I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 646

"Did you guys wait, Biyam newbies? Look who’s back, hehehe..."

"KYAAAAAAK-!"

"They’re here! The door! The door-!"

"I guess you were that excited to see me! Come on over! Iris too! I feel especially fond of her since she looks just like me, do you like water by any chance?"

"...I envy the brain that can translate those reactions as excitement."

• Oh, it's noisy right from the start haha
• Crazy energy, haha
• Truly a unique character haha
• I thought there couldn’t be anyone else like this, but Iris looks pretty similar in terms of appearance...
• Now that I think about it, they really do look alike haha

The shark's appearance.

In fact, I had arrived about 30 minutes earlier and showed my face briefly, but I had stepped away to share some small talk that couldn't be told to others and to give the little Biyams some mental stability, and now I was back.

It was exactly the reaction I had expected. After Lorentina had assaulted the snake's nest, she mercilessly petted the new little ones and gave Iris a very warm welcome. Now that I looked at them, the two looked quite alike.

It felt like I was seeing a shark who had changed its species to Biyam – setting aside those thoughts, I quietly observed the commotion they were making. Lorentina's assault was just one part of the long schedule for today.

Well, I was supposed to give them the option of joining the schedule.

For example-

"Well, Lorentina and I are planning to slowly head to building D now. The shark has a separate schedule with me. You can choose to join or not. Feel free to decide."

"Building D? Don’t tell me you’re going to make another poor victim… Ugh!"

"Harmonie has gotten pretty bold in the meantime. I think I’ll have to keep her close. Want to go for a drive-thru with me, sis?"

"Eugene-sensei, the flirting from this person today is seriously intense…!"

"Oh dear. I mean I’ll keep her close and deal with her later."

• Ah hahahahaha
• Are you really giving us a choice, haha
• This person always does whatever they want like a bulldozer, I never get tired of watching
• No wonder the shark isn’t called a predator for nothing...
• Actually, isn’t Harmonie the one asking for it, haha

So.

It seemed like there was no real choice, but as always, I meant what I said. If they didn’t want to follow, they didn’t have to, but well, they probably defined themselves as a collective, so they might feel they’re all in it together.

By now, they’d likely think that the unease was a separate feeling from following me.

Anyway, the 'victim search' in building D began, which seemed like the right call to me. Of course, the real reason was to check out how the mock combat facility was structured.

As I mentioned earlier, the combat area covered the entire building D, which meant that next week, UDT members and Lorentina and her team would engage in fierce battles with humanoids there.

It was essential to check the setup.

The moment we left the building, the crowd from the Expo, which was already bustling with countless people, started gathering around us.

Thankfully, things had improved compared to earlier. Since the Expo had been going on for a while, people had started seeing us as a moving event, which, in turn, reduced the chaos a bit.

It was possible because the situation was somewhat like the character greetings at Disney World.

And after a bit of walking...

"Hmm, this is the... mock combat room, huh? The internal structure and the implementation look flawless, and the facility management is excellent. If every unit had a facility like this, it’d be the perfect addition."

"They said this is the most expensive part of the Expo. I’m not entirely sure, but..."

"It certainly seems that way. We should head down to check it out. Feel free to wander around as you like. I’ll take a closer look downstairs."

We arrived at the audience seats.

There were quite a few people around. They came for various reasons.

The next group, or the ones who had borrowed the space for a few days later, had come to see how the mock combat worked, some were just looking around, and others were enjoying watching the games of others.

Lorentina didn’t fit any of these categories, but she was handling everything smoothly, mixing fun with efficiency, and it was pretty impressive.

Indeed, life should be lived like a shark.

At that moment, the session ended, and Lorentina and her group moved to the VIP lounge.

The benefit of this place was being able to watch the combat from the closest spot and enjoy some light snacks.

But there wasn’t much content, and honestly, watching wasn’t as fun as participating. Plus, there was a chance of running into the actual players, which made the place somewhat unpopular.

Even though we came here frequently lately…

"Wow, crazy! It’s Lorentina!"

"Hey, could I get your autograph, please? I’ve watched every video with you in it!"

"Take me-!"

"Hehehe, such an enthusiastic reaction... No surprise there. It's a huge sale, do whatever you want. Anyone want to take a commemorative photo?"

• Damn, I booked it for the day after tomorrow but why don't I get an event like that? My stomach hurts, I feel like it's gonna tear apart, shark, please do this for me!!!!!!!!!
• Wow, the event is really intense, holy shit
• Biyams who don't even take photos or shake hands, reflect on yourselves!!!!
• Seriously, why are there so many Expo emergent events lately? Haha
• Ugh, I never win the café visit lottery, can't see Biyams, can’t see sharks, it’s just too much...

...It seemed like the chat from the drone cam was swirling with curses.

Although they had been saying that everything was chosen fairly, the reality was that there were so few spots for these events, it couldn’t be helped.

Maybe I should go out more often and greet people, take photos. Thinking this, I looked at the shark, who was flying around the crowd, with a complicated gaze.

"Hey, Lorentina, if you could step on me, I’d have no more wishes... Ugh!"

"Ugh, pull this idiot out. Please stop brain-farting in real life."

"Hey, throw him in the waiting room."

"Well, folks, you can’t physically stamp on them, but there’s another kind of stamping we can do."

"Eh...?"

• ???????????
• Huh
• Pya-pya-pyapya-pyaaaaa, hahahahaha
• Wow, they just dropped their pants right there, hahahaha
• Fact) Means we’re talking about combat-related stomping

Unlike the others, who were stunned, the Biyams and I had already caught on to what the shark was about to say.

And as expected - she stretched her body, turned her head quickly, and added to me.

It wasn’t a question, just a statement.

"I’ll chat with these friends for a bit and then come back. That’s fine, right, newbie?"

"...W-why does it feel like the atmosphere’s off? Hold on a sec."

"I think we’re fine with just autographs and photos, but, um..."

"Eugene-sensei, are we... being dragged into hell?!"

"Hmmm, well, looks like you already know what’s up."

• hahahahahahaha
• I knew it, haha
• Look at how the Biyam newbies are relieved that they're not the ones getting dragged away haha
• The new recruits’ expression looks like they’ve just found their next victims, haha
• I had a feeling, haha

If they had known Lorentina’s usual image, they would have known not to say something like 'step on me,' but well... they didn’t.

Even if they didn’t know, they’d probably learn that lesson next time. After all, there’s always something to learn, and that’s the fun part... well, at least I’m not the one getting dragged into it.

And as the shark continued her charm offensive, she led the twelve friends who had rented the session to the waiting room.

"Alright, let’s head to where Miles' equipment is. Thanks to all of you, this facility tour is going to be so much more fun. I hope you’ll all accept my gratitude."

"Wait, we’re being kidnapped! Help, help—!"

"Wah, this person’s so strong! Wait???"

Boom.

And the door slammed shut.

Leaving the three stunned Biyams behind, I grabbed a drink and sat down in a chair with a good view of the mock combat area, starting to sip it.

At the same time, the following words were heard.

"I guess I should make a toast for those poor friends."

"...Are you really feeling sorry for them?"

"Well, no comment."

• Ugh, hahahahaha
• He really does resemble a shark, haha
• If they’re close, maybe the shark was one of the old seniors?
• Yoo Yoo Sang Jong wwww
• Poor them (but I’ll still enjoy the show)

What can I say, there’s never a dull day.

"Ugh…"

"Phew, that was fun. They all passed out after just two rounds, they really need to work on their stamina. Next time, they’d better work on their fitness."

"Is stamina the only thing that matters here?"

And twenty minutes later.

The shark returned with a refreshed expression.

Well, of course.

"Wow, Eugene! Look at this! Gaia’s hair came undone!"

"Suddenly, what…? Ah."

"Gaia’s hair came undone? What does that mean?"

"Oh, come to think of it, Lorentina doesn’t know what event Eugene’s unlocking."

It was about five hours after Lorentina had knocked the heads of the friends who were planning to do mock battles at the Expo.

The sun was already starting to set. As the sunlight sank beneath the horizon, the lights surrounding the Expo flickered on all at once, and the artificial lights illuminated the thousands of people moving around the area.

Meanwhile, Dice, who had been lounging on the sofa in what had now become the second rest stop for the group in building A, suddenly jumped up.

On the device she was holding, a hologram was glowing with a shimmering silver hair, something that would never appear in the game.

"Hmm, this feels different from the Mecha newbies working in the café. Those guys have hair like long strands of melted silver, but this one… how should I put it? It almost feels like a chunk of hair, you know?"

"They say that if you touch it, it comes apart smoothly. Oh, it’s so shiny. But, it’s still just hair... I think the whole world is crazy about wanting horns on their heads."

"The same goes for tails."

"Right. I’d love to have either horns or a tail, but honestly, I’m not expecting much. These days, I’d rather just... give up. I’m getting exhausted, you know?"

"Haha."

The enthusiasm they had shown a few days ago was nowhere to be found now. Harmonie, Dice, and Iris were all quite indifferent.

It couldn’t be helped. What they were showing now wasn’t just annoyance, but a sense of resignation from being repeatedly injured and failing. There was nothing to be done about this part.

But on the flip side...

"Hehe, hehehe..."

"...Huh, Lorentina?"

"This is bad, I don’t know what it is, but the switch just flipped."

"Did you really not tell me about this fun game of tag, newbie? Let’s go immediately. Didn’t you say the Mecha newbies appear every hour? Let’s see for ourselves."

"Ugh."

See, people who’ve never been injured before are full of empty confidence.

But when that empty confidence gets into the ears of someone who can turn it into real confidence... well, who knows what’ll happen? I don’t even know what the outcome will be.

But one thing’s for sure: there’s a high chance of chaos.

I resigned myself and added:

"Alright, you guys stay put and keep an eye on the house. I have a duty to observe Lorentina-senpai."

"Ugh."

"Hey, can I come watch too?"

"Not sure if we’ll be visible from the lounge..."

With just Lorentina and I, we had already reached the limit of popularity, and if these three followed us, well, it’d be excellent for the event, but there’d be too many people crowding around.

In that case... well, streaming twice a day might seem a bit much, but it was bound to happen. Since it was going to happen, it might be best to show Lorentina's insane side properly.

The drone cam, which seemed to react to my thoughts, turned on by itself. The battery was about 50%. I had replaced it several times, got free maintenance, and even swapped the device once.

Anyway, the moment it turned on...

"Let’s go down first, newbie!"

"You said that, but we’re not taking the stairs... whoaaa!?"

"Eugene-sensei! The shark’s on the balcony!"

"Oh my..."

• ???????????
• Wait, the first thing I see is the shark freefalling, hahahahaha
• What now, what are these crazy people doing, hahahahaha
• Please stop, if this keeps happening, other content creators won’t have anything left to do, we’ll all die!!!
• These people’s daily lives are like a sitcom, hahahahahaha

Literally.

Lorentina jumped from a height of more than ten meters and landed smoothly like Olivia, although there was a loud "thud" instead of complete silence.

I was about to follow, but not wanting to create more weird stories, I quickly ran down the stairs, and Lorentina flashed a natural smile at me.

Just as I was about to speak, the speaker went off, and the regular announcement came through.

And what did it say?

• [Announcement: The current time is 18:00.]
• [Announcement: Gaia’s trace has been generated at a random location. The trace will scan the area, and the faster the crowd, the quicker it moves.]
• [Announcement: Good luck.]

"Building B! It’s Building B! It’s Gaia!"

"Decoy! Don’t be fooled!"

"Got it, hurry up and run! They’re giving in-game currency based on how far we run!"

"Run!"

And thus, the Gaia capture operation began.

While Lorentina quickly surveyed the surroundings with a serious face, I quickly continued with the explanation.

Lorentina didn’t do Dark Zones unless absolutely necessary, so it didn’t matter to her, but this chase was different—there was a system where in-game currency was rewarded based on the distance people ran.

However, if anyone got injured, bumped into others, or if the crowd became too dense, a warning would sound and the currency would be deducted. To prevent potential injuries, humanoids nearby would scatter the crowd.

They were really trying to handle safety... but before I could finish saying that...

"Well, let’s head out and see how it goes!"

"Wait, let me attach a drone, go slow!"

• hahahahahahahahaha
• Ugh, dizzy haha
• I can’t believe no one’s gotten hurt despite all this going on every hour, amazing haha
• The Expo humanoids really do a great job stopping accidents
• There’s all kinds of stuff, hahahahaha

Lorentina quickly distanced herself from us.

With the speed of light, she darted through the crowd and entered the closest building based on the information that she was in Building B. Around her, humanoids were dispersing the crowd with a constant beeping sound.

And at that moment, I saw a black afterimage that seemed like it was mimicking me, and it started climbing the stairs at an incredible speed, grabbing the railing as it ascended. In just a few seconds, it had gone past the second floor and was already on the third.

Such overwhelming speed, everyone was thinking that rather than charging ahead, it was better to plan carefully and slowly go up—but...

"Is it fine if there are some dents or scratches here?"

"...Huh?"

"I’ll ask you later personally, just tell me!"

• ??????????
• Wait, this person is trying to catch up with the afterimage using jumps and parkour, hahahahaha
• Wow, how many meters did they just leap in one jump?
• Is this what the new hyper FPS game is supposed to be, haha?
• Please don’t make pros dive into local neighborhood soccer games, hahahahahaha

Boom!

With a loud noise, Lorentina jumped and stomped on a two-meter high landing, pushing off to accelerate a second time and leaping over 7 meters in one go, crossing over the second floor railing and beginning her pursuit of the drone.

Should I follow? It didn’t seem impossible, but... as I thought about it, the drone cam I was using automatically flew into the air, chasing after Lorentina.

Building B, which had been loud just moments ago, quickly turned into silence as all eyes turned toward me.

I opened my mouth.

"...Why are you staring at me?"

Parkour’s not that unusual for a Biyam, right?

Well.

Why?

"Newbie, are we getting this thing?"

"Ugh."

And after some time.

Lorentina, having dropped the hologram drone that had shattered, now held it in her hand, forming Gaia’s figure.

Truly ridiculous.