I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 595

"Quite the mess, huh?"

"Is this really your studio? Not some junk warehouse built in the most expensive area in the world?"

"Hey! Why are you dragging this on so long after I brought you here?!"

On December 24th, in the Two Bridges area of Manhattan, Studio Nix.

Four days had passed since dinner with my parents, and we were now in the Christmas-filled atmosphere of Manhattan’s Two Bridges area.

More precisely, it was the place Olivia ran herself.

A high-rise building, famous for its expensive land prices in Manhattan, occupied floors 30 to 36 by a massive studio where loud voices were echoing back and forth. The reason was simple: the start of haute couture in Paris was just a few weeks away.

The reason Olivia, who was both the lead designer and creative director, wasn’t as enthusiastic about this year’s Final Championship as we were was because she had been overseeing everything related to fashion—something none of us understood. She was the one giving final approval on all the designs, finishing touches on the garments, and instructing the models to tailor their clothes to fit their body types, working tirelessly.

We didn’t really mind that Olivia was busy.

Because, despite being so busy, she was the one who invited us to come to her studio.

"Sigh, it’s always this busy around this time. Don’t bother the staff; leave them alone. By the way, is there anything you want to eat? I can have the staff bring it quickly."

"Just a tub of ice cream."

"Sigh, you’re a guest here and not offering anything in return…"

"I didn’t say anything, Olivia."

Sizz.

It seemed like a vein was about to pop on Olivia’s temple, but Logan and Lorentina didn’t care at all and continued their role as habitual troublemakers. Unfortunately for Olivia, there was no one here who could challenge her, so she trembled and hid her face.

Meanwhile, Lorentina grabbed a screen plate from the table and began flipping through it with her fingers. Naturally, these were the design sketches Olivia had made herself.

With deep red eyes that looked like they were about to bleed, Olivia glanced at them and continued:

"I don’t need to ask where you got the inspiration from. If you’re going to openly take memories from that time, I’m not even going to comment."

"Let’s see… You’ve turned the events from back then into fashion, you crazy bastard."

"Military look too... this is just a slight variation on the urban camo pattern from back then. And why the hell are the sleeves so damn red... Did you intentionally copy the bloodstains?"

"Correct."

It was truly legendary.

But excluding that, it was actually well-made. The concept art Olivia drew made past memories flood back, and this fashion felt far more practical than the bizarre, outrageous stuff you often see at fashion shows.

Returning to the earlier topic, this year, Olivia’s chosen keywords were concrete-gray, vibrant red, urban camo, military-style loose clothing, metallic materials, and so on.

While the elements were simple and unobtrusive, the stark, blood-like red stood out and easily brought back memories from the past.

There was, of course, a reason why I could say this.

"That winter was terrible, but when I think about it, no acquaintances died during that time."

"Then, this... I think the rioters, terrorists, and escaped prisoners from back then probably died in this style."

"Yeah. If the enemies were the inspiration, this design wouldn’t have been made. We’d have gone with something else."

At the same time, Olivia grabbed the screen plate Lorentina was holding and swiftly scrolled through it, showing us one of the pieces she was planning to present at Haute Couture.

Naturally, these pieces weren’t designed for practicality but for originality and artistry. At first, we made fun of Olivia for her strange designs, but upon further inspection of the structure and color scheme, we could feel something unique.

Specifically, it was:

"...The bottom is orange, the middle is gray, and the top gradually fades to pale white."

"Based on what you just said, this is..."

"Crema (cremation)."

It was exactly as I had guessed.

Though I’m not sure if they still exist, years ago there was a crematorium at the Central Park HQ. The building near the Natural History Museum had been converted into a massive columbarium. In the U.S., burials were preferred over cremation, but after the Omega Virus outbreak, everything had changed.

Thousands of people were cremated in the area. In Korea, their ashes might have been stored in urns, but here, due to the overwhelming number of deaths, the deceased became something like... memorial stones.

From my memory, nearly everyone working at Central Park HQ wore a necklace made from one of these memorial stones. Only large teams like Dagger Team had managed to avoid the worst of it.

Morrison, too, had survived though his lower half had been destroyed.

Anyway, what could I say? To take specific keywords and turn them into applicable designs for clothing was remarkable. Frankly, it was a creative task we couldn’t have done with our stiff minds.

While we were bantering back and forth, a thought crossed my mind.

Logan noticed it first.

"By the way, are you not planning on joining the Air Force?"

"Ah, come to think of it... I haven’t thought about that."

"Well, if you're used to playing with paint and sketching, just don’t worry about it and keep doing what you're doing."

"I’m not uninterested..."

Olivia hesitated slightly while saying that.

Honestly, to jump back into operations in real life would be... tricky. My knowledge and experience were all still in my head, but the context and connections had completely disappeared.

Of course, there was a way around it, and we discussed it casually.

"Now that I think about it, with the knowledge and field experience, all that’s left is to be verified. Even if you’ve been lazing around here, you’d still pass the theory and field tests for the 24th Special Forces Regiment."

"Don’t say I’ve been lazing around! ...Anyway, that's true."

"Then go over there, use your experience and knowledge, crush those newbies, and get your certification. If you ask the youngest, they can arrange that opportunity. You might not officially belong, but you can still train and teach. I’m dying teaching these new recruits."

"Once you secure a spot, you could probably do outsourced training. If you have some free time, take a year off and try your hand at that."

"Uh, um, do I have to answer that now?"

"Didn't you ask the youngest to come here a few months ago? You’re backing out now? Do you want to spar without safety gear?"

The threat from the polar bear!

Its effectiveness was immense!

Logan raised his fist, and Olivia, startled, instinctively took a defensive stance. It was quite the sight, but unfortunately, Olivia had too many tasks piling up in front of her at the moment. It looked like she had gotten mentally exhausted, though she was starting to recover.

Laughing it off, Olivia hid behind me, then placed her giant midsection on top of my head as a cushion and added:

"Ah, right. Starting next year, all the clothes I designed under the Icarus name will be sold both online and offline. If you’ve got the money, buy lots, okay?"

"Is this why you hid behind the youngest, you bastard?"

"Ha ha, how grateful I am. I live thanks to the youngest."

"Wow, the mass on top of my head..."

Soft and fluffy...

Anyway, it seemed Olivia had been sneakily collaborating with Icarus International and was preparing to sell her designs next year. Since I didn’t really care much about my avatar’s appearance, I hadn’t kept track of any collaborations, so it was no surprise that I didn’t know about this.

While we were chatting, Lorentina suddenly added:

"By the way, for Christmas, when we get back to the hotel, everyone will get a gift."

"You prepared gifts? I’m already worried. Is this normal?"

"It’s nothing special. I just bought a few clothes. Want to see?"

"Let me see—what the hell is this?!"

The glorious 'Santa girl costume' appeared. It had a revealing top, tightly cinched waist, and flowing white frilly skirt. There were four sets.

I couldn’t hold back my fist, but Lorentina dodged all of our punches.

The only thing she couldn’t avoid was Logan’s curse.

"You bastard! Were you planning on making me wear this?!"

"Ha ha, don’t worry! I’ll wear it too!"

"Ha, of course. I was an idiot to think a crazy shark wouldn’t buy clothes like that."

"I used to make my girlfriends wear these kinds of outfits on days like this. But wearing it myself? First time—ugh!"

"Gotcha, youngest. Let’s deal with this."

Of course, Lorentina ignored my tail, and after a few seconds, I was knocked to the floor.

Moments later, a shrimp-lock slammed into her, and the studio was filled with the shark’s high-pitched scream.

Truly, the shark was out of her mind.

Then, thinking back, there was something about the new addition.

"Oh, right. We’ve finally named the AI in the Mini Vyam Core. Well, it’s been named for a while..."

"Hmm. What’s the name?"

"It’s Nasty. Apparently, it’s derived from Russian, though I don’t know exactly. It’s something like a suffix attached to words to form nouns. I think that’s what it was."

"Surprisingly cute. What’s it been up to?"

"Just handling chores."

December 24th, Christmas Eve night.

If this had been thousands of years ago, I might have had the same feelings as when Jesus Christ was about to arrive on Earth, only a few hours away. But now, it was just the time when Santa costumes sold best, and hotel rooms were booked for Christmas celebrations.

Manhattan, known for never turning off its lights, was no different. Most of the people working here were probably off on vacation, enjoying themselves.

For us, though, it wasn’t much of an issue. Especially not for us four, whose genders had forcefully switched.

As those few "special jobs" were busy enjoying their fashion-filled lives in exchange for money, we four were quietly enjoying a not-so-formal party at Olivia’s private studio on the 36th floor.

Though Dice and Harmony might have wondered where we were, we had already instructed the hotel to provide entertainment for everyone. By now, they were probably stumbling around while drinking whiskey.

Sometimes, it was necessary to just enjoy time with the people you’ve known for a long time.

"Well, since you've been labeled incompetent, how’s the new AI doing with the chores?"

"Well, it's been doing everything it’s supposed to. No issues with power, doesn’t need sleep, and can carry heavy objects. It's been about ten days since I last saw it... and in that time, it seems to have made quite a few connections."

"Sounds like it's been well trained."

"Well, of course, it wouldn’t have been difficult to train. Everyone except the youngest is there."

Lorentina casually glanced at me after saying that.

"You know, these kinds of festivals are more enjoyable with a lot of people. How about we check in on how the Mini Vyam is doing?"

"Don’t call it 'Mini Vyam.' It makes it sound like Minah turned into a Vyam."

"Well, personally, I'd rather see the shark turn into a Vyam than the youngest, but whatever, it's not important. Don’t you think the polar bear and the owl are interesting too?"

At this point, the two remaining people in the group looked at each other.

And of course, I immediately realized from the lack of a quick refusal that the other two weren’t entirely uninterested either. I smirked and declared my surrender.

We had just arrived at the door that led to Olivia’s private fitting room—a studio within a studio. After quickly activating the laser and waiting for about ten seconds, the gate opened automatically.

Before entering, I sent a quick message to the Central Park HQ’s operations room and carefully opened the door.

As soon as I stepped in, I was greeted by a completely different sight.

The four of us walked through the door and, after a short while, noticed that Central Park HQ, surrounded by towering buildings, was completely covered in Christmas decorations.

"What... is this?"

"The surrounding high-rise buildings... Wow, it's like a different world."

"Unbelievable, just unbelievable."

Food trucks scattered around.

Campfires.

Amusement rides and more.

While my friends were in awe, I was already somewhat aware of the reason behind all this. It was the first Christmas after the Omega Virus outbreak had almost been eradicated, so extra effort was being made this year.

However, it didn’t matter much to us. Especially not for the four of us, whose genders had been forcefully swapped.

As we made our way through the festivities, I started thinking that it would be difficult to stay too long. If too many eyes were on us, it could become an issue.

"I bet the others are going to ask why we suddenly showed up. Do you think they'll mind?"

"They're probably just barbecuing. Let’s grab a few bites and head back. Or maybe just get a few things. We can trade them for some hot pizza or sushi."

"Only you would casually say something like that."

After all, who else would live as freely as the shark?

Even though I might find it strange to meet someone who looks just like me, it wasn’t too difficult to accept. It was after all, not what I had expected to happen.

Well, there wasn’t much point in thinking about it, so we swiftly moved on to the Dagger Team’s base, hoping to sneak into the party unnoticed.

‘Sushi or chicken may be fine, but sushi is pretty rare here...’

Considering the exchange rate, I had spent about 200,000 won on Michelin-star sushi. It wasn’t a problem. But the tip was ridiculously expensive. I thought about asking Henry to handle that later, as I carefully knocked and entered after a few seconds.

"Ugh, grilling meat is so hard."

"I’ll need to go back and study how to make rare, medium-rare, and medium again. It seems like you’re not using even half of your power, huh?"

"The excellent first sister here will calmly teach you about controlling the heat and analyzing meat surface temperature..."

"What? Who—Whoa, what’s going on?!"

Wearing a Santa hat, the management AI "Nasty" was struggling while grilling meat.

The three Mecha Vyam models were watching over, giving advice.

And there we were, opening the door to this chaotic scene.

"Wow."

"Those Mecha Vyam in Santa hats are actually pretty cute."

The only one who was indifferent to the entire situation was Lorentina, so it felt like a strange world.

What should I say in this bizarre Christmas Eve scenario?