I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 496

???Whooooosh!

On the land where darkness had descended, under the cover of night, a team of ten infiltrators moved along the path through the mountains.

Meanwhile, two snipers, a spotter and a shooter, were positioned on a mountain ridge about 1,100 meters from the engagement zone. From there, they observed the scene and the fortress beyond.

Though it was early October, the temperature in the mountains was lower than in other regions, and the wind was blowing fiercely. Despite these harsh conditions, the sniper team continued their conversation without a care. The spotter, adjusting a drone floating in the dark sky, marked enemies on the UI.

Exhaling and then inhaling again, the sniper, Logan, focused his crosshairs on the enemy base hidden in the valley. A green marker representing the allied forces moved carefully through the darkness in the lower-right corner of the screen.

A well-secured guard post stood about 75 meters away from the allies on a nearby hill. The spotter manipulated the drone's camera, pinging the area, and Logan, seemingly already aware, made small adjustments to his wrist and arm to align the crosshairs.

The sound of their breaths continued in succession. The spotter moved the spotting scope to the relevant direction, and soon the distance of 1,072 meters appeared on the UI. Logan, noticing the wind speed and direction in the upper-right corner of the scope, began adjusting the mils.

The wind was blowing from the upper-left to the lower-right, along the mountain ridge. He considered this variable as he finished his adjustments.

When Logan completed his adjustments, the spotter spoke.

"No variables."

"…I will fire."

???Piiing!

It wasn't a deafening sound.

Rather, it was a sharp noise, like a whip cracking through the air. A single AP round shot from the silenced barrel of the TAC-50, cutting through the night.

The bullet stayed in the air for about three seconds. At the same time, the head of an enemy robot, seemingly crudely assembled with just a skeletal frame, exploded like a watermelon. As soon as the bullet hit its target, Logan pulled the bolt to eject the spent casing and loaded another round.

The guard post, manned by two robots, fell silent soon after. Another robot, several meters away, was hit by a bullet from a different angle and went silent as well.

The spotter continued providing waypoints to the infiltration team a kilometer away, while Logan checked the watchtowers on either side of the main entrance through his comms.

He confirmed that two enemies were visible in the watchtower. There was another similar tower, and in order to clear it efficiently, both watchtowers needed to be dealt with as quickly as possible. Logan exhaled softly and added:

"I will use the EXACTO round for the next shot."

"Understood. I’ll follow the same procedure."

Click.

Logan detached the magazine and, with a round from the ammo holder attached to the stock, placed the bullet between his index and middle fingers and re-engaged the trigger. The target was the left watchtower, while another sniper team positioned several hundred meters away was targeting the right watchtower.

Searchlights mounted along the fortress walls cast deep shadows. While ten infiltrators waited in the darkness, the spotter used a distance meter to get an accurate reading, entering the data into the scope's onboard computer.

With the new data entered, Logan's scope recalculated the shot.

As the calculations completed, a sign came through from the other sniper team, signaling they were ready to fire. A simple countdown followed, and then—

???Piiing!

A death crossed the air.

With a dull thud, a humanoid robot positioned in the middle of the watchtower collapsed. The bullet pierced through its left shoulder and traveled across its torso, lodging in its right arm. If it had been a human, their shoulder, windpipe, and esophagus would have been shredded.

But there was no time to rest. Logan immediately pulled the bolt, loaded the EXACTO guided round into the chamber, and, after adjusting his aim, fired again—this time, the bullet followed a strange trajectory before piercing through another robot that was moving inside the tower.

With the entrance cleared, the infiltrators quickly approached the fortress walls. While others kept watch, one infiltrator planted a thermite stick into the wall, climbed, and soon reached the watchtower, attaching a rope and descending.

But just as this was happening, a voice came through:

"A vehicle is approaching from the left side of the fortress. It’s expected to enter the main road in 15 seconds."

"This is Vigil 2-1. There’s not a vehicle in sight here."

"This is Vigil 1-1. I can see it here. I’ll try to make a shot through the windshield."

"Understood."

The dice had been cast.

Logan, now calling herself Vigil 1-1, stated, "I’ll handle it," and the infiltration team trusted her, knowing that if she failed, the mission might be doomed.

But such risks had been a part of her past too. There had been times when the stakes were far higher—when failure meant watching her team members die rather than simply packing up.

Logan exhaled and slowly zeroed in on the vehicle, which was beginning to appear through the scope.

Icarus Gear would have solved this problem easily...

Logan muttered inwardly, then squeezed the trigger.

With a resounding thud, the recoil was absorbed by her shoulder. The shot required more precise aim, but there was no time for that. Instead, Logan trusted her instincts.

The risk was enormous, but her instincts had never betrayed her before.

Three seconds of breathless silence followed before Logan spoke.

"Vehicle neutralized."

"Well done. Now all that’s left is to win the competition."

"Haha, that’s a joke."

The familiar voice of the team leader, Owens, came over the comms.

As the brief exchange of jokes passed, the vehicle, its windshield shattered, began to slowly come to a stop. The infiltrators, all ten of them, entered the base without trouble. The two sniper teams, now called Vigil, retrieved their weapons and moved on to the second sniper position.

Meanwhile, the number of identified enemies on the UI kept decreasing. The humanoid robots inside the base were falling to the ground like broken puppets.

The mission’s objective was to infiltrate the base, gather intel, and then exfiltrate as quickly as possible. Since such traditional missions had high chances of occurring, every team member moved quickly, executing their roles.

After covering several hundred meters swiftly, they arrived at the second sniper position, recalculated their distance from the base, and adjusted the drone’s position.

Through the crosshairs, Logan continued to identify and eliminate enemies, coordinating with the infiltration team. Her mind wandered to past memories.

The people were different, the location was different, but—

How much time had passed?

The familiar voice of Owens echoed through the comms.

"The situation outside isn’t looking good."

"After stirring up the base like that, you think reinforcements aren’t coming? Get out quickly."

"Data copy complete. We’ll be out shortly."

Phew.

Logan exhaled and glanced to the side, spotting the M107 LRSR sniper rifle. From this point on, it wasn’t about sniping for infiltration anymore—now, fire support was likely necessary.

As expected, a spotter with a spotting scope took the rifle and prepared.

In the next 30 seconds, humanoid robots began to gather outside the server room, where the intel was being stored. The sniper team had to reduce their numbers quickly. There was no way for a quiet exit with this many enemies gathered.

???Piiing!

The distance to the fortress was over 1,100 meters, but the sniper rifles they wielded made distance irrelevant, and the only thing that could provide fire support was their firepower.

Dirt kicked up, and spent casings rolled on the ground. Through the scope, Logan observed humanoid robots dropping like marionettes with their strings cut, as the infiltration team began moving toward the exfiltration route.

As this happened, the two sniper teams also moved quickly. The exfiltration route was on the opposite side of the main entrance, and to exit, two infiltrators had to climb the opposite watchtower and set up a zipline.

Only the snipers could assist with this securely.

As the fighting escalated, casualties among the team began to rise.

The humanoid robots, armed with laser weapons resembling enemy firearms, fired their lasers at the operators’ exosuits, restricting their movements as the beams hit.

Amidst the chaos, the team continued to return fire, throw grenades, and launch grenades. Some even used a polyurethane-ubiquitin cam launcher to create temporary cover that could block incoming fire.

It was an impressive display of teamwork.

After tossing thermite at the rear gate mechanism and making sure the last infiltrator had used the zipline, the final team members ran toward a separate exfiltration point, their ears filled with the heavy sound of a helicopter.

???Booooom!

In the darkness, the tracer rounds from the minigun stood out even more vividly.

As the remaining humanoid robots inside the base were reduced to fragments, Logan chuckled as he checked the UI. Out of the 10 infiltrators, three were lightly injured, and one was moderately wounded. Considering the difficulty level of the simulation, it was an excellent result that there were no fatalities.

After running for about 10 minutes, heading toward the extraction point, a helicopter in the distance began flying toward Logan's team.

Despite the cold wind blowing through the mountains and sweat pouring down their bodies, a moment of heat overwhelmed them. But as the helicopter landed nearby, a blast of wind hit, cooling them down in an instant.

The lower ramp of the helicopter opened, and Owens, looking as if he hadn't been through anything, extended a hand toward Logan.

He spoke:

"Putting the sniper team together paid off. Feel the consideration?"

"Go sit down already, seriously."

As all 14 members boarded the helicopter, the ramp closed.

Owens, sitting next to Logan, looked at him and asked:

"Do you think the rookie will practice a lot before the competition?"

"Well, he's the type who gets antsy if he doesn't shoot, so he’ll definitely be practicing. He’s probably shooting even now. Want to bet on it?"

"Hah, I definitely won’t. My wallet's a bit light these days."

No further words were exchanged.

Logan smiled briefly, and the helicopter began heading toward the USASOC camp, where the evaluators of the training were waiting.

The training of The Unit, which had been called a money-devouring monster in the past, hadn't changed much from the old days.

It was just another day.

???Bang!

"Impact."

"Confirmed… I wonder what Logan is doing by now."

"Well, he's probably having a far worse time than playing here. It's rare to find anyone who spends as much on training as Delta, so he’s probably still messing with something."

"Haha."

Of course, they understood each other all too well.

It was a flaw of those who knew each other too well.

"Ah, you're back... Ugh, the smell of gunpowder! You went to the shooting range again, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I did some sniper training. Gotta prepare for the competition in November. But don’t worry, I didn’t drag all of you with me today."

"Ah, seriously."

At 5 PM, after talking non-stop with Lorentina, eating, and shooting, we returned to the hotel, greeted by a room full of items. I heard that while Lorentina and I were busy running around Hawaii, everyone else had been out shopping.

There were so many luxury clothes, bags, and wallets, and various other items to gift family and friends. As for me, I only knew about brands like Sig Sauer, HK, Colt, and Smith & Wesson—just kidding. Anyway, there was a pile of stuff I’d never heard of.

And to my surprise:

"These, these, this one, and those shopping bags in Eugene's room are his. There are some in Lorentina's room too."

"...What?"

"I wasn't sure about the sizes, so I bought some clothes in one-size-fits-all. And Eugene, since you have a tail, I didn’t buy any pants for you."

"Ah... thank you. I’ll use them well later."

Was it because I can’t accept gifts without paying back? If I said that, I’d probably get attacked with, "Eugene, you really don’t understand people’s hearts," in excitement.

So I kept quiet, becoming a gratitude-automatic-response machine, expressing my thanks to not just them but also to the others in the group. Harmony, Dice, and the others probably felt like they were dragged along, but I was glad it worked out well.

On a separate note, Lorentina’s gifts didn’t exceed the luggage weight limit, and she could safely bring everything back to the US.

As Harmony and Dice were joyfully patting each other's heads, I picked up my phone and contacted the chefs on the 27th floor who were on duty.

Though there was a chance the preparation time would be short—only 2 to 3 hours—everyone had probably eaten something while out, so it shouldn't be a problem. Since it was still too early for dinner, there wouldn’t be any issue inviting everyone.

After checking with everyone, of course, nobody turned me down. So, that was that.

And what would follow?

The broadcast, of course.

"Hey, uh? No, are we doing this so suddenly?"

"Is there anyone who thinks they shouldn’t appear on the broadcast right now? I’ll give you a 30-second window to escape to your room."

"As always, the rookie really is a devil."

No, what did I do? I gave them a full 30 seconds to run away, and I'm called a devil. This is slander, pure slander.

Anyway, everyone answered with their bodies, and the drone camera gently lifted into the air and began the stream.

As viewers poured in like water from a broken dam, the seven of us waved lightly. Since there wasn’t much content, the broadcast ended up being a simple talk session.

It was essentially a bonus stream, and since I had mentioned that the broadcasts would be irregular, viewers had nothing to complain about.

"…Hello, everyone. Eugene here. We’re currently one day away from leaving Hawaii… You might be wondering why we started the stream late today, but we decided to take some time for individual activities today, just to enjoy ourselves."

"Heh, hello. After today, I probably won’t be on the rookie’s broadcast for a while. Enjoy it while you can."

Waka pyak shark ????????????????
Isn’t this person a born broadcaster?
This girl is always pretty ????????
Shark nuna, take my day! Shark nuna, take my day!
With something like a one-time bulletproof vest, you could carry it out ???
Why are you saying bad things!!!!!!
As expected, Shark and Polar Bear were broadcast blue chips, just by showing up.

The viewers were still in an uproar, and I quietly checked the chat to see if there were any meaningful questions—of course, the whiny ones just wanted to live in Hawaii forever, but there were still some interesting ones.

For example, questions about what we’d do after our time in Hawaii.

And the answer was clear.

"To put it simply, it won’t be that different from what you all imagine. But I do need to go to the US for about two weeks in early November. Unfortunately, that means the broadcasts will be... very rare during that time. There’s a sensitive schedule involved."

Sensitive???????????
Oh, these guys are trying to mess with things without understanding ????????
Tactical sensitivity = things that ordinary people shouldn’t know, or they could end up in prison
Seriously, idiots, bombs and grenades are also considered sensitive objects!!!
I didn’t say anything ???
A full-blown uproar in the chat.

Naturally, the group on the broadcast, including Harmony, Dice, and the others, wasn’t paying much attention to my words. They had already been informed, so it made sense.

But how about this?

"So, before we head to the US, I’ll be spending a lot of time training our national representatives who will be competing in the Asian qualifiers. You can all enjoy watching Minah and Dice twist their bodies in the process."

"Wait, Teacher? You didn’t say that before!?"

"Why are we getting dragged into this?"

"But the Asian qualifiers are coming up soon, right? It’s not the first time, haha."

And just like that, the two of them began rolling around with loud cries.

The one thing I hadn’t expected was that before we even returned to Korea, these two would be crying and throwing tantrums.

I guess I’ll have to offer them the carrot again. But maybe it's better to leave them be; after all, they’ll eventually find out once we get back to Korea. I’ll just consider this a preemptive vaccination, I thought—when Kimstone muttered softly from behind.

"I didn’t think our Hawaii trip would end with a farewell dinner, but a last supper."

Naturally, at those words, Dice and Harmony… started rolling around even more.

In the end, I had no choice but to offer them a "tail reward" earlier than expected.

It seemed like I needed some discipline too.

And so, the last day in Hawaii was drawing to a close.