I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 686

“…So, does that mean Logan will have to stay at a place where those mutants are for the time being?”

“That’s correct. The Icarus directive has been activated, and all Alpha-level mutants are required to wear the Icarus Gear under orders.”

“Affiliation?”

“Officially, they’re operators under the Department of Homeland Security, but it doesn’t matter much. They could be part of JSOC or the Department of Homeland Security, it doesn’t matter. They could even be directly under the President’s command. All of those things are technically true.”

“…What a mess.”

“I won’t deny it. Requests for operational cooperation will be coming from every conceivable place anyway.”

Central Park, 5 AM. Main briefing room.

Soldiers wearing patches labeled EX1 through EX5 stood with indifferent expressions, staring at the screen and the Icarus personnel sent from Central Park HQ who stood at the podium.

Their identity was simple.

They were a newly formed Delta Force kill team created to deal with the chaos caused by the Omega virus outbreak and to address the serious crimes that inevitably emerged due to the lack of law enforcement.

EX—short for Execution Squadron. Naturally, no one in this unit liked the name, which was a bit ridiculous.

At this point, the situation surrounding them was… exactly as expected. In fact, it might have been even worse than anticipated.

It wasn’t a good situation, of course. Their expectations had been set extremely low from the start.

The mission Owens’ team faced in Philadelphia was one they barely managed to survive, and in just under two weeks, they had accumulated over 500 kills.

In comparison, the situation in Central Park wasn’t so bad. Administrative issues, like the affiliations, raised questions like, “Is it really okay for things to be handled this way?”

But it didn’t matter much. Tier 1 special forces soldiers were among the top 0.01% in their fields, so their adaptability was equally top-notch.

“I don’t want the team to split.”

“Once energy adjustments are complete, we’ll consider outfitting regular operators with the Icarus Gear as well. At that point, we’ll check the available personnel in Central Park and reorganize them into a new task force.”

“And you know very well how unreasonable it is to split a squadron. Should we leave the originals intact?”

“You don’t have to worry about that. When forming the task force, the most important factors are the operators’ experience and knowledge.”

At least they had received the bare minimum confirmation.

They nodded leisurely, and then subtly glanced at a figure sitting on the floor instead of a chair. At the end of the room, a silhouette, strange for being human, caught their attention.

Her waist-length, milk-white hair and the small bear ears playfully shifting above her head—she looked like a human version of a polar bear if someone were to mold one.

She slowly turned and got up, adding:

“Nothing can be done. It’s the president’s order, after all... Let’s go see the clients. From the way he’s talking, I think we’ll be meeting again soon.”

“If you cause trouble, Logan, the building’s coming down.”

“You asshole. Should I break an arm before going?”

“Just a joke, just a joke.”

“Then Logan, you can come this way. I’ll guide you. I’m Illich Jensen, I’m with the Icarus support team. I’ll let you know where the mutants’ quarters are.”

She placed her right hand on her neck, rubbed her shoulders, sighed, and went out.

It was barely 5 AM. The sun hadn’t even peeked out yet. It had been a while since the light pollution had disappeared, and now the stars twinkled in the sky. Something you wouldn't expect to see in Manhattan.

She hadn’t even brought much with her. The only things she had were a duffel bag slung over her shoulder with a few personal items inside.

And there was that suspicious-looking agent Illich Jensen next to her.

She briefly glanced at him and noticed a few surprisingly human traits.

“…Doesn’t seem like the working conditions are that great.”

“I usually end up sleeping on the couch instead of in a cramped room, haha. It’s quite a tough situation.”

“That makes sense. What other place would be better... Anyway, speaking of which, how many mutants are there in this Alpha-level quarters?”

“Three. If you count Logan Operator, that makes four.”

“The way there seems a bit far. Let’s at least hear who they are.”

It was an easy enough request, but the content itself was ridiculous enough to make even Logan laugh.

The reason was simple.

“One of them is Olivia Nicks Lorelai, formerly known as Oliver Nicks Lorelai. She’s 34 years old and served as a PJ in the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, a Tier 1 unit. She was recently the leader of Eagle Team.”

“…What?”

“The second one is Lorenatina Christopher Brenner, formerly Lauren C. Brenner. She’s 36 years old, currently a second lieutenant, and was a team leader of Alpha Team in DEVGRU’s Gold Squadron.”

“Ha. This is unbelievable. It’s almost embarrassing… What the hell are the seals and eagles doing here? Is this some kind of balance between land, sea, and air?”

“It’s a coincidence. But the last one is an ordinary civilian. I heard he’s from Korea, and he came here on a trip but got caught up in the Omega virus crisis.”

“…Well, that’s definitely a unique situation.”

Logan didn’t press any further. The irony of Alpha-level mutants being team leaders in Tier 1 special forces was difficult enough to digest, and he didn’t bother asking why these mutants had changed their names.

He didn’t ask about the gender of these mutants either—he could guess the reason behind the name changes, but that wasn’t something he could afford to dwell on.

How long had it been? Soon, Logan arrived in front of the Alpha-level mutant quarters.

The building wasn’t very large, but the fact that only about three people were staying in a place that could hold at least twenty showed how much Central Park valued it.

Logan thought about that as he checked the interior. Dim light leaked through thick curtains above the windows. Surprisingly, the lights were still on.

The reason was simple.

“An escort team was ambushed 1.5 hours ago. The mutants with Icarus Gear were organized into the rapid-response team and have been frequently deployed since then.”

“…I could’ve sworn I heard that there’s a Korean civilian mixed in with them. Did I mishear that?”

“That’s correct. But the situation’s become urgent enough that even he needs to be assigned to the response team.”

“Ah, what a nightmare… You should go in too. You look pretty exhausted.”

“I’ll take that into consideration. Feel free to pick any spot inside... and I hope you’ll get acquainted with everyone quickly.”

She mumbled that inwardly. It wasn’t that she enjoyed tormenting tired people.

Through a conversation with Agent Jensen, she learned there was a gun cabinet inside, and Logan decided to put his weapon inside as soon as he entered. No one would like the atmosphere with a gun in hand.

However, despite being in different branches of the military, they were all tightly bound by a common denominator, so Logan wasn’t too worried.

He just wondered if his unusual appearance might surprise others.

She entered the quarters and knocked on the door before opening it.

And then-

“Ugh, I can’t take it anymore…!”

“It’s only 200 kg, rookie! Even before I transformed, I could carry this much! Keep pushing!”

“Ugh, don’t carry me on your back! My ears are ringing… Ahhh, whaaaaat?!”

“Can’t believe you collapsed. You’ve still got a long way to go. In special forces, Alpha and Omega are all about the legs... wow.”

“…I have no idea what I’m even looking at.”

Indeed, Logan couldn’t help but laugh quietly to himself. He added:

“…Haha, I’m Logan. Let’s get along.”

“A person who speaks clearly has come. Let’s get along.”

“Same here. I hope you’ll take some of the load off us.”

“Ah, hello…”

Logan felt like, for some reason, he wouldn’t be bored with these quirky individuals around him.

He suddenly thought about introducing them to the EX Squadron.

“...The sun’s up.”

“Changing from day to night is normal, rookie. You’ll feel it soon enough. Get used to grabbing naps whenever you can. The idea of being awake during the day and sleeping at night is gone now.”

“…I think I understand. I used to wonder why you two were always sleeping whenever there was a chance.”

“Is this guy a civilian?”

“Up until two months ago, yes. Not much has changed since.”

Central Park, 7:30 AM.

Unlike at the beginning of the year, the sun now rises quickly. But after waking up from a nap, going into a tense combat situation, returning for debriefing, and now, it wasn’t exactly a good morning.

But what could you do? The enemies weren’t considering your time.

So today, I received chest feedback from Olivia to prevent PTSD.

Big chest... so good...

It was a bit embarrassing, but Olivia didn’t seem to mind. Whether that was fortunate or not, I wasn’t sure… If Logan, the guy who introduced himself, had caught me in that situation, it would’ve been terribly embarrassing.

In any case, the best course of action when others were talking about me was to just keep my mouth shut.

But there was some data I needed to know, and one of the key pieces was this:

“Finally, the people who sold out America are starting to show up one by one. It’s late now, but it’s too little too late.”

“Some of the scientists who worked in the top-secret zones disappeared like dust. Didn’t Artemis have something to do with the Icarus Gear? Not a good sign.”

“That’s not true. They didn’t work on the gear itself, but they were involved in developing skills compatible with it. Shouldn’t be a huge issue… just some guys with big ambitions but empty heads.”

“That’s why they’re making such stupid decisions. You can’t sell something well if you’re an idiot.”

“...Black humor is too scary.”

A lot of scary humor mixed in, but that was the gist of it.

Especially that rocket launcher. The metaphor that had been around since Brooklyn was now clear: Artemis was behind it. It was truly absurd.

Apparently, they were a promising new company, tied to the five major defense contractors, and had gone under in the Omega virus crisis but were secretly up to something.

Anyway, that was just a side issue.

As personnel started to increase, not only were there preparations for possible emergency deployment, but there were also reconstruction operations to manage. That’s what they told me.

So what was that, you ask?

“Until now, we’ve only been responding to situations as they come, but it’s becoming difficult to do that. We need to start building sustainable facilities so we can handle things even if operations fail.”

“Because of that, the priority now is to bring in practical experts or those above them who can control, upgrade, and develop key facilities.”

“...Sounds like you’re explaining all this to me rather than this rookie.”

“That’s just how it is. This rookie needs to hear it several times before it sinks in. Don’t worry too much about it.”

Poor thing...

I wanted to be quicker too...

But the reason these people were so fast wasn’t because they were just naturally gifted—it was because they had so much experience and training. I wondered if I could become like them someday...?

As I sulked, someone placed their hand on my head. At first, I thought it was Olivia or Loren, but it wasn’t.

Wait, does this mean...?

“Oh ho!”

“Hey! She’s mine! Don’t touch her!”

“Really? So the ownership has already been decided? I didn’t think we were in the middle of the Civil War. I’m from Alaska, so I’m not familiar with slavery.”

“Guys, what are you even talking about?!”

Too much, too much.

I desperately huffed, but sadly, it seemed like my feeble resistance was just seen as a kind of... charm.

In no time, Logan had built a rapport with the others, and he spoke up:

“I think I get what role this kid plays here. Am I wrong?”

“As you can see, she’s our cute mascot. She’s still got a long way to go.”

“...Yeah. We all need someone like that to help ease the mental fatigue. I don’t know this kid well yet, but I’m already grateful.”

“Uweee…”

“Do you like polar bears? I think I’m going to like snakes more now.”

“There are only carnivores here…”

Sadly, I was starting to enjoy this more than I thought I would.

It seemed like, for the time being, I was going to be something like a stuffed animal for these people.

Hmph.