I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 651

"At least one platoon-sized force has appeared in the corridor connected to the underground of Building D, and is currently being intercepted. How much longer until the ground floor of Building D is cleared?"

"<As for the Beast Actual, the 3rd, 4th, and 1st floors have been completely cleared. It should be finished within 2 minutes at most.>"

-<Confirmed. The Watcher team will begin perimeter surveillance around Building D from this point onward.>

The deafening explosions that had been echoing from inside the building finally stopped.

While the largest and most heavily fortified 1st floor was neatly swept clean by over twenty UDT operators, Lorentina and her team neutralized the 4th and 3rd floors and reached the 2nd floor first.

The small auditorium and theater at the center of the 2nd floor. The height of the space itself was considerably different compared to other areas, but they had already set up a pulse on the rooftop.

Outside, the sounds of continuous combat and the thudding of helicopter propellers formed a background noise, and before long, Lorentina, having set up the breaching charge, exhaled.

Drones were hovering around, broadcasting the live feed outside. Fortunately, the conversations through the intercom were not picked up by the drone cameras.

Likewise, even Lorentina's distinctive appearance, which would be difficult to hide by ordinary means, was covered by a custom camouflage kit and the drones' field distortion function.

Thus, her team members jokingly threw out quips without hesitation.

"<Won’t the youngest get mad if we destroy every door like this?>"

"<Even if I combined all the wealth of the people I know, it wouldn't be as much as the youngest’s wallet. Breaking four or five doors won’t even scratch the youngest's wealth. We could take down the whole building and still not face any issues.>"

"<Please don’t actually destroy it.>"

"<That’s obvious.>"

Of course, there was a reason, and while it wouldn’t be impossible with permission... it was certain that now was not the time.

Since Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie hadn't fully reached the 2nd floor yet, Lorentina sensed a presence beyond the wall—strictly speaking, it wasn’t human—but for a moment, memories of the past resurfaced.

At least, in the past, it wasn’t uncommon to blow up buildings. Of course, seeing buildings like this crumble wasn’t something you saw every day.

As the Shark submerged into these thoughts...

"<Target point reached. Breaching charge set.>"

"<Timer set. Using pulse. If someone is pressed against the wall, it would be good to remove them.>"

BEEEEEEEEP!

A strange high-pitched sound filled her ears, followed by vibrations. The wave seemed to pass through her body from head to toe, sweeping through the entire building as several red silhouettes appeared on the UI.

Scattered hostages and the enemy forces guarding them. The lack of light from inside the theater meant the enemy was using night-vision goggles.

Thus, just before the breach, they manipulated their visors to allow the night-vision goggles to activate as soon as the breaching charge timer finished. This was Lorentina's advice.

The IFF was activated to prevent friendly fire. In the darkness, when checking with the visor, it appeared as if infrared strobes were flickering.

ENVG - Advanced Night Vision Goggles - first overlaid thermal outlines over the human forms, and just as the breaching charge’s detonation time reached 5 seconds, the operators activated their target indicators mounted on their firearms, laser dots in green lighting up the air.

And—

???BOOM!

"<Breach, breach, breach!>"

"<Pointman leads the charge!>"

TATATATATA!

The four doors blocking the entrances to the theater exploded simultaneously, and through the now-open doors, a total of twenty-six personnel surged in like a wave. Gunshots rang out immediately after.

Red thermal outlines flooded the UI. The moment they aligned with the S-shaped aiming reticle of the holographic sight, everyone fired, and the enemy, realizing too late, fell like leaves in the wind.

Quickly, faster still. Before even an enemy humanoid could aim at one of the friendly operators, everything was over. In less than 10 seconds after the breach, the situation was resolved.

But that wasn’t the end. The humanoid acting as a hostage still needed to be led outside.

The method was simple.

???CLINK!

Lorentina pulled out a modified medium-sized Seeker Mine from her pocket, placed it on the floor, and set a waypoint. The Seeker Mine began leaking bright fluorescent material.

At the same time, the Seeker Mine quickly darted out through the open door. In the thick darkness, it stood out clearly, and the humanoid, playing the role of a hostage, followed the fluorescent trail out quickly.

Their safety was now in the hands of the waiting Watcher team outside.

The once-racing heartbeat that had surged to the top of her head now settled back down like an obedient horse finding its owner. In front of her, dozens of infrared strobes continued flashing.

Lorentina inhaled deeply and added,

"<Beast Actual. Successfully rescued 24 hostages held on the 2nd floor. We will begin the exit procedure after all hostages are safely evacuated. Any further support needed?>"

"<Watcher team, enemies are continuously pouring from the underground of Building D. Urgent support requested.>"

And that wasn’t all.

Just as they thought everything was over, the UI was covered with the second mission—neutralize the weapons of mass destruction installed in the underground of Building D. As Lorentina and the team recalled, there was also a mock combat facility underground.

Operators, sensing the intense battle ahead, quickly replenished fluids and electrolytes, while Shark issued several commands with a wave of her fingers.

The number of wounded, remaining ammunition, and available firearms... The first mission had proven the usefulness of the pulse, but now was the time for drones.

Taking a deep breath, Lorentina added,

"<We will depart as soon as we are ready. Are there any squads facing significant issues in executing the mission?>"

"<Alpha, no issues.>"

"<Bravo, no issues.>"

"<Charlie squad, no issues.>"

"<Great. We’ll proceed. Watcher teams, join up.>"

"<Confirmed.>"

And a total of 31 operators made their way underground.

For Lorentina, this was quite a familiar task. After all, just recently, she had been thoroughly enjoying herself, delivering some well-deserved punishment in the mock combat facility to a group of unfortunate friends. The issue, however, was the potential change in the facility's internal structure since then.

But this point had already been noted in advance, so it didn’t matter much, and more than thirty people, guided by Shark, were able to enter the facility's interior without any issues.

The sound of drones filled the air with a clink as they moved in. The impact drones, capable of firing 750 rounds per minute in 9mm caliber, were in operation. Of course, due to the size and weight of the rounds, they could only shoot about 100 rounds at a time.

Since there were multiple entry routes available, just like before, everyone was waiting at various entrances. The only difference now was that, unlike earlier, no breaching charges were deployed.

Through a slightly opened door, the impact drones began to enter one by one. The faint sound of helicopter propellers signaled the start of the operation, and amidst that, a murmur spread over the intercom.

The reason was simple.

"<Alpha squad reports. The interior resembles a high-value research facility in an uncharted area.>"

"<Looks like things are getting interesting. Check individually if anyone here is unfamiliar with the layout of this place. If anyone knows the layout, they should lead the charge.>"

"<Confirmed.>"

A high-value research facility.

One of the maps from the EU mode that they had once infiltrated with the youngest, and even with the Mecha Youngests, had suddenly appeared before them—truly an unexpected situation. But Lorentina just smiled and accepted the situation.

It seemed like something that could happen, especially if the youngest had been involved in this exercise. With a sigh, she took it in stride—and not long after...

The impact drones inside the facility continued to discharge rounds, signaling the operation's start as all operators entered the facility.

"<Beast Actual informs all squads. No change in rules of engagement. There are no hostages here, so eliminate everything moving.>"

"<Understood.>"

And that was the end of the communication.

There was nothing more to be said. Every direction was swarming with enemies. It seemed like there were more than two full platoons, but they didn’t pay any attention to that and poured all their strength into their mission. Information miscommunication was common in situations like this.

They hadn’t expected to be deceived until the very end, but at least all the operatives involved in the mission didn’t think so.

But they still had their faith in a few things. The helicopters hovering around had landed at Building C once more, and nine additional operatives were added to the underground mission at Building D.

At this point, the rules of engagement were simple.

"<Fortify the defense line. Activate the semi-transparent shields, and for anyone daring to approach without hesitation, make sure they get a hole in their heads. We’ll move forward as soon as the reinforcements arrive.>"

"<Yes, ma'am!>"

"<Who came up with such a bizarre nickname?>"

Even so, as the HMD reflected the scene of semi-transparent shields being pelted with bullets, a smile never left Shark’s lips.

The smell of gunpowder wafting from the blanks, the shells piling up around them, and the intensifying battle... It felt as though the blood in her veins had been entirely replaced with adrenaline.

She murmured absentmindedly.

"<No wonder I can’t leave this job.>"

Whether it was drowned out by the gunfire, or if they heard but ignored it, it didn’t matter.

At that moment, Shark was happier than ever.

With 15 minutes remaining until the end of the operation...

"Ugh, damn. Those Hammerhead guys are terrifyingly fast. How the hell can they be this fast?"

"I never expected that the time spent running would surpass the time spent shooting…!"

"Don’t compromise, drink water and keep up!"

In the underground of Building D at Songdo Expo, UDT operators were grinding through their endurance... not in terms of physical strain, but the mind-bending complexity of the mock combat facility.

The reason was simple. The operators of the DEVGRU squad were moving at an unbelievable pace and maintaining that speed while clearing sector after sector, showcasing their ridiculous power.

The well-known US Tier 1 special forces, with some of the most experienced and physically pushed-to-the-limit operators—specifically, the Hammerhead strike team from the DEVGRU Gold Squadron—were clearly showing the UDT operators just how much they still had to improve.

The Hammerhead team, which could be compared to the "Red Right Hand" strike team, was showing what it truly meant to be elite.

And thus, the mission continued as operators from Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie squads cleared areas with incredible precision, while the Hammerhead team relentlessly barreled through, using their superior tactics and strength.

"<Hangar cleared. The WMD is likely located in the center of the Cat Tower. Faced significant resistance in the staff lounge.>"

"<Alpha squad is on the way. Engaged in combat near the sterile laboratory!>"

"<Understood.>"

As smoke grenades were deployed and grenades were thrown, the team cleared the area systematically. The battle continued until they finally drove back the enemy.

Meanwhile, questions lingered in their minds: how had the Hammerhead team pushed through the hangar so quickly? The answer was simple.

It was the overwhelming pace of EM-level users and their ability to maintain that pace against ordinary human operators. The enemies stood no chance.

"<Alpha squad reports. We’ve reached the central corridor. We are not engaging further for the moment as we set up a defensive line and coordinate with Bravo and Charlie.>"

"<Understood. Some of our guys seem to be struggling, let’s catch our breath.>"

It wasn’t something that could be hidden.

But they had no time to rest. With the increased squad size, they needed every operator to form a defensive line. Even if supplies were fine, every available operator had to be deployed in the most crucial positions.

After setting up ADS to intercept potential grenades or explosives, they continued preparing for the incoming threats.

And so, one by one, preparations were completed.

The drones continued their operations, and the assault drones, in separate configurations, moved steadily toward the next objective, preparing for the assault in the lab area.

Safety checks were done, and once everything was cleared, they moved forward again.

"<...Whew, no signs of life in the area. All enemy forces have been eliminated. Identified a glowing container, likely a WMD. There’s a biohazard label, but no signs of damage. Calling KCSF – Chemical, Biological, and Special Task Force. Great work, everyone.>"

"Great job…!"

"How bad could it have been if you switched to English and then answered in Korean…?"

"Man, I’m gonna die...!"

After 25 minutes of a grueling counter-terror operation, the roles of the UDT and Lorentina’s team came to a close.

And in that moment, all the humanoids previously declared dead suddenly rose and began clapping.

Looking at it with an incredulous expression, Shark murmured,

"...Is this what they call black humor?"

Of course, everyone just chuckled.

It had truly been an exhausting day.