I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 650

"<We are currently passing Ansan and approaching the Shihwa Lake area. ETA 3 minutes. No issues reported.>"

"<Weather conditions are good, crosswinds are manageable. Hovering will be no problem. It’s a good day to see the Expo buildings clearly.>"

"<According to the video information provided by the Expo, no enemies have been detected near the LZ (Landing Zone).>"

"<Of course, nobody knows for sure. Beast Actual, transmission to SeaHawk 2 through 4. Until SeaHawk 1 has fully deployed, remain in hover and monitor the area around the LZ.>"

The sound of turbo-shaft engines roaring as the MH-60S SeaHawk’s rotors spun powerfully, tearing through the air. The helicopters sped forward at over 100 kilometers per hour, carrying approximately 40 people.

The surrounding view was filled with lush reed fields, wetlands, and numerous industrial complexes. Four military helicopters, their colors resembling the foam on blue waves, flew toward the Expo.

Leading the charge was SeaHawk 1, and inside it, Lorentina observed the Expo from the side-reinforced plastic window.

The SeaHawk, flying at speeds comparable to the KTX, crossed Shihwa Lake in less than a minute and soon crossed the border between Incheon and Gyeonggi Province.

Before long, the dazzling, gleaming Expo buildings came into view. The destination location was quickly marked on the HMD (Head Mounted Display).

Lorentina, activating the HMD’s shading function, signaled to ensure everyone followed the same process. As SeaHawk slowed its speed, it hovered several meters above the roof of Building D.

The sunlight reflected off the roof’s metallic surface, scattering in fragments and casting a gentle light across the open side door.

"<Looks like a flashbang just went off.>"

"<Lucky for the friends keeping watch behind us, they don’t have to worry about the glare. Lower the ropes. I’ll go first, follow me, Hoffman. Start the stopwatch.>"

"<Got it, descending now. Rope gear is set.>"

"<Here we go.>"

The side door of the SeaHawk opened completely, and the thick ropes shot out. The powerful downward draft from the helicopter made the ropes unsteady as they barely touched the ground.

However, Lorentina paid no mind. She first deployed a large box that resembled a subwoofer, and the rope stabilized as it descended. Grabbing the rope with one hand, she descended rapidly.

This was the insane "fast-rope" technique, unique to the Shark.

With the familiar sound of gunfire echoing, humanoid enemies, alerted by the arrival of the helicopter, attempted to rush out of Building D through the door but were intercepted immediately.

Meanwhile, Lorentina, the team leader, and Hoffman, the section leader, had safely landed on the roof of Building D and began deploying various equipment from the ropes.

The first item was a suspension descent system for the rooftop, and the second was the pulse system they brought to be installed around the building.

Lorentina quickly unwrapped the pulse device, which looked absurdly complicated. She opened the side of the machine, pulled out several discs that resembled vibration bells, and scattered them around.

Surprisingly, the discs, which seemed ready to fall to the ground, stuck to the roof with unnatural precision. Meanwhile, ten members of the Hammerhead squad landed safely on the roof.

Meanwhile, SeaHawks 2 through 4, which had been monitoring the perimeter, stopped their observation and began moving toward Building C.

It was now time for the Hammerhead team to intercept the humanoid enemies crawling out of Building D or its surroundings.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The gunfire, adjusted to a form near live ammunition, was the sound of the Hammerhead team’s virtual bullets hitting their targets. As they had calculated based on a variety of sensor data, the projectiles pierced through the humanoid enemies emerging from the gate connected to the basement of Building D.

The humanoid enemies, resembling puppets with severed strings, collapsed to the ground.

Lorentina checked her helmet to ensure no stray hair had escaped and casually inspected her appearance. After confirming her camouflage system was working flawlessly, she added to the communication network:

"<Beast Actual transmitting to SeaHawks 2 through 4. The LZ is clear. I repeat, the LZ is clear.>"

"<Confirmed. Landing in 15 seconds. Opening side ramp door.>"

The helicopters landed near Building C, ensuring a safe distance of several dozen meters. 21 fully armed soldiers split into three squads, quickly approaching Building D.

The most notable detail was that the pointman holding the ballistic shield stood at the front, indicating he was dedicated to the task of leading the charge.

As the three helicopters’ remaining team members provided sniper support and ascended into the sky, Lorentina casually scanned the Expo’s surroundings, her eyes observing the crowd below.

Lorentina spoke again:

"<Hoffman. Once the descent gear is set, get the Watcher team ready and prepare for the rappel. I’ll enter through the rooftop door.>"

"<Understood.>"

"<This is Alpha. Entry at Gate A is ready.>"

"<This is Bravo. Arrived at Gate B.>"

"<Charlie Actual, same here.>"

"<Great. Activating pulse. Keep your eyes wide open and enjoy the new tech.>"

Lorentina waved her hand.

Simultaneously, an eerie vibration spread throughout the area. Light poured from the scattered discs, forming beams and then an entire streak of light shooting down, seemingly penetrating the building.

At that moment, over a hundred humanoid enemies, excluding the hostages, were detected occupying Building D.

Despite the overwhelming number, every member of the team knew exactly where to strike and whether civilians were mixed in. They made the best decisions based on the situation.

As the sound of grenades and other weaponry charging filled the comms, Lorentina melted the door’s lock with a plasma torch.

Using the WD40 she’d previously applied to the lock, the door opened silently, and Lorentina moved down the stairs with no audible footsteps.

"<Operation Front Runner begins now. Weapons free.>"

"<Confirmed.>"

With the sound of explosions echoing from the first floor, Lorentina’s team rushed down the rooftop stairs, disregarding the roof access stairs, and made their way to the 4th floor.

Seven or more enemies, positioned on the balcony, aimed their guns at them. At the front, a Shark member drew a silenced .22 caliber handgun and swiftly began shooting.

The weak noise of the shots was enough to penetrate the necks of the enemies, who fell one by one, almost like leaves in the wind.

"<Oh, that’s not good.>"

A humanoid, hiding around a corner, attempted to ambush Lorentina. She quickly lowered her body, grabbed its arm with her left hand, and pressed her pistol to its chin with her right hand.

A small shot rang out, and the humanoid collapsed, dead.

After exchanging the magazine in under a second, Lorentina activated the pulse system again, and individual enemy locations were updated. She moved with unnerving speed, wiping out all the enemies on the 4th floor.

"<It’ll take about a minute to stabilize the 4th floor. If there are no major issues, we’ll head to the 3rd floor... ugh.>"

Ping!

At that moment, a humanoid attempting to attack through a corner was shot and killed by the Watcher team, hanging from a rappel. Lorentina saw their thumbs-up through the glass and chuckled.

But the situation on the first floor was chaotic, the worst resistance encountered yet. Lorentina briefly switched channels and observed the combat unfolding below.

• "Take out the enemy machine gunner! Take cover, take cover! Start with the grenade launcher!"
• "Right on target! Thigh shot, tourniquet thrown, gain the upper hand with firepower! Throw the grenade!"
• "Deploy the shield! Deploy the shield! Injured, self-medicate behind cover!"
• "Charlie Actual, the area is secured with no casualties. Moving to the most critical location."

There were no major issues yet.

Lorentina thought as she looked over the now-quiet 4th floor and listened to the comms from the Watcher team outside.

"<We’re targeting the enemies holding the hostages on the 3rd floor. If we don’t move in on time, it’ll be hard to resolve it from this side.>"

"<Understood. 4th floor situation cleared. Moving down immediately. Prepare to fire on signal.>"

With that, the Beast team descended toward the 3rd floor stairs.

"Wow... Wow, what is this..."

"Man, I’m gonna pee myself."

"Everyone around here is glued to their phones."

"Can’t blame them."

• "LOL, what even is this!?"
• "Where can we even grab onto?"
• "Icarus really went insane letting this happen, huh?"
• "Wait, but the humanoid performance is insane. How do they mix with special forces??"
• "The Biyam-Illuminati is ruling the world!!!"

Meanwhile, around 400 meters away, at Building A, all Expo attendees were watching the real-time stream of the terror suppression training.

"…Hmm, how should I put this? It’s definitely very different from the game. In the game, you could just handle it alone, but here, considering lives are at stake, it’s much more systematic, I’d say."

"That’s not wrong. Especially since… when you have to consider hostages, the operation has to be much faster and more delicate. It’s quite tough."

"Right? …Then could you do something about Lorentina over there, with her piercing gaze?"

"That's up to her. We can't restrict her."

"I think I need to get some camouflage pills...!"

Seeing the holographic Shark, Lorentina’s persona in this world, made everyone a bit suspicious. They could tell that the two sharks might be connected, but they didn’t know exactly how.

I quickly prepared an answer and a way to deceive them—pretending that there were two sharks was useful for making sure the current Lorentina’s true identity wouldn’t be exposed during the mission.

I didn’t reveal that it was actually holographic Lorentina. It’s just that this entire situation felt more like a game, with less attention given to the deeper questions.

"Well, it's quite admirable that you've kept quiet about this for so long, but please be careful with your words going forward. And if you have some time, think about getting some food with the Shark after the mission."

"Oh, we’re eating? Yay."

"By the way, I think the fact that this body doesn’t gain weight is quite nice. Eating whatever I want without gaining weight is definitely a cheat, right?"

"Well, maybe. Could be."

At that point, Iris spoke up.

"...But come to think of it, isn’t that holographic Shark essentially a remote-controlled device? Couldn’t it be listening to us right now?"

"Ah, right. Who’s controlling it anyway?"

"It’s a secret."

"Could it be Olivia or Logan?"

"...Considering Logan’s personality, I don’t think she’d do something like that."

It wasn’t a huge surprise, but as soon as the new issue was raised, everyone started guessing.

"Right. Logan would never do something like that... maybe Olivia would, though."

"Then again, it feels way too accurate. If we’re talking about personalities, it feels like someone we know is behind it."

"Could it be that the Lorentina we’re seeing now is controlling this hologram? Haha."

...Hmm, they’re suspiciously close to the truth.

I stayed silent on purpose, letting the awkward silence take over. The atmosphere shifted, and it was almost like a joke had turned into something serious. Someone broke the silence.

"...So, it’s really a hologram, right?"

"Haha."

"Why aren’t you answering? What’s going on!?"

But it seemed more fun not to answer, so I just kept quiet.

I had no idea that the New York Lorentina would be smirking at me from behind.