then there was only one thing I could say.

"Alright, if the schedule works out, I’ll give it a shot. But if there are any friends trying to use this for some specific purpose, tell them not to get ahead of themselves."

"Bossing your senior around, huh? When you come to the U.S., I’ll make sure you pay for this dearly."

"Feel free to charge as much as you want."

The call ended, and I lay back on the bed, reviewing the November schedule.

To differentiate from last year, the Asian qualifiers had been delayed by about a month, so they were now set to begin in the third week of November. The KSM selected players would likely depart for Russia a week earlier, so as long as I didn’t follow the Asian qualifiers, I’d have enough time.

Come to think of it, the qualifiers this time were scheduled for four days, twice as long as last year… If things went well, I might be able to leave for Russia as soon as they’re over. Though, since I hadn’t heard when the Sniper Competition starts, it was unlikely.

Logan probably went to bed right after hanging up, but I wasn’t done yet.

I opened the door and stepped onto the balcony, where the endless horizon stretched out before me.

Turning my back on the voices below, I muttered.

"Why is everything so busy all of a sudden?"

This feeling, like I’m on vacation but not really on vacation—what’s up with that?

The world truly is strange.