I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 698

"…I know asking again in this situation is a waste of time, but if I heard correctly... you’ve captured one Russian and one Chinese nuclear submarine that infiltrated New Haven, and that’s why you made an urgent call to Kings Bay?"

• "That’s correct. Since it was carried out by the Presidential Direct Operations Unit, the details of the operation are classified, but we captured the Yasen-class nuclear submarine, Vladivostok, and the Jin-class submarine Changzheng 21. These submarines need to be transported to a facility equipped with analysis systems."

"…The navigation systems are not identical, and Kings Bay currently lacks complete information on the operational systems of enemy submarines. We will need at least a minimal crew to operate them."

• "We’ve already secured some of the crew members as hostages. We will provide Russian and Chinese interpreters. About five transport aircraft are en route to Kings Bay, so I will give you one hour. Please start assembling the personnel for New Haven."

"Understood... I will immediately call the base commander."

Camden County, Saint Mary’s City, Georgia, Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base, 1:22 AM.

The largest submarine command base in the United States, subordinate to the U.S. Navy’s Submarine Forces Command. It houses Submarine Group 10, the 16th and 20th Submarine Fleets, the Submarine Ready Battalion, Atlantic Strategic Weapons Facility, Marine Security Battalion, Trident Repair and Training Facility, and other key installations.

However, despite its grandiose stature, it is barely functioning after being hit hard by the Omega Virus, leaving it nearly deserted with minimal crew and personnel, just barely maintaining the form of a base.

At that moment, when a high-security communication suddenly arrived at dawn, the command center was thrown into utter chaos.

Without a doubt, it was a "Presidential Direct Order."

The officer on duty immediately contacted the commander of Submarine Group 10, Captain Giddle, and within three minutes, the base commander entered the command center, fully dressed in his military uniform. Though he had just been woken, his appearance was impeccably neat, but his mind was still clouded and disoriented.

The reason for his confusion was not just the high-security communication but also the fact that it was the first official contact from the President, who had seemed silent up until now.

The officer on duty had mentioned the Presidential Direct Operations Unit, raising questions about how two nuclear submarines were captured without warning.

But Captain Giddle didn’t show his confusion; he immediately opened his mouth.

"Giddle, is there anything that others should not hear?"

• "This is Colonel Carl Hobson, the Strategy Coordination Officer from Central Park HQ. I recommend that others leave for a moment."

"Did you hear that? Let them leave for a while."

At once, dozens of personnel hurriedly left.

Giddle sat down and put on his headset. Only then did the voice, which had been faint, become sharp in his ears, providing the clarity he needed in the confusion of the moment.

But before he could fully adjust, Colonel Hobson started speaking, activating the transcription function of the command center.

"So, you’re saying that the Russian and Chinese reconnaissance teams arrived in Lower Manhattan, successfully neutralized them, killed the submarine crew looting New Haven, and seized two nearly empty submarines?"

• "That’s correct."

"Excuse me, can I step outside for a quick cigarette? I don’t think I’ve fully woken up yet."

• "It’s fine to delay for a moment, but it won’t change anything. The detailed information will be sent separately through the network later."

"...You said an hour. Shall we finish up the discussion by the time the transport planes arrive? Will that work?"

• "That’s correct."

The conversation ended there.

Though Giddle had only slept for about three hours, there was no time to waste. He removed his headset and immediately summoned his staff around 1:30 AM.

On his way to the meeting room, he was mentally organizing what needed to be done and how to approach it.

'…Not just for this base, but for the entire military network, we need to share the fact that Russia and China have started a war without a declaration of war.'

However, due to the fragmented state of the military network after the virus outbreak, assessing whether the U.S. military had the capacity to respond to enemy attacks was extremely difficult.

The few places still connected were mostly in the northeastern U.S. — New York, Washington D.C., the Cyber Command headquarters in Maryland, Virginia Beach, Georgia’s Fort Moore, and of course, here at Kings Bay.

Fortunately, there was some contact with the U.S. Southern Command in Florida, which was currently in chaos.

But the road ahead was still long. Giddle, along with five or six of his staff, sat down in the meeting room and began speaking with a strained voice.

"Russian and Chinese allied forces, leading two nuclear submarines, have invaded the U.S. mainland without a declaration of war. But at the moment, they’ve been driven out."

"...I don’t know what to say, sir."

"I don’t know either, so just listen quietly. In the meantime, the Presidential Direct Operations Unit, as they’re called, did something... seriously big. They seized two nuclear submarines."

Everyone's heads turned in unison, but Giddle didn’t react. He continued.

"Five transport planes are heading to Kings Bay. The upper command hopes we don’t sink the Yasen-class and Jin-class submarines, and it’s time to meet that expectation."

"…The best option might be to bring the submarines here, but New Haven is more than 1400 km away in a straight line. The actual distance will likely be about 1600 km."

"We don’t have to bring them all the way here. If we go to the Norfolk Navy Base in Virginia, the distance is halved. How about we go there?"

"Let’s do that. Do we have any crew we can send?"

"We have the reserve crew of USS Iowa, a Columbia-class submarine, about 100 personnel."

"It might not be enough, but let’s send them."

Submarines typically require about 140 crew members per full set to function effectively. For operational purposes, two sets of crew would be necessary, making up around 300 personnel.

However, due to the special circumstances, there were enough reserve crews at Kings Bay to make up for the lack of personnel. Giddle didn’t hesitate to send them.

Fortunately, there was no one asking "What exactly happened in New Haven to cause all this?"

And because of that, the staff didn’t waste any more time.

Instead of wasting time on unnecessary bureaucratic procedures, they focused on thinking about the strategic value of the seized nuclear submarines and how to use them.

"…The bottom line is, we’ve hit an unbelievable jackpot. The laser communication equipment inside the submarines will yield immense results, and just looking at the underwater cable connectors, communication buoys, and antennas will be huge."

"We might also be able to track enemy communication satellites, their orbits, and entry/exit from the atmosphere. It could give us a huge edge in information warfare."

"The Cyber Command is very close to Norfolk, where the submarines are docking. If we send the submarine’s communication equipment there, we can expect good results."

"…I’d love to see the faces of those idiots who were wandering around the submarine. They’re certainly going down in history as one of the greatest fools."

And indeed, they were.

What was certain was that the enemy crew members who had carelessly stationed these strategic submarines were nothing short of historical fools.

In fact, if they dug deeper, the truth was even worse: both submarines lost their defensive capabilities due to infighting among the crew.

The crew members who had spent over 3-4 months submerged could easily be forgiven for feeling extreme mental fatigue, but the result of losing their composure as soldiers was this.

Giddle’s team was thankful they weren’t among them.

It didn’t take long for the Sword team to receive orders to pack their bags.

A large number of personnel started gathering at the helicopter pads, confused and unaware of the details. Just as one of the staff went downstairs to inform the Sword team, Giddle sent the meeting results to Central Park.

The response came quickly:

• "The transport planes will arrive in five minutes. Don’t worry about supplies for the Sword team; we will provide everything."

That was all they needed.

At last, the senior officers in Kings Bay, who had been bombarded with information from the northeastern U.S., had just enough time to process everything.

It was literally a mind-boggling situation. No one could really understand what was happening at the higher levels, but after some consideration, they concluded that it didn’t matter.

In the end, it was the first victory. Especially considering the tremendous strategic advantage and offensive capabilities of the nuclear submarines, not knowing this fact could have resulted in total destruction of the northeastern coast.

They had captured two nuclear submarines, not destroyed them. That alone was an achievement so significant it could almost be called miraculous.

"…I don’t know what’s going on, but this is truly fortunate."

"Indeed."

It was a dark time.

The world seemed to be falling apart, and the few survivors left only saw traces of the dead as they wandered through the remnants of civilization.

Many began to wonder if the U.S. would ever recover from this, even after decades of struggle. Such thoughts spread like a virus.

But the news they received contradicted that grim perspective.

After a while, five transport planes began to land from the sky.

Flames from their engines barely illuminated the darkness, yet they did not falter and slowly landed at Kings Bay.

Giddle absentmindedly spoke:

"Not everyone has given up, huh?"

"It seems not."

At least for them, that was enough of a comfort.

This was Icarus, and it was the first great victory for the United States.

"Report: There are signs of a massive engagement in northern Manhattan. All Icarus operators hearing this communication, return immediately."

"…I guess we won’t get any rest. Maybe we should be glad we didn’t burn out here."

Meanwhile, in New Haven.

Icarus operators were repeatedly facing situations that denied them rest, proving that their war was only just beginning.

"…Idiots. After trying to kill me, they’re still using the same communication equipment."

"Did you put the eavesdropping device on that transmitter? Looks like you’ve got a good head on your shoulders."

"Well, I know how to use my brain. With so many idiots who reach for their guns before anything else, you have to find a way to survive."

Back in the Command Room at Central Park HQ, Zodiac, who had been praying for Task Force Dagger’s safe return and was on her way to her solitary quarters, was unexpectedly called back to the command center.

As she scanned the screens filled with familiar names, she realized that the communication equipment she had provided was now being used to intercept transmissions from the Liker group.

"…So, what’s this about? I’m not sure what I can say about the internal affairs of Liker anymore."

"Just tell us what you know. We’ll ask the questions, and we’ll give you the necessary details."

"Fine, I’ll tell you as much as I know. What do you want to ask?"

"Good, let’s start with this."

At that moment, various images appeared on her screen.

They weren’t just any images. These were photos taken by UAVs, with clear, almost eerie precision, showing the locations and population distribution in unusually sharp detail.

The location wasn’t Brooklyn, but northern Manhattan — specifically the Bronx area, near Central Park. Zodiac immediately understood what the question was going to be.

"Until recently, there hadn’t been this kind of activity, but suddenly, the number of people wandering through the Bronx has exploded. We couldn’t identify them just through aerial reconnaissance, so we called you in. Any idea what this is about?"

"...It’s not out of the question."

She quickly added:

"I’m not sure, but the reason this happened might be because I killed a lot of Liker members while rescuing my team. The Hyena Council is obsessed with reinforcing their numbers. They’re crazy that way."

"Are you saying these are escapees from Liker who crossed into the Bronx? This is strange. I didn’t know there were still so many scumbags who could qualify as Likers."

"Are you mocking me or being serious? There are over 300 gangs scattered across the Bronx and Yonkers. There are more than 10,000 people involved."

The other person gave a puzzled look.

Zodiac realized that if they weren’t criminals like her, and hadn’t heard such things from criminals themselves, they would never have known. She quickly added:

"When the Omega Virus outbreak happened, the crazy ones got free. El Salvadorian gangs, Latin Kings, Ghetto Brothers, Turbans, Renegades, Crips... I could list them for 30 minutes."

"You’re telling me that many gangs are still in the Bronx? Got it. Well, at least I have some answers. As I mentioned earlier… did they come to the Bronx for reinforcements?"

"That’s possible. But more likely, they came here because Brooklyn’s been wiped out. If I were still there, I’d have gone to the Bronx."

"Hmm."

The other person nodded, then didn’t ask any further questions. Zodiac realized her deduction was probably right. She also suspected it too.

The officer took a moment to gather his thoughts and then added:

"…We’ve just received an urgent report from the cleaners stationed up north. Too many enemies are flooding in. If this area is breached, the enemy will march south for sure."

"So, you brought me in to get a full picture of the situation?"

"Yes. We needed to know exactly what these people moving through the Bronx are. Now we can deploy the Icarus operators without issue."

"The last time I checked, there were only eleven of them. No offense, but... is that really okay?"

"We’ll see."

At that moment, their eyes met. The officer hesitated for a moment and then added:

"Those eleven people retook all of New Haven. Special forces are trained to perform tasks that ordinary humans can’t. They might achieve results better than you expect."

"..."

"To survive a little longer in this fucked-up world, Central Park has to make miracles happen, things others would call luck or fate. We’re doing this without sleep to support those who can make that happen."

Zodiac instantly realized that the officer had finished speaking.

He rubbed his tired hair, which hadn’t been washed for days, and added:

"Thanks for your help. You can go now."

"Understood."

Zodiac said nothing more, turned, and walked out of the hallway — no, she tried to walk out.

Then her voice broke the silence:

"...Is there anything else I can do?"

"No newfound patriotism? Unfortunately, there’s nothing for you to do right now. Go get some sleep. Don’t forget, you’re only able to walk freely because of what Whistleblower did for you."

"…"

At that response, Zodiac had no more words to say.

With her tail drooping and ears back, she trudged out, letting out a deep sigh as she stared at the full moon.

At that moment, she truly felt the weight of being shackled by crime, but she knew that chains couldn’t be removed, for that was the essence of being shackled.

For some, it was frustrating, while for others, the night was so busy it almost took their breath away.